A qualitative explanation for the scaling of energy dissipation by high-Reynolds-number fluid flows in contact with solid obstacles is proposed in the light of recent mathematical and numerical results. Asymptotic analysis suggests that it is governed by a fast, small-scale Rayleigh–Tollmien–Schlichting instability with an unstable range whose lower and upper bounds scale as $Re^{3/8}$ and $Re^{1/2}$, respectively. By linear superposition, the unstable modes induce a boundary vorticity flux of order $Re^{1}$, a key ingredient in detachment and drag generation according to a theorem of Kato. These predictions are confirmed by numerically solving the Navier–Stokes equations in a two-dimensional periodic channel discretized using compact finite differences in the wall-normal direction, and a spectral scheme in the wall-parallel direction.

We report here on the radiocarbon performance on the AARAMS HVE 1MV Tandetron. 14C analysis is carried out in charge state 2+. We have avoided Li interference by appropriate settings of the high-energy electrostatic analyzer and the 30° second high-energy magnet. The 14C machine background is determined using unprocessed graphite, which yielded 58,650±2032 14C yr determined as the average and standard deviation of four measurements. International standards, which are used to monitor the long-term performance of the 14C measurements, agree with the reported consensus values.

High radiocarbon sample throughput is an increasingly important requirement of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) systems, which in turn requires high source output. To accomplish this, HVE AMS systems use a model SO-110B ion source, which can run at outputs of more than 200 μA 12C. It is known that high source output may compromise precision. To quantify this effect, we have tested an HVE 1MV AMS system for the influence of medium (100 μA) and high (200 μA) source outputs on the precision. These early measurements indicate for a 200 μA 12C source output, equivalent to a ≃1 kHz 14C count rate for Ox II samples, a 13C/12C precision of 1% and a 14C/12C precision of 3% can be obtained.

We propose a hierarchy of novel absorbing boundary conditions for the one-dimensional stationary Schrödinger equation with general (linear and nonlinear) potential. The accuracy of the new absorbing boundary conditions is investigated numerically for the computation of energies and ground-states for linear and nonlinear Schrödinger equations. It turns out that these absorbing boundary conditions and their variants lead to a higher accuracy than the usual Dirichlet boundary condition. Finally, we give the extension of these ABCs to N-dimensional stationary Schrödinger equations.

Heterogeneous system integration is one of the key topics for future system integration. Scaling of System on Chip (SoC) alone does not address today's requirements of smart electronic systems in terms of performance, functionality, miniaturization, low production cost and time to market. The traditional microelectronic packaging will more and more convert into complex sys-tem integration. ‘More than Moore’ will be required due to tighter integration of system level components at the package level. This trend leads to advanced System in Package solutions (SiP) which require the synergy and a combination of wafer level and board integration technologies and which are rapidly evolving from a specialty technology used in a narrow set of applications to a high volume technology with wide ranging impact on electronics markets especially due to the high volume and very cost competitive consumer and communication market. Advanced SiP approaches explore the third dimension which results in complex system architectures that also require, beside new technologies and improved materials, adequate system design tools and reli-ability models. One of the most promising technology approaches is 3D packaging which in-volves a set of different integration approaches including stacked packages, silicon interposer with Through Silicon Vias (TSV) and embedding technologies. The paper highlights future sys-tem and potential technical solutions.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify research and development on genetic testing to find out if research addresses important disease areas, how far it is from potential clinical use, and what consequences might arise for the prioritization of health technology assessment (HTA) activities. Also a horizon scanning methodology developed in Germany is demonstrated.

Methods: A systematic search on genetic testing was conducted in an innovation database (ZIM database). Based on a daily monitoring of literature and Internet sources, reports from 2003 up to 2005 were classified related to the type of innovation, the addressed disease categories, and the developmental phase of the technology. More detailed analyses for the most frequently addressed groups of diseases were conducted.

Results: From 239 relevant reports, 41 percent referred to neoplasms; 10 percent to diseases of the cardiovascular system; 9 percent to diseases of the nervous system; 7 percent to mental and behavioral disorders; and 5 percent to endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases. A total of 69 percent of research is situated in basic preclinical research, 22 percent in clinical/experimental research, and 6 percent are genetic tests being used. Diagnostic applications were most frequently reported (28 percent), followed by therapeutic prediction (22 percent), preventive prediction (18 percent), pharmacogenetics (16 percent), and screening (16 percent).

Conclusions: Widespread diseases are frequently addressed in research. HTA on genetic testing might focus on innovations addressing neoplastic diseases (in particular breast, colon, and prostate cancers) and pharmacogenetic applications for therapeutic prediction. The horizon scanning approach seems useful in the early steps of HTA processes to identify emerging new technologies that might have significant impact on future health care.

Au/Sn solder bumps are mainly used for flip chip assembly of compound semiconductors in optoelectronic and RF applications. They allow a fluxless assembly which is required to avoid contamination of optical interfaces and the metallurgy is well suited to the final gold metallization on GaAs or InP. Flip chip assembly experiments were carried out using two layer Au/Sn bumps as plated without prior bump reflow. An RF and reliability test vehicles comprise a GaAs chip which was flip chip soldered on a silicon substrate. Temperature cycling tests with and without underfiller were performed. The different failure modes for underfilled and nonunderfilled samples were discussed and compared. Additional reliability tests were performed with flip chip bonding by gold thermocompression for comparison. The test results and the failure modes are discussed in detail.