Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electromigration in Ni/Sn intermetallic micro bump joint for 3D IC chip stacking

In this study, we used a chip-on-chip test vehicle with 30μm pitch lead-free solder micro bump to study the electromigration reliability of solder micro bump interconnection used for 3D chip stacking. The structure of micro bump composed of Sn2.5Ag solder material with Cu/Ni under bump metallization (UBM) was selected. Two types of interconnection were chosen to evaluate the effect of the joint structure on electromigration behavior. The type I was the chip stacking sample with the IMC / Sn (5 um thick) / IMC joint structure, while the type II was the sample with fully transformed Ni3Sn4 intermetallic (IMC) joints made by the post-treatment of long time thermal aging. Electromigration test was performed on the four point Kelvin structure and daisy-chain structure under the current stressing of 104∼105 A/cm2 at an ambient temperature of 150°C. During the electromigration test, the resistance increase was in-situ monitored to determine the definite time to failure. The microstructure evolution was also examined at different stages of joint resistance increase. From the testing results, the rapid increase of joint resistance was found at the early stage under current stressing in the type I micro bump. After that, the joint resistance increase became slower. This mild increasing stage was much longer than the early stage. For the type II sample, however, the resistance increasing rate was quiet lower than that of the type I sample at the identical testing time. With a higher current density in the order of 105 A/cm2 in the micro joint, the effect of joule heating caused the damage happened in Al trace and Cu UBM while the residual Sn solder had been transformed to be Ni3Sn4 IMC totally and few voids were found around IMC by the microstructure observation. When applied a current density in the order of 104 A/cm2 on the micro joint, the residual Sn was also fully transformed to be IMC. However, the failure mode of the micro joint is not clear yet because the experiments are still on-going. The resistance variation is showing a steady state under such a condition of current stressing and so far no open failure happened.
Estimation sur des bases orthogonales des propriétés thermiques de matériaux hétérogènes à propriétés constantes par morceaux

Ce travail se propose de caracteriser thermiquement des composites a microstructures complexes. Il s’agit de developper des methodes d’estimation permettant d’identifier les proprietes thermiques des differentes phases en presence, ainsi que celles associees a leurs interfaces, a partir de mesures issues de la thermographie infrarouge. Cette estimation parametrique necessite la connaissance au prealable de la structure geometrique de l’echantillon. Le premier objectif concerne donc l’identification de la structure de l’echantillon teste par la discrimination des differentes phases et interfaces. Une fois la structure de l’echantillon connue, le second objectif est l’identification des parametres thermiques des differents constituants ainsi que ceux de leurs interfaces. On se propose d’exploiter deux tests specifiques utilisant le meme dispositif experimental. Deux methodes mathematiques differentes ont ete developpees et utilisees pour exploiter les mesures de champ issues du premier test et permettre de retrouver la microstructure de l’echantillon. La premiere est fondee sur la decomposition en valeurs singulieres des donnees de temperatures recueillies. Il est montre que cette methode permet d’obtenir des representations de la microstructure de tres bonne qualite a partir de mesures meme fortement bruitees. La seconde methode permet de raffiner les resultats obtenus a l’aide de la methode precedente. Elle repose sur la resolution d’un probleme d’optimisation sous contraintes en exploitant la technique dite Level-Set pour identifier les frontieres des differents constituants de l’echantillon. L’etape d’identification des proprietes thermiques des constituants et des interfaces exploite les mesures de champs issues du second test experimental. La methode developpee, la SVD-FT combine des techniques de decompositions en valeurs singulieres avec desfonctions tests particulieres pour deriver des estimateurs lineaires des proprietes recherchees.Cette methode permet de limiter les effets du bruit de mesure sur la qualite de l’estimation et de s’affranchir des operations de filtrage des donnees.
Bacterial aspect of Food Poisoning

Food poisoning syndrome results from ingestion of water and wide variety of food contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria and / or their toxins). There are two kinds of food poisoning: poisoning by toxic agent or by infectious agent. The present literature view types of bacterial food poisoning, symptoms, prevention and treatment. The present study concluded that proper diagnosis of bacterial cause of food poisoning is necessary for the right way to treat and control either the best choice of antibiotic drugs or antitoxins. This will be achieved by the modern diagnostic immunological and molecular techniques [Azza.S. M. Abu Elnaga; Riham H, Hedia; Nagwa S, Ata and Mona S, Zaki. Bacterial aspect of Food Poisoning. Life Sci J 2014;11(3):290-298]. (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 43
A characterization of some graphs with metric dimension two

A set W \subseteq V (G) is called a resolving set, if for each pair of distinct vertices u,v \in V (G) there exists t \in W such that d(u,t) \neq d(v,t), where d(x,y) is the distance between vertices x and y. The cardinality of a minimum resolving set for G is called the metric dimension of G and is denoted by dim_M(G). A k-tree is a chordal graph all of whose maximal cliques are the same size k + 1 and all of whose minimal clique separators are also all the same size k. A k-path is a k-tree with maximum degree 2k, where for each integer j, k \leq j < 2k, there exists a unique pair of vertices, u and v, such that deg(u) = deg(v) = j. In this paper, we prove that if G is a k-path, then dim_M(G) = k. Moreover, we provide a characterization of all 2-trees with metric dimension two.
Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential in Primary Hypertension

Arterial hypertension is a frequent worldwide health disorder prevalent in a large percentage of the population and has adverse effects on the brain throughout one’s lifespan. This study was undertaken to evaluate the BERA as potential markers of early nervous system damage in essential hypertension and also to correlate the changes if any, between blood pressure and BERA in patients with essential hypertension. In the present study, 30 patients of primary hypertension were examined along with a group of 30 normotensive individuals as controls. Primary hypertensive individuals, in the age range of 30-70 years were selected from hypertensive clinic and 30 controls selected from amongst the staff of college. All the subjects of the two groups then underwent BERA assessment test in the neurophysiology laboratory as per the procedure mentioned under the methodology. Mean values of BERA in the two groups of subjects compared, showed Prolongation of the absolute latencies of BAEP waves I and IV in hypertensive group compared to normotensive group showed statistically significant difference. The latencies of other absolute waves were also found to be prolonged but the statistical significance could not be established.
An Adaptive, Structural and Content Gamification Concept for Regulated Daily Routines

: In this work, we introduce our concept for regulating daily routines in assisted living environments by the use of gamiﬁcation elements. Nowadays mobile devices and sensors are ubiquitous, so they are suitable for assisting users on reaching their personal goals. One of the most pressing challenges in this regard is the preservation of long-term user motivation. In this paper we propose a gamiﬁcation concept for a mobile application that support the achievement of regulated daily routines. With our assistive knowledge-and model-based approach SeMiWa, the system detects irregularities and their potential cause. These obtained insights are used to adapt the content of the application in a gamiﬁed way. A prototypical implementation substantiates our approach and introduces our forthcoming user study.
[Nutrition mistakes in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and the ways of correction].

UNLABELLED THE AIM OF REVIEW: To verify the role of nutrition in development of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in patients with metabolic syndrome. ORIGINAL POSITIONS The article contains main conceptions of etiology and pathogenesis of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Spesial attention gives to the role of nutrition in development of this case. The are own dates presented, which shows relationship between degree of obesity, factual nutrition and expression of morphological changes in liver in patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. CONCLUSION Nutrition mistakes in patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease are: excess of energy, animal proteins and fats, deficit of nutrition fibres, carbohydrates, antioxidants, vitamins B1, B2, PP. The main directions of diet in patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.
Oxidant Stress Impairs In Vivo Reendothelialization Capacity of Endothelial Progenitor Cells From Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Restoration by the Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-&ggr; Agonist Rosiglitazone

Background— Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are thought to contribute to endothelial recovery after arterial injury. We therefore compared in vivo reendothelialization capacity of EPCs derived from patients with diabetes mellitus and healthy subjects. Moreover, we examined the effect of treatment with the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-&ggr; agonist rosiglitazone on oxidant stress, nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, and the in vivo reendothelialization capacity of EPCs from diabetic individuals. Methods and Results— In vivo reendothelialization capacity of EPCs from diabetic patients (n=30) and healthy subjects (n=10) was examined in a nude mouse carotid injury model. Superoxide and NO production of EPCs was determined by electron spin resonance spectroscopy. Thirty patients with diabetes mellitus were randomized to 2 weeks of rosiglitazone (4 mg BID PO) or placebo treatment. In vivo reendothelialization capacity of EPCs derived from diabetic subjects was severely reduced compared with EPCs from healthy subjects (reendothelialized area: 8±3% versus 37±10%; P<0.001). EPCs from diabetic individuals had a substantially increased superoxide production and impaired NO bioavailability. Small-interfering RNA silencing of NAD(P)H oxidase subunit p47phox reduced superoxide production and restored NO bioavailability and in vivo reendothelialization capacity of EPCs from diabetic patients. Importantly, rosiglitazone therapy normalized NAD(P)H oxidase activity, restored NO bioavailability, and improved in vivo reendothelialization capacity of EPCs from diabetic patients (reendothelialized area: placebo versus rosiglitazone, 8±1% versus 38±5%; P<0.001). Conclusions— In vivo reendothelialization capacity of EPCs derived from individuals with diabetes mellitus is severely impaired at least partially as a result of increased NAD(P)H oxidase–dependent superoxide production and subsequently reduced NO bioavailability. Rosiglitazone therapy reduces NAD(P)H oxidase activity and improves reendothelialization capacity of EPCs from diabetic individuals, representing a potential novel mechanism whereby peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-&ggr; agonism promotes vascular repair.
Russel–Silver syndrome: A historical note and comment on an older adult

Five cases of recognizable “Intra‐uterine” dwarfism with cranio‐facial dysostosis, disproportionately short arms, and other anomalies were written up by endocrinologist, Dr. Alex Russell in 1954. The syndrome he described went on to be named Russell–Silver syndrome. This report gives further information about the life and medical history of the most pictorially documented boy that Dr. Russell originally described in his seminal paper. The gentleman is now 69 years old and we believe him to be the oldest person known to date to have Russell–Silver syndrome. The article includes information relating to his development of type 2 diabetes mellitus, osteopenia, testosterone deficiency, and hypercholesterolemia. Methylation studies have now confirmed the diagnosis of Russell–Silver syndrome by demonstrating partial hypomethylation at the H19 Locus at IGF2P0 on chromosome 11. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Anionic variation of diets on bone characteristics of broilers at 7 and 14 days of age

The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition and bone strength of the tibiotarsus of broilers at 7 and 14 days of age. Bone percentages of collagenous protein (CPr), non-collagenous protein (NCPr) and minerals (calcium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium) were determined. The experiment utilized 650 male Cobb chicks at one day of age, fed corn and soybean meal-based diets. The experimental design was of random blocks with five treatments, five replicates and 26 birds per experimental unit. The treatments consisted of a basal diet supplementated with NH4Cl to obtain five levels (-50, 0, 50, 100 and 150 mEq/kg) of electrolyte balance (EB). The levels of EB influenced the following characteristics: ash and potassium content; Ca:P ratio and the breaking strength (at 7 days); and phosphorus and potassium contents and breaking strength (at 14 days). At the starter phase of rearing, the supply of acidogenic diets affected the concentrations of potassium and phosphorus in the bone tissue, without altering the organic fraction.
The Alcohol Helplessness Scale and its prediction of depression among problem drinkers.

Event-specific scales commonly have greater power than generalized scales in prediction of specific disorders and in testing mediator models for predicting such disorders. Therefore, in a preliminary study, a 6-item Alcohol Helplessness Scale was constructed and found to be reliable for a sample of 98 problem drinkers. Hierarchical multiple regression and its derivative path analysis were used to test whether helplessness and self-efficacy moderate or mediate the link between alcohol dependence and depression. A test of a moderation model was not supported, whereas a test of a mediation model was supported. Helplessness and self-efficacy both significantly and independently mediated between alcohol dependence and depression. Nevertheless, a significant direct effect of alcohol dependence on depression also remained.
Neurite outgrowth inhibitors associated with glial cells and glial cell lines.

'Reactive' astrocytes and 'activated' microglial cells are the major cellular components of gliotic tissue, one of the most serious obstacles to axonal regeneration in mammalian central nervous system grey and white matter. The appearance of reactive glial cells after a lesion in the CNS correlates with the expression of molecules, like proteoglycans, capable of preventing neurite outgrowth. Co-cultures of embryonic neurones with glial cells and glial cell lines, that might share characteristics with reactive astrocytes and microglial cells, show that while cultured astrocytes promote neurite outgrowth, plasma membranes of C6 glioma and microglial cells express neurite inhibitory activities with proteoglycan-like characteristics, similar to those expressed by the gliotic tissue associated inhibitors. These results suggest that in vivo microglial cells might be at least one of the sources of proteoglycans with neurite outgrowth inhibitory properties.
New TSPC latches and flipflops minimizing delay and power

In the new TSPC flipflops, speed and power bottlenecks of the original TSPC and the existing differential flipflops are removed. Delays are reduced by factors of 2.0, 2.2 and 2.4 for the dynamic, the semi-static and the fully-static flipflops, respectively. In the same time, power consumptions are also reduced so the power-delay products are reduced by factors of 3.5, 3.4 and 6.5 for A=0.25. Moreover, the clock loads are minimized, the circuits are completely non-precharged and the logic-related transistors are purely n-type in both n-latches and p-latches. It means that all logic operations can be done completely by n-transistors, which gives a very large speed advantage to this kind of CMOS circuits.
Down-regulation of L-type calcium channels in inflamed circular smooth muscle cells of the canine colon.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Circular smooth muscle phasic contractions and tone are suppressed during colonic inflammation, but the contributing factors are poorly understood. This study investigated if the expression level of voltage-gated long-lasting (L-type) Ca(2+) channel protein and functional Ca(2+) channel current are down-regulated in the circular muscle cells of the inflamed canine colon. METHODS L-type Ca(2+) channel expression was compared between normal and inflamed smooth muscle cells by Western immunoblots using an antibody directed against the pore-forming alpha 1C-subunit, and patch-clamp methods were used to evaluate Ca(2+) channel current density. RESULTS The expression of the L-type Ca(2+) channel protein was significantly reduced in inflamed compared with normal circular smooth muscle cell membranes, and this finding was associated with suppressed levels of Ca(2+) channel current in patch-clamped cells. The L-type Ca(2+) channel current in normal and inflamed cells increased proportionately in response to Bay K 8644, but the maximal current density was still lower in the inflamed cells. Acetylcholine increased the L-type Ca(2+) channel current in normal but not in inflamed cells. CONCLUSIONS The expression level of L-type Ca(2+) channels is down-regulated in the circular smooth muscle cell membranes of the inflamed colon, which may result in reduced Ca(2+) influx. The functional and pharmacologic properties of the channels seem normal. Although some Ca(2+) channels are still present in the inflamed cells, acetylcholine does not activate these channels, which may be caused by additional upstream defects in the receptor signaling cascade. The down-regulation of L-type Ca(2+) channel expression may suppress circular smooth muscle contractions in the inflamed colon and contribute to the abnormalities in motility and digestion observed during inflammatory disorders.
Quorum sensing detected by atomic force microscopy imaging of corrals surrounding multicellular arrangement of bacteria

Connectivity of the glycocalyx covering of small communities of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans bacteria deposited on hydrophilic mica plates was imaged by atomic force microscopy. When part of the coverage was removed by water rinsing, an insoluble structure formed by corrals surrounding each individual bacterium was observed. A collective ring structure with clustered bacteria (≥3) was observed, which indicates that the bacteria perceived the neighborhood in order to grow a protective structure that results in smaller production of exopolysaccharides material. The most surprising aspect of these collective corral structures was that they occur at a low bacterial cell density. The deposited layers were also analyzed by confocal Raman microscopy and shown to contain polysaccharides, protein, and glucoronic acid. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Serial Order in Spatial Immediate Memory

Serial order effects in spatial memory are investigated in three experiments. In the first an analysis of errors in recall data suggested that immediate transpositions were the most common error and that order errors over 2 or 3 adjacent items accounted for the majority of errors in recall. The first and last serial positions are less error-prone than is the middle position in sets of six and seven items. A second experiment investigated recognition of transpositions and found that immediate transpositions were hardest to recognize but that a traditional serial position effect was not found. This may be due to the difficulty of maintaining one set of spatial items when another set is presented for comparison. A probe experiment, in which subjects were asked to recognize whether a single item came from a memory set and then to assign it to its position in the set indicated that the first and last positions were remembered more accurately than were central positions. The combination of serial order data in recall and position data suggests that there are similarities between serial order and position effects in the verbal and spatial domains and that serial order in spatial sequences is position-based.
Differentiation of leaf water flux and drought tolerance traits in hemiepiphytic and non-hemiepiphytic Ficus tree species

Summary 1. Leaf structural and physiological traits are associated with growth form and habitat, but little is known of the specific traits associated with hemiepiphytes, which are an important component of many tropical forests. Given their life history that includes a drought prone epiphytic stage, hemiepiphytes should be expected to have more drought tolerance-related traits than co-occurring terrestrial species. 2. The genus Ficus includes woody hemiepiphytes distributed in tropical areas throughout the world. Traits related to the flux of water through the leaf and to drought adaptations were studied in five hemiephiphytic (H) and five non-hemiepiphytic (NH) Ficus tree species grown in a common garden to determine genetically based differences. 3. Leaves of H and NH species differed substantially in structure and physiology; on average, H species had smaller leaves with higher leaf mass per unit area, thicker epidermis, smaller vessel lumen diameters in petioles and lower petiole hydraulic conductivity. Leaf traits also indicated stronger drought tolerance in H species, including lower epidermal conductance and turgor loss point and earlier stomatal closure with desiccation than NH species. Across H and NH species, traits related to water flux capacity were negatively correlated with traits related to drought tolerance. 4. The divergences in hydraulics and water relations between growth forms for these closely related species reflected specialization according to contrasting habitat and life form. Conservative water use and increased ability of leaves to persist under severe drought would provide an advantage for H species, especially during the epiphytic phase, while the higher potential water use of NH species would be associated with higher assimilation rates and competitiveness under high water supply. 5. The results indicate a trade-off between leaf water flux capacity and leaf drought tolerance across these hemiephiphytic and non-hemiepiphytic species. Species adaptation to habitats with contrasting demands on leaf function may lead to divergence along a leaf water-flux-droughttolerance spectrum.