A data mining approach to classify serum creatinine values in patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis

Wireless Networks - Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) is a treatment used by patients in the end-stage of chronic kidney diseases. Those patients need to be monitored using blood...     

Adhesion and Mechanical Properties of PNIPAM Microgel Films and Their Potential Use as Switchable Cell Culture Substrates

Thermoresponsive poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgel films are shown to allow controlled detachment of adsorbed cells via temperature stimuli. Cell response occurs on the timescale of several minutes, is reversible, and allows for harvesting of cells in a mild fashion. The fact that microgels are attached non‐covalently allows using them on a broad variety of (charged) surfaces and is a major advantage as compared to approaches relying on covalent attachment of active films. In the following, the microgels’ physico‐chemical parameters in the adsorbed state and their changes upon temperature variation are studied in order to gain a deeper understanding of the involved phenomena. By means of atomic force microscopy (AFM), the water content, mechanical properties, and adhesion forces of the microgel films are studied as a function of temperature. The analysis shows that these properties change drastically when crossing the critical temperature of the polymer film, which is the basis of the fast cell response upon temperature changes. Furthermore, nanoscale mechanical analysis shows that the films posses a nanoscopic gradient in mechanical properties.     

20.1%‐efficient crystalline silicon solar cell with amorphous silicon rear‐surface passivation

We have developed a crystalline silicon solar cell with amorphous silicon (a‐Si:H) rear‐surface passivation based on a simple process. The a‐Si:H layer is deposited at 225°C by plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition. An aluminum grid is evaporated onto the a‐Si:H‐passivated rear. The base contacts are formed by COSIMA (contact formation to a‐Si:H passivated wafers by means of annealing) when subsequently depositing the front silicon nitride layer at 325°C. The a‐Si:H underneath the aluminum fingers dissolves completely within the aluminum and an ohmic contact to the base is formed. This contacting scheme results in a very low contact resistance of 3.5 ±0.2 mΩ cm² on low‐resistivity (0.5 Ω cm) p‐type silicon, which is below that obtained for conventional Al/Si contacts. We achieve an independently confirmed energy conversion efficiency of 20.1% under one‐sun standard testing conditions for a 4 cm² large cell. Measurements of the internal quantum efficiency show an improved rear surface passivation compared with reference cells with a silicon nitride rear passivation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone and conception of Holsteins

Effects of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (100 micrograms) and time of artificial insemination on fertility, were examined in lactating dairy cows at first, second, and third services. Inseminations were either soon after detected estrus (0 h) or 12 h later, and cows were given gonadotropin-releasing hormone or saline after inseminations. Conception at first service was not improved by hormone treatment. But conception rates at repeat services were improved by nearly 21% when cows were treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone within 30 s after insemination. Inseminations soon after detection of estrus (0 h) followed by hormone treatment resulted in the highest conception rates for all services. Time of the insemination (0 versus 12 h) had no effect on conception. Administering gonadotropin-releasing hormone at repeat services should improve conception rate of lactating dairy cows.     

Isolation and Physico-chemical Properties of Enset Starch

Enset starch (Ensete ventricosum, Musaceae) has been examined for its chemical composition, amylose content and physico-chemical properties. The proximate composition of the starch on dry weight basis was found to be 0.16% ash, 0.25% fat, 0.35% protein, and 99.24% starch. The amylose content was 29%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of enset starch granules showed characteristic morphology that was somewhat angular and elliptical. The starch has normal granule size distribution with a mean particle size of 46μm. It exhibits typical X-ray diffraction pattern of B-type with a distinctive maximum peak at around 17° 2θ Its moisture sorption pattern was similar to that of potato starch but much higher than maize starch. DSC parameters obtained from starch-water mixtures (1:2), namely, the enthalpy of gelatinization (ΔH: 21.6mJmg⁻¹), the onset temperature (T₀: 61.8°C), the peak temperature (T_p: 65.2°C) and the endset temperature (T_e: 71.7°C) were higher than those obtained for potato starch. Brabender viscosity curves of 6% starch paste showed lower peak viscosity (884 BU) than potato starch (1668 BU) but greater than maize starch (302 BU). The breakdown was also lower than potato starch but higher than maize starch. Retrogradation of enset starch was substantially greater than potato starch but less than maize starch.     

A methodology for the design of perforated tiles in raised floordata centers using computational flow analysis

An important aspect of the design of data centers involves sizing of the perforated floor tiles for return of cold air, the size of the space under the raised floor, and placement of the DP equipment and modular chillers. The flow through individual perforated tiles needs to fulfil the cooling requirements of the computer equipment placed adjacent to them. The novelty of this paper lies in the treatment of the volume under the raised floor as a uniformly pressurized plenum. The accuracy of the Pressurized Plenum model is demonstrated with reference to a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of the recirculating flow under the raised floor and the limits of its validity are also identified. The simple model of the volume under the raised floor enables use of the technique of flow network modeling (FNM) for the prediction of the distribution of flow rates exiting from the various tiles. An inverse design method is proposed for one-step design of the perforated tiles and flow balancing plates for individual chillers. Subsequent use of the FNM technique enables assessment of the performance of the actual system. Further, required design changes to an existing system can also be evaluated using the FNM analysis in a simple, quick, and accurate manner. The resulting design approach is very simple and efficient, and is well suited for the design of modern data centers     

Factors affecting reproductive performance of dairy cows first inseminated after five weeks postpartum

Various factors influencing reproduction of 307 Holstein cows were evaluated. Sources of variation of several measures were estrous certainty, time of day of detected estrus and insemination, method of thawing semen, ease of cervix penetration, presence of clear mucus at insemination, service number, service sire, inseminator, age of cow, maximum ambient temperature on the service date, and milk yield. Interval to first service of older cows was longer than of younger cows and shorter for cows with higher milk yield. Conception rate was higher for inseminations before noon than after noon and tended to be lower at inseminations when milk yield was at the extremes (low or high). Rate of conception was similar for cows whether inseminated at early or later postpartum intervals. More services were required by cows that were inseminated when milk yield was at the extremes (low or high). Fewer days open were associated with fewer total services and younger age at conception. Cows inseminated with semen thawed in hot (65 degrees C, 7 to 10 s) or warm (35 degrees C, 30 s) water conceived earlier postpartum than did those inseminated with semen thawed in the cow. Submitting cows for insemination after detection of standing estrus, mounting activity, or less certain symptoms of estrus had no adverse effect on fertility or days open.     

High mobility strained Si0.5Ge0.5/SSOI short channel field effect transistors with TiN/GdScO3 gate stack

Short channel p-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) with GdScO₃ gate dielectric were fabricated on a quantum well strained Si/strained Si_0.5Ge_0.5/strained Si heterostructure on insulator. Amorphous GdScO₃ layers with a dielectric constant of 24 show small hysteresis and low density of interface states. All devices show good performance with a threshold voltage of 0.585 V, commonly used for the present technology nodes, and high I_on/I_off current ratios. We confirm experimentally the theoretical predictions that the drive current and the transconductance of the biaxially strained (1 0 0) devices are weakly dependent on the channel orientation. The transistor’s hole mobility, extracted using split C-V method on long channel devices, indicates an enhancement of 90% (compared to SiO₂/SOI transistors) at low effective field, with a peak value of 265 cm²/V s. The enhancement is however, only 40% at high electrical fields. We demonstrate that the combination of GdScO₃ dielectric and strained SiGe layer is a promising solution for gate-first high mobility short channel p-MOSFETs.     

A hybrid systems approach toward modeling and dynamical simulation of dextrous manipulation

This paper presents an approach toward comprehensive discrete-continuous modeling and accurate dynamical simulation of dextrous manipulation. The resulting hybrid-state model integrates time-driven mechanical features of manipulation systems as well as their discrete-event aspects resulting from varying contact situations. It can easily be embedded into sophisticated simulation environments. A MATLAB implementation serves us as a tool for mechatronic control design for grasping systems. Results from dynamical simulations of a four-fingered hand grasping and manipulating an object demonstrate the efficiency and high accuracy of our approach.