Automated optical inspection of solder paste based on 2.5D visual images

In this paper, a special technique for the inspection of solder paste using directional LED lighting is presented. Conventional optical inspection method would depend on an image acquired from a camera mounted from the top. This 2D inspection of solder paste based on images is fast but is limited to defect such as bridge or no solder. Defects related to the volume of the printed solder paste or unevenness of the paste cannot be treated from a top image. The developed technique of this paper would involve the use of special directional side lighting to acquire two-and-a-half dimensional (2.5D) images from above the solder paste block. A sequence of three images is acquired and image processing is carried out for defect detection of the printed solder paste. The acquired images would highlight the geometrical features of the solder paste block. Solder paste inspection is then carried out based on the highlighted features. The proposed method can handle other types of defects that cannot be treated by conventional top light images. ©2009 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Spanning "Bleeding" Boundaries: Humanitarianism, NGOs, and the Civilian-Military Nexus in the Post-Cold War Era

How do nongovernmental (NGO), international (IO), and military organizations cope with their dependencies and address their perceptual and real diff erences in order to coordinate their fi eld operations? Th is question is addressed through the creation of a matrix grouping civilian (NGOs and IOs) and military operations into four general types: peacekeeping; disaster relief; complex humanitarian emergencies/warfare; and stabilization and reconstruction. Second, using Galbraith’s information processing approach to organizational design, a range of formal coordination mechanisms that organizations use at the strategic and operational levels to help them cope with their dependencies in diff erent fi eld operations is identifi ed. Th ird, the author underscores how communities of practice are emerging as informal mechanisms of coordination among civilian and military organizations. And fi nally, a framework of organizational forms that views communities of practice as an alternative to hierarchy and markets is off ered. Believing communities of practice hold the most promise for coordination in the human security domain when hierarchies are politically untenable and markets lack accountability, the author concludes with implications for interorganization coordination research and practice

Route selection for vehicle navigation and control

This paper presents an application of neural-fuzzy methodology for the problem of route selection in a typical vehicle navigation and control system. The idea of the primary attributes of a route is discussed, and a neural-fuzzy system is developed to help a user to select a route out of the many possible routes from an origin to the destination. The user may not adopt the recommendation provided by the system and choose an alternate route. One novel feature of the system is that the neural-fuzzy system can adapt itself by changing the weights of the defined fuzzy rules through a training procedure. Two examples are given in this paper to illustrate how the route selection/ranking system can be made adaptive to the past choice or preference of the user. ©2007 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Validation of the Abbreviated Mental Test (Hong Kong version) in the elderly medical patient

The Abbreviated Mental Test is a useful screening test for abnormal cognitive function in the elderly patient. It is widely used in UK geriatrics practice. A modified local version of the Abbreviated Mental Test is also commonly used in Hong Kong. In the present study, the local version of the 10-question Abbreviated Mental Test was validated against clinical diagnoses of normal/abnormal cognitive function (by DSM III R criteria). Sixty-nine patients (aged 65 years and older) referred to the Acute Geriatric Assessment Team at the Queen Mary Hospital were assessed. Nine patients (13%) were excluded because of language barrier, deafness, dysphasia and/or severe dysarthria. Sixty patients completed the test and the clinical assessment. An incorrect answer in each of the test items was found to be significantly associated with abnormal cognitive function (P<0.005). For the Abbreviated Mental Test score, the best cut-off point was found to be six (below six was considered abnormal); this yielded a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 94%.published_or_final_versio

Eco-friendly facile synthesis of Co3O4-Pt nanorods for ethylene detection towards fruit quality monitoring

Ethylene, a biomarker widely employed for evaluating fruit ripening during storage, exists at extremely low concentrations. Therefore a gas sensor with high sensitivity and a sub-ppm detection limit is needed. In this work, porous Co3O4 nanorods were synthesized through a hydrothermal method involving Co(NO3)2, Na2C2O4, H2O and ethylene glycol (EG), followed by annealing at 400 degrees C in air. The surface of the porous Co3O4 nanorods was functionalized with Pt nanoparticles to enhance the ethylene sensing performance. The effect of Co3O4 surface functionalisation with Pt nanoparticles was investigated by adding different amounts of nanoparticles. The sensor's outstanding performance at the optimum working temperature of 250 degrees C is attributed to the synergy between the high catalytic activity of Pt nanoparticles and the extensive surface area of the porous Co3O4 nanorods. Compared to pure Co3O4, the 0.031 wt% Pt sensor showed better ethylene sensing performance with a response 3.4 times that of pristine Co3O4. The device also demonstrated high selectivity, repeatability, long-term stability and a detection limit of 0.13 ppm for ethylene, which is adequate for fruit quality monitoring. The gas sensing mechanism of porous Co3O4 nanorods and the influence of Pt decoration on sensor performance are discussed

Human germ cell tumours: expression of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase and sensitivity to cisplatin

Previous studies have shown that the enzyme γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) is essential for the nephrotoxicity of cisplatin. This study was designed to determine whether GGT activity is necessary for the therapeutic effect of the drug. The relationship between GGT expression and clinical response to platinum-based chemotherapy was examined in 41 human germ cell tumours. Sections of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumours were immunohistochemically stained with an antibody directed against human GGT. There was no expression of GGT in any of the 17 seminomas or four dysgerminomas; whereas, 12/12 ovarian yolk sac tumours and 4/4 embryonal carcinomas of the testis were GGT-positive. In stage I tumours fewer tumour cells expressed GGT than in later stage tumours. In four germ cell tumours of mixed histology, the seminomatous and dysgerminoma areas were GGT-negative while the areas of the tumour with yolk sac or embryonal histology contained GGT-positive tumour cells. The patients with seminomas or dysgerminomas who were treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy, all had a complete response despite the absence of GGT expression in these tumours. Fifteen of the 16 patients with yolk sac or embryonal carcinomas received cisplatin-based chemotherapy following surgery. Twelve had a complete response, while three failed to respond to platinum-based therapy. There was no correlation between the level of GGT-expression and response to therapy in this group. Three of the four patients with tumours of mixed histology were treated with cisplatin-based therapy, and had a complete response. Therefore, expression of GGT is not necessary for the therapeutic effect of cisplatin in germ cell tumours. The results from this study suggest that systemic inhibition of GGT would inhibit the nephrotoxic side-effect of cisplatin without interfering with its activity towards germ cell tumours. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

The roles of Irx3 and Irx5 in mammalian inner ear development

Iroquois genes encode a family of transcription factors containing TALE class homeodomain. They are regarded as prepatterning genes in Drosophila sensory organ development. There are six members (Irx1Irx6) of Iroquois genes in mouse and human. Irx3 and Irx5 are linked genes on mouse chromosome 8, which are involved in many mammalian developmental processes. However, the roles of Irx3 and Irx5 in mammalian hearing loss are poorly understood. To identify the function of these two genes in inner ear development, we have investigated two reporter knock‐in mouse mutants: Irx3lacZ, Irx5EGFP, and a double knock‐out mutant: Irx3/5‐/‐. Irx3 and Irx5 have overlapping expression domains in the developing inner ear. Physiological tests indicated that the Irx3lacZ and Irx5EGFP mutant mice displayed hearing defect, while Irx3/5‐/‐ mice were embryonic lethal. Although paint filling analysis showed the normal cochlea morphology of Irx3lacZ and Irx5EGFP mutant mice, ectopic inner hair cells have been discovered in the organ of Corti. Interestingly, the cochlear duct of Irx3/5‐/‐ mice was enlarged and shortened, and the basal part of the cochlea was fused with the saccule. There were also numerous vestibular‐like ectopic hair cells surrounded by ectopic Sox2‐positive cells in the greater epithelial ridge of cochlea. The organ of Corti was malformed with neither hair cell differentiation nor supporting cell differentiation at E16.5. In summary, our results indicate that Irx3 and Irx5 cooperatively pattern the boundary between the vestibule and the cochlea and they are important for the cochlear sensory neural cell specification.postprin

Recurrent acute heart failure caused by sliding hiatus hernia

The case is reported of a 75 year old woman who presented with recurrent nocturnal episodes of acute pulmonary oedema. The cause was uncertain as she had normal cardiothoracic ratio on chest radiography and normal left ventricular systolic and diastolic function by transthoracic echocardiogram. Another transthoracic echocardiogram was repeated when she was recumbent for an hour and had a full stomach. It showed a striking finding of severe left atrial compression by an external structure. Computed tomography of the thorax showed an intrathoracic mass behind the left atrium causing external compression of the left atrium suggestive of a sliding hiatus hernia. Cardiac catheterisation confirmed the diagnosis by showing a pronounced rise of pulmonary capillary wedge pressure in the recumbent position compared with the sitting up position.published_or_final_versio

Association between Helicobacter pylori infection and interleukin 1β polymorphism predispose to CpG island methylation in gastric cancer [4]

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A phase II trial of ixabepilone in Asian patients with advanced gastric cancer previously treated with fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy

PURPOSE: The highest rates of gastric cancer occur in Eastern Asia. Fluoropyrimidine-based therapy is used initially in unresectable and metastatic disease, but no single standard of care exists following disease progression. Ixabepilone, an epothilone B analog, is a non-taxane microtubule-stabilizing agent with clinical activity across multiple tumor types approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for treatment of metastatic breast cancer. METHODS: Asian patients with unresectable or metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma who had failed fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy received ixabepilone 40 mg/m(2) by 3-h intravenous infusion every 3 weeks. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR). RESULTS: Fifty-two patients were treated (65.4 % men; median age: 56.5 years). The ORR was 15.4 % (95 % confidence interval [CI] 6.9-28.1); 8 patients achieved partial responses for a median duration of 3.1 months (95 % CI 2.6-4.1 months) and 26 patients (50.0 %) had stable disease. Median progression-free survival was 2.8 months (95 % CI 2.1-3.5 months). The most common grade 3 non-hematological toxicities were fatigue (9.6 %), decreased appetite (7.7 %), sensory neuropathy (5.8 %), and diarrhea (5.8 %). Grade 3/4 neutropenia occurred in 46.2 % of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Ixabepilone is active in Asian patients with advanced gastric cancer and shows a toxicity profile similar to those previously reported in other tumor types.published_or_final_versio