The C 1s and N 1s photoelectron spectra of gas-phase 5-aminotetrazole (5ATZ) were recorded using synchrotron radiation, with the aim of evaluating 1H/2H tautomer population ratios. The core-electron binding energies (CEBEs) were estimated from computational results, using the delta self-consistent-field (ΔSCF) approach. Simulated spectra were generated using these CEBEs and the results from Gaussian-n (Gn, n=1, 2 and 3) and Complete Basis Set (CBS-4M and CBS-Q) methods. Results reveal the almost exclusive predominance of the 2H-tautomer, with a 1H/2H ratio of ca. 0.12/0.88, taken from a gross analysis of the XPS C 1s spectrum, recorded at 365 K.

Spreadsheets are considered to be the most widely used programming language in the world, and reports have shown that 90% of real-world spreadsheets contain errors. In this work, we try to identify spreadsheet smells, a concept adapted from software, which consists of a surface indication that usually corresponds to a deeper problem. Our smells have been integrated in a tool, and were computed for a large spreadsheet repository. Finally, the analysis of the results we obtained led to the refinement of our initial catalog.

Spreadsheets are widely recognized as popular programming systems with a huge number of spreadsheets being created every day. Also, spreadsheets are often used in the decision processes of profit-oriented companies. While this illustrates their practical importance, studies have shown that up to 90% of real-world spreadsheets contain errors. In order to improve the productivity of spreadsheet end-users, the software engineering community has proposed to employ model-driven approaches to spreadsheet development. In this paper we describe the evaluation of a bidirectional model-driven spreadsheet environment. In this environment, models and data instances are kept in conformity, even after an update on any of these artifacts. We describe the issues of an empirical study we plan to conduct, based on our previous experience with end-user studies. Our goal is to assess if this model-driven spreadsheet development framework does in fact contribute to improve the productivity of spreadsheet users.

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A set of methods defining an API (Application Programming Interface) are to be made thread safe; thus running any subset of these methods in parallel should not create races or deadlocks. Originally, the set of methods were not designed to be thread safe, so races and deadlocks are expected when running them in parallel. The number of possible interleavings when running methods from this API in parallel is huge, and this work focuses on the identification of the high level data races introduced by such interleavings. We propose an analysis that avoids the exhaustive exploration of all possible interleavings. For a concurrent program P, the closure of P, clos(P), is defined. Roughly speaking, we can say that the clos(P) is obtained by adding threads to P in such a way that high level data races resulting from running P in parallel to other programs are exposed statically. A set of methods representing the API is then modeled as a set of concurrent programs and their closure is analysed to identify high level data races. These high level data races are then inspected and removed to make the API thread safe. We illustrate the application of this methodology with a simple use case.

Cancer is one of the main causes of death in the world and its incidence increases every day. Current treatments are insufficient and present many breaches. Hyperthermia is an old concept and since early it was established as a cancer treatment option, mainly in superficial cancers. More recently the concept of intracellular hyperthermia emerged wherein magnetic particles are concentrated at the tumor site and remotely heated using an applied magnetic field to achieve hyperthermic temperatures (42-45 degrees C). Many patents have been registered in this area since the year 2000. This review presents the most relevant information, organizing them according to the hyperthermic method used: 1) external RadioFrequency devices; 2) hyperthermic perfusion; 3) frequency enhancers; 4) apply heating to the target site using a catheter; 5) injection of magnetic and ferroelectric particles; 6) injection of magnetic nanoparticles that may carry a pharmacological active drug. The use of magnetic nanoparticles is a very promising treatment approach since it may be used for diagnostic and treatment. An ideal magnetic nanoparticle would be able to detect and diagnose the tumor, carry a pharmacological active drug to be delivered in the tumor site, apply hyperthermia through an external magnetic field and allow treatment monitoring by magnetic resonance imaging.

Thin films of (Ta 2O 5) 0.85(TiO 2) 0.15 were deposited on quartz and p-Si substrates by DC reactive magnetron sputtering at different substrate temperatures (T s) in the range 303 - 873 K. The films deposited at 303 0K were in the amorphous and it transformed to crystalline at substrate temperatures ≥ 573 0K. The crystallite size was increased from 50 nm to 72 nm with the increase of substrate temperature. The surface morphology was significantly influenced with the substrate temperature. After deposition of the (Ta 2O 5) 0.85(TiO 2) 0.15 films on Si, aluminium (Al) electrode was deposited to fabricate metal/oxide/semiconductor (MOS) capacitors with a configuration of Al/(Ta 2O 5) 0.85(TiO 2) 0.15/Si. A low leakage current of 7.7 × 10 -5 A/cm 2 was obtained from the films deposited at 303 K. The leakage current was decreased to 9.3 × 10 -8 A/cm 2 with the increase of substrate temperature owing to structural changes. The conduction mechanism of the Al/(Ta 2O 5) 0.85(TiO 2) 0.15/Si capacitors was analyzed and compared with mechanisms of Poole-Frenkel and Schottky emissions. The optical band gap (E g) was decreased from 4.45 eV to 4.38 eV with the increase in substrate temperature. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.