Microscale Patterning of Mesoscopic PZN-PT Single Crystal Films by Crystal ion Slicing and Laser-Induced Etching

Advances in the fabrication of solid-solution single crystal relaxor ferroelectrics have made it possible to produce highly efficient piezoelectric crystals, and have attracted renewed interest in the use of these crystals for a new generation of piezoelectric transducers, actuators and sensors. Of particular interest is their incorporation into micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). In this paper we report on the laser-induced wet chemical etching of lead zinc niobate-lead titanate (PZN-PT) in hydrochloric acid (HCl). Argon-ion laser radiation at power levels up to 4 W is focused to a spot diameter of about 15μm and results in the chemical etching of grooves at patterning speeds up to 5μm/sec. Crystal ion slicing, an ion-implant-based film separation technique, is used in combination with laser etching to form 5 to 10μm-thick patterned and freestanding films for incorporation into micro-electromechanical devices.     

SiC半导体技术--即将腾飞的新一代半导体技术

电源设计者们仿佛正在目睹一个新的半导体技术的诞生。随之而来的新一代功率半导体器件远远优于现有的硅技术。SiC 材料可以让器件具有迄今为止设计工程师们梦寐以求却不能得到的出色特性。其最重要的优点包括以下几个方面：:工作结温高达225 ℃，而相应的漏电流只有适度的增加。由于本质上不会出现热偏移thermal run－away)，故可以在 很高的结温下可靠的工作。 没有正向或反向恢复，故即使在高温 下以高频工作时，也没有开关损耗。 甚至可以实现开关损耗极小、频率 高达1 M H z 的深度切换(h a rd 正向电阻具有…     

Autoimmunity caused by disruption of central T cell tolerance. A murine model of drug-induced lupus

A side effect of therapy with procainamide and numerous other medications is a lupus-like syndrome characterized by autoantibodies directed against denatured DNA and the (H2A-H2B)-DNA subunit of chromatin. We tested the possibility that an effect of lupus-inducing drugs on central T cell tolerance underlies these phenomena. Two intrathymic injections of procainamide-hydroxylamine (PAHA), a reactive metabolite of procainamide, resulted in prompt production of IgM antidenatured DNA antibodies in C57BL/6xDBA/2 F1 mice. Subsequently, IgG antichromatin antibodies began to appear in the serum 3 wk after the second injection and were sustained for several months. Specificity, inhibition and blocking studies demonstrated that the PAHA-induced antibodies showed remarkable specificity to the (H2A-H2B)-DNA complex. No evidence for polyclonal B cell activation could be detected based on enumeration of Ig-secreting B cells and serum Ig levels, suggesting that a clonally restricted autoimmune response was induced by intrathymic PAHA. The IgG isotype of the antichromatin antibodies indicated involvement of T cell help, and proliferative responses of splenocytes to oligonucleosomes increased up to 100-fold. As little as 5 microM PAHA led to a 10-fold T cell proliferative response to chromatin in short term organ culture of neonatal thymi. We suggest that PAHA interferes with self-tolerance mechanisms accompanying T cell maturation in the thymus, resulting in the emergence of chromatin-reactive T cells followed by humoral autoimmunity.     

Forensic implications of the difficulties of defining delusions

Delusions are evasive to define: (1) Within the process of defining, one uses part of the final conclusion, which should derive from the basic definition (in other words, Circular reasoning); (2) Many, if not most, of so-called normal persons, hold delusion-like ideas; (3) Delusion becomes, usually, more understandable and less bizarre when investigated; (4) Delusions are not unique by remaining resistible to reason; (5) For every delusional content, as bizarre and remote as it may be, there is at least one cultural niche, in which the same content is considered legitimate and reasonable, (if no important and dignified). The forensic implications of these difficulties (to define delusions), will be discussed and elaborated.     

De novo epileptic confusional status in a patient with cobalamin deficiency

A 80-year-old man with cobalamin deficiency and no history of epilepsy developed a partial complex epileptic confusional status (ECS) unresponsive to acute i.v. diazepam. Brain CT scan and MRI investigation ruled out a focal cerebral lesion. Therapy with high doses (10,000 micrograms i.m. daily) of cobalamin alone was started, and the patient fully recovered in the following 72-hour. Control EEGs repeatedly performed days and weeks later showed progressive disappearance of the frontal interictal spiking, while the patient was on monotherapy with cobalamin (5,000 micrograms i.m. weekly). A month later the patient unfortunately discontinued replacement therapy and 13 weeks later he developed a fatal convulsive epileptic status. To our knowledge the association of ECS and cobalamin deficiency has not been previously reported.     

Differential expression of D1 and D5 dopamine receptors in the fetal primate cerebral wall

Previous film autoradiographic studies demonstrated that, during corticogenesis, dopamine receptors of the D1 class are abundant in the embryonic primate cerebral wall. In the present study, we expand these findings by identifying the cellular elements of the fetal occipital cerebral wall expressing D1 and D5 subtypes of the D1 dopamine receptor class. We have examined tissue from monkey fetuses collected at 70, 90 and 120 days of gestation using antibodies directed against C-termini of the D1 and D5 dopamine receptors. At all three embryonic ages studied, we found D1 and D5 receptors expressed by multiple cell types of the embryonic cerebral wall. Both D1 and D5 receptor proteins are produced by pyramidal neurons of the cortical plate and by a variety of interstitial neurons of the subplate and intermediate zones. D1 and D5 receptors are also present in cells of the proliferative ventricular and subventricular zones, some of which were identified as dividing cells. In addition, D1 and D5 receptors are detectable in the protoplasmic astroglial and ependymal cells distinguishable in monkey fetuses collected at 120 days of gestation. Some cellular elements of the embryonic monkey cerebral wall express only one subtype of the D1 dopamine receptor class. For example, embryonic Cajal-Retzius neurons in the marginal zone and migrating neurons in the intermediate zone are immunoreactive only to D5 antisera. In contrast, radial glia can be labeled only with D1 receptor-specific antisera. Finally, only D1 receptors are detectable in the blood vessels penetrating the embryonic monkey cerebral wall. Based on these observations, we propose that dopamine receptors of the D1 class play an important role in regulating cerebral cortical formation and that D1 and D5 receptor subtypes may participate in regulation of different aspects of this process.     

Differential expression of mammalian TRP homologues across tissues and cell lines

Mammalian homologues of the Drosophila trp gene have been invoked as the structural basis for the currents associated with capacitative Ca2+ entry (CCE) in many cell types. Trp homologues are members of a large protein family that may associate as channel subunits providing an explanation for the functional diversity of store-operated channels observed in these cells. However, there is little information as to which of these genes are co-expressed at the cellular level. We have examined the tissue specific expression of five mammalian trp genes and determined which are co-expressed in five different cell lines. The results show tissue- and cell-specific co-expression of multiple trp forms. This implies that the subunit composition of a particular CCE channel may vary depending on the cell type.     

Gastric ECL-cell hyperplasia produces enhanced basal and stimulated gastric acid output but not gastric erosion formation in the rat

Cervical involvement is one of the major prognostic factors in carcinoma of the endometrium confined to the uterus. The purpose of this study was to determine whether intrauterine ultrasound with a high-frequency miniature probe can depict the degree of cervical involvement of the disease. Thirty-two women with endometrial carcinoma underwent preoperative transvaginal and intrauterine sonography. By both scans, the degree of cervical involvement was prospectively evaluated. Sonograms were compared with the findings from histologic examination. Intrauterine sonography was completed in 30 of the 32 patients. In these 30 patients, the degree of cervical involvement (none, endocervical gland, or cervical stroma) based on transvaginal scan was correct in 23 cases (77%), and that based on intrauterine scan was correct in 26 cases (87%). Three tumors with endocervical glandular involvement were correctly diagnosed by intrauterine sonography, whereas they were incorrectly diagnosed by transvaginal scan. The specificity and positive predictive value of intrauterine sonography for the assessment of the presence of cervical stromal invasion are 100% (26/26 and 3/3, respectively). Although this study is preliminary, our experience with intrauterine sonography shows that it has potential for assessing cervical stromal invasion in endometrial carcinoma.     

Potentiation of a three drug chemotherapy regimen by radiation

The combination of N-(phosphonacetyl)-L-aspartate, 6-methylmercaptopurine, and 6-aminonicotinamide has been shown to be an effective antineoplastic regimen and also to enhance the effects of other chemotherapeutic agents. The mechanism of action of this combination of drugs is not known definitively, but one possible mechanism is biochemical modulation of energy metabolism and inhibition of production of tumor ATP. Tumor-bearing mice were treated with N-(phosphonacetyl)-L-aspartate, followed 17 h later by 6-methylmercaptopurine and 6-aminonicotinamide. 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic studies demonstrated a significant depletion of high energy phosphates at 10 h post-6-methylmercaptopurine and 6-aminonicotinamide. The addition of radiation at this time was shown to induce a significantly longer tumor growth delay and a greater number of regressions (including durable complete regressions) than either chemotherapy or radiation alone. The combination of chemotherapy and radiation was found to be supra-additive compared to the antineoplastic effects of either modality administered separately, without a measurable increase in host toxicity.