Enduring myths: smrang, rabs and ritual in the Dunhuang texts on Padmasambhava

Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines Number 15, November 200

Two Proposals for Critically Editing the Texts of the rNying ma'i rGyud 'bum

Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines Number 10, April 200

Effects of a nitrogen-based supplement on intake, live weight and body energy reserves in breeding Bos indicus cross cows

Breeding cows grazing seasonally dry rangelands usually lose substantial live weight (LW) during the dry season, when in late pregnancy. An experiment investigated the effects of feeding a N-based supplement to cows in late pregnancy on voluntary intake, total live weight (T-LW), body condition score (CS) and estimated body net energy content (Body-NE), as well as carry-over effects during lactation. In Phase A for 139 days from mid-pregnancy, mature Bos indicus cross breeders [initially 438 kg T-LW and 5.7 CS units (9-point scale)] were fed in pens on low quality tropical grass hay alone (Control) or with a N supplement (Supplemented). Most (17/22) of the cows calved during this interval. Voluntary hay intake averaged 6.74 g DM/kg T-LW/d in Control cows, and was increased by 35% (P<0.001) when supplement was fed. As a result, feeding supplement reduced loss in conceptus-free live weight (CF-LW) by 30% (from 1.11 kg/d to 0.78 kg/d; P<0.001) and in Body-NE by 20% (from 26.6 to 21.2 MJ NE/d; P = 0.007). Control cows mobilized 24% of maternal LW and 32% of body energy when fed low quality hay during late pregnancy, and these losses were substantially reduced when a N-based supplement was fed. During Phase B, when the lactating cows with their calves grazed a high quality rainy season grass-Stylosanthes pasture, the previously supplemented cows produced more milk (P = 0.065) and their calves grew faster (P = 0.077) in early lactation than Control cows. In addition, during early lactation Control cows exhibited compensatory LW gain relative to the Supplemented cows (0.80 vs. 0.43 kg/d, respectively; P<0.001) and there was no discernable weight difference between the groups by 205 days of lactation. In conclusion the losses in LW and body energy reserves by late pregnant cows fed low quality tropical grass hay were substantially reduced by a N supplement, but the differences were not maintained when the cows subsequently grazed high quality pasture

SGang steng Catalogue

Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines Number 11, June 200

Thermal Aging Behavior of Fine Pitch Palladium Coated Silver (PCS) Ball Bonds on Al Metallization

The high price of Au has motivated many to look for alternative bonding wire materials in the field of microelectronics packaging. In the present study, the reliability performance of palladium coated silver (PCS) wire in high temperature storage test (HTST) is carried out using 18 μm diameter fine pitch PCS wire. Fine pitch ball bonds are made on Al metallization, with bonded ball diameter (BBD) of 32 ± 0.5 μm and ball height (BH) of 8 ± 0.5 μm. The aging temperature used in HTST is 170 °C and both shear and pull test are used to evaluate the aged ball bonds at regular time intervals. The shear force increases from 9.9 gf at 96 h to 12.5 gf at 192 h, and remains almost constant until 1344 h, and starts dropping gradually until 10.9 gf at 1848 h. The pad lift percentage recorded in pull test gradually drops from 90 % at 96 h to 20 % at 1008 h, and increases to 90 % at 1848 h. The chip side fractography after shear test indicates that the main failure modes are through pad at 96 h, through ball bond at 504 h, and half of both at 168 h, respectively. Cross-sectional images show that the thickness of the intermetallic compound (IMC) layer growth follows parabolic relationship and the rate constant is 0.10 ± 0.02 μm/h½. Gaps are observed along the periphery of the ball bond interface where no IMC is observed. The IMCs are located at the center of the ball bond interface, and the width is 16.0–19.3 μm at 96 h and 17.2–22.7 μm at 1344 h, respectively

Gut Microbes and the Brain: Paradigm Shift in Neuroscience

The discovery of the size and complexity of the human microbiome has resulted in an ongoing reevaluation of many concepts of health and disease, including diseases affecting the CNS. A growing body of preclinical literature has demonstrated bidirectional signaling between the brain and the gut microbiome, involving multiple neurocrine and endocrine signaling mechanisms. While psychological and physical stressors can affect the composition and metabolic activity of the gut microbiota, experimental changes to the gut microbiome can affect emotional behavior and related brain systems. These findings have resulted in speculation that alterations in the gut microbiome may play a pathophysiological role in human brain diseases, including autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain. Ongoing large-scale population-based studies of the gut microbiome and brain imaging studies looking at the effect of gut microbiome modulation on brain responses to emotion-related stimuli are seeking to validate these speculations. This article is a summary of emerging topics covered in a symposium and is not meant to be a comprehensive review of the subject

Masters in Serious Games Curriculum Framework

Thin, A. G., Lim, T., Louchart, S., De Gloria, A., Mayer, I., Kickmeier-Rust, M., Klamma, R., VeltKamp, R., Arnab, S., Bellotti, F., Boyle, L., Prada, R., Westera, W., Nadolski, R., & Abbas Petersen, S. (2013). Masters in Serious Games Curriculum Framework. Deliverable 5.3 of the Games and Learning Alliance Network of Excellence. Available at http://www.seriousgamessociety.org/download/SGMastersFwk.pdf.This report outlines a European Masters of Science programme on serious gaming.This report is a deliverable of the GALA project, which is sponsored by the the FP7 Programme of the European Commissio

Estimating HIV transmissions in a large U.S. clinic-based sample: effects of time and syndemic conditions

Introduction: Little is known about onward HIV transmissions from people living with HIV (PLWH) in care. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has increased in potency, and treatment as prevention (TasP) is an important component of ending the epidemic. Syndemic theory has informed modelling of HIV risk but has yet to inform modelling of HIV transmissions. Methods: Data were from 61,198 primary HIV care visits for 14,261 PLWH receiving care through the Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR) Network of Integrated Clinical Systems (CNICS) at seven United States (U.S.) sites from 2007 to 2017. Patient-reported outcomes and measures (PROs) of syndemic conditions – depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, drug use (opiates, amphetamines, crack/cocaine) and alcohol use – were collected approximately four to six months apart along with sexual behaviours (mean = 4.3 observations). Counts of syndemic conditions, HIV sexual risk group and time in care were modelled to predict estimated HIV transmissions resulting from sexual behaviour and viral suppression status (HIV RNA \u3c 400/mL) using hierarchical linear modelling. Results: Patients averaged 0.38 estimated HIV transmissions/100 patients/year for all visits with syndemic conditions measured (down from 0.83, first visit). The final multivariate model showed that per 100 patients, each care visit predicted 0.05 fewer estimated transmissions annually (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.03 to 0.06; p \u3c 0.0005). Cisgender women, cisgender heterosexual men and cisgender men of undisclosed sexual orientation had, respectively, 0.47 (95% CI: 0.35 to 0.59; p \u3c 0.0005), 0.34 (95% CI: 0.20 to 0.49; p \u3c 0.0005) and 0.22 (95% CI: 0.09 to 0.35; p \u3c 0.005) fewer estimated HIV transmissions/100 patients/year than cisgender men who have sex with men (MSM). Each within-patient syndemic condition predicted 0.18 estimated transmissions/100 patients/year (95% CI: 0.12 to 0.24; p \u3c 0.0005). Each between-syndemic condition predicted 0.23 estimated HIV transmissions/100 patients/year (95% CI: 0.17 to 0.28; p \u3c 0.0005). Conclusions: Estimated HIV transmissions among PLWH receiving care in well-resourced U.S. clinical settings varied by HIV sexual risk group and decreased with time in care, highlighting the importance of TasP efforts. Syndemic conditions remained a significant predictor of estimated HIV transmissions notwithstanding the effects of HIV sexual risk group and time in care