High Volume Production Research Articles

Increasing strength properties in sinter-based additive manufacturing of SS316L via metal material jetting of sub-micron powders

Metal Binder Jetting (MBJ) 3D printing is an attractive additive manufacturing (AM) method for high volume production of metals and ceramics. However, the widespread use of MBJ has been stymied by longstanding challenges in reduced strength properties compared with traditional wrought and laser-based AM materials. In this study, we leveraged novel “drop-on-demand” Metal Material Jetting (MMJ) of sub-micron powders to fabricate SS316L samples. These samples were subjected to dilatometry, mechanical testing, and correlative materials characterization and compared to metal binder jet (MBJ) SS316L to evaluate differences in process-structure-property relationships between the two processes. Overall, MMJ SS316L possessed an average tensile yield and ultimate tensile strength of 312 ± 84 MPa and 640 ± 38 MPa respectively, greatly exceeding MBJ SS316L in the literature due to the formation of fine microstructures with an average grain size of 2.4μm. Importantly this led to significant Hall-Petch strengthening but also considerably lower average failure strains (15.5 ± 4.8 %). The process-microstructure-property relationships facilitating microstructural evolution in MMJ are discussed and further elucidated using an isotropic pressure-less viscous sintering model. Results of this model show that, although densification behaviors in MMJ were largely similar to those in MBJ, MMJ samples possessed over three-fold increase in sintering stress, defined the change in free surface energy with respect to the volumetric shrinkage, and ∼31 % reduction in grain growth due to the employment of sub-micron size powders. Overall, these results show the promise of MMJ AM for structural metals and suggest that both microstructure (and ultimately strength) of MMJ materials can be further tuned by controlling the overall sintering process.

P‐107: High‐Resolution Periodic Patterning for Volume Manufacturing on +300mm Size Substrates Using Displacement Talbot Lithography

The photonic device market has a need for low‐cost, high‐resolution periodic patterning that scales with product maturity to large substrate sizes. Eulitha's DTL (Displacement Talbot Lithography) technology was limited to only a single exposure field per substrate on preexisting platforms which can fully pattern 100 and 150mm substrates. The new ‘PhableS' is Eulitha's step‐and‐repeat solution to bring all the advantages of the DTL patterning to larger substrates.The PhableS tool builds on Eulitha's patented displacement Talbot lithography technology to open the way for customers to fully scale to high volume production. This tool retains the strong technical performance; including 60nm half pitch resolution (DUV version), 140x140mm2 single shot exposure field, large depth of focus (hundreds of microns), high throughput (+40wph), non‐contact, mask‐based patterning. Automated wafer and mask handling support industry expected repeatability and defect‐free patterning.

Challenges for Leading Edge node FINFET

The primary focus of this work is to find out the challenges associated with 7nm node finFET. To enable the current generation of gadgets/instruments, foundries are going toward smaller geometries (FinFET 7nm, 5nm, etc.) for manufacturing SOC/ASIC. To support the 7nm technology node without EUV, the Layout Design Rules have been scaled quite aggressively. As a result, obtaining satisfactory performance and yield in High Volume Manufacturing (HVM) has become a difficult undertaking. The gains in terms of power, performance, and other characteristics that become available with reduced geometries are the main drivers driving this movement. Analog/mixed-signal circuits, on the other hand, do not fully achieve these gains. They get increasingly difficult to design, with higher parasitic resistance and capacitance, more layout-dependent effects, and, in certain cases, layout growth. While in terms of fabrication the challenges are in node and cost, mask making, patterning, transistor formation, BEOL, MEOL, Technology parasitic elements and process control etc. This indicate what are the challenges for design of 7nm node FinFET.

Enabling high-fidelity personalised pharmaceutical tablets through multimaterial inkjet 3D printing with a water-soluble excipient

Additive manufacturing offers manufacture of personalised pharmaceutical tablets through design freedoms and material deposition control at an individual voxel level. This control goes beyond geometry and materials choices: inkjet based 3D printing enables the precise deposition (10–80 μm) of multiple materials, which permits integration of precise doses with tailored release rates; in the meanwhile, this technique has demonstrated its capability of high-volume personalised production. In this paper we demonstrate how two dissimilar materials, one water soluble and one insoluble, can be co-printed within a design envelope to dial up a range of release rates including slow (0.98 ± 0.04 mg/min), fast (4.07 ± 0.25 mg/min) and multi-stepped (2.17 ± 0.04 mg/min then 0.70 ± 0.13 mg/min) dissolution curves. To achieve this, we adopted poly-4-acryloylmorpholine (poly-ACMO) as a new photocurable water-soluble carrier and demonstrated its contemporaneous deposition with an insoluble monomer. The water soluble ACMO formulation with aspirin incorporated was successfully printed and cured under UV light and a wide variety of shapes with material distributions that control drug elution was successfully fabricated by inkjet based 3D printing technique, suggesting its viability as a future personalised solid dosage form fabrication routine.

Production, Diversity, and Distribution of Aquaculture Commodities in Tuban, Indonesia

Graphical Abstract Highlight Research Tuban (Indonesia) aquaculture commodities are surveyed. Aquaculture diversity in Tuban are consisted of 5 fields, namely rice field ponds, floating net cages, freshwater ponds, and brackish aquaculture ponds Aquaculture commodities in Tuban consist of 11 families and 14 species of the main aquatic production. Cyprinus carpio or common carp is one of the commodities cultivated in four different aquacultures. Abstract Fishery is a sector expected to overcome the food crisis. Indonesia is one of the leading countries in high volumes of fishery production in most of its areas, including the Regency of Tuban in East Java Province. The area of Tuban Regency is 1,839.94 km2 with the coastline covers 65 km and a sea area of 22,608 km2. This study aims to provide information regarding aquaculture production, diversity, and distribution in Tuban. This study used a survey method in collecting fishery commodity data directly from aquaculture areas. The results of this study showed that the highest production came from the brackish water with a value of 32.46% (13,561.79 tons), followed by rice field pond (27.79% or 11,612.45 tons), freshwater pond (25.76% or 10,764.62 tons), floating net cage (13.97% or 5,836.59 tons), and marine (0.1% or 5.67 tons). Aquaculture biodiversity in Tuban consisted of 11 families and 14 species of the main aquatic produces, such as Cyprinidae (Cyprinus carpio, Barbonymus gonionotus, Parastromateus niger), Clariidae (Clarias bathracus), Pangasiidae (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus), Penaeidae (Penaeus monodon, Litopenaeus vannamei), Channidae (Channa striata), Cichlidae (Oreochromis niloticus, Oreochromis mosammbicus), Osphronemidae (Osphronemus gourami), Serranidae (Epinephelus), Lutjanidae (Lutjanus), and Chanidae (Chanos chanos). Cyprinus carpio or common carp is fish cultivated in four different aquacultures, namely rice field pond, floating net cages, freshwater ponds, and brackish aquaculture ponds. Unfortunately, the diversity and production of marine aquaculture has not been improved even though Tuban has large marine areas.

Urinary volatile organic compound metabolites and COPD among US adults: mixture, interaction and mediation analysis

BackgroundVolatile organic compounds (VOCs) encompass hundreds of high production volume chemicals and have been reported to be associated with adverse respiratory outcomes such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, research on the combined toxic effects of exposure to various VOCs on COPD is lacking. We aimed to assess the effect of VOC metabolite mixture on COPD risk in a large population sample.MethodsWe assessed the effect of VOC metabolite mixture on COPD risk in 5997 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011 to 2020 (pre-pandemic) using multivariate logistic regression, Bayesian weighted quantile sum regression (BWQS), quantile-based g-Computation method (Qgcomp), and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR). We explored whether these associations were mediated by white blood cell (WBC) count and total bilirubin.ResultsIn the logistic regression model, we observed a significantly increased risk of COPD associated with 9 VOC metabolites. Conversely, N-acetyl-S-(benzyl)-L-cysteine (BMA) and N-acetyl-S-(n-propyl)-L-cysteine (BPMA) showed insignificant negative correlations with COPD risk. The overall mixture exposure demonstrated a significant positive relationship with COPD in both the BWQS model (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.30, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06, 1.58) and BKMR model, and with marginal significance in the Qgcomp model (adjusted OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 0.98, 1.52). All three models indicated a significant effect of the VOC metabolite mixture on COPD in non-current smokers. WBC count mediated 7.1% of the VOC mixture associated-COPD in non-current smokers.ConclusionsOur findings provide novel evidence suggesting that VOCs may have adverse associations with COPD in the general population, with N, N- Dimethylformamide and 1,3-Butadiene contributing most. These findings underscore the significance of understanding the potential health risks associated with VOC mixture and emphasize the need for targeted interventions to mitigate the adverse effects on COPD risk.

Decreasing the environmental impact of the electric steel making process through implementation of furnace retrofitting solutions

Steel production in the electric arc furnace is an energy-intensive process and generates a high amount of climate-relevant CO2 emissions. During the last decades, various improvements of the furnace and its operation have been developed and implemented, so that the efficiency of modern steel plants has reached a high level. Due to the standardized process flows and high production volumes, even small improvements in resource efficiency can lead to significant savings and improve the environmental impact of the steel production. This paper presents several optimization activities and retrofitting solutions for the metallurgical sector and in particular for the electric steel route. On the example of a Spanish electric steel plant, a life cycle analysis is carried out to calculate the potential improvements in environmental impacts and compare them with the current state of the art. For this purpose, real process data were collected and transferred to a life cycle assessment model with the use of a material flow analysis. A comparison of the ecological impact categories provides information on which retrofitting solutions can improve the process in the electric arc furnace and ensure a lower environmental impact.

Projections of the costs of light-duty battery-electric and fuel cell vehicles (2020–2040) and related economic issues

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the initial costs and total cost of ownership (TCO) for light-duty battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) from 2020 to 2040, covering cars, SUVs, and light trucks, alongside the infrastructure requirements. Key findings indicate that by 2040, the initial costs for BEVs will align with those of gasoline vehicles if battery costs can reach cell-level $70/kWh (or pack-level $84/kWh). For FCVs, achieving cost parity with gasoline cars before 2040 will be challenging unless the cost of fuel cells decreases to about $40/kW through high-volume production (>500000 units). Regarding 5-year TCOs, both BEVs and FCVs are expected to be close to or slightly lower than those of gasoline vehicles by 2040 across all LDV market segments. Investment analysis for large fleets suggests that by 2040, public fast charging for BEVs could cost $2000/vehicle, and hydrogen refueling for FCVs $1100/vehicle. Additionally, the study assesses the impact of low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) credits on the profitability of refueling stations, concluding that these credits are essential for transforming potentially unprofitable stations into profitable ventures with returns of 5% or higher. This highlights the critical role of LCFS in financing BEVs and FCVs infrastructure.

A Chronic Aquatic Hazard Assessment for the Perfume Raw Material Octahydro-tetramethyl-naphthalenyl-ethanone.

Octahydro-tetramethyl-naphthalenyl-ethanone (OTNE) is a high-production volume fragrance material used in various down-the-drain consumer products. To assess aquatic risk, the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM) uses a tiered data-driven framework to determine a risk characterization ratio, where the ratio of the predicted-environmental concentration to the predicted-no-effect concentration (PNEC) of <1 indicates an acceptable level of risk. Owing to its high production volume and the conservative nature of the RIFM framework, RIFM identified the need to utilize a species sensitivity distribution (SSD) approach to reduce the PNEC uncertainty for OTNE. Adding to the existing Daphnia magna, Danio rerio, and Desmodesmus subspicatus chronic studies, eight new chronic toxicity studies were conducted on the following species: Navicula pelliculosa, Chironomus riparius, Lemna gibba, Ceriodaphnia dubia, Hyalella azteca, Pimephales promelas, Anabaena flos-aquae, and Daphnia pulex. All toxicity data were summarized as chronic 10% effect concentration estimates using the most sensitive biological response. Daphnia magna was the most sensitive (0.032 mg/L), and D. subspicatus was the least sensitive (>2.6 mg/L, the OTNE solubility limit). The 5th percentile hazardous concentration (HC5) derived from the cumulative probability distribution of the chronic toxicity values for the 11 species was determined to be 0.0498 mg/L (95% confidence interval 0.0097-0.1159 mg/L). A series of "leave-one-out" and "add-one-in" simulations indicated the SSD was stable and robust. Add-one-in simulations determined that the probability of finding a species sensitive enough to lower the HC5 two- or threefold was 1/504 and 1/15,300, respectively. Given the high statistical confidence in this robust SSD, an additional application factor protection is likely not necessary. Nevertheless, to further ensure the protection of the environment, an application factor of 2 to the HC5, resulting in a PNEC of 0.0249 mg/L, is recommended. When combined with environmental exposure information, the overall hazard assessment is suitable for a probabilistic environmental risk assessment. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:1378-1389. © 2024 SETAC.

Welding Challenges and Quality Assurance in Electric Vehicle Battery Pack Manufacturing

Electric vehicles’ batteries, referred to as Battery Packs (BPs), are composed of interconnected battery cells and modules. The utilisation of different materials, configurations, and welding processes forms a plethora of different applications. This level of diversity along with the low maturity of welding designs and the lack of standardisation result in great variations in the mechanical and electrical quality of the joints. Moreover, the high-volume production requirements, meaning the high number of joints per module/BP, increase the absolute number of defects. The first part of this study focuses on associating the challenges of welding application in battery assembly with the key performance indicators of the joints. The second part reviews the existing methods for quality assurance which concerns the joining of battery cells and busbars. Additionally, the second part of this paper identifies the general trends and the research gaps for the most widely adopted welding methods in this domain, while it renders the future directions.

Operation Management of Grocery Retailer in the UK: A Case of Tesco

Tesco is the biggest grocery retailer in the UK focused on food products selling and some non-food services such as clothing, home appliances, financial, etc. Over the last five years, Tesco has had a healthy growth in revenues and net profits, which reflects the success of Tesco's operations management. The purpose of the study is to explore the successful operation management of Tesco company, which can bring some inspiration for other companies to grow. This paper mainly includes operation design (products, service, process, and layout design), resource planning and control, and capacity management. In terms of operation design, Tesco launched a new baby food range with absolutely no salt or sugar, no artificial colors or spices to protect children’s health; Clubcard, Scan as you go, staff visibility, and Online shopping &amp; Delivery adopted for giving customers’ more benefits and convenience; Tesco belongs to mass service process, adopts tracking technology named thermal imaging cameras to monitor queue lengths, reduce customer waiting time, increasing service speed and flexibility. Tesco mainly uses a functional layout, keeps the layout of its stores the same to allow customers to quickly find the goods, saving shopping time, and designed the display locations of its products to increase its revenue. For Planning and control, Tesco belongs to ‘Produce to stock’, which shows the characteristics of a high volume of products, which can save customers’ time, because the products have been produced in advance for customers to buy. Regarding Capacity management, Tesco adopted a mixed strategy which is chase demand and demand management to manage mismatches. Effective operation management strategies have made outstanding contributions to the realization of Tesco's business objectives, profit increase, and long-term development.

Damascene Process Development for Low-Loss Photonics Devices with Applications in Frequency Comb

Silicon nitride (SiN) is emerging as a material of choice for photonic integrated circuits (PICs) due to its ultralow optical losses, absence of two-photon absorption in telecommunication bands, strong Kerr nonlinearity and high-power handling capability. These properties make SiN particularly well-suited for applications such as delay lines, chip-scale frequency combs and narrow-linewidth lasers, especially when implemented with thick SiN waveguides, which is achieved through low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD). However, a significant challenge arises when the LPCVD SiN film thickness exceeds 300 nm on an 8-inch wafer, as this can result in cracking due to high stress. In this work, we successfully develop a damascene process to fabricate 800 nm-thick SiN photonics devices on an 8-inch wafer in a pilot line, overcoming cracking challenges. The resulting 2 × 2 multimode interference (MMI) coupler exhibits low excess loss (−0.1 dB) and imbalance (0.06 dB) at the wavelength of 1310 nm. Furthermore, the dispersion-engineered SiN micro-ring resonator exhibits a quality (Q) factor exceeding 1 × 106, enabling the generation of optical frequency combs. Our demonstration of photonics devices utilizing the photonics damascene process sets the stage for high-volume manufacturing and widespread deployment.

Source apportionment of polychlorinated biphenyls in the sediment of the Newtown Creek superfund site

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a primary contaminant of potential concern at the Newtown Creek superfund site. Measurements of PCBs in hundreds of samples of sediment (surface and cores) within Newtown Creek and at nearby reference locations were obtained from the Remedial Investigation (RI) databases. This data set was analyzed using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF). A weight-of-evidence approach was used to attribute the PMF-generated fingerprints to sources. The PMF analysis generated eight factors (fingerprints or sources) that represent primary sources, such as Aroclors, as well as secondary sources, including the East River and Combined Sewer Outfalls (CSOs). In addition to the high-production volume Aroclors (1016/1242, 1248, 1254, and 1260), some less-widely used Aroclors (1232 and 1268) were found in Newtown Creek sediment. Aroclor 1268 is disproportionately abundant in the deepest sediments, while PCBs likely from CSOs are relatively more abundant in surface sediment.

Use of Immunoglobulin Y Antibodies: Biosensor-based Diagnostic Systems and Prophylactic and Therapeutic Drug Delivery Systems for Viral Respiratory Diseases.

Respiratory viruses have caused many pandemics from past to present and are among the top global public health problems due to their rate of spread. The recently experienced COVID-19 pandemic has led to an understanding of the importance of rapid diagnostic tests to prevent epidemics and the difficulties of developing new vaccines. On the other hand, the emergence of resistance to existing antiviral drugs during the treatment process poses a major problem for society and global health systems. Therefore, there is a need for new approaches for the diagnosis, prophylaxis, and treatment of existing or new types of respiratory viruses. Immunoglobulin Y antibodies (IgYs) obtained from the yolk of poultry eggs have significant advantages, such as high production volumes, low production costs, and high selectivity, which enable the development of innovative and strategic products. Especially in diagnosing respiratory viruses, antibody-based biosensors in which these antibodies are integrated have the potential to provide superiority in making rapid and accurate diagnosis as a practical diagnostic tool. This review article aims to provide information on using IgY antibodies in diagnostic, prophylactic, and therapeutic applications for respiratory viruses and to provide a perspective for future innovative applications.

The Conflict between Regulatory Agencies over the 20,000-Fold Lowering of the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) for Bisphenol A (BPA) by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommended lowering their estimated tolerable daily intake (TDI) for bisphenol A (BPA) 20,000-fold to . BPA is an extensively studied high production volume endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) associated with a vast array of diseases. Prior risk assessments of BPA by EFSA as well as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have relied on industry-funded studies conducted under good laboratory practice protocols (GLP) requiring guideline end points and detailed record keeping, while also claiming to examine (but rejecting) thousands of published findings by academic scientists. Guideline protocols initially formalized in the mid-twentieth century are still used by many regulatory agencies. EFSA used a 21st century approach in its reassessment of BPA and conducted a transparent, but time-limited, systematic review that included both guideline and academic research. The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) opposed EFSA's revision of the TDI for BPA. We identify the flaws in the assumptions that the German BfR, as well as the FDA, have used to justify maintaining the TDI for BPA at levels above what a vast amount of academic research shows to cause harm. We argue that regulatory agencies need to incorporate 21st century science into chemical hazard identifications using the CLARITY-BPA (Consortium Linking Academic and Regulatory Insights on BPA Toxicity) nonguideline academic studies in a collaborative government-academic program model. We strongly endorse EFSA's revised TDI for BPA and support the European Commission's (EC) apparent acceptance of this updated BPA risk assessment. We discuss challenges to current chemical risk assessment assumptions about EDCs that need to be addressed by regulatory agencies to, in our opinion, become truly protective of public health. Addressing these challenges will hopefully result in BPA, and eventually other structurally similar bisphenols (called regrettable substitutions) for which there are known adverse effects, being eliminated from all food-related and many other uses in the EU and elsewhere. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP13812.

Theoretical study of extreme ultraviolet pellicles with nanometer thicknesses

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pellicles are required for EUV defectivity management in high volume manufacturing (HVM). Theoretical analysis of EUV pellicles of nanometer thickness is helpful for these fabrications. In this paper, for maximum transverse deflection, an analytical–numerical method is contrasted against the finite element method (FEM) due to the ratio of thickness and width length of EUV pellicles. The difference was increased at a thickness of micron unit. Single- and multiple-variable methods of linear regression in deep learning were used to overcome the ANSYS limitation based on FEM, such as the meshing of more than 10 μm thickness, and shear loading, an error in FEM resulting from the impact on the stiffness matrix caused by variations in the length-to-thickness ratio increases in the beam element, respectively.

Using Transfer Learning and Radial Basis Function Deep Neural Network Feature Extraction to Upgrade Existing Product Fault Detection Systems for Industry 4.0: A Case Study of a Spring Factory

In the era of Industry 3.0, product fault detection systems became important auxiliary systems for factories. These systems efficiently monitor product quality, and as such, substantial amounts of capital were invested in their development. However, with the arrival of Industry 4.0, high-volume low-mix production modes are gradually being replaced by low-volume high-mix production modes, reducing the applicability of existing systems. The extent of investment has prompted factories to seek upgrades to tailor existing systems to suit new production modes. In this paper, we propose an approach to upgrading based on the concept of transfer learning. The key elements are (1) using a framework with a basic model and an add-on model rather than fine-tuning parameters and (2) designing a radial basis function deep neural network (RBF-DNN) to extract important features to construct the basic and add-on models. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is verified using real-world data from a spring factory.

Exposure to benzotriazoles and benzothiazoles in Czech male population and its associations with biomarkers of liver function, serum lipids and oxidative stress.

Benzotriazoles and benzothiazoles (BTs) are high-production volume chemicals as well as widely distributed emerging pollutants with potential health risk. However, information about human exposure to BTs and associated health outcomes is limited. We aimed to characterise exposure to BTs among Czech men, including possible occupational exposure among firefighters, its predictors, and its associations with liver function, serum lipids and oxidative stress. 165participants (including 110 firefighters) provided urine and blood samples that were used to quantify the urinary levels of 8 BTs (high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry), and 4 liver enzymes, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine. Linear regression was used to assess associations with population characteristics and biomarkers of liver function, serum lipids and oxidative stress. Regression models were adjusted for potential confounding variables and false discovery rate procedure was applied to account for multiplicity. The BTs ranged from undetected up to 46.8ng/mL. 2-hydroxy-benzothiazole was the most predominant compound (detection frequency 83%; median 1.95ng/mL). 1-methyl-benzotriazole (1M-BTR) was measured in human samples for the first time, with a detection frequency 77% and median 1.75ng/mL. Professional firefighters had lower urinary 1M-BTR compared to non-firefighters. Urinary 1M-BTR was associated with levels of γ-glutamyl transferase (β = -17.54%; 95% CI: -26.127,-7.962). This is the first study to investigate BT exposure in Central Europe, including potentially exposed firefighters. The findings showed a high prevalence of BTs in the study population, the relevance of 1M-BTR as a new biomarker of exposure, and an urgent need for further research into associated adverse health outcomes.

Uncovering the molecular mechanisms of russet skin formation in Niagara grapevine (Vitis vinifera × Vitis labrusca)

Grape breeding programs are mostly focused on developing new varieties with high production volume, sugar contents, and phenolic compound diversity combined with resistance and tolerance to the main pathogens under culture and adverse environmental conditions. The ‘Niagara’ variety (Vitis labrusca×\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\ imes$$\\end{document}Vitis vinifera) is one of the most widely produced and commercialized table grapes in Brazil. In this work, we selected three Niagara somatic variants with contrasting berry phenotypes and performed morphological and transcriptomic analyses of their berries. Histological sections of the berries were also performed to understand anatomical and chemical composition differences of the berry skin between the genotypes. An RNA-Seq pipeline was implemented, followed by global coexpression network modeling. ‘Niagara Steck’, an intensified russet mutant with the most extreme phenotype, showed the largest difference in expression and showed selection of coexpressed network modules involved in the development of its russet-like characteristics. Enrichment analysis of differently expressed genes and hub network modules revealed differences in transcription regulation, auxin signaling and cell wall and plasmatic membrane biogenesis. Cutin- and suberin-related genes were also differently expressed, supporting the anatomical differences observed with microscopy.

Enabling Applications of Electromagnetic Waves at 0.3-1.0 THz Using Silicon Electronic Integrated Circuits.

Over the past 15 years, the output power of silicon submillimeter-wave electronics has increased by a factor greater than 1000 reaching -3.9 dBm at 440 GHz for a single unit in CMOS and -10.7 dBm at 1.01 THz for a 42-element array in SiGe BiCMOS. The smallest power of a 1 kHz bandwidth signal at 420 GHz that can be detected has improved by 100 million times. These and the expected improvements from the ongoing activities should be sufficient to support high resolution imaging with a range of up to several hundred meters, gas sensing up to ∼1 THz, and communication over ∼1000 m. The silicon IC technologies enable integration of complex systems into a small form factor and reduction of manufacturing cost. When broad deployment of submillimeter wave systems for everyday life applications becomes necessary, the silicon IC infrastructure will be the most capable to support the high-volume manufacturing need.