A Low-Cost 128 × 128 Uncooled Infrared Detector Array in CMOS Process

This paper discusses the implementation of a low-cost 128 times 128 uncooled infrared microbolometer detector array together with its integrated readout circuit (ROC) using a standard 0.35 mum n-well CMOS and post-CMOS MEMS processes. The detector array can be created with simple bulk-micromachining processes after the CMOS fabrication, without the need for any complicated lithography or deposition steps. The array detectors are based on suspended p⁺-active/n-well diode microbolometers with a pixel size of 40 mum times 40 mum and a fill factor of 44%. The p⁺-active/n-well diode detector has a measured dc responsivity (R) of 4970 V/W and a thermal time constant of 36 ms at 50 mtorr vacuum level. The total measured rms noise of the diode type detector is 0.69 muV for an 8 kHz bandwidth, resulting in a detectivity (D*) of 9.7 times 10⁸ cm ldr Hz^1/2/W. The array is scanned by an integrated 32-channel parallel ROC including low-noise differential preamplifiers with an electrical bandwidth of 8 kHz. The 128 times 128 focal plane array (FPA) has one row of infrared-blind reference detectors that reduces the effect of FPA fixed pattern noise and variations in the operating temperature relaxing the requirements for the temperature stabilization. Including the noise of the reference and array detectors together with the ROC noise, the fabricated 128 times 128 FPA has an expected noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) value of 1 K for f/1 optics at 30 frames/s (fps) scanning rate. This NETD value can be decreased to 350 mK by improving the post-CMOS fabrication steps and increasing the number of readout channels.     

Prolymphocytic leukemia: diagnosis and treatment. A case report

A patient with B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (PLL) who has had a prolonged survival is presented. The patient was diagnosed incidentally while asymptomatic, but later developed progressive disease. He was refractory to alkylating agents and fludarabine, but responded to treatment with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone. This patient's prolonged survival may be due partly to his diagnosis at an indolent phase, possibly representing the early phase of the natural course of the disease. Diagnosis, clinical course, and treatment options for PLL are discussed.     

An approach for automated fault diagnosis based on a fuzzy decision tree and boundary analysis of a reconstructed phase space

Although reconstructed phase space is one of the most powerful methods for analyzing a time series, it can fail in fault diagnosis of an induction motor when the appropriate pre-processing is not performed. Therefore, boundary analysis based a new feature extraction method in phase space is proposed for diagnosis of induction motor faults. The proposed approach requires the measurement of one phase current signal to construct the phase space representation. Each phase space is converted into an image, and the boundary of each image is extracted by a boundary detection algorithm. A fuzzy decision tree has been designed to detect broken rotor bars and broken connector faults. The results indicate that the proposed approach has a higher recognition rate than other methods on the same dataset.     

Multilevel statistical inference from functional near-infrared spectroscopy data during stroop interference

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an emerging technique for monitoring the concentration changes of oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin (oxy-Hb and deoxy-Hb) in the brain. An important consideration in fNIRS-based neuroimaging modality is to conduct group-level analysis from a set of time series measured from a group of subjects. We investigate the feasibility of multilevel statistical inference for fNIRS. As a case study, we search for hemodynamic activations in the prefrontal cortex during Stroop interference. Hierarchical general linear model (GLM) is used for making this multilevel analysis. Activation patterns both at the subject and group level are investigated on a comparative basis using various classical and Bayesian inference methods. All methods showed consistent left lateral prefrontal cortex activation for oxy-Hb during interference condition, while the effects were much less pronounced for deoxy-Hb. Our analysis showed that mixed effects or Bayesian models are more convenient for faithful analysis of fNIRS data. We arrived at two important conclusions. First, fNIRS has the capability to identify activations at the group level, and second, the mixed effects or Bayesian model is the appropriate mechanism to pass from subject to group-level inference.     

Subsurface Characterization at Ground Failure Sites in Adapazari, Turkey

Ground failure in Adapazari, Turkey during the 1999 Kocaeli earthquake was severe. Hundreds of structures settled, slid, tilted, and collapsed due in part to liquefaction and ground softening. Ground failure was more severe adjacent to and under buildings. The soils that led to severe building damage were generally low plasticity silts. In this paper, the results of a comprehensive investigation of the soils of Adapazari, which included cone penetration test (CPT) profiles followed by borings with standard penetration tests (SPTs) and soil index tests, are presented. The effects of subsurface conditions on the occurrence of ground failure and its resulting effect on building performance are explored through representative case histories. CPT- and SPT-based liquefaction triggering procedures adequately identified soils that liquefied if the clay-size criterion of the Chinese criteria was disregarded. The CPT was able to identify thin seams of loose liquefiable silt, and the SPT (with retrieved samples) allowed for reliable evaluation of the liquefaction susceptibility of fine-grained soils. A well-documented database of in situ and index testing is now available for incorporating in future CPT- and SPT-based liquefaction triggering correlations.     

Resonant frequency of an air gap tuned circular disc microstrip antenna

In this study, the formulation and the computation of the resonant frequency of an air gap tuned circular disc microstrip antenna are simplified, with improved accuracy, by using a new and very simple effective permittivity expression which is valid for thin and thick gaps. Very good agreement between the theoretical and the experimental resonant frequency values is obtained for the various structural parameters and operational modes.     

UV Absorption microspectrophotometry and digestibility of cell types of bermudagrass internodes at different stages of maturity

The walls of sclerenchyma, vascular bundle sheaths, and parenchyma at different maturities (internodes 2, 5, and 7 from the apex) of bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L) Pers] were analyzed by UV absorption microspectrophotometry, and the results were related to wall digestibility. Sclerenchyma walls from internode 2 were degraded by rumen microorganisms, with only the middle lamella remaining. Undegraded sclerenchyma walls gave a UV absorption spectrum similar to that of p-coumaroyl and feruloyl arabinoxylo-trisaccharides isolated from bermudagrass cell walls. Absorption maxima occurred at ? 245 and 320 nm, together with a shoulder at ? 280 nm. Sclerenchyma from the older internodes 5 and 7 showed only partial degradation of the secondary wall adjacent to the lumen. Spectra of undegraded walls from these internodes showed absorption maxima at ? 245 and 285 nm with a shoulder at ? 320 nm. Spectra of sclerenchyma walls that included the middle lamellae gave a higher absorption at ? 320 nm than did wall layers excluding the middle lamellae. Vascular bundle sheaths generally were similar in digestion patterns and spectra to those of sclerenchyma. Parenchyma cells in internode 2, which were totally degradable, gave low absorbance. Parenchyma cell walls from internodes 5 and 7 were degraded except for the middle lamellae in cells nearest to the sclerenchyma; parenchyma cells nearest to the stem centre were totally degraded. Spectra of parenchyma wall regions that included middle lamellae were similar to the p-coumaroyl and feruloyl arabinoxylo-trisaccharides, and absorbance values were low compared with sclerenchyma and vascular walls. Results suggested that esteror ether-linked phenolic acids accounted for most of the UV absorption in young sclerenchyma and young and old parenchyma; lignin-like aromatics increased in older, poorly digested sclerenchyma as ester/ether-type compounds decreased. An estimation of the amount of ‘ferulic acid equivalents’ of the walls was made assuming all the absorbance at ? λ_max 320 nm was due to ferulic acid; older sclerenchyma walls had the highest values (160 mg g^?1 walls) and parenchyma walls the lowest (11 mg g^?1 walls).     

Effect of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> addition on crystallization and machinability of potassium mica and fluorapatite glass ceramics

In this study, the effect of TiO₂ addition as a nucleating agent on the crystallization and machinability of potassium mica and fluorapatite base glass ceramics were investigated. Glass compositions were prepared and casted at predetermined temperatures. Differential thermal analysis and XRD methods were applied to characterize phase precipitation sequence and identification of phases. Disc and cylindrical shaped samples were prepared to determine microstructural and mechanical properties in terms of microhardness and machinability. FEG-SEM was used to characterize variation of microstructural constituents depending on the amount of nucleating agent. The results indicate that optimum microstructure and machinability can be obtained in machinable glass-ceramic by the addition of 1 wt% TiO₂ for the composition having 3:7 weight ratio of fluorapatite to potassium mica.     

Growth and Characterization of YbBCO Films on Textured Gd2O3 Buffer-Layered Ni Tapes: All Sol–Gel Process

YbBa₂Cu₃O_7?x (YbBCO) thick films were grown on buffered, cube-textured Nickel tapes by sol–gel dip-coating method. Yb-123 films were prepared using solutions of Yb, Ba, and Cu organometallic compounds. A solution-based Gd₂O₃ buffer layer was deposited by dip-coating process with excellent texture and uniformity. The texture development and surface morphology of the buffer-layer films were examined by X-ray diffraction, pole figures, and ESEM analysis. Microstructure and characterization of Yb-123 films were done by ESEM, EDS, and XRD analysis. T _c and J _c were conducted by four-wire measurement method