Synthesis, contact printing, and device characterization of Ni-catalyzed, crystalline InAs nanowires

InAs nanowires have been actively explored as the channel material for high performance transistors owing to their high electron mobility and ease of ohmic metal contact formation. The catalytic growth of nonepitaxial InAs nanowires, however, has often relied on the use of Au colloids which is non-CMOS compatible. Here, we demonstrate the successful synthesis of crystalline InAs nanowires with high yield and tunable diameters by using Ni nanoparticles as the catalyst material on amorphous SiO2 substrates. The nanowires show superb electrical properties with field-effect electron mobility ~2700 cm2/Vs and ION/IOFF >103. The uniformity and purity of the grown InAs nanowires are further demonstrated by large-scale assembly of parallel arrays of nanowires on substrates via the contact printing process that enables high performance, “printable” transistors, capable of delivering 5 10 mA ON currents (~400 nanowires).     

Analysis of Target Detection Probability in Randomly Deployed Sensor Networks

The main functionality of a surveillance wireless sensor network is to detect unauthorized traversals in a field. In this paper, we develop a formulation to determine the probability of detecting a randomly positioned target by a set of binary sensors to serve as the deployment quality measure. This formulation leads to a recipe to determine the number of sensors required to deliver a certain deployment quality level. The sensing- and communication-neighbor degrees which can be used as design criteria in a sensor network are defined and calculated. The model is verified by simulations whose outcomes closely match the analytical results.     

Determination of Mean Velocity and Discharge in Natural Streams Using Neuro-Fuzzy and Neural Network Approaches

The applicability of artificial neural networks (ANNs) and the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) for determination of mean velocity and discharge of natural streams is investigated. The 2,184 field data obtained from four different sites on the Sarimsakli and Sosun streams in central Turkey were used in the study. ANNs and ANFIS models use the inputs, water surface velocity and water surface slope, to estimate the mean velocity and discharges of natural streams. The accuracies of both models were compared with the multiple-linear regression (MLR) model. The comparison results showed that the ANFIS model performed better than the ANNs and regression models for estimating mean velocity and discharge. The ANN model also showed better accuracy than the MLR model. The root mean square errors (RMSE) and mean absolute relative errors (MARE) of the MLR model were reduced by 88 and 91 % using the ANFIS model in estimating discharges, respectively. It is found that the optimal ANFIS model with RMSE of 0,063, MARE of 3,47 and determination coefficient (R²) of 0,996 in the test period is superior in estimation of discharge than the MLR model with RMSE of 0,532, MARE of 38,9 and R² of 0,776, respectively. The study reveals that the ANFIS technique can be successfully used for estimating the mean velocity and discharge of natural streams by using only the inputs of water surface velocity and water surface slope.     

Process Variation-Aware Multiple-Fault Diagnosis of Thermometer-Coded Current-Steering DACs

In this brief, we first introduce a process-variation-aware test-point generation method. With this method, faults are not obscured by process variations and we are able to generate new test points by measuring a very limited number of current values on-chip and estimating values of the remaining currents. We furthermore introduce a multiple-fault diagnosis procedure where we use the process-variation aware test-point generation method. The proposed methods can also be used for structural test. For the application, we have used a thermometer coded current steering digital to analog converter, as they are widely used due to their suitability for high speed applications and the symmetric design is suitable for the application of our method. We introduce a design-for-test hardware for the diagnosis cost reduction, while implementing our methods. Experimental results show that parametric errors as small as 20% can be diagnosed with up to 97.8% accuracy     

The role of MRI in prostate cancer: current and future directions

Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine - There has been an increasing role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the management of prostate cancer. MRI already plays an...     

Efficient production of l-lactic acid from chicken feather protein hydrolysate and sugar beet molasses by the newly isolated Rhizopus oryzae TS-61

The aim of this study was to investigate production of l-lactic acid from molasses and chicken feather protein hydrolysate (CFP) by the newly isolated Rhizopus oryzae TS-61. R. oryzae TS-61 was capable of utilizing molasses sucrose and CFP as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. In contrast to yeast extract and ammonium sulfate, CFP had potential not only to prevent excessive pH changes and foaming but also to provide smaller uniform pellet formation in during fermentation. Thanks to these properties, it was concluded that CFP might have resulted in higher l-lactic acid production than the other two nitrogen sources (yeast extract and ammonium sulfate). At the end of 42-h optimal cultivation period, the highest (38.5 g/L) and lowest (28.8 g/L) concentrations of l-lactic acid were obtained with CFP and ammonium sulfate, respectively. This is the first report on use of waste chicken feather as a lactic acid production substrate. In addition, a new R. oryzae strain, being capable of using molasses sucrose as carbon source in order to produce l-lactic acid, was isolated.     

Electrospinning of single and multilayered scaffolds for tissue engineering applications

Optimized electrospinning conditions were applied to produce single and multilayered (ML) scaffolds composed of polycaprolactone, collagen and elastin. The ML scaffold was cross-linked with glutaraldehyde to increase the stability. Morphological and structural characteristics of the scaffolds were measured by SEM and FTIR analyses. Results revealed that polymers combined to each other well and uniform fibers were obtained with the diameters ranging from 156 ± 53 to 1536 ± 293 nm. Contact angle measurements were performed to investigate the hydrophilic character of each structure. It was observed that incorporation of the natural polymers into the blends increased the hydrophilicity. Mechanical tests proved that collagen contributed to fabricate stiffer structures while elastin provided more elasticity. Biocompatibility of the scaffolds was examined by SEM analysis and WST-1 test with mouse fibroblast cells (L929) in vitro. Results exhibited that the addition of natural polymers increased the cell growth, and none of the single and ML scaffolds presented cytotoxic effect.     

A comparison of sintering techniques using different particle sized β-SiAlON powders

In the present study sintering behavior and mechanical properties of β-SiAlON ceramics were investigated using different sintering techniques (gas pressured sintering (GPS), pressureless sintering and spark plasma sintering (SPS)) and different particle sized powders (with D_BET 216 and 130 nm). After sintering of the microstructure and phase characterization were carried out using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the X-ray diffraction (XRD) method, respectively. All the samples, prepared using fine powder, were sintered at lower temperatures than samples prepared by conventional powder, by two sintering techniques (GPS and pressureless). Additionally, the results showed that cooling rates had an important effect on the formation and the amount of intermediate phase in the sample. As a result, it was shown that the particle size of starting raw materials, the amount of additive, the sintering temperature and the technique had a significant effect on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the SiAlON samples.     

Instrumented indentation and scratch testing evaluation of tribological properties of tin-based bearing materials

This paper describes a study of some fundamental tribological behavior of two different tin-based bearing materials using scratch and Martens hardness techniques. The scratch test results obtained from the two different tin-based bearing materials were correlated with a function of scratch hardness and coefficient of friction. It is easily observed that the friction coefficients of WM5 are lower than those of WM2 under all scratch test conditions. Beside this, it is clearly distinguished that both materials give higher friction coefficients at higher normal loads and scratch velocities. Also it is found that scratch hardness values of the WM5 materials are higher than WM2 generally. Moreover, optical microscopy was used to determine the scratch hardness of two different tin-based bearing materials by examining the scratch widths. Scanning electron microscopic observations of two different tin-based bearing materials were performed in order to identify the scratch-deformation mechanisms and trace morphology. Beside scratch tests, Martens hardness tests were carried out to evaluate the indentation of materials by considering both the force and displacement during plastic and elastic deformation. By monitoring the complete cycle of increasing and removal of the test force, hardness values were determined.     

ADSORPTION ISOTHERMS OF RAW AND ROASTED HAZELNUTS

Adsorption isotherms of raw and roasted (at 100°C, 120°C, 140°C and 160°C) hazelnuts of Tombul variety were determined at 25°C, and over relative humidities ranging from 11 to 90% using the gravimetric static method. Eleven sorption models (GAB, BET, Modified BET, Halsey, Iglesias-Chirife, Oswin, Chung-Pfost, Smith, Kuhn, Harkins-Jura and Caurie) were evaluated by using the linear regression method. GAB (Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer) model satisfactorily described adsorption characteristics of the samples over the experimental range of study. Monolayer values at 25°C were estimated from the GAB model as 0.0155 kg water/kg dry solid for raw and 0.0100-0.0163 kg water/kg dry solid for roasted hazelnuts. Caurie security moisture content for raw hazelnuts was also determined from Caurie model as 0.048 kg water/kg dry solid.