bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Role of Water Molecules to the Electronic States of M-DNA
Authors: Mizoguchi Kenji , Sakamoto Hirokazu
Published: October 2015

Various kinds of roles of the water molecules in the electronic states of the complexes of metal ions (M) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) are reviewed. Divalent metal ions M like Fe, Mn, Zn and so on, form Metal-DNA complexes (M-DNA) with each metal ion between the bases of a base pair of DNA. The electronic states of the complexes depend on the species of ions in M-DNA. Metal ions in Fe-DNA and Mn-DNA possess 3d magnetic moments, but those in Zn-DNA do not. Interestingly, the magnetic property of the complexes, especially the magnetic interaction between the metal ions, is dominated by water molecules in the complexes. In Fe-DNA, the water molecules play a role of ligands for the iron ions, which controls the spin states of Fe3+, whereas they govern the magnetic interaction between the Mn2+ ions in Mn-DNA. In contrast, Zn-DNA has no 3d magnetic moment, but the water molecules dominate the bonding states of the Zn ions and the magnetic states of the Zn-DNA system.
Violent Deaths and Traumatic Bereavement: The Importance of Appropriate Death Notification
Authors: De Leo Diego , Anile Cristina , Ziliotto Anna
Published: October 2015

The communication of a death due to unexpected and traumatic causes is considered a very sensitive issue that can deeply affect both operators responsible for reporting the incident and the mourning process of family members, relatives, and other survivors. By focusing particularly on cases of traumatic death, this article tries to explain how inadequate communication of death may adversely affect the course of mourning. The article also illustrates the basic principles of correct notification of death. In this way, we hope to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on this topic and the promotion of new studies aimed at setting best practices for those professionally involved in the challenging task of communicating that a life has ended. This would be important in order to safeguard the emotional integrity of notifiers whilst effectively helping the survivors to cope with the early stages of their difficult mourning process.
A New Efficient Optimal 2D Views Selection Method Based on Pivot Selection Techniques for 3D Indexing and Retrieval
Authors: Silkan Hassan , Hanyf Youssef
Published: October 2015

In this paper, we propose a new method for 2D/3D object indexing and retrieval. The principle consists of an automatic selection of optimal views by using an incremental algorithm based on pivot selection techniques for proximity searching in metric spaces. The selected views are afterward described by four well-established descriptors from the MPEG-7 standard, namely: the color structure descriptor (CSD), the scalable color descriptor (SCD), the edge histogram descriptor (EHD) and the color layout descriptor (CLD). We present our results on two databases: The Amsterdam Library of Images (ALOI-1000), consisting of 72,000 color images of views, and the Columbia Object Image Library (COIL-100), consisting of 7200 color images of views. The results prove the performance of the developed method and its superiority over the k-means algorithm and the automatic selection of optimal views proposed by Mokhtarian et al.
Climate-Related Standards and Multilateral Finance for Development
Authors: Di Leva Charles
Published: October 2015

This article discusses climate-related standards that development finance institutions establish or apply to projects supported by their investments. It focuses particularly on multilateral development banks given their major role in providing finance to developing countries, where the bulk of the world’s fastest growing emissions are taking place. It looks at proposed and recently adopted standards, as well as different perspectives developed and developing countries have regarding these standards. It also discusses how these standards might be impacted by the evolution of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations and concludes that there will be continuing challenges to implement these standards unless developed countries fulfill their pledge of expected finance.
Integrated Microfluidic Nucleic Acid Isolation, Isothermal Amplification, and Amplicon Quantification
Authors: Mauk Michael , Liu Changchun , Song Jinzhao , Bau Haim
Published: October 2015

Microfluidic components and systems for rapid (<60 min), low-cost, convenient, field-deployable sequence-specific nucleic acid-based amplification tests (NAATs) are described. A microfluidic point-of-care (POC) diagnostics test to quantify HIV viral load from blood samples serves as a representative and instructive example to discuss the technical issues and capabilities of “lab on a chip” NAAT devices. A portable, miniaturized POC NAAT with performance comparable to conventional PCR (polymerase-chain reaction)-based tests in clinical laboratories can be realized with a disposable, palm-sized, plastic microfluidic chip in which: (1) nucleic acids (NAs) are extracted from relatively large (~mL) volume sample lysates using an embedded porous silica glass fiber or cellulose binding phase (“membrane”) to capture sample NAs in a flow-through, filtration mode; (2) NAs captured on the membrane are isothermally (~65 °C) amplified; (3) amplicon production is monitored by real-time fluorescence detection, such as with a smartphone CCD camera serving as a low-cost detector; and (4) paraffin-encapsulated, lyophilized reagents for temperature-activated release are pre-stored in the chip. Limits of Detection (LOD) better than 103 virons/sample can be achieved. A modified chip with conduits hosting a diffusion-mode amplification process provides a simple visual indicator to readily quantify sample NA template. In addition, a companion microfluidic device for extracting plasma from whole blood without a centrifuge, generating cell-free plasma for chip-based molecular diagnostics, is described. Extensions to a myriad of related applications including, for example, food testing, cancer screening, and insect genotyping are briefly surveyed.
Use of Etomidate for Rapid Sequence Intubation (RSI) in Pediatric Trauma Patients: An Exploratory National Survey
Authors: Cies Jeffrey , Moront Matthew , Moore II Wayne , Ostrowicki Renata , Gannon Kelsey , Da-Silva Shonola , Chopra Arun , Parker Jason
Published: October 2015

Objective, To survey the pediatric trauma programs to ascertain if and how etomidate is being used for rapid sequence intubation (RSI) in pediatric trauma patients. Design, A 25 question survey was created using REDCaps. A link to the survey was emailed to each of the pediatric and adult trauma programs that care for pediatric patients. Setting, Pediatric trauma programs and adult trauma programs caring for pediatric patients. Intervention, None. Measurements and Main Results, A total of 16% of programs responded (40/247). The majority of the centers that responded are urban, academic, teaching Level 1 pediatric trauma centers that provide care for > 200 pediatric trauma patients annually. The trauma program directors were the most likely to respond to the survey (18/40). 33/38 respondents state they use etomidate in their RSI protocol but it is not used in all pediatric trauma patients. 26/38 respondents believe that etomidate is associated with adrenal suppression and 24/37 believe it exacerbates adrenal suppression in pediatric trauma patients yet 28 of 37 respondents do not believe it is clinically relevant. Conclusions, Based on the results of the survey, the use of etomidate in pediatric trauma patients is common among urban, academic, teaching, level 1 pediatric trauma centers. A prospective evaluation of etomidate use for RSI in pediatric trauma patients to evaluate is potential effects on adrenal suppression and hemodynamics is warranted.
Sanitizing Fecal Sludge for Reuse Using Wood Ash as an Additive
Authors: Monney Isaac , Awuah Esi
Published: October 2015

Wood ash has been widely used as an additive for excreta from dry compost toilets to sanitize it for reuse. However, there is dearth of quantitative information about its efficiency in sanitizing partially digested sludge from wet onsite sanitation systems. This paper presents findings of a series of two experimental studies to assess optimum wood ash dosages required to raise the pH of partially digested fecal sludge to sanitizing levels (pH > 11) in a tropical climate. The study monitored the variation of pH of the sludge containing between 0 (control) and 180 g of ash per litre of sludge. Average initial pH and total solids of the sludge were 7.79 and 72 g/L respectively. Generally, the magnitude and rapidity of pH spike was correlated with the ash dosage (r = 0.988) and was statistically significant (p = 0.0015; Fcrit = 2.3157) among all dosages. Drastic increase in pH (from 7.81 to 11.60 ± 0.07) was recorded in the first 24 h for ash dosages between 140 g/L and 180 g/L, whereas dosages below 140 g/L had pH values less than 10. The difference in variation of pH between the first 24 h and the successive 24 h was statistically significant (P(T ≤ t)two-tail = 0.00; tcrit = 2.09). On the average, 97% of the overall pH increment within a 48-h monitoring period occurred in the first 24 h for the 140–180 g/L ash dosages. The optimum ash dosages are 7–15 times higher than reported lime dosages but ash provides a cheaper alternative than lime for recycling plant nutrients. Further studies on pathogen inactivation efficiency are ongoing.
Estimating the Augmented Reflectance Ratio of the Ocean Surface When Whitecaps Appear
Authors: Xu Zhantang , Zhou Wen , Sun Zhaohua , Yang Yuezhong , Lin Junfang , Wang Guifen , Cao Wenxi , Yang Qian
Published: October 2015

The presence of foam influences the accuracy of satellite-derived water-leaving radiance. A model has been developed to estimate the augmented reflectance ratio (A(λ,U)) due to differences in the fraction of whitecap coverage (w) on the ocean surface. A(λ,U) can be calculated from the product of w and ρ(λ,U), where ρ(λ,U) is the augmented ratio of the reflectance of background water (Rb(λ)) caused by the presence of whitecaps. Our results showed that the average A(400~700,U) in the visible region was approximately 1.3% at U = 9 m∙s−1, 2.2% at U = 10 m∙s−1, 4.4% at U = 12 m∙s−1, 7.4% at U = 14 m∙s−1, 19% at U = 19 m∙s−1 and 37.9% at U = 24 m∙s−1, making it is necessary to consider the augmented reflectance ratio for remote sensing applications. By estimating remote sensing augmented reflectance using A(λ,U), it was found that the result was in good agreement with previous studies conducted in other areas with U from 9 to 12 m∙s−1. Since Rb(λ) is temporally and spatially variable, our model considered the variation of Rb(λ), whereas existing models have assumed that Rb(λ) is constant. Therefore, the proposed model is more suitable for estimating the augmented reflectance ratio due to whitecaps.
Securing Health Sensing Using Integrated Circuit Metric
Authors: Tahir Ruhma , Tahir Hasan , McDonald-Maier Klaus
Published: October 2015

Convergence of technologies from several domains of computing and healthcare have aided in the creation of devices that can help health professionals in monitoring their patients remotely. An increase in networked healthcare devices has resulted in incidents related to data theft, medical identity theft and insurance fraud. In this paper, we discuss the design and implementation of a secure lightweight wearable health sensing system. The proposed system is based on an emerging security technology called Integrated Circuit Metric (ICMetric) that extracts the inherent features of a device to generate a unique device identification. In this paper, we provide details of how the physical characteristics of a health sensor can be used for the generation of hardware “fingerprints”. The obtained fingerprints are used to deliver security services like authentication, confidentiality, secure admission and symmetric key generation. The generated symmetric key is used to securely communicate the health records and data of the patient. Based on experimental results and the security analysis of the proposed scheme, it is apparent that the proposed system enables high levels of security for health monitoring in resource optimized manner.
PEComa of the Terminal Ileum Mesentery as a Secondary Tumour in an Adult Survivor of Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma
Authors: Hasan H. , Howard A.F. , Alassiri A.H. , Ng T.L. , McGregor G. , Goddard K.
Published: October 2015

Perivascular epithelioid cell tumours (PEComas) are rare mesenchymal tumours that are characterized by perivascular epithelioid cell differentiation and immunoreactivity to myogenic and melanocytic markers. These tumours can be classified as benign, uncertain malignant potential, or malignant. Because of the rarity of PEComas, their cause and clinical prognosis remain unclear. To the best of our knowledge, no reports in the literature describe a PEComa of the terminal ileum mesentery as a secondary tumour in an adult survivor of childhood embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, let alone any childhood cancer. Here, we present the case of a 27-year-old man with a PEComa involving the mesentery of the terminal ileum. At the age of 5, he had been treated with a combination of chemotherapy and high-dose pelvic radiation therapy for embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, most likely arising from the posterior bladder wall. During routine follow-up 22 years after this patient’s initial treatment, computed tomography imaging revealed a mass within the terminal ileum mesentery. The tumour was successfully treated with surgical resection, and pathology examination determined the mass to be a PEComa with uncertain malignant potential. This first case of a PEComa of the terminal ileum mesentery arising within a high-dose radiation therapy field as a secondary tumour in an adult survivor of childhood cancer highlights the importance of screening and surveillance in high-risk childhood cancer survivors treated with high-dose radiation therapy. Further research to build a better understanding of this remarkably rare tumour is warranted.
A Primary Intravascular Synovial Sarcoma Causing Deep-Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism in a 20-Year-Old Woman
Authors: Schreiner M. , Sanad W. , Pfitzner B.M. , Baumann G. , Knebel F.
Published: October 2015

Primary intravascular synovial sarcoma is a rare malignancy with only a few cases documented in the literature. On presentation, this tumour usually resembles a deep venous thrombosis (dvt) or pulmonary embolism (pe). Here, we report the case of a 20-year-old woman complaining of shortness of breath who had a history of dvt 6 weeks before presentation at our institution. Vascular ultrasound detected a suspicious mass in the right groin, which was identified as a monophasic synovial sarcoma by surgical biopsy. The tumour extended from the right superficial femoral vein into the common iliac vein, profound femoral vein, and great saphenous vein. It caused pe with near-total occlusion of the right pulmonary artery. After initial treatment on the cardiac intensive care unit, the patient was referred to the oncology department for neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy with doxorubicin–ifosfamide according to the Interdisziplinäre Arbeitsgemeinschaft Weichteilsarkome [Interdisciplinary AG Sarcomas] protocol and surgical resection of the tumour. No signs of tumour recurrence were found during the subsequent course of the disease, but the patient died from treatment complications approximately 15 months after initial presentation. This case underlines the importance of screening for malignancies even in young patients presenting with dvt or pe. We also recommend whole-leg compression ultrasonography in patients with suspected dvt or pe (as opposed to venography or simple four-point ultrasound examination in the groin and popliteal fossa) to detect possible underlying causes for thrombosis.
Response to: “Beyond the Mammography Debate: A Moderate Perspective”
Authors: Yaffe Martin J.
Published: October 2015

In his editorial and perspective, Dr. Constantine Kaniklidis covers a lot of ground, and there is much to agree with. Certainly, we should be moving forward to find and evaluate better ways of detecting, characterizing, and treating breast (and other types of) cancer. In fact, I lead a large program at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research focused on exactly those goals [...]
The Mammography Debate, Round Two: Science, Smoke and Mirrors
Authors: Kaniklidis C.
Published: October 2015

Regrettably, some aspects of the breast cancer screening debate display their own uniquely obfuscating argumentation, more smoke and mirrors than scientific clarity. [...]
TIRE CRUMB RUBBER EFFECT ON HOT BITUMINOUS MIXTURES FATIGUE-CRACKING BEHAVIOUR
Authors: MORENO-NAVARRO Fernando , RUBIO-GÁMEZ Maria Carmen , JIMÉNEZ DEL BARCO-CARRIÓN Ana
Published: October 2015

The use of tire crumb rubber in road engineering as a modifier of bituminous mixes constitutes one of the revalorization techniques for this waste. The main objective of this research consists of analysing the possible fatigue cracking improvements in the performance of bituminous mixtures containing crumb rubber in comparison to bituminous mixtures manufactured with conventional bitumen and bitumen modified with SBS polymers. For this purpose, four different types of mixes with the same mineral skeleton but different bitumens were studied. The test used to evaluate their behaviour was the UGR-FACT with an additional system for taking pictures, which allows controlling the propagation of the cracks at every moment. The results show that the addition of crumb rubber retards the appearance of cracks; however, once it begins, the damage propagation is faster. Therefore, the fatigue cracking life of mixes with crumb rubber seems considerably longer than the fatigue cracking life of those with conventional bitumens. Moreover, in the mixes with crumb rubber added by the dry process, cracks are thinner and less ramified than in the other ones.
Hierarchal Decomposition for Unusual Fish Trajectory Detection
Authors: Beyan Cigdem , Fisher Robert
Published: October 2015

Fish behavior analysis is presented using an unusual trajectory detection method. The proposed method is based on a hierarchy which is formed using the similarity of clustered and labeled data applying hierarchal data decomposition. The fish trajectories from unconstrained underwater videos are classified as normal and unusual where normal trajectories represents common behaviors of fish and unusual trajectories represent rare behaviors. A new trajectory is classified using the constructed hierarchy where different heuristics are applicable. The main contribution of the proposed method is presenting a novel supervised approach to unusual behavior detection (where many methods in this field are unsupervised) which demonstrates significantly improved results.
Insect Recognition Using Sparse Coding and Decision Fusion
Authors: Lu Hanqing , Hou Xinwen , Liu Cheng-Lin , Chen Xiaolin
Published: October 2015

Insect recognition is a hard problem because the difference of appearance between insects is so small that only some entomologist experts can distinguish them. Besides that, insects are often composed of several parts (multiple views) which generate more degrees of freedom. This chapter proposes several discriminative coding approaches and one decision fusion scheme of heterogeneous class sets for insect recognition. The three discriminative coding methods use class specific concatenated vectors instead of traditional global coding vectors for insect image patches. The decision fusion scheme uses an allocation matrix for classifier selection and a weight matrix for classifier fusion, which is suitable for combining classifiers of heterogeneous class sets in multi-view insect image recognition. Experimental results on a Tephritidae dataset show that the three proposed discriminative coding methods perform well in insect recognition, and the proposed fusion scheme improves the recognition accuracy significantly.
Twenty First Century Skills vs. Disciplinary Studies?
Authors: Vavik Lars , Salomon Gavriel
Published: October 2015

This paper addresses the tension between a discipline-based and a skill and competences-based approach to today's curriculum. The competences-based approach emphasizes the cultivation of market-oriented skills and competencies that people acquire in the knowledge society; it is the driving force behind many educational reforms. The other, more traditional approach emphasizes the acquisition of well organized disciplinary knowledge such as history and chemistry. The differences between learning guided by pre-determined educational goals, designed to acquire disciplined knowledge, and the acquisition of daily, net-related interest-driven partly out-of-school skills learning is too large to be ignored. Each of the two approaches has its advantages and drawbacks but jointly they can constitute fruitful curricula. On the one hand, such curricula address the three main purposes of school – qualification, socialization and subjectification – while on the other they address the needs of cultivating 21st Century skills and competences. The latter comes to serve the attainment of the former.
The Application of Transdisciplinary Theory and Practice to STEM Education
Authors: Back Susan Malone , Greenhalgh-Spencer Heather , Frias Kellilynn M.
Published: October 2015

The authors describe the application of transdisciplinary theory and practice to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education at the undergraduate level. The modular approach which makes use of student collaboration within and across disciplines and input from outside experts holds promise for preparing students to address society's “wicked” problems – those with interconnected causes and for which a solution often causes additional problems. Transdisciplinary theory and practice are described and their application to STEM education is proposed along with a model of measuring transdisciplinary skills. Recommendations are proposed for future research on cross-cultural/cross disciplinary models, pedagogy, measuring student collaboration, determining effective partnership models and institutional supports, and the potential role of the social sciences in contributing to research on transdisciplinary practice and education.
Computer Agent Technologies in Collaborative Assessments
Authors: Rosen Yigal , Mosharraf Maryam
Published: October 2015

Often in our daily lives we learn and work in groups. In recognition of the importance of collaborative and problem solving skills, educators are realizing the need for effective and scalable learning and assessment solutions to promote the skillset in educational systems. In the settings of a comprehensive collaborative problem solving assessment, each student should be matched with various types of group members and must apply the skills in varied contexts and tasks. One solution to these assessment demands is to use computer-based (virtual) agents to serve as the collaborators in the interactions with students. The chapter presents the premises and challenges in the use of computer agents in the assessment of collaborative problem solving. Directions for future research are discussed in terms of their implications to large-scale assessment programs.
A Paradigm Shift for Teachers' Professional Development Structure in Turkey
Authors: Günel Murat , Özer-Keskin Melike , Keskin-Samancı Nilay
Published: October 2015

This chapter concerns the importance of in-service training programmes for the professional development of science teachers. A description will be given of the general structure of in-service training activities in Turkey and the results will be presented of an in-service training project, which was conducted as part of a three-year longitudinal study. Within the scope of the project, an in-service training programme for science teachers was conducted based on the argument-based inquiry approach and the theoretical premises upon which it is built. The project aimed to direct science teachers towards student-centred teaching. The training activities focused on the scientific thinking underpinning the teachers' professional knowledge and practices, their perceptions on learning, and their pedagogical practices and epistemological beliefs. The extent to which these activities affected classroom applications and learning processes was investigated and the findings suggest that they had a statistically significant impact on the teachers' pedagogical development and on the students' academic performance and thinking skills.
Intensive Speciesism Regions in Brazil
Authors: Florit Luciano , Sbardelati Cristiane
Published: October 2015

This chapter brings together ethical, social and territorial implications of the meat industry in the regions of Brazil where animal husbandry is the main economic activity. This article thus articulates concepts elaborated in the field of environmental ethics applying them to sociological analysis of territorial development using the notion of ‘regions of intensive speciesism'. The notion is elaborated as a conceptual tool to highlight territories whose socio-economic development pattern accepts the production of meat as a supposed “regional vocation”. In such territories, non-human sentient beings are unquestionably put into the same category as things. The identification of this pattern enunciates interrelated implications of meat production that are not usually recognized. These implications include the high rates of health problems affecting workers in slaughterhouses; the symbolic and economic domination over territories and people by the agroindustry; and the drastic moral inconsideration of sentient beings. The article is based on the case study of Concórdia, a micro region located in the state of Santa Catarina in the south of Brazil.
After Meat
Authors: Balcombe Jonathan
Published: October 2015

This chapter describes a future scenario in which humankind abruptly stops eating animals. Its purpose is to explore the impacts of animal agriculture using a fictional device. Several ways, in which the end of meat might happen are suggested, including a virulent global human epidemic originating from the meat supply. The ensuing state of the world is examined along six axes: animals, the environment, human health, the economy, food, and society. Because of the enormous scale of animal agriculture today, a sudden end to meat would cause massive upheavals across all of these domains. However, it is predicted that positive gains would be significant, outweighing negative outcomes.
Ranking Pages of Clustered Users using Weighted Page Rank Algorithm with User Access Period
Authors: Sumathi G. , Sendhilkumar S. , Mahalakshmi G.S.
Published: October 2015

The World Wide Web comprises billions of web pages and a tremendous amount of information accessible inside of web pages. To recover obliged data from the World Wide Web, search engines perform number of tasks in light of their separate structural planning. The point at which a user gives a query to the search engine, it commonly returns a bulky number of pages related to the user's query. To backing the users to explore in the returned list, different ranking techniques are connected on the search results. The vast majority of the ranking calculations, which are given in the related work, are either link or content based. The existing works don't consider user access patterns. In this paper, a page ranking approach of Weighted Page Rank Score Algorithm taking user access is being conceived for search engines, which deals with the premise of weighted page rank method and considers user access period of web pages into record. For this reason, the web users are clustered based on the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) approach. From those groups, the pages are ranked by improving the weighted page rank approach with usage based parameter of user access period. This calculation is utilized to discover more applicable pages as per user's query. In this way, this idea is extremely helpful to show the most important pages on the uppermost part of the search list on the principle of user searching behavior, which shrinks the search space on a huge scale.
An Advertiser-Centric Cooperative Mechanism in Smartphone Advertising Based on Stackelberg Game Analysis
Authors: Yao Hong , Yang Guang , Zeng Deze , Liu Chao , Liang Qingzhong , Hu Chengyu
Published: October 2015

The popularity of smart phones has greatly promoted the development of mobile advertising, especially the development of mobile application (app) advertising. An ad network as a medium between advertisers and app developers can not only provide advertising services for advertisers, but also bring app developers incomes. Existing forms of advertising partnership between advertisers and advertising networks (ad networks) are generally centered on ad networks. However, the advertising-centric cooperation model sometimes cannot meet the specialized advertising needs of advertisers, and the advertisers have to spend more to find the suitable partners. In this paper, the authors consider the advertising problem from the perspective of advertisers. They design an advertiser-centric cooperative mechanism to help an advertiser to attract cooperation from ad networks. They formulate the advertiser-centric cooperative problem into a noncooperative game between an advertiser and a number of ad networks. It is proved that a unique Stackelberg equilibrium exists in the game and the authors have calculated the Nash equilibrium for each ad network. An algorithm that can achieve the unique equilibrium point is proposed. Extensive experiments' results are also conducted to verify the performance of the proposed mechanism in terms of the investment related factors.
Textural Characteristics and Structural Peculiarities of Supported Vanadium Oxide Materials Prepared by the NH4VO3 Aqueous Solution Wetness Impregnation
Authors: Sushchenko Ekaterina , Kharlamova Tamara
Published: October 2015

Textural characteristics and structural peculiarities of materials based on supported vanadium oxide are considered. The materials were prepared by the incipient wetness impregnation of SiO2, TiO2, γ-Al2O3 and carbon-modified γ-Al2O3 supports using an aqueous solution of NH4VO3. Samples were characterized by low temperature N2 adsorption, XRD, IR, Raman and US-Vis DR spectroscopy and H2-TPR.
Self-Organized Nanostructured Ag/P2O5/SiO2 Material as a Catalyst for High-Temperature Selective Oxidation of Alcohols
Authors: Knyazev Alexey S. , Magaev Oleg V. , Krejker Alexey A. , Mamontov Grigory V. , Knyazeva Elena M. , Dahnavi Eldar M. , Vodyankina Olga V.
Published: October 2015

New type of Ag-containing nanostructured catalyst for high-temperature alcohol oxidation was developed on the basis of mesoporous SiO2 support. Active component (silver clusters/nanoparticles) stabilized by support surface and polyphosphate inside the pores. It was shown that Ag/P2O5/SiO2 catalyst provides high activity in the course of ethylene glycol oxidation to glyoxal at 500-600 °C. Formation of stable structure of catalyst during thermal treatment includes self-organization of mesoporous structure and chemical bonding of phosphate with silica. The catalyst treatment in red-ox conditions leads to reversible oxidation-reduction of silver and its redistribution from bulk to surface of the catalyst. Silver nanoparticles stabilized with silica-phosphate support are active species in the ethylene glycol oxidation into glyoxal.
Influence of Fibrous and Solid Fillers on the Rheological and the Surface Properties of Polymer Composition
Authors: Trufakina Lyudmila , Berezina Elena , Kuchevskaya Alexandra
Published: October 2015

The influence of fibrous and solid granulated fillers on the rheological and surface properties of the polymer compositions on the basis of polyvinyl alcohol and Na-carboxymethyl cellulose is demonstrated. The polymer complexes with Na-carboxymethyl cellulose and sodium tetraborate additions and the compositions filled with polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate and quartz sand are obtained and comparative assessment of the properties of studied polymer composites have been made. Polymer compositions with quartz sand, synthetic and plant fibrous fillers increase the effective viscosity, elasticity modulus and decrease the adhesive strength of all compositions based well on carboxymethyl cellulose and polyvinyl alcohol. The sodium tetraborate introduction promotes the formation of the composites surface with the lesser adhesive strength.
Formation and Reactivity of Cu Particles on the Surface of Mixed Copper-Zirconium Phosphate
Authors: Dorofeeva Nataliya V. , Vodyankina Olga V. , Mamontov Grigory V. , Zaykovskii Vladimir I.
Published: October 2015

Phase evolution of copper-containing zirconium phosphates during the temperature treatment up to 900 °C and formation of active Cu0 particles on the surface of these materials in H2/Ar flow were studied. The materials were characterized by XRD, TEM, TPR-H2 at different steps of treatment. Temperature increase up to 900 °C led to removal of oxygen from the CuZr4P6O24 structure with formation of Cu+-containing compounds. Materials treated by H2-containing flow at 600 °C contained Cu0 particles with sizes from 2 nm to 1 μm. Mixed copper-zirconium phosphate was shown to adsorb CO above 80 °C, while pre-reduced materials adsorbed it starting from 30 °C with formation of CO2 above 100 °C.
Creep Characterization Of Ceramic BGA
Authors: Goldmann Lewis S. , Farooq Mukta
Published: October 2015

Long term creep of a ceramic ball grid array (CBGA) solder ball under compressive loading was investigated. An experiment was conducted with two levels of loading and four of temperature. Analysis of the data assumed the composite ball structure could be simulated by an interconnection having the same shape, but of a single equivalent material. Curve fitting determined the stress exponent and activation energy of the equivalent material in the Norton creep model; the values were consistent with the range of values of the individual components available in the literature. Nonlinearity of the change in ball height with time was hypothesized to be due to geometric stiffening, a hypothesis which was confirmed by a simplified model. The model may be used to estimate creep behavior of other ball geometries having the same material set. The final result of this work - a closed form equation describing height decrease as a function of compressive force, temperature and time - can be used to simplify complex modeling of an entire package, and as an aid in designing accelerated thermal cycles which appropriately synchronize solder creep and fatigue.
An Application for Superelastic Material in a Passive Inertial Damage Sensor for Detection of Conditions Leading to the Accumulation of Hidden Structural Damage Caused by Transient Loading in Aircraft The Conception
Authors: Hoffman J. , Jeffers R.
Published: October 2015

The unusual properties of shape memory alloy have long tempted the engineering profession with its apparent possibilities. In this paper an aspect of shape memory, augmented by the property of superelasticity, is considered for use in sensing the occurrence of mechanical disturbances having severity sufficient to cause major damage within airborne structure or electronic modules. Often this damage occurs internally, i.e. below structure surfaces and thus is essentially invisible to inspection techniques that are performed in normal maintenance operations. The concept of a sensor is presented, herein, that can act as a witness to the occurrence of conditions that can produce such structural damage. The sensor, being passive in nature, carries its message in the permanent deformation of internal structure that is to be inspected at convenient intervals, between aircraft flights or after occurrence of seemingly severe aerodynamic or mechanical disturbances are encountered, to indicate the maximum levels of acceleration that it has witnessed. On the basis of such information, timely maintenance measures can be made to prevent impending failures from taking place. The location of such a sensor would serve to locate particular structure or components that would be susceptible to damage from the sensed levels of acceleration. This serves to focus maintenance inspection processes and indicate immediate preventive measures to be taken through replacement of, certain likely damaged structure, before the damage can accumulate to threaten the safety of the aircraft. The sensor concept is described herein, along with its expected properties and performance. This paper presents: (1) The basis for a general need for such a sensor; (2) A description of the sensor mechanization; (3) Aspects of shape memory and superelasticity relevant to its conception and purpose; (4) Test data illustrating the properties of the material and how they may be used to prevent further accumulation of damage; (5) Feasibility considerations in support of the concept and (6) Conclusions and objectives for continuing work.
Study of Thermal Effect of Power Circuit on Driver & Protection PCB in Hybrid IPEM
Authors: Xiaoling Yu , Wei Xiong , Wei Zhou , Quanke Feng
Published: October 2015

In a hybrid integrated power electronic module (IPEM) for medium power converter, when packaged with power circuit closely, the driver & protection circuit is affected seriously by heat generated from power chips in the power circuit. Thermal simulation results of the module show that the thermal resistance between the power chip and the bottom surface of substrate is 0.24 °C/W. Experimental results reveal that the highest temperature on the driver & protection printed circuit board (PCB) is over 70 °C when the power chip temperature reaches 93 °C. Therefore, an air gap is sandwiched between the power circuit and the driver & protection PCB to insulate the heat transferred from the former to the latter. Measuring results show that the air gap weakens the thermal effect of power circuit on the driver & protection PCB, and the highest temperature on the PCB decreases while the thickness of air gap increases. If the thickness of air gap increases to certain value, the highest temperature on the driver & protection PCB can be controlled below 70 °C when the power chip temperature reaches 125 °C.
Transient Thermal Analysis of Wave Soldering Process for an Optical Encoder Module
Authors: Wong Fu Mauh , Chong Chee Keong , Seetharamu K.N
Published: October 2015

Severe delamination at the interfaces of leadframe/mold compound and leadframe/die attach epoxy has been observed right after the wave soldering process for an optical encoder package. During wave soldering process, package is heated up by the hot ambient and the molten solder. As temperature increases, package is more prone to delamination due to degradation of adhesion strength. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) has been conducted to model the wave soldering process using the measured lead temperature as thermal boundary condition. Convective heating and cooling are considered. The dynamic temperature response of the package has been captured and analyzed. Several approaches inclusive of changing leadframe material, removing housing and altering mounting configuration, have been examined to obtain the best design that yield lowest package temperature. Experiment is conducted and the experimental results have been compared with the numerically predicted data and the agreement is good.
Contact Resistance of Anisotropic Conductive Adhesives
Authors: Divigalpitiya Ranjith , Hogerton Peter
Published: October 2015

We analyze the electrical resistance of an anisotropic conductive film (ACF) sandwiched between two conducting plates as a function of applied load by extending a published model of Shi et al [1]. In this analysis we also calculate the plate separation as a function of applied pressure when a collection of particles are trapped between two plates. The case of conducting particles with a general size distribution shows two new important results: (a) we find that the resistance of a bond or a contact is independent of the number of conducting particles under the contact pad when the particle size distribution is Gaussian, which is very much in contrast to the case of uniform sized particles; (b) also, only a very small fraction of conducting particles participate in the electrical conduction of ACF products where the actual particle size distribution can be described as a Gaussian.

We show that the experimental data supports the validity of this analysis. While this analysis confirms some of our basic notions of ACF, the surprising result of constant resistance forces us to reevaluate our long-held concept of attaching much importance to the total number of particles in a bond.
Three Dimensional CFD Conjugate Analysis of Two Inline PLCC Packages Horizontally Mounted
Authors: Jayakumar B. , Quadir G. A. , Abdullah M. Z. , Seetharamu K. N.
Published: October 2015

A three dimensional conjugate analysis of heat and fluid flow of two 84-pin PLCC packages mounted horizontally on a printed circuit board in a wind tunnel is carried out using a commercial CFD code, FLUENTTM. Various inlet air velocities are used to emulate natural, mixed and forced convection conditions. Some parametric studies are carried out by varying the package chip power, gap between the packages and air inlet velocities. The results are presented in terms of the junction temperature, thermal resistance and top surface average heat transfer coefficient for each package under different operating conditions. The decrease in the junction temperature of the packages with the increase in air inlet velocity is clearly predicted. Further, the leading edge heat transfer coefficient of the packages is always higher than that at the trailing edge for all inlet air velocities considered. It is found that the variation in the package chip power does not influence the average heat transfer coefficient and the thermal resistance of the package at a particular inlet air velocity. Different correlations in terms of the junction temperature as well as the Nusselt number are presented for each package under different convection conditions.
Electrical Resistance of Laser Sintered Direct-Write Deposited Materials for Microelectronic Applications
Authors: Marinov Valery R.
Published: October 2015

The direct write technology provides an interesting opportunity for plugging blind via holes as a more precise alternative to currently used screen printing processes. This technology provides a complete, void-less filling of the via and fabrication of the interconnects extending from the via in one single step. After deposition, the material is heat treated (sintered) to densify into a highly conductive solid. Sintering is usually accomplished by laser treatment. Some aspects of this relatively new technology, especially these related to the relationships between the laser sintering process and the deposited material properties are still largely unexplored. This paper presents experimental results for the microscale electrical resistance of two silver inks deposited by a direct write method and sintered with a continuous wave Nd:YAG laser. The resistance of the deposited and sintered silver lines and the resistance of the material in the plugged via holes was mapped by the advanced micro four-point probe technique. Results showed that higher laser powers reduce significantly the resistance of the silver inks. The importance of the deposited material sinterability is also emphasized.
Investigation of Delamination Between Leadframe and Mold Compound on a LED Package
Authors: Wong Fu-Mauh , Seetharamu K.N
Published: October 2015

Delamination between mold compound and leadframe is found in a customized LED through-hole package. The delamination was initiated near the die paddle location under moisture condition. Subsequently, the delamination propagates throughout the package during the wave soldering process. An adhesion test has been performed to identify the mechanism of the delamination and to determine the adhesion shear strength between leadframe and mold compound. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is conducted to analyze the thermal stress distribution at room temperature and the temperature distribution of package during wave soldering process. The delamination between leadframe and mold compound is initiated under moisture condition if the maximum-shear-stress for the package exceeds the measured adhesion shear strength. It is found that the package is at high risk of delamination if the temperature near the die paddle is higher than the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the mold compound. Parametric study has been performed to identify the controlling leadframe parameters that contribute to the thermal stress at room temperature and the temperature of the package during wave soldering process. The leadframe has been optimized based on the findings and the delamination has been minimized.
Smart and Sequential Approach to Numerical Prototyping in Micro-Electronic Applications
Authors: Wymysłowski A. , van Driel W.D. , Zhang G.Q. , van de Peer J. , Tzannetakis N.
Published: October 2015

Numerical prototyping methods based on numerical simulations are nowadays a key factor to successful cost effective and timely design for optimized products and processes. The typical prototyping procedure would be based on a sequence of numerical simulations/tests done in an iterative form in order to achieve usually sub-optimal designs. These tests are usually selected according to the knowledge and experience of an engineer or defined standard with little or no help from effective methodologies. In contrast, this paper presents the elaborated optimized approach to numerical prototyping based on smart and sequential algorithm. The major advantage of the presented approach is that it can improve the quality of the response model at a fraction of the number of experiments compared to the classical methodologies. Details of the methodology are presented along with a selected example concerning micro-electronic packaging.
Analysis and Optimization Of Single Layer Counter Flow Micro-Channel Heat Sink
Authors: Jeevan K. , Seetharamu K. N. , Azid I. A.
Published: October 2015

A single layer counter flow (SLCF) micro-channel heat sink using single phase water as coolant has been modeled by employing the finite element method (FEM). The thermal performance of SLCF micro-channel heat sink is compared with that of conventional single layer parallel flow (SLPF) micro-channel heat sink for different aspect ratios. It is observed that the SLCF micro-channel heat sink yields 18 % lower thermal resistance as compared to SLPF micro-channel heat sink. Also the SLCF micro-channel heat sink ensures better temperature uniformity in the stream-wise direction. The SLCF micro-channel heat sink is also studied for the case of non-uniform base heat flux and non-uniform flow distribution across the channels of the heat sink. Finally the SLCF and SLPF micro-channel heat sinks are optimized for minimum thermal resistance using Genetic Algorithms (GA) and Box optimization technique. It is observed that GA requires far less iteration time for optimization compared to Box optimization technique.
Board Level Power Cycling and Thermal Cycling Fatigue Reliability of Chip-scale Packages
Authors: Wang Tong Hong , Lai Yi-Shao , Lee Chang-Chi
Published: October 2015

In this paper, the sequential thermal-mechanical coupling analysis, which solves in turn the transient temperature field and subsequent thermomechanical deformations, was carried out to investigate board-level fatigue reliability of a thin profile and fine pitch ball grid array (TFBGA) chip-scale package under accelerated power cycling test conditions. Experiments for steady-state and transient thermal dissipations were conducted to verify the thermal analysis. Comparing between numerical results for power cycling and thermal cycling, it is noticed that for the tests with similar low and high temperature extremes, power cycling results in a much longer fatigue life than thermal cycling, which indicates that thermal cycling is a more conservative criterion than power cycling is in evaluating the fatigue resistance of the electronic packages.