Quantitative prediction of the degree of pollution of effluent from reactive dye mixtures

By using mathematical formulae developed in previous studies, certain pollution parameters of dye effluent obtained from reactive dyeing with a single dye can be predicted with good accuracy. In this study, the degree of pollution of reactive dyeing effluent using dye mixtures was also predicted by other approaches, such as linear and non-linear regression. The prediction accuracy was found to be satisfactory.     

A new polysilicon CMOS self-aligned double-gate TFT technology

In this paper, a new polysilicon CMOS self-aligned double-gate thin-film transistor (SA-DG TFT) technology is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The self-alignment between the top- and bottom-gate is realized by a backlight exposure technique. The structure has an ultrathin channel region (300 /spl Aring/) and a thick source/drain region. Experimental results show that this technology provides excellent current saturation due to a combination of the effective reduction in the drain field and the full depletion of the ultrathin channel. Moreover, for n-channel devices, the SA-DG TFT has a 4.2 times higher on-current (V/sub gs/=20V) as compared to the conventional single-gate TFT. Whereas for the p-channel devices, the SADG TFT has a 3.6 times higher on-current (V/sub gs/=-20V) compared to the conventional single-gate device.     

Structural Response of Nuclear Containment Shield Buildings with Construction Openings

Steam generator replacement at nuclear power plants requires large construction openings in nuclear containment structures. This study examines the effects of such openings placed in a 61?cm (2?ft) thick dome of a shield building. The dome is cast in two layers, and the limiting cases of the two layers acting as one and the lower layer carrying the entire load are considered. Without openings, the stresses due to dead load in the structure are very low when compared to the material strength. With openings, the loads are easily redistributed around the opening, and the maximum stresses for the conservative case are between three and four and one-half times larger than in the original structure with no openings. The extent of the affected area around the holes is relatively small. Smooth corners in the openings are necessary to avoid high local stress concentrations.     

Prediction of residual colour in reactive dyeing effluent

In this study, the absorbance of the three-dye mixture effluent from reactive dyeing has been used to predict the residual colour value of the dyeing effluent. The colour values of the dyeing effluent have been predicted in terms of ADMI colour values. The prediction accuracy was found to be satisfactory when some mathematical approaches, such as linear and non-linear regression, were used.     

双相位共轭镜的工作条件参数分析

本文讨论了纯扩散机制的光折变晶体用作单作用区的双相位共轭镜（ＤＰＣＭ）时的阈值耦合强度和允许的输入光强比范围，并与双作用区的情况进行比较后，给出了在输入光强比远离１的条件下，双相位共轭镜的正常工作的条件参数。     

Mindlin plate finite elements by a modified transverse displacement

The formulation of 4-node plate bending elements to eliminate the shear locking is presented. The kinematic variables in the Mindlin plate are related through the equilibrium equations; and then the transverse displacement, rotations, and shear strain are expressed in terms of the curvature sum. The elements are formulated by using the modified transverse displacement defined as the transverse displacement subtracted by the curvature sum times the ratio of flexural to shear rigidity. It is shown that the elements describe plate behavior quite correctly without any locking and also that they are applicable to the analysis of both thin and thick plates.     

Microfluidic-based biosensors toward point-of-care detection of nucleic acids and proteins

This article reviews state-of-the-art microfluidic biosensors of nucleic acids and proteins for point-of-care (POC) diagnostics. Microfluidics is capable of analyzing small sample volumes (10⁻⁹–10⁻¹⁸ l) and minimizing costly reagent consumption as well as automating sample preparation and reducing processing time. The merger of microfluidics and advanced biosensor technologies offers new promises for POC diagnostics, including high-throughput analysis, portability and disposability. However, this merger also imposes technological challenges on biosensors, such as high sensitivity and selectivity requirements with sample volumes orders of magnitude smaller than those of conventional practices, false response errors due to non-specific adsorption, and integrability with other necessary modules. There have been many prior review articles on microfluidic-based biosensors, and this review focuses on the recent progress in last 5 years. Herein, we review general technologies of DNA and protein biosensors. Then, recent advances on the coupling of the biosensors to microfluidics are highlighted. Finally, we discuss the key challenges and potential solutions for transforming microfluidic biosensors into POC diagnostic applications.     

Icon identification in context: the changing role of icon characteristics with user experience

OBJECTIVE: This research examined the relative importance of icon characteristics in determining the speed and accuracy of icon identification. BACKGROUND: Studies to date have focused on the role of one or two icon characteristics when users first experience an icon set. This means that little is known about the relative importance of icon characteristics or how the role of icon characteristics might change as users gain experience with icons. METHODS: Thirty participants carried out an icon identification task over a long series of trials to simulate learning through experience. Icon characteristics investigated included semantic distance, concreteness, familiarity, and visual complexity. RESULTS: Icon characteristics were major determinants of performance, accounting for up to 69% of the variance observed in performance. However, the importance of icon characteristics changed with experience: Semantic distance is crucial initially while icon-function relationships are learned, but familiarity is important later because it has lasting effects on access to long-term memory representations. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that icon concreteness may not be of primary importance when identifying icons and that semantic distance and familiarity may be more important. APPLICATION: Designers need to take into account icon characteristics other than concreteness when creating icons, particularly semantic distance and familiarity. The precise importance of the latter characteristics will vary depending on whether icons are rarely encountered or frequently used.     

Genetic Parallel Programming: design and implementation

This paper presents a novel Genetic Parallel Programming (GPP) paradigm for evolving parallel programs running on a Multi-Arithmetic-Logic-Unit (Multi-ALU) Processor (MAP). The MAP is a Multiple Instruction-streams, Multiple Data-streams (MIMD), general-purpose register machine that can be implemented on modern Very Large-Scale Integrated Circuits (VLSIs) in order to evaluate genetic programs at high speed. For human programmers, writing parallel programs is more difficult than writing sequential programs. However, experimental results show that GPP evolves parallel programs with less computational effort than that of their sequential counterparts. It creates a new approach to evolving a feasible problem solution in parallel program form and then serializes it into a sequential program if required. The effectiveness and efficiency of GPP are investigated using a suite of 14 well-studied benchmark problems. Experimental results show that GPP speeds up evolution substantially.