Ultralow-dielectric-constant amorphous boron nitride.

Decrease in processing speed due to increased resistance and capacitance delay is a major obstacle for the down-scaling of electronics1-3. Minimizing the dimensions of interconnects (metal wires that connect different electronic components on a chip) is crucial for the miniaturization of devices. Interconnects are isolated from each other by non-conducting (dielectric) layers. So far, research has mostly focused on decreasing the resistance of scaled interconnects because integration of dielectrics using low-temperature deposition processes compatible with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductors is technically challenging. Interconnect isolation materials must have low relative dielectric constants (κ values), serve as diffusion barriers against the migration of metal into semiconductors, and be thermally, chemically and mechanically stable. Specifically, the International Roadmap for Devices and Systems recommends4 the development of dielectrics with κ values of less than 2 by 2028. Existing low-κ materials (such as silicon oxide derivatives, organic compounds and aerogels) have κ values greater than 2 and poor thermo-mechanical properties5. Here we report three-nanometre-thick amorphous boron nitride films with ultralow κ values of 1.78 and 1.16 (close to that of air, κ = 1) at operation frequencies of 100 kilohertz and 1 megahertz, respectively. The films are mechanically and electrically robust, with a breakdown strength of 7.3 megavolts per centimetre, which exceeds requirements. Cross-sectional imaging reveals that amorphous boron nitride prevents the diffusion of cobalt atoms into silicon under very harsh conditions, in contrast to reference barriers. Our results demonstrate that amorphous boron nitride has excellent low-κ dielectric characteristics for high-performance electronics.

Instrumentation Failure after Partial Corpectomy with Instrumentation of a Metastatic Spine.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the perioperative factors associated with instrument failure in patients undergoing a partial corpectomy with instrumentation (PCI) for spinal metastasis. METHODS: We assessed the one hundred twenty-four patients with who underwent PCI for a metastatic spine from 1987 to 2011. Outcome measure was the risk factor related to implantation failure. The preoperative factors analyzed were age, sex, ambulation, American Spinal Injury Association grade, bone mineral density, use of steroid, primary tumor site, number of vertebrae with metastasis, extra-bone metastasis, preoperative adjuvant chemotherapy, and preoperative spinal radiotherapy. The intraoperative factors were the number of fixed vertebrae, fixation in osteolytic vertebrae, bone grafting, and type of surgical approach. The postoperative factors included postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and spinal radiotherapy. This study was supported by the National Research Foundation grant funded by government. There were no study-specific biases related to conflicts of interest. RESULTS: There were 15 instrumentation failures (15/124, 12.1%). Preoperative ambulatory status and primary tumor site were not significantly related to the development of implant failure. There were no significant associations between insertion of a bone graft into the partial corpectomy site and instrumentation failure. The preoperative and operative factors analyzed were not significantly related to instrumentation failure. In univariable and multivariable analyses, postoperative spinal radiotherapy was the only significant variable related to instrumentation failure (p=0.049 and 0.050, respectively). CONCLUSION: When performing PCI in patients with spinal metastasis followed by postoperative spinal radiotherapy, the surgeon may consider the possibility of instrumentation failure and find other strategies for augmentation than the use of a bone graft for fusion.

Effects of Phellinus linteus administration on serotonin synthesis in the brain and expression of monocarboxylate transporters in the muscle during exhaustive exercise in rats.

This study was conducted to determine the effects of Phellinus linteus (PL) on serotonin synthesis in the brain and on the expression of monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) in muscles during exhaustive exercise in rats. In this study, 60 male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into the following 6 groups: control; exercise; exercise and 50 mg/kg of PL treatment; exercise and 100 of mg/kg PL treatment; exercise and 200 mg/kg of PL treatment; and exercise and 100 mg/kg of caffeine treatment. Treatment with 200 mg/kg of PL led to a significant increase in the time to exhaustion in response to running on a treadmill and a significant decrease in 5-hydroxytryptamine synthesis and tryptophan hydroxylase expression in the dorsal raphe of rats. MCT1 and MCT4 expression of the gastrocnemius muscles was also increased in response to treatment with 200 mg/kg of PL. The results of the present study demonstrated that the administration of PL increased endurance exercise performance through inhibition of serotonin production in the brain and increased the expression of MCT1 and MCT4 in muscles. These results suggest that PL exerts an ergogenic effect.

Effects of acupuncture on abdominal leak point pressure and c-Fos expression in the brain of rats with stress urinary incontinence.

Stress urinary incontinence leads to the involuntary loss of urine during abdominal strain caused by sneezing, laughing, and coughing. Acupuncture has been widely used for the treatment and prevention of a variety of diseases in traditional medicine. Acupuncture has also been used to relieve the symptoms of functional disorders of the lower urinary tract. In the present study, we investigated the effect of acupuncture at the Sanyinjiao (SP6) acupoint on stress urinary incontinence in rats. The present results showed that abdominal leak point pressure was decreased in rats with stress urinary incontinence, while acupuncture at the SP6 acupoint significantly enhanced the abdominal leak point pressure. The expression of c-Fos in the pontine micturition center (PMC), ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG), and medial preoptic nucleus (MPA) regions was increased by the induction of stress urinary incontinence, and acupuncture at the SP6 acupoint significantly decreased c-Fos expression in these areas. In the present study, we showed that acupuncture has therapeutic effect on the symptoms of stress urinary incontinence, and this effect of acupuncture is associated with modulation of c-Fos expression in the brain.

Functional study of hot pepper 26S proteasome subunit RPN7 induced by Tobacco mosaic virus from nuclear proteome analysis.

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) was applied for the screening of Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV)-induced hot pepper (Capsicum annuum cv. Bugang) nuclear proteins. From differentially expressed protein spots, we acquired the matched peptide mass fingerprint (PMF) data, analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS, from the non-redundant hot pepper EST protein FASTA database using the VEMS 2.0 software. Among six identified nuclear proteins, the hot pepper 26S proteasome subunit RPN7 (CaRPN7) was subjected to further study. The level of CaRPN7 mRNA was specifically increased during incompatible TMV-P(0) interaction, but not during compatible TMV-P(1.2) interaction. When CaRPN7::GFP fusion protein was targeted in onion cells, the nuclei had been broken into pieces. In the hot pepper leaves, cell death was exacerbated and genomic DNA laddering was induced by Agrobacterium-mediated transient overexpression of CaPRN7. Thus, this report presents that the TMV-induced CaRPN7 may be involved in programmed cell death (PCD) in the hot pepper plant.

A hot pepper cDNA encoding ascorbate peroxidase is induced during the incompatible interaction with virus and bacteria.

Capsicum annuum L. is infected by a number of viruses, including the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). To study the defense-related genes that are induced by TMV in hot peppers, the pepper plant, which is susceptible to P1.2 but resistant to the P0 pathotype of TMV, was inoculated with TMV-P0. Differential screening isolated the genes that were specifically up- or down-regulated during the hypersensitive response (HR). The CaAPX1 cDNA clone that putatively encodes a polypeptide of cytosolic ascorbate peroxidase was selected as an up-regulated gene. It was isolated for further study. The full-length cDNA for CaAPX1, which is 972 bp long, contained the open-reading frame of 250-amino acid residues. A genomic Southern blot analysis showed that there were only limited copies of the CaAPX1 gene in the hot pepper genome. In hot pepper cv. Bugang, which is resistant to TMV-P0 and susceptible to TMV-P1.2, the CaAPX1 gene transcript was accumulated by TMV-P0, but not by TMV-P1.2 inoculation. CaAPX1 transcripts began to accumulate 24 h post-inoculation of TMV-P0, and increased gradually until 96 h. To investigate whether each transcript is induced by other stimuli, the plants were treated with various chemicals and wounding. A striking induction of the CaAPX1 transcript was observed at 2 h. It subsided 12 h after salicylic acid (SA), ethephon, and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) treatments. The response of the gene upon other pathogen infection was also examined by a bacterial pathogen (Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria race 3) inoculation. The CaAPX1 gene was induced in a hot pepper (C. annuum cv. ECW 20R) that was resistant to this bacterial pathogen, but not in a susceptible hot pepper (C. annuum cv. ECW). These results suggest the possible role(s) for the CaAPX1 gene in plant defense against viral and bacterial pathogen.