Defect Detection Equalization Of Hard Disk Drive Media Test Process Using Variable Bias Implementation In Touch Down Sensor Response

The drive to satisfy the ever increasing need for digital storage capacity today has brought about various advances from a technological stand point in the design and manufacture of high speed and high capacity hard disk drives. Efforts to increase the areal density of the magnetic media disk within the hard disk drive forced designers to push the envelope of the read/write head’s flying height clearance using Thermal or Dynamic Fly Height Control (DFH) down to the sub–nanometer region, thus giving birth to the need for improved magnetic media disk manufacturing processes. In order to fly the heads ever closer to the magnetic media surface, the media needed to be free of any protrusion or asperity type defects that could prove fatal to the drive, which in turn, was achieved through the use of the Touch Down Sensor. This research paper aims to address the variation that is present within the Touch Down Sensor application that employs the fixed bias implementation in the magnetic media test environment through the use of a variable bias solution. The amplitude response variation within the current implementation is scrutinized, and an alternative technique using a variable bias solution that is derived using an extrapolation of the amplitude response curve is discussed. The variable bias solution demonstrated that the variation of the Touch Down Sensor could be significantly be reduced by 36.7% and established a foundation where future research into this implementation could be explore

A Fully Automatic Theorem Prover with Human-Style Output.

This paper describes a program that solves elementary mathematical problems, mostly in metric space theory, and presents solutions that are hard to distinguish from solutions that might be written by human mathematicians.Research supported by a Royal Society 2010 Anniversary Research Professorship.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10817-016-9377-

Two-stage clustering in genotype-by-environment analyses with missing data

Cluster analysis has been commonly used in genotype-by-environment (G x E) analyses, but current methods are inadequate when the data matrix is incomplete. This paper proposes a new method, referred to as two-stage clustering, which relies on a partitioning of squared Euclidean distance into two independent components, the G x E interaction and the genotype main effect. These components are used in the first and second stages of clustering respectively. Two-stage clustering forms the basis for imputing missing values in the G x E matrix so that a more complete data array is available for other GxE analyses. Imputation for a given genotype uses information from genotypes with similar interaction profiles. This imputation method is shown to improve on an existing nearest cluster method that confounds the G x E interaction and the genotype main effect

Study protocol for a self-controlled cluster randomised trial of the Alert Program to improve self-regulation and executive function in Australian Aboriginal children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Introduction While research highlights the benefits of early diagnosis and intervention for children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), there are limited data documenting effective interventions for Australian children living in remote communities. Methods and analysis This self-controlled cluster randomised trial is evaluating the effectiveness of an 8-week Alert Program school curriculum for improving self-regulation and executive function in children living in remote Australian Aboriginal communities. Children in grades 1-6 attending any of the eight participating schools across the Fitzroy Valley in remote North-West Australia (N ˜ 363) were invited to participate. Each school was assigned to one of four clusters with clusters randomly assigned to receive the intervention at one of four time points. Clusters two, three and four had extended control conditions where students received regular schooling before later receiving the intervention. Trained classroom teachers delivered the Alert Program to students in discrete, weekly, 1-hour lessons. Student outcomes were assessed at three time points. For the intervention condition, data collection occurred 2 weeks immediately before and after the intervention, with a follow-up 8 weeks later. For control conditions in clusters two to four, the control data collection matched that of the data collection for the intervention condition in the preceding cluster. The primary outcome is change in self-regulation. FASD diagnoses will be determined via medical record review after the completion of data collection. The results will be analysed using generalised linear mixed modelling and reported in accordance with Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guidelines. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Western Australia (WA) (RA/4/1/7234), WA Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee (601) and WA Country Health Service (2015:04). The Kimberley Aboriginal Health Planning Forum Research Sub-Committee and WA Department of Education also provided approval. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations, the media and at forums

Intravesical gemcitabine versus intravesical bacillus calmette-guerin for the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: An evaluation of efficacy and toxicity

Background: Intravesical Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) remains the standard adjuvant treatment for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) following transurethral resection; however, BCG failure and related toxicities are common. Objectives: To compare the efficacy and toxicity of intravesical BCG and gemcitabine in the treatment of NMIBC. Methods: Retrospective data were collected in the region of Canberra, Australia from January 2010 to December 2015. The survival cutoff was December 2016. Primary end point was disease-free survival (DFS) and secondary end point was toxicity. After optimal transurethral resection all patients received weekly intravesical BCG or gemcitabine for 6 weeks and maintenance treatment according to their risk. The recurrence was defined as histology proven tumor recurrence (any grade), or appearance of carcinoma in situ. Results: One hundred and three patients were evaluable, 52 treated with BCG and 51 with gemcitabine with a median age of 77 and 78, and were mostly male. Approximately half of each received maintenance therapy. The groups were well balanced, apart from some difference in cancer risk groups. Twenty-one percent in the BCG group and 29% in the gemcitabine group had received prior BCG. Median follow up was 15.0 months. Median DFS was 19.6 months for BCG, whereas median DFS was not reached with gemcitabine. There was a trend toward improved DFS with gemcitabine in multivariate analysis, HR: 0.49 (95% CI: 0.22–1.06, p = 0.07). Adverse events were significantly less frequent with gemcitabine (7 versus 44%, p ≤ 0.05). There were four cases of systemic BCG infection. Conclusion: Intravesical gemcitabine was associated with a trend toward better DFS with significantly lower toxicity when compared with BCG. Intravesical BCG remains the standard first-line adjuvant therapy; however, intravesical gemcitabine could be a reasonable alternative in cases where BCG is contraindicated and for patients who are intolerant or refractory to BCG. A prospective phase 3 trial is needed to confirm the benefits of gemcitabine over BCG