Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Si Microwire Array Photoanodes for Artificial Photosynthetic Devices

To realize the large-scale deployment of solar power, new materials and strategies must be developed for the fabrication of economical and sustainable artificial photosynthetic devices. These systems have multiple constraints, which are typically met by employing expensive, multi-junction solar cells coupled to noble metal catalysts. However, to supply and store power on a global, terawatt scale, these technologies must shift towards utilizing abundant elements and low-cost deposition techniques, while maintaining device efficiency. Driven by these challenges, this thesis presents achievements in Si microwire arrays to realize cost competitive and sustainable artificial photosynthetic devices. The device performance of Si microwire arrays, a thin-film photovoltaic technology, was investigated using photoelectrochemical methods. Both n-type and lightly doped Si microwire arrays demonstrated improved performance as photoanodes, and may be used in an artificial photosynthetic device to perform oxidative reactions. In addition, lightly doped Si microwire arrays operating under high-level injection conditions achieved performance comparable to that of optimally doped p-type Si microwire array photocathodes, with Voc values exceeding 450 mV and carrier collection efficiencies of ~ 0.85. A model of these devices operating under high-level injection conditions was developed, using finite-element device physics simulations. These simulations predicted that the carrier collection efficiencies of the devices should deviate from unity, even for minority-carrier diffusion lengths greater than the radius. Such behavior was confirmed by experimental internal quantum yield measurements, reaffirming that these devices are limited by axial transport of carriers along the length of the wire. However, optimized arrays have the potential to generate voltages that exceed those generated by arrays operating under low-level injection conditions. Such studies offer increased understanding of the performance of structured, concentrator photovoltaics and considerations for structuring lightly doped materials on the nano- and microscale.
Design and control of a teleoperated palpation device for minimally invasive thoracic surgery

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) consists in operating through small incisions in which a camera and adapted instruments are inserted. It allows to perform many interventions with reduced trauma for the patient. One of these is the ablation of peripheral pulmonary nodules.Nevertheless, the means for detecting nodules during MIS are limited. In fact, because of the lack of direct contact, the surgeon cannot palpate the lung to find invisible lesions, as he would do in classical open surgery. As a result, only clearly visible nodules can be treated by MIS presently.This work aims at designing, building and controlling a teleoperated palpation instrument, in order to extend the possibilities of MIS in the thoracic field. Such an instrument is made of a master device, manipulated by an operator, and a slave device which is in contact with the patient and reproduces the task imposed by the master. Adequate control laws between these two parts allow to restore the operator's haptic sensation. The goal is not to build a marketable prototype, but to establish a proof of concept.The palpation device has been designed in collaboration with thoracic surgeons on the basis of the study of the medical gesture. The specifications have been deduced through experiments with experiencied surgeons from the Erasmus Hospital and the Charleroi Civil Hospital.A pantograph has been built to be used as the master of the palpation tool. The slave is made of a 2 degrees of freedom (dof) clamp, which can be actuated in compression and shear. The compression corresponds to vertical moves of the pantograph, and the shear to horizontal ones. Force sensors have been designed within this project to measure the efforts along these directions, both at the master and the slave side, in order to implement advanced force-feedback control laws and for validation purposes.Teleoperation control laws providing a suitable kinesthetic force feedback for lung palpation have been designed and validated through simulations. These simulations have been realized using a realistic model of lung, validated by experienced surgeons. Among the implemented control schemes, the 3-Channel scheme, including a local force control loop at the master side, is the most efficient for lung palpation. Moreover, the increased efficiency of a 2 dof device with respect to a 1 dof tool has been confirmed. Indeed, a characteristic force profile due to the motion in 2 directions appeared in the compression force tracking, making the lesion easier to locate.
Investigating first planning in construction

There is a divergence of research opinion as to the efficacy of detailed front end construction planning (first planning) and its use for strategic or tactical purposes. What really happens in planning construction projects is considered by focusing on comparing the responses of key stakeholders in the construction planning process. Contrasting perspectives of office‐ and site‐based staff upon the accuracy of project timescales are identified together with their dissimilar methods of programme development and preferred first planning detail level. Consistently divergent views are expressed by office‐based preconstruction planners and site‐based construction project managers, including a reluctance to engage others during first planning held by the former and a limited belief in completion of the project to another's timescale (without their personal input) expressed by the latter. Significant role‐based discrepancies in their approach to first planning are revealed and the potential for further research into cultural and behavioural motivators is highlighted.
Effects of Integrated Use of Lime and Nitrogen Fertilizer on Yield and Yield Components of Maize (Zea mays l.) at Nitisols of Burie Area, Northwestern Ethiopia

Soil acidity coupled with soil nutrient depletion negatively affect the performance and yield of maize in the Amhara National Regional State Ethiopia. This study was carried out at Burie district in one cropping season to determine the effect of integrated use of lime and urea fertilizer rate on yield and yield components of Maize. The treatments include lime (0 and 0.5 t ha-1) and nitrogen (0, 100, 200, 300, and 400 kg ha-1). The maize variety BH-661 was used as a test crop. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with ten treatments replicated three times. Yield and yield components of maize were collected and analyzed. The analysis of variance result revealed that, interaction effect of lime and N fertilizer reduced the tassling period (88 days in the application of 0.5 t ha-1 lime with 100 kg ha-1 N to 85 days in the application of 0.5 t ha-1 lime with 400 kg ha-1 N) and silking period from 91 days to 88 days. Grain yield was highly and positively correlated with AGDB (r=0.996) and HI (r=0.987). But GY was highly and negatively correlated with DT (r=0.957) and DS (r=-0.925). Grain yield of maize was positively and significantly correlated with yield components. The maximum AUE (3.76%) was recorded from T10 than T7 of (3.16%). Based on economic analysis the optimum rate of lime and N fertilizer was obtained 0.5 t ha-1 lime and 300 kg ha-1 nitrogen fertilizer. So, combined application of 0.5 t ha-1 lime and 300 kg ha-1 Nitrogen is economically reasonable and recommended to the farmers.
MOEMS and Miniaturized Systems VIII

In today’s high-volume semiconductor world, one could easily take reliability for granted. As the MOEMS/MEMS industry continues to establish itself as a viable alternative to conventional manufacturing in the macro world, reliability can be of high concern. Currently, there are several emerging market opportunities in which MOEMS/MEMS is gaining a foothold. Markets such as mobile media, consumer electronics, biomedical devices, and homeland security are all showing great interest in microfabricated products. At the same time, these markets are among the most demanding when it comes to reliability assurance. To be successful, each company developing a MOEMS/MEMS device must consider reliability on an equal footing with cost, performance and manufacturability. What can this maturing industry learn from the successful development of DLP technology, air bag accelerometers and inkjet printheads? This paper discusses some basic reliability principles which any MOEMS/MEMS device development must use. Examples from the commercially successful and highly reliable Digital Micromirror Device complement the discussion.
Accurate thermal sensing with modern CMOS integrated circuits : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

Content removed due to copyright Conference Proceedings I R. P. Fisk and S. M. Hasan, “Analysis of Internally-Generated Noise in Bandgap References,” in Proc. Electronics New Zealand Conf. , Christchurch, New Zealand, Nov. 2006, pp. 18-23. Conference Proceedings II R. P. Fisk and S. M. Hasan, “Incremental Delta-Sigma Modulators for Temperature Sensing Applications,” in Proc. Int. Conf. Mechatronics and Machine Vision in Practice, Auckland, New Zealand, Dec. 2008, pp. 63-67. Conference Proceedings III R. P. Fisk and S. M. Hasan, “Low-Cost Temperature Sensor on a Modern Submicron CMOS Process,” in Proc. Electronics New Zealand Conf. , Otago, New Zealand, 2009, pp. 43-48.
Photobioreactors for Mass Production of Microalgae

Abstract Microalgae have been proposed as valuable microorganisms for several applications, from production of pharmaceuticals to wastewater treatment. Whatever the final application, the core of the process is the photobioreactor in which microalgae are produced. To design adequate photobioreactors, it is mandatory to understand the major phenomena limiting the performance of microalgae cells such as light availability, nutrients supply including CO2, environmental conditions including temperature and solar radiation, and mixing. To fulfill the requirements of microalgae cells, different technologies has been proposed such as raceway and thin-layer open reactors, in addition to tubular and flat-plate closed reactors. These technologies are still being upgraded and improved to maximize the biomass production capacity and to reduce the production cost. Additionally, the control and modeling of these reactors is a hot topic for the industrial development of microalgae-based processes. This chapter summarizes the current state of the art on photobioreactor design and operation, discussing the major challenges to be solved to achieve a massive expansion of microalgae-based technologies.
Complete Genome Sequence of Sphingobacterium sp. Strain CZ-2T Isolated from Tobacco Leaves Infected with Wildfire Disease

Background Sphingobacterium is a class of Gram-negative, non-fermentative bacilii, and rarely involved in human infections. It is characterized by a large number of cellular membrane sphingophospolipids. Due to its wide ecological distribution and oil degradation ability, environmental microbiologists have paid much attention to it. Results A novel gram-negative bacterium, designated CZ-2 T , was isolated from a sample of tobacco leaves infected with wildfire disease in Guiyang County, Chenzhou City, Hunan Province, China, and its phylogenetic position was investigated by GC content determination, PCR amplification, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Growth occurred on TGY medium at 30 °C and pH 7.0. The GC content of the DNA of strain CZ-2 T is 40.68 mol%. Genome relatedness, rDNA phylogeny and chemotaxonomic characteristics all indicate that strain CZ-2 T represents a novel species of the genus Sphingobacterium . We propose the name Sphingobacterium. tobaci sp. nov., with CZ-2 T as the type strain. Third-generation sequencing (TGS) and next-generation sequencing (NGS) were used to derive a finished genome sequence for strain CZ-2 T , consisting of a circular chromosome 3,925,977 bp in size. The genome of strain CZ-2 T features 3,462 protein-encoding and 50 tRNA-encoding genes. Unigenes were annotated by matching against Clusters of Orthologous Groups of proteins (COG; 2,021 genes), Gene Ontology (GO; 1,952 genes) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases (1,380 genes). Comparison of the predicted proteome of CZ-2 T with those of other Sphingobacterium identified 677 species-specific proteins that may contribute to the adaptation of CZ-2 T to its native environment. Conclusions As the first report of a Sphingobacterium genome sequenced by NGS and TGS, our work will serve as a useful reference for subsequent sequencing and mapping efforts for additional strains and species within this genus.
The design and initial evaluation of visual cues in carpets to assist walking

Prior research has shown that carpets assist walking thereby reducing the incidence and injury severity of falls, and that visual cues can assist walking. However, little attention has been given to the ability of visual cues in carpets to assist walking. Design guidelines were developed for the colouring and patterning of carpet to provide visual cues to assist walking. The guidelines took into account age-related visual impairments, and were applied in the preparation of a carpet. The designed carpet was compared with two carpets of standard designs in an impaired walking trial. The trial subjects reported a significant preference for walking on the designed carpet, suggesting that appropriate design of carpets can increase their contribution to the well-being of older people and others with impaired walking.
Operation Borderstar Field Evaluation of the Ration, Lightweight, 30-Day

Abstract : During the period 24 March to 1 April 1985, a field test of the prototype Ration, Lightweight, 30-Day (RLW-30) was conducted at Ft. Bliss, Texas. The experiment was designed to compare the RLW-30 with the Food Packet Assault (FPA) under field conditions. Patrol, Command & Control, and Radio troops of the 9th Infantry Division served as subjects. Subjects consuming the RLW-30 or FPA were required to keep a Daily Ration Log-Book, in which they recorded the acceptability of the ration, the amount of ration consumed, amount of water consumed, and the frequency of urinations and defecations per day. Posttest questionnaires required subjects to rate the ration on acceptability, portion size, variety, rehydration, and to recommend changes. In addition, personal interviews were conducted. Overall, the RLW-30 performed well in this first operational field test. Acceptability ratings for the RLW-30 entrees were either significantly higher than or not significantly different from those of the FPA. The most desired ration changes to be made included: more bars to satisfy hunger, more variety of beverage bars, and less water required to rehydrate.
An integrated CMOS detection system for optical short-pulse

We present design of a front-end readout system consisting of charge sensitive amplifier (CSA) and pulse shaper for detection of stochastic and ultra-small semiconductor scintillator signal. The semiconductor scintillator is double sided silicon detector (DSSD) or avalanche photo detector (APD) for high resolution and peak signal reliability of γ-ray or X-ray spectroscopy. Such system commonly uses low noise multichannel CSA. Each CSA in multichannel includes continuous reset system based on tens of MΩ and charge-integrating capacitor in feedback loop. The high value feedback resistor requires large area and huge power consumption for integrated circuits. In this paper, we analyze these problems and propose a CMOS short pulse detection system with a novel CSA. The novel CSA is composed of continuous reset system with combination of diode connected PMOS and 100 fF. This structure has linearity with increased input charge quantity from tens of femto-coulomb to pico-coulomb. Also, the front-end readout system includes both slow and fast shapers for detecting CSA output and preventing pile-up distortion. Shaping times of fast and slow shapers are 150 ns and 1.4 μs, respectively. Simulation results of the CMOS detection system for optical short-pulse implemented in 0.18 μm CMOS technology are presented.
E-government transformation and organisational learning: the case of Supreme Court Registry Office in Korea

This thesis critically reviews and evaluates theories of organisational learning and IT-related organisational change with particular reference to the task of explaining users’ acceptance (or rejection) of new technology. It seeks to develop a conceptual model of organisational learning and apply it to the particular case of recent IT-related (e-government) organisational change in Korea’s Supreme Court Registry Office (SCRO). Hitherto, there has been no systematic attempt to analyse the way in which management theories contribute to the electronic government (e-government) transformation effort within the public sector. This thesis seeks to fill this gap by synthesising perspectives drawn from the study of public sector organisation, IT, organisational transformation, and organisational learning. The analysis of the case study organisation (based on a qualitative research methodology) identifies various organisational learning phenomena occurring during the change project within the SCRO. In particular, it elaborates the interplay between the process of learning and change in the level of users’ acceptance (or rejection) of the new technology (the change over time is presented graphically in the form of a ‘support curve’). The research follows the organisational-transformation project since 1994 in terms of the process innovation diffusion model (Cooper and Zmud), which identifies the following key stages: initiation, adoption, adaptation, acceptance, routinisation and infusion (Cooper and Zmud). For each of these stages, processes of organisational learning are linked to the level of users’ acceptance. This aspect of the analysis involves considering the nature and scope of collective, mutual, situated, single-loop and double- loop learning; learning by doing; team learning; and leadership. These various approaches to organisational learning, which emerge from the analysis of the existing organisational-learning literature, are applied to the case analysis to bring out major developments in the SCRO’s organisational transformation. The findings derived from this study provide a framework that can be further applied and tested in future research, and that will also allow public sector management to continuously anticipate the problems involved in cultivating and sustaining users’ acceptance of new technology and nurturing appropriate organisational learning.
0.5 V ultra-low power wideband LNA with forward body bias technique

An ultra-low power wideband CMOS low noise amplifier (LNA) fabricated in TSMC 0.18 mum RF CMOS process for sub 1 GHz applications is presented. The capacitive cross-coupled LNA with forward-body-bias (FBB) technique is adopted to achieve wideband input impedance matching and low power, low noise factor. The LNA is tested in the frequency range of 400-900 MHz, and exhibits a voltage gain of 18.5-20.7 dB, and a noise figure of 2.95 dB, drawing only 0.385 mW from 0.5 V power supply.
Musculoskeletal ultrasound image denoising using Daubechies wavelets

Among various existing medical imaging modalities Ultrasound is providing promising future because of its ease availability and use of non-ionizing radiations. In this paper we have attempted to denoise ultrasound image using daubechies wavelet and analyze the results with peak signal to noise ratio and coefficient of correlation as performance measurement index. The different daubechies from 1 to 6 is used on four different ultrasound bone fracture images with three different levels from 1 to 3. The images for visual inspection and PSNR, Coefficient of correlation values are graphically shown for quantitaive analysis of resultant images.
Design and performance of profiled dielectric-loaded horns

Profiled dielectric loaded horns are investigated with the aim of obtaining low peak crosspolar level and high aperture efficiency. A number of nonlinear profiles are considered. The paper also looks into the influence of profiling on the bandwidth of the horn and the effect of nonuniformities in the dielectric material on horn performance.
1999 Turbomachinery Committee Best Paper Award: Development of Advanced Compressor Airfoils for Heavy-Duty Gas Turbines— Part I: Design and Optimization

A new family of subsonic compressor airfoils, which are characterized by low losses and wide operating ranges, has been designed for use in heavy-duty gas turbines. In particular the influence of the higher airfoil Reynolds numbers compared to aeroengine compressors and the impact of these differences on the location of transition are taken into account. The design process itself is carried out by the combination of a geometric code for the airfoil description, with a blade-to-blade solver and a numerical optimization algorithm. The optimization process includes the design-point losses for a specified Q3D flow problem and the off-design performance for the entire operating range. The family covers a wide range of inlet flow angle, Mach number, flow turning, blade thickness, solidity and AVDR in order to consider the entire range of flow conditions that occur in practical compressor design. The superior performance of the new airfoil family is demonstrated by a comparison with conventional controlled diffusion airfoils (CDA). The advantage in performance has been confirmed by detailed experimental investigations, which will be presented in Part II of the paper. This leads to the conclusion that CDA airfoils that have been primarily developed for aeroengine applications are not the optimum solution, if directly transferred to heavy-duty gas turbines. A significant improvement in compressor efficiency is possible, if the new profiles are used instead of conventional airfoils.
Tailoring systems engineering processes for integration of research and prototyping activities

Many engineering processes exist in text books and industry or international standards. In practice, these processes are rarely recognised consistently and literally; typically, the engineering process is customised, if not completely reworked, based on the circumstances and requirements of individual projects. One feature commonly lacking from many engineering processes is the formal capacity to develop prototypes in the early stages of a project. This task is useful for the purposes of generating customer feedback or for identifying examining or mitigating risks that may be associated with a product, especially where the product concept is novel or not fully understood. This paper examines the engineering process employed on a project with which the authors were involved and provides sufficient formal scope for research and prototyping activities in the engineering and development process.
Study of radiated emissions from PCB with narrow ground plane

Printed circuit boards (PCB) with narrow ground plane microstrip structure (PCBNGP) find many applications in electronic equipment. In this paper, various PCBNGP with different parameters were fabricated and their radiation was measured. It was found that narrow ground plane increases radiation and common-mode current is the main source of radiation. From the method of moments (MoM), it was found that the PCB structure asymmetry is the main source of the common-mode current. By treating the reference point (at infinity) as a conductor, multiconductor transmission line (MTL) model was developed to simulate radiation from PCBNGP and several factors affecting the radiation were extracted.