Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reliability of lead-free SnAg solder bumps: influence of electromigration and temperature

Temperature and current are the main factors that determine intrinsic degradation of flip chip solder bumps. The intrinsic reliability of bumps is independent of other package features, like geometry and materials. Therefore, bump lifetime can be generically assessed for a particular bump system independently of product and package specifics. The investigated bump type must always be seen as part of a system which includes chip pad, under bump metallization (UBM), solder bump and substrate pad with or without barrier layer. Using high temperature storage (HTS) and high current stress experiments the degradation of SnAg bumps due to metal diffusion, formation of intermetallic compounds (IMC's), void formation and electromigration is investigated at accelerated conditions. We found a common activation energy of /spl sim/ 1.0 eV, which rules the temperature dependence of bump degradation both with and without current and for both current directions. Current dependence in the low current range follows a current density exponent of = 1.7, which is close to published data on eutectic SnPb bumps. The test results are extrapolated to estimate operating lifetimes as a function of temperature and current. Conversely, the same data yields the maximum current specification of SnAg bumps as a function of temperature and required lifetime.
Associations Between Content Types of Early Media Exposure and Subsequent Attentional Problems

OBJECTIVE. Television and video/DVD viewing among very young children has become both pervasive and heavy. Previous studies have reported an association between early media exposure and problems with attention regulation but did not have data on the content type that children watched. We tested the hypothesis that early television viewing of 3 content types is associated with subsequent attentional problems. The 3 different content types are educational, nonviolent entertainment, and violent entertainment. METHODS. Participants were children in a nationally representative sample collected in 1997 and reassessed in 2002. The analysis was a logistic regression of a high score on a validated parent-reported measure of attentional problems, regressed on early television exposure by content and several important sociodemographic control variables. RESULTS. Viewing of educational television before age 3 was not associated with attentional problems 5 years later. However, viewing of either violent or non-violent entertainment television before age 3 was significantly associated with subsequent attentional problems, and the magnitude of the association was large. Viewing of any content type at ages 4 to 5 was not associated with subsequent problems. CONCLUSIONS. The association between early television viewing and subsequent attentional problems is specific to noneducational viewing and to viewing before age 3.
Preference for the Workplace, Human Capital, and Gender

In this paper, we use a hypothetical choice methodology to robustly estimate preferences for workplace attributes and quantify how much these preferences influence pre-labor market human capital investments. Undergraduate students are presented with sets of job offers that vary in their attributes (such as earnings and job hours flexibility) and asked to state their probabilistic choices. We show that this method robustly identifies preferences for various job attributes, free from omitted variable bias and free from considering the equilibrium matching of workers to jobs. While there is substantial heterogeneity in preferences, we find that women on average have a higher willingness to pay for jobs with greater work flexibility (lower hours, and part-time option availability) and job stability (lower risk of job loss), and men have a higher willingness to pay for jobs with higher earnings growth. Using a follow-up survey several years after the experiment, we find a systematic relationship between the respondents' job preferences as revealed during college and the actual workplace characteristics of the jobs these individuals are currently working at after college. In the second part of the paper, we relate these job attribute preferences to major choice. Using data on students' perceptions about the demand side of the labor market--beliefs about expected attributes of jobs students anticipate being offered if they were to complete particular majors--we find that students perceive jobs offered to Humanities majors to have fewer hours, more work-time flexibility, and higher stability than jobs offered to Economics/Business majors. These job attributes are found to play a role in major choice, with women exhibiting greater sensitivity to non-pecuniary job attributes in major choice.
Needlestick and sharps injuries among health-care workers in Taiwan

Sharps injuries are a major cause of transmission of hepatitis B and C viruses and human immunodeficiency virus in health-care workers. To determine the yearly incidence and causes of sharps injuries in health-care workers in Taiwan, we conducted a questionnaire survey in a total of 8645 health care workers, including physicians, nurses, laboratory technicians, and cleaners, from teaching hospitals of various sizes. The reported incidence of needlestick and other sharps injuries was 1·30 and 1·21 per person in the past 12 months, respectively. Of most recent episodes of needlestick/sharps injury, 52·0% were caused by ordinary syringe needles, usually in the patient units. The most frequently reported circumstances of needlestick were recapping of needles, and those of sharps injuries were opening of ampoules/vials. Of needles which stuck the health-care workers, 54·8% had been used in patients, 8·2% of whom were known to have hepatitis B or C, syphilis, or human immunodeficiency virus infection. Sharps injuries in health-care workers in Taiwan occur more frequently than generally thought and risks of contracting blood-borne infectious diseases as a result are very high.
Environmental Variables Influence the Association of Eustenopus villosus and Larinus curtus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Adults With Different Growth Stages of the Invasive Thistle Centaurea solstitialis (Asteraceae: Cardueae) in Washington State

Abstract A 2-yr (2014-2015) field study in eastern Washington State quantified the effect of environmental factors on the overwintered Eustenopus villosus (Boheman) and Larinus curtus (Hochhut) adults in relation to phenology of Centaurea solstitialis L. (Asteraceae: Cardueae), the feeding and breeding host for these two weevil biocontrol agents. We recorded in the study area: ambient and soil temperatures, soil moisture, percent cover and developmental stage of C. solstitialis, and presence of adults of each weevil species. Sampling took place from early May to mid-August. Weevil activity for both species in both years was segregated into three phases: 1 – a pre-appearance phase in which neither species was detected, 2 – appearance and increase in frequency, and 3 – decrease in frequency. Eustenopus villosus increase in frequency was most strongly associated with warming temperatures both years. Larinus curtus increase in frequency in 2014 was most associated with increasing C. solstitialis cover and in 2015 with warming temperatures and drying soils. In both years, both weevil species' decline in frequency was likely due to the advancing C. solstitialis phenology. This pattern indicates that the appearance and increase in frequency of the overwintered E. villosus and L. curtus adults was likely a function of warming temperatures. Both species' decline in frequency was likely a function of the weevils completing their life cycle in synchrony with the phenological advancement of C. solstitialis and decline of abundant breeding and foraging sites (buds and flowers).
Micronuclear genome organization in Euplotes crassus: a transposonlike element is removed during macronuclear development

After mating, hypotrichous ciliated protozoa transform a set of their micronuclear chromosomes into thousands of short, linear DNA molecules that form the macronuclear genome. To examine micronuclear genome organization in the hypotrich Euplotes crassus, we have analyzed two cloned segments of micronuclear DNA as well as the macronuclear DNA molecules that are derived from them. E. crassus was found to display a number of features characteristic of other hypotrich genomes, including (i) clustering and close spacing of the precursors of macronuclear DNA molecules, (ii) the frequent occurrence of internal eliminated sequences within macronuclear precursors, (iii) overlapping macronuclear precursors, (iv) lack of telomeric repeats at the ends of macronuclear precursors, and (v) alternative processing of the micronuclear chromosome to yield multiple macronuclear DNA molecules. In addition, a moderately repetitive, transposonlike element that interrupts the precursors of two macronuclear DNA molecules has been identified and characterized. This transposonlike element, designated Tec1, is shown to be reproducibly removed from one of the macronuclear precursors during independent episodes of macronuclear development.
The influence of stromal contraction in a wound model system on corneal epithelial stratification.

PURPOSE The healing process of some corneal wounds involves closure by stromal contraction and the renewal of the stratified epithelium. In wound gape injury such stromal contraction occurs with epithelial stratification. In previous in vitro studies of noncontracted and contracted corneal fibroblast-seeded collagen gels (FSCGs) it was shown that initiation of wound contraction by the myofibroblast phenotype (present within the wounded stroma) was dependent on vitronectin and/or fibronectin. This study considers one aspect of the epithelial-stromal interaction that occurs during wounding. The stratification of corneal epithelial cells on noncontracted and contracted corneal FSCGs was compared. METHODS Dissociated bovine corneal epithelial cells were seeded on noncontracted and contracted corneal FSCGs, and these assemblies were cultured for 7 days. The epithelium that formed was evaluated using laser confocal microscopy and immunohistochemical markers directed against cytokeratin 3, desmoplakin I and II, integrin alpha-6 subunit, laminin, and collagen VII. The characteristics of the epithelium were compared with stromal carriers comprised of dissociated bovine corneal epithelial cells seeded on intact stroma and basement membrane (stromal carrier biopsies). RESULTS The stratified epithelium that developed on contracted corneal fibroblast-seeded collagen gels was similar to that formed on stromal carriers, whereas nonstratified epithelium formed on noncontracted FSCGs. CONCLUSIONS These studies showed that the contracted state of fibroblast-seeded gels enhanced the development of well-organized, stratified corneal epithelium.
Identification of Novel Keratinocyte Differentiation Modulating Compounds by High-Throughput Screening

The authors have designed high-throughput screens to identify compounds that promote or inhibit terminal differentiation of primary human epidermal keratinocytes. Eleven known inhibitors of signaling pathways and approximately 4000 compounds of diverse structure were screened using an In-Cell Western system based on immunofluorescent staining of the terminal differentiation marker, involucrin. Staurosporine, a nonspecific protein kinase C inhibitor, and H89, a protein kinase A inhibitor, promoted expression of involucrin. Conversely, U0126, a MEK inhibitor, and SAHA or SBHA, 2 histone deacetylase inhibitors, reduced the expression of involucrin during calcium-induced stratification. In addition, the authors found 1 novel compound that induced keratinocyte differentiation and 2 novel compounds that were inhibitory to calcium-induced differentiation. The differentiation-inducing compound also inhibited growth of a human squamous cell carcinoma line by stimulating both differentiation and apoptosis. Because the compound affected the tumor cells at a lower concentration than primary keratinocytes, it may have potential as an antitumor therapy.
Will They Stay or Will They Go? An Examination of the Factors Influencing User Loyalty towards News Websites

Owing to the increased competition in electronic markets, customer loyalty has become an important success factor in e-business. However, the antecedents of customer loyalty differ between business domains. While the formation of customer loyalty in e-commerce has been studied extensively, little is known about how loyalty towards news websites develops. Integrating findings from uses and gratifications research into DeLone and McLean’s theory on information systems success, we built a quality-value-satisfaction-loyalty chain for news websites. To test our research model, we conducted a survey and applied partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results reveal that loyalty towards news websites depends on both utilitarian and hedonic value perceptions, which, in turn, are influenced by content quality. Our study combines communication, information systems, as well as marketing research theories and has important implications for news website providers.
The antimicrobial effects of three phenolic extracts from Rosmarinus officinalis L., Vitis vinifera L. and Polygonum cuspidatum L. on food pathogens

Abstract In this study three phenolic extracts were examined, without volatile fraction, against common food pathogens. The samples, all suitable for food application, were from the leaves of Rosmarinus officinalis L. , Vitis vinifera L. , and the root of Polygonum cuspidatum L. The microorganisms tested were Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Enteritidis, Salmonella Typhi, Yersinia enterocolitica and Listeria monocytogenes, well-known as important food pathogens. The results demonstrated a microbicidal activity of all the tested compounds at different concentrations; the rosemary extract showed greater efficacy than the other compounds against the tested microorganisms. In particular, the best results were obtained with rosemary extract against E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes with values of 200 and 270 μg/mL, respectively. Our results show that rosemary extract, often present as a natural antioxidant in food, can also be proposed as a natural disinfectant in the food field.
Comparison of the Clinical Presentation and Visual Outcome in Open Globe Injuries in Adults and Children over 30 Months

Purpose. To compare the clinical presentation and final visual outcome of open globe injuries in children and adults in a referral hospital over a 30-month period. Methods. This is an institutional-based prospective study of open globe injuries cases presenting in the emergency department between July 2003 and December 2005. Patients were divided in 2 groups: group 1, children (2–15 years), and group 2, adults (>15 years). All the patients were admitted and emergency surgical interventions were undertaken. The clinical features at presentation and the final visual acuity are compared. Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used for statistical analysis. Results. Ninety and 84 patients were included in group 1 and group 2, respectively. The most common places of injuries were home or while playing outdoor games in group 1 (67%) and workplace in group 2 (53.5%). The presenting features were significantly more grave in group 2. These included poor presenting visual acuity (p=0.012), vitreous prolapse (p=0.002), presence of relative afferent pupillary defect (p=0.001), and incidence of endophthalmitis (p=0.004). Time interval between injury and surgical intervention (p=0.018) was better in group 2. Other features, such as presence of hyphema, uveal tissue prolapse, cataract, intraocular foreign body, and length or location of laceration were similar in both groups. The final visual outcome was similar in the groups (p = 0.21), with approximately half of the patients achieving vision of 20/60 or better in each group. Conclusions. The majority of injuries in children and adults occurred in their homes or workplaces, respectively. Although the clinical presentations of open globe injuries were significantly more grave in adults than in children, the final visual outcomes were similar.
Presynaptic regulation of the release of catecholamines.

During norepinephrine release elecited by the arrival of nerve impulses, the neurotransmitter interacts with specific receptors (alpha1-, beta1-, beta2-adrenoceptors) located in the membrane of the postsynaptic cell to trigger the response of the effector organ. Until a few years ago, it was thought that the role of noradrenergic nerve terminals in neurotransmission is concerned exclusively with the synthesis, storage, release, and inactivation of norepinephrine and there were no indications that receptors might also be present in the presynaptic membrane. During the last decade, evidence has accumulated in favour of the view that, in addition to the classical postsynaptic adrenoceptors that mediate the responses of the effector organ, there are also receptors located on the noradrenergic nerve terminals. These presynaptic recptors are involved in the modulation of the calcium-dependent, action-potential-evoked release of norepinephrine in the peripheral as well as in the central nervous system. Presynaptic inhibitory alpha-adrenoceptors are involved in the regulation of the release of norepinephrine through a negative feedback mechanism mediated by the neuron's own transmitter. Alpha-Adrenoceptor agonists inhibit the release of norepinephrine during nerve stimulation, while alpha-adrenoceptor blocking agents enhance the stimulation-evoked release of the neurotransmitter. These results have been obtained both i vitro and in vivo. There are pharmacological differences between the postsynaptic alpha-adrenoceptors that mediate the response of the effector organ and the presynaptic inhibitory alpha-adrenoceptors that modulate the release of norepinephrine during nerve stimulation. The subclassification of alpha-adrenoceptors into alpha1- and alpha2-types is bases on differences in relative affinities for a range of alpha-adrenoceptor agoinst and antagonist durgs. The term alpha1-adrenceptor is used for a receptor that is preferentially stimulated by phenylephrine and blocked by prazosin, whereas alpha2-adrenoceptor is reserved for those preferentially stimulated by guanabenz or clonidine and blocked by rauwolscine or yohimbine. The presynaptic inhibitory alpha-adrenoceptors in the peripheral and in the central nervous system have the pharmacological characteristics of the alpha2-adrenoceptors. Presynaptic inhibiotry autoreceptors appear to be involved in the modulation of the release of dopamine and of epinephrine in the central nervous system. A short negative feedback mechanism similar to that for norepinephrine appears to regulate the stimulation-evoked release of dopamine and epinephrine in central neurons. In addition to presynaptic autoreceptors through which the transmitter can modulate its own release, a real mosaic of receptors in present on noradrenergic nerve endings.
Transversus Abdominis Activation During a Side-Bridge Exercise Progression Is Similar in People with Recurrent Low Back Pain and Healthy Controls

Abstract Himes, MA, Selkow, NM, Gore, MA, Hart, JM, Saliba, SA. Transversus abdominis activation during a side-bridge exercise progression is similar in people with recurrent low back pain and healthy controls. J Strength Cond Res 26(11): 3106–3112, 2012—Low back pain (LBP) affects 70–80% of the population. The transversus abdominis (TrA) has been implicated as part of the cause of LBP. Prevention and rehabilitation of LBP often target the TrA using exercises such as the side bridge accompanied with the abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM). However, it is unknown whether individuals with recurrent LBP, when they are in a period of no pain, are able to activate the TrA and healthy individuals during this exercise. The purpose of our study was to compare the activation ratio of the TrA during a 5-level side-bridge exercise progression. Twenty-three subjects with a history of recurrent, nonspecific LBP, but not experiencing an exacerbation of symptoms and 24 healthy controls volunteered. All the subjects performed the ADIM and side-bridge exercises with clinician feedback (verbal cueing). Each participant performed the side-bridge exercise progression while ultrasound images were taken. The subjects were only progressed if they successfully completed the previous level. The thickness of the TrA was measured in rested and contracted states at each exercise level to find the activation ratio (TrA contracted/TrA rest). Separate analyses of covariance did not reveal a difference in activation ratios between groups (p > 0.40) when the ratio at the lowest level was used as the covariate. The results from this study indicate that both groups were able to contract the TrA with verbal cueing during a side-bridge exercise progression. Because the TrA contracted similarly during exercise in both groups, the association of LBP with the TrA may be because of another mechanism, such as delayed activation in the feed-forward mechanism during activity or a lack of endurance of the TrA.
[Survival after surgical treatment of bilateral synchronous multiple primary non-small cell lung cancers].

OBJECTIVE To explore the clinical characteristics of patients with bilateral synchronous multiple primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and identify the prognostic indicators associated with survival. METHODS From January 2010 to December 2014, clinicopathological data of 96 patients with bilateral synchronous multiple primary NSCLC, who met the modified Martini-Melamed criteria and underwent radical surgical resection, were retrospectively reviewed. Survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the clinical parameters associated with survival were analyzed using a log-rank test. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to identify the risk factors for this cancer. RESULTS Of the 96 patients, two patients who died of severe postoperative complications were excluded, and 94 patients were analyzed. Of the 94 cases, a two-stage operation was performed in 93 patients, while a single-stage bilateral surgery was performed in only one patient using video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). 79 patients had 2 tumors and the other 15 patients had 3 or more tumors. There were 82 patients with synchronous tumors located in different lobes and 12 patients had at least two tumors located in the same lobe. Seventy-six patients were found to have multiple lung adenocarcinoma and 12 patients had multiple squamous cell carcinoma (SCCs). Five patients had adenocarcinoma and SCC, and one patient had adenocarcinoma and adenosquamous carcinoma simultaneously. Univariate analysis showed that the large maximum tumor diameter, highest pT stage and lymph node involvement were associated with an unfavorable DFS (P<0.01 for all), while female gender, small maximum tumor diameter, early highest pT stage and pN0 were associated with a better overall survival (OS). Multivariate analysis showed that highest pT stage and lymph node metastasis were independent prognostic factors for DFS and OS. Patients with a lower highest pT stage and negative lymph node metastasis had longer DFS and OS (P<0.05 for both). CONCLUSIONS The diagnosis for patients with bilateral synchronous multiple primary NSCLCs should be made very carefully. Two stage surgical treatment is safe, reasonable and effective for patients with bilateral synchronous multiple primary NSCLCs in a relatively early stage. The highest pT stage and pN status are important predictors for long-term survival. Adequate pulmonary tissue resection with complete resection of multiple nodules and systematic lymphadenectomy are suggested.