Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physics of Trap Generation and Electrical Breakdown in Ultra-thin SiO2 and SiON Gate Dielectric Materials

This work spans nearly a decade of industrial research in the reliability physics of deeply scaled SiO2 and SiON gate dielectrics. Our following original contributions include: • Below 35A, the dominant mechanism for stressed induced leakage current in the off-state is tunneling via interface traps. Traps at both top and bottom interfaces participate in the transport process. • A conclusive experimental proof showing that breakdown is voltage rather than field driven in ultra-thin oxides. This work has been instrumental in ending the long running controversy in the industry on breakdown models. • Experimental verification that anode hole injection through minority ionization remains a plausible breakdown mechanism down to 3.6V. However, anode hole injection is eliminated as the mechanism for breakdown below 2.7V. • Plasma nitridation of oxides extends the reliability scaling limit of SiO2 based films. Trap generation rates are minimized and reliability is optimized when the nitrogen profile is uniform. These films are now widely used in volume manufacturing. • Reaction-diffusion theory applies for PBTI stress of ultra-thin NMOS SiON films. This finding enables the determination of the mechanisms for trap generation and breakdown. Two species of hydrogen (H+ and H0) are released from the anode in two separate anode reactions. H+ and H0 both create interface traps at the poly interface. After migrating into the dielectric, H+ creates bulk traps while H0 creates interface traps at the pwell interface. The hydrogen species that controls breakdown is voltage dependent. The mechanism transitions from hole induced H+ desorption to electron induced H0 desorption below the 2.7V threshold for vibrational excitation of Si-H bonds. • Bulk traps control breakdown in SiO2 below 30A. In SION, below the 2.7V threshold for vibrational excitation of Si-H bonds, the rate limiting step is the generation of interface traps. A minimum of two traps is required to cause breakdown in SiON films down to 10A EOT and at least must be a bulk state. The SiON bulk trap diameter is 4A, which is smaller than earlier estimates and results in the Weibull slope remaining greater than 1 down to the 12A physical thickness limit.
The ‘harder when brighter’ X-ray behaviour of the low-luminosity active galactic nucleus NGC 7213

We present the first robust evidence of an anticorrelation between the X-ray photon index, Γ, and the X-ray luminosity in a single low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (LLAGN), NGC 7213. Until today, such anticorrelation trends have been seen only in large samples of LLAGN that span a wide range of X-ray fluxes, although the opposite behaviour (i.e. a positive correlation between Γ and X-ray luminosity) has been extensively studied for individual X-ray bright active galactic nuclei. For NGC 7213, we use the long-term X-ray monitoring data of the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), regularly obtained on average every two days from 2006 March to 2009 December. Based on our X-ray data, we derive the Γ versus flux and the hardness ratio versus flux relations, indicating clearly that NGC 7213 follows a ‘harder when brighter’ spectral behaviour. Additionally, by analysing radio and optical data, and combining data from the literature, we form the most complete spectral energy distribution (SED) of the source across the electromagnetic spectrum yielding a bolometric luminosity of 1.7 × 1043 erg s−1. Phenomenologically, the SED of NGC 7213 is similar to that of a low-ionization nuclear emission-line region. The robust anticorrelation trend that we find between Γ and X-ray luminosity together with the low accretion rate of the source, 0.14 per cent that of the Eddington limit, makes NGC 7213 the first LLAGN exhibiting a similar spectral behaviour with that of black hole X-ray binaries in the ‘hard state’.
Presenting a method to detect intrusion in IoT through private blockchain

Blockchain (BC) has been used as a new solution to overcome security and privacy challenges in the Internet of Things (IoT). However, recent studies have indicated that the BC has a limited scalability and is computationally costly. Also, it has significant overhead and delay in the network, which is not suitable to the nature of IoT. This article aims at implementing BC in the IoT context for smart home management, as the integration of these two technologies ensures the IoT’s security and privacy. Therefore, we proposed an overlay network in private BC to optimize its compatibility with IoT by increasing scalability and reducing network overhead and response delay. Devices with high-level resources (Computer, Mobile, etc.), named block managers, establish a two-dimensional overlay network that helps block managers to communicate with their neighbors’ block managers. Their communication aims at managing the BC according to the trust and voting mechanism. Trust, encouragement, and penalties help the blocks to ensure accurate transactions. Our proposed private BC model provides the first solution for managing IoT transactions in overlay networks. Our experimental results showed that the proposed mechanism reduces packet overhead and delay in service delivery while increasing the BC’s scalability in comparison to the state-of-the-art BC models. By limiting the number of effective block managers in voting, we could significantly reduce the average approval time of the blocks.
VARYING [C ii]/[N ii] LINE RATIOS IN THE INTERACTING SYSTEM BR1202-0725 AT z = 4.7

We study the properties of the interstellar medium in the interacting system BR1202-0725 at z = 4.7 via its [N ii] and [C ii] fine-structure line emission. This system consists of a QSO, a sub-mm galaxy (SMG), and two Lyα emitters (LAEs). Such a diversity in galaxy properties makes BR1202-0725 a unique laboratory of star formation and galaxy evolution at high redshift. We present ionized nitrogen ([N ii] 205 μm) observations of this system, obtained with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer. We find no [N ii] emission at the quasar location, but tentative [N ii] line detections associated with the SMG and one of the LAEs. Together with available ionized carbon ([C ii] 158 μm) Atacama Large Millimeter Array observations of this system, we find the following: the [C ii]/[N ii] luminosity ratio is >5.5 for the QSO and the SMG, but it is as low as ∼2 in the LAE, suggesting that, in this source, most of the [C ii] emission is associated with the ionized medium (H ii regions) rather than the neutral one (photon-dominated regions). This study demonstrates the importance of combined studies of multiple fine-structure lines in order to pin down the physical properties of the interstellar medium in distant galaxies.
In-situ evidence for live iron-60 in the early solar system: A potential heat source for planetary differentiation from a nearby supernova explosion

100μm IN-SITU EVIDENCE FOR LIVE IRON-60 IN THE EARLY SOLAR SYSTEM: A POTENTIAL HEAT SOURCE FOR PLANETARY DIFFERENTIATION FROM A NEARBY SUPERNOVA EXPLOSION. S. Mostefaoui, G. W. Lugmair and P. Hoppe, Max-Planck-Institute for Chemistry (Otto-Hahn-Institut), Becherweg 27, D-55128 Mainz, Germany (smail@mpch-mainz.mpg.de), Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0212, USA.
Streaming patterns in Faraday waves

Wave patterns in the Faraday instability have been studied for decades. Besides the rich wave dynamics observed at the interface, Faraday waves hide elusive flow patterns in the bulk – streaming patterns – which have not been studied experimentally. The streaming patterns are responsible for a net circulation in the flow, which is reminiscent of the circulation in convection cells. In this article, we analyse these streaming flows by conducting experiments in a Faraday-wave set-up using particle image velocimetry. To visualise the flows, we perform stroboscopic measurements to both generate trajectory maps and probe the streaming velocity field. We identify three types of patterns and experimentally show that identical Faraday waves can mask streaming patterns that are qualitatively very different. Next, we consider a three-dimensional model for streaming flows in quasi-inviscid fluids, whose key is the complex coupling occurring at all of the viscous boundary layers. This coupling yields modified boundary conditions in a three-dimensional Navier–Stokes formulation of the streaming flow. Numerical simulations based on this framework show reasonably good agreement, both qualitative and quantitative, with the velocity fields of our experiments. The model highlights the relevance of three-dimensional effects in the streaming patterns. Our simulations also reveal that the variety of streaming patterns is deeply linked to the boundary condition at the top interface, which may be strongly affected by the presence of contaminants.
Beyond Low-Code Development: Marrying Requirements Models and Knowledge Representations

Typical Low-Code Development platforms enable model-driven generation of web applications from high-level visual notations. They normally express the UI and the application logic, which allows generating the frontend and basic CRUD operations. However, more complex domain logic (data processing) operations still necessitate the use of traditional programming. This paper presents a visual language, called RSL-DL, to represent domain knowledge with complex domain rules aligned with requirements models. The language synthesises and extends approaches found in knowledge representation (ontologies) and software modelling language engineering. Its purpose is to enable a fully automatic generation of domain logic code by reasoning over and reusing domain knowledge. The language’s abstract syntax is defined using a meta-model expressed in MOF. Its semantics is expressed with several translational rules that map RSL-DL models onto typical programming language constructs. The rules are explained informally in natural language and formalised using a graphical transformation notation. It is also supported by introducing an inference engine that enables processing queries to domain models and selecting appropriate invocations to generated code. The presented language was implemented by building a dedicated model editor and transformation engine. It was also initially validated through usability studies. Based on these results, we conclude that declarative knowledge representations can be successfully used to produce imperative back-end code with non-trivial logic.
Survey of Intelligent Face Forgery and Detection

: Face forgery technology has made considerable progress in recent years, and has several challenges in terms of maintaining social stability and protecting individual rights. Nowadays, an ordinary person can easily generate lifelike fake images and videos, including fake news related to public figures, without any professional knowledge. To eliminate the social security risks caused by fake face images and videos, face forgery detection has become an emerging field that has attracted considerable attention. This survey provides a detailed overview of face forgery and face forgery detection methods. Based on the ratio of manipulations to the original image, this paper first introduces four types of face forgery methods: i) identity swap, ii) expression swap, iii) attribute manipulation, iv) entire face synthesis, and corresponding face forgery detection datasets. We then introduce image– and video–level face forgery detection methods. To improve the manipulation detection results, most face forgery detection methods exploit prior knowledge, such as biological and frequency information, based on deep learning. Subsequently, this paper analyzes the effects of these manipulation detection methods. Finally, we discuss the shortcomings of the current methods in terms of practical applications and discuss the future development trend of face forgery detection.
Quark mass and chiral condensate from the Wilson twisted mass lattice quark propagator

In this work, we report about the determination of nonperturbative OPE parameters from fits of continuum perturbation theory to the Landau gauge quark propagator. The propagators are computed numerically using lattice QCD with Nf=2 dynamical Wilson twisted mass fermions. We use four different values of the lattice spacing ranging from about 0.1 fm to about 0.05 fm as well as several quark masses per lattice spacing. This allows us to obtain continuum results for the chiral condensate and the average up/down quark mass. The main results are the average up/down quark mass m_q = 3.0(4)(2) MeV at the physical point and a value of the chiral condensate of -(299(26)(29) MeV)^3 in the chiral limit, both in the MSbar scheme at 2 GeV. We have also studied nonperturbative contaminations of our results at small values of the momenta, which are often interpreted as the contribution of the gluon condensate A^2. We do see contributions from such terms, which are, however, not stable over the order in perturbation theory.
Entropy-Driven Phase Transitions in Colloidal Systems

This thesis can be divided into two independent parts. In the first part of this thesis, we focus on studying the kinetic pathways of nucleation in colloidal systems. In Chapter 2, we briefly introduce the relevant theory of nucleation, i.e., classic nucleation theory. Then in Chapter 3, we investigate the crystal nucleation in the "simplest" model system for colloids, i.e., the monodisperse hard-sphere system, by using three different simulation methods, i.e., molecular dynamics, forward flux sampling and umbrella sampling simulations. Subsequently, we apply our simulation methods to a more realistic system of colloidal hard spheres in Chapter 4. Furthermore, we study the nucleation in a variety of systems consisting of hard particles, i.e., hard dumbbells (Chapter 5), hard rods (Chapter 6), hard colloidal polymers (Chapter 7) and binary hard-sphere mixtures (Chapter 8). In the second part of this thesis, we study the phase behavior of several colloidal systems. In Chapter 9, we study the equilibrium phase diagram of colloidal hard superballs whose shape interpolates from cubes to octahedra via spheres. We investigate the micellization of asymmetric patchy dumbbells induced by the depletion attraction in Chapter 10
Genetic Disruption of Guanylyl Cyclase/Natriuretic Peptide Receptor-A Triggers Differential Cardiac Fibrosis and Disorders in Male and Female Mutant Mice: Role of TGF-β1/SMAD Signaling Pathway

The global targeted disruption of the natriuretic peptide receptor-A (NPRA) gene (Npr1) in mice provokes hypertension and cardiovascular dysfunction. The objective of this study was to determine the mechanisms regulating the development of cardiac fibrosis and dysfunction in Npr1 mutant mice. Npr1 knockout (Npr1−/−, 0-copy), heterozygous (Npr1+/−, 1-copy), and wild-type (Npr1+/+, 2-copy) mice were treated with the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 receptor (TGF-β1R) antagonist GW788388 (2 µg/g body weight/day; ip) for 28 days. Hearts were isolated and used for real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blot, and immunohistochemical analyses. The Npr1−/− (0-copy) mice showed a 6-fold induction of cardiac fibrosis and dysfunction with markedly induced expressions of collagen-1α (3.8-fold), monocyte chemoattractant protein (3.7-fold), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF, 5.3-fold), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA, 6.1-fold), TGF-βRI (4.3-fold), TGF-βRII (4.7-fold), and phosphorylated small mothers against decapentaplegic (pSMAD) proteins, including pSMAD-2 (3.2-fold) and pSMAD-3 (3.7-fold), compared with wild-type mice. The expressions of phosphorylated extracellular-regulated kinase ERK1/2 (pERK1/2), matrix metalloproteinases-2, -9, (MMP-2, -9), and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were also significantly upregulated in Npr1 0-copy mice. The treatment of mutant mice with GW788388 significantly blocked the expression of fibrotic markers, SMAD proteins, MMPs, and PCNA compared with the vehicle-treated control mice. The treatment with GW788388 significantly prevented cardiac dysfunctions in a sex-dependent manner in Npr1 0-copy and 1-copy mutant mice. The results suggest that the development of cardiac fibrosis and dysfunction in mutant mice is predominantly regulated through the TGF-β1-mediated SMAD-dependent pathway.
Exploring technology as enabler for sustainable teaching and learning during the Covid-19 pandemic at a university in South Africa

This paper discusses the use of technology as enabler for sustaining teaching and learning by reviewing various local and international publications. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19) in 2020, the Departments of Basic and Higher Education in South Africa ordered all institutions of learning to shut down and start using online education as a substitute for face-to-face teaching and learning processes. [. ]what were educators' and students' experiences and attitudes towards the use of technology as enabler for sustaining teaching and learning during the Covid-19 pandemic? Digital technology played a significant role in enabling teachers to teach students at a distance, using tools that enable both synchronous and asynchronous communication with whole class, groups and individual children or young people, access to learning materials, and interactive and collaborative activities (Starkey et al., 2021). Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic presented opportunities and challenges to all educational institutions, regardless of their nature (Fowler, 2020). Besides the social and economic challenges inherent there, lecturers and students also faced personal challenges such as lack of access to internet connectivity, lack of equipment for online learning, and unreliable power supply (Mahaye, 2020).
A 13.56-MHz Wireless Power and Data Transfer System With Current-Modulated Energy-Reuse Back Telemetry and Energy-Adaptive Voltage Regulation

Wireless power/data transfer (WPDT) through an inductive link has been an essential technique in a wide range of applications, especially for implantable medical devices (IMD), which require high power efficiency for safe operation and high data rate for continuous telemetry. This article proposes an efficient WPDT system with current-modulated energy-reuse back telemetry (ER-BT), which can induce instantaneous changes of load impedance at Rx for BT data rate up to 1 Mb/s, while reusing BT current to supply the load, improving the system power efficiency. The WPDT system also utilizes an energy-adaptive dual-input low-dropout regulator (LDO) to store and optimally reuse the BT energy for IMDs against data rate or load variations. The proposed system was fabricated in a 180-nm 1.8-/5-V standard CMOS process and measured with a coupled-coil inductive link operating at 13.56 MHz to provide a supply voltage of 1.8 V for IMDs. The proposed ER-BT can save the energy up to 42% during the BT operation compared to energy losses of the conventional short-coil (SC) BT when the inductive link provides the input power of 3.05 mW.
Weak lensing using only galaxy position angles

We develop a method for performing a weak lensing analysis using only measurements of galaxy position angles. By analysing the statistical properties of the galaxy orientations given a known intrinsic ellipticity distribution, we show that it is possible to obtain estimates of the shear by minimizing a χ 2 statistic. The method is demonstrated using simulations where the components of the intrinsic ellipticity are taken to be Gaussian distributed. Uncertainties in thepositionanglemeasurementsintroduceabiasintotheshearestimateswhichcanbereduced to negligible levels by introducing a correction term into the formalism. We generalize our approach by developing an algorithm to obtain direct shear estimators given any azimuthally symmetric intrinsic ellipticity distribution. We introduce a method of measuring the position angles of the galaxies from noisy pixelized images, and propose a method to correct for biases which arise due to pixelization and correlations between measurement errors and galaxy ellipticities. We also develop a method to constrain the sample of galaxies used to obtain an estimate of the intrinsic ellipticity distribution such that fractional biases in the resulting shear estimates are below a given threshold value. We demonstrate the angle-only method by applying it to simulations where the ellipticities are taken to follow a lognormal distribution. We compare the performance of the position-angle-only method with the standard method based on full ellipticity measurements by reconstructing lensing convergence maps from both numerical simulations and from the Canada–France–Hawaii Lensing Survey data. We find that the difference between the convergence maps reconstructed using the two methods is consistent with noise.
A Review on Cervical Dysplasia: Etiology, Risk Factors, Diagnostic Biomarkers and Possible Nutritional Association

Objectives: Cervical dysplasia which is the precursor or premalignant form of cervical cancer is prolonged; hence its diagnosis is essential for the early detection and inhibiting the development of cervical cancer. This review briefs the extensive studies conducted globally to gain knowledge about the development of cervical dysplasia along with the risk factors associated, role of human papilloma virus (HPV), potential diagnostic biomarkers and association with various micronutrient levels. Materials and method: All these data were collected through extensive literature review. Result: Based on the review, it can be stated that HPV virus (HPV 16 most commonly) is the most important etiological agent for the process of cervical carcinogenesis. However, HPV infection solely does not cause cervical cancer. There are various factors which act synergistically to develop cervical dysplasia and cancer. Smoking was found to be an important independent risk factor. There are studies which showed conflicting results regarding oral contraceptive intake association with cervical dysplasia. There are quite a few biomarkers like HPV DNA, p16INK4a, telomerase, and microRNA expression which have been identified as effective in diagnosing cervical dysplasia. Chromosome 3q mutation has been reported to be present in early dysplastic lesions; hence, it can be used in screening early lesions. Various micronutrient studies highlighted the facts that high plasma concentrations of several carotenoids and Vitamin C are inversely proportional to the degree of cervical dysplasia. Low red cell folate levels n plasma increases the risk of cervical dysplasia association. Low dietary intake of Vitamin A is also associated with increased risk of cervical dysplasia. Conclusion: Finally, it can be stated that more extensive studies relating to nutritional and serum markers level need to be conducted with larger cohorts so that an appropriate nutrition plan can be implemented for these patients.