An Experimental and Numerical Study of the Humidity Effect on the Stability of a Capacitive Ceramic Pressure Sensor

The effect of the humidity of the surrounding atmosphere on the characteristics of capacitive structures is a known problem for capacitive gas-pressure sensors. However, the use of a differential mode of operation can provide a good solution – only the manufacturing of the ceramic structures with the appropriate pairs of capacitive sensing elements remains a major challenge. In order to find a compromise solution, the effect of the humid atmosphere and the moisture on the exterior of an LTCC-based capacitive pressure sensor was inspected closely through experimental and numerical analyses of various situations

Design of LTCC-based Ceramic Structure for Chemical Microreactor

The design of ceramic chemical microreactor for the production of hydrogen needed in portable polymer-electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells is presented. The microreactor was developed for the steam reforming of liquid fuels with water into hydrogen. The complex three-dimensional ceramic structure of the microreactor includes evaporator(s), mixer(s), reformer and combustor. Low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology was used to fabricate the ceramic structures with buried cavities and channels, and thick-film technology was used to make electrical heaters, temperature sensors and pressure sensors. The final 3D ceramic structure consists of 45 LTCC tapes. The dimensions of the structure are 75 × 41 × 9 mm3 and the weight is about 73 g

A descriptive study of the use of audiovisual materials to motivate reading in the literature curriculum of the middle school years

Recent studies have shown that children spend much more time watching television then they do reading. For thousands of children in the middle school years, the reading of literature is fast becoming the lost art of the affective domain. This paper is a descriptive study of the methods employed by teachers of the middle school to take advantage of the popularity of audiovisual materials to motivate children in the reading of literature

Analysis of dog\u27s aggressive behaviour expressed in a socially acceptable behaviour test

Pomembno je, da lastniki psov, tako hišnih ljubljenčkov, kot policijskih, terapevtskih, razstavnih ali reševalnih psov, poznajo njihovo naravno komunikacijo. S tem lahko prepoznajo ali zmanjšajo možnost neželjenega agresivnega obnašanja do lastnika, tujcev ali drugega psa. Namen diplomske naloge je bil analizirati agresivno obnašanje psov preko testa socialno sprejemljivega obnašanja. Testiranje je potekalo na zunanjem poligonu, sestavljenem iz 16 različnih nalog, katerih namen je bil iz psa izvabiti agresivno obnašanje. V testu sta sodelovali dve skupini psov, in sicer 16 agresivnih policijskih psov ter 15 psov brez zgodovine agresivnega obnašanja. Pri polovici nalog je bil vodnik psa prisoten, pri drugi polovici pa odsoten, z namenom različnega odziva psa na enake dražljaje. Celotno testiranje je bilo posneto in ocenjeno s pomočjo etograma z 28 oblikami obnašanj, ki so spadala v 6 skupin: oblika gibanja, drža telesa, agresija, strah in stres, interakcija z ljudmi in ostala obnašanja. Ocenjevali smo agresivnost na 3-stopenjski lestvici in strah na 5-stopenjski lestvici. Ugotovili smo, po pričakovanjih, da bodo policijski psi v testu izrazili visoko stopnjo agresije, psi brez zgodovine agresivnega obnašanja pa se bodo odzvali neagresivno (p = 0,002). V stopnji strahu ni bilo razlik (p =0,19).It is important that dog owners, whether the dogs are pets, police, therapeutic, show or rescue dogs, know their natural communication. This can help to identify or reduce the possibility of unwanted aggressive behaviour toward the owner, strangers, or another dog. The aim of the BSc thesis was to analyse the aggressive behaviour of dogs through a socially acceptable behaviour test. The testing took place on an outdoor training ground consisting of 16 different tasks designed to elicit aggressive behaviour from the dog. Two groups of dogs participated in the test16 aggressive police dogs and 15 dogs without a history of aggressive behaviour. The dog guide was present in half of the tasks, and he was absent in the other half, in order to elicit from the dog a different response to the same stimuli. The test was recorded and evaluated using an ethogram with 28 forms of behaviour that fell into 6 categories: form of movement, posture, aggression, fear and stress, interaction with people, and other behaviours. Aggression was assessed on a 3-point scale and fear on a 5-point scale. As expected, we found out that police dogs would express a high level of aggression in the test, and that rescue and show dogs would respond non-aggressively (p = 0.002). In the degree of fear it was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.19)

Role of conventional simulator for correction of patient position before irradiation treatment

Uvod: Radioterapija je ena izmed metod zdravljenja otorinolaringološkega raka. Za tako vrsto zdravljenja, je značilna priprava na obsevanje na računalniško tomografskem simulatorju in konvencionalnem simulatorju. Zaradi potrebe po veliki natančnosti obsevanja se ob pripravi na simulatorju ter na obsevalnem aparatu izvajajo meritve odstopanja od izocentra in premiki le tega v X, Y in Z oseh. Namen: Z raziskavo smo želeli ugotoviti ali s korekcijo izocentra po končani drugi pripravi bolnika z rakom otorinolaringološkega področja na konvencionalnem simulatorju, zmanjšamo morebitno nedopustno in sistematično napako pri obsevanju pacienta na linearnem pospeševalniku. Metode dela: Raziskavo smo izvedli na Onkološkem Inštitutu v Ljubljani na oddelku za teleradioterapijo, na konvecionalnem simulatorju. V raziskavo smo zajeli dve skupini bolnikov: bolniki s korekcijo izocentra ter bolniki brez korekcije izocentra na simulatorju. V vsako skupino smo vključili 20 bolnikov. Pridobili smo podatke o portalnih slikanjih na obsevalnih aparatih, da smo lahko med seboj primerjali odstopanja od izocentra. Primerjali smo sistematične in nedopustne napake pri obeh skupinah bolnikov. Rezultati: Rezultati so pokazali, da se je pri bolnikih pri katerih nismo izvajali korekcije izocentra sistematična napaka pojavila pri sedmih bolnikih, pri enem se je pojavila nedopustna napaka. Pri bolnikih kjer smo izvajali korekcijo izocentra na konvencionalnem simulatorju, smo sistematično napako zaznali pri treh bolnikih, nedopustne napake pa ni bilo. Razprava in zaključek: Z raziskavo smo ugotovili, da pri skupini bolnikov, pri katerih smo opravili korekcijo planirnega izocentra zmanjšamo sistematično in nedopustno napako. Pri meritvah odstopanja planirnega izocentra si pomagamo z diaskopijo. S pomočjo diaskopije, bi lahko korekcijo planirnega izocentra na konvencionalnem simulatorju izvajali tudi za druge anatomske lokalizacije raka. Za potrditev tega bi bile potrebne še dodatne raziskave.Introduction: Radiotheraphy is one of the medical treatment of the otorhinolaryngologic cancer. For this kind of treatment the preparation for irradiation is based on computed tomography simulator and conventional simulator. Due to the need of high precision when irradiating there are carrying out measurements of variations from isocentre and its the movements in X, Y and Z axle. They are carrying out on simulator and on irradiation machine. Purpose: With this research we wanted to find out if it is possible to reduce intolerable and systematic mistake when irradiating the patient on a linear accelerator with correction of the isocentre after finished second preparation of the patient with otorhinolaryngologic cancer on conventional simulator. Methods: The research took place on the Institute of the Oncology in Ljubljana on department for teleradiotherapy, on conventional simulator. We included two types of patients in research: patients with corrections of isocentre and patients without correction of isocentre on simulator. In each group we included 20 patients. We managed to get the results of the scans of the observing machines so that we could compare the variations from isocentre. We compared the intolerable and systematic mistakes with both groups. Results: The results have shown that systematic mistake with patients which didn’t receive correction of isocentreappeared by 7 patients and by 1 there were intolerable mistake. With patients that received correction of isocentre there appeared 3 systematic mistakes and none intolerable. Discussion and conclusion: With this research we figured out that we can reduce systematic and intolerable mistake by correction of isocentre. When measuring variations of isocentre we can help with fluoroscopy. With fluoroscopy we could carry out the correction of planed isocentreon conventional simulator also with others anatomical localizations of a cancer. To verity that there would be necessary to make additional researches

Ceramic MEMS Designed for Wireless Pressure Monitoring in the Industrial Environment

This paper presents the design of a wireless pressure-monitoring system for harsh-environment applications. Two types of ceramic pressure sensors made with a low-temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) were considered. The first type is a piezoresistive strain gauge pressure sensor. The second type is a capacitive pressure sensor, which is based on changes of the capacitance values between two electrodes: one electrode is fixed and the other is movable under an applied pressure. The design was primarily focused on low power consumption. Reliable operation in the presence of disturbances, like electromagnetic interference, parasitic capacitances, etc., proved to be contradictory constraints. A piezoresistive ceramic pressure sensor with a high bridge impedance was chosen for use in a wireless pressure-monitoring system and an acceptable solution using energy-harvesting techniques has been achieved. The described solution allows for the integration of a sensor element with an energy harvester that has a printed thick-film battery and complete electronics in a single substrate packaged inside a compact housing

Exploring the Surface of the Ectodomain of the PD-L1 Immune Checkpoint with Small-Molecule Fragments

Development of small molecules targeting the PD-L1/PD-1 interface is advancing both in industry and academia, but only a few have reached early-stage clinical trials. Here, we take a closer look at the general druggability of PD-L1 using in silico hot spot mapping and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based characterization. We found that the conformational elasticity of the PD-L1 surface strongly influences the formation of hot spots. We deconstructed several generations of known inhibitors into fragments and examined their binding properties using differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) and protein-based nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). These biophysical analyses showed that not all fragments bind to the PD-L1 ectodomain despite having the biphenyl scaffold. Although most of the binding fragments induced PD-L1 oligomerization, two compounds, TAH35 and TAH36, retain the monomeric state of proteins upon binding. Additionally, the presence of the entire ectodomain did not affect the binding of the hit compounds and dimerization of PD-L1. The data demonstrated here provide important information on the PD-L1 druggability and the structure-activity relationship of the biphenyl core moiety and therefore may aid in the design of novel inhibitors and focused fragment libraries for PD-L1.This research has been supported by Grants Maestro 2017/26/A/ST5/00572 (to T.A.H.) , Sonata UMO-2020/39/D/ST4/01344 (to E.S.) , Preludium UMO-2021/41/N/ST4/03485 (to M.Z.) , and Preludium UMO-2020/37/N/ST4/02691 (to D.M.) from the National Science Centre, Poland. X.d.C. thanks the Basque Country Government for the predoctoral and EGONLABUR grants

Einfluss des Leguminosenanteils und früher Abfuhr des Pflanzenaufwuchses von Greening-Mischungen auf die N2O-Winteremissionen einer Ackerfläche

Seit 2014 gilt für Landwirte mit Betrieben >15 ha, dass 5% der Betriebsfläche als ökologische Vorrangfläche bewirtschaftet werden sollen. Hierfür werden für Ackerland sog. „Greening“-Saatgutmischungen angeboten, welche sich stark in ihrer Zusammensetzung, und damit in ihren Eigenschaften wie z.B. Menge und Zeitpunkt von Nährstoffaufnahme unterscheiden. Bisher gibt es keine Untersuchungen zum Einfluss solcher Greening-Mischungen und deren Management auf die Freisetzung des klimarelevanten Spurengases N2O. Hauptziel des Feldversuches war deshalb die Quantifizierung von winterlichen N2O-Emissionen und möglicher Nitratauswaschung in Abhängigkeit von (1) Winterbegrünung, (2) Leguminosenanteil der Begrünung und (3) der Biomasse-Abfuhr. Dazu wurden zwischen dem 17.11.15 und 02.06.16 Spurengasmessungen mit der geschlossenen Kammermethode auf einem Parzellenversuch des LTZ Karlsruhe in Ettlingen durchgeführt. Bodentyp war eine Parabraunerde. Der Versuch wurde konventionell bewirtschaftet. Die Ansaat der Zwischenfrüchte erfolgte am 11.08.2015, Folgefrucht war Mais. Es wurden die folgenden Varianten beprobt: (1) Schwarzbrache, (2) Gelbsenf ohne Abfuhr, (3) Gelbsenf mit Abfuhr der oberirdischen Biomasse, (4) eine „Greening“-Mischung mit 55% Leguminosenanteil ohne Abfuhr, (5) Mischung (4) mit Abfuhr, (6) eine „Greening“-Mischung mit 95% Leguminosenanteil ohne Abfuhr und (7) Mischung (6) mit Abfuhr. Erhöhte N2O-Flussraten traten kurzzeitig nach Frost/Tau im Januar 2016 und nach N-Düngung im Mai 2016 auf. Die höchsten N2O-Flussraten innerhalb dieser Studie wurden mit 405 µg N2O-N m-2 h-1 Mitte April 2016 nach der Grund-Bodenbearbeitung in der Schwarzbrache gemessen. Die N2O-Flüsse waren positiv mit den Nitratgehalten des Oberbodens (0-30 cm) korreliert. Die kumulativen N2O Emissionen über den Messzeitraum von 6,5 Monaten schwankten zwischen 0,8 kg N2O-N ha-1 im Gelbsenf und 1,6 kg N2O-N ha-1 bei der Mischung mit 95% Leguminosen ohne Abfuhr. Mit steigendem Leguminosenanteil in der Saatmischung stiegen die mittleren kumulativen N2O-Emissionen an. Die Abfuhr der oberirdischen Biomasse im Oktober führte zu deutlichen und teils statistisch signifikanten Minderungen der N2O-Freisetzung. Am größten war die Minderung durch Abfuhr in der Variante mit 95% Leguminosen. Die Schwarzbrache zeigte im Herbst die höchsten Nitratgehalte im Oberboden sowie in 30-60 cm Tiefe. Es kam über Winter in allen Behandlungen zu einer Nitratverlagerung in die Tiefe 60-90 cm. Die geringsten Konzentrationen im Unterboden fanden sich dabei bei der Behandlung mit Gelbsenf

Overview on low temperature co-fired ceramic sensors

Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics (LTCC) is one of the microelectronic techniques. This technology was initially developed as an alternative to Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) and classical thick-film technology, and it has found application in the fabrication of multilayer ceramic boards for electronic devices. Fast and wide development of this technology permitted the fabrication of 3D mechanical structures and integration with various different processes. Thanks to this, LTCC has found application in the manufacturing of various microelectronic devices. This paper presents an overview on LTCC technology and gives a detailed summary on physical quantity sensors fabricated using LTCC technique