Formation of 7-nm-wide Line&Spaces in Half Pitch by 3 Dimensional Self-assembly of Nano-dots Using Sphere Type PS-PDMS

We have formed nanometer-wide lines & spaces by graphoepitaxy of sphere type polystyrene-poly dimethyl siloxane (PS-PDMS), with a molecular weight (MW) of 14.6 kg/mol., along electron-beam (EB)-drawn resist guide lines. We have 3-dimensionally ordered the sphere type PS-PDMS by controlling a thickness of the PS-PDMS along improved guide lines to form the line and space pattern. We obtained the thickness dependence on the pattern change such as nano-dot arrays and nano-line & space patterns. When the thickness increased to about +4 nm from the upper thickness for formation of the dot arrays, the line & space patterns have been formed with about 7 nm in line width and 14 nm in pitch.

Protein–Protein Connections—Oligomer, Amyloid and Protein Complex—By Wide Line 1H NMR

The amount of bonds between constituting parts of a protein aggregate were determined in wild type (WT) and A53T α-synuclein (αS) oligomers, amyloids and in the complex of thymosin-β4–cytoplasmic domain of stabilin-2 (Tβ4-stabilin CTD). A53T αS aggregates have more extensive βsheet contents reflected by constant regions at low potential barriers in difference (to monomers) melting diagrams (MDs). Energies of the intermolecular interactions and of secondary structures bonds, formed during polymerization, fall into the 5.41 kJ mol−1 ≤ Ea ≤ 5.77 kJ mol−1 range for αS aggregates. Monomers lose more mobile hydration water while forming amyloids than oligomers. Part of the strong mobile hydration water–protein bonds break off and these bonding sites of the protein form intermolecular bonds in the aggregates. The new bonds connect the constituting proteins into aggregates. Amyloid–oligomer difference MD showed an overall more homogeneous solvent accessible surface of A53T αS amyloids. From the comparison of the nominal sum of the MDs of the constituting proteins to the measured MD of the Tβ4-stabilin CTD complex, the number of intermolecular bonds connecting constituent proteins into complex is 20(1) H2O/complex. The energies of these bonds are in the 5.40(3) kJ mol−1 ≤ Ea ≤ 5.70(5) kJ mol−1 range.

New Aspects of Socioeconomic Assessment of the Railway Infrastructure Project Life Cycle

The paper deals with the issue of evaluation of socioeconomic impacts of occurrences emerging from railway infrastructure. The presented research results form part of a broader research subject focusing on the evaluation of the socioeconomic benefits of projects for the implementation of measures aimed at increasing the safety and reliability of railway infrastructure. The research topic addresses a part of the evaluation of railway infrastructure project efficiency within its life cycle using the cost–benefit analysis method. The methodology is based on the description and definition of input variables that are essential for the process of evaluating socioeconomic impacts. It is followed by another important step, which is the analysis of the categories and the number of occurrences, separately, for regional and national lines, and, further, the data is sorted according to whether occurrences emerge at stations or on a wide line. The result of the presented research is an overview of the calculated values of the expected socioeconomic impacts of partial occurrences according to the categories related to the year of operation on the railway infrastructure and the unit of measure. The research team carried out an inquiry into the annual impacts of the subcategories of occurrences related to one railway station and one kilometer of wide line, e.g., for national lines, the impacts of €2922.72/station/year and €41.67/km of wide line/year were determined. The results of the presented research represent important and necessary inputs for the next phase of the research topic, i.e., the evaluation of the socioeconomic benefits of projects increasing the safety and reliability of railway infrastructure.

SOWING MECHANIZATION OF DRESSED FOREST SEEDS

Production of forest planting material includes many technological processes that subsequently provide the output of the final product. One of the main processes is mechanized sowing. The choice of technology and technical tools for sowing forest seeds is formed on the basis of analytical information about the type of plot, soil structure, methods of preparing and sowing seeds in science and practice of artificial reforestation. The basis for research is the need to find the optimal design of the prototype seeder for the mechanized sowing of dressed seeds that meet the requirements of low energy consumption and increased environmental safety. Systematic and patent search has been used as a research method, providing high-quality and balanced selection of relevant papers. It has been established that the use of one or another technological process of mechanized sowing of dressed seeds in the cost structure for artificial reforestation should be developed depending on the geomorphology of the recovered area, structure, stoniness, soil moisture, soil preparation methods and seed sowing methods. It has been established that the most effective placement during sowing will be a wide-line, strictly parallel at the bottom of the grooves, in which dressed seeds come into tight contact with compacted soil, which is constantly wet due to capillary water, and the returned upper layer plays the role of mulch preventing evaporation moisture. Therefore, optimal conditions are created for seed germination and seedling development. Nevertheless, in the future it is necessary to answer the following questions: how agreed are the opinions of scientists on the feasibility of using ground mechanized seeding? What are a priori the main criteria affecting the effectiveness of the parameters for the precise sowing of dressed seeds?

Human transposon insertion profiling by sequencing (TIPseq) to map LINE-1 insertions in single cells

Long interspersed element-1 (LINE-1, L1) sequences, which comprise about 17% of human genome, are the product of one of the most active types of mobile DNAs in modern humans. LINE-1 insertion alleles can cause inherited and de novo genetic diseases, and LINE-1-encoded proteins are highly expressed in some cancers. Genome-wide LINE-1 mapping in single cells could be useful for defining somatic and germline retrotransposition rates, and for enabling studies to characterize tumour heterogeneity, relate insertions to transcriptional and epigenetic effects at the cellular level, or describe cellular phylogenies in development. Our laboratories have reported a genome-wide LINE-1 insertion site mapping method for bulk DNA, named transposon insertion profiling by sequencing (TIPseq). There have been significant barriers applying LINE-1 mapping to single cells, owing to the chimeric artefacts and features of repetitive sequences. Here, we optimize a modified TIPseq protocol and show its utility for LINE-1 mapping in single lymphoblastoid cells. Results from single-cell TIPseq experiments compare well to known LINE-1 insertions found by whole-genome sequencing and TIPseq on bulk DNA. Among the several approaches we tested, whole-genome amplification by multiple displacement amplification followed by restriction enzyme digestion, vectorette ligation and LINE-1-targeted PCR had the best assay performance. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Crossroads between transposons and gene regulation’.

Self-aligned Copper Oxide Passivation Layer – A Study on the Reliability Effect

The reliability of the plasma etched copper lines with the self-aligned copper oxide passivation layer has been studied with the electromigration stress method. The oxide passivation layer was prepared by plasma oxidation, which covers the entire exposed copper line to prevent the surface oxidation under the ambient condition. The void formation and growth process reflect the line broken mechanism. Voids formed from grain boundary depletion and grain thinning were monitored by optical microscopes. The line failure times with respect to line width and current density were measured. The addition of the oxide passivation layer shortened the lifetime due to the poor heat transfer and copper diffusion, which accelerated the formation and growth of the voids. The narrow line has a longer lifetime than the wide line because of the fewer grain boundaries for flux divergence to form voids. The copper oxide passivation layer was formed self-aligned to the copper line. It also gettered copper atoms diffused from the bulk copper film.

High-Speed Transmission Circuits Signaling in Optical Communication Systems

This paper has outlined high-speed transmission circuits signaling in guided or unguided optical communication systems. An efficient prediction scheme to predict the signal distortion caused by intersymbol interference. As high-speed digital signals exceed many gigabits per second speeds, eye diagrams provide the means to quickly and accurately measure signal quality and system performance. Semiconductor understands the capacitance constraints that designers are faced with when using these high-speed interfaces and offers a wide line of ultra-low capacitance electrical spectral density protection devices that service these interfaces, and the noise can be reduced at the optimum circuit at both bandwidths of 167 MHz, and bandwidth of 200 MHz.

Micro Fabrication of Au Thin-Film by Transfer-Printing Using Atomic Diffusion Bonding

Transfer printing of a thin film is a great candidate technique for micro/nanofabrication for microelectromechanical system (MEMS) elements. The authors propose a technique to apply atomic diffusion bonding to transfer printing of a gold (Au) thin film. When a substrate is previously coated with Au thin film as an adhesive, another Au thin film can be transfer-printed from a h-PDMS stamp to the substrate. It enables 50 μm-wide line patterns of the Au thin film located on the Au-coated Si substrate, whereas the Au thin film cannot be transfer-printed on a bare (uncoated) Si surface. The interface between two Au thin films disappears after transfer printing; hence, the Au atoms can interdiffuse from one to another to make a strong bonding. This process can be performed with a soft contact without any pressure in atmospheric and vacuum conditions. In the case of Au, the atoms can interdiffuse around a contacted area at room temperature. Moreover, one can make 50 μm-wide line patterns by 1 min of transfer printing and that of 24 h. The proposed process makes the line patterns of the Au thin film transfer-printed to be a bridged microbeam over the grooves when a prestructured (grooved) substrate is prepared.