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A method to overcome IT hardware corrosion-related failures in geographies with highly concentrated atmospheric pollution is presented. Metal particulate was incorporated into a standard silicone conformal coating to form composite materials in which the metal particulate acts as a sacrificial material to react with elemental sulfur. Metal particulates (copper and silver) were chosen based on their strong propensity to corrode in sulfur-rich environments. Through absorption of sulfur into silicone composites, the metal particulate is able to react to form either copper sulfide or silver sulfide before reaching the underlying metallic architectures, thus preventing failures. This approach resulted in up to a ~123% life improvement of the coated component over that of a standard silicone conformal coating. In addition, this approach has shown that the sacrificial material can slow the rate of metal sulfide formation at the metallic interface of thick-film surface mount resistors. The metal particulate-containing conformal coatings developed here overcome many limitations brought about by the use of non-silicone conformal coatings, potentially leading to its incorporation into IT hardware to prevent metallic corrosion of components in harsh environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was undertaken to improve understanding of the mechanics of residual stresses in electronic assemblies when subjected to thermal cycles. Strain-gauge measurements of stress and finite element analysis were performed to determine the residual strain level in an epoxy adhesive. Discrepancies in the stress value between experimental methods and those predicted from the finite element model highlight the necessity of incorporating temperature-dependent material properties into the model, Furthermore, the effects of curing conditions on the epoxy layer were also quantified in terms of strain levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background We present the Biological Observation Matrix (BIOM, pronounced “biome”) format: a JSON-based file format for representing arbitrary observation by sample contingency tables with associated sample and observation metadata. As the number of categories of comparative omics data types (collectively, the “ome-ome”) grows rapidly, a general format to represent and archive this data will facilitate the interoperability of existing bioinformatics tools and future meta-analyses. Findings The BIOM file format is supported by an independent open-source software project (the biom-format project), which initially contains Python objects that support the use and manipulation of BIOM data in Python programs, and is intended to be an open development effort where developers can submit implementations of these objects in other programming languages. Conclusions The BIOM file format and the biom-format project are steps toward reducing the “bioinformatics bottleneck” that is currently being experienced in diverse areas of biological sciences, and will help us move toward the next phase of comparative omics where basic science is translated into clinical and environmental applications. The BIOM file format is currently recognized as an Earth Microbiome Project Standard, and as a Candidate Standard by the Genomic Standards Consortium.