Abstract: In recent years, the ability of cold atmospheric pressure plasmas (CAPS) to selectively induce cell death in cancer cells has been widely established. This selectivity has been assigned to the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) created in CAPs. To provide new insights in the search for an explanation
for the observed selectivity, we calculate the transfer free energy of multiple ROS across membranes containing a varying amount of cholesterol. The cholesterol fraction is investigated as a selectivity parameter because membranes of cancer cells are known to contain lower fractions of cholesterol compared to healthy cells. We find that cholesterol has a significant effect on the permeation of
reactive species across a membrane. Indeed, depending on the specific reactive species, an increasing cholesterol fraction can lead to (i) an increase of the transfer free energy barrier height and width, (ii) the formation of a local free energy minimum in the center of the membrane and (iii) the creation of extra free energy barriers due to the bulky sterol rings. In the context of plasma oncology, these observations suggest that the increased ingress of RONS in cancer cells can be explained by the decreased cholesterol fraction of their cell membrane.

Abstract: The equilibrium bond length, harmonic frequency, first and second order anharmonicity constants, rotational and centrifugal distortion constants, as well as the rotation-vibrational and centrifugal coupling constants for the ground X(2) Sigma(+) and first excited A(2) Pi states of the SiN radical have been calculated at the complete active space SCF (CASSCF), multireference CI (MRCI) and coupled cluster (CCSD(T)) levels using Dunning's correlation-consistent basis sets. The excitation energy of the A(2) Pi State has also been computed at these theoretical levels. Dipole moments of SiN in the X(2) Sigma(+) and A(2) Pi states are given. Our study shows that core correlation must be considered in order to obtain satisfactory accuracy for the spectroscopic constants.

Abstract: In this letter, we investigate the effect of various levels of nitrogen impurity on the electrical performance of an atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge in helium. We illustrate the different current profiles that are obtained, which exhibit one or more discharge pulses per half cycle and evaluate their performance in ionizing the discharge and dissipating the power. It is shown that flat and broad current profiles perform the best in ionizing the discharge and use the least amount of power per generated charged particle.

Abstract: Resistive random access memories are emerging as a new type of memory that has the potential to combine both the speed of volatile and the retention of nonvolatile memories. It operates based on the formation/dissolution of a low-resistivity filament being constituted of either metallic ions or atomic vacancies within an insulating matrix. At present, the mechanisms and the parameters controlling the performances of the device remain unclear. In that respect, first-principles simulations provide useful insights on the atomistic mechanisms, the thermodynamic and kinetics factors that modulate the material conductivity, providing guidance into the engineering of the operation of the device. In this paper, we review the current state-of-the-art knowledge on the atomistic switching mechanisms driving the operation of copper-based conductive bridge RRAM and HfOx valence change RRAM. [GRAPHICS] Conceptual illustration of the RRAM device with the filament formation and disruption during its operation. AE/IM/CE are the active electrode/insulating matrix/counterelectrode. The blue circles represent the conducting defects. (C) 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Abstract: Immunogenic cell death is characterized by the emission of danger signals that facilitate activation of an adaptive immune response against dead-cell antigens. In the case of cancer therapy, tumor cells undergoing immunogenic death promote cancer-specific immunity. Identification, characterization, and optimization of stimuli that induce immunogenic cancer cell death has tremendous potential to improve the outcomes of cancer therapy. In this study, we show that non-thermal, atmospheric pressure plasma can be operated to induce immunogenic cell death in an animal model of colorectal cancer. In vitro, plasma treatment of CT26 colorectal cancer cells induced the release of classic danger signals. Treated cells were used to create a whole-cell vaccine which elicited protective immunity in the CT26 tumor mouse model. Moreover, plasma treatment of subcutaneous tumors elicited emission of danger signals and recruitment of antigen presenting cells into tumors. An increase in T cell responses targeting the colorectal cancer-specific antigen guanylyl cyclase C (GUCY2C) were also observed. This study provides the first evidence that non-thermal plasma is a bone fide inducer of immunogenic cell death and highlights its potential for clinical translation for cancer immunotherapy.

Abstract: A numerical parameter study has been performed for a cylindrical atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in helium with nitrogen impurities using a two-dimensional time-dependent fluid model. The calculated electric currents and gap voltages as a function of time for a given applied potential are presented, as well as the number densities of the various plasma species. This study shows that for the geometry under consideration the applied voltage parameters have a large impact on the electric current profiles and that the discharge current is always determined by the electron and ion conduction currents while the displacement current is nearly negligible. A relative broadening of the current profiles (compared with the duration of the half cycle of the applied voltage) with an increase in the applied frequency is obtained. Nearly sinusoidal current wave forms, usually typical for radio frequency DBDs, are observed while still operating at the frequencies of tens of kilohertz. For the setup under investigation, the Townsend mode of the DBD is observed in the entire range of applied voltage amplitudes and frequencies. It is shown that the average power density dissipated in the discharge increases with rising applied voltage and frequency. An increase in applied voltage frequency leads to an increase in the electron density and a decrease in electron energy, while increasing the voltage amplitude has the opposite effect.

Abstract: In dc magnetrons the electrons emitted from the cathode may return there due to the applied magnetic field. When that happens, they can be recaptured or reflected back into the discharge, depending on the value of the reflection coefficient (RC). A 2d3v (two-dimensional in coordinate and three-dimensional in velocity space) particle-in-cellMonte Carlo model, including an external circuit, is developed to determine the role of the electron recapture in the discharge processes. The detailed discharge structure as a function of RC for two pressures (4 and 25mtorr) is studied. The importance of electron recapture is clearly manifested, especially at low pressures. The results indicate that the discharge characteristics are dramatically changed with varying RC between 0 and 1. Thus, the electron recapture at the cathode appears to be a significant mechanism in magnetron discharges and RC a very important parameter in their correct quantitative description that should be dealt with cautiously.

Abstract: A two-dimensional self-consistent fluid model combined with the full set of Maxwell equations is developed to investigate an argon capacitively coupled plasma, focusing on the electromagnetic effects on the discharge characteristics at various discharge conditions. The results indicate that there exist distinct differences in plasma characteristics calculated with the so-called electrostatic model (i.e., without taking into account the electromagnetic effects) and the electromagnetic model (which includes the electromagnetic effects), especially at very high frequencies. Indeed, when the excitation source is in the high frequency regime and the electromagnetic effects are taken into account, the plasma density increases significantly and meanwhile the ionization rate evolves to a very different distribution when the electromagnetic effects are dominant. Furthermore, the dependence of the plasma characteristics on the voltage and pressure is also investigated, at constant frequency. It is observed that when the voltage is low, the difference between these two models becomes more obvious than at higher voltages. As the pressure increases, the plasma density profiles obtained from the electromagnetic model smoothly shift from edge-peaked over uniform to a broad maximum in the center. In addition, the edge effect becomes less pronounced with increasing frequency and pressure, and the skin effect rather than the standing-wave effect becomes dominant when the voltage is high.

Abstract: The electron distribution function (EDF) in an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) discharge is far from Maxwellian. The self-consistent simulation of ECR discharges requires a calculation of the EDF on every magnetic line for various ion density profiles. The straightforward self-consistent simulation of ECR discharges using the Monte Carlo technique for the EDF calculation is very computer time expensive, since the electron and ion time scales are very different. An electron Boltzmann kinetic equation averaged over the fast electron bouncing and pitch-angle scattering was derived in order to develop an effective and operative tool for the fast modeling (FM) of low-pressure ECR discharges. An analytical solution for the EDF in a loss cone was derived. To check the validity of the FM, one-dimensional (in coordinate) and two-dimensional (in velocity) Monte Carlo simulation codes were developed. The validity of the fast modeling method is proved by comparison with the Monte Carlo simulations. The complete system of equations for FM is presented and ready for use in a comprehensive study of ECR discharges. The variations of plasma density and of wall and sheath potentials are analyzed by solving a self-consistent set of equations for the EDF.