Thermal resistance assessment in multi-trenched power devices

For the first time the thermal resistance (R_th) of Multi-Trenched (MT) power devices is evaluated and compared with their Deep Trench Isolation flanked (DTI-flanked) and bulk counterparts. The R_th extraction is carried out by adapted test structures based on the four-point heater/sensor method. Additional TCAD simulation supports the experimental stationary values and proves that dynamic heating can limit the MT power devices energy capability.     

A PCR-microarray method for the screening of genetically modified organisms

A new method to screen and to identify genetically modified organisms (GMO) is presented in this paper. It is based on the detection of multiple genetic elements common to GMO by their amplification via PCR followed by direct hybridisation of the amplicons on microarray. The pattern of the elements is then compared to a database of the composition of EU-approved GMO and an identification of the GMO is then proposed. The limit of detection of the method was ≤0.1% GMO content (w/w) expressed as the amount of target DNA present in the template for single unprocessed material. The DNA targets were detected both in reference materials and in mixtures with the same detection limit. The specificity for the detection of the different elements was found to be very good with no cross-reaction even in samples with two GMO present at different concentrations. The paper presents examples of GMO identification and discusses the potential and limitation of such approaches and how they can facilitate the work of private and enforcement detection laboratories.     

Salomon: Automatic Abstracting of Legal Cases for Effective Access to Court Decisions

The SALOMON project is a contribution to the automatic processing of legal texts. Its aim is to automatically summarise Belgian criminal cases in order to improve access to the large number of existing and future cases. Therefore, techniques are developed for identifying and extracting relevant information from the cases. A broader application of these techniques could considerably simplify the work of the legal profession.A double methodology was used when developing SALOMON: the cases are processed by employing additional knowledge to interpret structural patterns and features on the one hand and by way of occurrence statistics of index terms on the other. As a result, SALOMON performs an initial categorisation and structuring of the cases and subsequently extracts the most relevant text units of the alleged offences and of the opinion of the court. The SALOMON techniques do not themselves solve any legal questions, but they do guide the user effectively towards relevant texts.     

Trematode hemoglobins show exceptionally high oxygen affinity

Ligand binding studies were made with hemoglobin (Hb) isolated from trematode species Gastrothylax crumenifer (Gc), Paramphistomum epiclitum (Pe), Explanatum explanatum (Ee), parasitic worms of water buffalo Bubalus bubalis, and Isoparorchis hypselobagri (Ih) parasitic in the catfish Wallago attu. The kinetics of oxygen and carbon monoxide binding show very fast association rates. Whereas oxygen can be displaced on a millisecond time scale from human Hb at 25 degrees C, the dissociation of oxygen from trematode Hb may require a few seconds to over 20 s (for Hb Pe). Carbon monoxide dissociation is faster, however, than for other monomeric hemoglobins or myoglobins. Trematode hemoglobins also show a reduced rate of autoxidation; the oxy form is not readily oxidized by potassium ferricyanide, indicating that only the deoxy form reacts rapidly with this oxidizing agent. Unlike most vertebrate Hbs, the trematodes have a tyrosine residue at position E7 instead of the usual distal histidine. As for Hb Ascaris, which also displays a high oxygen affinity, the trematodes have a tyrosine in position B10; two H-bonds to the oxygen molecule are thought to be responsible for the very high oxygen affinity. The trematode hemoglobins display a combination of high association rates and very low dissociation rates, resulting in some of the highest oxygen affinities ever observed.     

Intelligent Information Extraction from Legal Texts

Presently, we are confronted with an enormous amount of legal documents, which are increasingly recorded in electronic format. There is a need to make the information in legal texts easily and automatically accessible. In this paper we argue that in the legal field, where we are confronted with specific text types, knowledge about discourse structures and the linguistic cues that signal them is very valuable to incorporate in information extraction systems and in text processing systems in general. We also demonstrate the need for adequate formalisms for representing discourse patterns. However, intertextual analysis of texts that describes and explains the properties of text types and genres is underdeveloped in the legal field.     

Recent advances in non-probabilistic approaches for non-deterministic dynamic finite element analysis

Summary There is a growing awareness of the impact of non-deterministic model properties on the numerical simulation of physical phenomena. These non-deterministic aspects are of great importance when there is a large amount of information to be retrieved from the numerical analysis, as for instance in a numerical reliability study or reliability based optimisation during a design process. Therefore, the non-deterministic properties form a primordial part of a trustworthy virtual prototyping environment. The implementation of such a virtual prototyping environment requires the inclusion of non-deterministic properties in the numerical finite element framework. This articel gives an overview of the emerging non-probabilistic approaches for non-deterministic numerical analysis, and compares them to the classical probabilistic methodology. Their applicability in the context in engineering design is discussed. The typical implementation strategies applied in literature are reviewed. A new concept is introduced for the calculation of envelope frequency response functions. This method is explained in detail and illustrated on a numerical example.     

The thickness profile of ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene films during sequential biaxial drawing

In this study, the evolution of the thickness profile of UHMW‐polyethylene films during sequential biaxial drawing is studied. The basic assumption is that a nonuniform thickness distribution of the drawn film is the result of the amplification of initial imperfections. Finite element simulations of the drawing process have been performed in which the drawing of a piece of film with a geometric imperfection is considered. For these numerical simulations, a viscoelastic model is adopted. Although the model does not describe the behavior of UHMW‐PE films in full detail, it is able to capture typical features of inhomogeneous deformation. The most striking observation is that severe localization occurs at the beginning of the second drawing step (i.e. in the direction transverse to the first step). In this stage of the drawing process, a localization band develops. These phenomena are also observed in validation experiments. A discrepancy between the simulations and the validation experiments is observed at the end of the drawing process. In the simulations, the deformation is stabilized again, and the resulting thickness profile is practically uniform. In the experiments however, the bad thickness profile at the beginning of the second drawing step is conserved up to the end of the drawing process. The simulations have been performed for different process parameters. Hence, it is possible to access the influence of these parameters on the evolution of the thickness profile. Furthermore, a suggestion is done to explain the deformation phenomena. The stability of the deformation can be determined from stress‐strain curves during the biaxial drawing process. It is concluded that, although no absolute values are acquired, trends are predicted correctly and they can serve as quidelines for process control.     

Back pain and its correlates among workers in family care

This study is based on the empirical fact that among nurses large variations occur not only in clinical competency but also in individual productivity. The article proposes that competency-based targeted staff development programs can improve productivity as well as nursing performance. Research presented here shows that the nurses on units using targeted staff development increased the time spent on professional and direct care and reduced nonprofessional and indirect care tasks in comparison to nurses on the control nursing unit.