Cable Release Latch Operating Mechanism

A technique is disclosed to operate cable release latches which are not accessible by a user\u27s fingers

Harvesting Green Energy from Blue Ocean in Taiwan: Patent Mapping and Regulation Analyzing

Taiwan is an island with abundant oceanic resources but devoid of resources to significantly utilize ocean power. In fact, the Taiwanese government has initiated several renewable energy policies to transform its energy supply structure from brown (fossil fuel-based) sources of energy to green (renewable-based) energy. In addition, in the 4th National Energy Conference held in 2015, ocean energy was identified as a key contributor to renewable energy source. Therefore, the Taiwanese government proposed the construction of a MW-scale demonstration electricity plant, powered by ocean energy, as promptly as possible. Compared with solar PV, wind, and biomass (waste) energy, the development of ocean energy in Taiwan has lagged behind. Therefore, the aim of this chapter is to boost ocean energy adaptation using analysis from technical and legal perspectives. This chapter first illustrates the ocean energy potential and develop blueprint in Taiwan. Next, through patent research from the Taiwan Patent Search System, this chapter identifies advantageous ocean power technologies innovated by Taiwanese companies, primarily wave and current technologies. Furthermore, through the examination of regulations and competent authorities, this chapter discusses the possible challenges for implementing ocean energy technologies in Taiwan

A fool proof carrier design for front access storage expansion board

Storage applications, by their very nature, need an expansion hardware to consolidate more hard drives to a controller. Typically the expansion hardware is designed as an independent printed circuit board and connect to the hard drive backplane in the opposite side of hard drives. When the system is installed in the rack, it requires users to move the whole system box from the position in order to open the lid. It also requires users to power off the system before disconnect the expansion board from the hard drive backplane

Parylene stiction

This paper presents a preliminary study into stiction between parylene C and substrate surfaces for biocompatible check-valve applications. During fabrication, parylene C is used as the structural material for the check-valve. The substrate surfaces studied include Au, Al, Si, parylene C, XeF_2 treated Si, and silicon dioxide. Stiction between different surfaces is created after sacrificial photoresist etching. Then, the stiction is measured using blister tests, and stiction mechanisms for different materials are investigated. The devices are released with different recipes to examine their effects. Finally, the results of the study reveal methods to control the cracking pressure of parylene check-valves

Biochemical Identification of Molecular Components Required for Cyanide Assimilation in Pseudomonas fluorescens NCIMB 11764

Utilization of cyanide as a nutritional nitrogen source in P. fluorescens NCIMB 11764 was shown to involve a novel metabolic mechanism involving nonenzymatic neutralization outside of cells prior to further enzymatic oxidation within. Several cyanide degrading enzymes were produced by NCIMB 11764 in response to growth or exposure to cyanide, but only one of these cyanide, oxygenase (CNO), was shown to be physiologically required for assimilation of cyanide as a growth substrate

Maxwell's two-demon engine under pure dephasing noise

The interplay between thermal machines and quantum correlations is of great interest in both quantum thermodynamics and quantum information science. Recently, a quantum Szil\'ard engine has been proposed, showing that the quantum steerability between a Maxwell's demon and a work medium can be beneficial to a work extraction task. Nevertheless, this type of quantum-fueled machine is usually fragile in the presence of decoherence effects. We provide an example of the pure dephasing process, showing that the engine's quantumness can be degraded. Therefore, in this work, we tackle this question by introducing a second demon who can access a control system and make the work medium pass through two dephasing channels in a manner of quantum superposition. Furthermore, we provide a quantum circuit to simulate our proposed concept and test it on IBMQ and IonQ quantum computers.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, 2 table

Structural study in Highly Compressed BiFeO3 Epitaxial Thin Films on YAlO3

We report a study on the thermodynamic stability and structure analysis of the epitaxial BiFeO3 (BFO) thin films grown on YAlO3 (YAO) substrate. First we observe a phase transition of MC-MA-T occurs in thin sample (<60 nm) with an utter tetragonal-like phase (denoted as MII here) with a large c/a ratio (~1.23). Specifically, MII phase transition process refers to the structural evolution from a monoclinic MC structure at room temperature to a monoclinic MA at higher temperature (150oC) and eventually to a presence of nearly tetragonal structure above 275oC. This phase transition is further confirmed by the piezoforce microscopy measurement, which shows the rotation of polarization axis during the phase transition. A systematic study on structural evolution with thickness to elucidate the impact of strain state is performed. We note that the YAO substrate can serve as a felicitous base for growing T-like BFO because this phase stably exists in very thick film. Thick BFO films grown on YAO substrate exhibit a typical "morphotropic-phase-boundary"-like feature with coexisting multiple phases (MII, MI, and R) and a periodic stripe-like topography. A discrepancy of arrayed stripe morphology in different direction on YAO substrate due to the anisotropic strain suggests a possibility to tune the MPB-like region. Our study provides more insights to understand the strain mediated phase co-existence in multiferroic BFO system.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Journal of Applied Physic

Positive outcome expectancy mediates the relationship between social influence and Internet addiction among senior high-school students

Background and aims Based on the foundations of Bandura’s social cognitive theory and theory of triadic influence (TTI) theoretical framework, this study was designed to examine the mediating role of positive outcome expectancy of Internet use in the relationship between social influence and Internet addiction (IA) in a large representative sample of senior high-school students in Taiwan. Methods Using a cross-sectional design, 1,922 participants were recruited from senior high schools throughout Taiwan using both stratified and cluster sampling, and a comprehensive survey was administered. Results Structural equation modeling and bootstrap analyses results showed that IA severity was significantly and positively predicted by social influence, and fully mediated through positive outcome expectancy of Internet use. Discussion and conclusions The results not only support Bandura’s social cognitive theory and TTI framework, but can also serve as a reference to help educational agencies and mental health organizations design programs and create policies that will help in the prevention of IA among adolescents

Stiction of parylene C to silicon surface measured using blister tests

Micro-fabricated biocompatible check valves are integral parts of many implantable micro-fluidic devices. The cracking pressure of check valves is usually controlled by stiction between polymeric films and the underlying substrate. The following paper presents the first comprehensive study of stiction between parylene and silicon surfaces. The valves are fabricated using surface micromachining with parylene C as the structural material. Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE) is used to create through holes in the wafer for the passage of fluids. Blister test is employed to calculate stiction. From experimental results, stiction between parylene C and silicon surfaces is found to be 2.59 J/m2, which is comparable to the stiction between silicon and other polymeric thin films