Binning for IC Quality: Experimental Studies on the SEMATECH Data

The earlier smaller bipolar study did not provide a high enough bin 0 population to directly observe test escapes and thereby estimate defect levels for the best bin. Results presented here indicate that the best bin can be reasonably expected to show a 2 - 5 factor improvement in defect levels over the average for the lot for moderate to high yields (the overall yield for these experiments was approximately 65%). The experiments also confirm the dependence of the best bin quality on test transparency. The defect level improvement is poorer for the case Of IDDQ escapes where the tests applied had a much higher escape rate. Overall experimental results are consistent with analytical projections for typical values of the clustering parameter in [9]. The final version of this paper will include extensive analysis to validate the analytical models based on this data

Analysis of natural structures and chemical mapping data reveals local stability compensation in RNA

RNA molecules adopt complex structures that perform essential biological functions across all forms of life, making them promising candidates for therapeutic applications. However, our ability to design new RNA structures remains limited by an incomplete understanding of their folding principles. While global metrics such as the minimum free energy are widely used, they are at odds with naturally occurring structures and incompatible with established design rules. Here, we introduce local stability compensation (LSC), a principle that RNA folding is governed by the local balance between destabilizing loops and their stabilizing adjacent stems, challenging the focus on global energetic optimization. Analysis of over 100,000 RNA structures revealed that LSC signatures are particularly pronounced in bulges and their adjacent stems, with distinct patterns across different RNA families that align with their biological functions. To validate LSC experimentally, we systematically analyzed thousands of RNA variants using DMS chemical mapping. Our results demonstrate that stem reactivity correlates strongly with LSC (R² = 0.458 for hairpin loops) and that structural perturbations affect folding primarily within ~6 nucleotides from the loop. These findings establish LSC as a fundamental principle that could enhance the rational design of functional RNAs

Auditory Hallucinations Interview Guide: Promoting Recovery with an Interactive Assessment Tool

Auditory Hallucinations Interview Guide: Promoting Recovery with an Interactive Assessment Tool Abstract The Auditory Hallucinations Interview Guide (AHIG) is a 32-item tool to help psychiatric-mental health nurses assess the past and current experience of each voice hearer so they can provide more individualized care. This tool was developed as a research tool but has been found clinically useful in both inpatient and outpatient settings to help voice hearers and nurses develop a shared terminology of auditory hallucinations. Using the AHIG, voice hearers are able to tell their story in a structured and safe environment that encourages recovery. Through respect and active listening the psychiatric-mental health nurse communicates unconditional acceptance, caring and hope for recovery that helps develop rapport and promotes trust in the nurse-patient relationship. Once trust is developed, then the voice hearer and psychiatric-mental health nurse can work together to find effective strategies for managing auditory hallucinations including commands to harm self and others

Disseminating an Evidence-Based Course to Teach Self-Management of Auditory Hallucinations

This multi-site project extended course dissemination of the 10-session Behavioral Management of Auditory Hallucinations Course to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mental health outpatient settings. The VA Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) model and Rogers\u27 theory of diffusion of innovations served as the theoretical framework. The course was taught to mental health professionals using teleconferencing, electronic media, and monthly conference calls across 24 VA mental health outpatient sites. Twenty course leaders provided feedback. One hundred percent reported being better able to communicate with patients about their voices and 96% reported improved understanding of the voice-hearing experience. Thirty-three course participants provided feedback. Ninety-four percent would recommend the course, 85% reported being better able to communicate with staff about their voices, and 66% reported being better able to manage their voices. Facilitators and barriers to course implementation are described

Bioprospecting the African Renaissance: The new value of muthi in South Africa

This article gives an overview of anthropological research on bioprospecting in general and of available literature related to bioprospecting particularly in South Africa. It points out how new insights on value regimes concerning plant-based medicines may be gained through further research and is meant to contribute to a critical discussion about the ethics of Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS). In South Africa, traditional healers, plant gatherers, petty traders, researchers and private investors are assembled around the issues of standardization and commercialization of knowledge about plants. This coincides with a nation-building project which promotes the revitalization of local knowledge within the so called African Renaissance. A social science analysis of the transformation of so called Traditional Medicine (TM) may shed light onto this renaissance by tracing social arenas in which different regimes of value are brought into conflict. When medicinal plants turn into assets in a national and global economy, they seem to be manipulated and transformed in relation to their capacity to promote health, their market value, and their potential to construct new ethics of development. In this context, the translation of socially and culturally situated local knowledge about muthi into global pharmaceuticals creates new forms of agency as well as new power differentials between the different actors involved

Self-Management of Unpleasant Auditory Hallucinations: A Tested Practice Model

Individuals who experience auditory hallucinations (AH) frequently report hearing unpleasant voices saying disturbing things to them, making derogatory remarks about them, or commanding them to do something, including harming themselves or someone else. The Self-Management of Unpleasant Auditory Hallucinations Practice Model was developed to help psychiatric-mental health nurses in both inpatient and outpatient settings implement evidence-based nursing care for voice hearers who are distressed by unpleasant voices. The model\u27s utility extends to nursing education, administration, and research. The model is comprised of three parts: (a) Assessment of Voice Hearer\u27s Experience, (b) Nursing Interventions, and (c) Voice Hearer\u27s Expected Positive Outcomes. These three parts of the model describe nursing assessments conducted with an interview guide and two self-report tools, nursing interventions that teach strategies to manage unpleasant AH in a 10-session course or individually, and evaluation of voice hearer outcomes with two self-report tools