26 research outputs found
Proposed Thermal Circuit Model for the Cost Effective Design of Fin FET
The Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) device has been rapidly evolving and its size has been drastically decreasing ever since it was first fabricated in 1960 [Us Patent 3,356,858: 1967]. The substantial reduction in the CMOS device size has led to short channel effects which have resulted in the introduction of Fin Field Effect Transistor (FinFET), a tri-gate transistor built on a silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate. Furthermore, due to the geometry of the FinFET the severity of the heating problem has dramatically increased. Self-heating in the 3-dimensional FinFET device enhances the temperature gradients and peak temperature, which decrease drive current, increase the interconnect delays and degrade the device and interconnect reliability. In this work we have proposed a methodology to develop an accurate thermal model for the FinFET through a rigorous physics-based mathematical approach. A thermal circuit for the FinFET will be derived from the model. This model will allow chip designers to predict interconnect temperature which will lead them to achieve cost-effective design for the FinFET-based semiconductor chips. Keywords: Bulk CMOS, SOI CMOS, FinFET, Thermal heating
Smartphone-Based Prenatal Education for Parents with Preterm Birth Risk Factors
Objective To develop an educational mobile application (app) for expectant parents diagnosed with risk factors for premature birth. Methods Parent and medical advisory panels delineated the vision for the app. The app helps prepare for preterm birth. For pilot testing, obstetricians offered the app between 18–22 weeks gestational age to English speaking parents with risk factors for preterm birth. After 4 weeks of use, each participant completed a questionnaire. The software tracked topics accessed and duration of use. Results For pilot testing, 31 participants were recruited and 28 completed the questionnaire. After app utilization, participants reported heightened awareness of preterm birth (93%), more discussion of pregnancy or prematurity issues with partner (86%), increased questions at clinic visits (43%), and increased anxiety (21%). Participants reported receiving more prematurity information from the app than from their healthcare providers. The 15 participants for whom tracking data was available accessed the app for an average of 8 h. Conclusion Parents with increased risk for preterm birth may benefit from this mobile app educational program. Practice implications If the pregnancy results in preterm birth hospitalization, parents would have built a foundation of knowledge to make informed medical care choices
The Integration of Smart Meters into Electrical Grids: Bangladesh Chapter
The Smart Metering Technology paves way for increased utilization of green power through Renewable Energy Sources. With the introduction of Smart Metering Technology at Distribution level, the consumer shall have an incentive to switch on their appliances time specific, to have the benefit of choice of low cost power. This paper identifies specific issues that could be developed for Bangladesh’s deployment of Smart Metering Infrastructure, recommends appropriate goals, key strategies, and critical objectives in solving those shortcomings, and outlines a practical program, identifying key tasks and necessary expert capabilities, to accomplish that solution in a timely and affordable manner. Keywords: AMR, AMI, AMM, Power Line Carrier (PLC
Review of electric vehicle energy storage and management system: Standards, issues, and challenges
Renewable energy is in high demand for a balanced ecosystem. There are different types of energy storage systems available for long-term energy storage, lithium-ion battery is one of the most powerful and being a popular choice of storage. This review paper discusses various aspects of lithium-ion batteries based on a review of 420 published research papers at the initial stage through 101 published research articles that have been finally reviewed. This review paper focuses on several topics, including electrical vehicle (EV) systems, energy management systems, challenges and issues, and the conclusions and recommendations for future work. EV systems discuss all components that are included in producing the lithium-ion battery. The energy storage section contains the batteries, super capacitors, fuel cells, hybrid storage, power, temperature, and heat management. Energy management systems consider battery monitoring for current and voltage, battery charge-discharge control, estimation and protection, cell equalization. This paper's challenges and issues discuss some of the critical aspects of lithium-ion batteries, including temperature and safety, life-cycle and memory effects, environmental effects, and recycling processes. The conclusion and recommendation of this paper indicate the future scope of research. This review paper can provide the lithium-ion battery's insight, overall synopsis and contribution, and further research directions to the EV system
A Planar Antenna On Flexible Substrate For Future 5G Energy Harvesting In Malaysia
This article presents a planar monopole antenna on flexible substrate for middle band 5G (3.5 GHz) application in Malaysia. The antenna has been designed and optimized for its gain and efficiency with an improved performance in contrast of flexible substrate-based other antennas. The antenna resonates at 3.53 GHz and it has a -10dB bandwidth of 545 MHz. The bending effects of this antenna on the S-parameter and gain have also been investigated. The antenna is able to suppress all the other frequency bands until 20 GHz. The designed antenna has been utilized with a newly designed rectifier to act as an rectenna at 3.5 GHz for RF energy harvesting applications. A reasonable amount of DC output voltage of 930 mV, and a Power Conversion Efficiency of 43.5% have been obtained while 0 dBm RF input power is delivered to the rectifier input terminal. Apart from the utilization as an energy harvester being connected with the proposed rectifier, the designed antenna on flexible substrate can also be employed to biomedical and sensor applications
A tree-profile shape ultra wide band antenna for chipless RFID tags
In this article, a new small size planar microstrip
tree profile shaped Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) antenna with partial ground plane has been presented. The antenna is designed for chipless RFID tags that are working in UWB region. The operating frequency of the antenna is between 2.72 GHz to 11.1 GHz which covers the entire UWB frequency band. The antenna exhibits comparatively high realized gain of 4.2 dBi with respect to its small size of 27 × 40 mm2 and have a gain to aperture ratio of 0.243 which is comparatively higher than other existing retransmission-based chipless RFID antennas. Another aspect of this antenna is its total efficiency which never goes below 80% throughout the entire bandwidth whereby it reaches as high as 96% at 3.5GHz. This design will motivate the chipless RFID designers to produce small size and cost effective tags
c-kitpos GATA-4 High Rat Cardiac Stem Cells Foster Adult Cardiomyocyte Survival through IGF-1 Paracrine Signalling
Resident c-kit positive (c-kitpos) cardiac stem cells (CSCs) could be considered the most appropriate cell type for myocardial regeneration therapies. However, much is still unknown regarding their biological properties and potential.We produced clones of high and low expressing GATA-4 CSCs from long-term bulk-cultured c-kitpos CSCs isolated from adult rat hearts. When c-kitpos GATA-4 high expressing clonal CSCs (cCSCs) were co-cultured with adult rat ventricular cardiomyocytes, we observed increased survival and contractility of the cardiomyocytes, compared to cardiomyocytes cultured alone, co-cultured with fibroblasts or c-kitpos GATA-4 low expressing cCSCs. When analysed by ELISA, the concentration of IGF-1 was significantly increased in the c-kitpos GATA-4 high cCSC/cardiomyocyte co-cultures and there was a significant correlation between IGF-1 concentration and cardiomyocyte survival. We showed the activation of the IGF-1 receptor and its downstream molecular targets in cardiomyocytes co-cultured with c-kitpos GATA-4 high cCSCs but not in cardiomyocytes that were cultured alone, co-cultured with fibroblasts or c-kitpos GATA-4 low cCSCs. Addition of a blocking antibody specific to the IGF-1 receptor inhibited the survival of cardiomyocytes and prevented the activation of its signalling in cardiomyocytes in the c-kitpos GATA-4 high cCSC/cardiomyocyte co-culture system. IGF-1 supplementation or IGF-1 high conditioned medium taken from the co-culture of c-kitpos GATA-4 high cCSCs plus cardiomyocytes did extend the survival and contractility of cardiomyocytes cultured alone and cardiomyocytes co-cultured with c-kitpos GATA-4 low cCSCs.c-kitpos GATA-4 high cCSCs exert a paracrine survival effect on cardiomyocytes through induction of the IGF-1R and signalling pathway
An analysis of codified corporate governance practices in the banking industry: The case study of Bangladesh
Introducing a well-designed system of corporate governance is considered an effective tool to ensure the stability and resilience of a banking system. It was in 2006 when Bangladesh initiated its first corporate governance code (CG code). Despite trying to meet the code of enhancing the internal monitoring mechanisms and transparency in governance, it is apparent that the quality in bank credit portfolios continuously deteriorated. This paper aims to empirically analyze the impact of adopting the CG code on performance for eight years (2010-2017) of 21 major commercial banks of Bangladesh. In this case study, we suggest that the CG code may have given the Bangladeshi commercial banks an ill-incentive for the reduction of executive directors under the pressure of meeting a guideline to increase the ratio of independent directors. This incentive structure had a negative impact on bank performance during the period. Another finding is that the fundamental structure of ownership and control by sponsor directors remained unchanged during the period. This structure of maintaining the control of power by a group with its vested interest may have hindered the effectiveness of the CG code in Bangladesh. We suggest that the agenda of CG practices should go together with a policy for mitigating a potential bias under the ownership concentration because any attempt of adopting codified CG practices would be futile under the fundamental structure in Bangladesh