Novel MCM Interconnection Analysis Using Capacitive Charge Generation (CCG)

A new SEM technique, Capacitive Charge Generation (CCG), has been developed to rapidly image MCM interconnection continuity. The new technique uses low primary electron beam energies (< 2.0 keV), very high beam currents (>100 nA), and fast electron beam scan rates (>5 frames/second) to probe buried conductors in MCMS. For these conditions, new surface charging effects have been observed that enable examination of conductors under thick insulating layers. CCG has been applied to conductors covered by over 90 {mu}m of polymer dielectric. The physics of CCG signal generation and applications for MCM failure analysis are described

Smart clothing for falls protection and detection: User-centred co-design and feasibility study

The prevalence and impact of hip fractures on the health and wealth of nations is a global problem and source of health inequalities. This paper reports on the co-design and feasibility testing of a new range of protective, smart clothing. The feasibility of research in a population of older adults in supported living is explored, as are the conceptualisation and measurement of adherence

Information needs and decision-making preferences of older women offered a choice between surgery and primary endocrine therapy for early breast cancer

Objectives: To establish older women's (≥75 years) information preferences regarding 2 breast cancer treatment options: surgery plus adjuvant endocrine therapy versus primary endocrine therapy. To quantify women's preferences for the mode of information presentation and decision-making (DM) style. Methods: This was a UK multicentre survey of women, ≥75 years, who had been offered a choice between PET and surgery at diagnosis of breast cancer. A questionnaire was developed including 2 validated scales of decision regret and DM preferences. Results: Questionnaires were sent to 247 women, and 101 were returned (response rate 41%). The median age of participants was 82 (range 75 to 99), with 58 having had surgery and 37 having PET. Practical details about the impact, safety, and efficacy of treatment were of most interest to participants. Of least interest were cosmetic outcomes after surgery. Information provided verbally by doctors and nurses, supported by booklets, was preferred. There was little interest in technology-based sources of information. There was equal preference for a patient- or doctor-centred DM style and lower preference for a shared DM style. The majority (74%) experienced their preferred DM style. Levels of decision regret were low (15.73, scale 0-100). Conclusions: Women strongly preferred face to face information. Written formats were also helpful but not computer-based resources. Information that was found helpful to women in the DM process was identified. The study demonstrates many women achieved their preferred DM style, with a preference for involvement, and expressed low levels of decision regret

Microstructure and Velocity of Field-Driven SOS Interfaces: Analytic Approximations and Numerical Results

The local structure of a solid-on-solid (SOS) interface in a two-dimensional kinetic Ising ferromagnet with single-spin-flip Glauber dynamics, which is driven far from equilibrium by an applied field, is studied by an analytic mean-field, nonlinear-response theory [P.A. Rikvold and M. Kolesik, J. Stat. Phys. 100, 377 (2000)] and by dynamic Monte Carlo simulations. The probability density of the height of an individual step in the surface is obtained, both analytically and by simulation. The width of the probability density is found to increase dramatically with the magnitude of the applied field, with close agreement between the theoretical predictions and the simulation results. Excellent agreement between theory and simulations is also found for the field-dependence and anisotropy of the interface velocity. The joint distribution of nearest-neighbor step heights is obtained by simulation. It shows increasing correlations with increasing field, similar to the skewness observed in other examples of growing surfaces.Comment: 18 pages RevTex4 with imbedded figure

Balance on the Brain: a randomised controlled trial evaluating the effect of a multimodal exercise programme on physical performance, falls, quality of life and cognition for people with mild cognitive impairment—study protocol

Introduction: Exercise and physical activity have been shown to improve cognition for people living with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). There is strong evidence for the benefits of aerobic exercise and medium evidence for participating in regular strength training for people with MCI. However, people living with MCI fall two times as often as those without cognitive impairment and the evidence is currently unknown as to whether balance training for people with MCI is beneficial, as has been demonstrated for older people without cognitive impairment. The aim of this study is to determine whether a balance-focused multimodal exercise intervention improves balance and reduces falls for people with MCI, compared with a control group receiving usual care. Methods and analysis: This single blind randomised controlled trial (Balance on the Brain) will be offered to 396 people with MCI living in the community. The multimodal exercise intervention consists of two balance programmes and a walking programme to be delivered by physiotherapists over a 6-month intervention period. All participants will be followed up over 12 months (for the intervention group, this involves 6-month intervention and 6-month maintenance). The primary outcomes are (1) balance performance and (2) rate of falls. Physical performance, levels of physical activity and sedentary behaviour, quality of life and cognition are secondary outcomes. A health economic analysis will be undertaken to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the intervention compared with usual care. Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval has been received from the South Metropolitan Health Service Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), Curtin University HREC and the Western Australia Department of Health HREC; and approval has been received to obtain data for health costings from Services Australia. The results will be disseminated through peer-review publications, conference presentations and online platforms

Expansion and further delineation of the SETD5 phenotype leading to global developmental delay, variable dysmorphic features, and reduced penetrance

Diagnostic exome sequencing (DES) has aided delineation of the phenotypic spectrum of rare genetic etiologies of intellectual disability (ID). A SET domain containing 5 gene (SETD5) phenotype of ID and dysmorphic features has been previously described in relation to patients with 3p25.3 deletions and in a few individuals with de novo sequence alterations. Herein, we present additional patients with pathogenic SETD5 sequence alterations. The majority of patients in this cohort and previously reported have developmental delay, behavioral/psychiatric issues, and variable hand and skeletal abnormalities. We also present an apparently unaffected carrier mother of an affected individual and a carrier mother with normal intelligence and affected twin sons. We suggest that the phenotype of SETD5 is more complex and variable than previously presented. Therefore, many features and presentations need to be considered when evaluating a patient for SETD5 alterations through DES

Human liver memory CD8(+) T cells use autophagy for tissue residence

Tissue-resident memory T cells have critical roles in long-term pathogen and tumor immune surveillance in the liver. We investigate the role of autophagy in equipping human memory T cells to acquire tissue residence and maintain functionality in the immunosuppressive liver environment. By performing ex vivo staining of freshly isolated cells from human liver tissue, we find that an increased rate of basal autophagy is a hallmark of intrahepatic lymphocytes, particularly liver-resident CD8(+) T cells. CD8(+) T cells with increased autophagy are those best able to proliferate and mediate cytotoxicity and cytokine production. Conversely, blocking autophagy induction results in the accumulation of depolarized mitochondria, a feature of exhausted T cells. Primary hepatic stellate cells or the prototypic hepatic cytokine interleukin (IL)-15 induce autophagy in parallel with tissue-homing/retention markers. Inhibition of T cell autophagy abrogates tissue-residence programming. Thus, upregulation of autophagy adapts CD8(+) T cells to combat mitochondrial depolarization, optimize functionality, and acquire tissue residence

Surface effects in nucleation and growth of smectic B crystals in thin samples

We present an experimental study of the surface effects (interactions with the container walls) during the nucleation and growth of smectic B crystals from the nematic in free growth and directional solidification of a mesogenic molecule ($C_4H_9-(C_6H_{10})_2CN$) called CCH4 in thin (of thickness in the 10 $\mu$m range) samples. We follow the dynamics of the system in real time with a polarizing microscope. The inner surfaces of the glass-plate samples are coated with polymeric films, either rubbed polyimid (PI) films or monooriented poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) films deposited by friction at high temperature. The orientation of the nematic and the smectic B is planar. In PI-coated samples, the orientation effect of SmB crystals is mediated by the nematic, whereas, in PTFE-coated samples, it results from a homoepitaxy phenomenon occurring for two degenerate orientations. A recrystallization phenomenon partly destroys the initial distribution of crystal orientations. In directional solidification of polycrystals in PTFE-coated samples, a particular dynamics of faceted grain boundary grooves is at the origin of a dynamical mechanism of grain selection. Surface effects also are responsible for the nucleation of misoriented terraces on facets and the generation of lattice defects in the solid.Comment: 15 pages, 24 figures, submitted to PR

The Physiology of Vasodilatation

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68237/2/10.1177_000331976101200602.pd