Effect of wafer thinning methods towards fracture strength and topography of silicon die

This paper characterizes die damage resulting from various wafer thinning processes. Die fracture strength is measured using ball breaker test with respect to die surface finish. Further study on surface roughness and topography of each surface finish is obtained by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. Stress relief process with 25 μm removal is able to strengthen 100 μm wafer by 20.4% using chemical wet etch and 75 μm wafer by 36.4% with plasma etch. Relatively, plasma etching shows higher fracture strength and flexibility compared to chemical wet etch. This is due to topography of the finished surface of plasma etch is smoother and rounded, leading to a reduced stress concentration, hence improved fracture strength.     

为．NET应用程序实现一个类似Word的对象模型

所有的Microsoft Office应用程序都构建在支持自动化的对象模型之上。任何开发人员都能够使用对象模型来驱动应用程序UI以及添加、编辑和删除内容，就像一个真正的用户在与应用程序交互。丰富对象模型结合自动化支持使Office应用程序真正成为可扩展和可插接的。为了扩展Microsoft Word的行为而满足每个人自身的需要，任何人都能够在很短的时间里编写出一个强大的外接程序。作为优秀的面向对象开发人员，我们使用丰富的结构和优秀合理的对象模型（遵循模型一视图一控制器设计模式（MVC）来开发自己的应用程序。     

Effects of the Treatment with Flavonoids on Metabolic Syndrome Components in Humans: A Systematic Review Focusing on Mechanisms of Action

Diets high in bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, have been used to mitigate metabolic syndrome (MetS). Polyphenols are a large group of naturally occurring bioactive compounds, classified into two main classes: non-flavonoids and flavonoids. Flavonoids are distributed in foods, such as fruits, vegetables, tea, red wine, and cocoa. Studies have already demonstrated the benefits of flavonoids on the cardiovascular and nervous systems, as well as cancer cells. The present review summarizes the results of clinical studies that evaluated the effects of flavonoids on the components of the MetS and associated complications when offered as supplements over the long term. The results show that flavonoids can significantly modulate several metabolic parameters, such as lipid profile, blood pressure, and blood glucose. Only theaflavin and catechin were unable to affect metabolic parameters. Moreover, only body weight and body mass index were unaltered. Thus, the evidence presented in this systematic review offers bases in support of a flavonoid supplementation, held for at least 3 weeks, as a strategy to improve several metabolic parameters and, consequently, reduce the risk of diseases associated with MetS. This fact becomes stronger due to the rare side effects reported with flavonoids.     

Numerical simulations of cantilever beam response with saturation control and full modal coupling

Numerical simulations of the response of a uniform, cantilever beam subjected to a base excitation are performed. A saturation absorber is implemented to control the beam response. In previous investigations of similar configurations, the inertial and structural properties of the piezoelectric actuators have been neglected, resulting in an analytical model of a uniform beam. This investigation includes the nonuniformities in the beam properties that are introduced when piezoelectric actuators are bonded to the uniform beam. The resulting coupling between uniform, cantilever beam modes is fully included in the analytical model. It is shown that this modal coupling has a significant effect on the beam response, which is not present when modal coupling is neglected.     

Adaptive device-to-device communication using Wi-Fi Direct in smart cities

Wi-Fi Direct has become vastly popular in the last few years. Due to its fast network setup and the provision of high transmission rates, it is expected to be the piggyback technology for high speed device-to-device communications in smart cities. The increasing demand on Wi-Fi Direct networks and its co-location in the same band with other Wi-Fi ad-hoc and infrastructure networks have entailed the need for developing new adaptive techniques to utilize the wireless spectrum efficiently. In this paper, we introduce, analyze and implement a self-organizing algorithm designed specifically for pop-up Wi-Fi Direct networks. The algorithm dynamically changes the operating channels of pop-up Wi-Fi Direct networks according to their performance in a non-cooperative manner. It utilizes the spectrum efficiently, reduces congestion and enhances performance. Moreover, the modified Wi-Fi Direct network running the proposed algorithm is interoperable with all other Wi-Fi network modes and setups and does not affect their functionalities. On the contrary, it enhances their performance implicitly. We implement the algorithm using the driver of RTL8188CUS chipset in a Linux environment and conduct experiments to evaluate its performance. The obtained results illustrate the benefits of using the proposed algorithm.     

Influence of Y~(3+),Yb~(3+),Gd~(3+) cations on structural and electromagnetic properties of CuFe_2O_4 nanoferrites prepared via one step sol-gel method

Rare earths(REs) play a key role in distorting spinel structure by creating some defects at the lattice sites and make them suitable for magnetodielectric applications.In the present study,the nanoferrites of CuRE_(0.02)Fe_(1.98)O_4,where REs=Y~(3+),Yb~(3+),Gd~(3+),were prepared using one step sol-gel method.The prepared samples are copper ferrite(CFO),yttrium doped copper ferrite(Y-CFO),ytterbium doped copper ferrite(Yb-CFO) and gadolinium doped copper ferrite(Gd-CFO),respectively.The single-phase structure of all the REs doped nanoferrites was determined by X-ray diffraction(XRD) analysis.The porosity,agglomerations and grain size of the REs doped copper ferrite were examined using field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM) analysis.Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)elaborates the phase formation and environmental effects on the REs doped nanoparticles(NPs).The recorded room temperature M-H loops from a vibrating sample magnetometer(VSM) elucidate the magnetic properties of the REs doped spinel nanoferrites.The magnetic saturation(M_s) was calculated in the range of 23.08 to 51.78 emu/g.The calculated coercivity values(272.6 to 705.60 Oe) confirm the soft magnetic behavior of REs doped copper ferrites.Furthermore,the electromagnetic and dielectric properties were assessed using a Vector network analyzer(VNA) from 1 to 6 GHz.The permeability,permittivity,dielectric tangent loss and electric modulus of the REs doped spinel ferrites illustrate that the prepared NPs may be suitable for microwave and high frequency applications.     

Using frames to disambiguate prepositions

In natural language processing (NLP), disambiguation is the procedure used to solve name conflicts of polysemic concepts (different meanings); in fact, phrase disambiguation is a problem not totally solved in NLP. Several disambiguation types exist; for instance, noun disambiguation (bank is a word with several meanings) or when a word is both used as a noun and as a preposition. Work herein reported describes an algorithm and its implementation to disambiguate prepositions in Spanish phrases; some of them are: a {to} (Translation to English are in bold for explanation purposes; they give only one of the senses of the Spanish word, which usually have multiple meanings.), ante {before}, bajo {under}, cabe {fits}, desde {from}, contra {against}, en {in}, por {by}, según {according to}, sin {without}, entre {between}, so {under}, con {with}, hacia {towards}, sobre {about}, hasta {until}, de {of}, tras {after}, para {for}. This tool will be used in a text analyzer (being built) that converts a text document to its corresponding ontology representation, with the goal of allowing another program to use the information to answer non trivial questions (**).     

Macroporous calcium phosphate ceramic implants for sustained drug delivery

Limited blood circulation to the skeletal tissue is a major cause of reduced therapeutic effects seen with drugs administered by conventional systemic ways. To resolve this issue and obtain a sufficiently high local concentration to induce therapeutic effects, several implanted drug delivery systems have been developed for hard tissues using biomaterials.We have designed a drug delivery device based on hydroxylapatite (HA) and tested it in vitro using metronidazol and chloramphenicol as model compounds. Porous HA ceramics were prepared with two different shapes (cylindrical and spherical). Known amounts of drugs were introduced inside a drilled hole and sealed with wax. The ceramics were then suspended in stirred distilled water in closed polypropylene vials. Drug release was observed during several weeks.A mathematical model used to describe drug release from HA was elaborated based on the expressions of Fick's laws. The experimental kinetic results could be related to ceramic constitution and to drug localization.     

The checkered puffer (Spheroides testudineus) and its helminths as bioindicators of chemical pollution in Yucatan coastal lagoons

The suitability of using helminth communities as bioindicators of environmental quality of the Yucatan coastal lagoons status was tested on the checkered puffer (Spheroides testudineus) in four coastal lagoons along the Yucatan coast. The concentration of chemical pollutants in sediments, water quality parameters, helminth infracommunity characteristics, as well as fish physiological biomarkers, including EROD (7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase) and catalase activities, were measured. Results from sediment analyses demonstrated the presence of hydrocarbons, organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls at varying concentrations, some of which exceeded the Probability Effect Level (PEL). Significant negative associations among organochlorine pesticides, infracommunity characteristics and fish physiological responses were observed in most of the lagoons. Results suggest that EROD activity and parasite infracommunity characteristics could be useful tools to evaluate the effects of chemical pollutants on the fish host and in the environment. Importantly, certain parasites appear to influence biomarker measurements, indicating that parasites should be considered in ecotoxicological studies.