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We report results from a reanalysis of data from the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory. Data taken between October 2006 and September 2008 using eight germanium detectors are reanalyzed with a lowered, 2 keV recoil-energy threshold, to give increased sensitivity to interactions from weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with masses below 10 GeV/c2. This analysis provides stronger constraints than previous CDMS II results for WIMP masses below 9 GeV/c2 and excludes parameter space associated with possible low-mass WIMP signals from the DAMA/LIBRA and CoGeNT experiments.

The formation and growth of self-assembled octadecylsiloxane monolayers on native silicon and mica substrates have been studied using atomic force microscopy, ellipsometry, and infrared spectroscopy. Submonolayer ODS films of varying surface coverages were prepared by immersing the substrates into dilute solutions of octadecyltrichlorosilane in toluene for different periods of time, and the submonolayer film structures were compared between mica and silicon substrates for different water contents of the adsorbate solutions and for different time delays between solution preparation and substrate immersion (solution age). It was found that, in general, both a continuous growth (formation of disordered, liquidlike submonolayers) and an island-type growth (formation of organized assemblies with vertically aligned hydrocarbon chains) are involved in the formation of ODS monolayers, whereby the relative contributions depend strongly on the solution properties. With increasing water content or increasing age of the adsorbate solution, island-type growth is strongly favored on both silicon and mica surfaces, which indicates the kinetically controlled formation of larger, preordered aggregates of silanol molecules as the primary hydrolysis products in solution. For identical conditions of film preparation, both the degree of structural order in the submonolayer films and the overall adsorption rate was found to be higher on mica in comparison to silicon. The higher structural order was interpreted as a consequence of the lower hydroxyl group concentration and a correspondingly enhanced surface diffusion rate of weakly bound film molecules on a mica substrate. The enhanced adsorption rate, on the other hand, points to some additional activation of a mica surface with respect to silanol adsorption, which might be related to its ionic composition containing mobile surface charges in contrast to the covalent, neutral character of a native silicon surface.

The following article appeared in Applied Physics Letters 103.16 (2013): 164105 and may be found at http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/apl/100/26/10.1063/1.4729825The SuperCDMS experiment in the Soudan Underground Laboratory searches for dark matter with a 9-kg array of cryogenic germanium detectors. Symmetric sensors on opposite sides measure both charge and phonons from each particle interaction, providing excellent discrimination between electron and nuclear recoils, and between surface and interior events. Surface event rejection capabilities were tested with two 210 Pb sources producing ∼130 beta decays/hr. In ∼800 live hours, no events leaked into the 8–115 keV signal region, giving upper limit leakage fraction 1.7 × 10−5 at 90% C.L., corresponding to < 0.6 surface event background in the future 200-kg SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment.This work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation (Grant Nos. AST-9978911, NSF-0847342, PHY-1102795,NSF-1151869, PHY-0542066, PHY-0503729, PHY-0503629, PHY-0503641, PHY-0504224, PHY-0705052,PHY-0801708, PHY-0801712, PHY-0802575, PHY-0847342, PHY-0855299, PHY-0855525, and PHY-1205898), by the Department of Energy (Contract Nos. DE-AC03-76SF00098, DE-FG02-92ER40701, DE-FG02-94ER40823,DE-FG03-90ER40569, DE-FG03-91ER40618, and DESC0004022),by NSERC Canada (Grant Nos. SAPIN 341314 and SAPPJ 386399), and by MULTIDARK CSD2009-00064 and FPA2012-34694. Fermilab is operated by Fermi Research Alliance, LLC under Contract No. De-AC02-07CH11359, while SLAC is operated under Contract No. DE-AC02-76SF00515 with the United States Department of Energy

Experimental results that provide new insights into nanomanipulation phenomena are presented. Reliable and accurate positioning of colloidal nanoparticles on a surface is achieved by pushing them with the tip of an atomic force microscope under control of software that compensates for instrument errors. Mechanical pushing operations can be monitored in real time by acquiring simultaneously the cantilever deflection and the feedback signal (cantilever non-contact vibration amplitude). Understanding of the underlying phenomena and real-time monitoring of the operations are important for the design of strategies and control software to manipulate nanoparticles automatically. Manipulation by pushing can be accomplished in a variety of environments and materials. The resulting patterns of nanoparticles have many potential applications, from high-density data storage to single-electron electronics, and prototyping and fabrication of nanoelectromechanical systems.

Hydroxylamine-seeding of colloidal gold particles has been used to fabricate gold nanostructures on a SiO2 substrate. Gold nanoparticles (15 nm diameter) were randomly deposited on a SiO2 surface that had been modified with aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTS). The nanoparticles were then manipulated using a scanning force microscope (SFM) tip to produce 1-D templates for gold deposition. We demonstrate the utility of this approach by fabricating a gold nanowire by using 13 nanoparticles as a template. The junction between joined (coated) particles was examined by mechanical manipulation, and homogeneous deposition was shown to form stable structures. This approach was also used to fabricate nanostructures in a small gap between two gold electrodes. Particles were pushed into the gap, and then gold deposition was used to "connect" the particles and electrodes. Although the particular structure tested was not electrically connected to the electrode, we suggest that this approach will be useful in tackling the difficult problems associated with electrically connecting nano-to microscale structures.

SUMMARYLacosamide (Vimpat) is a newly licensed novel antiepileptic drug. We report a case of refractory convulsive status epilepticus (CSE) that was successfully controlled with lacosamide. The 38-year-old male patient was admitted for a series of complex partial seizures with secondary generalization leading to refractory CSE. During the transport to the hospital the patient was given 22.5 mg diazepam, 12.5 mg etomidate, and 5 mg midazolam without success. An additional dose of 4 mg lorazepam and a dose of 1,500 mg levetiracetam after admission were yet without clinical effect. A further treatment with lacosamide (300 mg via percutaneous gastric fistula) resulted in complete clinical remission of the epileptic activity within 30 min. The application of lacosamide resulted in cessation of CSE and was well tolerated. To our knowledge, this is the first case of successful treatment of refractory CSE with lacosamide. Further studies are needed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of lacosamide in treatment of SE. KEY WORDS: Convulsive status epilepticus, Refractory convulsive status epilepticus, Lacosamide.Status epilepticus (SE), consisting of convulsive type (CSE) and nonconvulsive type (NCSE), is a clinical emergency and a potentially life-threatening condition. The incidence of SE in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and in the white U.S. population has been reported to be 10-20/ 100,000, which is even higher in the developing countries, especially in the children and older age group (Jallon et al., 1999;Coeytaux et al., 2000;Knake et al., 2001;Wu et al., 2002;Vignatelli et al., 2005;DeLorenzo, 2006). The reported mortality varies from 1.9-40% (Rosenow et al., 2007). CSE is the most often encountered type in clinical practice and needs to be interrupted rapidly to avoid death and neurologic sequelae. Refractory CSE (RCSE) is defined as SE not responding to the first and second treatment effort. It is associated with prolonged intensive care and a poor outcome.Therefore, more effective substances and treatment strategies for SE are needed. Lacosamide (Vimpat) is a novel antiepileptic substance recently licensed for adjunctive therapy for partial-onset seizures. Herein we report the first clinical case of successful treatment of RSCE with lacosamide. Methods and ResultsA 38-year-old male patient had epileptic seizures due to perinatal hypoxia with resulting infantile cerebral palsy. The seizure semiology was as follows: sudden simple partial seizures with versive movement of the head to the left, myoclonic jerks of the left extremities, followed by complex partial seizures with disturbance of consciousness, and, most often, secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures. The mean seizure frequency was around 5-7 per month with duration of 2-3 min. The antiepileptic regimen prior to admission was levetiracetam 2 · 1,500 mg (serum concentration 68 lmol/L), clonazepam 2 mg, and topiramate 200 mg (serum concentration 10 mg/ml). The patient was severely physically disabled with spastic tetrapareses, and a percutaneous gastri...

Manipulation of nanoparticles with the scanning force microscope (SFM) has been limited until now to clearing areas on a surface or to moving single particles sequentially to create two-dimensional patterns. The research reported here uses a previously described setup for nanomanipulation with the SFM to (i) build a simple three-dimensional pyramidal structure by pushing a nanoparticle on top of two others and (ii) rotate and translate a linked two-particle structure. The experiments are conducted in air and at room temperature with gold nanoparticles deposited on silicon previously coated with a silane layer.