Computer memories: the history of computer form

This paper looks at the computer as a truly global form. The similar beige boxes found in offices across the world are analysed from the perspective of design history rather than that of the history of science and technology. Through the exploration of an archive of computer manufacturer's catalogues and concurrent design texts, this paper examines the changes that have occurred in the production and consumption of the computer in the context of the workplace, from its inception as a room-sized mainframe operated through a console of flashing lights, to the personal computer as a 'universal' form, reproduced by many manufacturers. It shows how the computer in the past has been as diverse as any other product, and asks how and why it now appears as a standardised, sanitised object. In doing so our relationship with the office computer, past and present is explored, revealing a complex history of vicissitude.</p

Appearance of the p-channel performance of poly-Si TFTs with a metal S/D electrode using BLDA aiming for low-cost CMOS

Proposed in this study and fabricated on a glass substrate without adopting impurity doping were p-channel polycrystalline silicon (Si) thin-film transistors (TFTs) with a metal source/drain (S/D) electrode. The amorphous 50-nm-thick Si films deposited on a glass substrate via plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition were polycrystallized using blue laser diode annealing. Gold (Au), a highwork-function metal, was evaporated for the S/D electrode directly onto the Si channel layer. As a result of the TFT formation, the typical I_d–V_g characteristics of the p-channel TFT were successfully obtained. In addition, after hydrogenation at 200°C, the drain current drastically increased. The 14 cm^2/Vs effective field effect hole mobility was deduced at the drain voltage of −1 V

Optogenetic induction of hibernation-like state with modified human Opsin4 in mice

We recently determined that the excitatory manipulation of Qrfp-expressing neurons in the preoptic area of the hypothalamus (quiescence-inducing neurons [Q neurons]) induced a hibernation-like hypothermic/hypometabolic state (QIH) in mice. To control the QIH with a higher time resolution, we develop an optogenetic method using modified human opsin4 (OPN4; also known as melanopsin), a G protein-coupled-receptor-type blue-light photoreceptor. C-terminally truncated OPN4 (OPN4dC) stably and reproducibly induces QIH for at least 24 h by illumination with low-power light (3 μW, 473 nm laser) with high temporal resolution. The high sensitivity of OPN4dC allows us to transcranially stimulate Q neurons with blue-light-emitting diodes and non-invasively induce the QIH. OPN4dC-mediated QIH recapitulates the kinetics of the physiological changes observed in natural hibernation, revealing that Q neurons concurrently contribute to thermoregulation and cardiovascular function. This optogenetic method may facilitate identification of the neural mechanisms underlying long-term dormancy states such as sleep, daily torpor, and hibernation