A formation of cobalt silicide on silicon field emitter arrays byelectrical stress

A novel process utilizing electrical stress is proposed for the formation of Co silicide on single crystal silicon (c-Si) FEAs to improve the field emission characteristics. Co silicide FEAs formed by electrical stress (ES) exhibited a significant improvement in turn-on voltage and emission current compared with c-Si FEAs. The improvement mainly comes from the lower effective work function of Co silicide and less blunting of tips during silicidation by electrical stress in an ultra high vacuum (UHV) environment less than 10^-8 torr     

Intratracheal Transplantation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Attenuates Hyperoxia-Induced Microbial Dysbiosis in the Lungs,Brain, and Gut in Newborn Rats

We attempted to determine whether intratracheal (IT) transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could simultaneously attenuate hyperoxia-induced lung injuries and microbial dysbiosis of the lungs, brain, and gut in newborn rats. Newborn rats were exposed to hyperoxia (90% oxygen) for 14 days. Human umbilical cord blood-derived MSCs (5 × 10⁵) were transplanted via the IT route on postnatal day (P) five. At P14, the lungs were harvested for histological, biochemical, and microbiome analyses. Bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA genes from the lungs, brain, and large intestine were amplified, pyrosequenced, and analyzed. IT transplantation of MSCs simultaneously attenuated hyperoxia-induced lung inflammation and the ensuing injuries, as well as the dysbiosis of the lungs, brain, and gut. In correlation analyses, lung interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were significantly positively correlated with the abundance of Proteobacteria in the lungs, brain, and gut, and it was significantly inversely correlated with the abundance of Firmicutes in the gut and lungs and that of Bacteroidetes in the lungs. In conclusion, microbial dysbiosis in the lungs, brain, and gut does not cause but is caused by hyperoxic lung inflammation and ensuing injuries, and IT transplantation of MSCs attenuates dysbiosis in the lungs, brain, and gut, primarily by their anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects.     

Morphology-based approaches for detecting stream channels from ALSM data

To map the Earth's surface at remarkable resolution, Airborne Laser Swath Mapping (ALSM) instrument technology and subsequent algorithms have been used over the last several years. Since forested watersheds have commonly been problematic to study with remote sensing techniques, the ability of ALSM technology to densely sample ground elevations beneath forest canopies is especially considerable. Stream network detection from digital elevation models (DEMs) is a key role in modelling spatially distributed hydrological processes. To detect stream channels, we have developed two approaches. The first approach is based on an encoding of mathematical morphological operators. In the second approach, a composition of geodesic top-hat and bot-hat operations of different sizes is used in order to build a morphological profile (P _M) that records the image structural information. The two proposed methods perform well in terms of detection results and classification accuracies. The second approach is more general than the first, but it also requires training and more computation.     

Motivations for Open Source Project Participation and Decisions of Software Developers

We provide a rationale for open source project participation by studying the decision problems of the software programmers, whose types are different in terms of ability and intrinsic motivation. We find that motivations, both intrinsic and extrinsic, and the ability level positively affect the optimal level of effort exerted by the programmers in the open source project. In the commercial project, the programmers with higher ability exert much effort although their high level of effort is not compensated properly. Thus, the open source project might be more likely to attract capable and motivated programmers than the commercial project.     

A study on the optimization of KCI-based index (Kor-Factor) in evaluating Korean journals

This study describes the development process of Kor-Factor, which is a novel composite evaluation index that was developed to promote Korean domestic academic journals. As more data accumulate, the Kor-Factor’s optimization process was modified in an attempt to address possible drawbacks of the original form; the result is presented in this study. This study compares Kor-Factor with the Impact Factor, which is the most well-known single element evaluation index. We found that Kor-Factor demonstrates a better power of differentiation and a greater capacity to reflect the reputability of key journals. The modified Kor-Factor, which has been developed through an optimization process, reveals a greater power of differentiation than the original Kor-Factor; however, the modified version has less capacity to reflect reputability. The evaluation elements of the modified Kor-Factor are better and are more evenly reflected on the index value than those of the original version. Finally, we propose the establishment of an appropriate data measurement period for the actual application of the index.     

Studies on the heating capacity control of a multi-type heat pump system applying a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) method

This paper describes a method to control capacity of a multi-type heat pump system. Because indoor units are interconnected, alteration of the heating or cooling setting of one indoor unit can influence the performance of the other indoor units. Proportional-integral (PI) controllers were used to assess system performance, and the PI controllers’ gain values were optimized by using a genetic algorithm. A system model was established following a system identification optimization process, and a pseudo random binary sequence was selected as the system identification input signal. A multi-input multi-output (MIMO) controller was more effective in reducing such cross-coupling effects than a single-input single-output (SISO) controller. The temperature at the secondary fluid outlet in the condenser and the saturation pressure at the evaporator were selected as the control variables in the MIMO controller. The experimental results showed that an optimized MIMO controller could reduce overshoot by up to 40% compared with the results using a SISO controller.     

Preparation and photoluminescence properties of γ-KCaPO4: Eu phosphors for near UV-based white LEDs

Novel whitish-blue phosphors based on a phosphate host matrix, γ-KCaPO₄: Eu²⁺, were prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction method using slightly phosphorus deficient conditions and their photoluminescence properties were investigated. The concentration quenching process, temperature dependence of the luminescence and decay curve were also investigated. The γ-KCaPO₄: Eu²⁺ phosphor was efficiently excited by UV-Visible light at wavelengths of 200-450 nm and exhibited a bright whitish-blue emission with a maximum peak wavelength of 473 nm. All of these characteristics suggest that the γ-KCaPO₄: Eu²⁺ phosphors combined with red phosphors could be applicable to near UV-based white LEDs, i.e., only two kinds of phosphor powders are needed for the formation of white light.     

Molecular dynamics study on nanotube-resonators with mass migration applicable to both frequency-tuner and data-storage-media

We investigated the cantilevered carbon-nanotube-resonator including electromigratively movable nanoparticle via classical molecular dynamics simulations and continuum model. The change of the effective mass value, which was closely correlated with the position change of the encapsulated nanoparticle, could be regressed by a power function, the resonance frequency of the carbon-nanotube-resonator could be tuned by controlling the nanoparticle’s position, and the possible frequency-shift-ranges then reached 18–85%. The suggested device could be served as a data-storage-media for electromechanical nonvolatile-memory as well as a frequency-tuner.     

Personally customizable content authoring service for Internet Protocol television subscribers

In this paper, we propose a personally customizable content authoring service (C2Channel) using an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) platform, in which a user terminal such as a PC or set‐top box sends various kinds of multimedia files from a camera or camcorder to a remotely located authoring server (C2Channel server). The C2Channel server creates personalized content in real time by combining special effects with the multimedia files transmitted from the user terminal and then retransmits them to a predefined relevant service group as a personal IPTV channel through an IPTV network provider. This content authoring service supplies an automatic multimedia editing/composition service and offers unicast, multicast, and groupcast services for a large number of interested groups via an IPTV‐based real‐time media delivery platform (Open Live IPTV Engine [OLIVE]), in which a service management server is used for user identification through the IPTV personal channel. Because this platform uses a remote server resource when authoring personally customizable content, resources remaining at the user's terminal can be variously utilized. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.