MICROSTRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION AND THERMAL CYCLING RELIABILITY OF SOLDERS UNDER ISOTHERMAL AGING AND ELECTRICAL CURRENT

Solder joints on printed circuit boards provide electrical and mechanical connections between electronic devices and metallized patterns on boards. These solder joints are often the cause of failure in electronic packages. Solders age under storage and operational life conditions, which can include temperature, mechanical loads, and electrical current. Aging occurring at a constant temperature is called isothermal aging. Isothermal aging leads to coarsening of the bulk microstructure and increased interfacial intermetallic compounds at the solder-pad interface. The coarsening of the solder bulk degrades the creep properties of solders, whereas the voiding and brittleness of interfacial intermetallic compounds leads to mechanical weakness of the solder joint. Industry guidelines on solder interconnect reliability test methods recommend preconditioning the solder assemblies by isothermal aging before conducting reliability tests. The guidelines assume that isothermal aging simulates a "reasonable use period," but do not relate the isothermal aging levels with specific use conditions. Studies on the effect of isothermal aging on the thermal cycling reliability of tin-lead and tin-silver-copper solders are limited in scope, and results have been contradictory. The effect of electrical current on solder joints has been has mostly focused on current densities above 104A/cm2 with high ambient temperature (≥100oC), where electromigration, thermomigration, and Joule heating are the dominant failure mechanisms. The effect of current density below 104A/cm2 on temperature cycling fatigue of solders has not been established. This research provides the relation between isothermal aging and the thermal cycling reliability of select Sn-based solders. The Sn-based solders with 3%, 1%, and 0% silver content that have replaced tin-lead are studied and compared against tin-lead solder. The activation energy and growth exponents of the Arrhenius model for the intermetallic growth in the solders are provided. An aging metric to quantify the aging of solder joints, in terms of phase size in the solder bulk and interfacial intermetallic compound thickness at the solder-pad interface, is established. Based on the findings of thermal cycling tests on aged solder assemblies, recommendations are made for isothermal aging of solders before thermal cycling tests. Additionally, the effect of active electrical current at 103 A/cm2 on thermal cycling reliability is reported

Misdemeanor Enforcement Trends Across Seven U.S. Jurisdictions

This paper, which is a product of DCJ's Research Network on Misdemeanor Justice ("the Research Network"), examines long-term trends in lower-level enforcement across seven U.S. jurisdictions:  Durham, NC; Los Angeles, CA; Louisville, KY;  New York City, NY; Prince George's County; MD; Seattle, WA; and St. Louis, MO. It draws both on reports that were produced through partnerships between local researchers and criminal justice agency partners as well as updated data the Research Network has published through an interactive online dashboard. The paper analyzed cross-jurisdictional trends in enforcement, including misdemeanor arrest rates broadly, by demographics (race/age/sex), and by charge

ER, PR, HER2/NEU STATUS AND RELATION TO CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL FACTORS IN BREAST CARCINOMA

Objective: The role of hormone receptors as a prognostic and therapeutic tool in breast cancer is widely accepted. The aim of this study was to the analysis of steroid receptor status in breast cancer with clinic pathological characteristics.Methods: In the present study, immunohistochemical assay of two hundred tumor block of patients of breast carcinoma was performed to know the hormone receptor status as well as histological examination. Results: 150 samples were grouped to study hormonal status and their relation with clinic-pathological factors. The results in the present study documented the 42.3 %, 37.6 % and 56.2 % expression rate of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (Her2/neu) (. The negative expression of ER, PR receptors found higher (57.7 %, 62.4 % respectively). However, Her2/neu positive expression found higher than negative expression (43.8 %). An inverse correlation of Her2/neu expression with ER and PR expression was observed (p=0.007). A significant association of tumor size was observed with ER and PR expression (p=0.02 & p=0.04 respectively). However, no statistically significant association was observed between Her2/neu expression and tumor size (p=0.84).<4 positive lymph nodes showed more no reactivity of the receptors (ER, PR & Her2/neu) than>4 positive lymph nodes. No significant association of lymph node status and histological types was found with receptor expression.Conclusion: In conclusion further functional analyzes of ER, PR and Her2 receptors are needed to investigate the effects of compounds in inhibiting cancer in humans.Keywords: Breast carcinoma, Estrogen, Her-2/neu receptor, Immunohistochemistry, ProgesteroneÂ

Criminal Conviction Records in New York City (1980-2019)

In this report, the Data Collaborative for Justice (DCJ) presents analyses on criminal convictions in New York City from 1980 through 2019, using data provided by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. DCJ presents the number of criminal convictions that have accumulated over the course of these four decades, broken down by charge severity (i.e., misdemeanor vs. felony), charge type (e.g., drug charges or property-related charges) and demographics (i.e., race/ethnicity, sex, and age). DCJ also documents the number of individuals who have criminal convictions on their records, including the race/ethnicity, sex, and age of people with conviction records. Finally, DCJ analyzes individuals' conviction records to assess how long ago these convictions occurred and the number and type of charges that make up conviction records

Homicide by Neighborhood: Mapping New York City’s Violent Crime Drop

Researchers, scholars, and policymakers interested in the falling rate of violent crime in New York City (NYC) have attempted to pinpoint causes of the welcome trend. Discovering the causes of the city’s crime drop may lead to important lessons for the city itself and may influence policy and practice throughout the state, nation, and perhaps other countries. Researchers have suggested a host of mechanisms that may explain the dramatic decline in violence, but two factors—misdemeanor policing and the transformation of drug markets—continue to receive the most attention. This report focuses on these factors in relation to gun-related homicide rates. It describes and maps precinct-level relationships between misdemeanor policing, drug markets, and gun-related homicide rates from 1990 to 1999 in NYC. An increase in misdemeanor policing is related to a decrease in homicide in some, but not all, precincts. Similarly, a decrease in drug use is not consistently related to homicide decline. There is substantial heterogeneity in the social processes associated with the decline in violent crime and a few select precincts may be responsible for driving aggregate level trends

Role of apoptotic index, mitotic index and MIB-1 antibody expression as biomarkers in preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions of uterine cervix

Background: In India, cervical cancer ranks as the 2nd most frequent cancer among women. This study was carried out to study the role of apoptotic index (AI), mitotic index (MI) and MIB-1 labelling index (LI) as biomarkers in preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions of uterine cervix.Methods: Total of 90 cases was studied, over a period of two years, in the Department of Pathology as well as Obstetrics and Gynaecology, LLRM Medical College and associated SVBP Hospital, Meerut, India. Apoptotic Index and Mitotic Index were calculated on H & E stained sections in all the 90 cases while ki-67 immunostaining was done only on 44.44% (40/90) cases.Results: Apoptotic Index, Mitotic Index and MIB-1 expression were found to increase as the grade of lesion increased from cervical dysplasia to invasive cervical carcinoma. In CIN-I, MIB-1 positive cells were confined to lower one-third of ectocervix and full thickness was involved in CIN-III.Conclusion: We found proliferative indices (Mitotic index and MIB-1 labelling index) and Apoptotic index useful in determining the grading of dysplasia and cervical carcinoma.Key words: Cervical dysplasia, Cervical carcinoma, Apoptotic index, Mitotic index, MIB-1 Labelling inde

Quantitative assessment of airway and parenchymal components of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease using thin-section helical computed tomography

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to diagnose and characterise chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) into its forms, patterns, and severity using MDCT. Material and methods: In this prospective study, spirometric and MDCT evaluation was done in 52 consecutive patients diagnosed with COPD. In each patient six segmental bronchi were evaluated for CT morphometric indices of bronchial wall thickness (BWT) and wall area percentage (WAP). Quantitative evaluation of emphysema was done using inbuilt software, and volume of emphysematous lung was determined using percentage low attenuation area (LAA). COPD was categorised into the following: emphysema predominant; airway predominant; or mixed phenotypes, and severity grading was assigned as mild, moderate, or severe. Results: Centrilobular was the predominant emphysema pattern occurring alone (36.5%) or in combination with paraseptal changes (34.6%). Among COPD phenotypes, emphysema predominant was the commonest (44.3%), followed by mixed (30.8%), and bronchitis predominant (25.0%). The mean BWT in the airway-predominant group was significantly higher (1.94 ± 0.28 mm) than in the emphysema-predominant subgroup (1.79 ± 0.23 mm) with a p value of 0.005. Conclusion: MDCT is an indispensable tool in quantitative and qualitative evaluation of COPD patients. Measurement of CT indices like BWT, WAP, and %LAA can reliably categorise COPD into phenoty

To monitor the adverse drug reactions and safety of medicines commonly prescribed at obstetrics and gynaecology unit in a tertiary care hospital

Adverse drug reactions are the recognized hazards of drug therapy and they can occur with any class of drugs. Any substance that is capable of producing a therapeutic effect can also produce unwanted or adverse effects. Adverse Drug Reactions result in increased healthcare cost due to the need of some interventions and increased hospital stay. The study was undertaken to monitor the adverse drug reactions to medicines commonly prescribed at obstetrics and gynaecology unit in a tertiary care hospital, to establish ten most commonly prescribed medicines in this unit that gave maximum adverse drug reactions and to determine the list of commonly affected organ systems and assess their causality. In this Retrospective, non-interventional study a total of 63 adverse drug reaction reports were collected from 249 patients. The most common medicine that caused maximum ADRs was Oxytocin 10 (15.87%). Other frequently used drugs were Amikacin, Methylergometrine, Mifepristone+Misoprostol,Levonorgestrel+Ethinylestradiol, Cefotaxim+sulbactam, Cefixime+Ofloxacin, Mifepristone alone,Clomifene citrate, Tramadol. The most commonly affected organ system was cardio-vascular system 12 (19.04%).The assessment by Naranjo’s scale showed that out of 63 ADRs, 41 (65.07%) ADRs were probably related to drugs, 21 (33.33%) ADRs were possibly related to drugs and 1 (1.58%) ADR was doubtful. WHO causality assessment scale revealed that out of 63 ADRs, 51(80.95%) ADRs were probable or likely, 12(19.04%) ADRs were possible. It was observed that safe medicines were prescribed in obstetrics and gynaecology department as per FDA category A with no banned drugs .However, there is a need to sensitize the doctors to prescribe rationally and emphasize this aspect in under and post graduate medical teaching as well. The health system needs to promote spontaneous reporting of Adverse Drug Reactions from all health care professionals and the public at large in a well structured programme to build synergies for monitoring ADR in the country. Also proper documentation and periodic reporting to regional pharmacovigilance centres should be encouraged to arrive at meaningful conclusion on safety issue of medicines and thereby reduce considerably social and economic consequences of ADRs

Docosahexaenoic Acid Consumption Impedes Early Interferon- and Chemokine-Related Gene Expression While Suppressing Silica-Triggered Flaring of Murine Lupus

Exposure of lupus-prone female NZBWF1 mice to respirable crystalline silica (cSiO2), a known human autoimmune trigger, initiates loss of tolerance, rapid progression of autoimmunity, and early onset of glomerulonephritis. We have previously demonstrated that dietary supplementation with the ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) suppresses autoimmune pathogenesis and nephritis in this unique model of lupus flaring. In this report, we utilized tissues from prior studies to test the hypothesis that DHA consumption interferes with upregulation of critical genes associated with cSiO2-triggered murine lupus. A NanoString nCounter platform targeting 770 immune-related genes was used to assess the effects cSiO2 on mRNA signatures over time in female NZBWF1 mice consuming control (CON) diets compared to mice fed diets containing DHA at an amount calorically equivalent to human consumption of 2 g per day (DHA low) or 5 g per day (DHA high). Experimental groups of mice were sacrificed: (1) 1 d after a single intranasal instillation of 1 mg cSiO2 or vehicle, (2) 1 d after four weekly single instillations of vehicle or 1 mg cSiO2, and (3) 1, 5, 9, and 13 weeks after four weekly single instillations of vehicle or 1 mg cSiO2. Genes associated with inflammation as well as innate and adaptive immunity were markedly upregulated in lungs of CON-fed mice 1 d after four weekly cSiO2 doses but were significantly suppressed in mice fed DHA high diets. Importantly, mRNA signatures in lungs of cSiO2-treated CON-fed mice over 13 weeks reflected progressive amplification of interferon (IFN)- and chemokine-related gene pathways. While these responses in the DHA low group were suppressed primarily at week 5, significant downregulation was observed at weeks 1, 5, 9, and 13 in mice fed the DHA high diet. At week 13, cSiO2 treatment of CON-fed mice affected 214 genes in kidney tissue associated with inflammation, innate/adaptive immunity, IFN, chemokines, and antigen processing, mostly by upregulation; however, feeding DHA dose-dependently suppressed these responses. Taken together, dietary DHA intake in lupus-prone mice impeded cSiO2-triggered mRNA signatures known to be involved in ectopic lymphoid tissue neogenesis, systemic autoimmunity, and glomerulonephritis