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Notes: Formation of Schottky barrier contacts to n-type 6H-SiC for a number of metals chosen to include a variety of physical and chemical properties has been investigated. The metals (Pd, Au, Ag, Tb, Er, Mn, Al, and Mg) were deposited onto room temperature surfaces terminated with a submonolayer coverage of oxygen. The metal/6H-SiC interface chemistry and Schottky barrier height φB during contact formation were obtained with x-ray photoemission spectroscopy; the electrical properties of subsequently formed thick contacts were characterized by current-voltage and capacitance-voltage techniques. The øB values for these metals extend over a wide 1.3 eV range. To a varying degree φB depends on the 6H-SiC crystal face (Si vs C). Mg and Al (Si face of latter) have φB=0.3 eV, a value which is suitable for nonalloyed ohmic contacts.

Notes: Room temperature photoreflectance (PR) was used to investigate the surface state densities of GaAs and In0.52Al0.48As surface intrinsic-n+ structures. The built-in electric field and thus the surface barrier height are evaluated using the observed Franz–Keldysh oscillations in the PR spectra. Based on the thermionic emission theory and current-transport theory, the surface state density as well as the pinning position of the Fermi level can be determined from the dependence of the surface barrier height on the pump beam intensity. Even though this method is significantly simpler, easier to perform, and time efficient compared with other approaches, the results obtained agree with the literature. © 1999 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: Built-in electric fields and interfacial state densities (Dit) in a series of oxide–GaAs heterostructures fabricated by in situ molecular beam epitaxy were studied using room temperature photoreflectance. The samples investigated were air-, Al2O3–Ga2Ox–, and Ga2O3(Gd2O3)–GaAs. We found that the built-in electric fields are 48, 44, and 38 kV/cm for air-, Al2O3-, and Ga2Ox–GaAs samples, respectively. For the Ga2O3(Gd2O3)–GaAs sample, the built-in electric field is negligibly small, indicating a very low interfacial state density. Estimated by the low field limit criterion, Dit is less than 1×1011 cm−2 eV−1. Our results on the Ga2O3(Gd2O3)–GaAs sample are consistent with the data obtained previously using capacitance–voltage measurements in quasistatic/high frequency modes and photoluminescence measurements. © 1998 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: Photoreflectance measurements have been performed on a δ-doped GaAs homojunction. Two Franz–Keldysh oscillation features originating from two different regions (a buffer layer and a top layer) of the structure superimpose with each other in the photoreflectance spectrum. By properly selecting the reference phase, one of the features can be suppressed, thus enabling us to determine the electric fields from the two regions unambiguously. The electric field in the top layer is 3.5±0.2×105 V/cm, which is in good agreement with theoretical calculation. The electric field in the buffer layer is 1.2±0.1×104 V/cm. © 1996 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: Phase images of 20–30-nm-diam silicon spheres were collected by holographic methods in a field-emission transmission electron microscope. The spherical geometry enables the effect of specimen thickness on the electron-wave phase to be separated from the intrinsic Si electron-optical refractive effects allowing a determination of the mean inner potential Φ0. This work finds Φ0=11.9±0.9 V characterizing amorphous Si and 12.1±1.3 V characterizing crystalline Si. The phase images can resolve a 2-nm-thick native oxide layer and give Φ0 for SiO2=10.1±0.6 V. The phase data can quickly recognize a surface layer, and the effect of a surface layer on the determination of the bulk mean potential can be minimized. © 1997 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: A device to objectively measure the melt/flow behavior of cheeses at different temperatures was built consisting of a temperature-controlled heater, an LVDT (linear variable differential transformer), and a personal computer with a data acquisition system. This device, named UW Meltmeter, operates in the lubricated squeeze-flow configuration and can be used either alone at a constant force or in conjunction with a universal testing machine at a constant deformation rate. A marker technique was used to verify the shear-free squeezing flow assumption. The flow of Mozzarella cheeses with 14 and 43% fat content was studied at 40 and 60C under constant force (0.7 and 0.9 N) and constant cross-head speed (0.5 and 2.5 cm/min). Biaxial extensional strain rate and biaxial stress growth coefficient were calculated. The results supported the expected trend of increased meltability at higher fat levels and at higher temperatures.

Notes: Hall measurements were conducted at temperatures up to 1000 K on unintentionally doped n-type β(3C)- and α(6H)-SiC thin films epitaxially grown on both on-axis and vicinal Si (100) and α(6H)-SiC (0001) by chemical vapor deposition. The carrier concentration versus temperature data were analyzed using a compensation model. The β-SiC films grown on Si were highly compensated (NA/ND=0.73–0.98). The compensation ratio was not as large in the SiC films grown on α-SiC (NA/ND=0.36, for β-SiC on α-SiC, and 0.02, for α-SiC on α-SiC). The donor ionization energy for β-SiC on Si was calculated to be 14–21 meV. Analogous values for β- and α-SiC films on α-SiC were 33 and 84 meV, respectively. These values are smaller than those for N determined from photoluminescence studies.

Notes: Abstract  Serious hematologic complications associated with ticlopidine have been reported, including aplastic anemia. We report here an additional case of fatal aplastic anemia due to ticlopidine. A 66-year-old male patient developed fever and pancytopenia 2 months after ticlopidine was started. Despite the administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and broad-spectrum antibiotics, as well as aggressive red cell and platelet transfusions, the patient died 16 days after admission due to septic shock. Eighteen other cases of ticlopidine-induced aplastic anemia published in the English literature are also reviewed and presented here. Eight of the total 19 patients (including the one reported here) have died, mostly due to infection. Of the seven who received supportive treatment only, four had spontaneous recovery. Nine cases were treated with G-CSF or granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and response was observed in only four of them. Several other cases were treated with high-dose corticosteroids or androgens; however, it was not possible to evaluate the efficacy of these treatments because of the limited number of cases. In the absence of satisfactory treatment for ticlopidine-induced aplastic anemia at present, it may be reasonable to try antilymphocyte globulin or cyclosporine. Also, great efforts should be made in the prevention and management of infection accompanying this disease.

Notes: Summary The visual response characteristics of single cells in the nucleus isthmi (NI) of pigeons were investigated using standard extracellular recording techniques. The results show that both major components of NI, the parvocellular NI (Ipc) and the magnocellular NI (Imc), have a tight retinotopic organization where nasal regions of the visual field are mapped onto the rostral poles of Ipc and Imc, and temporal regions of the visual field are mapped onto the caudal poles. The more ventral regions of these nuclei receive input from more inferior regions of visual space. The receptive fields (RFs) of both Ipc and Imc are large and oval-shaped, and their long axis is oriented vertically in the visual field. Most RFs are distributed on the contralateral visual horizon, and no binocular responses were found in either Ipc or Imc. All of the excitatory RFs of NI cells were surrounded by large inhibitory regions which participated in the dramatic modulation of the driven visual response when a large background pattern was moved across this zone. Although both Ipc and Imc neurons are driven best by small dark spots, some of them also show orientation selectivity to bars which may result from their ovalshaped RF (74% of Imc cells, 20/38, were orientation selective as compared to 10% of the Ipc cells, 3/30). It is suggested that some tectal cells with small RFs, and which originate from a vertically oriented zone may converge onto a single NI neuron to produce the elliptical shaped receptive fields.

Notes: Abstract Objectives: This study examines the efficacy of the predicting power for hospital mortality and functional outcome of three different scoring systems for head injury in a neurosurgical intensive care unit (NICU). Design: On the day of admission, data were collected from each patient to compute the Acute Physiology, Age, and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II and III, and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores. Hospital mortality was defined as the deaths of patients before discharge from hospital. Early mortality was defined as death before the 14th day after admission. Late mortality was defined as death after the 15th day from admission. Functional outcome was evaluated by Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living (Index of ADL). Setting: An 8-bed NICU in a 1270-bed medical center in Taichung Veterans General Hospital. Patients and participants: Two hundred non-selected patients with acute head injury were included in our study in a consecutive period of 2 years. Patients less than 14 years old were not included. Interventions: None. Measurements and results: Sensitivity, specificity and correct prediction outcome were measured by the chi-square method in three scoring systems. The Youden index was also obtained. The best cut-off point in each scoring system was determined by the Youden index. The difference in Youden index was calculated by Z score. A difference was also considered if the probability value was less than 0.05. The area under Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was computed. Then the area under ROC of each scoring system was compared by Z score. There was statistical significance if p was less than 0.05. For prediction of hospital mortality, the best cut-off points are 55 for APACHE III, 17 for APACHE II and 5 for GCS. The correct prediction outcome is 82.4% in APACHE III, 78.4% in APACHE II and 81.9% in the GCS. The Youden index has best cut-off points at 0.68 for APACHE III, 0.59 for APACHE II, and 0.56 for GCS. The area under Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve is 0.90 in the APACHE III, 0.84 in the APACHE II and 0.86 in the GCS. There are no statistical differences among APACHE III and II, and GCS in terms of correct prediction outcome, Youden Index and the area under the ROC curve. Other physiological variables excluding GCS in APACHE III and II (AP III-GCS, AP II-GCS) have less statistical value in the determination of mortality for acute head injury. For the prediction of late mortality, APACHE III and II yield significantly better results in the area under the ROC curve, correct prediction and Youden index than those of GCS. Other physiological variables (AP III-GCS and AP II-GCS) play an important role in the prediction of late mortality in APACHE scores. For prediction of the functional outcome of surviving patients with acute head injury, the APACHE III yields the best results of correct prediction outcome, Youden index and the area under the ROC curve. Conclusion: The APACHE III and II may not replace the role of GCS in cases of acute head injury for hospital or early mortality assessment. But for prediction of the late mortality, the APACHE III and II have better accuracy than GCS. Other physiological variables excluding GCS in the APACHE system play a crucial contribution for late mortality. GCS is simple, less time-consuming and economical for patients with acute head injury for the prediction of hospital and early mortality. The APACHE III provides better prediction for severe morbidity than GCS and APACHE II. Therefore, the APACHE III provides a good assessment not only for hospital and late mortality, but also for functional outcome.