Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving the Signal Integrity, Impedance Control and Attenuation of the Thin Transmission Lines Printed on Flexible Substrates

The uniform transmission line printed on flexible substrates distorts high speed and high frequency signals due to its thin thickness and thus high parasitic resistance. Though the coplanar waveguide can alleviate this issue to certain extent but the cost is very high because of the much wider line widths used. In this paper we propose to use tapered transmission lines to improve the signal integrity for high speed digital signals, to keep designated impedance and to decrease signal attenuation for high frequency RF signals. Printed tapered transmission lines are divided into two types: linearly tapered and segment-wise tapered. The DTR impedances, time domain signal propagations and S-parameters were simulated for uniform transmission line, proposed tapered transmission lines and coplanar waveguide. The results show that printed tapered thin microstrip transmission lines are suitable to be interconnects for heterogeneous integration of silicon chips and printed electronic devices on flexible substrates.
Low-cost foil/paper based touch mode pressure sensing element as artificial skin module for prosthetic hand

Capacitive pressure sensors have several advantages in areas such as robotics, automation, aerospace, biomedical and consumer electronics. We present mathematical modelling, finite element analysis (FEA), fabrication and experimental characterization of ultra-low cost and paper-based, touch-mode, flexible capacitive pressure sensor element using Do-It-Yourself (DIY) technology. The pressure sensing element is utilized to design large-area electronics skin for low-cost prosthetic hands. The presented sensor is characterized in normal, transition, touch and saturation modes. The sensor has higher sensitivity and linearity in touch mode operation from 10 to 40 kPa of applied pressure compared to the normal (0 to 8 kPa), transition (8 to 10 kPa) and saturation mode (after 40 kPa) with response time of 15.85 ms. Advantages of the presented sensor are higher sensitivity, linear response, less diaphragm area, less von Mises stress at the clamped edges region, low temperature drift, robust structure and less separation gap for large pressure measurement compared to normal mode capacitive pressure sensors. The linear range of pressure change is utilized for controlling the position of a servo motor for precise movement in robotic arm using wireless communication, which can be utilized for designing skin-like structure for low-cost prosthetic hands.
An EMI Immune PAM4 Transmitter in 130 nm BiCMOS Technology

This paper presents the design of a PAM4 (pulse amplitude modulation) transmitter system, which demonstrates higher EMI (electromagnetic interference) immunity over traditional designs. The traditional PAM4 transmitter is investigated for the EMI effects. The proposed PAM4 transmitter uses a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) to isolate the effect of EMI on the PAM4 transmitter. TIA uses common mode feedback (CMFB), which minimises the variation caused in common mode voltage on the transmission line due to EMI injection. Simulation results show that the proposed PAM4 transmitter structure is able to maintain a minimum eye opening of 80 mV as per the standard IEEE802.3bs at a data rate of 12.5 Gbps. The proposed transmitter efficiently transmits the data in the presence of EMI with power of 5 mW and frequency ranging from 1 MHz to 1 GHz, whereas the traditional PAM4 transmitter exhibits complete loss of data in presence of EMI. This EMI immune PAM4 transmitter is designed in STMicroelectronics 130 nm BiCMOS technology.
Improvement in Electrical Properties of A1/La2O3/ZrO2/ Gate Stack Deposited on LaON Passivated GaAs Substrate

The PEALD deposited La2O3/ZrO2 bilayer high-k on with and without LaON passivated GaAs substrates were investigated. The structural and electrical properties of bilayered MOS capacitors were studied in detailed. The dielectric constant (k) of $=\mathbf{20.75}$, effective oxide charge $(\mathbf{Q}_{\mathbf{eff}})$ of $\mathbf{1.094}\times \mathbf{10}^{\mathbf{12}}\mathbf{cm}^{-\mathbf{2}}$, interface trapped density $(\mathbf{D}_{\mathbf{it}})\mathbf{1.655}\times \mathbf{10}^{\mathbf{12}}\mathbf{eV}^{-\mathbf{1}}\mathbf{cm}^{-\mathbf{2}}$ and leakage current density $(\mathbf{J}=\mathbf{8.93}\times \mathbf{10}^{-\mathbf{5}}\ \mathbf{at\ \ 1V})$ were obtained for the LaON passivated GaAs MOS capacitor. The lowest capacitance equivalent thickness (CET) of 0.649 nm extracted from C-V curve for LaON passivated GaAs sample. The presence of LaON passivation layer in MOS device effectively blocks the formation of As-oxides and Ga-oxides at interface, which significantly improves the interfacial and electrical properties of the device and can be the effective passivation for the futuristic high mobility substrate devices
High Speed MLSD Equalization for Serial Link

In this paper, the digital part of maximum likelihood sequence detection (MLSD) equalization is presented for serial links. In order to shorten the critical path delay of independent forward sliding block with the ACS recursive structure, the metamorphosis partial full adder (MPFA) is used to construct the ACS with parallel execution of “add” and “compare”. 3 ways parallel independent forward sliding block with ACS recursive structure is synthesized by TSMC 0.18$\mu$m CMOS technology. The results show that the maximum throughput is 1.27 Gb/s under a clock frequency of 0.211 GHz, and the consumption of logic units is 729K
System-Level Performance Analysis of DOA Estimation in Cellular Networks using Stochastic Geometry

In this paper, we analyze the error in the direction of arrival (DOA) estimation using the multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm for a cellular network with the random deployment of BSs. The error in DOA estimation is due to multiple factors such as the channel noise, the accuracy of the covariance matrix, the coherency of incident signals and low signal to noise ratio (SINR). We consider a downlink cellular network scenario where base stations (BSs) locations are deployed according to a homogeneous Poisson point process (PPP). We consider a typical user located at the origin. We assume that the user is equipped with a uniform linear array (ULA) of $L$ isotropic antenna elements. We develop a framework to analyze the system level performance of the DOA estimation for the considered model. We also derive simple upper and lower bounds for the mean squared error (MSE) in DOA estimation and termed them as the pessimistic and the optimistic bounds, respectively. We also perform numerical simulations to validate our results.
Improvement of Disaster Situation Visualization System Using Truck-mounted Camera

To minimize damage during disasters, the rapid collection and delivery of accurate information are essential. Then, we proposed an automatic disaster situation visualization system and implemented a prototype of it in the previous study. The system collects images taken by the car-mounted camera of a truck running in areas where a disaster occurs and displays them on a web-based map. By using the system, we can grasp the situation in the target area quickly and comprehensively. In this study, we improve the system from two perspectives. The first one is to add a function to post images to Twitter, and the second one is the improvement of the image mapping function.
Identification and functional characterization of secreted effector proteins of the hemibiotrophic fungus Colletotrichum higginsianum

The hemibiotrophic ascomycete fungus Colletotrichum higginsianum causes anthracnose on cruciferous crops and the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Successful infection of wild-type plants requires sequential development of specialized infection structures, including melanized appressoria for initial penetration, and bulbous biotrophic hyphae formed inside living epidermal cells. It was hypothesized that appressoria and biotrophic hyphae secrete effector proteins that permit the fungus to evade or disarm host defence responses and to reprogram host cells. This study aimed to define the repertoire of fungal effectors expressed during plant infection and to characterise their biological activity. Discovery of Colletotrichum higginsianum Effector Candidates (ChECs) was accomplished by computational mining collections of infection stage-specific expressed sequence tags (ESTs) for genes encoding solubly secreted proteins with either no homology to known proteins or resembling presumed effectors from other pathogens. Fungal cell types and infection stages sampled for cDNA generation and pyrosequencing included developing and mature in vitro appressoria, early invasive growth in planta, biotrophy and late necrotrophy. After assembling contiguous sequences, analysis of their EST composition allowed the identification of putative plant-induced genes and the definition of a set of 69 ChEC genes that are preferentially expressed at biotrophy-relevant stages. In relation to other infection stages, the early host invasion transcriptome was enriched for genes encoding higginsianum-specific proteins and plant-induced secreted proteins, including ChECs. This suggests that the initial establishment of biotrophy requires the highest proportion of stage-specific effectors and diversified genes. One further ChEC was identified using a complementary proteomic analysis of secreted proteins produced by conidial germlings developing in vitro. Expression analysis showed that transcription of most of the ChECs chosen for further study were highly stage-specific, with ChEC3, ChEC3a, ChEC4 and ChEC6 all being plant-induced. Targeted gene replacement showed that neither ChEC1 nor ChEC2 contribute measurably to fungal virulence. Upon transient expression in tobacco, ChEC3, ChEC3a or ChEC5 all suppressed plant cell death evoked by a C. higginsianum homologue of Necrosis and Ethylene-inducing Peptide1-like proteins, but not by the Phytophthora infestans elicitin INF1, suggesting that there is functional redundancy between C. higginsianum effectors. ChEC4 was found to contain a functional nuclear localization signal and signal peptide, and was shown to be secreted by the fungus during plant infection using fluorescent protein-tagging. This raises the possibility that ChEC4 is translocated into the host nucleus for transcriptional re-programming.
The effects of adding aqueous extract and dried aerial part powder of Tribulus terrestris on productive performance and blood parameters of laying hens

SUMMARY Tribulus terrestris is (TT) is a source for industrial production of medicinal preparations based on its saponin fraction. This plant is extremely rich in substances having potential biological activity, such as saponins, flavonids, alkaloids, glycosides, phytosteroids, and other constituents such as tannins, which influence gastrointestinal microflora and exert astringent effects due to their antibacterial properties. The steroidal saponins, such as dioscin, diosgenin, and protodioscin, are behind the plant's well-known beneficial effects on increasing sex hormones, leading to an increase in reproductive performances. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of adding aqueous extract and dried aerial part powder of TT on performance and blood parameters of hens during the laying period (28 to 40 wk of age). A total of 210 Hy-Line W-36 were randomly assigned to 5 treatments, with 6 replicates of 7 hens each. The experiment was a completely randomized design with 5 levels of TT, including zero (T1), 5 mg (A5), or 10 mg/kg BW (A10) aqueous extract added to drinking water and 5 mg (F5) or 10 mg (F10) aerial part powder per kilogram BW added to the feed of laying hens. The results indicated that daily feed intake decreased (P 0.05) on egg and yolk index or Haugh unit. Shell thickness and weight were increased (P
BeLDPC: Bit Errors Aware Adaptive Rate LDPC Codes for 3D TLC NAND Flash Memory

Three-dimensional (3D) NAND flash memory has high capacity and cell storage density by using the multi-bit technology and vertical stack architecture, but degrading data reliability due to high raw bit error rates (RBER) caused by program/erase (P/E) cycles and retention periods. Low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes become more popular error-correcting technologies to improve data reliability due to strong error correction capability, but introducing more decoding iterations at higher RBER. To reduce decoding iterations, this paper proposes BeLDPC: bit errors aware adaptive rate LDPC codes for 3D triple-level cell (TLC) NAND flash memory. Firstly, bit error characteristics in 3D charge trap TLC NAND flash memory are studied on a real FPGA testing platform, including asymmetric bit flipping and temporal locality of bit errors. Then, based on these characteristics, a high-efficiency LDPC code is designed. Experimental results show BeLDPC can reduce decoding iterations under different P/E cycles and retention periods.
A Model for Hole Trapping-Detrapping Kinetics During NBTI in p-Channel FETs: (Invited paper)

The contribution of hole trapping and detrapping $(\Delta\mathbf{V}_{\mathbf{HT}})$ to overall threshold voltage shift $(\Delta \mathbf{V}_{\mathbf{T}})$ during and after Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI) stress is obtained using an Activated Barrier Double Well Thermionic (ABDWT) model. ABDWT, along with generated interface $(\Delta \mathbf{V}_{\mathbf{IT}})$ and bulk $(\Delta \mathbf{V}_{\mathbf{OT}})$ trap kinetics computed by the previously published BTI Analysis Tool (BAT), can explain $\Delta \mathbf{V}_{\mathbf{T}}$ time kinetics during and after DC and AC stress and mixed DC-AC stress under varying experimental conditions. The model is validated using measured data from MOSFETs with High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) based gate insulator processes.
Hybrid soft-rigid foot with dry adhesive material designed for a gecko-inspired climbing robot

Geckos are the largest animals capable of unassisted vertical climbing. They can effectively exploit the adhesive area (approximately 0.16 cm2) of each foot to support relatively heavy weight (approximately 0.06 kg) with at least two feet during locomotion on different slopes and walls. Over the last few decades, researchers have developed gecko-inspired dry adhesive materials based on the van der Waals force and used them as the feet for climbing robots. However, to date, these robots have not fully exploited the performance of the material. Therefore, the dry adhesive material areas on each foot need to be large (3 - 16 cm2) to support their light weight (up to approximately 0.17 - 0.45 kg) with at least two feet during locomotion. To improve the utilization of the adhesive material for heavier payloads, we propose a hybrid soft-rigid foot with a sandwich structure. This compact foot consists of three main parts or layers (rigid, soft, and dry adhesive material parts). The rigid part is used to generate sufficient pressure to achieve an omni-directional adhesive force. The soft part allows the foot to gain the maximum advantage from the adhesive material by maximizing adhesive area. The material part essentially provides strong adhesion. Aside from the foot design, we also propose gecko-inspired attaching and detaching strategies for the foot to achieve the largest adhesive force possible while requiring a low peeling force. Experimental results demonstrate that a foot with an adhesive area of approximately 12.56 cm2 and proper softness can support a weight of approximately 1.6 kg (or approximately 3.2 kg with at least two feet). In conclusion, this study provides a solution to enhance payload capacity and a guideline for further foot design with hybrid soft-rigid layers of climbing robots.
EVALUATION OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MINIMAL RESIDUAL DISEASE (MRD) AND RELAPSE IN CHILDHOOD ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA (ALL) USING QUANTITATIVE FLUORESCENT PCR

Acute leukemia is the most common malignancy in children accounting for approximately one-third of all childhood cancers. Modern treatment protocols lead to complete remission (CR) in a considerable proportion of patients with lymphoproliferative disorders. However, many of these patients ultimately relapse, showing that in spite of clinical CR still significant amounts of residual malignant cells persist. Various protocols like cytogenetic, molecular and immunological techniques that are more sensitive than morphology are increasingly used to assess and quantify minimal residual disease (MRD). These techniques produce different levels of sensitivity allowing detection of MRD between 10 −2 -10 −6 . In this study we have assessed the feasibility of fluorescent PCR in MRD detection and quantification using immunoglobuline heavy chain (IgH) gene rearrangement. Bone marrow samples obtained from 40 patients with precursor-B cell ALL after induction, consolidation, reconsolidation and intensification therapy. Analysis of clonally rearranged IgH gene carried out by CDR3 amplification in presence of an internal competitor with known copy number. After induction therapy 53% of the patients who were considered to be in clinical remission phase still had detectable MRD. After consolidation therapy 43% of the patients were MRD positive. Subsequent to maintenance-2 or intensification therapy still in 30% of patients MRD was observed.
The role of boron in poultry nutrition Part II: Compositional and mechanical properties of bone and egg quality

Nutrients such as minerals and vitamin D have clear roles in skeletal metabolism. Boron (B) has been examined as a possible essential nutrient in the metabolism and utilisation of several micro nutrients and hence could have an influence on bone mineral density and eggshell quality. However, there have been few direct studies to examine the dietary response to B in chicken and layer hen models, although there is evidence that both compositional and functional properties of bone are affected by dietary boron status in other model animals and humans. Bone integrity, skeletal problems in chickens and eggshell quality in laying hens are important economic, welfare and health issues for the poultry industry. Therefore, better understanding of certain role of B on mineral availability in chickens and layer hens is important to enhance productivity and improve animal welfare. The following review examines the published data relating to these aspects of B in poultry feed.
Deterministic Cache-based Execution of On-line Self-Test Routines in Multi-core Automotive System-on-Chips

Traditionally, the usage of caches and deterministic execution of on-line self-test procedures have been considered two mutually exclusive concepts. At the same time, software executed in a multi-core context suffers of a limited timing predictability due to the higher system bus contention. When dealing with selftest procedures, this higher contention might lead to a fluctuating fault coverage or even the failure of some test programs. This paper presents a cache-based strategy for achieving both deterministic behaviour and stable fault coverage from the execution of self-test procedures in multi-core systems. The proposed strategy is applied to two representative modules negatively affected by a multi-core execution: synchronous imprecise interrupts logic and pipeline hazard detection unit. The experiments illustrate that it is possible to achieve a stable execution while also improving the state-of-the-art approaches for the on-line testing of embedded microprocessors. The effectiveness of the methodology was assessed on all the three cores of a multi-core industrial System- on-Chip intended for automotive ASIL D applications.
A Convolutional Neural Network for Seizure Detection

In this paper, a software-based neural network is developed for the purpose of detecting seizures from raw EEG signals. Detecting epileptic seizures manually is a long tedious process, creating the need for automatic detections systems. A neural network is designed based on a convolutional neural network (CNN) and trained on the electroencephalogram (EEG) raw signal dataset “CHB-MIT”. Deep learning has not been fully explored in seizure detection, but rather only classical machine learning algorithms that need feature extraction. There is a need to explore deep learning which eliminates manual feature extraction and enables real-time detection of raw signals. We conducted training and inference on the CHB-MIT dataset with a designed CNN in software and achieved an accuracy of 96.74%. The classifier can later be transformed into a portable system on chip (SoC) by realizing it on reconfigurable hardware with the necessary peripherals for acquisition.
Early prediction of winter cereals yield : A preliminary study based on machine learning technique as a strategic tool for fertilization and field management

Early yield prediction of winter cereals is a very powerful tool assisting in fertilization strategies and optimization. Satellite based vegetation indexes show interesting correlation with yield in winter cereals and is commonly used by technician in fertilization management zone. The aim of this paper is to investigate and develop a tool for quantitative early yield prediction, relying on machine-learning models in order to implement it in a decision support system platform.
Enabling Context-Aware Search using Extracted Insights from IoT Data Streams

The rapid growth in collecting and sharing sensory observation form the urban environments provides opportunities to plan and manage the services in the cities better and allows citizens to also observe and understand the changes in their surrounding in a better way. The new urban sensory data also creates opportunities for further application and service development by creative industries and start-ups. However, as the size and diversity of this data increase, finding and accessing the right set of data in a timely manner is becoming more challenging. This paper describes a search engine designed for indexing, searching and accessing urban sensory data. We present the key feature and architecture of the system and demonstrate some of the functionalities that are provided by searching for raw sensory observations and also pattern search functions that are enabled by a pattern analysis algorithm, supported by monitoring of data streams for changes in quality of information and remediation.
Complexity of Security Protocols Verification Tools

Since the eighties of the XX century, many methods and several automatic tools for security protocols verification have been introduced and successfully used. These tools allowed protocols designers to discover many types of attacks upon security solutions in open computer networks. In this paper, we deal with the formal analysis of the complexity of structures used in such tools. In that sense, we are trying to compare two tools developed and successfully used over many years. Firstly, we examine the complexity of the structures used in the SATMC tool, one of the modules of the well-known AVISPA tool, probably the most famous and the most effective in this area. The second analyzed formalism is the cryptographic module of the VerICS tool, constructed for verification of various kinds of concurrent systems. In both cases, we show basic concepts of verification way, present structures used and discuss based on them the protocol verification process. Finally, we try to estimate and compare the complexity of the structures constructed by these tools during the security protocols’ automatic verification process.