Transparent polyimide/graphene oxide nanocomposite with improved moisture barrier property

Colorless and organo-soluble polyimide (PI) films have been synthesized from an alicyclic dianhydride BCDA and aromatic diamine 3,4′-ODA in the cosolvent of DMAc and GBL via one-step process. The graphene oxide (GO) was mixed with the above PI in DMAc solution to fabricate the PI/GO nanocomposite films. With the addition of only 0.001 wt% of GO in PI matrix, the resultant nanocomposite (PI/GO-0.001) exhibits not only the enhanced resistance to moisture but also retains superior visible light transmission, enhanced mechanical strength, and excellent dimensional stability, simultaneously. The water-vapor-transmission-rate (WVTR) significantly reduced to 30 g mil m⁻² day⁻¹ for this nanocomposite compared to 181 g mil m⁻² day⁻¹ for pure PI. Notably, the PI/GO-0.001 nanocomposite also exhibits low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of 41 ppm °C⁻¹, which is benefited from the homogeneous distribution of ultrathin GO nanosheets in PI matrix.     

An adaptive robustizing approach to kalman filtering

The performance of a linear Kalman filter will degrade when the dynamic noise is not Gaussian. A robust Kalman filter based on the m-interval polynomial approximation (MIPA) method for unknown non-Gaussian noise is proposed. Two situations are considered: (a) the state is Gaussian and the observation noise is non-Gaussian; (b) the state is non-Gaussian and the observation noise is Gaussian. It is shown, as compared with other non-Gaussian filters, the MIPA Kalman filter is computationally feasible, unbiased, more efficient and robust. For the scalar model, Monte Carlo simulations are given to demonstrate the ideas involved.     

Multiple-valued decoder using MOS-HBT-NDR circuit

The design of a four-valued decoder based on the negative-differential- resistance (NDR) circuit is demonstrated. The presented NDR circuit is composed of a Si-based metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect- transistor (MOS) and a SiGe-based heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT). The fabrication of the four-valued decoder using this MOS- HBT-NDR circuit is based on the standard 0.35 mum SiGe-based BiCMOS process.     

Tiered bandwidth reservation scheme for multimedia wireless networks

It is important to provide quality of service (QoS) guarantees if we want to support multimedia applications over wireless networks. In this paper, considering the features of tiering in sectored cellular networks, we propose a novel scheme for bandwidth reservation to approach QoS provisioning. By predicting the movement of each connection, the reserving of bandwidth is only required in needful neighboring cells instead of in all neighboring cells. In addition, an admission control mechanism incorporated with bandwidth borrowing assists in distributing scarce wireless bandwidth in more adaptive way. Through mathematical analysis, we proof the advantages of tier‐based approach and the bound for the selection of tiered boundary. The simulation results also verify that our scheme can achieve superior performance than traditional schemes regarding no bandwidth reserving, fixed bandwidth reserving, and bandwidth borrowing in sectored cellular networks when performance metrics are measured in terms of the connection dropping probability (CDP), connection blocking probability (CBP), and bandwidth utilization (BU). Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improvement of lumen efficiency in white light-emitting diodes with air-gap embedded package

In this paper, white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with air-gap embedded package were proposed and fabricated by a simple method including pulsed spray coating. The lumen efficiency of air-gap embedded LED was enhanced by 8.8% at driving current of 350 mA, compared to conventional remote phosphor white LED. This improvement was due to the enhanced utilization of blue and yellow rays, which were confirmed by pulse current-dependent correlated color temperature (CCT). The utilization efficiency of blue rays was enhanced by 12.4% due to the embedded air-gap layer. The simulation results performed by Monte-Carlo ray tracing method agreed with our experiments, which showed enhancement in lumen efficiency and similar CCT. Finally, the electric field intensity versus different thickness for air-gap and no air-gap embedded white LED was calculated to check the incident blue rays trapped in phosphor layer.     

Charring rates for double beams made from laminated veneer lumber (LVL)

This paper examines charring rates for different cross‐sections of single and double timber beams made from laminated veneer lumber, with nailed, screwed or glued connection types for the double beams. Charring rates and burning characteristics were examined both in a small furnace and in a larger pilot furnace. The bottom charring rates were sometimes greater than the side charring rates for very narrow beams dominated by corner effects and for double beams where the two components could separate during the fire exposure. The nail‐connected double laminated veneer lumber beams experienced the largest separation, leading to charring between the two components. The best performance was from the glued connection, which showed similar charring rates as a solid timber beam. Both the large‐scale and small‐scale testing showed that suitably placed screws (preferably full‐length threaded) can be used to give almost the same performance as a glued connection. Experimental findings were compared with results from a finite element analysis. There was reasonable agreement while the char layer was small, but less agreement in later stages as the char layer increased in thickness. Experimental findings were used to modify a spreadsheet design tool that predicts the fire resistance of a timber–concrete composite floor. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biosynthesis of Phenolic Glycosides from Phenylpropanoid and Benzenoid Precursors in <Emphasis Type=Italic>Populus</Emphasis>

Salicylate-containing phenolic glycosides (PGs) are abundant and often play a dominant role in plant-herbivore interactions of Populus and Salix species (family Salicaceae), but the biosynthetic pathway to PGs remains unclear. Cinnamic acid (CA) is thought to be a precursor of the salicyl moiety of PGs. However, the origin of the 6-hydroxy-2-cyclohexen-on-oyl (HCH) moiety found in certain PGs, such as salicortin, is not known. HCH is of interest because it confers toxicity and antifeedant properties against herbivores. We incubated Populus nigra leaf tissue with stable isotope-labeled CA, benzoates, and salicylates, and measured isotopic incorporation levels into both salicin, the simplest PG, and salicortin. Labeling of salicortin from [¹³C₆]-CA provided the first evidence that HCH, like the salicyl moiety, is a phenylpropanoid derivative. Benzoic acid and benzaldehyde also labeled both salicyl and HCH, while benzyl alcohol labeled only the salicyl moiety in salicortin. Co-administration of unlabeled benzoates with [¹³C₆]-CA confirmed their contribution to the biosynthesis of the salicyl but not the HCH moiety of salicortin. These data suggest that benzoate interconversions may modulate partitioning of phenylpropanoids to salicyl and HCH moieties, and hence toxicity of PGs. Surprisingly, labeled salicyl alcohol and salicylaldehyde were readily converted to salicin, but did not result in labeled salicortin. Co-administration of unlabeled salicylates with labeled CA suggested that salicyl alcohol and salicylaldehyde may have inhibited salicortin biosynthesis. A revised metabolic grid model of PG biosynthesis in Populus is proposed, providing a guide for functional genomic analysis of the PG biosynthetic pathway.     

Highly Reliable High-Brightness GaN-Based Flip Chip LEDs

The properties of indium-tin-oxide (ITO)/Ni films as transparent ohmic contacts of nitride-based flip chip (FC) light emitting diodes (LEDs) were studied. It was found that 300degC rapid thermal annealed (RTA) ITO(15 nm)/Ni(1 nm) could provide good electrical and optical properties for FC LED applications. It was also found that 20-mA operation voltage and output power of the 465-nm FC LEDs with ITO/Ni/Ag reflective mirror were 3.16 V and 21 mW, respectively. Furthermore, it was found that output intensity of the proposed LED only decayed by 5% after 1200 h under 30-mA current injection at room temperature.     

Localization of an Autonomous Mobile Robot Based on Ultrasonic Sensory Information

Based on ultrasonic sensory information, an approach is proposed for localization of autonomous mobile robot (AMRs). In the proposed method, it will be proven that the combination of three ultrasonic transmitters and two receivers can determine both the position and the orientation of an AMR with respect to a reference frame uniquely. In this manner, since only ultrasonic sensors are used, the proposed method will be highly cost-effective and easy to implement. To show the validity and feasibility of the proposed method, the hardware configuration and a series of experiments will be given for illustration.