Transient behavior of subthreshold characteristics of fullydepleted SOI MOSFETs

It has been found that the subthreshold currents of fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (SOI) MOSFETs show a transient behavior under certain front-gate and back-gate voltage conditions. The cause of this anomaly is explained, and applications for the phenomenon are pointed out. Particularly, a simple way to measure the silicon film thickness is suggested     

Synfuel development impacts— econometric modelling and policy analysis

The prospects for rapid near-term development of a synfuel industry in the USA have decreased, due to depressed world oil prices, synfuel project cost overruns, and the lukewarm support of the Reagan administration. Nonetheless, socioeconomic and environmental impact analysis studies can provide valuable information for determining the regional welfare effects of proposed projects. The author discusses the results of a regional econometric analysis of the synfuel projects planned for Western Kentucky, which focuses on environmental impacts, and reveals the inevitable trade-offs that would accompany synfuel development. Some policy issues are briefly reviewed, especially that of efficient energy pricing.     

Kappa calculus and evidential strength: A note on Åqvist's logical theory of legal evidence

Lennart Åqvist (1992) proposed a logical theory of legal evidence, based on the Bolding-Ekelöf of degrees of evidential strength. This paper reformulates Åqvist's model in terms of the probabilistic version of the kappa calculus. Proving its acceptability in the legal context is beyond the present scope, but the epistemological debate about Bayesian Law isclearly relevant. While the present model is a possible link to that lineof inquiry, we offer some considerations about the broader picture of thepotential of AI & Law in the evidentiary context. Whereas probabilisticreasoning is well-researched in AI, calculations about the threshold ofpersuasion in litigation, whatever their value, are just the tip of theiceberg. The bulk of the modeling desiderata is arguably elsewhere, if one isto ideally make the most of AI's distinctive contribution as envisaged forlegal evidence research.     

Neurocognitive signs in prodromal Huntington disease.

Objective: PREDICT-HD is a large-scale international study of people with the Huntington disease (HD) CAG-repeat expansion who are not yet diagnosed with HD. The objective of this study was to determine the stage in the HD prodrome at which cognitive differences from CAG-normal controls can be reliably detected. Method: For each of 738 HD CAG-expanded participants, we computed estimated years to clinical diagnosis and probability of diagnosis in 5 years based on age and CAG-repeat expansion number (Langbehn, Brinkman, Falush, Paulsen, & Hayden, 2004). We then stratified the sample into groups: NEAR, estimated to be ≤9 years; MID, between 9 and 15 years; and FAR, ≥15 years. The control sample included 168 CAG-normal participants. Nineteen cognitive tasks were used to assess attention, working memory, psychomotor functions, episodic memory, language, recognition of facial emotion, sensory–perceptual functions, and executive functions. Results: Compared with the controls, the NEAR group showed significantly poorer performance on nearly all of the cognitive tests and the MID group on about half of the cognitive tests (p = .05, Cohen's d NEAR as large as ?1.17, MID as large as ?0.61). One test even revealed significantly poorer performance in the FAR group (Cohen's d = ?0.26). Individual tasks accounted for 0.2% to 9.7% of the variance in estimated proximity to diagnosis. Overall, the cognitive battery accounted for 34% of the variance; in comparison, the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale motor score accounted for 11.7%. Conclusions: Neurocognitive tests are robust clinical indicators of the disease process prior to reaching criteria for motor diagnosis of HD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prevention of Clostridium botulinum Type A, Proteolytic B and E Toxin Formation in Refrigerated Pea Soup by Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 8014

The ability of Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 8014 to inhibit Clostridium botulinum toxin production in pea soup was investigated. Soup containing C. botulinum spores (10³/g) with and without L. plantarum (10⁶/g) were evaluated. Soup containing only type A spores was toxic on days 1 and 2 when incubated at 35°C and 25°C, respectively. Soup containing only proteolytic type B spores was toxic on days 2 and 5 at 35°C and 25°C, respectively. Soup containing only type E spores was toxic at 25°C, 15°C, and 5°C in 7, 7, and 63 days respectively. No toxin was found in soup containing C. botulinum spores plus L. plantarum at any temperature studied.     

The Effect of Relationship Characteristics and Relational Communication on Experiences of Hurt From Romantic Partners

This study expands the relational turbulence model (RTM; Solomon & Knobloch,) by theorizing about how characteristics of relationships and relational judgments influence people's experiences of hurtful messages. Previous applications of RTM to hurt have uncovered associations among relational characteristics that influence people's hurtful experiences; however, the process by which these characteristics influence experiences of hurt remains unclear. We propose that relational communication (specifically, perceptions of dominance, and disaffiliation) is the mechanism linking relational qualities to hurt. A multigroup SEM was conducted to test for the possibility of sex differences. Results showed that people's experiences of hurt vary as a function of both relationship characteristics and relational inferences. Results also indicated a difference in path coefficients for males and females.     

Receiver array calibration using disparate sources

We present a new array calibration procedure for over-the-horizon (OTH) radar, using disparate sources. Unlike previous array calibration methods, which require a specific type or class of sources for calibrating the array, the method we propose can use combinations of single-mode, multimode, and near-field sources; each source with either known or unknown DOAs (directions-of-arrival). Multidimensional MUSIC is exploited for time-invariant DOA sources, while single-snapshot techniques are used for sources that have time-varying DOAs. A nonlinear separable least-squares solution to the array calibration problem is used to estimate the array coupling matrix and sensor positions. Simulation results indicate that good estimates are obtained for the unknown parameters and further the array sidelobe levels and bearing errors are significantly reduced when these estimated parameters are used in array processing. The algorithm performance was also compared with the Cramer-Rao lower bound and found to be statistically efficient     

Molecular Heterojunctions of Oligo(phenylene ethynylene)s with Linear to Cruciform Framework

Electrical transport properties of molecular junctions are fundamentally affected by the energy alignment between molecular frontier orbitals (highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) or lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO)) and Fermi level (or work function) of electrode metals. Dithiafulvene (DTF) is used as substituent group to the oligo(phenylene ethynylene) (OPE) molecular wires and different molecular structures based on OPE3 backbone (with linear to cruciform framework) are achieved, with viable molecular orbitals and HOMO–LUMO energy gaps. OPE3, OPE3–DTF, and OPE3–tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) can form good self‐assembled monolayers (SAMs) on Au substrates. Molecular heterojunctions based on these SAMs are investigated using conducting probe–atomic force microscopy with different tips (Ag, Au, and Pt) and Fermi levels. The calibrated conductance values follow the sequence OPE3–TTF > OPE3–DTF > OPE3 irrespective of the tip metal. Rectification properties (or diode behavior) are observed in case of the Ag tip for which the work function is furthest from the HOMO levels of the OPE3s. Quantum chemical calculations of the transmission qualitatively agree with the experimental data and reproduce the substituent effect of DTF. Zero‐bias conductance, and symmetric or asymmetric couplings to the electrodes are investigated. The results indicate that improved fidelity of molecular transport measurements may be achieved by systematic studies of homologues series of molecular wires applying several different metal electrodes.     

Visibility of wavelet quantization noise

The discrete wavelet transform (DWT) decomposes an image into bands that vary in spatial frequency and orientation. It is widely used for image compression, measures of the visibility of DWT quantization errors are required to achieve optimal compression. Uniform quantization of a single band of coefficients results in an artifact that we call DWT uniform quantization noise; it is the sum of a lattice of random amplitude basis functions of the corresponding DWT synthesis filter. We measured visual detection thresholds for samples of DWT uniform quantization noise in Y, Cb, and Cr color channels. The spatial frequency of a wavelet is r2^-λ, where r is the display visual resolution in pixels/degree, and λ is the wavelet level. Thresholds increase rapidly with wavelet spatial frequency. Thresholds also increase from Y to Cr to Cb, and with orientation from lowpass to horizontal/vertical to diagonal. We construct a mathematical model for DWT noise detection thresholds that is a function of level, orientation, and display visual resolution. This allows calculation of a “perceptually lossless” quantization matrix for which all errors are in theory below the visual threshold. The model may also be used as the basis for adaptive quantization schemes     

Threshold voltage and C-V characteristics of SOIMOSFET's related to Si film thickness variation on SIMOX wafers

C-V characteristics of fully depleted SOI MOSFETs have been studied using a technique for measuring silicon-film thickness using a MOSFET. The technique is based on C-V measurements between the gate and source/drain at two different back-gate voltages, and only a large-area transistor is required. Using this technique, SOI film thickness mapping was made on a finished SIMOX wafer and a thickness variation of ±150 Å was found. This thickness variation causes as much as a 100-mV variation in the device threshold voltage. The silicon-film thickness variation and threshold-voltage variation across a wafer shows a linear correlation dependence for a fully depleted device. C-V measurements of the back-gate device yield the buried-oxide thickness and parasitic capacitances. The effects of GIDL (gate-induced drain leakage) current on C-V characteristics are also discussed