Our lab has recently found that E2F3, an essential cell cycle regulator, regulates the self-renewal capacity of neural precursor cells (NPCs) in the developing mouse brain. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and immunoblotting techniques revealed several E2F3 target genes, including the polycomb group (PcG) protein, EZH2. Further ChIP and immunoblotting techniques identified the neural stem cell self-renewal regulators p16INK4a and Sox2 as shared gene targets of E2F3 and PcG proteins, indicating that E2F3 and PcG proteins may co-regulate these target genes. E2f3-/- NPCs demonstrated dysregulated expression of EZH2, p16INK4a, and SOX2 and decreased enrichment of PcG proteins at target genes. Restoring EZH2 expression to E2f3+/+ levels restores p16INK4a and SOX2 expression levels to near E2f3+/+ levels, and also partially rescues NPC self-renewal capacity toward E2f3+/+ levels. Taken together, these results suggest that E2F3 controls NPC self-renewal by modulating expression of p16INK4a and SOX2 via regulation of PcG expression, and potentially PcG recruitment.

La formation de nouvelles particules est un processus complexe à l’origine d’une fraction importante des concentrations en nombre de particules observées dans l’atmosphère. En jouant le rôle de noyau de condensation (CCN) pour la formation des gouttelettes de nuage, les particules issues de ce processus impactent le bilan radiatif terrestre. Fréquemment observée et documentée à basse altitude, la formation de nouvelles particules a plus rarement fait l’objet d’études à haute altitude. L’analyse des données obtenues en 2012 à la plus haute station du monde, Chacaltaya (5240 m, Bolivie) révèle une fréquence d’observation annuelle du processus remarquablement élevée (64%), avec de nombreux évènements multiples. Les mesures conduites à la station du puy de Dôme (1465 m, ACTRIS, GAW) qui bénéficie d’un dispositif instrumental rare ont plus particulièrement permis de mettre en évidence le déroulement du processus en troposphère libre. Une analyse complète de l’extension verticale du processus rendue possible grâce aux données aéroportées obtenues au-dessus du bassin Méditerranéen dans le cadre du projet HYMEX (MISTRALS, automne 2012) a montré qu’en plus d’être observé à haute altitude, le processus de formation de nouvelles particules semblait y être clairement favorisé, avec une probabilité d’observation multipliée par 10 au-dessus de 1000 m. De plus, à ces altitudes le processus de formation de nouvelles particules pourrait être une source importante de CCN, comme le suggèrent les résultats obtenus à Chacaltaya, où dans 68% des évènements analysés les particules formées atteignent des diamètres suffisants pour jouer le rôle de CCN. La diversité des environnements associés aux bases de données utilisées a également permis d’apporter des éléments relatifs à la compréhension du processus du point de vue de la charge des embryons formés, de l’identité des précurseurs gazeux impliqués et des paramètres atmosphériques influençant le processus. Ces éléments sont déterminants pour une prise en compte optimale du processus de formation de nouvelles particules dans les modèles. / New particle formation (NPF) results from a complex sequence of multiple processes and contributes to an important fraction of the total atmospheric aerosol number concentration. After they grow, newly formed particles can act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), and thus have indirect effect on the Earth radiative balance through cloud related radiative processes. While NPF has often been observed and studied at low altitudes, the occurrence of the process is poorly documented in the literature for high altitude sites. We report a high annual frequency of the NPF process (64%) at the highest measurement site in the world, Chacaltaya (5240 m, Bolivia), in 2012, with frequent multiple events. At the puy de Dôme station (1465 m, ACTRIS, GAW), the occurrence of NPF in the free troposphere was detected using a unique instrumental setup. A complete analysis of the vertical extension of the NPF process was performed based on airborne measurements conducted above the Mediterranean basin in the frame of the HYMEX project (MISTRALS, September – November 2012). Our observations suggest that NPF could be favored at high altitudes with a probability of occurrence increased by 10 above 1000 m. At these altitudes, NPF could significantly contribute to the production of CCN, since 68% of the analyzed events show particle growth up to CCN sizes at Chacaltaya. The high number of observations recorded in various environments also contributed to improve our knowledge regarding the charge of the nucleated clusters, the identity of the gaseous precursors and the atmospheric parameters influencing the NPF process. This will allow a better parameterization of the NPF process in modelling tools.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a versatile environmentally benign II-VI direct wide band gap semiconductor with several technologically plausible applications such as transparent conducting oxide in flat panel and flexible displays. Hence, ZnO thin films have to be processed below the glass transition temperatures of polymeric substrates used in flexible displays. ZnO thin films were synthesized via aqueous polymeric precursor process by different metallic salt routes using ethylene glycol, glycerol, citric acid, and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) as chelating agents. ZnO thin films, derived from ethylene glycol based polymeric precursor, exhibit flower-like morphology whereas thin films derived of other precursors illustrate crack free nanocrystalline films. ZnO thin films on sapphire substrates show an increase in preferential orientation along the (002) plane with increase in annealing temperature. The polymeric precursors have also been used in fabricating maskless patterned ZnO thin films in a single step using the commercial Maskless Mesoscale Materials Deposition system.

abstract: Satisfying the ever-increasing demand for electricity while maintaining sustainability and eco-friendliness has become a key challenge for humanity. Around 70% of energy is rejected as heat from different sectors. Thermoelectric energy harvesting has immense potential to convert this heat into electricity in an environmentally friendly manner. However, low efficiency and high manufacturing costs inhibit the widespread application of thermoelectric devices. In this work, an inexpensive solution processing technique and a nanostructuring approach are utilized to create thermoelectric materials. Specifically, the solution-state and solid-state structure of a lead selenide (PbSe) precursor is characterized by different spectroscopic techniques. This precursor has shown promise for preparing thermoelectric lead selenide telluride (PbSexTe1-x) thin films. The precursor was prepared by reacting lead and diphenyl diselenide in different solvents. The characterization reveals the formation of a solvated lead(II) phenylselenolate complex which deepens the understanding of the formation of these precursors. Further, using slightly different chemistry, a low-temperature tin(II) selenide (SnSe) precursor was synthesized and identified as tin(IV) methylselenolate. The low transformation temperature makes it compatible with colloidal PbSe nanocrystals. The colloidal PbSe nanocrystals were chemically treated with a SnSe precursor and subjected to mild annealing to form conductive nanocomposites. Finally, the room temperature thermoelectric characterization of solution-processed PbSexTe1-x thin films is presented. This is followed by a setup development for temperature-dependent measurements and preliminary temperature-dependent measurements on PbSexTe1-x thin films. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Materials Science and Engineering 2020

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第22336号 / 医博第4577号 / 新制||医||1041(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 高橋 淳, 教授 渡邉 大, 教授 伊佐 正 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第22367号 / 医博第4608号 / 新制||医||1043(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 戸口田 淳也, 教授 妻木 範行, 教授 安達 泰治 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(エネルギー科学) / 甲第22709号 / エネ博第406号 / 新制||エネ||78(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院エネルギー科学研究科エネルギー基礎科学専攻 / (主査)教授 坂口 浩司, 教授 松田 一成, 教授 野平 俊之 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Energy Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

The subject of this diploma thesis is the preparation of conductive structures by electroless plating of an extruded precursor. The experimental part deals with the preparation of standard patterns based on the length of immersion time in a coppering bath. The precursor layers were applied with Fujifilm Dimatix to various receiver substrates. The individual substrates with the precursor layer were immersed in the copper solution within different time intervals. The structure of the layers of grown copper and their thickness was characterized by a profilometer.

<div>The air traffic system is one of the most complex and safety-critical systems, which is expected to grow at an average rate of 0.9% a year -- from 51.8 million operational activities in 2018 to 62 million in 2039 -- within the National Airspace System. In such systems, it is important to identify degradations in system performance, especially in terms of safety and efficiency. Among the operations of various subsystems of the air traffic system, the arrival and departure operations in the terminal airspace require more attention because of its higher impact (about 75% incidents) on the entire system's safety, ranging from single aircraft incidents to multi-airport congestion incidents.</div><div><br></div><div>The first goal of this dissertation is to identify the air traffic system's degradations -- called anomalies -- in the multi-airport terminal airspace or metroplex airspace, by developing anomaly detection models that can separate anomalous flights from normal ones. Within the metroplex airspace, airport operational parameters such as runway configuration and coordination between proximal airports are a major driving factor in aircraft’s behaviors. As a substantial amount of data is continually recording such behaviors through sensing technologies and data collection capabilities, modern machine learning techniques provide powerful tools for the identification of anomalous flights in the metroplex airspace. The proposed algorithm ingests heterogeneous data, comprising the surveillance dataset, which represents an aircraft’s physical behaviors, and the airport operations dataset, which reflects operational procedures at airports. Typically, such aviation data is unlabeled, and thus the proposed algorithm is developed based on hierarchical unsupervised learning approaches for anomaly detection. This base algorithm has been extended to an anomaly monitoring algorithm that uses the developed anomaly detection models to detect anomalous flights within real-time streaming data.</div><div><br></div><div>A natural next-step after detecting anomalies is to determine the causes for these anomalies. This involves identifying the occurrence of precursors, which are triggers or conditions that precede an anomaly and have some operational correlation to the occurrence of the anomaly. A precursor detection algorithm is developed which learns the causes for the detected anomalies using supervised learning approaches. If detected, the precursor could be used to trigger actions to avoid the anomaly from ever occurring.</div><div><br></div><div>All proposed algorithms are demonstrated with real air traffic surveillance and operations datasets, comprising of departure and arrival operations at LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Newark Liberty International Airport, thereby detecting and predicting anomalies for all airborne operations in the terminal airspace within the New York metroplex. Critical insight regarding air traffic management is gained from visualizations and analysis of the results of these extensive tests, which show that the proposed algorithms have a potential to be used as decision-support tools that can aid pilots and air traffic controllers to mitigate anomalies from ever occurring, thus improving the safety and efficiency of metroplex airspace operations.</div>

Vor dem Hintergrund der in der Mikroelektronik-Fertigung heute verbreiteten Kupfertechnologie werden in der vorliegenden Arbeit drei neuartige metallorganische Verbindungen, nämlich phosphitstabilisierte Kupfer(I)-Trifluoracetat-Komplexe vorgestellt und hinsichtlich ihrer Anwendbarkeit für die chemische Gasphasenabscheidung (CVD) von Kupfer untersucht. Im einzelnen handelt es ich um die Substanzen Tris(trimethylphosphit)kupfer(I)trifluoracetat (METFA), Tris(triethylphosphit)kupfer(I)trifluoracetat (ETTFA) und Tri(tris(trifluorethyl)phosphit)kupfer(I)trifluoracetat (CFTFA). Mit den Substanzen erfolgen CVD-Experimente auf TiN und Cu bei Temperaturen &lt;400&deg;C. Die Precursoren werden dabei mittels eines Flüssigdosiersystems mit Verdampfereinheit der Reaktionskammer zugeführt. Während METFA wegen seiner ausreichend geringen Viskosität unverdünnt verwendet werden kann, kommen für ETTFA und CFTFA jeweils Precursor-Acetonitril-Gemische zum Einsatz. Mit keinem der Neustoffe können auf TiN geschlossene Kupferschichten erzeugt werden, während dies auf Kupferunterlagen in Verbindung mit Wasserstoff als Reduktionsmittel gelingt. Die Abscheiderate beträgt hierbei 2-3nm/min; der spezifische Widerstand der Schichten bewegt sich zwischen 4&mu;&Omega;cm und 5&mu;&Omega;cm. Mit allen Substanzen werden besonders an dünnen, gesputterten Kupferschichten Agglomerationserscheinungen und Lochbildung beobachtet. Im Fall von CFTFA treten zusätzlich Schäden am darunterliegenden TiN/SiO₂-Schichtstapel auf. Vergleichende Untersuchungen mit der für die Cu-CVD etablierten Substanz (TMVS)Cu(hfac) ergeben sowohl auf Cu als auch auf TiN geschlossene Kupferschichten. Dabei liegen die Abscheideraten bei Temperaturen zwischen 180&deg;C und 200&deg;C im allgemeinen deutlich über 100nm/min. Ein Vergleich dieser Resultate mit den Ergebnissen für die Neustoffe legt nahe, dass den untersuchten Kupfer(I)-Trifluoracetaten keine ausreichende Tauglichkeit für Cu-CVD-Prozesse in der Mikroelektronik-Technologie bescheinigt werden kann. Die im Vergleich zu (TMVS)Cu(hfac) höhere thermische Stabilität der Precursoren und ihre Fähigkeit, mit Wasserstoff als Reaktionspartner auf Cu geschlossene Kupferschichten erzeugen zu können, deutet jedoch auf ihre eventuelle Eignung für ALD-Prozesse hin. Daher widmet sich die Arbeit in einem abschließenden Kapitel dem Thema der Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), wobei nach einem allgemeinen Überblick besonders auf für die Mikroelektronik relevante ALD-Prozesse eingegangen wird.