Out of Context: NMDA Receptor Antagonism in the Avian 'Prefrontal Cortex' Impairs Context Processing in a Conditional Discrimination Task.

Processing of context information is implicated in prefrontal functions as response selection or attention. N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the mammalian prefrontal cortex (PFC) and in the nidopallium caudolaterale (NCL) of birds, the avian functional equivalent of the PFC, are involved in learning, which also requires processing of context. The authors investigated the role of NMDA receptors in the pigeon (Columba livia) NCL for context processing and response selection in a simultaneous-matching-to-sample task with 2 trial types, requiring either processing of context information, delivered by a conditional stimulus (context dependent), or only recall of a stimulus-response association (fixed response). The competitive NMDA antagonist DL-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid impaired performance only in context-dependent trials. Therefore, NMDA receptors in the avian PFC participate in response selection requiring context processing rather than in response selection per se. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Demosaicing algorithms for area- and line-scan cameras in print inspection

Most color image sensors use color filter arrays (CFA). With this sensor design the captured information at each sensor pixel position is restricted to a specific spectral portion (typically red, green and blue bands). To obtain the missing color responses at each pixel position, so-called CFA demosaicing algorithms are commonly used. We propose two new CFA demosaicing algorithms, which are well suited for industrial print inspection with respect to the requirements in accuracy and speed. As a main contribution, we introduce novel demosaicing algorithms for specific high-speed color digital time delay and integration (DTDI) CFA line-scan cameras. We compare the suggested CFA demosaicing algorithms to state-of-the art algorithms for area and line-scan camera operation modes. We show that the two new algorithms perform superior to conventional algorithms as indicated by reconstruction error.     

Irreversibility Line and Flux Relaxation in Bi:2223/Ag Tape Prepared by CTFF Technique: H//<Emphasis Type=Italic>c</Emphasis> axis

We have studied flux dynamics in Bi:2223/Ag tape prepared by the CTFF technique in the orientation of H//c axis. Irreversibility line (IL) of a Bi:2223/Ag tape has been determined from AC susceptibility and the DC magnetization technique based on FC and ZFC curves. We have observed that the irreversibility temperature determined from the AC susceptibility method locates at a higher temperature than that was determined from the DC magnetization method. This shift could be attributed to the viscous dissipation generated by the oscillation of flux lines. FC magnetization at 20 K and 30 K for the field range from 500 to 2500 Oe are the same and show a plateau implying the same amount of reversible magnetization due to the Meissner current. Remanent magnetization versus temperature curves, which give us information on the flux pinning mechanism of the vortices, are also presented.     

Formation of titanium and cobalt germanides on Si (100) using rapid thermal processing

Titanium and cobalt germanides have been formed on Si (100) substrates using rapid thermal processing. Germanium was deposited by rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition prior to metal evaporation. Solid phase reactions were then performed using rapid thermal annealing in either Ar or N₂ ambients. Germanide formation has been found to occur in a manner similar to the formation of corresponding silicides. The sheet resistance was found to be dependent on annealing ambient (Ar or N₂) for titanium germanide formation, but not for cobalt germanide formation. The resistivities of titanium and cobalt germanides were found to be 20 μΩ-cm and 35.3μΩ-cm, corresponding to TiGe₂ and Co₂Ge, respectively. During solid phase reactions of Ti with Ge, we have found that the Ti₆Ge₅ phase forms prior to TiGe₂. The TiGe₂ phase was found to form approximately at 800° C. Cobalt germanide formation was found to occur at relatively low temperatures (425° C); however, the stability of the material is poor at elevated temperatures.     

Rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition of in-situ boron doped polycrystalline SIxGe1-x

In-situ doped polycrystalline Si_xGe_1-x (x = 0.7) alloys were deposited by rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition (RTCVD) using the reactive gases SiH₂Cl₂, GeH₄ and B₂H₆ in a H₂ carrier gas. The depositions were performed at a total pressure of 4.0 Torr and at temperatures 600° C, 650° C and 700° C and different B₂H₆ flow rates. The conditions were chosen to achieve high doping levels in the deposited films. Our results indicate negligible effect of B₂H₆ flow on the deposition rate. The depositions follow an Arrhenius type behavior with an activation energy of 25 kcal/mole. Boron incorporation in the films was found to follow a simple kinetic model with higher boron levels at lower deposition rates and higher B₂H₆ flow rates. As-deposited resistivities as low as 2 mΩ-cm were obtained. Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) in the temperature range 800-1000° C was found to reduce the resistivity only marginally due to the high levels of boron activation achieved during the deposition process. The results indicate that polycrystalline Si_xGe_1-x films can be deposited by RTCVD with resistivities comparable to those reported for in-situ doped polysilicon.     

A Combined Interleaving Technique for Trellis Coded MPSK Systems in Rayleigh Fading Channels

Freedom of mobility is the latesttrend in the evolution of digital communicationsystems. In these systems bandwidth and powerconstraints limit the mobility of the users. TCM(trellis coded modulation) is a combined coding andmodulation scheme which increases the productivity ofa digital communication system without increasing thetransmitted power or the required bandwidth. A mobilecommunication channel is affected from noise andfading because of the multipath propagation. On aRayleigh fading channel, coding should be used withtechniques which uncorrelate the received energy ofeach consecutive coded symbol. Interleaving is one ofthese techniques and used to make burst errors intorandom errors which can be corrected by errorcorrecting codes. In this paper, the trellis codingsystem which combines a regular convolutional encoder,bit interleaver, coordinate interleaver, and anappropriate decoder is considered. The analytical biterror probability upper bounds are derived for the8-PSK TCM system whose diversity is increased by usinga regular 2/3 rate convolutional code followed bythree bit interleavers and a 8-PSK signal mapperfollowed by two coordinate interleavers. Theanalytical and simulation results show that toincrease the diversity of the trellis coded M-PSKsystems in Rayleigh fading channels is the primary keyfor reliable transmission of high quality voice anddigital data.     

Influence of dry and wet cleaning on the properties of rapid thermal grown and deposited gate dielectrics

Various silicon surface cleaning processes for rapid thermal in-situ polysilicon/ oxide/silicon stacked gate structures have been evaluated. Metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors were fabricated to assess the effects of cleaning on the quality of gate oxide structures produced by both rapid thermal oxidation (RTO) and rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition (RTCVD). Excellent electrical properties have been achieved for both RTO and RTCVD gate oxides formed on silicon wafers using either an ultraviole/zone (UV/O₃) treatment or a modified RCA clean. On the contrary, poor electrical properties have been observed for RTO and RTCVD gate oxides formed on silicon wafers using a high temperature bake in Ar, H₂, or high vacuum ambient. It has also been found that the electrical properties of the RTCVD gate oxides exhibit less dependence upon cleaning conditions than those of RTO gate oxides. This work demonstrates that initial surface condition prior to gate oxide formation plays an important role in determining the quality of RTO and RTCVD gate oxides.     

Anisotropy of ductile fracture in hot-rolled steel plates-an application of the upset test

Upset testing of cylindrical specimens generates circumferential tensile stresses at the barreled surfaces. These stresses can be utilized in the same manner as the tensile stresses in the tension test to evaluate the ductility of materials. Using the upset test method, the anisotropy of ductile fracture in AISI 1045 hot-rolled steel plates was determined. Ductility parallel to the plane of inclusions is found to be ≈ 50 pet higher than that perpendicular to the inclusions. It is shown that the local surface strains at fracture in upset testing correlate well with the true zero-gage-length fracture strain in tension testing, provided the tensile stresses in the respective tests are in the same direction relative to the inclusion orientation. Thus, compression tests parallel to the inclusion direction, which generate tensile stresses perpendicular to the inclusions, can be utilized to measure ductility transverse to the fiber of wrought materials. This is particularly useful in determining the short transverse or through-thickness ductility in hot-rolled or forged materials having thin sections.