Gold eutectic bonding of silicon wafers is a good candidate for wafer level vacuum packaging of vibrating MEMS: in this paper we investigated several e-beam evaporated metallizations stacks including a titanium adhesion layer, an optional diffusion barrier (Ni or Pt) and a gold film for eutectic bonding on Si and SiO2/Si wafers. Interdiffusion in the multilayers for annealing temperatures (380–430°C) larger than the Au–Si eutectic temperature (363°C) and times corresponding to a bonding process was characterized by RBS, roughness and resistivity measurements. Au/Pt/Ti and Au/Ti/SiO2 were found to have the best characteristics for bonding. This was confirmed by bonding experiments.

Solanum torvum Sw. is a wild species closely related to eggplant (S. melongena L.), native to India. Although invasive in some areas of introduction, this species is of particular interest as it has been identified as a potential source of resistance to bacterial wilt disease for cultivated susceptible Solanaceae species. Little is known about the levels of resistance and genetic diversity in this species, particularly in areas of introduction such as Reunion Island, where it is used as rootstock for grafting of susceptible tomato and eggplant varieties. Eight accessions were collected in diverse geographical locations on Reunion Island for further characterisation. Regardless of the accession, no wilted plants were detected four weeks after inoculation with three different Ralstonia solanacearum strains (phylotypes) from Reunion Island. Latent bacterial colonisation in symptomless plants was however demonstrated, mainly in roots and/or lower stem, showing that S. torvum can be considered as resistant to the race 1 biovar 1 strain, and tolerant to the race 1 biovar 3 and race 3 biovar 2 strains. The homogeneity between accessions regarding high bacterial wilt tolerance was confirmed by the genetic homogeneity (0% polymorphism) revealed using 168 RAPD markers. Similarly, only 1.2% polymorphism was revealed by the genetic study of seven accessions of S. torvum from Java used as reference. All the Java accessions, but one, were identical to Reunion accessions. The level of polymorphism between S. torvum accessions is assumed to be similar to the level of genetic differences existing between vegetatively propagated clones, therefore reduced to minimal mutational events. This reduced genetic variation is typical of what is expected for an autogamous species introduced on an island. Some differences in latent bacterial colonisation scores for some of the Reunion accessions were however noticed. These results are essential for further genetic and epigenetic studies on bacterial wilt resistance in S. torvum.

Accessions of Solanum torvum SW, a wild relative of eggplant, were collected in Java Island, Indonesia, and assessed for morphology, fertility, levels of resistance against both Ralstonia solanacearum and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melongenae, as well as the genetic diversity by using RAPD and I-SSR markers. When grown to maturity in the field in Bogor, Indonesia, plants were very vigorous and showed a high polymorphism in all characters examined among the accessions, except for the stem diameter and the number of branches. The relatively high heterogeneity in morphology and fertility could not be related to the geographical origin of the accessions surveyed, and was not corroborated by genetic analysis. By using RAPD markers, 8.4% polymorphism were detected in two genotypes (BML and BG1) among the 11 accessions analysed, whereas screening with I-SSR markers has resulted in 3.3% polymorphism in three accessions, BG1, CN1 and CN2. This therefore gives a global 4.7% polymorphism, individualising only four accessions among the 11 tested. Twenty nine accessions of S. torvum and eggplant, cv Pusa Purple Long used as positive control, were evaluated for resistance to R. solanacearum (race 1 biovar 3, strain T926) in the greenhouse in Bogor. All inoculated plants of eggplant died within 2 weeks. Bacterial wilt symptoms occurred on lower leaves of S. torvum plants tested without however causing any plant death. The presence of bacteria, serologically detected in roots of symptomless plants, suggested S. torvum to be tolerant to R. solanacearum. A sample of 10 accessions was shown to be highly resistant to an Italian isolate of F. oxysporum f. sp. Melongena, while the cultivated eggplant, line Tina used as positive control, died within 2 weeks after inoculation.The low levels of genetic diversity of Javanese accessions of S. torvum and their relatively homogeneous response in tolerance and resistance to bacterial and fungal wilts are discussed, respectively.

SixOyNz, Si3N4 and SiO2 films deposited on silicon in a low frequency PECVD reactor (187.5 kHz) from a SiH4, N2O and/or NH3 gas mixture are always in compressive mechanical stress state after deposition because of ion bombardment of the growing film during deposition. The stress value is, as expected, a decreasing function of oxygen content. It is demonstrated that by reducing drastically the deposition temperature down to 200 degreesC, stoechiometric silicon nitride films and silicon oxynitride films (0 less than or equal to O/Si less than or equal to 1.8) with a low tensile stress can be obtained after high temperature annealing (800 degreesC). Rutherford backscattering experiments (RBS), elastic recoil detection analyses (ERDA) and infrared spectrometry measurements show that this stress variation is related to the initial composition, to hydrogen desorption from Si-H, N-H and O-H bonds and to cross-linking. By controlling the initial hydrogen concentration with the deposition temperature, the stress value after annealing can be tuned precisely, This simple process was applied to the fabrication of flat dielectric membranes with a thickness in the range of 90-400 nm by KOH bulk micromachining. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

BACKGROUND:Verapamil (VER), a potent calcium channel blocker, has been found to overcome P-gp-mediated multi-drug resistance (MDR) and to increase sensitivity to cytotoxic anticancer drugs in refractory myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The value of VER for treating solid tumors is still a matter for debate.PATIENTS AND METHODS:We performed a prospective study in 99 patients with anthracycline-resistant metastatic breast carcinoma (MBC), to assess the clinical effect of oral VER given in association with chemotherapy. Instead of retreating patients with anthracycline, we used a partially noncross-resistant regimen (VF), combining vindesine (VDS) and 5-fluorouracil given as a continuous infusion (5-FU CI). Patients were randomly assigned to two cohorts. One cohort (47 patients) was treated in 28-day cycles, each involving the administration of VDS (3 mg/m2 i.v. bolus on days 1 and 10) and 5-FU CI, (400 mg/m2/day i.v. from day 1 to day 10). The other cohort (52 patients) received the same VDS and 5-FU treatment and an additional oral VER treatment (240 mg/day divided in 2 doses), from day 1 to day 28 of each cycle. Patients were treated until progression.RESULTS:The treatment was well tolerated and no side effects that could be attributed to VER were detected. Patients treated with VER had longer overall survival (OS) (median OS: 323 vs. 209 days, P = 0.036) and a higher response rate (27% vs. 11%, P = 0.04) than those not given VER. Progression-free survival (PFS) was also longer but the difference was not statistically significant (median PFS: 4.6 and 2.7 months for the VER and non-VER groups respectively, P = 0.6).CONCLUSIONS:This clinical trial demonstrates that a chemosensitizer, such as VER, can increase the survival of MBC patients with acquired anthracycline resistance.

Objectives - A comparative clinical evaluation was designed to investigate the clinical relevance of the usefulnes of metronidazole and spiramycin for the treatment of acute dental infections.Materials and methods - We carried out a prospective, randomized, double blind, multicenter study in adult patients with acute dental infections (acute periapical abscesses, acute cellulitis, pericoronitis, acute necrotic pulp infection, alveolitis). The number of patients was determined in order to demonstrate equivalence between the two regimens. Patients were randomly assigned to clarithromycin (250 mg) b.i.d. or spiramycin (1.5 MIU) + metronidazole (250 mg) b.i.d. for five days.Results - A total of 352 patients were enrolled in the study: 341 (96.9%) were assessable in the intent-to-treat analysis and 321 (91.2%) were assessable per protocol, The clinical success rate at the final visit (10-15 days after end of therapy) was similar in both groups: 92% (clarithromycin) and 95% (metronidazole-spiramycin). Side effects were rare and mild (4.6%) in the clarithromycin group and 5.8% in the metronidazole-spiramycin group (P = not significant). (C) 1999 Elsevier; Paris.