Support vector machine-based inspection of solder joints using circular illumination

A method for inspecting solder joints using support vector machines (SVMs) and a tiered circular illumination technique is proposed. The illumination technique provides visual information that allows the 3D shape of the solder joint surface to be determined. The extracted features are used to classify the solder joint using an SVM classifier. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Surface‐Shielding Nanostructures Derived from Self‐Assembled Block Copolymers Enable Reliable Plasma Doping for Few‐Layer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

Precise modulation of electrical and optical properties of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) is required for their application to high‐performance devices. Although conventional plasma‐based doping methods have provided excellent controllability and reproducibility for bulk or relatively thick TMDs, the application of plasma doping for ultrathin few‐layer TMDs has been hindered by serious degradation of their properties. Herein, a reliable and universal doping route is reported for few‐layer TMDs by employing surface‐shielding nanostructures during a plasma‐doping process. It is shown that the surface‐protection oxidized polydimethylsiloxane nanostructures obtained from the sub‐20 nm self‐assembly of Si‐containing block copolymers can preserve the integrity of 2D TMDs and maintain high mobility while affording extensive control over the doping level. For example, the self‐assembled nanostructures form periodically arranged plasma‐blocking and plasma‐accepting nanoscale regions for realizing modulated plasma doping on few‐layer MoS₂, controlling the n‐doping level of few‐layer MoS₂ from 1.9 × 10¹¹ cm^?2 to 8.1 × 10¹¹ cm^?2 via the local generation of extra sulfur vacancies without compromising the carrier mobility.     

Surface copper enrichment by reduction of copper chromite catalyst employed for carbon monoxide oxidation

The effect of prereduction on CO oxidation activity of unsupported copper-chromite oxide catalysts was examined. Results were found to be in good agreement with two mechanisms for a surface copper enrichment due to CO prereduction which produced an activity increase in the copper-chromite catalyst.     

Design criterion for zero-input asymptotic overflow-stability of recursive digital filters in the presence of quantization

This paper investigates the zero-input stability properties of the exact second-order recursive digital filter having both overflow and quantization non-linearities. Two examples demonstrate the adverse influence of quantization on the overflow-stability property of the filter. Three sets of conditions are presented to ensure asymptotic overflow-stability in the presence of quantization. Using these criteria, various regions in the coefficient plane corresponding to different minimum internal wordlengths required to ensure the non-interaction of overflow and quantization are derived. These results thus form a useful design criterion.This work was supported in part by a Monash Graduate Scholarship (awarded to P.K. Sim) and Telecom Australia under Contract No. 64514.     

Principle and application of ball SAW devices

A thin beam of waves usually diverges due to diffraction, which is a limitation of any device using such waves. However, a surface acoustic wave (SAW) on a sphere with an appropriate aperture does not diverge but is collimated, realizing ultra‐multiple roundtrips along an equator of the sphere. This effect is caused by the balance between diffraction and focusing on a spherical surface, and it enables realization of high‐performance ball SAW sensors. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 168(1): 41–51, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20817     

Analysing ownership,locational and internalization advantages of Chinese construction MNCs using rough sets analysis

The rough sets analysis focusing on the ownership, locational and internalization (OLI) advantages of Chinese construction multinational corporations (MNCs) in the international market under Dunning's Eclectic Paradigm was adopted to overcome the sample size constraint in MNC research that seeks to examine the causality patterns of the factors identified. The rough sets methodology provides a solution that conventional statistical methods do not offer to ascertain how these factors are determined and their influence in the OLI analysis of the performance of Chinese construction MNCs. The rough sets approach to handling imperfect data with uncertainty and vagueness was adopted to describe dependencies between attributes, evaluate the significance of attributes and deal with inconsistencies. Based on a questionnaire survey of 31 Chinese construction MNCs, findings from the rough sets analysis suggest, among other things, that: (1) a firm is likely to perform well in terms of its ownership advantages when it has a significant advantage on its reputation and its accessibility to resources when compared with local contractors; (2) a firm may be expected to achieve better results in terms of its locational advantages if the large number of competitors from China in the host countries becomes its most important consideration; and (3) a firm that conscientiously avoids or reduces information search and business negotiation costs would tend to perform well in terms of its internalization advantages.     

Lysophosphatidylserine Induces MUC5AC Production via the Feedforward Regulation of the TACE-EGFR-ERK Pathway in Airway Epithelial Cells in a Receptor-Independent Manner

Lysophosphatidylserine (LysoPS) is an amphipathic lysophospholipid that mediates a broad spectrum of inflammatory responses through a poorly characterized mechanism. Because LysoPS levels can rise in a variety of pathological conditions, we sought to investigate LysoPS’s potential role in airway epithelial cells that actively participate in lung homeostasis. Here, we report a previously unappreciated function of LysoPS in production of a mucin component, MUC5AC, in the airway epithelial cells. LysoPS stimulated lung epithelial cells to produce MUC5AC via signaling pathways involving TACE, EGFR, and ERK. Specifically, LysoPS- dependent biphasic activation of ERK resulted in TGF-α secretion and strong EGFR phosphorylation leading to MUC5AC production. Collectively, LysoPS induces the expression of MUC5AC via a feedback loop composed of proligand synthesis and its proteolysis by TACE and following autocrine EGFR activation. To our surprise, we were not able to find a role of GPCRs and TLR2, known LyoPS receptors in LysoPS-induced MUC5AC production in airway epithelial cells, suggesting a potential receptor-independent action of LysoPS during inflammation. This study provides new insight into the potential function and mechanism of LysoPS as an emerging lipid mediator in airway inflammation.     

Relationship between solar radiation and surface distribution of vegetation in Fildes Peninsula and Ardley Island,Maritime Antarctica

The aim of this work is to produce a simplified vegetation map of ice-free areas of the Fildes Peninsula (FP) and Ardley Island (AI) thought object-oriented classification using a QuickBird satellite image and to evaluate the influence of the global solar radiation (GSR) over the vegetation distribution. The vegetation data were generated from multiresolution segmentation using the panchromatic and infrared layers, and for the classification we calculated the normalized vegetative difference index (NVDI) and the green NVDI. Two classes were created – Lichen and Moss Cushion SubFormation and Moss Subformation – with 48 vegetation samples collected on surveys during the austral summers of 2008 and 2009. We used a kappa index to evaluate the classification efficiency using 100 sampled points obtained in austral summer of 2013. The GSR was estimated, and in order to evaluate the effect of meteorological phenomena and cloudless, we measured the GSR using a net radiometer model CNR4 installed in FP between 2014 and 2016. The estimate of GSR was done for seasons of 2015, in order to estimate the light compensation point and the saturation point for the plant communities in FP and AI. The kappa index was 0.73 and the global accuracy was 0.78, showing consistency between the classification and ground truth. The area was covered by vegetation in FP was 16.7% and in AI is 59.1%. The vegetation cover is distributed differently at FP and AI, and our results suggest GSR plays an important role in vegetation distribution and these tendencies could be related to greater GSR demand by mosses when compared to lichens.