Coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and viral hepatitis is associated with high morbidity and mortality in the absence of clinical management, making identification of these cases crucial. We examined characteristics of HIV and viral hepatitis coinfections by using surveillance data from 15 US states and two cities. Each jurisdiction used an automated deterministic matching method to link surveillance data for persons with reported acute and chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, to persons reported with HIV infection. Of the 504 398 persons living with diagnosed HIV infection at the end of 2014, 2.0% were coinfected with HBV and 6.7% were coinfected with HCV. Of the 269 884 persons ever reported with HBV, 5.2% were reported with HIV. Of the 1 093 050 persons ever reported with HCV, 4.3% were reported with HIV. A greater proportion of persons coinfected with HIV and HBV were males and blacks/African Americans, compared with those with HIV monoinfection. Persons who inject drugs represented a greater proportion of those coinfected with HIV and HCV, compared with those with HIV monoinfection. Matching HIV and viral hepatitis surveillance data highlights epidemiological characteristics of persons coinfected and can be used to routinely monitor health status and guide state and national public health interventions.

Human cases of Q fever appear to be common in Northern Ireland compared to the rest of the British Isles. The purpose of this study was to describe the seroepidemiology of Coxiella burnetii infection in cattle in Northern Ireland in terms of seroprevalence and determinants of infection. A total of 5182 animals (from a stratified systematic random sample of 273 herds) were tested with a commercial C. burnetii phase 2 IgG ELISA. A total of 6·2% of animals and 48·4% of herds tested positively. Results from a multilevel logistic regression model indicated that the odds of cattle being infected with Q fever increased with age, Friesian breed, being from large herds and from dairy herds. Large dairy herd animal prevalence was 12·5% compared to 2·1% for small beef herds. Preliminary seroprevalence in sheep (12·3%), goats (9·3%), pigs (0%) rats (9·7%) and mice (3·2%) using indirect immunofluorescence is reported.

Spin-on mesoporous silica films were prepared on eight-inch wafers at SEMATECH by condensation of a silicate network around surfactant micellar structures. Copper single-damascene one-level test structures were built using mesoporous silica as the intermetal dielectric. No major structural failures were observed after chemical mechanical planarization on both blanket films and patterned wafers, indicating relatively good mechanical integrity for a highly porous structure. A simple silane spin-coating step used at SEMATECH on the films appears to be insufficient for complete dehydroxylation and silylation. The electrical test results on the metal comb structures showed good capacitance and leakage current distributions. However, capacitance and leakage current changes were observed after each post-CMP process step, and these changes could be correlated to moisture desorption/outgassing, which was also noted during k measurement. With controlled film synthesis and dehydroxylation conditions, mesoporous silica films with k ≤2.0 and elastic modulus of 4.0 GPa have been synthesized at PNNL. The results of the Cu one-level metal screening tests at SEMATECH combined with properties obtained at PNNL indicate that mesoporous molecularly-templated silicate films hold promise as ultra low k intermetal dielectrics.

Laser-assisted dry etching of lithium niobate, LiNbO3, as well as other electro-optic materials could be an industrially important process in the fabrication of optical waveguides. In this investigation, an excimer laser (ArF; 193nm) was used to conduct etching reactions using nitrogen trifluoride, NF3. Enhancement of etching was observed by comparing the etch rate for a gas assisted process with that of a purely photoablative process. Chemical analysis of the etched features via Auger electron spectroscopy and correlation of a simple rate equation with the experimental data revealed that lasersurface interactions are responsible for the laser-assisted etching process.

In the present paper structural and chemical changes which can occur in the surface and near-surface properties of the substrate during anisotropic dry etching of SiO2 on Si will be reviewed.Silicon specimens which had been etched in CF4/X%H2 (X≤40) have been characterized by X-ray photoelectron emission spectroscopy, He ion channeling, H profiling and Raman scattering techniques.Key results of our studies are summarized as follows: Plasma exposure of a Si surface leads to the deposition of a thin (≤50Å thick) C,F-film.A Si-carbide containing Si region is formed during RIE which is localized near the fluorocarbon-film/Si interface.The near-surface region (∼30–50Å) of the Si substrate is also heavily disordered as found by ion channeling and Raman scattering.A modified, less damaged Si region has been found in the case of hydrogen-based etching gases, which extends from about 30–50Å from the surface to a depth in extent of 250Å and contains a high concentration (∼ 5 at.%) of H as shown by hydrogen profiling techniques.From the observation of Si-H and Si-H2 vibrational modes by Raman scattering it has been shown that some of the H is bonded to the Si lattice.