Recrystallized parylene as a mask for silicon chemical etching

This paper presents the first use of recrystallized parylene as masking material for silicon chemical etch. Recrystallized parylene was obtained by melting parylene C at 350°C for 2 hours. The masking ability of recrystallized parylene was tested in HNA (hydrofluoric acid, nitric acid and acetic acid) solution of various ratios, KOH (potassium hydroxide) solution and TMAH (tetramethylammonium hydroxide) at different temperatures and concentrations. It is found that interface between parylene and the substrate can be attacked, which results in undercuts. Otherwise, recrystallized parylene exhibited good adhesion to silicon, complete protection of unexposed silicon and silicon etching rates comparable to literature data

Q-enhanced fold-and-bond MEMS inductors

This work presents a novel coil fabrication technology to enhance quality factor (Q factor) of microfabricated inductors for implanted medical wireless sensing and data/power transfer applications. Using parylene as a flexible thin-film device substrate, a post-microfabrication substrate folding-and-bonding method is developed to effectively increase the metal thickness of the surface-micromachined inductors, resulting in their lower self-resistance so their higher quality factor. One-fold-and-bond coils are successfully demonstrated as an example to verify the feasibility of the fabrication technology with measurement results in good agreements with device simulation. Depending on target specifications, multiple substrate folding-and-bonding can be extensively implemented to facilitate further improved electrical characteristics of the coils from single fabrication batch. Such Q-enhanced inductors can be broadly utilized with great potentials in flexible integrated wireless devices/systems for intraocular prostheses and other biomedical implants

An Extended Analytic Solution of Combined Refraction and Diffraction of Long Waves Propagating over Circular Island

An analytic solution of long waves scattering by a cylindrical island mounted on a permeable circular shoal was obtained by solving the linear long wave equation (LWE). The solution is in terms of the Bessel function expressed by complex variables. The present solution is suitable for arbitrary bottom configurations described by a power function with two independent parameters. For the case of the paraboloidal shoal, there exists a singular point (α=2) which can be removed using Frobenius series, where α is a real constant. The present solution is reduced to Yu and Zhang’s (2003) solution for impermeable circular shoal. The numerical results show some special features of the combined effect of wave refraction and diffraction caused by a porous circular island. The effect of key parameters of the island dimension, the shoal slope, and permeability on wave scattering was discussed based on the analytic solution

Experimental Study on Hydraulic Jumps with and Without Sediment

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchive

Severe 2009 H1N1 infection in early pregnancy

AbstractObjectiveBecause pregnancy suppresses the immune system, women at any stage of pregnancy are more susceptible to bacterial and viral infection. Pregnant women might thus be at increased risk of complications from pandemic H1N1 virus infection, and illness may progress rapidly.Case ReportA 23-year-old primigravida at 9 weeks’ gestation was presented to our institution because of the sudden onset of sore throat, fever, chills, and vomiting for 5 days. She was diagnosed with early pregnancy H1N1 infection, vulvar herpes infection, and impending intravascular disseminated coagulopathy. Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) 75 mg and valacyclovir 500 mg were then administered orally twice daily for 5 days. The patient’s fever, chills, and vomiting subsided 2 days later. The real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of nasal discharge for influenza virus types A and B showed positive results for the A/H1N1 influenza virus. The early pregnancy was terminated by therapeutic curettage at the patient’s request. The surgical specimen revealed products of conception with the presence of necrotic chorionic villi, and focal lymphocytes in decidual tissue. RT-PCR analysis of gestational tissue for A/H1N1 was negative.ConclusionPregnant women with H1N1 infection seem to benefit from antiviral therapy

The Relationship between Brown Adipose Tissue Activity and Neoplastic Status: an 18F-FDG PET/CT Study in the Tropics

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has thermogenic potential. For its activation, cold exposure is considered a critical factor though other determinants have also been reported. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between neoplastic status and BAT activity by 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose (¹⁸F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in people living in the tropics, where the influence of outdoor temperature was low.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT scans were reviewed and the total metabolic activity (TMA) of identified activated BAT quantified. The distribution and TMA of activated BAT were compared between patients with and without a cancer history. The neoplastic status of patients was scored according to their cancer history and ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT findings. We evaluated the relationships between the TMA of BAT and neoplastic status along with other factors: age, body mass index, fasting blood sugar, gender, and outdoor temperature.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty of 1740 patients had activated BAT. Those with a cancer history had wider BAT distribution (<it>p </it>= 0.043) and a higher TMA (<it>p </it>= 0.028) than those without. A higher neoplastic status score was associated with a higher average TMA. Multivariate analyses showed that neoplastic status was the only factor significantly associated with the TMA of activated BAT (<it>p </it>= 0.016).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Neoplastic status is a critical determinant of BAT activity in patients living in the tropics. More active neoplastic status was associated with more vigorous TMA of BAT.</p

Analysing Efficiency of Waste to Energy Systems: Using Data Envelopment Analysis in Municipal Solid Waste Management

In our day-to-day living, a simple underlying principle is to consume resources in one form or another. This consumption generates waste, which needs to be dealt with in a responsible, efficient and effective manner. Waste is mostly collected and disposed by municipalities. This presents a challenge for these municipalities in dealing with ever increasing amounts of waste to be managed. This is particularly critical in cities, where the demand for these services is increasing. Management of municipal solid waste (MSW) continues to be one of the top priorities for human communities in the 21st century. The model of integrated solid waste management, reduction of waste right at the source points before it enters the chain of waste stream, reuse of generated wastes for recovery by recycling, and disposal through environmentally sound combustion facilities and landfills that meet policy standards are being used by communities as they evolve. Solid waste management is known to be an important contributor to various environmental problems, for example climate change (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions from landfills), disturbing multiple ecosystems (e.g. heavy metal emissions into air, soil and surface water), and improper use of resources leading to depletion (e.g. inexistent or inefficient recycling processing methods for a few particular key minerals or metals) among others. The formidable rise in solid waste generation require suitable management systems, which methodically handle these environmental issues and eventually contribute to move towards a more environmentally sustainable society. This paper presents a method based on Data Envelopment Analysis to analyse the efficiency of Waste to Energy systems, looking not only at maximising the positive outputs (e.g. Energy), but also minimising the negative ones (e.g. emissions). The results provide a benchmark for municipalities to aim in the operation of their Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM)

Impact of emotional and motivational regulation on putting performance: a frontal alpha asymmetry study

Background The efficacy of emotional and motivational regulation can determine athletic performance. Giving the short duration and fast changing nature of emotions experienced by athletes in competition, it is important to examine the temporal dynamics of emotional and motivational regulation. The aim of this study was to investigate emotional and motivational regulation as measured by frontal alpha asymmetry in skilled golfers during putting performance after a performance failure. Methods Twenty skilled university golfers were recruited and requested to perform 40 putts at an individualized difficulty level of 40–60% successful putting rate. Trials immediately after a failed putt were selected for analysis. Successful performances were those trials where a hole was and unsuccessful performances were those that failed. The frontal alpha asymmetry index of LnF4-LnF3 was derived for statistical analysis. Results (1) Successful performance was preceded by a larger frontal alpha asymmetry index at T2 than that of T1, and (2) a larger frontal alpha asymmetry index was observed for unsuccessful performance than for successful performance at T1. Discussion The results suggest that successful emotional and motivational regulation was characterized by a progressive increase of frontal alpha asymmetry, which led to subsequent putting success when facing an emotionally provocative putting failure. These findings shed light on the application of frontal alpha asymmetry for the understanding and enhancement of emotional and motivational regulation during sport performance