Effect of Thermal Gradients on the Electromigration Lifetime in Power Electronics

The combined effects of electromigration and thermomigration are studied. Significantly shorter electromigration lifetimes are observed in the presence of a temperature gradient. This cannot be explained by thermomigration only, but is attributed to the effect of temperature gradient on electromigration-induced failures

A novel approach to sequence validating protein expression clones with automated decision making

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Whereas the molecular assembly of protein expression clones is readily automated and routinely accomplished in high throughput, sequence verification of these clones is still largely performed manually, an arduous and time consuming process. The ultimate goal of validation is to determine if a given plasmid clone matches its reference sequence sufficiently to be "acceptable" for use in protein expression experiments. Given the accelerating increase in availability of tens of thousands of unverified clones, there is a strong demand for rapid, efficient and accurate software that automates clone validation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have developed an Automated Clone Evaluation (ACE) system – the first comprehensive, multi-platform, web-based plasmid sequence verification software package. ACE automates the clone verification process by defining each clone sequence as a list of multidimensional discrepancy objects, each describing a difference between the clone and its expected sequence including the resulting polypeptide consequences. To evaluate clones automatically, this list can be compared against user acceptance criteria that specify the allowable number of discrepancies of each type. This strategy allows users to re-evaluate the same set of clones against different acceptance criteria as needed for use in other experiments. ACE manages the entire sequence validation process including contig management, identifying and annotating discrepancies, determining if discrepancies correspond to polymorphisms and clone finishing. Designed to manage thousands of clones simultaneously, ACE maintains a relational database to store information about clones at various completion stages, project processing parameters and acceptance criteria. In a direct comparison, the automated analysis by ACE took less time and was more accurate than a manual analysis of a 93 gene clone set.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>ACE was designed to facilitate high throughput clone sequence verification projects. The software has been used successfully to evaluate more than 55,000 clones at the Harvard Institute of Proteomics. The software dramatically reduced the amount of time and labor required to evaluate clone sequences and decreased the number of missed sequence discrepancies, which commonly occur during manual evaluation. In addition, ACE helped to reduce the number of sequencing reads needed to achieve adequate coverage for making decisions on clones.</p

A cluster randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of Houvast: A strengths-based intervention for homeless young adults

Contains fulltext : 176401.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Objective: To test the effectiveness of Houvast: a strengths-based intervention for homeless young adults. Method: A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with 10 Dutch shelter facilities randomly allocated to an intervention and a control group. Homeless young adults were interviewed when entering the facility and when care ended. Repeated-measures analyses and logistic regression analyses were conducted by the principle of intention-to-treat framework (N = 251). Results: Improvements were demonstrated on quality of life; satisfaction with family relations, finances, and health; employed or in school; depression; care needs; autonomy; competence, and resilience in both conditions. A higher proportion of homeless young adults who received care according to Houvast were still receiving care at follow-up and successfully completed the trajectory compared to those who received care as usual. Conclusion: Homeless young adults seem to benefit from service provision in general. Further research on the effectiveness of Houvast is needed after sufficient model fidelity has been achieved.14 p

Fast thermal cycling stress and degredation in multilayer interconnects

The thermal cycling stress method is popularly used to study the thermal mechanical effect on metallization films in VLSI applications, specially in interconnect systems of power IC. The fast thermal cycling stress method reported in this paper has several advantages compared with using a conventional oven for thermal stress. A special test chip is designed to demonstrate the application of this method. A diode in the test chip plays a part as temperature sensor. The diode thermal coefficient is determined to be 1.8mV/OC. The first experiment of temperature cycling stress is done with temperature ranging to be from 46 to 286oC (T of 240oC). The failure analysis is done by SEM equipment with Backscatter Electron (BSE) detector. The results show the mechanism observed that the failure mechanism is quite similar with temperature cycling stress using a conventional oven

Self-monitoring of mobility, signal processing speed, physical activity and sleep by persons with multiple sclerosis

Item does not contain fulltex

Reflection as a Deliberative and Distributed Practice: Assessing Neuro-Enhancement Technologies via Mutual Learning Exercises (MLEs)

In 1968, Jürgen Habermas claimed that, in an advanced technological society, the emancipatory force of knowledge can only be regained by actively recovering the ‘forgotten experience of reflection’. In this article, we argue that, in the contemporary situation, critical reflection requires a deliberative ambiance, a process of mutual learning, a consciously organised process of deliberative and distributed reflection. And this especially applies, we argue, to critical reflection concerning a specific subset of technologies which are actually oriented towards optimising human cognition (neuro-enhancement). In order to create a deliberative ambiance, fostering critical upstream reflection on emerging technologies, we developed (in the context of a European 7th Framework Programme project on neuro-enhancement and responsible research and innovation, called NERRI) the concept of a mutual learning exercise (MLE). Building on a number of case studies, we analyse what an MLE involves, both practically and conceptually, focussing on key aspects such as ambiance and expertise, the role of ‘genres of the imagination’ and the profiles of various ‘subcultures of debate’. Ideally, an MLE becomes a contemporary version of the Socratic agora, providing a stage where multiple and sometimes unexpected voices and perspectives mutually challenge each other, in order to strength-en the societal robustness and responsiveness of emerg-ing technologies.This paper is based on experiences and results of a mobilisation and mutual learning project entitled NERRI (neuro-enhancement responsible research and innovation) funded by the European Commission in the context of the 7th Framework Programme. A draft version of this paper was presented and discussed during a NERRI consortium meeting in Vienna, November 11, 2015

Upstream Public Engagement in Nanotechnology:Constraints and Opportunities

Upstream public engagement with new science and technology is considered important but challenging. This article shows how engagement events are embedded in broader institutional and cultural contexts. By studying two different cases of upstream engagement in nanotechnology, we demonstrate how existing institutional responsibilities and cultural repertoires contribute much to the productivity of actual engagement events. Insight into these wider world dynamics will help science communicators (or event organizers) foster reflection and deliberation among relevant actors about whether and how upstream public engagement can have an impact on the governance of new science and technology