Objective. Congenital heart disease (CHDs) in Taiwan cause twice as many children die each year comparing with childhood cancers. Prevalent CHDs are ventricular septal defects (VSDs) which accounted for ~40% Taiwanese population averagely. Studies on heart development-related genes on the human genome will provide valuable information for early diagnosis/prevention in eugenics and the development of therapeutic strategies. Methods. A total of 239 CHD families from Kaohsiung Veteran General Hospital, including 713 individuals with 245 affected, participated in this study. Among these CHDs families, 83 were diagnosed as VSDs, accounted for 34.7% of all CHDs. We initiated using a semi-quantitative fluorescent PCR method applying ten highly polymorphic markers that located within 22q11, genotyping analysis for deletion or loss of heterozygosity. In those cases that are identified as chromosome 22q11-independent VSDs, cardiac development-related candidate genes TBX5, CSX and JAG1 analyses were performed by Single-Strand Conformation Polymorphisms (SSCPs) and Temporal Temperature Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (TTGE) analyses to identify whether any genomic mutation/deletion exists. Results. So far, there are twenty-five VSD affected individuals have been identified as loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at loci D22S264, D22S303, D22S420, D22S427,D22S941, D22S944, D22S1638 and D22S1648. Candidate gene approaches will therefore be carried out within chromosome 22q11 subregion in these individuals. Conclusions. The frequency of CHD necessitating intervention in patients referred for cardiovascular evaluation after diagnosis of a chromosome 22q11 deletion. Routine screening for CHDs, including VSD and other imaging studied to identify the any microdeletion(s) or LOH.

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As technology continues to scale to smaller geometries and newer dimensions (3-D), with increasingly complex manufacturing processes, the ability to reliably manufacture 100% defect-free circuitry becomes a significant challenge. While implementing additional circuitry to improve yield is economically justifiable, this thesis addresses the cost of defect tolerance by providing lower cost solutions or alternatively more defect tolerance for the same cost in state-of-the-art ICs, including three-dimensional ICs (3-D ICs). Conventional defect tolerance techniques involve incorporating redundancy into the design. This thesis introduces novel designs to maximize the utility of spare elements with minimal circuitry overhead, thereby improving the yield. One idea proposed is Selective Row Partitioning (SRP), a technique which allows a single spare column to be used to repair multiple defective cells in multiple columns. This is done by selectively decoding the row address bits when generating the select signals for the column multiplexers. This logically segments the spare column allowing it to replace different columns in different partitions of the row address space. All the chips are identical, but fuses are used to customize the row decoding circuitry on a chip-by-chip basis. An implementation procedure and results are presented which show improvement in overall yield at a minimal overhead cost. Moreover, new yield-enhancing design techniques for 3-D ICs are introduced. When assembling a 3-D IC, there are several degrees of freedom including which die are stacked together, in what order, and with what rotational symmetry. This thesis describes strategies for exploiting these degrees of freedom to reduce the cost and complexity of implementing defect tolerance. One strategy is to enable asymmetric repair capability within a 3-D memory stack by exploiting the degree of freedom that the order of the die in the stack can be selected. This technique optimizes the number of fuses, and in some cases, the number of spares as well, required to implement defect tolerance. Another innovative technique is to exploit rotational symmetry of the dies to do implicit reconfiguration to implement defect tolerance. Results show that leakage power and performance overhead for defect tolerance can be significantly reduced by this technique. / text

<p>The mechanism for defect related green emission from zinc (ZnO:Zn) and sulfur doped ZnO (ZnO:S) are determined through optical characterization of the green and UV emission bands. ZnO:Zn is prepared by heating ZnO in a slightly reducing atmosphere for 1 hour and sulfur doped ZnO is similarly obtained with a small amount of sulfur added. Photoluminescence (PL), photoluminescence excitation spectra (PLE), and quantum efficiency measurements are analyzed to determine the mechanism of the green defect emission. Low temperature PL and PLE measurements are used to assign activation energies to the emission processes and connect them with donor bound excitons in ZnO. It was determined that both ZnO:Zn and ZnO:S have a similar green emission mechanism. This common mechanism involves the formation of donor bound excitons <italic>I_3a</italic> and <italic>I₉</italic>, which were determined to be the mediators between photoexcitation of excitons and the transfer of energy to the defect responsible for green emission. The most efficient excitation processes for both the green and band edge emissions at low temperatures is through direct excitation of the neutral donor bound exciton <italic>I₉</italic> or by ionizing the neutral donor bound exciton <italic>I_3a</italic>. The ionization of <italic>I_3a</italic> eliminates this exciton localization site and simultaneously creates a bound exciton at <italic>I₉</italic>. The <italic>I₉</italic> bound exciton can then either transfer energy to the defect responsible for the green emission or contribute to the free exciton population through a phonon assisted transition. At room temperature a resonant absorption peak associated with <italic>I₉</italic> is still present in the absorption band for ZnO:Zn suggesting partial localization at <italic>I_3a</italic> and <italic>I₉</italic> of free excitons with low kinetic energy (excitations below the band gap) continues to be the intermediate between excitons and the energy transfer to the green emitting defect. </p><p>In ZnO:S, the addition of sulfur creates ZnS domains within the lattice leading to a type II band alignment at the interface of ZnO and ZnS domains. This band alignment at the interface increases the density of free electrons in ZnO, which may then encounter an ionized <italic>I_3a</italic> site converting it to its neutral form. Increasing the density of free electrons, a result of the type II band alignment, increases the chances of returning an ionized <italic>I_3a</italic> to its neutral form and thus increases the green emission. These results can lead to informed optimization of ZnO:S as a potential white light emitting phosphor.</p> / Dissertation

Software systems continue to play an increasingly important role in our daily lives, making the quality of software systems an extremely important issue. Therefore, a significant amount of recent research focused on the prioritization of software quality assurance efforts. One line of work that has been receiving an increasing amount of attention is Software Defect Prediction (SDP), where predictions are made to determine where future defects might appear. Our survey showed that in the past decade, more than 100 papers were published on SDP. Nevertheless, the adoption of SDP in practice to date is limited. In this thesis, we survey the state-of-the-art in SDP in order to identify the challenges that hinder the adoption of SDP in practice. These challenges include the fact that the majority of SDP research rarely considers the impact of defects when performing their predictions, seldom provides guidance on how to use the SDP results, and is too reactive and defect-centric in nature. We propose approaches that tackle these challenges. First, we present approaches that predict high-impact defects. Our approaches illustrate how SDP research can be tailored to consider the impact of defects when making their predictions. Second, we present approaches that simplify SDP models so they can be easily understood and illustrates how these simple models can be used to assist practitioners in prioritizing the creation of unit tests in large software systems. These approaches illustrate how SDP research can provide guidance to practitioners using SDP. Then, we argue that organizations are interested in proactive risk management, which covers more than just defects. For example, risky changes may not introduce defects but they could delay the release of projects. Therefore, we present an approach that predicts risky changes, illustrating how SDP can be more encompassing (i.e., by predicting risk, not only defects) and proactive (i.e., by predicting changes before they are incorporated into the code base). The presented approaches are empirically validated using data from several large open source and commercial software systems. The presented research highlights how challenges of pragmatic SDP can be tackled, making SDP research more beneficial and applicable in practice. / Thesis (Ph.D, Computing) -- Queen's University, 2012-08-02 13:12:39.707

DNA methylation is increasingly recognised as a significant epigenetic event that may initiate and drive the process of neoplasia in humans. In the colon, DNA methylation of key genes is common in a subset of colorectal cancers. The extent to which DNA methylation at various genes contributes to initiation of colorectal neoplasms is less clear. This study sought to clarify the biological and clinicopathological significance of methylation of various genes in the development of sporadic and familial colorectal neoplasia. Quantitative methylation-specific PCR (qMSP) assays (capable of detecting down to a measureable proportion of 0.1% of the total input DNA) were developed to determine the presence of CpG methylation at a given gene. Methylation of MLH1-C was found in the apparently normal mucosa samples from seven of 104 (7%) of individuals with sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC) showing microsatellite instability (MSI). No methylation of MLH1-C was found in the biological samples of individuals with microsatellite stable (MSS) counterparts (n=131). MLH1-C methylation may be a field defect that predisposes to the development of sporadic colorectal neoplasia, particularly those demonstrating MSI. Methylation of three of five genes within the 3p22 region including AB002340, MLH1, ITGA9, PLCD1 and DLEC1 (regional 3p22 methylation) was found in 83% of sporadic MSI (n=86) and 12% of MSS cancers demonstrating BRAF V600E mutation (n=42). Regional 3p22 correlated strongly with CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP), and other clinicopathological characteristics typical of CIMP. Thus, regional 3p22 methylation and CIMP may be overlapping phenomena. Regional 3p22 methylation and the BRAF V600E mutation were found in normal colonic mucosa of four individuals with sporadic MSI CRC, and these cases also had multiple synchronous serrated polyps. These molecular aberrancies may predispose some individuals to the development of metachronous serrated neoplasia. Germline epimutations of APC do not contribute towards the development of FAP, AFAP, or hyperplastic polyposis syndromes. However, APC methylation in normal colonic mucosa of these individuals may represent a field defect in the development of futher neoplasms. In conclusion, different patterns of DNA methylation in normal colonic mucosa may represent a field defect important in the development of different subtypes of colorectal neoplasia.

Kyoto University (京都大学) / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第15385号 / 工博第3264号 / 新制||工||1491(附属図書館) / 27863 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科材料化学専攻 / (主査)教授 平尾 一之, 教授 横尾 俊信, 教授 田中 勝久 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当

Résumé My diploma is focused on mutual relationship between the title from liability for damage and the title from liability for defect. Firstly, I tried to explain every institute separately and in the end of my work I dealt with their interrelation. In the first Chapter I outline a picture of civil liability in the level of juristic theory and I bring a view on the origin and content of civil liability. In this Chapter I point out that the understanding of the term of civil liability is non-uniform, which leads to serious opinion fragmentation. One of the main tasks of the legal order is to ensure the protection of the society and individual from the conception of damage with the aid of legal rules together with coercive state authority. It means that the protection of their health, property, as well as nature and the environment should be provided. Legal order realizes this task through the prevention of damage conception, what was the object of the second Chapter. I place emphasis on general and special prevention and I clarify in what they vest. General duty prevention imposes to everybody to act so, that no damage to health, property, nature or the environment will happen. Subsequently, special duty prevention imposes to the person, who possesses the risk of damage, to act within the context of its...

The effect of time that processed cheese was held ex- posed to heat alone or with agitation, the level of rework cheese, and the type and level of emulsifying salt were evaluated by determining finess of emulsion based on scanning electron microscopy measurements, meltability, and rheological measurements using a Universal Testing Machine. Process cheese held in the cooker at 82°C for up to 4o minutes became less meltable and more firm and the emulsion became finer while that held at 82°C outside of the cooker without agitation was only slightly affected. Loss of meltability and increased firmness associated with pro-longed cooking of process cheese is associated with the state of the fat emulsion and not with the effect of heat on the proteins per se. The level of rework cheese had a great influence on the cheese rheological properties as well as on the microstructure of process cheese. There was a poor emulsion when no emulsifying salt was used regardless of the percent rework cheese added. The emulsion became finer as the per- cent rework cheese was increased if emulsifying salt was also present except after 20% rework cheese addition where the emulsion became coarse again. Process cheese lost meltability during storage at 4°C after 53 days when 1.0 or 0.0% emulsifying salt is used or when rework cheese is present at 0.0 or 5%, but no effect was noticed in meltability values if the 2.5% emulsifying salt was used with no rework cheese.

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