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The Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP) Final Summit What: One hundred eighty-seven scientists, stakeholders, and representatives from operational forecasting centers and international bodies assembled in person and online to review the accomplishments and impacts of YOPP and make recommendations on prediction-related priorities for future international polar research projects. Where: Montreal, Canada When: 29 August-1 September 2022.

In semiconductor manufacturing, intellectual property (IP) cores/blocks play a dominant role in modern chip design. The driving factor for IP usage is the time-to-market benefit delivered through design reuse. Today, IP blocks include the entire range of modules, ranging from standard cells, memories, and I/O devices to CPUs. Chip designers need complex IP blocks because modern levels of integration allow chips to be a complete system on chip (SOC), not just components of systems. However, as chips become more complex, IP blocks are subject to more interactions from multiple neighboring modules in the chip. Current IP block quality assurance (QA) flows focus mainly on functional verification, performance verification, and design rule checking (DRC). The standard DRC deck checks for minimum and maximum density rules within the IP block. However, when an IP is placed in an SOC, it may encounter complex surrounding scenarios, as when a low density IP is placed next to a higher density area. During integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing, the resulting proximity effects may cause failures or electrical targeting mismatches within the IP, due to etch micro-loading and long-range CMP interactions. Designers can only locate these chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) hotspots related to IP placement in the SOC near the end of the design flow, which limits any floorplan changes to fix the hotspots. Standalone IP block QA is insufficient to detect possible layout- or floorplan-induced problems that can affect manufacturing. In this paper, we present a CMP modeling methodology to guard-band IP against topography variations that can occur after IP placement in the SOC design. We emulate low, average, and high-density scenarios surrounding the IP blocks, followed by CMP simulations and hotspot detection using silicon-calibrated CMP models. After simulation, guidelines provided to fix these CMP hotspots surrounding the IP blocks during early design stages to improve manufacturability and yield. This flow will make IPs robust from CMP hotspots that typically appear after SOC floorplanning.

Chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) is a key process in integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing. Successful fabrication of semiconductor devices is highly dependent on the final planarity of the processed layers. Post-CMP topography variation may cause degradation of the circuit performance. Moreover, the depth-of-focus (DOF) requirement is critical for lithography of subsequent layers. As such, planarity requirements are critical for maintaining IC manufacturing technology scaling trends, and supporting device innovation. To mitigate post-CMP planarity issues, dummy fill insertion has become a commonly-used technique. Many factors impact dummy fill insertion results, including fill shapes, sizes, and the spacing between both fill shapes and the drawn layout patterns. The goal of the CMP engineer is to optimize design planarity, but the variety of fill options means just verifying the design rules for fill is a challenging task. This data collection currently requires a long development cycle, consuming a great deal of time and resources. In this paper, we show how CMP modeling can help resolve these issues by applying CMP modeling and simulations to drive Calibre YieldEnhancer SmartFill parameters that have been optimized for dummy fill. Additional capabilities in the SmartFill functionality automate CMP hotspot fixing steps. Using CMP simulations, engineers can get feedback about post-CMP planarity for given fill options in a much shorter time. Not only does this move dummy fill optimization experiments from a real lab into a virtual lab of CMP modeling and simulation, but it also provides more time for these experiments, providing improved results.

Coccidiosis is a self-limiting disease that is universally present in poultry operations, causing extensive damage to the intestinal lining of the bird. Global economic losses from coccidiosis are estimated to be $3 billion per year. In-feed anticoccidial use has been the predominant form of coccidiosis control. However, due to widespread emergence of antimicrobial resistance, concerns have been raised regarding the safety of anticoccidials and the potential impact on human, animal, and environmental health. To investigate the benefits, risks, and alternatives to anticoccidial use, a comprehensive review of recent literature was conducted. Several live vaccines are available, which, when used in combination with anticoccidials, have been shown to help restore sensitivity of infective parasites. However, their use has been limited because of increased cost; increased susceptibility to bacterial enteritis; challenges with consistent application; and slow development of immunity. Various alternative feed products are available, but do not have a direct anticoccidial effect, and few studies have demonstrated consistent field efficacy of these products. Consumer and environmental safety of anticoccidials is monitored and assessed by governing bodies. Furthermore, there is a lack of current evidence to indicate that bacterial resistance poses a public health concern. The findings from this review indicate that in the absence of alternatives, poultry production is optimized by using anticoccidials, benefiting all three pillars of sustainability, including social (bird health, welfare, and food safety), economic (production efficiency), and environmental aspects.

Infection with verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) became nationally reportable in 1990. Between 1990 and 1994, the national incidence of reported infections ranged from 3 to 5.3 per 100,000 inhabitants. Most cases are sporadic and are caused by E. coli O157:H7. Recent investigations have identified that, in addition to exposure to undercooked ground beef, contact with cattle, consumption of well water, and exposure to rural environments are important risk factors for VTEC infection. Also, results of case-control studies and detection of asymptomatic fecal carriage of E. coli O157:H7 and other VTEC in farm family members and abattoir workers have led to an increasing emphasis on person-to-person spread in the epidemiology of VTEC infection. Controlling E. coli O157:H7 and other VTEC at the farm level may therefore have a broader impact than simply reducing the risk of foodborne VTEC infection. Longitudinal studies on dairy farms have demonstrated that E. coli O157:H7 carriage by cattle at the farm and animal level is often transient, and that cattle, rather than the farm environment, are the major reservoir for this organism on dairy farms. Small herds that are controlled by traditional management practices have the highest risk for VTEC infection. Further studies are likely to result in development of effective strategies to control VTEC at the farm level.

Prospective Cohort OBJECTIVE.: The aim of this study was to evaluate which demographic, clinical, or radiographic factors are associated with selection for surgical intervention in patients with mild cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM).Surgery has not been shown superior to best conservative management in mild CSM comparative studies; trials of conservative management represent an acceptable alternative to surgical decompression. It is unknown what patients benefit from surgery.This is a prospective study of patients with mild CSM, defined as modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association Score (mJOA) ≥15. Patients were recruited from seven sites contributing to the Canadian Spine Outcomes Research Network. Demographic, clinical, radiographic and health related quality of life data were collected on all patients at baseline. Multivariate logistic regression modeling was used to identify factors associated with surgical intervention.There were 122 patients enrolled, 105 (86.0%) were treated surgically, and 17 (14.0%) were treated nonoperatively. Overall mean age was 54.8 years (SD 12.6) with 80 (65.5%) males. Bivariate analysis revealed no statistically significant differences between surgical and nonoperative groups with respect to age, sex, BMI, smoking status, number of comorbidities and duration of symptoms; mJOA scores were significantly higher in the nonoperative group (16.8 [SD 0.99] vs. 15.9 [SD 0.89], P 0.001). There was a statistically significant difference in Neck Disability Index, SF12 Physical Component, SF12 Mental Component Score, EQ5D, and PHQ-9 scores between groups; those treated surgically had worse baseline questionnaire scores (P 0.05). There was no difference in radiographic parameters between groups. Multivariable analysis revealed that lower quality of life scores on EQ5D were associated with selection for surgical management (P 0.018).Patients treated surgically for mild cervical myelopathy did not differ from those treated nonoperatively with respect to baseline demographic or radiographic parameters. Patients with worse EQ5D scores had higher odds of surgical intervention.3.

In both extreme and everyday situations, humans need to find nearby objects that cannot be located visually. In such situations, auditory display technology could be used to display information supporting object targeting. Unfortunately, spatial audio inadequately conveys sound source elevation, which is crucial for locating objects in 3D space. To address this, three auditory display concepts were developed and evaluated in the context of finding objects within a virtual room, in either low or no visibility conditions: (1) a one-time height-denoting “area cue,” (2) ongoing “proximity feedback,” or (3) both. All three led to improvements in performance and subjective workload compared to no sound. Displays (2) and (3) led to the largest improvements. This pattern was smaller, but still present, when visibility was low, compared to no visibility. These results indicate that persons who need to locate nearby objects in limited visibility conditions could benefit from the types of auditory displays considered here.

SUMMARY Theflock-leveleconomicimpactassociatedwithnecroticenteritis(NE)inbroilerproduction was estimated in flocks that were administered 55 ppm bacitracin compared to flocks that were not given prophylactic medication. Current production parameters and economic values available for the United States were used in a cost-benefit evaluation to determine the return on investment (ROI) in prophylactic use of BMD. Estimates were expressed in US dollars from the perspective of poultry producers. Costs to the producer, including feed and medication, were compared with benefits accrued from reduced mortality rates in treated flocks and improved weight gain. A sensitivity analysis evaluated the ROI from BMD use under varying mortality rates (one to 20%) and target weights (4.63 to 7.94 lb). The average flock-level ROI in BMD was $4.51, and sensitivity analyses demonstrated that the ROI ranged from $2.28 to 7.24 depending on NE morbidity rate and target weight. The average return in BMD per lb produced was c /1.5, and sensitivity analyses demonstrated that return ranged from c /0.8 to 2.1 depending on NE morbidity rate and target weight. These analyses demonstrated that a positive ROI can be realized in flocks at risk for NE through the prophylactic use of BMD in broiler production.