High output impedance current-mode first-order allpass networks with four grounded components and two CCIIs

Eight current-mode first-order allpass networks using second-generation current conveyors (CCII) are presented. Each of the proposed circuits employs two CCIIs, two grounded capacitors and two grounded resistors. The networks offer high output impedances. Experimental results are also included.     

The Adaptive Ontology-Based Personalized Recommender System

Recommender systems provide strategies that help users search or make decisions within the overwhelming information spaces nowadays. They have played an important role in various areas such as e-commerce and e-learning. In this paper, we propose a hybrid recommendation strategy of content-based and knowledge-based methods that are flexible for any field to apply. By analyzing the past rating records of every user, the system learns the user’s preferences. After acquiring users’ preferences, the semantic search-and-discovery procedure takes place starting from a highly rated item. For every found item, the system evaluates the Interest Intensity indicating to what degree the user might like it. Recommender systems train a personalized estimating module using a genetic algorithm for each user, and the personalized estimating model helps improve the precision of the estimated scores. With the recommendation strategies and personalization strategies, users may have better recommendations that are closer to their preferences. In the latter part of this paper, a real-world case, a movie-recommender system adopting proposed recommendation strategies, is implemented.     

Designing parameter optimization of a Parallel-Plain Fin heat sink using the grey-based fuzzy algorithm with the orthogonal arrays

In this paper, a grey-based fuzzy algorithm with the orthogonal arrays is employed to find the optimal designing parameters' setting for a heat sink with the Parallel-Plain Fin (PPF) on the multiple thermal performance characteristics. The proposed algorithm, coupling the grey relational analysis with the fuzzy logic, obtains a grey–fuzzy reasoning grade to evaluate the multiple performance characteristics according to the grey relational coefficient of each performance characteristic. In the present study, the designing parameters of the heat sink include the height of fin, the width of gap between fins, the width of slot, the number of slot and the air speed. The design of experiment (DOE) adopts the L₁₆(4⁵) orthogonal arrays table which is four levels and five factors type of factorial design. The average convective heat transfer coefficient, the thermal resistance and the pressure drop are considered as the multiple thermal performance characteristics and explored in the experiment. In addition, the response table, response graph and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) are used to find the optimal settings and the influence of designing parameters on the multiple performance characteristics. The results of confirmation tests with the optimal settings of designing parameters have obviously shown that the multiple thermal performance characteristics are effectively improved through these procedures.     

Interface effect of oxygen doping in polythiophene

Long-time evolution of the electrical characteristics for two-terminal and transistor of poly(3-hexylthiophene) film with various gate dielectric interfaces are measured. The oxygen doping is found to depend sensitively on the amount of hydroxyl groups of the interface and irreversible after long time in vacuum except for quartz. For a given interface, dip-coated film always has a higher doping level and slower de-doping than spin-coated films because of higher porosity. With careful control of the oxygen level transistor with mobility of 0.12 cm²/V s and on–off ratio of 29,000 are obtained for dip-coated film on glass substrate.     

A new strategy for Phase I analysis in SPC

The Phase I analysis in statistical process control usually includes a task of filtering out out‐of‐control data in the historical data set via control charting. The conventional procedure for this is an iterative procedure that first uses all the samples to set up initial trial control limits and discards all the ‘out‐of‐control’ samples accordingly, and then iteratively repeats the screening step on the remaining samples until no more ‘out‐of‐control’ samples are detected. For simplicity, the ‘out‐of‐control’ samples here refer to the samples with their monitoring statistics exceeding the trial control limits. It is found in this study that this procedure throws away too many useful in‐control samples. To overcome this drawback, we propose and study a new iterative procedure that discards only one ‘out‐of‐control’ sample (i.e. the most extreme one) at each iteration. Our simulation study, using the Shewhart X Chart for illustration, demonstrates that the new one‐at‐a‐time procedure reduces dramatically the occurrences of false alarms. For cost‐saving, we further suggest a new strategy on when to stop and inspect the process to look for assignable causes for samples signaling out‐of‐control alarms. To determine the control limits, both the traditional method that controls the individual false‐alarm‐rate and the Bonferroni method that controls the overall false‐alarm‐rate are considered. The performances of the proposed schemes are evaluated and compared in terms of the false‐alarm rate and the detecting power via simulation studies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

氧化铟薄膜制备及其特性研究

采用射频磁控溅射法在玻璃衬底上制备氧化铟薄膜,通过测试原子力显微镜、X射线衍射、X射线光电子谱、紫外可见分光光度计以及霍尔效应,研究了氧化铟薄膜的结构和光、电特性.实验发现,氧化铟薄膜表面粗糙度随着生长温度的升高而增大.X射线衍射结果表明薄膜为立方结构的多晶体,并且随着生长温度的升高,可以看到氧化铟薄膜的晶粒变大以及半高宽减小,这也说明结晶质量的改善.在可见光范围的透射率超过90%.同时,在氩气氛围下制备的薄膜迁移率最大,其电阻率、霍尔迁移率和电子浓度分别达到了0.31Ω.cm、9.69 cm2/(V.s)和1×1018cm-3.退火处理可以改善氩氧氛围下制备的薄膜的电学性能.     

Water bonding of 50-mm-diameter mirror substrates to AlGaInP light-emitting diode wafers

The feasibility of bonding 50-mm-diameter Si with a Au/AuBe mirror to AlGaInP light-emitting diode (LED) wafers is demonstrated. Wafer bonding over the entire wafer area is achieved while the metallic mirror still maintains high reflectivity. Using this technique, the mirror-substrate AlGaInP LEDs are fabricated across an entire 50-mm wafer. The test data show that 98% of the dice with operating voltages <2.2 V at 20 mA and 85% of the dice with luminous intensity in the 130∼140 mcd region. The wafer-bonded mirror-substrate LED lamps operating at 626 nm can emit 3 lm at 20 mA with a forward voltage of 2 V, corresponding to a luminous efficiency of 74 lm/W. Moreover, they present a peak power efficiency of 21% with 4 mW output at 10 mA (1.9 V). Essentially no degradation is observed for these LEDs after 2000 h stress at 80°C and 50 mA (55.6 A/cm²). The results indicate the mirror-substrate AlGaInP LEDs of highly reliable and efficient performance.     

Statistical process monitoring using an empirical Bayes multivariate process control chart

In this paper, we describe the theory underlying an empirical Bayesian approach to monitoring two or more process characteristics simultaneously. If the data is continuous and multivariate in nature, often the multivariate normal distribution can be used to model the process. Then, using Bayesian theory, we develop techniques to implement empirical Bayes process monitoring of the multivariable process. Lastly, an example is given to illustrate the use of our techniques. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dehydrocostus Lactone Attenuates Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus-Induced Inflammation and Acute Lung Injury via Modulating Macrophage Polarization

Dehydrocostus lactone (DHL), a natural sesquiterpene lactone isolated from the traditional Chinese herbs Saussurea lappa and Inula helenium L., has important anti-inflammatory properties used for treating colitis, fibrosis, and Gram-negative bacteria-induced acute lung injury (ALI). However, the effects of DHL on Gram-positive bacteria-induced macrophage activation and ALI remains unclear. In this study, we found that DHL inhibited the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, the degradation of IκBα, and the activation and nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65, but enhanced the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 in lipoteichoic acid (LTA)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells and primary bone-marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs). Given the critical role of the p38 MAPK/NF-κB and AMPK/Nrf2 signaling pathways in the balance of M1/M2 macrophage polarization and inflammation, we speculated that DHL would also have an effect on macrophage polarization. Further studies verified that DHL promoted M2 macrophage polarization and reduced M1 polarization, then resulted in a decreased inflammatory response. An in vivo study also revealed that DHL exhibited anti-inflammatory effects and ameliorated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-induced ALI. In addition, DHL treatment significantly inhibited the p38 MAPK/NF-κB pathway and activated AMPK/Nrf2 signaling, leading to accelerated switching of macrophages from M1 to M2 in the MRSA-induced murine ALI model. Collectively, these data demonstrated that DHL can promote macrophage polarization to an anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype via interfering in p38 MAPK/NF-κB signaling, as well as activating the AMPK/Nrf2 pathway in vitro and in vivo. Our results suggested that DHL might be a novel candidate for treating inflammatory diseases caused by Gram-positive bacteria.     

Effects of fluorine-implanted treatment on Ba0.7Sr0.3TiO3 films

The effects of F-ion implantation on the leakage and dielectric properties of the Ba_0.7Sr_0.3TiO₃ (BST) films were investigated. The BST film implanted with 1×10¹⁵ cm^–2 shows the optimum leakage performance. The leakage current density can be decreased by one order of magnitude as compared to that of the non-implanted sample at an applied voltage of 2 V. On increasing the implanted dose from 5×10¹⁴ to 5×10¹⁵ cm^–2, the dielectric constant first increases and then decreases due to the deteriorated crystallinity. It is found that the suitable F-ion dose can reduce the –OH contaminants and improve the dielectric and leakage properties.