The primary candidate for the barrier/etch stop layer in damascene process is silicon nitride. However, silicon nitride has a high dielectric constant. To reduce the effective dielectric constant in the copper damascene structure, silicon carbide, which is prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) using 3 methyl silane source (Z3MS), is studied for the dielectric copper diffusion barrier. The dielectric constant of PECVD α-SiC:H is varied from 4.0 to 7.0 and the fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra peak intensity ratio of Si-CH 3 bond to Si-C is also examined. The reduction in dielectric constant of α-SiC:H using 3MS gas seems to be related to the decreased density upon incorporation of Si-CH 3 groups. The value of capacitance with α-SiC is 8-10% lower than that with PECVD SiN. The leakage current with α-SiC:H barrier is lower by 1 order of magnitude than that with PECVD SiN barrier.
The aim of study was to evaluate the effects of insulin-like growth factor I
(IGF-I) on canine sperm function during cooled and freeze-thaw storage. Extenders
supplemented with different IGF-I concentrations (0, 100 and 200
ng/ml) were added to canine spermatozoa, and the sperm
samples were stored at 4°C for 48 hr or freeze-thawed. Sperm motility, morphology,
plasma-membrane integrity (PMI) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were evaluated.
IGF-I had no effect on PMI or morphology during cooling and freeze-thawing. However, IGF-I
alleviated the reduction in progressive motility and MMP caused by cooled storage and led
to an improvement in MMP after freeze-thawing. In conclusion, IGF-I can be helpful to
maintain progressive motility of canine spermatozoa during hypothermic storage via
increased MMP.
Simple opumization and growth models are studied numerically and also using analytic arguments to assess the importance of overhanging configurations of the interface and differences between quenched md annealed disorder.
Interleukin (IL)-32θ, a newly identified IL-32 isoform, has been reported to exert pro-inflammatory effects through the association with protein kinase C delta (PKCδ). In this study, we further examined the effects of IL-32θ on IL-13 and IL-13Rα2 expression and the related mechanism in THP-1 cells. Upon stimulating IL-32θ-expressing and non-expressing cells with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), the previous microarray analysis showed that IL-13Rα2 and IL-13 mRNA expression were significantly decreased by IL-32θ. The protein expression of these factors was also confirmed to be down-regulated. The nuclear translocation of transcription factors STAT3 and STAT6, which are necessary for IL-13Rα2 and IL-13 promoter activities, was suppressed by IL-32θ. Additionally, a direct association was found between IL-32θ, PKCδ, and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), but not STAT6, revealing that IL-32θ might act mainly through STAT3 and indirectly affect STAT6. Moreover, the interaction of IL-32θ with STAT3 requires PKCδ, since blocking PKCδ activity eliminated the interaction and consequently limited the inhibitory effect of IL-32θ on STAT3 activity. Interfering with STAT3 or STAT6 binding by decoy oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) identified that IL-32θ had additive effects with the STAT3 decoy ODN to suppress IL-13 and IL-13Rα2 mRNA expression. Taken together, our data demonstrate the intracellular interaction of IL-32θ, PKCδ, and STAT3 to regulate IL-13 and IL-13Rα2 synthesis, supporting the role of IL-32θ as an inflammatory modulator.
We present the discharge characteristics of a rare gas halide mixture in AC-Plasma Display Panels. Studies for excimer gas of plasma display panels are performed using XeF. This excimer gas is investigated as function of its pressure and different discharge condition. In this paper, the real panel using XeF excimer gas is researched for good discharge characteristics and a full-color panel is demonstrated.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.