692 research outputs found
Simultaneous conduction and valence band quantisation in ultra-shallow, high density doping profiles in semiconductors
We demonstrate simultaneous quantisation of conduction band (CB) and valence
band (VB) states in silicon using ultra-shallow, high density, phosphorus
doping profiles (so-called Si:P -layers). We show that, in addition to
the well known quantisation of CB states within the dopant plane, the
confinement of VB-derived states between the sub-surface P dopant layer and the
Si surface gives rise to a simultaneous quantisation of VB states in this
narrow region. We also show that the VB quantisation can be explained using a
simple particle-in-a-box model, and that the number and energy separation of
the quantised VB states depend on the depth of the P dopant layer beneath the
Si surface. Since the quantised CB states do not show a strong dependence on
the dopant depth (but rather on the dopant density), it is straightforward to
exhibit control over the properties of the quantised CB and VB states
independently of each other by choosing the dopant density and depth
accordingly, thus offering new possibilities for engineering quantum matter.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures and supplementary materia
Sparse and Specific Coding during Information Transmission between Co-cultured Dentate Gyrus and CA3 Hippocampal Networks
To better understand encoding and decoding of stimulus information in two specific hippocampal sub-regions, we isolated and co-cultured rat primary dentate gyrus (DG) and CA3 neurons within a two-chamber device with axonal connectivity via micro-tunnels. We tested the hypothesis that, in these engineered networks, decoding performance of stimulus site information would be more accurate when stimuli and information flow occur in anatomically correct feed-forward DG to CA3 vs. CA3 back to DG. In particular, we characterized the neural code of these sub-regions by measuring sparseness and uniqueness of the responses evoked by specific paired-pulse stimuli. We used the evoked responses in CA3 to decode the stimulation sites in DG (and vice-versa) by means of learning algorithms for classification (support vector machine, SVM). The device was placed over an 8 × 8 grid of extracellular electrodes (micro-electrode array, MEA) in order to provide a platform for monitoring development, self-organization, and improved access to stimulation and recording at multiple sites. The micro-tunnels were designed with dimensions 3 × 10 × 400 μm allowing axonal growth but not migration of cell bodies and long enough to exclude traversal by dendrites. Paired-pulse stimulation (inter-pulse interval 50 ms) was applied at 22 different sites and repeated 25 times in each chamber for each sub-region to evoke time-locked activity. DG-DG and CA3-CA3 networks were used as controls. Stimulation in DG drove signals through the axons in the tunnels to activate a relatively small set of specific electrodes in CA3 (sparse code). CA3-CA3 and DG-DG controls were less sparse in coding than CA3 in DG-CA3 networks. Using all target electrodes with the three highest spike rates (14%), the evoked responses in CA3 specified each stimulation site in DG with optimum uniqueness of 64%. Finally, by SVM learning, these evoked responses in CA3 correctly decoded the stimulation sites in DG for 43% of the trials, significantly higher than the reverse, i.e., how well-recording in DG could predict the stimulation site in CA3. In conclusion, our co-cultured model for the in vivo DG-CA3 hippocampal network showed sparse and specific responses in CA3, selectively evoked by each stimulation site in DG
Mining users' significant driving routes with low-power sensors
While there is significant work on sensing and recognition of significant
places for users, little attention has been given to users' significant routes.
Recognizing these routine journeys, opens doors to the development of novel
applications, like personalized travel alerts, and enhancement of user's travel
experience. However, the high energy consumption of traditional location
sensing technologies, such as GPS or WiFi based localization, is a barrier to
passive and ubiquitous route sensing through smartphones.
In this paper, we present a passive route sensing framework that continuously
monitors a vehicle user solely through a phone's gyroscope and accelerometer.
This approach can differentiate and recognize various routes taken by the user
by time warping angular speeds experienced by the phone while in transit and is
independent of phone orientation and location within the vehicle, small detours
and traffic conditions. We compare the route learning and recognition
capabilities of this approach with GPS trajectory analysis and show that it
achieves similar performance. Moreover, with an embedded co-processor, common
to most new generation phones, it achieves energy savings of an order of
magnitude over the GPS sensor.This research has been funded by the EPSRC Innovation
and Knowledge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction
project (EP/K000314).This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from ACM via http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2668332.266834
Stranding of a rare marine dolphin at Vizhinjam
On sighting a dolphin struggling for survival In
the near shore area off Adimaithura (near Vizhinjam)
on 31-08-1998, the fishermen encircled it with a
shore seine. It was a rare marine Risso's dolphin,
Grampus griseus (Cuvier, 1812), measuring 250 cm
in length. In spite of the medical treatments given
for the injuries, it survived in the Marine Aquarium
at Vizhinjam for about 13 hrs only
Propositional Dynamic Logic for Message-Passing Systems
We examine a bidirectional propositional dynamic logic (PDL) for finite and
infinite message sequence charts (MSCs) extending LTL and TLC-. By this kind of
multi-modal logic we can express properties both in the entire future and in
the past of an event. Path expressions strengthen the classical until operator
of temporal logic. For every formula defining an MSC language, we construct a
communicating finite-state machine (CFM) accepting the same language. The CFM
obtained has size exponential in the size of the formula. This synthesis
problem is solved in full generality, i.e., also for MSCs with unbounded
channels. The model checking problem for CFMs and HMSCs turns out to be in
PSPACE for existentially bounded MSCs. Finally, we show that, for PDL with
intersection, the semantics of a formula cannot be captured by a CFM anymore
Characterizing peritoneal dialysis catheter use in pediatric patients after cardiac surgery
ObjectiveChildren who undergo cardiac surgery are at high risk for renal insufficiency and abdominal compartment syndrome. Peritoneal dialysis catheter (PDC) implantation is used in this population for abdominal decompression and access for dialysis. However, there is no consensus regarding PDC use, and the practice varies widely. This study was undertaken to assess associated factors, outcomes, and variability in the use of PDC in patients who have undergone cardiac surgery.MethodsThe cohort was obtained from the Kids' Inpatient Database, years 2006 and 2009. Patients who underwent cardiac surgery were included and the subset that underwent PDC implantation during the same hospitalization was identified. Univariable and multivariable analyses assessed factors associated with PDC and survival.ResultsA cohort of 28,259 patients underwent cardiac surgery, of whom 558 (2%) had PDCs placed. In the PDC group, 39.1% (n = 218) had acute renal failure whereas 3.5% or patients (n = 974) in the non-PDC group had acute renal failure. Among patients receiving PDC, mortality was 20.3% (n = 113; vs 3.4% overall mortality, n = 955). Excluding patients with acute renal failure, mortality remained 12% (n = 41) for the PDC group. Factors associated significantly with PDC placement in the overall cohort were younger age, greater surgical complexity, nonelective admission, hospital region, use of cardiopulmonary bypass, and acute renal failure.ConclusionsPatients receiving PDC after cardiac surgery had 20% mortality, which remained 12% after excluding patients with acute renal failure. Given the variability in PDC use and poor outcomes, further research is needed to assess the possible benefit of earlier intervention for peritoneal access in this high-risk cohort
Overcoming Communication Delays in Distributed Frequency Regulation
© 2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, including reprinting/ republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted components of this work in other works.DOI: 10.1109/TPWRS.2015.2462746This paper proposes a general framework for determining
the effect of communication delays on the convergence
of certain distributed frequency regulation (DFR) protocols for
prosumer-based energy systems, where prosumers are serving
as balancing areas. DFR relies on iterative and distributed
optimization algorithms to obtain an optimal feedback law
for frequency regulation. But, it is, in general, hard to know
beforehand how many iterations suffices to ensure stability. This
paper develops a framework to determine a lower bound on the
number of iterations required for two distributed optimization
protocols. This allows prosumers to determine whether they can
compute stabilizing control strategies within an acceptable time
frame by taking communication delays into account. The efficacy
of the method is demonstrated on two realistic power system
Extending Compositional Message Sequence Graphs
We extend the formal developments for message sequence charts (MSCs) to support scenarios with lost and found messages. We define a notion of extended compositional message sequence charts (ECMSCs) which subsumes the notion of compositional message sequence charts in expressive power but additionally allows to define lost and found messages explicitly. As usual, ECMSCs might be combined by means of choice and repetition towards (extended) compositional message sequence graphs. We show that - despite extended expressive power - model checking of monadic second-order logic (MSO) for this framework remains to be decidable. The key technique to achieve our results is to use an extended notion for linearizations
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