Library

Notes: A method is presented to calculate two-dimensional defect distributions induced by ion implantation through openings in a masking layer. It is shown that a realistic description of this model requires depth-dependent lateral standard deviations to describe the dopant and the damage point response functions. Further refinements of the theory include arbitrary shapes for the mask edges and different materials in the masking layer and in the substrate. Cross-sectional electron microscopy observations have been carried out to visualize the two-dimensional extension of amorphous layers created by As implantation in silicon for different mask edge angles. It is shown that the theory fits well the cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy observations. More generally, this study shows that for abrupt mask edges, the lateral extension of the two-dimensional defect profile beneath the mask edge is directly governed by scattering of the ions and of the subsequent recoil atoms and, as a direct consequence, by the lateral standard deviation of the damage point response function. For tapered mask edges, however, the contribution of ions that pass through the mask edge region before damaging the substrate may be very high with respect to scattering effects.

Notes: The ohmic transport of holes in p-type Al-doped 4H–SiC samples is investigated using a Monte Carlo tool based on a full-potential band structure. The temperature and doping dependence of the hole mobility and its anisotropy are calculated and discussed from a physical point of view, where we stress the importance of considering two-band conduction. Acoustic and optical phonon scattering, as well as ionized and neutral impurity scattering, have been considered. The Monte Carlo program also considers incomplete ionization of impurity atoms compatible with an Al ionization energy of 0.2 eV. © 2002 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: GaAs at the ZnSe/GaAs and GaAs/GaAs interfaces of ZnSe/GaAs/GaAs heterostructures is studied by phase selective photoreflectance (PR) spectroscopy. Four samples with ZnSe layers of various thickness were examined. We unambiguously determined the origin of two different features observed in the PR spectra by combining in phase and out of phase measurements, with PR measurements employing excitation lasers with different wavelengths. These two features are found to originate at different regions of the heterostructure. One contributing transition is a bulk-like signal, resembling that of bare GaAs, which originates in a region that encompasses the buffer layer/substrate GaAs homointerface. A second contributing signal is attributed to a strained region adjacent to the ZnSe/GaAs heterointerface. Both this second signal and the bulk-like signal show Franz–Keldysh oscillations that allow us to determine the electric field strength at the ZnSe/GaAs and GaAs/GaAs interfaces. It is found that the electric field strength at the heterointerface is larger than that of the homointerface. Reflectance difference measurements further support the existence of two spatially separated GaAs regions, which produce two independent overlapping optical modulated signals in the ZnSe/GaAs/GaAs heterostructures. © 1999 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: We report on the measurement of the linear electro-optic (LEO) reflectance spectrum of CdTe (001) in an energy range around the E1 and E1+Δ1 interband transitions. This spectrum shows a sharp peak localized in energy around E1 and a second shorter peak around E1+Δ1. We show that the theoretical model developed in an earlier article for the LEO line shape of GaAs (001) gives an accurate description of the experimental LEO CdTe spectrum as well. This model includes two contributions to the LEO line shape, a first one proportional to the normalized energy derivative of the reflectance spectrum and a second one associated to the sample reflectance. The large spin-orbit splitting energy of CdTe, (Δ1(approximate)0.6 eV) allows for a neat separation of the contributions to the LEO spectrum of the E1 and E1+Δ1 critical points, providing a critical test for the LEO line shape model. From the fitting we obtain d′/d=1.5 for the conduction band to valence band deformation potential ratio and E2=9.1 eV for the interband deformation potential in the Brooks notation. © 1999 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: Naegleria fowleri cells, grown axenically, contain high levels of β-D-glucosidase which catalyzes the hydrolysis of 4-methylumbelliferyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (4MUGlc) (Km, 0.9 mM), octyl-β-D-glucoside (Km, 0.17 mM), and p-nitrophenyl-β-D-glucopyranoside at relative rates of 1.00, 2.88, and 1.16, respectively (substrate concentration, 3.0 mM). When the amebae are subjected to freeze-thawing, sonication, and centrifugation (100,000 g, 1 h), 85% of the β-glucosidase activity appears in the supernatant fraction. The β-glucosidase was purified 40-fold (34% yield) using a combination of chromatographic steps involving DE-52 cellulose, concanavalin A-Sepharose, and hydroxylapatite followed by isoelectric focusing. The predominant soluble β-D-galactosidase activity in the Naegleria extract copurifies with the β-D-glucosidase; the two activities have the same isoelectric point (pI, 6.9), similar heat stabilities, are both inhibited by lactobionic acid (Ki, 0.40 mM), and exhibit optima at pH 4.5, indicating that they are probably the same enzyme. The Naegleriaβ-D-glucosidase has an apparent molecular weight of 66,000, a Stokes radius of 25 Å, and a sedimentation coefficient of 4.2S. The β-glucosidase is not inhibited by conduritol β-epoxide or galactosylsphingosine but is completely inhibited by 1.25 mM bromo conduritol β-epoxide. The latter compound, when present in the growth medium, inhibits the growth of the organism and profoundly alters its ultrastructure, the main effect being the apparent inhibition of cytokinesis and the generation of multinucleate cells. The issue of the role of the β-glucosidase in the metabolism of the ameba and its possible role in pathogenic mechanisms are discussed.

Notes: . Extracts of the pathogenic ameba Naegleria fowleri, prepared by freeze-thawing and sonication, were analyzed for their content of various hydrolytic enzymes that have acid pH optima. The organism is rich in acid phosphatase activity as well as a variety of glycosidases which include β-glucosidase, β-galactosidase, β-fucosidase, α-mannosidase, hexosaminidase, arylsulfatase A, and β-glucuronidase. The crude extract contained only negligible levels of sphingomyelinase, neuraminidase, or arylsulfatase B. All of the hydrolases exhibited higher activity at pH 5.5 than at 7.0, indicating that they are truly “acid” hydrolases. In general, after centrifugation (100,000 g, 1 h), except for arylsulfatase B, more than half of the activity of each of the various hydrolases was recovered in the supernatant fraction. The acid phosphatase in the high-speed supernatant was purified 45-fold (32% yield) by chromatography on QAE-Sephadex and Sephadex G-200 and shown to have the following properties: 1) pH optima, 5.5; 2) Km (4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate), 0.60 mM; 3) molecular weight (estimated by gel filtration chromatography), 92,000; 4) inhibited by heteropolymolybdate complexes but not by L(+) sodium tartrate (0.5 mM) or sodium fluoride (0.5 mM). In addition, unlike the tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase of Leishmania donovani, the major acid phosphatase of N. fowleri is less than 5% as effective in inhibiting superoxide anion production by f-Met-Leu-Phe-stimulated human neutrophils. The finding of high levels of a number of acid hydrolases in Naegleria fowleri raises several questions that merit further study: Do the hydrolases perform a housekeeping function in this single cell eukaryote or do they play some role in the pathogenic process that ensues when the organism infects a suitable host?

Notes: . We recently reported the isolation of a leptomyxid ameba from the brain of a mandrill baboon that died of meningo-encephalitis. Based on light and electron microscopic studies, animal pathogenicity tests, and immunofluorescence patterns, we conclude that our isolate differs fundamentally from the other two amebas (Leptomyxa and Gephyramoeba) included in the Order Leptomyxida. We therefore created a new genus, Balamuthia, to accommodate our isolate and described it as Balamuthia mandrillaris to reflect the origin of the type species. Briefly, B. mandrillaris is a pathogenic ameba that causes amebic encephalitis in humans and animals. It has trophic and cyst stages in its life cycle, and is uninucleate with a large vesicular nucleus and a central nucleolus. Mature cysts have a tripartite wall consisting of an outer loose ectocyst, an inner endocyst and a middle mesocyst. Unlike Acanthamoeba and Naegleria, the other two amebas that cause amebic encephalitis in humans, Balamuthia will not grow on agar plates seeded with enteric bacteria. However, Balamuthia grows on a variety of mammalian cell cultures and kills mice following intranasal or intraperitoneal inoculation. Based on immunofluorescence testing, 35 cases of amebic encephalitis in humans and three in other animals have been identified worldwide as being caused by Balamuthia.

Notes: Proteus syndrome (PS) is a complex hamartomatous disorder defined by local overgrowth (macrodactyly or hemihypertrophy), subcutaneous tumours and various bone, cutaneous and/or vascular anomalies (VA). VA are manifold in PS, but their prevalence is unknown so far. In order to further characterize PS, we studied the prevalence of VA in 22 PS patients presenting to our outpatient clinic and reviewed 100 PS patients previously reported between 1983 and 2001. The diagnosis of vascular abnormalities was made on clinical grounds and supported with imaging studies and/or histology in 12 and seven patients out of 22, respectively. Thirty-five VA were identified in 22/22 (100%) of our patients, and more than one type of VA were present in 10 of them. Vascular tumours, portwine stains (PWS), and venous anomalies (varicosities, prominent veins) were equally common. A total of 118 VA were previously reported in 70/100 (70%) PS patients; vascular hamartomas were more prevalent (56/118 = 47.5%), whilst PWS (21.2%) and venous anomalies (22.9%) were slightly less common than in our series, but there is the possibility of under-reporting. Unlike Klippel–Trenaunay syndrome, where VA are mostly confined to the hypertrophic limb, major arteriovenous anomalies are rare, and – similar to the other hamartomas and naevi observed in PS (pigmentary naevi, epidermal naevi, subcutaneous tumours, exostoses) − VA appear to be distributed at random sites on the body. We conclude that VA are among the most common findings in PS. Their varying type and distribution lend further support to the concept of somatic mosaicism.

Notes: The effect of the proportion of Calluna vulgaris cover on diet composition, intake and performance of sheep grazing hill vegetation communities in northern Spain is examined. A total of 591 non-lactating Gallega ewes grazed for five consecutive grazing seasons (June to September) on replicated plots of hill pastures (1700 m.a.s.l.) composed principally of Festuca, Agrostis, Nardus and Calluna spp. but with different proportions of Calluna vulgaris cover, either 0·3 (C0·3) or 0·7 (C0·7) of the total area. In 1 year, twenty-eight ewes suckling single lambs also grazed the plots. The mean stocking density over the 5 years was 8·7 ewes ha–1. On treatment C0·3, daily liveweight gains (33 g d–1) of non-lactating ewes were significantly (P 〈 0·001) greater than on treatment C0·7 (12 g d–1). Likewise in lactating ewes the difference in mean daily liveweight change was 40 g d–1 (–5 vs. –45 g d–1 for C0·3 and C0·7 treatments respectively; P 〈 0·001). Liveweight gains of lambs were only 80–100 g d–1 from June to August and lambs only maintained live weight during August and September. The effect of lactational status on liveweight changes was not significant. Liveweight gains of non-lactating ewes increased significantly (P 〈 0·001) from the first to the last year of the experiment on both treatments.The composition of the diet was significantly affected by treatment (P 〈 0·001), with a higher proportion of grass species on the C0·3 treatment and a higher digestibility of the diet in the first half of the grazing season (P 〈 0·001). The proportion of C. vulgaris in the diet was significantly (P 〈 0·001) higher on the C0·7 treatment and increased significantly (P 〈 0·001) from July to September on both treatments. There were no significant differences in the composition of the diet selected by lactating and non-lactating ewes.The results demonstrate that on hill vegetation communities, in which the grass components (Festuca rubra, Agrostis capillaris, and Nardus stricta) cover at least 0·3 of the area and on which the preferred grass component (Festuca and Agrostis spp.) is maintained at a sward height of at least 2·5 cm, non-lactating ewes can increase their live weight and body condition, but this increase is influenced by the proportion and quantity of species of grass in the diet, which is affected in turn by the species of grass available and their nutritive quality. However, ewes suckling lambs were not able to maintain their live weight and body condition except when Calluna cover was 0·3 and grass height was more than 3·5 cm.It is concluded that these indigenous vegetation communities can be used in sheep production systems to complement the use of improved pastures at other times of year. In particular, they can be utilized during the non-lactating period (summer) to increase body condition before the beginning of the mating period in autumn.