A conjoint analysis of factors influencing American and Taiwanese college students' preferences for people with disabilities.

Objective: To determine the effect of demographic variables on attitudes toward disability. Participants: Eighty-three female American and 89 female Taiwanese college students. Outcome Measure: A conjoint measurement of 16 stimulus cards (representing people with varying disability labels, severity of disability, age, gender, and education). Procedures: The participants were asked to sort the stimulus cards according to their personal preferences for working with people with disabilities. Results: Younger and higher educated women with milder disabilities were preferred by both Taiwanese and American students. Preference formation is affected by both disability-related variables and other demographic variables (e.g., educational levels). Conclusion: The use of conjoint analysis to examine multiple attributes of persons with disabilities may have higher external validity than single-attribute-design studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Statistical variability in FinFET devices with intrinsic parameter fluctuations

High-κ/metal-gate and vertical channel transistors are well-known solutions to continue the device scaling. This work extensively estimates the influences of the intrinsic parameter fluctuations on nanoscale fin-type field-effect-transistors and circuits by using an experimentally validated three-dimensional device and coupled device-circuit simulations. The dominance fluctuation source in threshold voltage, gate capacitance, cut-off frequency, delay time, and power has been found. The emerging fluctuation source, workfunction fluctuation, shows significant impacts on DC characteristics; however, can be ignored in AC characteristics due to the screening effect of the inversion layer.     

Coping style and personal responsibility as factors in the perception of individuals with physical disabilities by Chinese international students.

This study examined coping style and personal responsibility as factors influencing the perceptions of Chinese international students regarding people with physical disabilities. Sixty Chinese international students were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions (optimistic-not responsible, optimistic-responsible, pessimistic-not responsible, and pessimistic-responsible), and then asked to view a videotape of an interview with a Chinese international student in a wheelchair who assumed one of the four roles listed above. After viewing the tape, the students were asked to complete the Semantic Differential Scale and the Subject Rating Scale. The ANCOVA results indicated that the optimistic-not responsible condition resulted in the most positive evaluations, with the optimistic-pessimistic variable being more potent than the responsible-not responsible variable. Implications for clinical practice and rehabilitation program development in Chinese communities are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Low cost fabrication of microelectrodes on plastic substrate

A low cost method of fabricating thick film microelectrodes on plastic substrate for producing integrated plastic biochips is introduced in this paper. Microelectrodes for pumping liquid in a PCR plastic biochip were successfully fabricated using a metal stamp and commercially available Au films. Testing results show that the microelectrode produced with the metal stamp is more reliable and can last longer than those fabricated with sputtering techniques. The fabrication method demonstrated in this paper provides a new low cost technology that is suitable for mass production of thick-film microelectrodes of high electrical conductivity on plastic biochips.     

Quality-based supplier selection and evaluation using fuzzy data

Since fuzzy quality data are ubiquitous in the real world, under this fuzzy environment, the supplier selection and evaluation on the basis of the quality criterion is proposed in this paper. The C_pk index has been the most popular one used to evaluate the quality of supplier’s products. Using fuzzy data collected from q2 possible suppliers’ products, fuzzy estimates of q suppliers’ capability indices are obtained according to the form of resolution identity that is a well-known theorem in fuzzy sets theory. Certain optimization problems are formulated and solved to obtain α-level sets for the purpose of constructing the membership functions of fuzzy estimates of C_pki. These membership functions are sorted by using a fuzzy ranking method to choose the preferable suppliers. Finally, a numerical example is illustrated to present the possible application by incorporating fuzzy data into the quality-based supplier selection and evaluation.     

Effect of a shield on the hydraulic and thermal performance of a plate-fin heat sink

The hydraulic and thermal performance of a plate-fin heat sink undergoing cross flow forced convection with the introduction of a shield was investigated. With a CFD numerical method, the influence of fin width, fin height, number of fins and Reynolds number were assessed without and with a shield. A shield that tends to decrease the bypass flow effect has a great influence on the variation of the thermal fluid field and the performance of the heat sink. The results of attaching a shield show that more coolant fluid is forced to flow into the fin-to-fin channel to enhance the heat transfer, increasing the pressure drop; this trend is significant at low Reynolds numbers. The decrease of thermal resistance due to the shield diminishes with increasing fin height, but increasing the width of the fins has a more radical effect. For a shield at a particular Reynolds number, the fin geometry should be selected carefully to fit the demands of enhanced effectiveness of heat transfer and decreased power consumption.     

弹性地基上正交异性板的振动分析

采用微分求积法对非线性弹性地基上的正交异性板的振动响应进行数值模拟。采用微分求积技术将偏微分方程转化为离散特征值问题。数值计算结果与相应文献的结果较为接近。数值计算结果表明,约束刚度、平板高宽比和地基刚度对正交异性板具有很大影响。     

A novel approach for measuring the maximum process-loss information in multiple production line conditions

The process-loss index L_e , the expected value of the ratio of the quadratic loss function to the square value of half specification width, proposed by Johnson (1992 Johnson, T. 1992. The relationship of C_pm to squared error loss. Journal of Quality Technology, 24(4): 211–215. [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], The relationship of C_pm to squared error loss. Journal of Quality Technology, 24 (4), 211–215), has been widely used in a variety of industries to provide a numerical loss measure for assessing the performance of their production processes. However, the sampling distribution of its uniformly minimum variance unbiased estimator (UMVUE), obtained from traditional approaches involving unknown parameters, is able neither to form classical confidence intervals (CCIs) nor to provide justifiable process-loss information in practice. To tackle this disadvantage, in this paper a novel approach known as generalised confidence intervals (GCIs) is adopted. Instead of Monte Carlo simulations that were popularly utilised in implementing the GCIs method for assessing production process performance, we theoretically derive analytical forms of upper confidence bounds (L _e -GUCB) for L _e and program them to provide the maximum process-loss information for the manufacturing processes. Two common manufacturing scenarios are presented in order to work out: (1) whether the underlying production process loss is capable (or whether products received from one supplier are acceptable); and (2) whether the maximum process-loss information existing in multiple production line conditions is acceptable (or whether products received from several suppliers are acceptable). The applicability of the results is demonstrated by two examples.     

PH-sensitive Dioctadecylamine-501 polymeric micelles for delivery of insulin

In this work, fluorescently labeled smart micelle copolymers which consist of Dioctadecylamine-501 (DODA-501) as the hydrophobic segment, N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) as well as acrylic acid (AAc) as the hydrophilic segments were prepared. These micelles showed both thermo- and pH-sensitive properties due to the nature properties of NIPAAm and AAc, respectively. The particle size of the prepared micelles ranged from 94 approximately 200 nm and was found to increase with DODA-501 concentration. The size of particles varied in different pH mediums or different temperatures suggesting these micelles were pH- and thermo-sensitive. The image of confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) illustrates these micelles had the ability to encapsulate rhodamine solution. From CLSM observation, fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) expression was found on the surface of micelles indicating the target detecting ability of these micelles. In drug loading and release studies, these micelles had the ability to encapsulate insulin and its release was pH sensitive, being more rapid under intestinal fluid environment, but resisting the drug release at gastric fluid environment. Stability test indicates these micelles had good stability during storage. These results suggest the pH-sensitivity of the DODA-501 polymeric micelles may be an interesting candidate for oral drug delivery system.