Digital Detection of Oxide Breakdown and Life-Time Extension in Submicron CMOS Technology

An approach is introduced to extend the lifetime of high-voltage analog circuits in CMOS technologies based on redundancy, like that known for DRAMS. A large power transistor is segmented into N smaller ones in parallel. If a sub-transistor is broken, it is removed automatically from the compound transistor. The principleis demonstrated in an RF CMOS Power Amplifier (PA) in standard 1.2V 90nm CMOS

SVD-based on-line exercise ECG signal orthogonalization

Cataloged from PDF version of article.An orthogonalization method to eliminate unwanted signal components in standard 12-lead exercise electrocardiograms (ECG’s) is presented in this work. A singular-valuedecomposition-based algorithm is proposed to decompose the signal into two time-orthogonal subspaces; one containing the ECG and the other containing artifacts like baseline wander and electromyogram. The method makes use of redundancy in 12- lead ECG. The same method is also tested for reconstruction of a completely lost channel. The online implementation of the method is given. It is observed that the first two decomposed channels with highest energy are sufficient to reconstruct the STsegment and J-point. The dimension of the signal space, on the other hand, does not exceed three. Data from 23 patients, with duration ranging from 9 to 21 min, are used

Investigation into suitability of current ATDs to represent ageing drivers

Ageing car occupants are expected to become a larger part of the driver and passenger population in developed countries in the future. Currently, Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATDs) are essential tools to assess safety of automobiles; however, they do not fully embody the features of all occupant groups in the world population. This study investigates the features of ageing drivers. The data are collected and analysed with respect to age and gender. Information particularly on driverautomobile interaction is provided in the form of distances and angles measured in-car. The physical characteristics of existing ATDs are investigated and compared with the anthropometric data of ageing drivers. Comparisons indicate that the current ATDs do not incorporate some of the features of ageing drivers. The requirements of future ATDs such as sitting height, abdominal depth and posture are discussed. These specifications are essential for the development of new ATDs representing ageing drivers

Data Needs for Children with Special Needs in Refugee Populations

This article examines the challenges that affect the identification and assessment of refugee children with special needs in Turkey and provides recommendations related to data collection and assessment of these learners that is broadly relevant in refugee settings

Reimagining Student Engagement in the Remote Classroom Environment

As higher education institutions struggled with switching to remote teaching due to the COVID19 pandemic, perhaps one of the most important lessons learned is that instructors need additional support to successfully engage students in remote classrooms. Moving courses from the classroom to online delivery radically alters all aspects of teaching and learning, making it easy for interactions to be lost in the transition. It is, therefore, imperative that instructors use elements of effective online teaching and synchronous classroom pedagogy to maintain student engagement. This paper uses the constructivist learning theory as a framework, especially as this theory is applied in a remote learning environment. It also looks at best practices from three points of view - that of the instructor, the student, and the instructional designer, with a focus on student engagement with the course content, the instructor, and other students

Effects of opening roller speed on the fiber and yarn properties in open-end friction spinning

The opening roller system for fiber separation in an open end spinning process is known to cause considerable fiber breakage. We have investigated fiber breakage at different opening roller speeds and the relationship between breakage and the properties of friction spun yams made from cotton, polyester, viscose, and acrylic fibers. A high level of fiber damage caused by the opening rollers occurs at high speeds. The level of damage differs from one sort of material to another. There is a great deterioration in properties when yams are processed at high opening roller speeds

Instability tests for air-jet textured yarns

The air-jet texturing process is briefly introduced and its advantages over other texturing processes are summarized. Characteristics of air-jet textured yarns are stated with special reference to the stability of the yarns. Test methods used in industry and research to determine the "stability" or "instability" of air-jet textured yarns are critically reviewed. These methods involve different basic principles and therefore inevitably give different results. There is no consensus on a standard method. Effects of various test parameters, such as specimen length, test duration, and the alternatives of using a single yarn, a hank, or a skein as a test specimen are investigated. An improved test method is suggested as a standard instability test, and various existing methods are compared with it. Results of all the methods show similar trends for varying values of air pressure. Other yarn characteristics such as linear density, breaking elongation, and tenacity are also determined, and their indications of yarn quality are compared with the indications of instability tests. Stability test results alone provide misleading information regarding air-jet textured yarn quality