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Graphical abstract Highlights • Cluster ions can only be formed from their nearest constituent atoms. • Compositional information is self-focused to areas where all the constituents are present. • Nano-patterned device made of alternated metal and dielectric lines is analyzed. • Information at the nanoscale can be obtained thanks to the Self-focusing SIMS concept. • Selective deposition of a blocking layer on the metal is assessed. • Selective deposition of a dielectric on the dielectric is assessed. Abstract Micro- and nano-electronics is increasingly relying on heterogeneous, confined and three-dimensional structures, to continue the downscaling required for the next technology generations. Area-selective atomic layer deposition (ALD) is one suited methodology to create nm-scale features through (1) the area-selective self-assembly of a blocking layer (i.e. a thiol deposited on copper) and (2) the ALD growth on the areas not covered with the blocking layer (i.e. a dielectric deposited on low-k). Assessing the efficiency and defectivity of selective deposition on such samples would require a lateral resolution much smaller than the feature size of interest. Hence the need for characterization techniques appropriate to the device's dimensions. Recently, thanks to the Self-Focusing Secondary Ions Mass Spectrometry (SF-SIMS) concept, the SIMS applicability to analyze the composition of narrow (<20 nm) trenches has been enabled through the selection of characteristic cluster ions exclusively confined to the areas of interest. In this paper, we show that the SF-SIMS concept can be extended to area-selective ALD processes. More specifically, the assessment of the blocking layer deposition on copper is studied using the characteristic copper-sulphur cluster ions while the potential reaction with the low-k material is checked by looking at silicon-sulphur cluster ions. In the same way, the ALD growth of aluminum oxide on the low-k material is assessed using silicon-aluminum clusters while the detection of copper-aluminum clusters is exploited to assess the efficiency of the blocking layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Pb and Bi are absorbed in the steel only if the material is plastically deformed. • Pb adsorption at the surface of the oxide layer is more likely than Bi adsorption. • Oxygen can drive Pb atoms to the surface and then to the bulk. • No evidence of Pb or Bi in regards with the microstructure was found. • Clustering of lead and bismuth with molybdenum was found. Abstract The time of flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS) technique was employed to investigate the interaction of liquid lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) atoms with the surface and subsurface of a T91 steel taking into account the contribution of plastic deformation. It is shown that both Pb and Bi can penetrate the steel network only in plastically deformed material. No microstructural interface (lath boundaries, grain boundaries ...) was found to be preferential site for trapping Pb and Bi but clustering with molybdenum has been identified. Pb seems to be easier adsorbed than Bi because of its higher affinity with oxygen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The preferential sputtering and the mass conservation upon AES and SIMS depth profiling have been evaluated quantitatively based on the Mixing-Roughness-Information (MRI) model. The simulation results demonstrated that (a) the preferential sputtering plays an important role in the reconstruction of the true concentration-depth profile; (b) the mass conservation is a nature consequence in SIMS depth profiling but it is not fulfilled in AES depth profiling; (c) the layer thickness can be determined by applying the mass conservation law in AES depth profiling if the atoms preferentially sputtered out from the mixing zone are taken into account. Highlights • The influence of preferential sputtering on the reconstruction of concentration-depth profile is evaluated by the MRI model. • The mass conservation in AES and SIMS depth profiling is addressed. • The layer thickness can be determined by SIMS and AES depth profiling based on the mass conservation law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In cyber crimes, attackers are becoming more inventive with their exploits and use more sophisticated techniques to bypass the deployed security system. These attacks are targeted and are commonly referred as Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs). The currently available techniques to tackle these attacks are mostly reactive and signature based. Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), a proactive approach is the best solution. However, the major problem with SIEM is tackling huge amount of data in real time that makes it a time consuming and tedious task for security analyst. The use of threat intelligence caters to such issue by prioritizing the level of threat. In this paper, we assign risk score and confidence value to each feed generated at our product "T-Eye platform". On the basis of these values, we assign a severity score to each feed type. Severity score assigns a level to the threat means prioritize the threat. The results, we achieved for prioritizing the threat is more apparent and accurate. In addition, we optimize the rules of IBM-Q-Radar by using threat feeds generated at T-Eye platform. Furthermore, a huge amount of false positive alarms generated at IBM Q-Radar is reduced to a certain extent. Highlights • Proposed a platform for Threat intelligence along with a Threat Intelligence application integrated with IBM Qradar and classified the feeds on the basis of types of attack. • Calculated the risk score for each feed by taking into account severity, progression level, asset value and threat relevance. • Calculated the confidence value for each feed by using external sources, volume of traffic and aging of the traffic. • Optimized the rules of IBM Q-Radar using Threat intelligence feeds. • Reduced false positive alarms of IBM Qradar to an acceptable level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information security has become more important in health care institutions in recent years. Especially, if necessary precautions are not taken in line with the development of technology, it is expected that information leaks would increase. In the study in which in-depth interviews with qualitative research directives are used in order to determine the opinions, suggestions and evaluations of employees about hospital information security, 12 hospital employees working in different units are reached. The data obtained from the interviews are analysed and interpreted in ATLAS.ti qualitative data program. In this respect, the problems that arise in practice and the solution proposal are established in line with these opinions. As a result of the research, it is determined that participants emphasize the importance of information security widely and that information security is perceived together as "patient privacy". In turn, is it also seen that physical infrastructure is necessary for information security in terms of privacy, integrity and accessibility. It is one of the proposals of the research that managers and employees should cooperate for an effective information security management system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work combines large area time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging with multivariate analysis methods to characterise a cold atmospheric plasma treatment of the surface of an automotive grade polypropylene. Data preprocessing steps are also presented alongside their main challenges. The results enabled the investigation of the spatial distribution of the treatment for different stand‐off distances as well as the effects of plasma plume mixing with atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Security information and event management (SIEM) systems receive a large number of alerts from different intrusion detection systems. They are expected, from these alerts, to make reliable and timely decisions regarding the types of ongoing attack scenarios and their priorities. However, the lack of an agreed-upon vocabulary for the representation of the domain knowledge makes it difficult for state-of-the-art SIEM systems to effectively manage these complex decisions. To overcome this problem, an ontology-based expert system approach can provide domain knowledge modeling as a foundation for disambiguation of meaning and automatic reasoning regarding ongoing attack scenarios. The proposed approach reconstructs attack scenarios by reasoning based on the evidences in the alert stream. The main idea of the proposed approach is to identify the causal relation between alerts using their similarity. This approach assumes that the similarity between two successive steps in an attack scenario is greater than that of two non-successive steps. Moreover, the similarity between the steps of the same attack scenario is greater than that between the steps of two different attack scenarios. The benefit of the proposed approach includes the fast and incremental reconstruction of known and unknown attack scenarios without expert intervention, which is an enormous step forward in developing expert and intelligent systems for cyber security. We evaluated the proposed technique by performing experiments on two known datasets: DARPA 2000 and MACCDC 2012. The results prove the advantages of the proposed approach with regard to completeness and soundness criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizations deploy security information and event management (SIEM) systems for centralized management of security events. The real-time security monitoring capability of the SIEM depends on the correlation process where events data are matched against the security rules. Most SIEM systems use general purpose languages to define security rules. Creating new rules in general purpose languages require excellent programming skills in the proprietary language and intimate knowledge of events. This paper introduces a high-level domain-specific language (HDSL) which simplifies rule creation for the SIEM system. We formally specify the HDSL with extended Backus-Naur form grammar in another tool for language recognition according to the model driven engineering approach. In our implementation framework, the rules defined in the HDSL are converted in the standard event processing language. For evaluation purpose, the converted security rules are tested on the service real-time data security analytics. The results indicate that the rules are converted accurately and generate alarms when specific attacks are detected. For checking correctness of the HDSL, formal verification is carried out using satisfiability modulo theory and Z3 solver. The results are evaluated under diverse attack scenarios, which reveal that HDSL is functioning correctly. The HDSL enhances the SIEM correlation capabilities by providing a tranquil approach for writing the correlation rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large tilt angle (LTA) implantation has been employed in Si manufacturing processes in many applications, such as lightly doped drain and halo implant. The depth profile of boron ions usually consists of only single peak at incident angle of 0° with respect to the perpendicular of the silicon surface. However, an abnormal dual-peak profile was observed at LTA (>40°) with incident energy of 160 keV. By using a Monte Carlo method to simulate the ion implant process, it was found that the projected range of boron ions agrees completely with the formation of the first peak position that is shallower in depth, while the cause for the second peak that corresponds with a depth much deeper in the Si substrate was unknown. During the simulation, it was also found that when the tilt angle was increased, the sputtering yields and Si displacements increased significantly, and this phenomenon indicates that during LTA implantation, Si damage may not be negligible anymore. The Si damage effect that was as due to either low Si density or transient Si displacement in the simulation could have led to partial incident boron ions penetrating much deeper into the Si substrate and thus, caused the emergence of the second peak. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study secure transmission considering the practical scenario in which only outdated knowledge of the legitimate receiver's channel and statistical knowledge of the eavesdropper's channel are available at the transmitter. Conditioned on the limited channel knowledge, we adopt an on–off secure transmission scheme and propose a versatile strategy to determine the codeword transmission rate. We first analyze the outage performance of the system and then provide the design of optimal wiretap code parameters maximizing the secrecy throughput. Compared with the existing solution in the literature, the proposed secure transmission design enlarges the achievable reliability–security region and increases the maximum secrecy throughput. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The utility of energy sequencing for extracting an accurate matrix level interface profile using ultra-low energy SIMS (uleSIMS) is reported. Normally incident O over an energy range of 0.25-2.5 keV were used to probe the interface between SiGe/Si, which was also studied using high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM). All the SIMS profiles were linearized by taking the well understood matrix effects on ion yield and erosion rate into account. A method based on simultaneous fitting of the SIMS profiles measured at different energies is presented, which allows the intrinsic sample profile to be determined to sub-nanometer precision. Excellent agreement was found between the directly imaged HAADF-STEM interface and that derived from SIMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the interplay of climatic and biological events in deep time requires resolving the precise timing and pattern of paleotemperature changes and their temporal relationship with carbon cycle variations and biodiversity fluctuations. In situ oxygen isotope analyses of conodont apatite from South China enables us to reconstruct high-resolution seawater temperature records across the Permian–Triassic boundary (PTB) intervals in the upper slope (Meishan), lower slope (Shangsi), and carbonate platform (Daijiagou and Liangfengya) settings. Constrained by the latest high-precision geochronological dates and high-resolution conodont biozones, we can establish the temporal and spatial patterns of seawater temperature changes and assess their potential connections with the carbon cycle disruption and biodiversity decline. We find a rapid warming of ~ 10 °C during the latest Permian–earliest Triassic that postdated the onset of the negative shift in δ 13 C carb by ~ 81 kyr (thousand years), the abrupt decline in δ 13 C carb by ~ 32 kyr and the onset of mass extinction by ~ 23 kyr, which contradicts previous claims that the extreme temperature rise started immediately before or coincided with the onset of mass extinction. Our new evidence indicates that climate warming was most likely not a direct cause for the main pulse of the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME), but rather a later participant or a catalyst that increased the pace of the biodiversity decline. In addition, a prominent cooling is recorded in the earliest Changhsingian, with the main phase (a drop of ~ 8 °C in ~ 0.2 Ma) confined to the lower part of the Clarkina wangi zone and synchronous with the positive limb of the carbon isotope excursion (CIE) around the Wuchiapingian–Changhsingian boundary (WCB) in Meishan and Shangsi. Further long-term and high-resolution studies from other sections are needed to confirm the full contexts and underlying dynamics of the WCB “cooling event”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) is a consolidated technology that relies on the correlation of massive amounts of security-relevant information in order to detect ongoing attacks and intrusions. This correlation process is usually fed with logs generated by network devices and equipment, thus proving to be ineffective against attacks that affect multiple domains (e.g. physical, logical) or different architectural levels (e.g. network, operating system, application) of a service infrastructure. To bridge the gap, we propose a flexible framework for event collection and correlation, namely the Generic Event Translator, which is able to process heterogeneous data and spot evidence of security issues by using complex event pattern detectors that correlate information from multiple architectural layers and domains of the monitored infrastructure. The framework has been integrated into the open-source SIEM OSSIM, and validated in two challenging case studies, namely a dam infrastructure control system and a mobile phone based payment service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isotopologue deficits of up to 200 ‰ below ideal mixing are observed in UO2+ species during SIMS gechronological analyses using the SHRIMP IIe instrument. These are identified by bombarding natural U-bearing minerals with an 18O2-primary beam. The large anomalies are associated with repeat analyses down a single SIMS sputtering crater (Compston et al., 1984), analysis of high-uranium, radiation damaged zircon, and analysis of baddeleyite. Analysis of zircon under routine conditions yield UO2+ isotopologue anomalies generally within a few percent of equilibrium. The conditions under which the isotopologue anomalies are observed are also conditions in which the UOx-based corrections, or calibration, for relative U vs. Pb ionization efficiencies fail. The existence of these isotopologue anomalies suggest that failure of the various UOx species to equilibrate with each other is the reason that none of them will successfully correct the U / Pb ratio. No simple isotopologue-based correction is apparent. However, isotopologue disequilibrium appears to be a more sensitive tool for detecting hi U calibration breakdowns than Raman spectroscopy, which showed sharper peaks for ~ 37 Ma high uranium 20 zircons than for reference zircons OG1 and Temora. U-Th-Sm/He ages were determined for aliquots of reference zircons OG1 (755 ± 71 Ma) and Temora (323 ± 43 Ma), suggesting that the broader Raman lines for the Temora reference zircons may be due to something other than accumulated radiation damage. Isotopologue abundances for UO+ and ThO+ and their energy spectra are consistent with most or all molecular species being 25 the product of atomic recombination when the primary beam impact energy is greater than 5.7 kV. This, in addition with the large UO2+ instrumentally generated isotopologue disequilibria, suggest any attempts to use SIMS to detect naturally occurring isotopologue deviations could be tricky. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A primary tool of nuclear safeguards authorities for detecting undeclared nuclear activities is environmental sample analysis containing uranium-bearing aerosol particles. SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry) has been established as a powerful technique for performing uranium isotope analysis on safeguards samples. Typically, a screening of the sample for locating the particles of interest is followed by micro-beam measurements of individual particles in order to obtain their precise isotopic composition. The uncertainty of these measurements, in particular for the minor isotopes 234U and 236U, is mainly limited by the counting statistics as the total amount of uranium available is very low, usually less than 1 pg. This uncertainty can be reduced when recording several isotopes simultaneously using a multi-collection system. This has been available commercially for many years and has been used for different applications in geosciences on Large Geometry-SIMS (LG-SIMS) instruments. This paper will describe and discuss how isotope measurements of low content uranium materials can be optimized using a multi-ion counting system consisting of five discrete dynode electron multiplier (EM) detectors. The results obtained for uranium isotope ratios are presented for different measurement protocols: static multi-collector, dynamic multi-collector and single collector measurements. Some of the fundamental properties of the detector system that affect the overall measurement uncertainty are discussed. Best practices are also suggested based on the current experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Li ion batteries and its accessories are now under increased focus of research due to enhanced energy storage and recycling requirements and the need for clean environments. In this context, observations on Li battery electrodes prepared using multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) coated on stainless steel as observed by time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) analysis and their relevance in understanding and improving the electrochemical properties of such battery systems are discussed. Porosity issues due to MWCNT, and accumulation of chemical residues with operational cycles were observed, their possible causes were also analyzed and discussed. Issues on change in electrode performance due to usage of tin oxide coatings on the MWCNT were also compared and analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine the magnitude of N-isotope fractionation between diamond and its parental fluid, detailed C- and N-isotope analyses of a complexly-zoned, eclogitic diamond (JDE-25) were undertaken using secondary ion mass spectrometry. Combined C- and N-isotope and N-abundance measurements were made across four distinct growth zones and show the following range of values: δ 13 C = − 5.7 to − 2.1‰; δ 15 N = − 7.0 to + 5.5‰; [N] = 104 to 5420 at. ppm. The core zone displays a continuous, rimward increase in δ 13 C and δ 15 N values and decreases in N-abundance, and is interpreted to have formed by fractional crystallization of diamond from a single pulse of fluid (i.e., closed system). Modelling of the isotopic and abundance data from the core zone yields a diamond–fluid nitrogen partition coefficient ( K N ) of 4.4 and a N-isotope fractionation factor (∆ 15 N diam–fluid ) of − 4.0 ± 1.2‰ (2σ) at ~ 1100 °C, for precipitation from a pure carbonate fluid. Calculated K N and ∆ 15 N diam–fluid values would have larger magnitudes if JDE-25 formed from a more complex fluid, in which the carbonate species formed only a minor component. Theoretical calculations of N-isotope fractionation between the principal N-species associated with upper mantle fluids (N 2 , NH 3 or NH 4 + ) and the CN − molecule, as an analogue for the carbon–nitrogen bond in diamond, yield the following ∆ 15 N diam (CN)–fluid estimates at 1100 °C: − 3.6‰ for NH 4 + , − 2.1‰ for N 2 and − 1.4‰ for NH 3 . The theoretical calculations provide only minimum estimates of the true diamond–fluid N-isotope fractionation factor, given that the C–N single bond in diamond would have a lower affinity for 15 N than the stronger C–N triple bond in the CN − molecule. Accordingly, the theoretical N-isotope fractionation factors are consistent with the empirical fractionation factor derived from diamond JDE-25. As a consequence of the large magnitude of ∆ 15 N diam–fluid , intracrystalline N-isotope variations in diamond should provide a sensitive test for fluid-related, fractional crystallization processes. Furthermore, the large magnitude of ∆ 15 N diam–fluid could be reflected in the wide range of δ 15 N values for natural diamonds and the absence of clearly defined modes for the N-isotope compositions of peridotitic and eclogitic diamonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new strategy for analyzing imaging time-of-flight SIMS data sets affected by detector saturation. Rather than attempt to correct the measured data to remove saturation, we incorporate the detector behavior into the statistical basis of the analysis. This is performed within the framework of maximum a posteriori reconstruction. The proposed approach has several advantages over previous techniques. No approximations are involved other than the assumed model of the detector. The method performs well even when applied to highly saturated and/or single-scan data sets. It is statistically rigorous, correctly treating the underlying statistical distribution of the data. It is also compatible with Bayesian methods for incorporating prior knowledge about sample properties. An efficient iterative scheme for solving the proposed equations is presented for the case of the bilinear model commonly used in analyses of SIMS data. The correctness of the approach and its efficacy are demonstrated on synthetic data sets. The method is found to perform better than a widely-used data-correction method used in combination with alternating-least-squares Multivariate Curve Resolution analysis. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The southernmost Baltic Shield exposes polymetamorphic continental crust that was largely formed and accreted during a series of 1.92–1.66 Ga Paleoproterozoic orogenic events and later reworked during the 1.14–0.90 Ga Sveconorwegian orogeny. An intermediate period of metamorphism, deformation and magmatism at 1.47–1.38 Ga has been attributed to the Hallandian orogeny, but due to overprinting by Sveconorwegian high-grade metamorphism and deformation, the P–T-t evolution and deformation of the Hallandian event have remained obscure. This study presents the first quantitative P–T model of the Hallandian event using high-temperature aluminous gneisses in the south-easternmost marginal part of the Sveconorwegian orogen. The high-grade metamorphism and spatially associated granite magmatism are dated using U–Pb SIMS analysis of zircon. Petrography, bulk and mineral geochemistry, and pseudosection models demonstrate prograde staurolite-sillimanite-grade metamorphism reaching granulite-facies temperatures (700–750 °C) at low pressures (4–5 kbar), with the formation of Crd + Sil + Grt + K-fsp + Ilm + Melt ± Bt. The rocks followed a clockwise P–T path. Later stages involved the formation of sillimanite + biotite at the expense of garnet and cordierite. Local low-temperature and fluid-assisted retrogression also caused the formation of chlorite and muscovite at the expense of cordierite. Both granite and aluminous gneisses contain complex zircon with inherited 1.70 Ga igneous cores and high-U, secondary zircon, mainly formed by reworking of protolith cores. The latter date the Hallandian high-grade metamorphism at 1451 ± 6 Ma and the granite magmatism at 1445 ± 8 Ma. The presence of 1.70 Ga igneous zircon cores in both metamorphic and magmatic rocks suggests that they formed from similar protoliths. The protolith ages correlate with the youngest generation of magmatic rocks of the Transscandinavian Igneous Belt. The aluminous gneisses are of supracrustal origin, and may have formed by chemical alteration of magmatic rocks. Hallandian regional metamorphism took place under a strongly elevated geotherm and was associated with granitic magmatism, suggesting an accretionary orogenic setting. The Hallandian event may demonstrate an 1.47–1.38 Ga Andean-type continental margin at the SW margin of Baltica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origin and tectonic setting of the Mesoproterozoic (1.50–1.34 Ga) granite–rhyolite Provinces of the midcontinent region of the United States, and the coeval A-type granite plutons of the southwestern United States, have been an enigma for decades. In this paper we review the history of this problem, examine the significance of a wealth of previously published U–Pb zircon and whole-rock Sm–Nd data, and present new U–Pb zircon age and Lu–Hf isotopic data from selected zircon samples. Our data show that the initiation of this magmatism spans the interval 1.50–1.40 Ga across the continent, but there is a general younging westward. Younger, 1.39–1.34 Ga magmatism also occurred across the continent, but forms a major magmatic event only in the south-central mid-continent. There is generally a good correlation between Sm–Nd and Lu–Hf isotopic compositions and inferred mantle derivation model ages, except possibly in southeastern Oklahoma. The absence of older cores in zircons is compatible with calculated zircon saturation temperatures of ca. 850 °C, and supports mantle-driven basaltic underplating and resulting crustal partial melting as a petrogenetic model for the A-type magmatism. Our new data compilation refines the existence of the “Nd-line” that extends from southwestern Texas into southeastern Michigan and the western Grenville Province in Canada; it marks an isotopic boundary between granites and rhyolites of cratonal origin to the northwest (1.8–1.6 Ga model ages) and those of more juvenile origin to the southeast (1.5–1.4 Ga model ages). Our suggested tectonic model for the Mesoproterozoic A-type magmatism across eastern and southern Laurentia involves the development of an active Laurentian margin extending from eastern Canada, across what is now the midcontinent region of the United States, and at least into the current southwestern United States. Magmatism along this margin was likely related to asthenosphere–lithosphere interactions associated with the accretion of outboard arcs and possible exotic terranes that caused complex deformational and magmatic responses in the continental interior. This activity evidently spread from northeast to southwest over a period of ca. 70 million years. The occurrence of the younger, ca. 1.39–1.34 Ga event indicates that similar processes occurred some 130 million years later, suggesting a long-lived convergent plate margin and recurring basaltic underplating in some locations, perhaps due to inboard lithospheric delamination and/or mantle upwelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation of nanostructure is important to develop the highly controlled nanomaterials. In this study, two kinds of layered titanate nanosheets, which were produced by using hexylamine and laurylamine, respectively, as surfactants were investigated by Gentle Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Gentle-SIMS (G-SIMS) and g-ogram, which is the latest Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) data analysis method for detecting more intact ions and obtaining the information on original chemical structures of samples precisely from complicated TOF-SIMS spectra. As a result, molecular related ions of the surfactants were detected from each sample, and the structural information of samples was obtained. From both samples, surfactant molecular ions connected with hydrocarbon were detected as more intact ions rather than molecular ions of themselves. It was suggested that hydrophobic domains of their lamellar mesostructure are formed robustly by more than two surfactant molecules connected with each other linearly. After all, important information on the chemical structure of the layered titanate nanosheets, which would be difficult to be found by using typical structural analysis methods such as X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, were obtained using G-SIMS and g-ogram. Therefore, it was shown that g-ogram and G-SIMS are helpful to evaluate the nanostructured materials. And it was also shown that g-ogram is applicable to organic-inorganic materials which contain long hydrocarbon structures. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a new approach to express SIMS depth profiling on a TOF.SIMS-5 time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The approach is based on the instrument capability to independently perform raster scans of sputter and probe ion beams. The probed area can be much smaller than the diameter of a sputter ion beam, like in the AES depth profiling method. This circumstance alleviates limitations on the sputter beam-raster size relation, which are critical in other types of SIMS, and enables analysis on a curved-bottomed sputter crater. By considerably reducing the raster size, it is possible to increase the depth profiling speed by an order of magnitude without radically degrading the depth resolution. A technique is proposed for successive improvement of depth resolution through profile recovery with account for the developing curvature of the sputtered crater bottom in the probed area. Experimental study of the crater bottom form resulted in implementing a method to include contribution of the instrumental artifacts in a nonstationary depth resolution function within the Hofmann's mixing-roughness-information depth model. The real-structure experiment has shown that the analysis technique combining reduction of a raster size with a successive nonstationary recovery ensures high speed of profiling at ~100 µm/h while maintaining the depth resolution of about 30 nm at a 5 µm depth. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature and range of threats to security have extremely changed that caused a following reaction which is the transition in the nature of the war as well. Under the changing circumstances of operational environment and in the face of new security environment which is more complex and ambiguous than before, modern armies have started to look for alternatives or for better options to surpass the challenge of transition in the new era. In order to comprehend the security environment better and find out new or alternative ways for solutions, International Conference on Military and Security Studies (ICMSS- 2015) launched in Turkish War Colleges Command, Istanbul on March 10th and 11th. This report is prepared to mention the importance of the military decision making and present the summary of one of the workshops which is "Decision Making and Artificial Intelligence" for the purpose of helping the research in the field of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Security information and event management (SIEM) is considered to be a promising paradigm to reconcile traditional intrusion detection processes along with most recent advances on artificial intelligence techniques in providing automatic and self-adaptive systems. However, classic management-related flaws still persist, e.g. the fusion of large amounts of security events reported from many heterogeneous systems, whilst novel intriguing challenges arise specially when dealing with the adaptation to newly encountered and multi-step attacks. In this article, we provide SIEM correlation with self-adaptation capabilities to optimize and significantly reduce the intervention of operators. In particular, our enhanced correlation engine automatically learns and produces correlation rules based on the context for different types of multi-step attacks using genetic programming. The context is considered as the knowledge and reasoning, not only acquired by a human expert but also inferred by our system, which assist in the identification and fusion of events. In this regard, a number of artificial neural networks are trained to classify events according to the corresponding context established for the attack. Experimentation is conducted on a real deployment within OSSIM to validate our proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business security and threat actors continue to play a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with businesses intellectual property, customer data, and business reputations at stake. Businesses need to delve into a new way of doing business security to break out of this game. Businesses are sitting on repositories full of security-relevant data that is not being capitalized upon with the current information security and physical security organizations within businesses. This article poses the introduction of a data scientist role and a new supporting central data correlation technology platform based on big data predictive analytics into business security functions. The goal is to intelligently and autonomously identify, correlate and pinpoint normally innocuous or unnoticed security event attributes to allow security personnel to preemptively remediate physical and information risks before exploitation or loss of intellectual property occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: An experimental investigation was conducted on the phase redistribution during air–water flow in horizontal impacting tee junctions. The main objective of the investigation was to examine the individual effects of pipe diameter and system pressure on the phase redistribution. The data correspond to a wide range of inlet conditions encompassing inlet flow regimes of stratified, wavy, and annular; the whole range of mass split ratios at the junction; pipe diameters of 13.5 and 37.8mm; and two system pressures of 150 and 200kPa (abs). The experiments have shown that the pipe diameter has a small effect on phase redistribution for the whole tested range. On the other hand, system pressure was found to have a significant effect on phase redistribution at small inlet velocities and this effect was found to decrease as the inlet velocities increased. The experimental data were compared with predictions from three analytical models. None of the three models succeeded in predicting these trends with consistency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] The top few monolayers of mineral surfaces play the critical role in flotation. [•] The TOF-SIMS technique is uniquely suited for mineral surface evaluation. [•] TOF-SIMS can discriminate and define loading of process relevant chemical species. [•] Surface data is an integral component for defining optimization strategies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Yandong porphyry Cu deposit is hosted by a volcanic complex and a felsic intrusion. [•] Diorite and plagiogranite porphyries yield SIMS zircon U–Pb ages of 340Ma and 332Ma, respectively. [•] The volcanic complex and plagiogranite porphyry formed in an Early Carboniferous island arc. [•] Plagiogranite porphyry is productive porphyry and caused alteration and mineralization. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We report technical and data treatment methods for making accurate, high-precision measurements of 18 O/16 O in Ca- Mg- Fe garnet utilising the Cameca IMS 1280 multi-collector ion microprobe. Matrix effects were similar to those shown by previous work, whereby Ca abundance is correlated with instrumental mass fractionation ( IMF). After correction for this effect, there appeared to be no significant secondary effect associated with Mg/ Fe2+ for routine operational conditions. In contrast, investigation of the IMF associated with Mn- or Cr-rich garnet showed that these substitutions are significant and require a more complex calibration scheme. The Ca-related calibration applied to low- Cr, low- Mn garnet was reproducible across different sample mounts and under a range of instrument settings and therefore should be applicable to similar instruments of this type. The repeatability of the measurements was often better than ± 0.2‰ (2 s), a precision that is similar to the repeatability of bulk techniques. At this precision, the uncertainties due to spot-to-spot repeatability were at the same magnitude as those associated with matrix corrections (± 0.1-0.3‰) and the uncertainties in reference materials (± 0.1-0.2‰). Therefore, it is necessary to accurately estimate and propagate uncertainties associated with these parameters - in some cases, uncertainties in reference materials or matrix corrections dominate the uncertainty budget. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Zr alloys were oxidised for various times in an autoclave to simulate PWR conditions. [•] Isotopic tracers 18O and 2H were added to reveal active oxidation sites by NanoSIMS analysis. [•] Hydrides were present in all samples, even those with short oxidation times. [•] Porosity mediated transitions between corrosion regimes occur at critical oxide thicknesses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The components and evolution of subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath the North China Craton and the Yangtze Craton is a current topic in the geological study of China and the carbon isotopic composition of diamond is one of the most direct probes into cratonic lithospheric mantle processes. In this paper, in-situ SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry) techniques were used to analyze the carbon isotope compositions at different internal growth zones of diamonds from Shandong and Liaoning in the North China Craton and Hunan in the Yangtze Craton. It was found that the carbon isotopic range of diamonds from the North China Craton are rather distinct from those of the Yangtze Craton; the former has a range of −6.0/‰ to −2.0‰ (relative to VPDB) with an average value of −3.0‰ in their core areas, which is consistent with global peridotitic diamonds; the diamonds from the Yangtze Craton, however, have a carbon isotopic range from −8.6‰ to −3.0‰ with an average value of −7.4‰ in their core areas, being more consistent with global eclogitic diamonds. The variations of carbon isotope ratios between different internal growth zones in individual diamonds were different in the three diamond localities studied. There was a clear correlation between changes in carbon isotopic composition and phases of diamond dissolution and new growth, while no correlation was observed between δC and internal inclusions. The variations suggest that the carbon isotopic compositions of mantle fluids were changing during the process of diamond crystallization, and that the heterogeneity of the carbon isotopic composition in mantle carbon reservoirs was a more important factor than carbon isotope fractionation in controlling the carbon isotopic compositions and their variation in diamonds. In addition, the preliminary results of in-situ nitrogen analyses demonstrated that the variation of carbon isotopic compositions between the core and outer growth zones does not correlate with nitrogen abundances, implying either that diamonds crystallized in an open environment or that the carbon isotopic composition and nitrogen contents in mantle fluids were controlled by other, not yet understood factors. The experimental results provide hints that the isotopic composition of carbon and its original sources were different in metasomatic fluids controlling diamond formation in the mantle beneath the North China Craton and the Yangtze Craton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The geological evolution in the southwestern Chinese Tianshan orogen in NW China is poorly understood because of controversial geochronological results of the low-temperature eclogites. It is likely due to Sm–Nd and Rb–Sr isotopic disequilibrium in different mineral fractions, excess 40Ar in the high-pressure K-bearing minerals, and multi-stage growths of zircon in U–Pb system. Rutile, as a typical eclogite-facies mineral with high U/Pb ratio, is a feasible candidate to constrain the eclogite-facies metamorphic event. In this study, we measured U–Pb rutile age data using SIMS (Cameca IMS 1280) for low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan orogen, NW China. We demonstrate that SIMS is a powerful technique for in-situ U–Pb dating of rutile with U content as low as 1ppm. SIMS U–Pb rutile dating yielded an age of 318±7Ma, which may record the time when the rocks cooled down to the closure temperature of Pb in rutile (ca. 500°C), but should be very close to the time of eclogite-facies metamorphism in terms of common fast exhumation of coesite-bearing eclogite. This new proof strongly suggests a late Carboniferous collision between Kazakhstan–Yili block and Central Tianshan microcontinent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Proterozoic Jaduguda U (–Cu–Fe) deposit in the Singhbhum shear zone, eastern India hosts the oldest and most productive uranium mine in India. The polymetallic ores in Jaduguda are hosted in altered, sheared and metamorphosed volcano-sedimentary rocks, and this complexity has lead to a confusion in ore genetic models for the deposit. A characteristic of the mineralization is the presence of abundant tourmaline, locally exceeding 50vol.%, which is spatially associated with U and Cu mineralization in all rock types and its chemical and B-isotopic variations provide important constraints on fluid source(s) and ore deposit affinity. We examined tourmaline from the U–Cu ore zone and adjacent footwall and hanging wall meta-sedimentary rocks. Tourmaline grew in three different stages. Pre-kinematic Tourmaline-1, represented by fractured and porphyroblastic grains, is ubiquitous in the wall rocks and the U–Cu zone. Syn-kinematic Tourmaline-2 and post-kinematic Tourmaline-3 are found exclusively in the U–Cu zone, where intense shear deformation has focussed fluid flow, alteration and metamorphism. All tourmalines belong to the alkalic group and most are dravitic. Systematic contrasts in major element compositions between Tourmaline-1 and Tourmaline-2 are attributed to the influence of high fluid/rock ratios in the U–Cu ore zone. Tourmaline from the Jaduguda deposit exhibits a wide overall range of δ11B values from −6.8 to +17.2‰. Positive values of Tourmaline-1 are irrespective of host rock and ore association (U or U+Cu), and range between +2.3 to +17.2‰ (n=44). The calculated δ11B values of fluid in equilibrium with this tourmaline (for mineralization temperatures of 300–450°C) range from ~+4 to ~+20‰. The δ11B values of syn-kinematic Tourmaline-2 are much lower than Tourmaline-1, between −6.8 and +4‰ (n=7) and the corresponding fluid δ11B values are −4.8+6‰. The high values of δ11B for Tourmaline-1 and early fluid suggest a marine evaporite or basinal brine was the source of boron, and this fits with abundant mineralogical and geochemical evidence for highly-saline fluids during mineralization. We propose that the isotopically lighter fluid associated with Tourmaline-2 and related syn-kinematic mineralization/mobilization was derived from the metamorphic volcano-sedimentary rocks at high fluid/rock ratios in and around the shear zone. Post-kinematic Tourmaline-3 is compositionally and isotopically (δ11B=+4 to +11.1‰, n=5) similar to Tourmaline-1 in the same samples, suggesting it formed by local recrystallization of the early tourmaline or from a renewed influx of saline fluids similar to those which formed the pre-kinematic mineralization. Integrating the results of this tourmaline study with the geological and geochemical characteristics of the Jaduguda U–(Cu–Fe) mineralization suggests that it is best regarded as a variant of the Fe-oxide (Cu–U–REE) or IOCG class of deposits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The maintenance and service records collected and maintained by engineering companies are a useful resource for the ongoing support of products. Such records are typically semi-structured and contain key information such as a description of the issue and the product affected. It is suggested that further value can be realised from the collection of these records for indicating recurrent and systemic issues which may not have been apparent previously. This paper presents a faceted classification approach to organise the information collection that might enhance retrieval and also facilitate learning from in-service experiences. The faceted classification may help to expedite responses to urgent in-service issues as well as to allow for patterns and trends in the records to be analysed, either automatically using suitable data mining algorithms or by manually browsing the classification tree. The paper describes the application of the approach to aerospace in-service records, where the potential for knowledge discovery is demonstrated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS or ion microprobe) remains one of the most powerful tools available to the analytical geochemist. Despite the impressive progress witnessed by other competing laboratory methods over recent years, SIMS remains unsurpassed in its combination of small sampling volumes with low analytical uncertainties. Although the current SIMS analytical design has existed for over three decades, the period 2006–2007 saw significant advances in instrumentation, analytical methodology and, not least, the characterisation of new reference materials upon which all analyses depend. As of the end of 2007 the SIMS geoscience literature was reporting total sampling masses down to the 10 fg range, spatial resolution of better than 100 nm and uncertainties on major element isotope ratio determinations of better than ± 0.2‰ (1 s). This article intends to synthesise the progress made by the geo-SIMS community during this two year period and will also highlight some specific research results that were only possible due to the unique capabilities provided by SIMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct solid analysis of bulk and thin coated glasses by pulsed radiofrequency (rf) glow discharge time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GD-TOFMS) is investigated. Modulated low pressure plasma created by pulsed-rf-GD has been coupled to a fast TOFMS in order to obtain complete mass spectra information from the different GD pulse domains (pre-peak, plateau and afterglow). In particular, it was observed that the analytes show the highest atomic ion signals in the afterglow region some hundred microseconds after the maximum of the Ar ion signal. However, it should be highlighted that the analyte ions exhibited their peak maxima at different delay times, depending on the element, after the end of the GD pulse. Such ion signal delays have been measured for different selected isotopes, covering a mass spectrum from light to heavy isotopes at different conditions of pressure and applied power. The results showed that ion signal delays are influenced by both the isotope mass and the pressure of the GD. Furthermore, GD operating conditions (pressure and applied power) were optimised in terms of sensitivity, using a bulk glass certified reference material (NIST 1411). The best analytical performance was observed at low pressure (150–200 Pa) and high applied power (135 W). Moreover, different pulse GD duty cycles (relationship between pulse duration and pulse period) were investigated. An optimum value of 50–65% duty-cycle was selected considering the signal stability and the signal intensity.The previously optimized pulsed-rf-GD-TOFMS system was then evaluated for qualitative in-depth profile analysis of thin coatings deposited onto thick glass substrates. High depth resolution (nm range), comparable to that obtained using rf-GD-OES was achieved. However, the observed depth resolution using the ToF-SIMS system is still superior. In this sense, analytical figures of merit observed in our pulsed-rf-GD-TOFMS demonstrate its great analytical potential for high depth resolution analysis of coated glasses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  Using imaging time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), we investigated the initial and steady-state sliding behavior of a nearly frictionless carbon (NFC) film. Specifically, TOF-SIMS images (both 2-D and 3-D) of these surfaces were constructed to highlight the spatial distributions of ionized and molecular species that were present on as-received and friction-tested NFC surfaces and as a function of depth. As a complementary technique, we used X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to gain further insight into the chemical nature of the sliding surfaces. The NFC films were produced on Si wafers and steel substrates in a gas discharge plasma that consisted of 25 vol.% methane and 75 vol.% hydrogen using a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system. They were then subjected to sliding friction and wear experiments in a pin-on-disk machine under 5- and 10-N loads and at sliding velocities of 0.2–0.5 m/s in dry nitrogen. The initial friction coefficients of the NFC films were in the range of 0.05–0.1, but decreased rapidly to values less than 0.01 at steady state. Positive and negative TOF-SIMS spectra and 2- and 3-D images reconstructed from selected masses revealed that the elemental distribution of certain chemical species differs substantially between undisturbed and tribo-tested areas of the NFC films. Specifically, the tribo-tested areas are essentially made up of carbon and hydrogen, while undisturbed or as-received areas are covered by a layer that is rich in oxygen and other species. These findings correlate well with the initial and steady-state friction coefficients of these films and help further explain their superlubricity in inert test environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaching behavior is the major waste characteristic that is critical for a long-term assessment prior to disposal. The extent of leaching depends on the initial contact of the glass surface with leachant. There is a need to analyze the behavior of glass materials on surfaces altered after the leaching test to prove the leaching mechanism. Based on the results of SIMS, the postleaching penetration depth for sodium and lithium was larger than those of silicon and calcium while hydrogen concentration was gradually decreasing. Such analysis agreed with their grouping into two categories by leaching mechanisms, one by initial wash-off and diffusion control and another by dissolution associated with diffusion. Single and multilayer terraces on the surface of waste glass were found and characterized by SEM. In the XRD results, a crystallized precipitation layer was not detected. Results of a leaching mechanism model and EPMA measurements were also consistent in explaining the leaching behavior of glass materials. For sodium and lithium, diffusion was the dominant leaching mechanism, while dissolution associated with diffusion affects the leaching of silicon and calcium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the word processor has evolved functionally from the typewriter, abilities required for operator proficiency in the two areas differ. Because the word processor is a much more complex and powerful tool than that of the typewriter, the job skills required of the word processing (WP) operator have expanded beyond those required of the typist. Typing or keyboarding ability has become only one component of the WP operator job domain. Rather, the understanding of a variety of WP functions is more important in determining WP proficiency. From the examination of WP and typing, it is intuitive that these two abilities should be tested by different methods. However, typing tests are still used by many organizations to select WP operators. Furthermore, the few extant WP tests tend to be: (a) basically typing tests (b) machine and/or software-limited (c) lacking as to published validation data and/or (d) in-house tests. The purpose of the present research was to examine the reliability and validity of a newly developed work-sample test-the Melvin-Sims Word Processing Operator Test. To this end, they have conducted three studies in university and industrial settings. The research approach of this article's authors combined techniques of content, criterion-related and construct validation.

With the advent of 3G mobile telephony, the demands placed on the memory and processing capabilities of SIM cards have increased dramatically. In order to cope with these demands, and to provide significantly enhanced capabilities, almost all the main players have now launched 128K SIM cards.This is a short news story only. Visit www.compseconline.com for the latest computer security news. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]