Room-temperature optically-pumped GaSb quantum well based VCSEL monolithically grown on Si (100) substrate

Monolithic vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) on Si are demonstrated. The GaSb multi-quantum well active region embedded in an Al(Ga)Sb half-wave cavity spacer layer enables lasing under room-temperature optically-pumped conditions. The 13% lattice mismatch is accommodated by a spontaneously formed 2-D array of 90/spl deg/ misfit dislocations at the AlSb/Si interface. This growth mode produces very low defect density (/spl sim/8/spl times/10/sup 5//cm/sup 2/) and relaxed materials growth (98%) without the use of a buffer layer. Presented are VCSEL lasing spectra, light-in against light-out curves along with defect density measurements performed by microscopy and etch-pit density. A threshold excitation density of I/sub th/=0.1 mJ/cm/sup 2/ and a multimode lasing spectrum peaked at 1.62 /spl mu/m, results from a 3 mm pump-spot size.     

View and space management on large displays

This article describes the canvas portal framework that facilitates the development of alternative view-based space-management techniques on large displays. Implementations of the framework provide layout management, context switching, and space creation. The canvas portals are alternative views of display canvas areas where interacting with the portal's interior is equivalent to interacting with the depicted display area. To illustrate the generality of the canvas portals concept, we've instantiated a representative sample of existing large-display interaction techniques within the canvas portal design space, and developed several interaction techniques that address some of the challenges in new ways.     

Effects of Layer Thickness and Density on Settlement and Lateral Spreading

This paper presents the results of six large-scale centrifuge model tests that were performed to study the effect of relative density and thickness of sand layers on the amount of settlement and lateral spreading. The models included a “river” channel with clay flood banks underlain by layers of loose and dense sand of variable thickness, and a bridge abutment surcharge on one of the banks. The model container was tilted to provide an overall slope to the model. Each model was subjected to three or four significant ground motion events, which were obtained by scaling the amplitude of recordings of the Kobe (1995) and Loma Prieta (1989) earthquakes. Several measurements of acceleration, pore water pressure, settlement, and lateral movement are presented. The liquefaction potential index and a deformation index, which combine the influences of depth, density, and layer thickness, were found to correlate reasonably well with liquefaction induced settlements and lateral deformations for the range of models tested and indicate that centrifuge results are consistent with field observations.     

Development of hybrid genetic algorithms for product line designs.

In this paper, we investigate the efficacy of artificial intelligence (AI) based meta-heuristic techniques namely genetic algorithms (GAs), for the product line design problem. This work extends previously developed methods for the single product design problem. We conduct a large scale simulation study to determine the effectiveness of such an AI based technique for providing good solutions and bench mark the performance of this against the current dominant approach of beam search (BS). We investigate the potential advantages of pursuing the avenue of developing hybrid models and then implement and study such hybrid models using two very distinct approaches: namely, seeding the initial GA population with the BS solution, and employing the BS solution as part of the GA operator's process. We go on to examine the impact of two alternate string representation formats on the quality of the solutions obtained by the above proposed techniques. We also explicitly investigate a critical managerial factor of attribute importance in terms of its impact on the solutions obtained by the alternate modeling procedures. The alternate techniques are then evaluated, using statistical analysis of variance, on a fairy large number of data sets, as to the quality of the solutions obtained with respect to the state-of-the-art benchmark and in terms of their ability to provide multiple, unique product line options.     

Determinants of Innovative Work Behaviour: Development and Test of an Integrated Model

In this study, we developed and tested a causal model to predict innovative work behaviour (IWB) integrating the literatures on psychological contract, job design and organizational justice. Two hundred and four employees from Irish manufacturing organizations participated in the study, and we collected data using a survey questionnaire. The psychological contract variable of perceived obligation to innovate, job autonomy and pay showed direct effects on IWB. In addition, pay and job autonomy also had indirect effects on IWB through the mediating variable of psychological contract – perceived obligation to innovate. The organizational process of meritocracy, equity perceptions and procedural justice perceptions influenced IWB through the mediating variables of psychological contract, although none of these variables influenced IWB directly. Overall, the results indicated good support for the integrative model and provided support for the crucial role played by psychological contract in influencing IWB. Implications are discussed.     

Evaluation of anti‐bacterial activity of silver nanoparticles synthesised by coprophilous fungus PM0651419

The study explored biological synthesis of metallic silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from the less explored non‐pathogenic coprophilous fungus, sterile mycelium, PM0651419 and evaluates the antimicrobial efficacy of biosynthesised AgNPs when impregnated in wound fabrics and in combination with six antimicrobial agents. AgNPs alone proved to be potent antibacterial agents and in combination they enhanced the antibacterial activity and spectrum of antibacterials used in the study against a microbiologically diverse battery of Gram positive, Gram negative and multidrug‐resistant bacteria. AgNPs impregnated on the wound dressings established their antibacterial activity by significantly reducing the bacterial load of pathogenic bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis e stablishing potential as effective antimicrobial wound dressings for treatment of polymicrobial wound infections. This study presents the first report on the potential of biosynthesis of AgNPs from the under explored class of coprophilous fungi. Their promise to be used in wound dressings and as potent antibacterials alone and in combination is evaluatedInspec keywords: silver, nanoparticles, nanofabrication, nanomedicine, biomedical materials, microorganisms, antibacterial activity, wounds, fabricsOther keywords: antibacterial activity, coprophilous fungus PM0651419, biological synthesis, metallic silver nanoparticles, nonpathogenic coprophilous fungus, sterile mycelium, antimicrobial efficacy, biosynthesised AgNPs, wound fabrics, microbiologically diverse battery, Gram positive bacteria, Gram negative bacteria, multidrug‐resistant bacteria, wound dressings, bacterial load, pathogenic bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, polymicrobial wound infections, Ag     

Design of stable two-dimensional analogue and digital filters with applications in image processing

A method is proposed for the frequency domain design of linear two-dimensional analogue and digital filters with guaranteed stability. The technique used is based on the result that the numerator and the denominator of the input immittance of a two-variable network (which is passive and lossy) are strictly Hurwitz polynomials. One of these strictly Hurwitz polynomials is assigned to the denominator of a two-variable analogue transfer function and the network elements are then used as the variables of optimization thereby guaranteeing the stability of the analogue transfer function. The transfer function of the corresponding two-dimensional discrete (digital) filter is obtained from the analogue transfer function by the bilinear transformation. Examples illustrating the versatility of the technique in designing 2D digital filters of arbitrary order approximating a given magnitude and group delay response are presented. These filters are used to process a simple binary image. The results obtained demonstrate the importance of linear phase in image processing applications. The method presented here can be extended to the design of stable m-dimensional analogue and digital filters.     

Implementation of an inquisitive chatbot for database supported knowledge bases

Chatbot is a piece of software that responds to natural language input and attempts to hold a conversation in a way that imitates a real person. Some chatbots are used for entertainment purposes, while others for business and commercial purposes. Chatbots are getting a lot of attention from business community right now as they can save costs in customer service centers and can handle multiple clients at a time. Successful implementation of a chatbot calls for correct analysis of user’s query by the bot and the formation of the correct response that should be given to the user. In many scenarios the information available from the user’s query is inadequate to provide the answer. In such contexts, the chatbot needs to be inquisitive so that it will be more interactive and can mimic a more natural human interaction. This paper reports the implementation of an inquisitive chatbot, which finds the missing data in query and probes the questions to users to collect data that are required to answer the query. Through this implementation, the level of interactivity between the user and the chatbot is improved.     

Contrast Enhancement Based Image Detection Using Edge Preserved Key Pixel Point Filtering

In existing methods for segmented images, either edge point extraction or preservation of edges, compromising contrast images is so sensitive to noise. The Degeneration Threshold Image Detection (DTID) framework has been proposed to improve the contrast of edge filtered images. Initially, DTID uses a Rapid Bilateral Filtering process for filtering edges of contrast images. This filter decomposes input images into base layers in the DTID framework. With minimal filtering time, Rapid Bilateral Filtering handles high dynamic contrast images for smoothening edge preservation. In the DTID framework, Rapid Bilateral Filtering with Shift-Invariant Base Pass Domain Filter is insensitive to noise. This Shift-Invariant Filtering estimates value across edges for removing outliers (i.e., noise preserving base layers of the contrast image). The intensity values are calculated in the base layer of the contrast image for accurately detecting nearby spatial locations using Shift-Invariant base Pass Domain Filter (SIDF). At last, Affine Planar Transformation is applied to detect edge filtered contrast images in the DTID framework for attaining a high quality of the image. It normalizes the translation and rotation of images. With this, Degeneration Threshold Image Detection maximizes average contrast enhancement quality and performs an experimental evaluation of factors such as detection accuracy, rate, and filtering time on contrast images. Experimental analysis shows that the DTID framework reduces the filtering time taken on contrast images by 54% and improves average contrast enhancement quality by 27% compared to GUMA, HMRF, SWT, and EHS. It provides better performance on the enhancement of average contrast enhancement quality by 28%, detection accuracy rate by 26%, and reduction in filtering time taken on contrast images by 30% compared to state-of-art methods.