Autonomous Guidance of a Corn Harvester using Stereo Vision

Rosana G. Moreira, Editor-in-Chief; Texas A&M UniversityThis is a paper from International Commission of Agricultural Engineering (CIGR, Commission Internationale du Genie Rural) E-Journal Volume 9 (2007): Autonomous Guidance of a Corn Harvester using Stereo Vision. Manuscript ATOE 07 013. Vol. IX. July, 2007

Why Reform Fails : The ‘Politics of Policies’ in Costa Rican Telecommunications Liberalization

As the \u27Washington Consensus\u27 reforms are losing momentum in Latin America, the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB) is calling for shifting the focus from the content of policy choices to the political process of their implementation. As this paper studies the paradigmatic case of telecommunications reform in Costa Rica it underscores the importance of these \u27politics of policies\u27. The analysis finds, however, that the failure of repeated liberalization initiatives was not only due to policy-makers\u27 errors in steering the project through \u27the messy world of politics\u27 (IDB); instead, as liberalization remained unpopular, policy content indeed mattered, and only the interaction of both explains the outcome. Particular attention is drawn to the political feed-back effects, as the failed reform, precisely because it had been backed by bi-partisan support, became a catalyst for the disintegration of the country\u27s long-standing two-party system.In dem Maße, in dem die mit dem „Washington Consensus“ verbundenen Reformen in Lateinamerika ins Stocken geraten sind, plädiert die Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) für eine stärkere Berücksichtigung nicht nur der Politikinhalte (policies), sondern auch des politischen Prozesses von deren Umsetzung (politics). Die vorliegende Untersuchung zum paradigmatischen Fall der Reform des Telekommunikationssektors in Costa Rica unterstreicht die Bedeutung dieser „politics of policies“. Sie zeigt allerdings auch, dass Ursache für das Scheiten wiederholter Liberalisierungsinitiativen nicht nur Fehler der Politiker sind, das Vorhaben durch „die unordentliche Welt der politics“ (IDB) zu steuern. Die breite gesellschaftliche Opposition gegen den Liberalisierungskurs bleibt. Nur die Interaktion von beiden, politics und policies, erklärt Verlauf und Ergebnis der Reform. Besonderes Augenmerk widmet die Studie den politischen Rückwirkungen der gescheiterten Reform: Sie wurde, just weil sie von beiden etablierten Parteien unterstützt wurde, zum Katalysator für den Zerfall des seit Jahrzehnten etablierten Zweiparteiensystems des Landes

Robust Organic Radical Molecular Junctions Using Acetylene Terminated Groups for C−Au Bond Formation

Bejarano, Francesc et al.Organic paramagnetic and electroactive molecules are attracting interest as core components of molecular electronic and spintronic devices. Currently, further progress is hindered by the modest stability and reproducibility of the molecule/electrode contact. We report the synthesis of a persistent organic radical bearing one and two terminal alkyne groups to form Au-C σ bonds. The formation and stability of self-assembled monolayers and the electron transport through single-molecule junctions at room temperature have been studied. The combined analysis of both systems demonstrates that this linker forms a robust covalent bond with gold and a better-defined contact when compared to traditional sulfur-based linkers. Density functional theory and quantum transport calculations support the experimental observation highlighting a reduced variability of conductance values for the C-Au based junction. Our findings advance the quest for robustness and reproducibility of devices based on electroactive molecules.We acknowledge Dr. G. Sauthier from the ICN2 for the XPS measurements, Prof. Carlos Gomez from IcMOL for the SQUID measurements, A. Bernabé and Dr. V. Lloveras from ICMAB for the LDI-ToF and EPR measurements, respectively. This work was supported by FET ACMOL project (GA no. 618082), CIBER-BBN, the DGI (Spain) project FANCY CTQ2016-80030-R, the Generalitat de Catalunya (2014-SGR-17) and the MINECO, through the “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centers of Excel-lence in R&D (SEV-2015-0496). F.B he is enrolled in the Materi-als Science Ph.D. program of UAB. We thank the Dutch science foundation NWO/FOM for financial support.Peer reviewe

Self-Assembly of an Organic Radical Thin Film and its Memory Function Investigated Using a Liquid Metal Electrode

In this work, the deposition of a persistent organic radical by thermal evaporation on gold, platinum and graphene is performed. The impact of the deposition parameters and the nature of the substrate on the molecular organization within the deposited film are investigated. The non-planarity of the molecule and the role of the molecule-molecule and molecule-substrate interactions are discussed. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy experiments demonstrate that the radical character, and hence its magnetic and redox properties, is preserved on the three surfaces. The optimized films are electrically characterized by top-contacting the film/substrate system using a liquid metal which permits to achieve a soft-contact avoiding damaging the layer. The hysteretic current versus voltage curves obtained from the electrical characterization points to the potential applicability of the studied system as an organic memory. Moreover, the demonstrated feasibility of using a liquid metal is an appealing approach towards the preparation of flexible devices.We thank Dr. Raphael Pfattner for the fruitful discussions. We thank Dr. Guillaume Sauthier from the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) for the XPS measurements. This work was supported by MINECO through the “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centers of Excellence in R&D (SEV-2015-0496) and the FUNMAT-FIP projects, the European Research Council (ERC) StG 2012-306826 e-GAMES project. The authors also thank the CIBER-BBN, the Dirección General de Investigación (DGI) (Spain) project FANCY CTQ2016-80030-R and the Generalitat de Catalunya (2017-SGR-918).Peer reviewe

EGOFET Gated by a Molecular Electronic Switch: A Single-Device Memory Cell

Electrolyte-gated organic field-effect transistors (EGOFETs) exploit the transduction of interfacial phenomena, such as biorecognition or redox processes, into detectable changes of electrical response. Here, it is shown that, beyond sensing applications, EGOFETs may act effectively as memory devices, through the functionalization of the gate electrode with a self-assembly monolayer comprising a switching molecule undergoing a large and persistent change of dipole moment, upon application of a small (0.6 V) programming potential. This first example of a switchable EGOFET device with memory retention is based on a tetrathiafulvalene derivative self-assembled on gold and an aqueous buffer as electrolyte in a microfluidic assembly. Changes of the self-assembled monolayer redox state lead to variations of the gate electrochemical potential and, as a consequence, the EGOFET's threshold voltage undergoes reversible shifts larger than 100 mV. The distinctive electrical readout upon different redox states opens the possibility of writing and erasing information, thus making the transistor behave as a single memory cell

Photoswitching activation of a ferrocenyl-stilbene analogue by its covalent grafting to gold

Until now, surface-deposited stilbenes have been much less studied than other photochromic systems. Here, an asymmetrically substituted styrene incorporating a redox-active ferrocene moiety and a terminal alkyne group has been synthesised to investigate its photoisomerization in solution, and upon the formation of chemisorbed self-assembled monolayers through a carbon-gold bond formation. Charge transport measurements across the monolayers reveal that upon chemical linkage to the gold substrate there is an alteration of the isomerization pathway, which favours the trans to cis conversion, which is not observed in solution. The experimental observations are interpreted based on quantum chemistry calculations.This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry project GENESIS PID2019-111682RB-I00, the Generalitat de Catalunya (2017-SGR-918) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centers of Excellence in R&D (FUNFUTURE CEX2019-000917-S and CIBER-BBN. The work in Valencia and Madrid is supported by the MINECO-FEDER project CTQ2017-87054. The work in Madrid is further supported by the Spanish Science Ministry through the SEV-2016-0686 and CEX2020-001039-S grants and by the Campus of International Excellence (CEI) UAM + CSIC. D. R.-S. acknowledges the MINECO Ramón y Cajal grant (RYC-2015-19234) and the MDM-2015-0538 María de Maeztu Programme. J. C.-T. thanks (DOC-FAM fellowship, grant agreement Nr.754397 through H2020-MSCA-COFUND-2016). F. B. and J. C -T. are enrolled in the Materials Science PhD program of UAB. F. B. thanks the Spanish Ministry for the FPU fellowship.With funding from the Spanish government through the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000917-S).Peer reviewe