Negative index fishnet with nanopillars formed by direct nano-imprint lithography

In this paper we demonstrate the ability to fabricate fishnets by nanoimprinting directly into a pre-deposited three layer metal–dielectric–metal stack, enabling us to pattern large areas in two minutes. We have designed and fabricated two different fishnet structures of varying dimensions using this method and measured their resonant wavelengths in the near-infrared at 1.45 μm and 1.88 μm. An important by-product of directly imprinting into the metal–dielectric stack, without separation from the substrate, is the formation of rectangular nanopillars that sit within the rectangular apertures between the fishnet slabs. Simulations complement our measurements and suggest a negative refractive index real part with a magnitude of 1.6. Further simulations suggest that if the fishnet were to be detached from the supporting substrate a refractive index real part of 5 and FOM of 2.74 could be obtained

Recognition and classification of power quality disturbances by DWT-MRA and SVM classifier

Electrical power system is a large and complex network, where power quality disturbances (PQDs) must be monitored, analyzed and mitigated continuously in order to preserve and to re-establish the normal power supply without even slight interruption. Practically huge disturbance data is difficult to manage and requires the higher level of accuracy and time for the analysis and monitoring. Thus automatic and intelligent algorithm based methodologies are in practice for the detection, recognition and classification of power quality events. This approach may help to take preventive measures against abnormal operations and moreover, sudden fluctuations in supply can be handled accordingly. Disturbance types, causes, proper and appropriate extraction of features in single and multiple disturbances, classification model type and classifier performance, are still the main concerns and challenges. In this paper, an attempt has been made to present a different approach for recognition of PQDs with the synthetic model based generated disturbances, which are frequent in power system operations, and the proposed unique feature vector. Disturbances are generated in Matlab workspace environment whereas distinctive features of events are extracted through discrete wavelet transform (DWT) technique. Machine learning based Support vector machine classifier tool is implemented for the classification and recognition of disturbances. In relation to the results, the proposed methodology recognizes the PQDs with high accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. This study illustrates that the proposed approach is valid, efficient and applicable

Multi-Layer Latency Aware Workload Assignment of E-Transport IoT Applications in Mobile Sensors Cloudlet Cloud Networks

These days, with the emerging developments in wireless communication technologies, such as 6G and 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, the usage of E-Transport applications has been increasing progressively. These applications are E-Bus, E-Taxi, self-autonomous car, ETrain and E-Ambulance, and latency-sensitive workloads executed in the distributed cloud network. Nonetheless, many delays present in cloudlet-based cloud networks, such as communication delay, round-trip delay and migration during the workload in the cloudlet-based cloud network. However, the distributed execution of workloads at different computing nodes during the assignment is a challenging task. This paper proposes a novel Multi-layer Latency (e.g., communication delay, roundtrip delay and migration delay) Aware Workload Assignment Strategy (MLAWAS) to allocate the workload of E-Transport applications into optimal computing nodes. MLAWAS consists of different components, such as the Q-Learning aware assignment and the Iterative method, which distribute workload in a dynamic environment where runtime changes of overloading and overheating remain controlled. The migration of workload and VM migration are also part of MLAWAS. The goal is to minimize the average response time of applications. Simulation results demonstrate that MLAWAS earns the minimum average response time as compared with the two other existing strategies.publishedVersio

Low temperature silicon nitride waveguides for multilayer platforms

Several 3D multilayer silicon photonics platforms have been proposed to provide densely integrated structures for complex integrated circuits. Amongst these platforms, great interest has been given to the inclusion of silicon nitride layers to achieve low propagation losses due to their capacity of providing tight optical confinement with low scattering losses in a wide spectral range. However, none of the proposed platforms have demonstrated the integration of active devices. The problem is that typically low loss silicon nitride layers have been fabricated with LPCVD which involves high processing temperatures (<1000 ºC) that affect metallisation and doping processes that are sensitive to temperatures above 400ºC. As a result, we have investigated ammonia-free PECVD and HWCVD processes to obtain high quality silicon nitride films with reduced hydrogen content at low temperatures. Several deposition recipes were defined through a design of experiments methodology in which different combinations of deposition parameters were tested to optimise the quality and the losses of the deposited layers. The physical, chemical and optical properties of the deposited materials were characterised using different techniques including ellipsometry, SEM, FTIR, AFM and the waveguide loss cut-back method. Silicon nitride layers with hydrogen content between 10-20%, losses below 10dB/cm and high material quality were obtained with the ammonia-free recipe. Similarly, it was demonstrated that HWCVD has the potential to fabricate waveguides with low losses due to its capacity of yielding hydrogen contents <10% and roughness <1.5nm

Fault detection through discrete wavelet transform in overhead power transmission lines

Transmission lines are a very important and vulnerable part of the power system. Power supply to the consumers depends on the fault-free status of transmission lines. If the normal working condition of the power system is disturbed due to faults, the persisting fault of long duration results in financial and economic losses. The fault analysis has an important association with the selection of protective devices and reliability assessment of high-voltage transmission lines. It is imperative to devise a suitable feature extraction tool for accurate fault detection and classification in transmission lines. Several feature extraction techniques have been used in the past but due to their limitations, that is, for use in stationary signals, limited space in localizing nonstationary signals, and less robustness in case of variations in normal operation conditions. Not suitable for real-time applications and large calculation time and memory requirements. This research presents a discrete wavelet transform (DWT)-based novel fault detection technique at different parameters, that is, fault inception and fault resistance with proper selection of mother wavelet. In this study, the feasibility of DWT using MATLAB software has been investigated. It has been concluded from the simulated data that wavelet transform together with an effective classification algorithm can be implemented as an effective tool for real-time monitoring and accurate fault detection and classification in the transmission lines.© 2023 The Authors. Energy Science & Engineering published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

A Review on Poultry; Semen Storage and Preservation

For the improvement of genetic resources and their maintenance, new techniques of assisted reproductive technologies have been developed. Cryopreservation of semen, embryo transfer and artificial insemination in mammals are used, while in the avian technique of artificial insemination after semen cryopreservation is proved fruitful. By using this developed technique, the best fertility rate in chicken can be obtained by artificial insemination. In vitro cryopreservation can affect the motility, life of sperm, viability, fertilizing ability. From mammalian sperm cell, the avian sperm cell is different in shape, size having polyunsaturated fatty acid. The use of suitable cryo-protectants and semen extender can save the viability and morphology of sperm and can provide a better result of AI by a good fertility rate. A good fertility rate can be achieved by storing avian, turkey and chicken semen at 2-8°C, 4-8°C and 7-8°C. This paper will help to conclude the script of semen collection, cryopreservation, evaluation, diluents used to maintain sperm viability and fertility ratio. This review uniquely synthesizes recent advancements in poultry semen preservation, focusing on novel cryoprotectants, semen extenders, and optimization techniques. It integrates emerging practices and technologies to provide new insights into enhancing semen quality, fertility rates, and overall reproductive efficiency in poultry. This review uniquely synthesizes recent advancements in poultry semen preservation, focusing on novel cryoprotectants, semen extenders, and optimization techniques. It integrates emerging practices and technologies to provide new insights into enhancing semen quality, fertility rates, and overall reproductive efficiency in poultr

Integrated 3D Hydrogel Waveguide Out-Coupler by Step-and-Repeat Thermal Nanoimprint Lithography: A Promising Sensor Device for Water and pH

Hydrogel materials offer many advantages for chemical and biological sensoring due to their response to a small change in their environment with a related change in volume. Several designs have been outlined in the literature in the specific field of hydrogel-based optical sensors, reporting a large number of steps for their fabrication. In this work we present a three-dimensional, hydrogel-based sensor the structure of which is fabricated in a single step using thermal nanoimprint lithography. The sensor is based on a waveguide with a grating readout section. A specific hydrogel formulation, based on a combination of PEGDMA (Poly(Ethylene Glycol DiMethAcrylate)), NIPAAm (N-IsoPropylAcrylAmide), and AA (Acrylic Acid), was developed. This stimulus-responsive hydrogel is sensitive to pH and to water. Moreover, the hydrogel has been modified to be suitable for fabrication by thermal nanoimprint lithography. Once stimulated, the hydrogel-based sensor changes its topography, which is characterised physically by AFM and SEM, and optically using a specific optical set-up

Incidence and Surgical Outcome of the Intracranial Epidermoid Cyst at Punjab Institute of Neurosciences Lahore, Pakistan

Objectives:  The incidence and microsurgical outcomes of intracranial epidermoid cysts in the Department of Neurosurgery III, Punjab Institute of Neurosciences (PINS), Lahore, Pakistan, are described in this case series. Materials and Methods:  This study was a data analysis of a case series of 15 patients (mean age, 40 years) of both gender with intracranial epidermoid cysts who had microsurgical surgical excision over five years. Results:  This study comprised 11 (73.3%) male and 4 (26.7%) female patients, 11 (73.3%) cases were infratentorial and 4 (26.7%) cases were in supratentorial region. The epidermoid was located in the CP angle in 11 (73.3%) patients, 3 (20%) in the midline supra sellar region, and 1 (6.66%) in the frontotemporal region. The presenting complaints were mainly headache in 11 (73.33%), cranial nerve palsy and cerebellar signs in 8 (53.3%) patients, Trigeminal neuralgia in 3 (20%) patients, Fits and hydrocephalus in 2 (13.3%) patients. There were 14 (93.3%) patients with GTR (gross total resection), 1 (6.6%) patients STR (subtotal resection). According to Karnofsky's performance scoring (KPS), 3 (20%) patients improved, 11 (73.3%) patients had the same KPS, and 1 (6.6%) patient had a lower KPS. Conclusion:  The epidermoid cysts in the brain are usually found in the infratentorial region rather than the supratentorial region. Infratentorial lesions typically cause cranial nerve deficits, whereas the supratentorial area symptom is a headache

An Intelligent Vertical Handover Scheme for Audio and Video Streaming in Heterogeneous Vehicular Networks

In heterogeneous vehicular networks, the most challenging issue is obtaining an efficient vertical handover during the vehicle roaming process. Efficient network selection process can achieve satisfactory Quality of Service for ongoing applications. In this paper, we propose an Intelligent Network Selection (INS) scheme based on maximization scoring function to efficiently rank available wireless network candidates. Three input parameters were utilized to develop a maximization scoring function that collected data from each network candidate during the selection process. These parameters are: Faded Signal-to-Noise Ratio, Residual Channel Capacity, and Connection Life Time. The results show that the proposed INS scheme is more efficient at decreasing handover delays, End-to-End delays for VoIP and Video applications, packet loss ratios as well as increasing the efficiency of network selection processes in comparison with the state of the arts.Sadiq, AS.; Abu Bakar, K.; Ghafoor, KZ.; Lloret, J.; Khokhar, R. (2013). An Intelligent Vertical Handover Scheme for Audio and Video Streaming in Heterogeneous Vehicular Networks. Mobile Networks and Applications. 18(6):879-895. doi:10.1007/s11036-013-0465-8S879895186Chen YS, Cheng CH, Hsu CS, Chiu GM (2009) Network mobility protocol for vehicular ad hoc networks. In: Wireless communications and networking conference, IEEE, pp 1–6Ghafoor KZ, Abu Bakar K, Lee K, AL-Hashimi H (2010) A novel delay-and reliability-aware inter-vehicle routing protocol. 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Closed Loop Supply Chain: Evaluating Ecological Footprint

Purpose:  The purpose of this research is to evaluate the success of the closed-loop E-waste supply chain operations, primarily focused on achieving sustainability objectives related to the manufacturing, distribution, reusing, and discarding of electrical components. Methodology: The supply chain operations reference model offers suggestions and benchmarking tools to monitor the performance of supply chains and enhance the processes. This study illustrates a conceptual framework to show how these standards could be used in the E-waste supply chain to link business processes, metrics, industry standards, and technology to enhance the relationship and coordination between the supply chain members and to increase sustainability throughout the supply chain. Findings: According to an assessment of the literature, insufficient attention has been paid to the SCOR model's sustainability criteria. Consequently, in the wake of portraying the structure of the Supply Chain Operation Reference model, we make sense of which credits should be included in the Supply Chain Operation Reference to reflect manageability and which cycles and practices are related to every standard or should be remembered for Supply Chain Operation Reference to lay out the connection between execution, cycles, and practices. Conclusions: When a company's supply chain has achieved a desirable degree of eco-friendliness in all regards, its performance will be improved and satisfactory from a sustainability perspectiv