TH Shift Research Articles

Level of Inclusive Leadership Qualities of a Leader: A Perceptions of the Teachers of Tertiary Institutions in Sindh Pakistan

In this study, teachers' perceptions of leaders' inclusive leadership skills were examined to improve their work performance. This study employed a survey research design of a quantitative approach. A sample of 389 teachers of public universities of Sindh, Pakistan, was drawn through a stratified random sampling technique. This study revealed that the heads could play a fundamental role in teachers' job performance by facilitating need-based intervention based on teachers' capacities and innovative attitudes. However, the study findings suggest a shift in the university's organizational structure by listening openly and being accessible, available in diverse situations. Further, the null hypothesis was accepted that both genders have the same opinions about the level of inclusive leadership qualities and viewed that heads' Inclusive leadership (IL) style can enhance proactive behavior of faculty members. Researchers found the theoretical and practical implications for future studies.

Noncontact characterization of microstructured optical fibers coating in real time.

Functional nanocoatings have allowed hollow-core microstructured optical fibers (HC-MOFs) to be introduced into biosensing and photochemistry applications. However, common film characterization tools cannot evaluate the coating performance in situ. Here we report the all-optical noncontact characterization of the HC-MOF coating in real time. Self-assembled multilayers consisting of inversely charged polyelectrolytes (PEs) are deposited on the HC-MOF core capillary, and a linear spectral shift in the position of the fiber transmission minima with increasing the film thickness is observed as small as ∼1.5-6nm per single PE bilayer. We exemplify the practical performance of our approach by registering an increase in the coating thickness from 6±1 to 11±1nm per PE bilayer with increasing ionic strength in the PE solutions from 0.15 to 0.5 M NaCl. Additionally, we show real-time monitoring of pH-induced coating dissolving. Simplicity and high sensitivity make our approach a promising tool allowing noncontact analysis of the HC-MOF coating which is still challenging for other methods.

Carbon and phosphorus biogeochemical cycles in native forest and horticultural areas in the Metropolitan Region of Curitiba, Brazil

This study was carried out to understand the dynamics of carbon and phosphorus biogeochemical cycles in native forest and horticultural areas. Soilsamples were collected from native forest and horticultural areas, in four municipalities in the Metropolitan Region of Curitiba, Brazil, and evaluated for: carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus of soil microbial biomass (MBC, MBN and MBP, respectively), total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), inorganic phosphorus (iP), organic phosphorus (oP) and available phosphorus (aP. Soil suspensions diluted at 10-4were spread on plates and phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) were counted. The analyses showed that horticultural areas soils accumulated 43% more TP whereas they lost 23% of TOC and 19% of TN comparing to native areas. 69% of TP in the native areas was organic (oP) whereas 59% of TP in the horticultural areas was inorganic (iP). Horticultural areas had lower numbers of colony forming unities of PSB than native areas. PSB was positively correlated with the ratio of MBC to TOC (qMic), which in turn, was negatively correlated with TOC and TN. Changes in the soil P fractions suggested a shift inthe soil community bacterial structure and in the values of soil microbial biomass of the two different soil ecosystems. The excessive P addition may stimulate soil microbial attack to soil organic matter reserves, whichmay have consequences for maintenance of soil quality and agriculture sustainability

Influence of oxygen flow during sputtering process on the electrical properties of Ga-doped InZnSnO thin film transistor

This work presents the electrical properties of amorphous gallium-doped indium zinc tin oxide (Ga-IZTO) thin film transistors (TFTs), as a function of O2 flow rate (Ar/O2), during the sputtering process of the channel layer. As the O2 flow rate increased from 30:0 to 30:7, the saturation mobility ( SAT) monotonically degraded from 31.5 cm2V−1s−1 to 12.0 cm2V−1s−1, the threshold voltage (V TH) shifted from 0.8 V to 6.8 V, and the V TH shift (ΔV TH) induced by the negative bias stress improved from −7.0 V to −2.8 V. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that themicrostructure of all the films is amorphous, which is independent of O2 flow rate. Transmittance spectra reflected that the average transmittance of the thin film is sensitive to the O2 flow rate and decreases as the O2 flow rate increases. XPS analysis revealed that the density of oxygen vacancies is reduced, and the oxygen lattices are enhanced as the O2 flow rate increases. The Hall effect measurements indicated that the carrier concentration (n) was reduced with increasing O2 flow rate. These results show that the electrical properties of Ga-IZTO TFTs can be easily tuned by the O2 flow rate during the sputtering process. The related mechanism for the variations of electrical properties of Ga-IZTO TFT has been discussed in detail.

Investigating the Current Collapse Mechanisms of p-GaN Gate HEMTs by Different Passivation Dielectrics

In this letter, the dynamic R on degradation mechanisms of the p-GaN gate HEMTs induced by off -state stress are investigated with different passivation dielectrics AlON and SiN. The degradation mechanisms are twofold, including V TH shift and surface trapping in the gate-to-drain access region, whose impacts are successfully distinguished. Surface trapping by SiN passivation is evidently proved to be the dominant factor that can almost induce a full current collapse. The V TH positive shift diminishes the drain current by shrinking the overdrive V GS, which however, can be compensated by a higher V GS overdrive in applications. SiN passivation can effectively suppress the positive bias temperature instability effect, probably by passivating the p-GaN fast traps with hydrogen during passivation. Last, the transient measurements unveil that both the surface trapping and V TH shift have a very slow recovery process.

Circulation timescales of Atlantic Water in the Arctic Ocean determined from anthropogenic radionuclides

Abstract. The inflow of Atlantic Water to the Arctic Ocean is a crucial determinant for the future trajectory of this ocean basin with regard to warming, loss of sea ice, and ocean acidification. Yet many details of the fate and circulation of these waters within the Arctic remain unclear. Here, we use the two long-lived anthropogenic radionuclides 129I and 236U together with two age models to constrain the pathways and circulation times of Atlantic Water in the surface (10–35 m depth) and in the mid-depth Atlantic layer (250–800 m depth). We thereby benefit from the unique time-dependent tagging of Atlantic Water by these two isotopes. In the surface layer, a binary mixing model yields tracer ages of Atlantic Water between 9–16 years in the Amundsen Basin, 12–17 years in the Fram Strait (East Greenland Current), and up to 20 years in the Canada Basin, reflecting the pathways of Atlantic Water through the Arctic and their exiting through the Fram Strait. In the mid-depth Atlantic layer (250–800 m), the transit time distribution (TTD) model yields mean ages in the central Arctic ranging between 15 and 55 years, while the mode ages representing the most probable ages of the TTD range between 3 and 30 years. The estimated mean ages are overall in good agreement with previous studies using artificial radionuclides or ventilation tracers. Although we find the overall flow to be dominated by advection, the shift in the mode age towards a younger age compared to the mean age also reflects the presence of a substantial amount of lateral mixing. For applications interested in how fast signals are transported into the Arctic's interior, the mode age appears to be a suitable measure. The short mode ages obtained in this study suggest that changes in the properties of Atlantic Water will quickly spread through the Arctic Ocean and can lead to relatively rapid changes throughout the upper water column in future years.

Phase-preserving NALM regenerator with lower input power by optimizing the nonreciprocal phase shifter

We propose a new nonlinear amplifying loop mirror (NALM)-based phase-preserving amplitude regenerator (so-called NP-NALM) by introducing a nonreciprocal phase shifter to further improve the regeneration performance. The theoretical model of the NP-NALM structure and the amplitude regeneration and phase-preserving conditions are presented. It is shown that the optimal working point power reduces with the increase of the nonreciprocal phase shift in the available range and the first working point power can be as low as 115 mW by optimizing the nonreciprocal phase shifter. We also investigate the cascaded NP-NALM transmission system for quadrature phase-shift keying signals with amplified spontaneous emission noise and the output error vector magnitude (EVM) can reduce to 23% from the EVM limit of 30%, corresponding to bit error ratio of 10-3 for the cascaded system without regeneration.

Случай синдрома Мюира–Торре, ассоциированного с наследственной мутацией в гене MSH2

Muir–Torre syndrome combines skin tumors with sebaceous differentiation with malignant tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, which is caused by hereditary mutations in the genes of the mismatched nucleotide repair system. The article presents a clinical case of a 42-year old man who complained of an exophytic skin tumor on the back measuring 2.3 × 1.8 cm. At histological examination, the tumor was presented primarily with sebaceous differentiatied cells, which corresponded to adenoma of the sebaceous glands. From the patient’s history it became known that at the age of 37 he underwent hemicolectomy for high-differentiated adenocarcinoma. An immunohistochemical study with antibodies to proteins of the mismatched nucleotide repair system in a tumor sample revealed the absence of a nuclear reaction in tumor cells with antibodies to MLH1 and MSH2 proteins, which indicates the presence of germline mutations in these genes. High-throughput semiconductor parallel DNA sequencing revealed a variant of the nucleotide sequence in exon 12 of the MSH2 gene (c.1797_1801 del), leading to a shift in the reading frame (NM_000251: p.L599fs). Keywords: Muir–Torre syndrome, colorectal cancer, repair system, wrong-paired bases

Threshold and Supra-Threshold Masking of Test Pulse Loudness Caused by Periodic Pulse Trains

To identify indicators of temporal processing of periodic sounds, we investigated the effect of the periodicity of the masking pulse train on the temporal resolution and masking of the loudness of the test pulse, which was the first or the last in the train. Measurements were carried out on listeners with normal hearing and age-related SNHL. The test pulse delay D relative to the train was equal to the pulse repetition period T in the train (D = T). Central frequencies and frequency bands of all pulses were 4 kHz and 240 Hz, respectively. Under such conditions, the basis for detecting test pulses was believed to be their loudness. The intensity of masking pulses Im was 80 dB SPL. The period T was varied within the range of 20–150 ms, while the test pulse intensity Is varied within the range of 0–85 dB. The temporal resolution of the pulse loudness was equal to the minimal period T min, at which the listener could detect a test pulse. Threshold masking of the test pulse loudness (Is << Im) corresponded to the shift in the test pulse detection threshold, SI 0, obtained in the train presence relative to the threshold obtained in silence. If the intensities of masking and test pulses were equal, the latest pulse could not be detected, but the test pulse could be detected by increasing or decreasing its intensity. Thus, supra-threshold masking of the test pulse loudness (Is ~ Im) was estimated by the shifts, SdI U and SdI D, in the threshold intensity decrement and increment of the masked test pulse relative to the threshold intensity increment of a single masking pulse. The results showed that only SI 0 and SdI D were related to the temporal resolution of the test pulses loudness. These shifts depended both on the test pulse position relative to the train and the auditory sensitivity of listeners. The largest SI 0 and SdI D shifts were recorded at the temporal resolution threshold of the test pulse loudness, i.e., at T min. For listeners with normal hearing, T min was 25 ms, while SI 0 and SdI D shifts were, respectively, 12 and 18 dB if the test pulse was ahead of the train and 23 and 0 dB if the test pulse followed the train. In listeners with age-related hearing loss, the T min period increased up to 80–150 ms. At T of 120 ms, SI 0 and SdI D shifts were, respectively, 1 and 4 dB if the test pulse was ahead of the train and 4 and 7 dB if the test pulse followed the train. The informational significance of the Tmin, SI 0 and SdI D indicators was confirmed by their manifestations in the profiles of test pulse detection threshold dependences on the test pulse delay D (D ≠ T). The T min, SI 0 and SdI D indicators could be the characteristics of the temporal perception of periodic sounds, including speech. The causes of threshold and supra-threshold masking of the test pulse loudness at different positions of the test pulse relative to the masking pulse train are discussed.

Are we geared for the upcoming challenges by nCoV-19 or is it still grim news….?

The novel Corona Virus (nCoV-2019), clouded the entire world during the year 2020; with itsemergence in December 2019 from Wuhan, China. The nCoV-19 is a novel variant of the Coronavirus family,with its predecessors been implicated for the pandemics of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERSCoV)and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV); that caused flu-like condition and respiratorydistress symptoms. The viral strain also intrudes on extra-pulmonary relevance; being involved withderanging immunity as evidenced by lymphopenia and a prolonged prothrombin time; it impactscardiomyocytes and pancreatic tissue directly. These implications of nCoV-19 does suggest a long-termrelevance of the disease profile.The emergence of nCoV-2019 was quick to gain a pandemic status worldwide. An immense shift inthe influx of the type of patients was observed, that imparted a false impression of a reduction incardiovascular and metabolic patient presentation; formerly that had been the majority engaging theworlds’ healthcare facility. But as the world prepares itself for a possible second wave of the n-CoV-19, aprudent approach would be to remind us of the history lessons from the previous corona-led pandemic,such as MERS and SARS. This editorial will emphasize on channeling our focus to nCoV-19 implications oncardiovascular and metabolic disorders.The pandemics of SARS-CoV during 2002-2003 and MERS-CoV in 2012 highlight the long termrelevance of coronavirus to cardiac and metabolic disease pathologies, both during and in the aftermathof these pandemics. The SARS-CoV had demonstrated an increase of cardiovascular problems by 44%,hyperlipidemia by 68% and diabetes mellitus by 60%, in people who had recovered from the viral attack.Likewise, MERS-CoV had also embarked an increase of cardiac disorders by 30% and hypertension by 50%and diabetes mellitus by 50%.Published research on nCoV-19 has hinted for a similar rising trend of cardiovascular and metaboliccomplexities. An increase in cardiac troponin level is observed with increased cases of myocarditis andheart failure. A 20% increase in the incidence of diabetes and a 40 % rise in cardiovascular andcerebrovascular diseases is observed with nCoV-19. Little do we comprehend that the involvement ofangiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors could play havoc on endothelium, kidney, intestine,liver and any other organ.The nCoV-19 has thrown a curveball to the realm of the worldwide health and financial setting. Evenwith the current economic predicament it does seems prudent to be prepared in advance for the long termconsequences of this pandemic. The bigger question would be to, not just direct our efforts at counteringthe possible second wave of nCoV-19 but also for the possible chaos of cardiovascular and metabolicdisease outfall, impacting the world health system.Muhammad Zuhair Yusuf1 and Naseer Ahmed1Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

Characterization of Static and Dynamic Behavior of 1200 V Normally off GaN/SiC Cascode Devices

Systematic characterizations of a cascode device with a low-voltage enhance-mode (E-mode) p -GaN gate high-electron mobility transistor as the control device and a high-voltage (HV) depletion-mode (D-mode) silicon carbide junction field effect transistor (JFET) as the voltage blocking device are presented in this article. The demonstrated device with a breakdown voltage rating of 1200 V and a static on -resistance ( R ON) of 100 mΩ features small device capacitances with fast switching speed, avalanche breakdown capability, thermally stable threshold voltage ( V TH), and no dynamic R ON degradation. To identify its safe operation in the off -state with a high drain bias, the off -state middle point voltage ( V M) between the E-mode device drain and D-mode device source is investigated. A relatively low off -state V M is achieved under both static and dynamic modes. In addition to the device-level characterization, a custom-designed double-pulse test circuit is built to evaluate the transient switching performance of the cascode device. Optimal gate drive conditions are proposed to 1) overcome the drain bias induced positive dynamic V TH shift; and 2) suppress the increased dynamic off -state leakage current ( I OFF) induced by on -state hole injection. Under 800 V/16 A testing conditions, high switching speed with the drain voltage peak slew rates of 72 V/ns during turn- on and 121 V/ns during turn- off is achieved.

A Novel Non-Intrusive Technique for BTI Characterization in SiC mosfets

Threshold voltage ( V TH) shift due to bias temperature instability (BTI) is a well-known problem in SiC mosfet s that occurs due to oxide traps in the SiC/SiO2 gate interface. The reduced band offsets and increased interface/fixed oxide traps in SiC mosfet s makes this a more critical problem compared to silicon. Before qualification, power devices are subjected to gate bias stress tests after which V TH shift is monitored. However, some recovery occurs between the end of the stress and V TH characterization, thereby potentially underestimating the extent of the problem. In applications where the SiC mosfet module is turned off with a negative bias at high temperature, if the V TH shift is severe enough, there may be electrothermal failure due to current crowding since parallel devices lose synchronization during turn- on . In this paper, a novel method that uses the forward voltage of the body diode during reverse conduction of a small sensing current is introduced as a technique for monitoring V TH shift and recovery due to BTI. This non-invasive method exploits the increased body effect that is peculiar to SiC mosfet s due to the higher body diode forward voltage. With the proposed method, it is possible to non-invasively assess V TH shift dynamically during BTI characterization tests.

Optimizing the defensive characteristics of mild steel via the electrodeposition of Zn Si3N4 reinforcing particles

The effect of ZneSi3N4 deposition prepared via direct electrolytic co-deposition on mild steel was studied as a result its inherent vulnerability to corrosion in an aggressive environment and failure on the application of load. The experiment was conducted varying the mass concentration of silicon nitride (Si3N4) between 7 and 13 g at cell voltage of 0.3 and 0.5 V, at constant temperature of 45 �C. The morphologies of the coated surfaces were characterized using high resolution Nikon Optical Microscope and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) revealing that the particles of the ZneSi3N4 were homogeneously dispersed. The corrosion behaviour was studied using potentiodynamic polarization technique in 3.65% NaCl solution and the microhardness was examined using Brinell hardness testing technique. The result of the corrosion experiment confirmed an improved corrosion resistance with a reduction in corrosion rate from 9.7425 mm/year to 0.10847 mm/year, maximum coating efficiency of 98.9%, maximum polarization resistance of 1555.3 U and a very low current density of 9.33 � 10�6 A/cm2. The negative shift in the Ecorr revealed the cathodic protective nature of the coating. The microhardness was also found to have increased from 137.9 HBN for the unmodified steel to a maximum value of 263.3 HBN for the 0.5Zne13Si3N4 coated steel representing 90.9% increment in hardness as a result of the matrix grain refining and dispersion-strengthening ability of the incorporated Si3N4 particles

Safety and efficacy of statin therapy.

The 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines on blood cholesterol management were a major shift inthe delineation of the main patient groups that could benefit from statin therapy and emphasized the use of higher-intensity statin therapies. In 2016, an expert consensus panel from the ACC recommended the use of nonstatin therapies (ezetimibe and PCSK9 inhibitors) in addition to maximally tolerated statin therapy in individuals whose LDL-cholesterol and non-HDL-cholesterol levels remained above certain thresholds after statin treatment. Given the substantial benefits of statin therapies in both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, their long-term safety has become a concern. The potential harmful effects of statin therapy on muscle and liver have been known for some time, but new concerns have emerged regarding the risk of new-onset diabetes mellitus, cognitive impairment and haemorrhagic stroke associated with the use of statins and the risks of achieving very low levels of LDL cholesterol. The increased media attention on the adverse events associated with statins has unfortunately led to statin therapy discontinuation, nonadherence to therapy or concerns about initiating statin therapy. In this Review, we explore the safety of statin therapy in light of the latest evidence and provide clinicians with reassurance about the safety of statins. Overwhelming evidence suggests that the benefits of statin therapy far outweigh any real or perceived risks.

Extracting Actionable Knowledge from Domestic Violence Discourses on Social Media

Respect for human rights is the cornerstone of strong communities, based on the principles of dignity, equality, and recognition of inherent value of each individual. Domestic Violence, ranging from physical abuse to emotional manipulation, is worldwide considered as the violation of the elementary rights to which all human beings are entitled to. As one might expect, the consequences for its victims are often severe, far-reaching, and long-lasting, causing major health, welfare, and economic burden. Domestic Violence is also one of the most prevailing forms of violence, and due to the social stigma surrounding the issue particularly challenging to address. With the emergence and expansion of Social Media, the substantial shift in the support-seeking and the support-provision pattern has been observed. The initial barriers in approaching healthcare professionals, i.e. personal reservations, or safety concerns, have been effectively addressed by virtual environments. Social Media platforms have quickly become crucial networking hubs for violence survivors as well as at-risk individuals to share experiences, raise concerns, offer advice, or express sympathy. As a result, the specialized support services groups have been established with the aim of pro-active reach-out to potential victims in time-critical situations. Given the high-volume, highvelocity and high-variety of Social Media data, the manual posts evaluation has not only become inefficient, but also unfeasible in the long-term. The conventional automated approaches reliant on pre-defined lexicons, and hand-crafted feature engineering proved limited in their classification performance capability when exposed to the challenging nature of Social Media discourse. At the same time, Deep Learning the state-of-the-art sub-field of Machine Learning has shown remarkable results on text classification tasks. Given its relative recency and algorithmical complexity, the implementation of Deep Learningbased models has been vastly under-utilised in practical applications. In particular, no prior work has addressed the problem of fine-grained user-generated content classification with Deep Learning in Domestic Violence domain. The study introduces novel 3-part framework aimed at (i) binary detection of critical situations; (ii) multi-class content categorization; and (ii) Abuse Types and Health Issues extraction from Social Media discourse. The classification performance of state-of-the-art models is improved through the domain-specific word embeddings development, capable of precise relationships between the words recognition. The prevalent patterns of abuse, and the associated health conditions are efficiently extracted to shed the light on violence scale and severity from directly affected individuals. The approach proposed marks a step forward towards effective prevention and mitigation of violence within the society.

Modelling hydrologic impacts of light absorbing aerosol deposition on snow at the catchment scale

Abstract. Light absorbing impurities in snow and ice (LAISI) originating from atmospheric deposition enhance snowmelt by increasing the absorption of shortwave radiation. The consequences are a shortening of the snow duration due to increased snowmelt and, at the catchment scale, a temporal shift in the discharge generation during the spring melt season. In this study, we present a newly developed snow algorithm for application in hydrological models that allows for an additional class of input variable: the deposition mass flux of various species of light absorbing aerosols. To show the sensitivity of different model parameters, we first use the model as a 1-D point model forced with representative synthetic data and investigate the impact of parameters and variables specific to the algorithm determining the effect of LAISI. We then demonstrate the significance of the radiative forcing by simulating the effect of black carbon (BC) deposited on snow of a remote southern Norwegian catchment over a 6-year period, from September 2006 to August 2012. Our simulations suggest a significant impact of BC in snow on the hydrological cycle. Results show an average increase in discharge of 2.5, 9.9, and 21.4 %, depending on the applied model scenario, over a 2-month period during the spring melt season compared to simulations where radiative forcing from LAISI is not considered. The increase in discharge is followed by a decrease in discharge due to a faster decrease in the catchment's snow-covered fraction and a trend towards earlier melt in the scenarios where radiative forcing from LAISI is applied. Using a reasonable estimate of critical model parameters, the model simulates realistic BC mixing ratios in surface snow with a strong annual cycle, showing increasing surface BC mixing ratios during spring melt as a consequence of melt amplification. However, we further identify large uncertainties in the representation of the surface BC mixing ratio during snowmelt and the subsequent consequences for the snowpack evolution.

Arktisk råds rolle i polarpolitikken

This article discusses what role(s) member governments want the Arctic Council to have in Arctic affairs. It compares the foreign policies of the five littoral states of the Arctic Ocean: Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the United States. It identifies and examines three determining debates on a ministerial level over the Arctic Council and the issues it might address: The first debate preceded the Arctic Council's creation in 1996; the second thrived as the five Arctic littoral states convened in Ilulissat, Greenland in 2008; and the third followed a political shift inthe United States in 2009.

A novel 3-TFT voltage driving method of compensating V TH shift for a-Si:H TFT and OLED degradation for AMOLED

This work demonstrates the feasibility of a novel pixel circuit by using three a-Si:H TFTs. The proposed circuit can stabilize the OLED current and provide an additional driving current to ameliorate the brightness degradation of the AMOLED. Measurement results indicate that the current degradation of the proposed circuit, caused by V TH variations, is less than 5% over more than 50,000 s at 60 °C, whereas that of a conventional 2T1C pixel circuit is larger than 34%. Furthermore, to ameliorate the decrease in luminance owing to the OLED degradation, the OLED current can be increased by 10% by analyzing the current degradation and modulating the detected voltage appropriately.

Characteristics of various instability in Ni-FALC poly-Si thin film transistors

In this study, the characteristics of positive bias temperature instability (PBTI) and cyclic constant voltage stress (CVS) in thin film transistors (TFTs) incorporating Ni-FALC poly-Si film were investigated under various stress conditions. In PBTI, the threshold voltage ( V TH) was degraded by a vertical electric field on the gate stack, and an abrupt variation of V TH was attributed to the creation of defects in the gate oxide and the increase of the effective interface trap state. In contrast to the formation of defects, the poly-Si film was not sensitive to PBTI stress (the fluctuation in the grain boundary trap density was just 5.6%). In two-cycle CVS of devices before and after O 2 plasma treatment, the direction of the V TH shift and polarity of bias showed good correlation. In particular, the O 2 plasma-treated device demonstrated low Subthreshold swing (S.S) and low minimum drain current compared to the untreated one. The improvement of device performance seemed to originate from the reduction of effective interface trap sites and leakage current paths.

Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Where are we now?

Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) are tumors derived from neuroendocrine cells thatcan occur anywhere along the gastrointestinal tract. Due totheir particular features, GEP-NETs are among the mostcomplex tumors to diagnose and treat. For instance,symptoms vary according to the type of GEP-NET, andtherefore they are easily mistaken for other conditions.Although the general idea is that GEP-NETs are raretumors, the most recent data from the US SurveillanceEpidemiology and End Results show an impressiveincrease of more than 400% in the incidence of this diseaseover a period of 29 years, rising from 1.09 per 100,000population in 1973 to 5.25 per 100,000 population in 2004[1]. Only in the last year, their incidence increase from 3.00to 5.25 per 100,000. In fact, GEP-NETs are more prevalentthan many other tumors of the gastrointestinal tract,including stomach and pancreatic carcinomas combined.Survival of patients with GEP-NETs depends greatly onstage and histology. For example, patients with well andmoderately well-differentiated distant metastases have a 5-yearsurvivalprobabilityof35%;conversely,inpatientswithpoorlydifferentiateddistantmetastases,the5-yearsurvivalprobabilitydrops to only 4% [ 1]. The mere observation of these figurescalls our attention to the importance of an early diagnosis, andtumor classification and staging of patients in whom a GEP-NET is suspected, as well as to the need for ongoingmodifications in the therapeutic approach.Interestingly, in parallel to changes in the epidemiologyof GEP-NET, there have been substantial advances intreatment, such as the use of peptide receptor radiotherapy,and more recently, antiangiogenic agents (bevacizumab,everolimus, sunitinib), which have echoed on the prognosisof many patients with this disease. As shown by the resultsof the RADIANT trials, with the advent of targetedtherapies, we may be on the verge of a paradigm shift inthe treatment of advanced GEP-NETs.The Spanish Group of Neuroendocrine Tumors(GETNE), aware of the interest this disease has raised dueto its increasing incidence and significant advances intreatment, considered it would be of relevance to publishthe contents from the“V GETNE Symposium on GEP-NETs” held in September 2009 in the city of Madrid(Spain). In this Special Issue, the updated contents of thissymposium are reported. The purpose is to provide ageneral overview of the current state of knowledge of GEP-NETs regarding diagnosis and innovations in therapy.Reference