Fully Depleted, Monolithic Pinned Photodiode CMOS Image Sensor Using Reverse Substrate Bias

A new pixel design using pinned photodiode (PPD) in a 180 nm CMOS image sensor (CIS) process has been developed as a proof of principle. The sensor can be fully depleted by means of reverse bias applied to the substrate, and the principle of operation is applicable to very thick sensitive volumes. Additional n-type implants under the in-pixel p-wells have been added to the manufacturing process in order to eliminate the large parasitic substrate current that would otherwise be present in a normal device. The new design exhibits nearly identical electro-optical performance under reverse bias as the reference PPD pixel it is based on, and the leakage current is effectively suppressed. The characterisation results from both front- and back-side illuminated sensor variants show that the epitaxial layer is fully depleted

Models and metaphors: complexity theory and through-life management in the built environment

Complexity thinking may have both modelling and metaphorical applications in the through-life management of the built environment. These two distinct approaches are examined and compared. In the first instance, some of the sources of complexity in the design, construction and maintenance of the built environment are identified. The metaphorical use of complexity in management thinking and its application in the built environment are briefly examined. This is followed by an exploration of modelling techniques relevant to built environment concerns. Non-linear and complex mathematical techniques such as fuzzy logic, cellular automata and attractors, may be applicable to their analysis. Existing software tools are identified and examples of successful built environment applications of complexity modelling are given. Some issues that arise include the definition of phenomena in a mathematically usable way, the functionality of available software and the possibility of going beyond representational modelling. Further questions arising from the application of complexity thinking are discussed, including the possibilities for confusion that arise from the use of metaphor. The metaphor of a 'commentary machine' is suggested as a possible way forward and it is suggested that an appropriate linguistic analysis can in certain situations reduce perceived complexity

Biological anthropology in the Indo-Pacific Region: New approaches to age-old questions

Biological anthropological research, the study of both modern and past humans, is a burgeoning field in the Indo-Pacific region. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the unique environments of the Indo-Pacific have resulted in an archaeological record that does not necessarily align with those in the northern hemisphere. New, regionally-specific archaeological models are being developed, and biological anthropological research has an important role to play in establishing past human experience within these models. In the Indo-Pacific, research using ancient and modern human tissues is adding insight into global processes of prehistoric settlement and migrations, subsistence change and human biosocial adaptation. This review synthesises current themes in biological anthropology in this region. It highlights the diverse methods and approaches used by biological anthropologists to address globally-relevant archaeological questions. In recent decades a collaborative approach between archaeologists, biological anthropologists and local communities has become the norm in the region. The many positive outcomes of this multi-disciplinary approach are highlighted here through the use of regionally-specific case studies. This review ultimately aims to stimulate further collaborations between archaeologists, biological anthropologists and the communities in the region, and demonstrate how the evidence from Indo-Pacific research may be relevant to global archaeological models

Distinct roles of estrone and estradiol in endothelial colony-forming cells.

Our current understanding of the relationship between estrogen and human endothelial colony-forming cell (hECFC) function is based almost exclusively on studies investigating estradiol action at nuclear estrogen receptors. In the current study the hypothesis was tested that the less potent estrogen receptor agonist, estrone, affects hECFC proliferation, migration, secretion, and tube formation in a way that is unique from that of estradiol. The relationship between the estrogens, estradiol and estrone, is clinically important, particularly in postmenopausal women where estradiol levels wane and estrone becomes the predominant estrogen. Cultured hECFCs from peripheral blood mononuclear cell fractions were treated with concentrations of estradiol and estrone ranging from 1 nM to 1 μM separately and in combination. Following treatment, proliferation, migration, ability to attract other hECFCs (autocrine secretion), and ability to enhance endothelial cell tube formation (tubulogenesis) were tested. Functional assays revealed unique, concentration-dependent physiological effects of estrone and estradiol. Estradiol exposure resulted in increased hECFC proliferation, migration, secretion of chemoattractant, and enhancement of tube formation as expected. As with estradiol, hECFC secretion of chemoattractant increased significantly with each increase in estrone exposure. Estrone treatment produced a biphasic, concentration-dependent relationship with proliferation and tube formation and relatively no effect on hECFC migration at any concentration. The quantitative relationship between the effects of estrone and estradiol and each hECFC function was analyzed. The extent to which estrone was similar in effect to that of estradiol was dependent on both the concentrations of estradiol and estrone and the hECFC function measured. Interestingly, when the two estrogens were present, differing ratios resulted in unique functional responses. hECFCs that were treated with combinations of estrone and estradiol with high estrone to estradiol ratios showed decreased proliferative capacity. Conversely, hECFCs that were treated with combinations that were relatively high in estradiol, showed increased proliferative capacity. Cells that were treated with estrone and estradiol in equal concentrations showed an attenuated proliferative response that was decreased compared to the proliferation that either estrone or estradiol produced when they were present alone. This co-inhibitory relationship, which has not been previously reported, challenges the prevailing understanding of estrone as solely a weak agonist at estrogen receptors. This study provides evidence that estrone signaling is distinct from that of estradiol and that further investigation of estrone\u27s mechanism of action and the biological effect may provide important insight into understanding the dysfunction and decreased number of hECFCs, and the resulting cardiovascular disease risk observed clinically in menopausal women and women undergoing hormone replacement therapy

Do Older Adults Hate Video Games until they Play them? A Proof-of-Concept Study

The issue of negative video game influences on youth remains contentious in public debate, the scholarly community and among policy makers. Recent research has indicated that negative attitudes toward video games are, in part, generational in nature with older adults more inclined to endorse negative beliefs about video games. The current mixed design study examined the impact of exposure to games on beliefs about video games in a small (n = 34) sample of older adults. Results indicated that older adults were more concerned about video games as an abstract concept but when exposed to a particular video game, even an M-rated violent game, expressed fewer concerns about that specific video game. Results support the hypothesis that negative attitudes toward video games exists mainly in the abstract and do not survive direct exposure to individual games. Further, older adults were not uniform in their condemnation of video games with older adults having varying opinions about the harmfulness of video games. Related to specific concerns, older adults tended to worry more about issues such as addiction than they did violent content.<br/

The ASEAN Economic Community and the Philippines: Implementation, Outcomes, Impacts, and Ways Forward (Full Report)

As 2015 draws near, assessing ASEAN's progress toward the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) defined by the AEC Blueprint is necessary and instructive. This paper constitutes the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the AEC Blueprint for the Philippines. The Philippines Country Report presents the results of the surveys related to the MTR on areas including trade liberalization and facilitation, services and investment liberalization, labor mobility, and agriculture. In assessing the progress of implementation of the country's commitments under the AEC, a scorecard mechanism is applied. The report also covers two case studies as well as discussions on the role of the private sector and SMEs, and concludes with recommendations to raise the implementation rate of the AEC measures in the country.Overall, the survey results demonstrate how the AEC and the AEC Blueprint could address some of the issues that have constrained private sector response to the opportunities provided by greater openness in the Philippines, particularly the complex and inefficient administrative processes and procedures, and lack of effective competition in key sectors of the economy. While the Philippines has demonstrated its commitment to the AEC and the AEC Blueprint, key measures still need to be realized, particularly those that relate to services liberalization, customs integration, and ratification of transport protocols and agreements. The analyses of the study have demonstrated the benefits of the accomplishment of AEC measures in the Philippines, particularly those that precisely addressed the key institutional weaknesses faced by the private sector. Further delays in implementation could be costly for the country

Attributing minds to vampires in Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend

For Palmer (2004, 2010), and other proponents of a cognitive narratology, research into real-world minds in the cognitive sciences provides insights into readers’ experiences of fictional minds. In this article, I explore the application of such research to the minds constructed for the vampire characters in Richard Matheson’s (1954) science fiction/horror novel I Am Legend. I draw upon empirical research into ‘mind attribution’ in social psychology, and apply Cognitive Grammar (Langacker, 2008), and its notion of ‘construal’, as a framework for the application of such findings to narrative. In my analysis, I suggest that readers’ attribution of mental-states to the vampires in Matheson’s novel is strategically limited through a number of choices in their linguistic construal. Drawing on online reader responses to the novel, I argue that readers’ understanding of these other minds plays an important role in their empathetic experience and their ethical judgement of the novel’s main character and focaliser, Robert Neville. Finally, I suggest that the limited mind attribution for the vampires invited through their construal contributes to the presentation of a ‘mind style’ (Fowler, 1977) for this character

A systematic review of studies measuring and reporting hearing aid usage in older adults since 1999: a descriptive summary of measurement tools

Objective: A systematic review was conducted to identify and quality assess how studies published since 1999 have measured and reported the usage of hearing aids in older adults. The relationship between usage and other dimensions of hearing aid outcome, age and hearing loss are summarised. Data sources: Articles were identified through systematic searches in PubMed/MEDLINE, The University of Nottingham Online Catalogue, Web of Science and through reference checking. Study eligibility criteria: (1) participants aged fifty years or over with sensori-neural hearing loss, (2) provision of an air conduction hearing aid, (3) inclusion of hearing aid usage measure(s) and (4) published between 1999 and 2011. Results: Of the initial 1933 papers obtained from the searches, a total of 64 were found eligible for review and were quality assessed on six dimensions: study design, choice of outcome instruments, level of reporting (usage, age, and audiometry) and cross validation of usage measures. Five papers were rated as being of high quality (scoring 10–12), 35 papers were rated as being of moderate quality (scoring 7–9), 22 as low quality (scoring 4–6) and two as very low quality (scoring 0–2). Fifteen different methods were identified for assessing the usage of hearing aids. Conclusions: Generally, the usage data reviewed was not well specified. There was a lack of consistency and robustness in the way that usage of hearing aids was assessed and categorised. There is a need for more standardised level of reporting of hearing aid usage data to further understand the relationship between usage and hearing aid outcomes

Broader niches revealed by fossil data don’t reduce estimates of range loss and fragmentation of African montane trees

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.The data supporting the results already exists and is freely available in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and the African Pollen Database (APD).Aim: Many species’ climate tolerances are broader than those estimated from current native ranges. Indeed, some Afromontane trees’ niches are up to 50% larger after incorporating fossil data. This expansion could reduce estimates of species’ future range loss due to climate change but also implies strong non-climatic limitations on species’ current ranges. One such limitation is land use, which fossil data suggest influences Afromontane tree distribution, preventing these trees from occupying warmer conditions than they currently do. We aim to assess the degree to which the broader climatic tolerances revealed by fossil data buffers projected range loss from climate and land use for Afromontane trees. Location: Africa. Time period: Last 21,000 years. Major taxa studied: Afromontane trees. Methods: We used species distribution models informed by both current and fossil distributions to project future ranges under climate and land-use projections. Results: We found that projected range reductions are only slightly ameliorated by incorporating fossil distributions and these improvements diminish further under severe land use or climate change scenarios. Taxa that are less impacted by climate are more impacted by intense land use. Depending on the severity of climate and land use, the geographic extent of Afromontane tree species’ ranges will contract by 40-85% and the trees will completely be lost from large portions of Africa. We projected that the surviving species’ ranges will become increasingly fragmented. Main conclusions: Maintaining Afromontane ecosystems will require mitigation of both climate and land-use change and protecting areas to optimize connectivity. Our findings caution that species with climate tolerances broader than their current range might not necessarily fare better under strong changes in climate or land use