Engineering SiO2 Passivated Indium-Gallium-Zinc-Oxide TFTs for Improvement in Channel Control

The performance of Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) Thin-Film Transistors (TFTs) has improved significantly in recent years; however, device stability still remains a significant issue. In bottom-gate TFTs a difficult challenge is the lack of gate control on the back-channel region, resulting in distortion in ID - VGS characteristics. In this work a bottom-gate TFT process was established using SiO2 as a back-channel passivation layer. The process was modified with options to implement TG (TG) and Double-Gate (DG) configurations. TFTs were fabricated utilizing a SiO2 layer deposited shortly after the IGZO sputter process, followed by an oxidizing ambient anneal treatment. The process supports a low-defect IGZO interface, with TG and DG configurations demonstrating improvements in channel control compared to a traditional bottom-gate TFT. Electrical characteristics from each process treatment and gate configuration where then compared. A SPICE level 2 compatible IGZO TFT model was developed, with extracted parameter values providing a quantitative measure of device operation. Measured characteristics were also used to develop arerefined material and device model for TCAD simulation

Seismic Design Manual for Interlocking Compressed Earth Blocks

Seismic Design Manual for Interlocking Compressed Earth Blocks Nicholas Edwards Kennedy This thesis presents a comprehensive seismic design manual to be used to design and construct simple Interlocking Compressed Earth Block (ICEB) structures in seismically active regions. ICEBs are earth blocks made primarily of soil and stabilized with cement. They have female and male stud mechanisms designed to interlock when stacked, eliminating the need for mortar. The blocks can accept reinforcement and grout after they are placed. While ICEB construction is similar to conventional masonry construction, current design code standards for masonry only partially capture the actual behavior of ICEB structures. This thesis seeks to supplement the existing masonry design procedures and tailor them for use with ICEBs. Additionally, this paper presents a preliminary design of ICEB shear walls for a disaster reconstruction project in the Philippines. While many structures in Southeast Asia and the Malay Archipelago are constructed from earthen blocks, very few are engineered. Of those that are, a lack of formal design guidance specific to ICEB construction leaves most engineers and designers with conventional concrete masonry design practices, some of which are not applicable for use with ICEBs

Semantic Support for Computational Land-Use Modelling

Postprin

Arousal regulates frequency tuning in primary auditory cortex.

Changes in arousal influence cortical sensory representations, but the synaptic mechanisms underlying arousal-dependent modulation of cortical processing are unclear. Here, we use 2-photon Ca2+ imaging in the auditory cortex of awake mice to show that heightened arousal, as indexed by pupil diameter, broadens frequency-tuned activity of layer 2/3 (L2/3) pyramidal cells. Sensory representations are less sparse, and the tuning of nearby cells more similar when arousal increases. Despite the reduction in selectivity, frequency discrimination by cell ensembles improves due to a decrease in shared trial-to-trial variability. In vivo whole-cell recordings reveal that mechanisms contributing to the effects of arousal on sensory representations include state-dependent modulation of membrane potential dynamics, spontaneous firing, and tone-evoked synaptic potentials. Surprisingly, changes in short-latency tone-evoked excitatory input cannot explain the effects of arousal on the broadness of frequency-tuned output. However, we show that arousal strongly modulates a slow tone-evoked suppression of recurrent excitation underlying lateral inhibition [H. K. Kato, S. K. Asinof, J. S. Isaacson, Neuron, 95, 412-423, (2017)]. This arousal-dependent "network suppression" gates the duration of tone-evoked responses and regulates the broadness of frequency tuning. Thus, arousal can shape tuning via modulation of indirect changes in recurrent network activity

The Characteristics and Potential Effects of the Schools that Indigenous Australians Attend

This paper uses data from the National Assessment Program, Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) to document the distribution of Indigenous students across Australian schools, as well as some of the potential effects of that distribution on literacy and numeracy outcomes. The results show three main things: the Indigenous population is not evenly distributed across schools, with high rates of school segregation; using a school fixed effects model, it appears that the characteristics of schools matter in explaining change through time in Indigenous outcomes; and the distribution of Indigenous students across different schools explains some, but not all, of the difference between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in literacy and numeracy. A key policy finding from the analysis is that the school system seems to matter. Growth through time of literacy and numeracy for Indigenous students is lowest in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory

A Semantic Workflow Mechanism to Realize Experimental Goals and Constraints

Postprin

The Diagnosis and Management of Toxic Alcohol Poisoning in the Emergency Department: A Review Article

Context: This review discusses the range of clinical presentations seen with poisonings by the major toxic alcohols--methanol, ethylene glycol, and isopropyl alcohol. It outlines a straightforward diagnostic strategy and discusses in detail the current treatment recommendations. Evidence acquisition: The authors conducted a literature search of primary and secondary sources related to the topic. For treatment recommendations, search restrictions included articles published between 2008 and 2019. For background information, search restrictions included articles written from 1990 – present. Results: This review discusses in detail how the diagnosis can be made via clinical signs, symptoms, and laboratory values as well as the most recent treatment recommendations. This paper will also discuss the limitations of the emergency department workup and how the absence of particular laboratory findings does not necessarily rule out the diagnosis. Conclusion: Poisoning with methanol, ethylene glycol, and isopropanol present diagnostic and therapeutic challenges to emergency physicians. Toxic alcohol poisonings lead to an elevated osmolar gap and, with the exception of Isopropanol, a metabolic acidosis. In order for the timely initiation of life-saving treatment, emergency physicians need a solid understanding of the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, laboratory workup, and treatment. Laboratory assays for these compounds are send-out tests in most hospitals and are therefore of no value in the acute clinical setting