Search

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 48 (SCA48) is an autosomal dominantly inherited disease characterized by gait and limb ataxia, cerebellar dysarthria, cognitive impairment, psychiatric abnormalities and variable types of movement disorders. To date, more than 30 STUB1 gene (NM_005861.4) mutations have been described in the genetic background of SCA48. The aim of this short report was to demonstrate the first Hungarian SCA48 patient caused by a novel STUB1 missense mutation (c.788G>C, p.Arg263Pro). The characteristics of detailed neurological phenotype, brain MRI and genetic assessment are presented and compared to previously published cases. The most important neurological findings of the patient were gait ataxia, dysarthria, cognitive decline and psychiatric problems including depression, anxiety and mild impulsivity. The brain MRI demonstrated cerebellar atrophy with posterolateral predominance and frontal lobe cortical atrophy. Clinical exome sequencing examination identified the above-mentioned missense variant located in the significant ubiquitinase domain of the CHIP protein. In this paper the first Hungarian SCA48 patient was described with characteristic neuropsychiatric signs and brain MRI abnormalities, due to a novel STUB1 gene missense mutation.

To address the challenges facing racial minority students majoring in STEM during the transition from high school to college, NSF funded Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) programs throughout the country implement summer bridge programs. Bridge programs vary in their focus on professional development, academic support, research experiences, social activities, and in other areas, but all share an intention to support students during their transition to college. Beyond retention, little is known about how these varied summer bridge experiences impact student outcomes in the first year of college. This study first describes the variability in the summer bridge programs in the Alabama LSAMP Alliance and then examines how differences in students’ satisfaction with their experiences are associated with feelings of belonging and STEM self-efficacy, two factors associated with STEM retention. Students (N= 145) who attended an LSAMP summer bridge program were surveyed at three time points over the first year of college. Findings indicated that bridge programs varied in their offering of academic classes, academic support (e.g., study skills), research experiences, professional development, and planned social activities. Students attending HBCUs scored more favorably than students at PWIs on some measures; however, these differences could be accounted for by satisfaction with bridge experiences. Satisfaction with specific aspects of the bridge programs, especially orientation activities and getting to know other students, were associated with feelings of belonging and STEM self-efficacy. These relations were stronger for belonging. Over the course of the academic year, the relations between bridge satisfaction and belonging and self-efficacy weakened.

The world currently faces a pandemic due to SARS-CoV-2. Relevant information has emerged regarding the higher risk of poor outcomes in lung cancer patients. As such, lung cancer patients must be prioritized in terms of prevention, detection and treatment. On May 7th, 45 experts in thoracic cancers from 11 different countries were invited to participate. A core panel of experts regarding thoracic oncology care amidst the pandemic gathered virtually, and a total of 60 initial recommendations were drafted based on available evidence, 2 questions were deleted due to conflicting evidence. By May 16th, 44 experts had agreed to participate, and voted on each of the 58 recommendation using a Delphi panel on a live voting event. Consensus was reached regarding the recommendations (> 66 % strongly agree/agree) for 56 questions. Strong consensus (> 80 % strongly agree/agree) was reached for 44 questions. Patients with lung cancer represent a particularly vulnerable population during this time. Special care must be taken to maintain treatment while avoiding exposure.

T cells form immunological synapses with professional antigen presenting cells (APCs) resulting not only in T cell activation but also in the acquisition of peptide antigen-MHC (pMHC) complexes from the plasma membrane of the APC becoming APCs themselves. We have investigated the functional outcome of T-T cell antigen presentation by CD4 T cells and found that the antigen-presenting T cells (Tpres) predominantly differentiate into regulatory T cells (Treg), whereas T cells that have been stimulated by Tpres cells predominantly differentiate into Th17 pro-inflammatory cells. Using mice deficient in pMHC uptake by T cells, we show that T-T antigen presentation is important for the development of experimental autoimmune encephalitis and Th17 cell differentiation in vivo. By varying the professional APC:T cell ratio we can modulate Treg versus Th17 differentiation in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that T-T antigen presentation underlies proinflammatory responses in conditions of antigen scarcity.

Gold is an ancient metal, it can be widely used in the electronics, dentistry and jewelry industry. It is also well known that pure gold has good ductility and very lower Vickers Hardness. These mechanical properties of pure gold definitely lead to easy deformation, scratch, abrasion and so on when pure gold is put into application. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen pure gold by micro-alloying to avoid its obvious deficiencies and maintain its excellent properties such as yellow color, good thermal conductivity, and chemical stability. Zr, Ce and Si were chosen as the alloying elements to make “Chuk Kam”, which are no more than 1.0 wt.%, to strengthen pure gold in this work. The investigations showed that Zr, Ce and Si can strengthen pure gold significantly at as-cast gold from 30HV to 69HV, heat treatment state to 47.5HV and wrought state to 121HV. In this paper, we show how Zr, Ce and Si modify pure gold in structure, thermal characteristic, mechanical properties and what the distributions of different phases and elements are.

When laparoscopic surgery was introduced for the treatment of women with early cervical cancer by Dargent and Querleu, this technique always included a vaginal phase. Transvaginal transsection and closure of the vaginal cuff seal off tumor cells as initially described by Schauta. Alternatively, in

The economic crisis plaguing Greece was expected to impact consumption of pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs - a priori to an unknown extent. We quantified the change of use for various classes of licit and illicit drugs by monitoring Athens' wastewater from 2010 to 2014. A high increase in the use of psychoactive drugs was detected between 2010 and 2014, especially for antipsychotics (35-fold), benzodiazepines (19-fold), and antidepressants (11-fold). This directly reflects the perceived increase of incidences associated with mental illnesses in the population, as a consequence of severe socioeconomic changes. Other therapeutic classes, like antiepileptics, hypertensives, and gastric and ulcer drugs also showed an increase in use (from 2-fold increase for antiepileptics to 13-fold for hypertensives). In contrast, the overall use of antibiotics and NSAIDs decreased. For mefenamic acid, an almost 28-fold decrease was observed. This finding is likely related to the reduction in drug expenditure applied in public health. A 2-fold increase of methamphetamine use was detected, associated with a cheap street drug called ″sisa″ (related to marginal conducts), which is a health concern. MDMA (5-fold) and methadone (7-fold) use showed also an increase, while cocaine and cannabis estimates did not show a clear trend.

Three types of interfacial nanostructure are identified in as-bonded Cu–Al bonds: (1) Cu/~5 nm amorphous alumina layer/Al; (2) Cu/~20 nm CuAl 2 intermetallic particle/Al; and (3) Cu/Al. During annealing, in the areas of latter two types where alumina layer is fragmented, Cu 9 Al 4 and CuAl form as second and third intermetallic layers, and grow vertically and fast together with initial CuAl 2 . In the area of first type where alumina layer is present, CuAl 2 grows laterally and slowly via Cu diffusion through intermetallic compounds in the neighboring area where alumina is broken to reach Al. Cu–Al interdiffusion is dominated by Cu diffusion.

Gold has broad applications in jewelry, but suffers from low hardness. In the present work, we show that simultaneous addition of 0.1 wt.% Ce and Si can nearly double the hardness of fine gold. We further show that hardness can be tripled by subsequent cold processing. By systematic structural characterizations and thermal analysis, we find that Ce and Si tend to segregate to grain boundaries and impede grain growth. Our work is helpful for development of new gold micro alloys and for design of jewelry that is more wear and scratch resistant.

New psychoactive substances (NPSs) have become increasingly popular in recent years. The analysis of these substances in influent wastewater (IWW) can be used to track their use in communities. In addition, an evaluation of the amount of NPSs released to the aquatic environment can be performed through the analysis of effluent wastewater (EWW). This study presents the development, validation and application of an analytical methodology, based on solid phase extraction (SPE) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), for the determination of 10 NPSs in IWW and EWW. Synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones, piperazines and pyrrolidophenones are included among the target analytes. To the authors' knowledge, it is the first time that eight out of these substances (4'-methylpyrrolidinobutyrophenone (MPPP), a-pyrrolidinopentiophenone (a-PVP), 2-[(1S,3R)-3-hydroxycyclohexyl]-5-(2-methyl-2-octanyl) phenol (CP47,497), (1-naphthyl(1-pentyl-1H-indol-3-yl) methanone (JWH-018), (1-butyl-1H-indol-3-yl)(1-naphthyl) methanone (JWH-073), (4-ethyl-1-naphthyl)(1-pentyl-1H-indol-3-yl) methanone (JWH-210), (4-methyl-1-naphthyl) (1-pentyl-1H-indol-3-yl) methanone (JWH-122) and 2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-1-(1-pentyl-1H-indol-3-yl) ethanone (JWH-250)) are investigated in wastewater. The optimized conditions for the analysis of this set of compounds included a SPE clean-up step using a polymeric sorbent and the use of a pentafluorophenyl (PFP) chromatographic column. Despite the broad range of physicochemical properties of the analytes the method allowed acceptable absolute recoveries (40-109%) for all the studied compounds at different levels of concentration. Low method limits of detection (MLODs) were achieved, ranging between 0.3 and 10 ng/L except for BZP and CP47,497 (20 and 23 ng/L, respectively), allowing a reliable and accurate quantification of the analytes. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of IWW and EWW samples from five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in Santorini Island (a highly touristic resort in Greece). Four out of 10 compounds (a-PVP, CP47,497, JWH-122 and JWH-210) were detected at least in one sample, being the first evidence of their presence in wastewater. CP47,497 was the most ubiquitous and abundant compound, showing concentrations up to 634 ng/L in some cases.

The accumulative roll bonding process was carried out to produce multilayered Ti/Al/Nb composites up to four cycles. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy electron backscattered diffraction and nanoindentation were employed to investigate the microstructural and texture evolution. A homogenous distribution of Ti/Nb necking layers in Al matrix was achieved after four ARB cycles. Grain refinement was observed to increase with increasing number of ARB cycles. The fraction of high-angle grain boundaries as also increased. Strong recrystallization texture appeared for high number of ARB cycles due to the adiabatic heat that occurs during ARB processing. The shear band at the Ti/Al interface reduced the intensity of the cold rolling fiber textures of Al. There was no evidence of shear component from the orientation distribution function results.

In order to improve the hardness of pure gold, alloying with small amounts of germanium (Ge) is of great interest. However, the resulting embrittlement of the new alloy is undesirable for use in jewelry applications. Thus, it is necessary to elucidate the cause of this behavior in this microalloy in order to avoid it in future cases. The Au-Ge alloy was characterized using a combination of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to investigate the nominal chemistry, Vickers microhardness to determine the alloy’s hardness in comparison to pure Au, X-ray diffraction (XRD) to find the phases/structures, along with light optical microscopy (LOM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to explore the alloy’s surface features including grain size, and phase distributions. A heating microscope and differential thermal analyzer (DTA) were also used in order to determine the phase transformation behavior. Trace amount of Ge was found to render Au grains refined to the size of 10 to 160 μm. The corresponding microhardness was remarkably improved from 31 to 56 HV. The Au-Ge microalloy was found to exhibit Ge enrichment along the grain boundaries, resulting in an interdendritic, eutectic that forms throughout the microstructure. This phase distribution is likely the cause of the brittle mechanical behavior of the Au-Ge alloy.

Multilayered Ti/Al/Nb composites were produced by the accumulative roll bonding (ARB) process utilizing pure Ti, Al, and Nb element sheets. Up to four cycles of ARB were applied to the composites. The microstructure and texture evolution on the Nb phase were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron backscattered diffraction. Nb and Ti layers necked and fractured as the number of ARB passes increased. After four ARB cycles, a nearly homogeneous distribution of Nb and Ti layers in Al matrix was achieved. As-received Nb sheet exhibited a fully lamellar structure and had a strong cold-rolling texture. After subjecting to ARB, slight grain refining was observed and the high-angle boundary fraction was increased. The intensity of the α-fiber was weakened, while that of the γ-fiber was strengthened during ARB. The texture evolution was attributed to partial recrystallization during the ARB process as a result of adiabatic heating.

This paper describes the behavior of palladium in palladium-coated Cu (PdCu) wire bonding and its impact on bond reliability by utilizing transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A Pd layer approximately 80 nm thick, which is coated on the surface of Cu wire, dissolves into the Cu matrix during ball formation (under N2 gas protection) when the wire tip is melted to form a ball. As a result of dissolving the very thin Pd layer into the ball, Pd is almost undetectable along the entire bond interface between the ball and the Al pad. The behavior of Pd during thermal aging in air, however, is different for central and peripheral interfaces. At the central interface, less than 5 at.% Pd is present after 168 h aging at 175 °C. At the periphery, however, Pd diffuses back and congregates, reaching a level of ∼12 at.% after 24 h, and a Pd-rich (Cu,Pd)9Al4 layer (>40 at.% Pd) forms after 168 h. Pd acts substitutionally in Cu9Al4 but cannot penetrate into the CuAl2 or CuAl. By comparison of intermetallic thickness and interfacial morphology between PdCu and bare Cu wire bonds, it is concluded that the presence of Pd reduces intermetallic growth rate, and is associated with numerous nanovoids in PdCu bonds.

After consumption, pharmaceuticals are excreted as parent compounds and/or metabolites in urine and faeces. Some are not completely removed during wastewater treatments, forcing sewage treatment plants (STPs) to apply alternative technologies to guarantee quality of treated water. To monitor the removal efficiency of STPs, not only unchanged compounds and metabolites have to be taken into account, but also formation of possible transformation products (TPs). In this work, QTOF MS has been used for screening metabolites/TPs of pharmaceuticals in effluent wastewater from Athens. A customised database was built with the exact masses of metabolites reported in literature for the parent drugs found in an initial screening. Additionally, TPs identified in previous degradation experiments performed at our laboratory were included. Up to 34 metabolites/TPs were detected for omeprazole, venlafaxine, clindamycin, clarithromycin, clopidogrel or dipyrone, among others. Seven corresponded to TPs whose reference standards were available at our lab, seven were TPs previously identified in laboratory degradation experiments, eight were TPs tentatively identified by QTOF MS without reference standards, and twelve TPs were discovered after using the common fragmentation pathway approach. Tentative identification of TPs was supported by prediction of their chromatographic retention time based on the use of advanced chemometric QSRR models. The authors acknowledge the financial support from Plan Nacional de I+D+i, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Project ref CTQ2012-36189), and from Generalitat Valenciana (Group of Excellence Prometeo 2009/054; Collaborative Research on Environment and Food Safety, ISIC/2012/016). This research has also been co-financed by the European Union and Greek national funds through the Operational Program “Education and Lifelong Learning” of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF)—ARISTEIA 624 (TREMEPOL project). Richard Bade acknowledges the European Union for his Early Stage Researcher (ESR) contract as part of the EU-International Training Network SEWPROF (Marie Curie—PEOPLE Grant #317205).

One of the biggest technology drivers in the semiconductor industry today is the fast transition from Au wire bonding to Cu wire bonding. The fast adaptation of Cu and Pd-coated Cu (PCC) wire has focused the whole packaging industry to develop understanding, equipment and processes that can produce a more reliable and robust Cu wire bonding technology. Although the fundamentals of wire bonding technology are very similar between Au and Cu wire bonding, there are a lot of new challenges in Cu wire bonding. Compared to Au wire bonding, Cu wire bonding needs different bond quality measures and metrology. Traditional ball diameter, ball height and shear measurements are not adequate to quantify a Cu wire bonding process. Some of the additional bond quality measures include pad material push out (pad splash), Al layer peel off (pad peel) and crack in the barrier and dielectric layer (pad crack). Another area that is quite different between Au and Cu is the reliability test requirement. In Au wire bonding, because of the fast intermetallic compound (IMC) growth rate, the HTS test is normally the hardest to pass. Due to the corrosion of Cu wire, the HAST test is the most challenging in Cu wire bonding. Reliability requirements still need more knowledge. In this paper, we conduct reliability tests for devices with 3 sets of wire bonding parameters. The bonded samples have IMC coverage between 94% and 97%, well above the industry level of 80%. The reliability (HAST) test passed for all samples at 96 hours. However, there are some failures in the HAST test at 192 hr. There are many factors that can influence reliability outcome including wire bonding and non-wire bonding related factors. The failure analysis identified two potential causes in our case. In one failure case, an abnormally high Chlorine level and void in molding compound were detected next to the failed bond while no Chlorine and void were detected elsewhere. In the 2nd failure case, the bonded ball seems to be off centered and results in poor bonded ball to pad interface. These two factors will be more tightly controlled in future tests to verify the reliability outcome. Intermetallic growth and phase transformation, aluminum oxide, and behavior of palladium in PdCu wire bonds are analyzed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of dual beam focused ion beam (FIB) thinned specimens. Results are compared to wire bonding measurement and reliability outcome.

This paper describes the crystallochemical mechanisms that underpin the migration of nano-sizealumina, intermetallic growth and phase transformations in AueAl wire bonds during annealing from175 C to 250 C by utilizing high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Alumina,encapsulated within the AueAl intermetallic compounds (IMCs), migrates towards the Au ball duringannealing, with Au diffusion into the Al pad. The sequence of AueAl IMC phase development duringannealing was investigated. Initially, Au 8 Al 3 appears as a third phase between the Au 4 Al and AuAl 2 layersthat form during bonding, and gradually becomes the dominant compound. Both AuAl 2 and Au 8 Al 3 aretransformed into the Au-rich alloyAu 4 Al when Al is completely consumed, and this is the terminalproduct. 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. IntroductionThermosonic gold wire bonding is a key technology in electricalinterconnections between integrated circuits and the external cir-cuitryofmicroelectronics,whereby,athingoldwireisbondedtoanaluminum metallization pad using a combination of ultrasonicenergy, pressure (w70 MPa) and heat (150e220 C). It is a complexprocess, for which the physics is not fully understood. The maintheories to describe bonding invoke melting [1], fretting [2]ormicro-slip[3,4],andinvariablystipulatethatremovalofaubiquitousnative alumina over layer, that acts as a barrier to diffusion, isessential for successful bonding. This assumption has been verifiedby high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) [5]that showed ultrasonic vibration, under specific pressure andheat, fragments the surficial alumina (w5 nm thick). Pathways forAueAl interdiffusion are created where the oxide detaches andallows the crystallization of Au

This letter examines void nucleation and coalescence in Au–Al wire bonds using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. It is found that void formation is not only attributed to Kirkendall-type migration as conventionally believed, but also due to volumetric shrinkage and intermetallic oxidation. A volumetric shrinkage of a few percent is associated with intermetallic growth and phase transformations. Intermetallic oxidation occurs at the intermetallics/alumina interface and the migration of oxygen towards the intermetallics leads to void growth and thickening of the surrounding oxide walls.

Nanoscale interfacial evolution in Cu–Al wire bonds during isothermal annealing from 175 °C to 250 °C was investigated by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The native aluminum oxide film (∼5 nm thick) of the Al pad migrates towards the Cu ball during annealing. The formation of intermetallic compounds (IMC) is controlled by Cu diffusion, where the kinetics obey a parabolic growth law until complete consumption of the Al pad. The activation energies to initiate crystallization of CuAl 2 and Cu 9 Al 4 are 60.66 kJ mol −1 and 75.61 kJ mol −1 , respectively. During IMC development, Cu 9 Al 4 emerges as a second layer and grows together with the initial CuAl 2 . When Al is completely consumed, CuAl 2 transforms to Cu 9 Al 4 , which is the terminal product. Unlike the excessive void growth in Au–Al bonds, only a few voids nucleate in Cu–Al bonds after long-term annealing at high temperatures (e.g., 250 °C for 25 h), and their diameters are usually in the range of tens of nanometers. This is due to the lower oxidation rate and volumetric shrinkage of Cu–Al IMC compared with Au–Al IMC.

The process of roll bonding and reactive annealing was used to process γ-titanium aluminide sheets with a nearly fully lamellar microstructure. Cold roll bonding was employed to bond elemental titanium and aluminum foils. A two stage annealing treatment initially at 600 °C and then at 1300 °C resulted in a two phase (γ + α2) structure along with Kirkendall porosity. Hot rolling of the sheet followed by a heat treatment at 1400 °C resulted in a nearly fully lamellar microstructure and denser material compared to sheet that was not subjected to hot rolling. The process parameters and resulting microstructures are presented. Mechanical properties of the processed sheet were measured and found to be comparable to those in the literature for bulk material processed by foil metallurgy. Thus the processing approach presented for the Ti–Al binary alloy is found to be viable for the processing of gamma titanium aluminide sheets.

Multi-layered laminate composites of dissimilar metals have assumed importance industrially. Cold roll bonding can produce multi-layered sheet composites. Study of the effect of rolling and material variables on the bonding characteristics needs to be studied in order to predict the optimum bonding conditions and the final composition of the laminate sheets. In this work, cold roll bonding of multi-layered bimetals has been modeled using the slab method. The effect of anisotropy has been included. Effects of different process and material variables are analyzed. Novel experiments were performed on multilayered Ti–Al system and the numerical results from the model were compared with the experimental results. A good agreement was observed between the model and experimental results.

It was reported in previous studies that the addition of Bi could improve the wettability and reduce the melting temperature of Sn-Ag solders. This work investigates the effect of Bi on the interfacial reaction between Sn-Ag-xBi solders and the Cu substrate reflowed at 250°C for different times and thermally aged at 150°C for different durations. Five types of Sn-Ag-based solders, Sn-3.7Ag-xBi (x = 0 wt.% to 4 wt.%), were used in this study. The microstructure of the interfacial Cu-Sn intermetallic compound (IMC) layers between the solders and the Cu substrate was studied, and the thickness of the Cu-Sn IMCs in different solder/Cu systems has been measured. It was found that the thickness of the Cu-Sn IMC layer decreased with increasing amount of Bi in both the reflow and thermally aged condition. The effect of Bi addition on the interfacial reaction between the solder and the Cu substrate was discussed based on the experimental results.

Sn-Ag-Cu solder is one of the candidate alternatives to Sn-Pb-based solders. In order to improve its performance, different materials have been added to Sn-Ag-Cu-based solders. Several studies on Sn-Ag-Cu-based solders with Bi additions have shown Sn-Ag-Cu-Bi to be a class of solders with good wetting behavior and good performance that show great promise for use in the electronics assembly and packaging industry. To investigate the mechanical reliability of the Sn-Ag-Cu-Bi solders further, single-lap shear creep characteristics have been studied in this work. Dog-bone-type solder joint specimens were formed using five types of solder alloys, Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu and Sn-3.0 Ag-0.5Cu-xBi (x = 1 wt.% to 4 wt.%) with Cu substrates, and creep tests were performed at temperatures of 120°C and 150°C under stresses of 5 MPa to 10 MPa. Results indicate that the rupture times for Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu-xBi solder joints up to 4 wt.% of Bi are longer than the rupture time for Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu. Stress exponents ranged from 3 to 7 for temperatures of 150°C and 120°C with stresses under 10 MPa. Microstructural analyses using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were performed and related to the creep behavior of the solder joints.

The high Nb containing TiAl based alloy, Ti–46Al–9Nb (at.%), was produced using accumulative roll bonding (ARB) followed by two-stage reaction annealing from Ti, Al, and Nb elemental foils. Well-bonded sheet materials were successfully obtained with an initial rolling reduction of 50%. Two-stage annealing of 600 and 1400 °C was employed to promote the formation of intermetallic compounds. The cooling rate was controlled to produce the lamellar structure. The scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction indicated that there were no room temperature solid-state reactions between the Ti/Al/Nb foils, even at 10 cycles. Besides the annealing time and temperature, rolling strain also has a significant effect on the production of the intermetallic compound. Differential thermal analysis was used to characterize the effect of rolling strain on the solid-state reaction and phase formation in the composites during annealing. It is clear that the first annealing stage produced a complete reaction of the Al layers forming the intermetallic compounds TiAl 3 and NbAl 3 . The desired composition and structure of the intermetallic compounds were achieved after the second stage annealing.

Multi-layered composite sheet materials with nominal composition of Ti-46Al-9Nb (at.%) were successfully processed from Ti, Al and Nb elemental foils using the cold roll bonding technique. To promote the formation of intermetallic compounds in these composites, annealing at 600°C was employed for specimens subjected to various amounts of reduction. The microstructures and phases that formed after cold rolling, the first annealing stage, and the second annealing stage were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and x-ray diffraction (XRD). Good bonding was achieved for all rolled samples with a threshold reduction in thickness of about 35% in the first rolling pass. No new phases were formed in the cold rolling stage. Annealing stage did promote the formation of the TiAl3 and NbAl3 phases at the interfaces.

Objective: To provide the first Italian data on pathogens causing early-onset sepsis (EOS) and their antimicrobial susceptibility, after the successfully prevention of Group B streptococcus (GBS) EOS. Methods: Retrospective area-based cohort study from Emilia-Romagna (Italy). Cases of EOS registered (from 2009 to 2012) in all gestational age neonates were reviewed. Results: Live births (LB) numbered 146 682. Ninety neonates had EOS and 12 died (incidence rates of 0.61 and 0.08/1000 LB, respectively). EOS and mortality were the highest among neonates with a birth weight n = 27, 0.18/1000 LB) and Escherichia coli (n = 19, 0.13/1000 LB). Most infants affected by E. coli EOS were born preterm (n = 13), had complications (n = 4) or died (n = 7). Among 90 isolates tested, only 3 were resistant to both first line empirical antibiotics. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that low gestational age, caesarean section and low platelet count at presentation were significantly associated with death or brain lesions (area under ROC curve = 0.939, H-L = 0.944, sensitivity 76.0%, specificity 90.7%). Conclusions: GBS slightly exceeds E. coli as a cause of EOS. However, E. coli is the prominent cause of death, complications and in most cases affects preterm neonates. Empirical antimicrobial therapy of EOS seems appropriate.

Greece was used as case study and the environmental risk associated with the existence of 99 emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) in sludge-amended soil was estimated using risk quotient (RQ) approach. Data on the concentration levels of EOCs in sewage sludge was collected after literature review. Chemical analyses were also conducted for 50 pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs in sludge samples from Athens Sewage Treatment Plant. Risk assessment was based on both terrestrial and aquatic acute toxicity data, using both the maximum and the average measured concentrations of the target compounds. EC50/LC50 values were collected through literature review or using the ECOSAR program in cases that experimental values were not available. Triclosan seems to pose an environmental risk on the soil environment, as its RQ values exceeded 1, both in terrestrial and aquatic toxicity data based risk assessment. Calculations based on aquatic toxicity data showed that another eleven compounds had RQs higher than 1, most of them belonging to the classes of synthetic phenolic compounds and siloxanes. Tetradecamethylhexasiloxane presented the highest RQ, while high RQs were also calculated for decamethylcyclopentasiloxane and caffeine. No environmental risk for the terrestrial environment is expected due to the individual action of illicit drugs, perfluorinated compounds and benzotriazoles. The sludge source and the day of sampling affected the estimated threat due to nonylphenolic compounds; however these factors did not affect the estimated risk for siloxanes, caffeine and ofloxacin. Calculation of RQ values for the mixture of EOCs, using either the maximum or the average concentrations, far exceeded 1 (253 and 209, respectively), indicating a presumable threat for the terrestrial environment due to the baseline toxicity of these compounds. Countries that reuse sludge for agricultural purposes should include specific EOCs in national monitoring campaigns and study more thoroughly on their effects to the terrestrial environment.

The occurrence and spatial distribution of 158 pharmaceuticals and drugs of abuse were studied in seawater of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (Saronikos Gulf and Elefsis Bay in central Aegean Sea). This area is affected by various anthropogenic pressures as it receives the treated wastewater of the greatest Athens area and off-shore input fluxes. This study constitutes the largest one in terms of number of analytes in this environmental compartment. It provides the first evidence on the occurrence of several pharmaceuticals in marine environment including amoxicillin, lidocaine, citalopram or tramadol, among others. 22 samples were collected at three different depths in 9 sampling stations in order to assess the presence and the spatial distribution of the target compounds. A multi-residue method based on solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the determination of the 158 target substances and validated for seawater sample analysis. 38 out of the 158 target compounds were detected, 15 of them with frequencies of detection equal to or higher than 50%. The highest detected values corresponded to amoxicillin, caffeine and salicylic acid, with concentrations in the range of < 5.0-127.8 ng L(-1); 5.2-78.2 ng L(-1) and < 0.4-53.3 ng L(-1), respectively. Inputs from the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) of Athens revealed to be the main source of pollution in the Inner Saronikos Gulf, whereas, other anthropogenic pressures such as contamination from shipping activity, industrial effluents, dredging and/or inputs from land proved to be also relevant. Τhe concentrations of some compounds varied significantly with depth suggesting that currents play an important role in the dilution of the target compounds.

This work investigates the effect of reflow and the thermal aging process on the microstructural evolution and microhardness of five types of Sn-Ag based lead-free solder alloys: Sn-3.7Ag, Sn-3.7Ag-1Bi, Sn-3.7Ag-2Bi, Sn-3.7Ag-3Bi, and Sn-3.7Ag-4Bi. The microhardness and microstructure of the solders for different cooling rates after reflow at 250°C and different thermal aging durations at 150°C for air-cooled samples have been studied. The effect of Bi is discussed based on the experimental results. It was found that the microhardness increases with increasing Bi addition to Sn-3.7Ag solder regardless of reflow or thermal aging process. Scanning electron microscopy images show the formation of Ag3Sn particles, Sn-rich phases, and precipitation of Bi-rich phases in different solders. The increase of microhardness with Bi addition is due to the solution strengthening and precipitation strengthening provided by Bi in the solder. The trend of decrease in microhardness with increasing duration of thermal aging was observed.

Previous work by the authors investigated cold roll bonding followed by annealing as a simplistic method for processing Ti/TiAl 3 multi-layered composites from elemental titanium and aluminum foils. In this study, the Ti/TiAl 3 multi-layered composites were subjected to further processing at higher temperatures and increased cyclic cold rolling to promote the formation of gamma-based titanium aluminide (γ-TiAl). The resulting γ-TiAl phase was characterized using light microscopy equipped with digital image analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Vickers microhardness testing. The thermodynamics and kinetics of the diffusion reaction were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and enthalpy ( H ), entropy ( S ), and capacity ( C ) thermodynamic calculations. The physical, chemical, mechanical, and microstructure changes that accompanied the phase transformation to γ-TiAl was discussed.

The effect of flux on the wetting characteristics of four lead-free solders, Sn-3.5Ag, Sn-0.7Cu, Sn-3.5Ag-4.8Bi, and Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu (wt.%), on copper substrates have been studied at 240, 260, and 280°C. The fluxes investigated were rosin (R), mildly activated rosin (RMA), and activated rosin (RA). The wetting tests were conducted using the sessile-drop method. Results showed that fluxes significantly affect the wetting properties of the solders. Contact angles ranging from 10° to 30° for RMA, 20° to 30° for RA, and 35° to 60° for R were obtained. The effect of temperature on contact angle depended on the type of flux used. The contact angle decreased with increasing temperature; however, in some cases the contact angle was independent of temperature. The Sn-3.5Ag-4.8Bi exhibited the lowest contact angles indicating improved wettability with addition of bismuth. The microstructure of the solder/copper interface was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy.

In this study, the contact angles of four lead-free solders, namely, Sn-3.5Ag, Sn-3.5Ag-4.8Bi, Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu, and Sn-0.7Cu (wt.%), were measured on copper substrates at different temperatures. Measurements were performed using the sessile-drop method. Contact angles ranging from 30° to 40° after wetting under vacuum with no fluxes and between 10° and 30° with rosin mildly activated (RMA) and rosin activated (RA) fluxes were obtained. The Sn-3.5Ag-4.8Bi exhibited the lowest contact angles, indicating improved wettability with the addition of bismuth. For all soldering alloys, lower contact angles were observed using RMA flux. Intermetallics formed at the solder/Cu interface were identified as Cu6Sn5 adjacent to the solder and Cu3Sn adjacent to the copper substrate. The Cu3Sn intermetallic phase was generally not observed when RMA flux was used. The effect of temperature on contact angle was dependent on the type of flux used.

In this study, multi-layered Ti/Al composites were prepared using a cyclic cold roll bonding/annealing process. The effect of initial thickness reduction by cold roll bonding and cyclic cold roll bonding/annealing on the formation and development of the titanium aluminide phase has been investigated in detail. The phases formed were characterized using light microscopy equipped with digital image analysis system and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The thermodynamics and kinetics of the diffusion reaction were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and enthalpy (H), entropy (S) and capacity (C) thermodynamic calculations. The diffusion reaction mechanism at this stage was discussed.

Previous research by the authors has shown that the welding current has a strong effect on the weld properties and microstructures of gamma TiAl. This article presents the results of experimentally measured and theoretically predicted temperature profiles of gas tungsten arc (GTA) welded gamma TiAl for welding currents of 75 and 100 A. The GTA welding model used in this study accounts for the fluid flow in the weld pool as well as conductive, convective, and phase change heat transfer processes in the solid, liquid, and mushy regions of a metal. The computed temperature fields predicted that as the welding current is increased, the maximum temperature reached in the weld pool also increases. Experimental validation of the computed temperature fields was determined by placing thermocouples at three locations on the specimen, to record the temperatures during welding using computer-based data acquisition hardware and software. The agreement between theoretical predictions and measurements was reasonably good, which provided a direct validation of the model.

The microstructure and microhardness of a welded gamma-TiAl (γ-TiAl) sheet material was investigated to determine the effect that rolling direction had on its microhardness and microstructure. The alloy was received in the primary annealed condition which consisted of a microstructure containing equiaxed γ grains with α2 particles located at grain boundaries and triple points. Gas tungsten arc welding was performed both along and transverse to the direction of rolling. The fusion zone consisted of a dendritic microstructure with some microporosity. The microhardness of the fusion zone was significantly harder than the base metal regardless of rolling direction. Preliminary results showed that the specimens welded transverse to the rolling direction had cracks that were parallel to the welding direction (normal to the rolling direction) and the cracking was much more severe than for the specimens welded in the direction of rolling. A preliminary weld structure-property relationship was established as a function of rolling direction.

Postweld heat treated (postweld heat treatment, PWHT) structures of gamma titanium aluminides were analyzed by optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. It was found that PWHT promotes the formation of the γ phase. This microstructural change resulted in the reduction of the fusion zone microhardness mainly due to the reduction of the hard, brittle α2 phase.

It is conventionally believed that wire bonding initiates at the periphery of the contact area and no bonding occurs in the central area. However, this paper demonstrated that two bonding patterns exist, and are determined by bonding processes. If a selected pre-ultrasonic energy is applied, intermetallic compounds initiate in both peripheral and central area of bonds. However, if a pre-ultrasonic energy is absent, intermetallic compounds are only present at the peripheral area as conventionally reported. The application of the pre-ultrasonic energy significantly improves bonding strength, from 66.8 to 94.5MPa for 20@mm Au wire bonds, due to the intermetallic compounds of greater structured integrity. Two different mechanisms are respectively proposed to account for the intermetallic formation in the center and periphery of the bond interface.

This paper describes the development and validation of a new method for the simultaneous determination of 148 substances in sewage sludge. The selected compounds belong to different classes of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, analgesic and/or anti-inflammatory drugs, antiepileptics, benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, and antidepressants, among others, and illicit drugs, including opiates, opioids, cocaine, amphetamines, cannabinoids, and their metabolites. As far as the authors are aware, this is the first method in the peer-reviewed literature covering such a large number of target drugs for determination in a complex matrix like sewage sludge. The method presented herein combines ultrasound-assisted extraction (USE) and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Good analytical performance was achieved, with limit-of-detection values below 10 ng g(-1) d.w. for 91% of the analytes and absolute recovery in the range 50-110% for more than 77% of the studied compounds. A combination of methanol and acidified water, also containing EDTA, proved to be the optimum solvent mixture to perform the extractions. An extra solid-phase-extraction clean-up step was not required, substantially reducing sample-preparation time and solvent consumption. Finally, the developed method was applied to the analysis of different sewage-sludge samples from five wastewater treatment plants of Santorini Island (Greece). Out of the 148 target compounds, 36 were detected. Several compounds, including acetylsalicylic acid, citalopram, and ciprofloxacin among others, had maximum concentrations above 100 ng g(-1) d.w.

The purpose of this study was to retrospectively assess the objective and subjective neuropsychological outcome after epilepsy surgery in patients with bilateral Ammon's horn sclerosis (AHS).Memory and executive functions were evaluated at baseline and at follow-up in 11 surgically treated patients and compared with 8 pharmacologically treated patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and bilateral AHS. The median follow-up duration was 16 months in the surgically treated patients and 80.5 months in the pharmacologically treated group. Subjective outcome was evaluated by questionnaires and included mood, quality of life, subjective memory, and activities of daily living.At the follow-up assessment, 82% of the surgically treated patients as opposed to 0% of the nonsurgery patients were seizure free. In the surgical group, nonverbal memory performance did not change significantly in any patient after surgery, but there was a floor effect in 55% of the surgical patients. Regarding verbal memory, 9% of the surgical patients improved while 73% declined, despite severe impairments already evident at baseline. In the nonsurgery control group, 13% of the patients declined in nonverbal memory (floor effect in 63%) and 25% declined in verbal memory (floor effect in 25%) at follow-up. None of the controls improved at follow-up. Executive functions remained unchanged on an impaired level in both groups. At follow-up, the patient groups did not differ significantly with respect to mood, quality of life, subjective memory, or activities of daily living. However, in most aspects, surgically treated patients reported a slightly better subjective outcome than pharmacologically treated patients and a significantly improved quality of life.These results suggest that beyond benefits concerning seizure control, surgically treated patients with bilateral AHS, despite already poor baseline performance, are still at risk for severe postoperative decline in memory. In the light of predominantly minor benefits on a subjective level, the findings put the overall outcome of epilepsy surgery in bilateral AHS patients into perspective.

The ecological threat associated with emerging pollutants detected in wastewater was estimated in country level. Treated wastewater was analyzed for pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs; whereas the concentrations of all emerging contaminants determined in Greek Sewage Treatment Plants were recorded through literature review. Toxicity data was collected after literature review or using ECOSAR and risk quotients (RQs) were calculated for treated wastewater and 25 Greek rivers, for 3 different aquatic organisms (fish, daphnia magna, algae). According to the results, monitoring data was available for 207 micropollutants belonging to 8 different classes. RQ>1 was calculated for 30 compounds in secondary treated wastewater. Triclosan presented RQ>1 (in algae) for all studied rivers; decamethylcyclopentasilane (in daphnia magna), caffeine (in algae) and nonylphenol (in fish) presented RQ>1 in rivers with dilution factors (DF) equal or lower to 1910, 913 and 824, respectively. The class of emerging contaminants that present the greatest threat due to single or mixture toxicity was endocrine disrupters. The mixture of microcontaminants seems to pose significant ecological risk, even in rivers with DF equal to 2388. Future national monitoring programs should include specific microcontaminants that seem to possess environment risk to surface water.

Benzosulfonamides (BeSAs) are a family of compounds with a broad application as industrial chemicals: plasticizers, intermediates for pesticides and drugs or used in the production of artificial sweeteners, among others. BeSAs constitute a class of organic compounds of emerging environmental concern. However, analytical methodologies for their determination in the environment are scarce as well as there is a lack of environmental occurrence data for these substances. An analytical methodology based on pseudo-SRM liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-(ESI-)MS/MS) was developed and optimized for the determination of three BeSAs (benzenesulfonamide (BSA), o-toluenesulfonamide (o-TSA) and p-toluenesulfonamide (p-TSA)) in wastewater. The solid phase extraction protocol was also carefully optimized. The method provided recoveries in the range 83-118% (three different fortification levels). Good precision (10.2% (intra-day) and13.6% (inter-day)) and limits of detection achieved (11-89 ng L(-1)) allow a reliable quantification of these compounds in both effluent and influent wastewaters. The presence of BeSAs has been evaluated during seven consecutive days in influent and effluent samples from the wastewater treatment plant of Athens, Greece. o-TSA and p-TSA were detected in 100% of the samples, while BSA was detected in all the influents and in 43% of the effluents. All three compounds were determined in relevant concentrations (up to 1.4 μg L(-1) in the case of p-TSA), constituting the first evidence of the presence of these compounds in Greece, and contributing to the scarce occurrence data. Removal efficiencies of BeSAs during wastewater treatment was also assessed and discussed. In this regard, different behaviors were observed: while BSA and p-TSA were removed in different rates, o-TSA was formed during wastewater treatment. A daily load of 0.48 kg of o-TSA and 0.47 kg of p-TSA was discarded in the receiving Saronikos Gulf.

The present work describes the development and validation of a highly sensitive analytical method for the simultaneous determination of 68 compounds, including illicit drugs (opiates, opioids, cocaine compounds, amphetamines, and hallucinogens), psychiatric drugs (benzodiazepines, barbiturates, anesthetics, antiepileptics, antipsychotics, antidepressants, and sympathomimetics), and selected human metabolites in influent and effluent wastewater (IWW and EWW) by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The method involves a pre-concentration and cleanup step, carried out by solid-phase extraction (SPE) using the adsorbent Strata-XC, followed by the instrumental analysis performed by LC-MS/MS, using a Kinetex pentafluorophenyl (PFP) reversed-phase fused-core column and electrospray ionization (ESI) in both positive and negative modes. A systematic optimization of mobile phases was performed to cope with the wide range of physicochemical properties of the analytes. The PFP column was also compared with two reversed-phase columns: fused-core C18 and XB-C18 (with a cross-butyl C18 ligand). SPE optimization and critical aspects associated with the trace level determination of the target compounds (e.g., matrix effects) have been also considered and discussed. Fragmentation patterns for all the classes were proposed. The validated method provides absolute recoveries between 75 and 120% for most compounds in IWW and EWW. Low method limits of detection were achieved (between 0.04 and 10.0 ng/L for 87% of the compounds), allowing a reliable and accurate quantification of the analytes at trace level. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of these compounds in five wastewater treatment plants in Santorini, a touristic island of the Aegean Sea, Greece. Thirty-two out of 68 compounds were detected in all IWW samples in the range between 0.6 ng/L (for nordiazepam) and 6,822 ng/L (for carbamazepine) and 22 out of 68 in all EWW samples, with values between 0.4 ng/L (for 9-OH risperidone) and 2,200 ng/L (for carbamazepine). The novel methodology described herein maximizes the information on the environmental analysis of these substances and also provides a first profile of 68 drugs in a Greek touristic area.

When multiphase alloys are rapidly heated, it is possible to cause melting of the interface between phases. This is called constitutional liquation if, during melting, the bulk composition is in a nonliquid region of the phase diagram but the tie-line between the liquating phases passes through a liquid region. The liquid produced during constitutional liquation can spread along grain boundaries and promote liquid film migration (LFM). This is known as constitutional liquid film migration (CLFM), which is thermodynamically similar to liquid film migration; however, mechanistically there are significant differences. Nickel-base alloy 718 has been studied to show the features of migration that are unique to CLFM. Experimentation consisted of heat-treating rods of alloy 718 to promote the trapping of niobium carbide particles on the grain boundaries. These samples were then subjected to isothermal treatments above their constitutional-liquation temperature, which produced CLFM of the grain boundaries. The movement of the liquid films away from their centers of curvature, the formation of a new solid solution behind the migrated liquid films, and the reversals of curvature of the migrated liquid films confirmed that CLFM was the phenomenon observed. The concentration of niobium behind the migrated liquid films for isothermal treatments below themore » solidus temperature was shown to be greater than the niobium concentration in the matrix. Above the solidus temperature, there was no increase in niobium concentration. The validity of the coherency strain hypothesis as the driving force for CLFM in alloy 718 is discussed.« less

The latest results, still preliminary, of tests dedicated to study the performance of Resistive Plate Chamber for the CMS experiment are presented. conditions of incident flux up to 2 Full efficiency with a 2 ns time resolution in kHz/cm2 has been obtained. Detector uniformity has been studied and found to be well within the constraints due to the large surfaces used in the experiment. An aging test is currently being carried out and shows no significant performance variation with time.

This study examines procedures for consistently producing sound (crack and void free) welds using the autogenous (without filler metal) gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding process. Cast alloy Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb (at. pct) and extruded alloy Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb-0.9Mo (at. pct) have been examined to determine if sound welds can be produced using autogenous GTA welding without any preheat. Experimentation consisted of GTA spot welding samples of gamma titanium aluminide at weld current levels of 45, 55, 65, and 75 A for a duration of 3 seconds. For the cast alloy, current levels of 45, 55, and 65 A for 3 seconds produced similar fusion zone microstructures, which consisted of a dendritic solidification structure. The fusion zone microstructure of the 75 A for 3 seconds current level differed significantly from the lower current levels. It also consisted of a dendritic solidification structure; however, the morphology was quite different. For the extruded alloy, current levels of 45 and 55 A for 3 seconds produced fusion zone microstructures similar to the lower current level samples of the cast γ-TiAl, which consisted of a dendritic solidification structure. The fusion zone microstructures of the 65 and 75 A samples were similar to each other, but they had a dendritic solidification structure of a different morphology than that of the 45 and 55 A samples. For both alloys at all current levels, microhardness profiles showed an increase in hardness from the base metal to the fusion zone. There were no significant differences in the average fusion zone hardness as a function of increasing current level. However, nanoindentation testing did show that certain phases and microconstituents in the fusion zone did have significant variations in hardness in relation to the enrichment and depletion of chromium.

Aim: This study represents an initial effort at examining the association between the construct of self-compassion and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related anxiety in a multinational population with HIV disease. Background: Previous studies have found that self-compassion is a powerful predictor of mental health, demonstrating positive and consistent linkages with various measures of affect, psychopathology and well-being, including anxiety. Methods: Cross-sectional data from a multinational study conducted by the members of the International Nursing Network for HIV Research (n=1986) were used. The diverse sample included participants from Canada, China, Namibia, the United States of America and the territory of Puerto Rico. Study measures included the anxiety subscale of the Symptom Checklist-90 instrument, the Brief Version Self-Compassion Inventory and a single item on anxiety from the Revised Sign and Symptom Checklist. Findings: Study findings show that anxiety was significantly and inversely related to self-compassion across participants in all countries. We examined gender differences in self-compassion and anxiety, controlling for country. Levels of anxiety remained significantly and inversely related to self-compassion for both males (P=0.000) and females (P=0.000). Levels of self-compassion and anxiety varied across countries. Conclusions: Self-compassion is a robust construct with cross-cultural relevance. A culturally based brief treatment approach aimed at increasing self-compassion may lend itself to the development of a cost effective adjunct treatment in HIV disease, including the management of anxiety symptoms. © 2013 International Council of Nurses.