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A novel combined setup of a gas aggregation source and a secondary radio frequency discharge is used to generate, confine, and coat nanoparticles. The approach is demonstrated by generating Ag@SiO2 nanoparticles with a well-defined surface coating.

Measurements of ion flux-energy distribution functions at the high sheath potential of the driven electrode in a classical low-pressure asymmetric capacitively coupled plasma are technically difficult as the diagnostic device needs to float with the applied radio frequency voltage. Otherwise, the ion sampling is disturbed by the varying electric field between the grounded device and the driven electrode. To circumvent such distortions, a low-pressure plasma chamber with inverted electrode geometry, where the larger electrode is driven and the smaller electrode is grounded, has been constructed and characterized. Measurements of the ion flux-energy distribution functions with an energy-selective mass spectrometer at the high sheath potential of the grounded electrode are presented for a variety of conditions and ions. The potential for suppressing low-energy ions from resonant charge transfer collisions in the sheath by the dilution of the working gas is demonstrated. Additionally, the setup is supplemented by an inductively coupled plasma that controls the plasma density and consequently the ion flux to the substrate while the radio frequency bias controls the ion energy. At high ion energies, metal ions are detected as a consequence of the ionization of sputtered electrode material. The proposed setup opens a way to study precisely the effects of ion treatment for a variety of substrates such as catalysts, polymers, or thin films.

ZusammenfassungDie Sicherung der Qualität von Gesundheitsleistungen ist ein Kernanliegen des Systems der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung. Es ist daher nicht überraschend, dass die jüngeren Initiativen zur (weiteren) Digitalisierung des Gesundheitssystems ohne Ausnahme mit der Sicherung oder gar Steigerung der Qualität der Leistungserbringung begründet werden. Dies betrifft beispielsweise die Einführung der elektronischen Patientenakte und anderer Anwendungen der Telematikinfrastruktur mit dem Patientendaten-Schutz-Gesetz (PDSG), aber auch die Einführung der digitalen Gesundheitsanwendungen mit dem Digitale-Versorgung-Gesetz (DVG) sowie die Stärkung der Krankenhaus-IT mit dem Krankenhauszukunftsgesetz (KHZG).Der Artikel beleuchtet die Frage, in welchem Verhältnis der Einsatz verschiedener digitaler Lösungen zu den klassischen Zielen der Qualitätssicherung in der Gesundheitsversorgung steht, insbesondere ob digitale Lösungen geeignet sind, Qualitätssicherung zu befördern.Es zeigt sich, dass digitale Lösungen grundsätzlich geeignet sind, Qualität zu sichern. Dies ist auf 2 Charakteristika digitaler Lösungen zurückzuführen: die Möglichkeit zur umfassenden Erhebung von Daten und die Möglichkeit der zeit- und ortsunabhängigen Bereitstellung von Daten. Es zeigt sich aber auch, dass der Nutzen digitaler Lösungen vom konkreten Anwendungsfall abhängig ist.

Metal-organic framework (MOF) glasses are a new class of microporous glass materials with immense potential for applications ranging from gas separation to optics and solid electrolytes. Due to the inherent difficulty to determine the atomistic structure of amorphous glasses, the intrinsic structural porosity of MOF glasses is only poorly understood. In this work, the porosity features of a series of prototypical MOF glass formers from the family of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) and their corresponding glasses is investigated comprehensively. CO2 gas sorption at 195 K allows to follow the evolution of microporosity when transforming from the crystalline to the glassy state of these materials. Based on these data, the pore volume and the real density of the ZIF glasses is quantified for the first time. Additional hydrocarbon sorption data (n-butane, propane and propylene) together with X-ray total scattering experiments prove that the porosity features (in particular the pore size and the pore limiting diameter) of the ZIF glasses depend on the types of organic linkers present in the glass network. This allows formulating first design principles for a targeted tuning of the intrinsic microporosity of MOF glasses. Importantly, these principles are counterintuitive and contrary to established porosity design concepts for crystalline MOFs but show similarities to strategies previously developed for porous polymers.

In recent years, we have seen an increasing dependency between different urban critical infrastructures, which raises the demands on their analysis and cybersecurity. Current open-source solutions do not provide simulations of interconnected data networks and power grids, which are essential for analysing of both infrastructures weak parts and reducing the risk of emerging threats. The main purpose of this paper is to describe the design of a simulation platform that provides this type of simulation to customers using the virtual user interface. The paper describes the development of a complex model of interconnected power and data infrastructures. Created virtualization platform that consists of several open-source tools is described in detail. Outputs of this paper can be used for analysis of critical infrastructures at the level of urban networks.

Atmospheric-pressure plasma jets operated in noble gases with an oxygen admixture have high application potential in industry and medicine. In this paper, we report on an extension of the well-studied RF-driven plasma jet from the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST-Jet), which has shown to deliver stable and reproducible discharge conditions but is limited to the [Formula: see text]-discharge mode at low input powers. The so-called capillary-jet features the same discharge geometry as the COST-Jet, but the plasma is ignited inside a capillary with a square cross section acting as a dielectric in front of the electrodes. This prevents a glow-to-arc-transition at high input powers and allows stable operation in the [Formula: see text]-mode. We performed a set of measurements on the capillary-jet in the [Formula: see text]- and [Formula: see text]-mode and compared the [Formula: see text]-mode results to data obtained for the COST-Jet showing that the discharges are indeed similar and that the capillary-jet extends the accessible parameter range to high input powers. The presented results include power characteristics, temperature measurements, atomic oxygen densities from helium state enhanced actinometry, and molecular beam mass spectrometry (MBMS) as well as ozone densities from MBMS as functions of input power and molecular oxygen admixture. The results are summarized into an energy balance with most of the power dissipated into heating of the plasma feed gas.

We present a new method for the determination of surface coefficients, more specifically the effective ion-induced secondary electron yield, γ eff, and the effective elastic electron reflection coefficient, r eff, by means of a synergistic combination of energy-selective mass spectrometry measurements and numerical particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collisions simulations of the ion flux-energy distribution function (IEDF) in a symmetric capacitively coupled plasma (CCP). In particular, we analyze the bimodal peak structure of the IEDF, which is caused by ions crossing the sheath without collisions. The position and width of this structure on the energy scale are defined by the time-averaged sheath potential and the ion transit time through the sheath, respectively. We find that both characteristics are differently influenced by γ eff and r eff. The ion-induced secondary electrons are accelerated in the large sheath potential and mainly influence the plasma density, sheath width and, consequently, the ion transit time and in this way the bimodal peak separation. Electron reflection from the electrodes acts mainly at times of sheath collapse, where low energy electrons can reach the surfaces. Their contribution to the plasma density increase is small, however, their longer residence time in the vicinity of the electrodes modifies the space charge density and the potential gradient. Additionally, the charge balance at the electrode requires an incident electron flux that is correlated to the flux of emitted ion induced secondary electrons and reflected electrons, which is realized by a change of the electron repelling sheath voltage. As a consequence, the electron reflection coefficient mainly influences the sheath potential and, hence, the position of the bimodal peak structure. These effects allow the simultaneous in situ determination of both surface parameters. The parameter values determined for stainless steel and Al2O3 surfaces are in good agreement with literature data. Our method opens a straightforward way of obtaining γ eff and r eff under realistic plasma conditions.

In recent years, non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasmas have been used extensively for surface treatments, in particular, due to their potential in biological applications. However, the scientific results often suffer from reproducibility problems due to unreliable plasma conditions as well as complex treatment procedures. To address this issue and provide a stable and reproducible plasma source, the COST-Jet reference source was developed. In this work, we propose a detailed protocol to perform reliable and reproducible surface treatments using the COST reference microplasma jet (COST-Jet). Common issues and pitfalls are discussed, as well as the peculiarities of the COST-Jet compared to other devices and its advantageous remote character. A detailed description of both solid and liquid surface treatment is provided. The described methods are versatile and can be adapted for other types of atmospheric pressure plasma devices.

Plasma reactors for the application of silicon oxide coatings (SiOx) are often customized to optimize the processes regarding substrate properties and targeted functionalities. The design of these reactors is often based on qualitative considerations. This paper evaluates the use of a numerical, free simulation software for continuous mechanical problems (OpenFOAM) as a tool to evaluate reactor design options. As demonstrator for this purpose serves a given reactor for large-area pulsed microwave plasmas with a precursor inlet in the form of a shower ring. Previous results indicate that the shower ring may lead to an inhomogeneity in plasma and coatings properties along the substrate surface. Thus, a new precursor inlet design shall be developed. For this, the distribution of the process gases in the reactor for a variety of gas inlet designs and gas flows was simulated and a design chosen based on the results. The reactor was modified accordingly, and the simulations correlated with experimental results of plasma and coating properties. The results show that, despite many simplifications, a simulation of the neutral gas distribution using an open-access software can be a viable tool to support reactor and process design development.

It has been shown that mammalian retinal glial (Müller) cells act as living optical fibers that guide the light through the retinal tissue to the photoreceptor cells (Agte et al., 2011; Franze et al., 2007). However, for nonmammalian species it is unclear whether Müller cells also improve the transretinal light transmission. Furthermore, for nonmammalian species there is a lack of ultrastructural data of the retinal cells, which, in general, delivers fundamental information of the retinal function, i.e. the vision of the species. A detailed study of the cellular ultrastructure provides a basic approach of the research. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the retina of the spectacled caimans at electron and light microscopical levels to describe the structural features. For electron microscopy, we used a superfast microwave fixation procedure in order to achieve more precise ultrastructural information than common fixation techniques. As result, our detailed ultrastructural study of all retinal parts shows structural features which strongly indicate that the caiman retina is adapted to dim light and night vision. Various structural characteristics of Müller cells suppose that the Müller cell may increase the light intensity along the path of light through the neuroretina and, thus, increase the sensitivity of the scotopic vision of spectacled caimans. Müller cells traverse the whole thickness of the neuroretina and thus may guide the light from the inner retinal surface to the photoreceptor cell perikarya and the Müller cell microvilli between the photoreceptor segments. Thick Müller cell trunks/processes traverse the layers which contain light-scattering structures, i.e., nerve fibers and synapses. Large Müller cell somata run through the inner nuclear layer and contain flattened, elongated Müller cell nuclei which are arranged along the light path and, thus, may reduce the loss of the light intensity along the retinal light path. The oblique arrangement of many Müller cell trunks/processes in the inner plexiform layer and the large Müller cell somata in the inner nuclear layer may suggest that light guidance through Müller cells increases the visual sensitivity. Furthermore, an adaptation of the caiman retina to low light levels is strongly supported by detailed ultrastructural data of other retinal parts, e.g. by (i) the presence of a guanine-based retinal tapetum, (ii) the rod dominance of the retina, (iii) the presence of photoreceptor cell nuclei, which penetrate the outer limiting membrane, (iv) the relatively low densities of photoreceptor and neuronal cells which is compensated by (v) the presence of rods with long and thick outer segments, that may increase the probability of photon absorption. According to a cell number analysis, the central and temporal areas of the dorsal tapetal retina, which supports downward prey detection in darker water, are the sites of the highest diurnal contrast/color vision, i.e. cone vision and of the highest retinal light sensitivity, i.e. rod vision.

Non-equilibrium radio-frequency driven atmospheric-pressure plasma in He/0.6%O2 gas mixture has been used to study the reaction mechanism of plasma-generated oxygen atoms in aqueous solutions. The effluent from the plasma source operated with standard and 18O-labeled O2 gas was used to treat water in the presence of phenol as a chemical probe. Comparing the mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry data of the solutions treated with plasma under normal and labeled oxygen provides clear evidence that O(aq) originating from the gas phase enters the liquid and reacts directly with phenol, without any intermediate reactions. Additionally, the atmospheric-pressure plasma source demonstrates great potential to be an effective source of O(aq) atoms without the requirement for any precursors in the liquid phase.

Hybrid Zn-air and Zn-M (M represents transition metal oxide/hydroxide) batteries combined at the cell level take the advantages of Zn-air high-capacity and Zn-M high cell voltage. However, the performance of a Zn-air/M battery relies on finding a dual-functional cathode material, which can effectively serve both battery’s chemistries. Here we demonstrate the superior performance of a hybrid battery cathode based on Fe doped Ni double hydroxide nanoflakes and activated carbon material. Fe doping transforms the disordered crystal structure of Ni hydroxide to a stable hydrotalcite-type structure with significantly enhanced redox conversion capacity, improved electric conductivity and superior OER activity. Therefore, the hybrid battery exhibits a high total energy density, unprecedented energy conversion efficiency (87% at 4 mA cm-2) and superior power density (100 mW cm-2 at 60 mA cm-2) that outperforms reported hybrid batteries of other cathode materials. Moreover, the hybrid Zn-air/Ni1-xFex–LDH battery is featured with the capability of high-rate charging owing to the rapid kinetic of the redox reactions and the excellent catalytic activity of the cathode materials.

A remote atmospheric pressure plasma source with He/O 2 gas mixture, a so-called COST-Jet, is used for the treatment of aqueous phenol solutions. Phenol consumption and the formation of phenol oxidation products (catechol, hydroquinone, resorcinol, and pyrogallol) are measured with high-performance liquid chromatography/UV-VIS and direct-infusion high-resolution mass spectrometry. The variation of O 2 admixture and phenol concentrations in combination with 2D axisymmetric modeling of species transport and reaction kinetics both in the gas and liquid phase allow us to obtain more information about atomic oxygen reactions at and transport across the liquid surface. The results show that most of the atomic oxygen reactions with phenol take place at the liquid surface, mainly due to the low value of Henry’s law solubility constant of atomic oxygen and the surfactant character of phenol molecules. This study indicates that other atomic oxygen reactions, e.g., the reaction with Cl − anions in phosphate-buffered saline or in saline solution to form ClO −, also take place predominantly at the surface of the liquid. The knowledge provided by this work has important implications for further development of plasma–liquid treatments involving atomic oxygen as a reactant.

Absztrakt

The development of rechargeable zinc–air batteries is hindered by the low energy- conversion efficiency and the short cycle life, which are partly due to the unsatisfactory performance of the oxygen electrocatalysts on the air-cathode. The low performance of the catalysts is partially due to the complexity of the gas- involving multiphase interface required for the oxygen cataly sis reactions, and it is often acquired only for a fraction of the loaded catalyst that is in direct contact with the 2D surface of the gas diffus ion layer (GDL). A paradigm is proposed for extending the active region using an enhanced 3D multiphase interface on the cathode, which comprises abundant active sites with optimized hydrophobicity and reliable stability. The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) or the bifunctional catalyst is embedded into the bulk of the GDL and forms a semihydrophobic catalyst layer (SCL), whereas an auxiliary hydrophilic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst layer integrated onto the GDL assists to reduce the polarization during the cell charging and improves the cathode durability. An air-cathode comprising the SCL exhibits an overall performance superior to the conventional cathode counterparts including cathodes with metal-based catalysts, due to the enhanced and optimized multiphase interface on the cathode.

This foundation article discusses the diagnostics of electrons and ions in plasmas and fluxes of charged and neutral species toward plasma-facing surfaces by non-optical methods. The focus is laid on the fundamentals of the most common methods and their application to non-equilibrium low-pressure electropositive plasmas and ion beams. The key topics are Langmuir probes (LPs), Faraday cups (FCs) and energy analyzers, mass spectrometry, as well as novel calorimetric and force probes (FPs). For each method, the concepts are introduced, hints at best practice are given, and a survey of the recently published literature is included. Starting with the sheath–plasma boundary, the principles of plane and cylindrical LPs and the measurement of electron temperature and density are discussed. Beyond standard textbooks, double, triple and emissive probes are described and modulation techniques for obtaining the electron energy distribution function are presented. More technical issues related to probe compensation in radio-frequency plasmas, probe contamination, and the influence of a magnetic field are also included. The presentation is completed by modern radio-frequency techniques, such as impedance probes, multipole resonance probes, and self-excited electron resonance spectroscopy. FCs, retarding field analyzers (RFAs) as well as novel calorimetric and FPs are useful tools for the measurement of overall, not species resolved, ions and neutral species fluxes toward surfaces. RFAs provide overall ion energy distribution functions, whereas calorimetric and FPs can deliver information about fluxes of fast neutrals. The issues related to secondary electron emission, absolute signal calibration, and analysis of plasmas with complex chemistry are discussed. Mass spectrometry diagnostics is capable of mass and energy-resolved detection of ions and neutral species at the plasma-facing surfaces. Detection, identification and absolute density calibration of neutral stable and radical species are treated in detail and peculiarities of ion mass spectrometry, such as detection of negative ions, ion measurements in front of powered electrodes, or chromatic aberration and acceptance angle limitations in energy spectrum measurements are introduced.

Luminescent silicon nanoparticles are promising not only for optoelectronics or photovoltaics, but also for biological and medical research, e.g., as luminescent markers, for drug delivery, or toxicity studies. For intracellular biological research, it is necessary to prepare water-based or isotonic colloidal solutions of nanoparticles which are stable and non-toxic. In this work, we compare structural and optical properties of silicon nanocrystals in colloidal solutions, obtained by two fundamentally different methods: A microplasma-based synthesis (a “bottom-up” technique) and porous silicon prepared by electrochemical etching of a silicon wafer (a “top–down” method). Low-pressure microwave plasma synthesis produces ∼5–8 nm large silicon nanocrystals while the porous siliconcontains clusters ∼60–70 nm in diameter, composed of nanometer-sized luminescent nanocrystals. However, both types of nanoparticles are prone to agglomeration, as was confirmed by dynamic light scattering and zeta potential measurements. We have attempted to stabilize the nanoparticles via modification of the their surface by methyl groups; however, the mechano-photo-chemical treatment procedure leading to coverage with methyl groups is less efficient in the case of plasma-synthesized nanoparticles than in porous silicon. The first attempt of steric stabilization of the colloidal solutions of the silicon nanoparticles was succesfully carried out too; good candidates for stabilization are bovine serum albumin and glycine.

Atmospheric pressure plasmas (APPs) have achieved great scientific and technological advances for a wide range of applications. The synthesis and treatment of materials by APPs have always attracted great attention due to potential economic benefits if compared to low-pressure plasma processes. Nonetheless, APPs present very distinctive features that suggest atmospheric pressure operation could bring other benefits for emerging new technologies. In particular, materials synthesized by APPs which are suitable candidates for third generation photovoltaics are reviewed here.

We report on mass spectrometry of residual gases after dissociation of tetramethylsilane (TMS) during the synthesis of silicon carbide (SiC) nanocrystals (NCs) by an atmospheric pressure microplasma. We use these results to provide details that can contribute to the understanding of the formation mechanisms of NCs. Mass spectrometry reveals the presence of high‐mass polymerization products supporting the key role of neutral fragments and limited atomization. On this basis, we found that the loss of methyl groups from TMS, together with hydrogen abstraction, represents important paths leading to nucleation and growth. The combination of TMS concentration and NC residence time controls the NC mean size and the corresponding distributions. For higher precursor concentrations, the reaction kinetics is sufficiently fast to promote coalescence.

Neutral species and positive ions are measured by means of mass spectrometry in the effluent of the non-equilibrium atmospheric plasma jet operated in He/0%–1%CO2 gas mixture. The capacitively coupled plasma source is the predecessor of the known COST reference jet with identical performance and it is operated in a diffuse mode with gas temperature close to the room temperature. Threshold ionisation molecular beam mass spectrometry is used to measure absolute densities of CO, O2, O and O3 species. The CO molecules are generated with densities up to 2 × 1015 cm−3 at 1 W absorbed power. The O2 density is ∼6 times lower than the CO density and even lower than the O density at level of 4.5 × 1014 cm−3. The O3 density is negligibly small at 4 × 1012 cm−3. The measured O2, O3 and O absolute densities add up to ∼57% of the expected oxygen amount. The high O density could indicate that the vibrational excitation of CO2 is ineffective in this plasma and gas mixture, because O would otherwise react quickly with vibrationally excited CO2(v) to form CO and O2, the low energy efficiency is in agreement with the possibly low vibrational excitation. The highest energy efficiency is just 5% with 1% conversion efficiency. Ion mass spectrometry have been used to measure positive and negative ions, where only positive ions have been detected. The ion with highest signal is the O 2 + ion, probably due to its low ionisation energy. CO 2 + , O 3 + , ( CO ) 2 + , but no CO+, and protonated clusters or clusters containing water molecules have been detected as well. Neutrals and positive ions have been measured as a function of CO2 admixture, applied power and distance to the jet nozzle. The observed trends can be used for validation of plasma-chemistry models.

Plasmonic response of free charges confined in nanostructures of plasmonic materials is a powerful means for manipulating the light-material interaction at the nanoscale and hence has influence on various relevant technologies. In particular, plasmonic materials responsive in the mid-infrared range are technologically important as the mid-infrared is home to the vibrational resonance of molecules and also thermal radiation of hot objects. However, the development of the field is practically challenged with the lack of low-loss materials supporting high quality plasmons in this range of the spectrum. Here, we demonstrate that degenerately doped InN nanocrystals (NCs) support tunable and low-loss plasmon resonance spanning the entire midwave infrared range. Modulating free-carrier concentration is achieved by engineering nitrogen-vacancy defects (InN1-x, 0.017 amp;lt; x amp;lt; 0.085) in highly degenerate NCs using a nonequilibrium gas-phase growth process. Despite the significant reduction in the carrier mobility relative to intrinsic InN, the mobility in degenerate InN NCs (amp;gt;60 cm(2)/(V s)) remains considerably higher than the carrier mobility reported for other materials NCs such as doped metal oxides, chalcogenides, and noble metals. These findings demonstrate feasibility of controlled tuning of infrared plasmon resonances in a low-loss material of III-V compounds and open a gateway to further studies of these materials nanostructures for infrared plasmonic applications. Funding Agencies|Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation [KAW 14.0276]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009-00971]; EPSRC [EP/M024938/1]

Neuroevolution is a field in which evolutionary algorithms are applied with the goal of evolving Neural Networks (NNs). This paper studies different variants of the Semantic Learning Machine (SLM) algorithm, a recently proposed supervised learning neuroevolution method. Perhaps the most interesting characteristic of SLM is that it searches over unimodal error landscapes in any supervised learning problem where the error is measured as a distance to the known targets. SLM is compared with the NeuroEvolution of Augmenting Topologies (NEAT) algorithm and with a fixed-topology neuroevolution approach. Experiments are performed on a total of 9 real-world regression and classification datasets. The results show that the best SLM variants generally outperform the other neuroevolution approaches in terms of generalization achieved, while also being more efficient in learning the training data. The best SLM variants also outperform the common NN backpropagation-based approach under different topologies. The most efficient SLM variant used in combination with a recently proposed semantic stopping criterion is capable of evolving competitive neural networks in a few seconds on the vast majority of the datasets considered. A final comparison shows that a NN ensemble built with SLM is able to outperform the Random Forest algorithm in two classification datasets.

The determination of individual prostaglandins (PG) in humans is mainly performed in urine samples. The quantification of PGs in human plasma could improve the understanding of particular PG species under various physiological and pathological conditions. 15-Deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2) is a dehydrated downstream product of PGD2 and is of high interest due to its recently discovered anti-inflammatory effects. Increasing availability of highly sensitive mass spectrometry allows the quantification of low abundant biomarkers like 15d-PGJ2 in human plasma samples. Herein, a sensitive LC-MS/MS method for the determination of 15d-PGJ2 was established. The method was validated according to the guidance of the American Food and Drug Administration and tested in plasma samples from patients with poorly controlled diabetes, considered to be a pro-inflammatory condition. Extraction of 15d-PGJ2 was achieved with an easy-to-use liquid-liquid extraction by ethyl acetate following a methanol precipitation. The lower limit of quantification was 2.5 pg mL−1 and linearity (R 2 = 0.998) was guaranteed between 2.5 and 500 pg mL−1 for 15d-PGJ2. Selectivity was assured by the use of two individual mass transitions (qualifier and quantifier). Precision and accuracy were validated in an inter- and intraday assay with a coefficient of variation below 11.8% (intraday) and 14.7% (interday). In diabetic patients with an HbA1C > 9%, increased plasma concentrations of 15d-PGJ2 compared to control plasma were measured. 15d-PGJ2 correlated negatively with the inflammation marker C-reactive protein. The developed LC-MS/MS method represents a new possibility to quantify 15d-PGJ2 with high specificity in human plasma samples. This may contribute to a better understanding of the potential anti-inflammatory effects of 15d-PGJ2 in severe long-term pro-inflammatory disorders like diabetes, cancer, or cardiovascular disease. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00216-017-0748-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Objectives: Despite recent development of health technology assessment (HTA) methods, there are still methodological gaps for the assessment of complex health technologies. The INTEGRATE-HTA guidance for effectiveness, economic, ethical, socio-cultural, and legal aspects, deals with challenges when assessing complex technologies, such as heterogeneous study designs, multiple stakeholder perspectives, and unpredictable outcomes. The objective of this article is to outline this guidance and describe the added value of integrating these assessment aspects.Methods: Different methods were used to develop the various parts of the guidance, but all draw on existing, published knowledge and were supported by stakeholder involvement. The guidance was modified after application in a case study and in response to feedback from internal and external reviewers.Results: The guidance consists of five parts, addressing five core aspects of HTA, all presenting stepwise approaches based on the assessment of complexity, context, and stakeholder involvement. The guidance on effectiveness, health economics and ethics aspects focus on helping users choose appropriate, or further develop, existing methods. The recommendations are based on existing methods’ applicability for dealing with problems arising with complex interventions. The guidance offers new frameworks to identify socio-cultural and legal issues, along with overviews of relevant methods and sources.Conclusions: The INTEGRATE-HTA guidance outlines a wide range of methods and facilitates appropriate choices among them. The guidance enables understanding of how complexity matters for HTA and brings together assessments from disciplines, such as epidemiology, economics, ethics, law, and social theory. This indicates relevance for a broad range of technologies.

Changes in the regulation, formation, and gating of connexin-based gap junction channels occur in various disorders. It has been shown that H and Ca are involved in the regulation of gap junctional communication. Ischemia-induced intracellular acidification and Ca overload lead to closure of gap junctions and inhibit an exchange by ions and small molecules throughout the network of cells in the heart, brain, and other tissues. In this study, we examined the role of the polyamines in the regulation of connexin 43 (Cx43)-based gap junction channels under elevated intracellular concentrations of hydrogen ([H]i) and calcium ([Ca]i) ions. Experiments, conducted in Novikoff and A172 human glioblastoma cells, which endogenously express Cx43, showed that polyamines prevent downregulation of Cx43-mediated gap junctional communication caused by elevated [Ca]i and [H]i, accompanying ischemic and other pathological conditions. siRNA knockdown of Cx43 significantly reduces gap junctional communication, indicating that Cx43 gap junctions are the targets for spermine regulation.

Silicon nanostructures are synthesized with a DC atmospheric pressure microplasma jet using an Ar/SiH4/H-2 gas mixture. The plasma is characterized by OES and imaged using an EMCCD camera. The effect of hydrogen admixture to the formed structures is studied by transmission electron microscopy. Under specific conditions, crystalline silicon nanoparticles grow in an amorphous matrix investigated by electron energy loss spectroscopy. As-grown silicon nanoparticles are collected in ethanol for dynamic light scattering and photoluminescence measurements. The size distribution peaks at 4nm. The silicon nanocrystals exhibit roomtemperature photoluminescence that peaks at approximate to 415 and approximate to 465 nm.

A remote microscale atmospheric pressure plasma jet with a He/O2 gas mixture is used to etch a hydrogenated amorphous carbon layer. The etched profiles are measured by means of imaging spectroscopic reflectometry, a powerful technique providing a 2D map of the film thickness (etched profile) and also film properties. Additionally, the 2D axially symmetric fluid model of the gas flow and species transport combined with the basic kinetic model of the reaction of O atoms with O2 molecules has been solved to study the transport and surface reactivity of O atoms. The model provides a spatially resolved and surface-integrated O atom loss rate at the surface. The situation with convection-dominated species transport and fast recombination reactions of O atoms in the volume leads to a strong dependence of the etched profile on the O2 admixture and O atom surface loss probability β. By comparing etched profiles with the simulation results, the O atom surface reaction probability of β = 0.2%–0.6% could be estimated. The modeled O atom loss rate at the surface was always higher and with the same trend as the etching rate, corroborating that O atoms are the main etching species. The presented data and simulation results show that the fastest surface-integrated etching rate is achieved not under conditions with the highest O density on the jet axis, but at lower O2 admixtures due to reduced recombination losses in the gas phase.

Characterisation of an atmospheric pressure microplasma jet in combination with simulations have been used to determine reaction mechanism of SiO2-like film formation and reaction rate constants for several gas phase reactions in the He/hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO)(/O2) plasma chemistry. Using a variable-length quartz tube, the gas residence time in the plasma effluent could be well controlled without changing plasma properties. A possible reaction scheme has been developed. Deposition rates, deposited profiles, carbon content of the films and the depletion of HMDSO could be reproduced by the simulation. The simulation indicates that HMDSO in He(/O2) plasma dissociates preferentially into (CH3)3SiO and Si(CH3)3, where the former radical serves as a main growth precursor.

Cold atmospheric pressure plasmas (CAPs) are being investigated for medical applications, and the first clinical studies are promising. However, interactions between plas- mas and biological samples are only partly understood on a molecular level. In this study, bo- vine serum albumin (BSA), a standard model for plasma-mediated etching of biological sam- ples, was used to investigate the effects of different components of an He/O 2 plasma effluent on proteins. The X-jet features an optional lateral helium flow that splits the plasma effluent into particles and (V)UV radiation. BSA samples were exposed separately to plasma-emitted particles, UV radiation, or the combination of both. Afterward, plasma-treated samples were investigated using SDS-PAGE and western blot analysis for amino acid strand breaks, but none were detected. Furthermore, treated samples were investigated by Raman spectroscopy to search for chemical modifications. We found that treatment with the X-jet has little effect on BSA. Minor changes in the Raman spectra suggest modifications of tyrosine residues and some degree of oxidation of sulfur-containing amino acids. Our findings suggest that for the X-jet effluent, etching is the main effect of plasma on BSA, making BSA a suitable model with which to study protein etching.

The analysis of the ion chemistry of atmospheric pressure plasmas is essential to evaluate ionic reaction pathways during plasma-surface or plasma-analyte interactions. In this contribution, the ion chemistry of a radio-frequency atmospheric pressure plasma jet (μ-APPJ) operated in helium is investigated by mass spectrometry (MS). It is found, that the ion composition is extremely sensitive to impurities such as N2, O2 and H2O. Without gas purification, protonated water cluster ions of the form H+(H2O) n are dominating downstream the positive ion mass spectrum. However, even after careful feed gas purification to the sub-ppm level using a molecular sieve trap and a liquid nitrogen trap as well as operation of the plasma in a controlled atmosphere, the positive ion mass spectrum is strongly influenced by residual trace gases. The observations support the idea that species with a low ionization energy serve as a major source of electrons in atmospheric pressure helium plasmas. Similarly, the neutral density of atomic nitrogen measured by MS in a He/N2 mixture is varying up to a factor 3, demonstrating the significant influence of impurities on the neutral species chemistry as well.

Mass spectrometry of ions from atmospheric pressure plasmas is a challenging diagnostic method that has been applied to a large variety of cold plasma sources in the past. However, absolute densities can usually not be obtained, moreover, the process of sampling of ions and neutrals from such a plasma inherently influences the measured composition. These issues are studied in this contribution by a combination of experimental and numerical methods. Different numerical domains are sequentially coupled to calculate the ion transmission from the source to the mass analyzer. It is found that the energy of the sampled ions created by a radio-frequency microplasma operated in a He-N2 mixture at atmospheric pressure is of the order of 0.1 eV and that it depends linearly on the ion mass in good agreement with the expectation for seeded particles accelerated in a supersonic expansion. Moreover, the measured ion energy distribution from an afterglow of an atmospheric pressure plasma can be reproduced on basis of the particle trajectories in the sampling system. Eventually, an estimation of the absolute flux of ions to the detector is deduced.