Large Packages Research Articles

Microwave Moisture Sensing of Seedcotton: Part 1: Seedcotton Microwave Material Properties.

Moisture content at harvest is a key parameter that impacts quality and how well the cotton crop can be stored without degrading before processing. It is also a key parameter of interest for harvest time field trials as it can directly influence the quality of the harvested crop as well as skew the results of in-field yield and quality assessments. Microwave sensing of moisture has several unique advantages over lower frequency sensing approaches. The first is that microwaves are insensitive to variations in conductivity, due to presence of salts or minerals. The second advantage is that microwaves can peer deep inside large bulk packaging to assess the internal moisture content without performing a destructive tear down of the package. To help facilitate the development of a microwave moisture sensor for seedcotton; research was performed to determine the basic microwave properties of seedcotton. The research was performed on 110 kg micro-modules, which are of direct interest to research teams for use in ongoing field-based research projects. It should also prove useful for the enhancement of existing and future yield monitor designs. Experimental data was gathered on the basic relations between microwave material properties and seedcotton over the range from 1.0 GHz to 2.5 GHz and is reported on herein. This research is part one of a two-part series that reports on the fundamental microwave properties of seedcotton as moisture and density vary naturally during the course of typical harvesting operations; part two will utilize this data to formulate a prediction algorithm to form the basis for a prototype microwave moisture sensor.

Energy Efficient Strategies for Processing Rare Earth Permanent Magnets

Due to high magnetic fields causing strong interactions between permanent magnets and other ferromagnetic material, transport and handling of magnetized magnet bodies is challenging. To avoid undesired effects, such as influences on sensitive devices or difficult separation of the single magnets from stack, spacing and shielding of the magnet bodies is required leading to larger package sizes and thus in some cases higher energy demand during transport referred to the transported magnet mass. An optimization of the transport chain can be reached using the software tool presented in this paper. Further magnetizing high coercive rare earth magnets needs strong magnetic fields. To create the necessary field strength, copper coils are used requiring current strengths of several kA. Since the electrical resistance of copper differs from zero, this also means enormous thermal losses. Hence to reduce the losses and to avoid thermal damage of the coil, only short current pulses are applied generated by a pulse magnetizer. However, the efficiency of the process is very poor and lies in the lower per mil range. The presented paper explains the magnetization process in detail with focus on the losses within the magnetization device. Further different material parameters influencing the saturation field strength, such as conductivity, size and diameter to length ratio are presented and possibilities to improve the energy efficiency are shown.

Novel glass substrates for minimizing thermal stress development during electronic device packaging process

Abstract Glass can be utilized for support or career substrate in large size packaging process since it has excellent mechanical and optical properties. However, the thermal stress caused by a mismatch of coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) causes an unneglectable warpage during a thermal process. In order to overcome this thermal stress issue, we have developed novel glasses that have finely tuned CTE characteristics to fit each packaging process. In this paper, we will report on a glass substrate whose CTE is perfectly matched with that of Si, and a series of glass substrates whose CTEs are controlled in sub-ppm order and within the range of 3.3 ~ 12.0 ppm/°C. To evaluate the effect of glass CTE on the thermal stress management, the warpage behavior of Si wafer after glass wafer bonding were investigated by both numerical simulation and experiment. Both results indicate that a small CTE mismatch can cause an unneglectable wafer warpage during the thermal process. Thus sub-ppm order control of glass CTE is essential for minimizing thermal stress development in large size packaging process. The glass substrate with Si matched CTE is suitable for the process where glass and Si are contact directly, e.g. Si back grinding process or through glass via (TGV) technology. The series of glass substrates whose CTEs are finely controlled in a high range are useful when the packaging process utilizes high amount of resins, such as Fan-Out wafer level packaging process.

Characterization of High-Power COB LED Module Attached by Low-Temperature Sintered Nanosilver

Along with the increasing demand of high power LED (>1W), multi-chip modules have made great progress to an inevitable trend. Thus, large packaging area is needed to dissipate heat efficiently. In other words, only when we find appropriate packaging materials to control the junction temperature well, can we achieve high-power LED devices in smaller packaging area. Obviously, a die-attach layer as the first-level packaging has a most significant impact on the thermal performance of a power module. So we introduce a novel die-attach material, nanosilver paste, which can be used for connecting multi-chips on the substrate because of its higher melting temperature and better thermal/electrical conductivity than conventional solders and adhesive films. What is more important, because of their ability to emit high brightness, LED packages are being exploited for other systems or fields, and in most cases are exposed to harsher environments. Therefore, the performance and stability of LED packages will be the key to assuring the reliable function of systems. So, in this paper, the optical and electrical properties of the LED device operating under various ambient temperatures from 27 to 120°C were determined. The test results showed that nanosilver paste was a very promising die-attach material in high power multi-chip modules packaging.

The design of large packaging production line system based on Embedded Technology

A design of jumbo packaging production line system based on embedded technology, through the STC89C52 microcontroller as the core control chip, rational allocation of the various modules, and the hardware selection and circuit design, system of jumbo packaging production line and the simulation presented in view of the problems in the present jumbo packaging production line of low degree of automation. Through study and design of jumbo packaging line control system, and through the experiment validation were used to collect the test data, verify the theoretical derivation and system design of correctness. Through the analysis of experimental data, test results and theoretical analysis results are consistent, indicating the reliability of the jumbo packaging production line system. At the same time, it is found that the accuracy of the synchronous rotation of the servo motor is compared with that of the fuzzy PID control algorithm and the common control algorithm. Therefore, it is concluded that the fuzzy PID control algorithm in the multi motor synchronous control effect is good, more able to meet the design requirements.

Somali piracy prisoners and biopolitical penal aid in East Africa

Piracy off the coast of Somalia has elicited a growing body of interdisciplinary research. Much of this research focuses on identifying the root causes of piracy, analyzing onshore and offshore responses, or evaluating various rule-of-law approaches; no study has yet to examine how Somali piracy has impacted prisons. Drawing upon ethnographic research, this article explores how UNODC counter piracy funding is reshaping the carceral spaces of East Africa. I examine how the need to secure and develop Somali piracy prisoners in regional prisons has created a bodies-for-aid penal market in East Africa. Large aid packages are awarded to prisons that agree to accept suspected Somali pirates and ensure the support, maintenance, and enhancement of the lives of Somali piracy prisoners. I theorize a new form of penal aid— biopolitical penal aid—linking prison development funding to the containment of specific prisoner populations. Using the Montagne Posée Prison in the Seychelles as a case study, I explore how biopolitical penal aid is reshaping prison spaces and practices to tease out underlying tensions between international and regional security projects, how these projects are negotiated and appropriated at different scales, and how they are being experienced by staff and Somali piracy prisoners.

CEO excess compensation: The impact of firm size and managerial power

Chief executive officer (CEO) compensation has received a great deal of attention over the past several decades. Critics assert that CEO compensation is “excessive” because it is only weakly linked to firm performance (i.e., managerial rent-extraction). On the other hand, defenders suggest that CEO compensation is “justified” given the incremental shareholder wealth created by CEOs, or that large CEO compensation packages merely reflect labor market forces. Prior research documents that CEO power and firm size are associated with larger compensation, but providing evidence that the larger compensation is excessive (i.e., not economically justified) has proven difficult. For each test firm we identify a potential replacement CEO (i.e., an executive-specific, within-country (US) compensation benchmark) and create an empirical test of excess compensation. We also examine the possibility that excess compensation is conditional upon firm size or CEO power. In spite of an inherent bias against finding excess compensation, the results suggest that the most powerful CEOs receive compensation that is not economically justified. We find no evidence of CEO excess compensation in the largest firms.

Examining the motivators of training transfer in an enterprise systems context

ABSTRACTEnterprise systems (ES) are large software packages that have been widely adopted, but are complex to deploy. One way to obtain more value from them is to train end-users. However, little is known about the effectiveness of ES training. This study examines post-training behaviour in the ES environment through the concept of training transfer and the theoretical framework of self-determination theory. It proposes that end-users’ computer self-efficacy (CSE) and mastery orientation (MO), as well as the perceived ease-of-use (PEOU) of a system, influence their motivation to transfer the skills they have gained during training to their work environment and to use the system. Data was collected from 170 ES end-users, who had previously attended ES training, through a survey. Partial least squares modelling was used to analyse the data, and all of the hypotheses were supported. This study is among the first few studies that investigate the more distal impact of information systems training.

Addison's disease warrants large package of care costs due to substantial comorbidity

Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology ISSN 1470-3947 (print) | ISSN 1479-6848 (online)

Demand-Driven E-book Program in Tallinn University of Technology Library: The First Two Years of Experience with the EBL Platform

ABSTRACTThe ease and effectiveness of patron-driven (demand-driven) acquisitions has helped to optimize many academic libraries’ acquisitions budgets. Libraries are increasingly turning to e-books as an alternative to purchasing multiple copies. Academic libraries have for years been forced to purchase large packages of e-books that are of questionable financial value because so much of the content is not used. The number of content units downloaded from large e-book packages by university patrons is not growing. At the same time, the number of checkouts of print books is declining. Advantages of e-books over print are discussed. Also mentioned are a few drawbacks, particularly the fact that European Union countries impose a higher level of value-added tax (VAT) on them than on print books. The author presents a case study analyzing the first two years of experience with the Ebook Library (EBL) platform at the Tallinn University of Technology Library, giving an overview of the advantages and successful measures of demand-driven acquisition in the form of short-term loans.

Development of Characterization Platform Dedicated to Bio-Inspired Objects at the Nanoscale

Microelectronics industry aims at pushing the scaling of MOSFET devices, with a lot of challenges to solve for front-end and back-end processes. These challenges are also new opportunities, as for co-integration between silicon components and biological objects. In particular, bio-inspired nano objects such as DNA-based nanowires and protein-based nanowires have generated a huge interest based on their promising electrical properties [1, 2] and their size at the nanoscale. They could indeed bring a rich evolution in the nanotechnology community. This paper presents a common work performed by microelectronic biology and characterization teams which aims at describing the design, and the fabrication of a characterization platform dedicated to bio-inspired objects, and the first electrical measurements acquired on amyloid fibers. The design of this characterization platform takes into account biological and microelectronic constraints. Regarding biological constraints, special attention has been paid to materials choice and device fabrication in order to be biocompatible and to enable drop deposition for both wet and dry experiments. Dedicated patterns have been designed in order to measure electrical parameters such as contact resistance and resistivity of the bio-inspired objects. Regarding the fabrication step, the characterization platform has taken advantage from microelectronic technologies, especially in terms of size (nanoscale), reproducibility and robustness taken into account the specific environment. These aspects will be further discussed in this paper, as well as the first electrical measurements. To properly understand the electrical characteristics of bio-inspired objects, one critical point is the measurement of the linear conductivity of these objects, which implies the discrimination from contact resistance. Another important point is the conduction mechanism. Table 1 presents two patterns used to investigate the conduction mechanisms. To realize a complete electrical study, we have thus decided to design specific test structures as Transmission Line Matrix (TLM) and Van der Pauw patterns, structures with a variable electrode gap, and different contact areas structures. Figure 1 shows SEM images of the electrodes fabricated with this specific layout. The inter-electrode distance has been measured at 1µm and 70µm x 70µm square pads have been obtained. The figure 2 presents a cross section view of the fabricated electrodes. Electrode thickness is equal to 200nm and the width is equal to 1.7µm. Material impact and electrochemical properties of bio-inspired objects have also been investigated. Working with biological object at the nanoscale requires further restrictions. The main constraint is the use of biocompatible material to pattern all the layers in contact with the bio-inspired object. We have decided to use (i) platinum and gold because these metals are commonly used in biological measurements, and (ii) ruthenium due to its anisotropic etching properties. Another requirement relies on back gate electrode to enable the field effect investigation of bio-inspired object. To deal with wet measurement and to control the film deposition at the desirable position we have decided to engineer further cavities. Regarding packaging solutions, standard microelectronic metallic pads have been patterned to allow automated electrical characterization. Bioelectrical investigations as electrochemistry or control atmosphere measurements require the design of an “easy to plug” device enabling drop deposition and a very simple electrical connection adapted to electrical probers. This “easy to plug” device has been fabricated including a patterned silicon die assembled with a conductive glue on a Side-brazed Ceramic Dual In-inline Package (SCDIP) and wire-bonding. A SCDIP has been especially chosen to be easily carried and plugged inside biological equipment such as climatic chamber and glove box. Large package have been used in order to connect the maximum of patterns but also to provide an important protein-based nanowires density on the top of the electrodes. Figure 3 presents photography picture of the characterization platform used to perform the conduction measurements in biological equipment. The figure 4 presents the first electrical signal of the bio-inspired nano object which confirms that the characterization platform has been correctly fabricated and can be able to study the electrical properties of the protein film. This papers aims at presenting more details on (i) the design, (ii) the fabrication of silicon die in clean room (iii) the packaging adapted to the biological environment and (iv) results of electrical characterization of the bio-inspired objects at the nanoscale.

Frugality is Hard to Afford

Households commonly utilize strategies that provide long-term savings for everyday purchases in exchange for an increase in their short-term expenditures. They buy larger packages of non-perishable goods to take advantage of bulk discounts, and accelerate their purchases to take advantage of temporary discounts. We document that low income households are less likely to utilize these strategies even though they have greater incentives to do so. Moreover, results suggest a compounding effect: the inability to buy in bulk inhibits the ability to time purchases to take advantage of sales, and the inability to accelerate purchase timing to buy on sale inhibits the ability to buy in bulk. We find that the financial losses low income households incur due to underutilization of these strategies can be as large as half of the savings they accrue by purchasing cheaper brands. We provide causal evidence that liquidity constraints inhibit the use of these money-saving strategies.

Recombinant Swinepox Virus for Veterinary Vaccine Development.

Poxvirus-vectors have been widely used in vaccine development for several important human and animal diseases; some of these vaccines have been licensed and used extensively. Swinepox virus (SPV) is well suited to develop recombinant vaccines because of its large packaging capacity for recombinant DNA, its host range specificity, and its ability to induce appropriate immune responses.

Senate Votes To Gut ACA

WASHINGTON — Several key provisions of the Affordable Care Act would be repealed — and Planned Parenthood defunded — under the fiscal year 2016 federal budget reconciliation bill passed Dec. 3 by the Senate. Building on a budget reconciliation bill (HR 3762) passed by the House in October, the legislation would: Repeal the individual mandate and the employer mandate to provide health insurance coverage and the associated tax penalties.Phase out Medicaid expansion after a 2-year transition period.Eliminate federal subsidies to help patients purchase health insurance via the federal health care marketplace.Repeal the “Cadillac tax” on high-value health insurance plans.Repeal the medical device tax.Defund Planned Parenthood for a year and divert some of that funding to community health centers. The bill passed 52-47, mostly along party lines. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) hailed the vote. “For years, the American people have been calling on Washington to build a bridge away from Obamacare. For years, Democrats prevented the Senate from passing legislation to do so. But in just a moment, that will change,” he said, calling the vote “a victory for the middle-class families who've endured this law's pain for too long.” From the Senate floor, Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) condemned the action. “Sometimes I wonder what Senate Republicans do when they're not here in Washington, DC. Do they talk to their constituents? Do they meet with them? I have a hard time believing my Republican friends are spending much time listening to their constituents' concerns because it seems that what they are doing runs counter to the needs of their constituents,” Sen. Reid said. “This absurd attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act through reconciliation is a perfect example.” At press time, the House had reached a deal on a $1.1 trillion spending bill, coupled with a large package of tax breaks. Their legislation would have a more modest effect on provisions of the ACA compared with the Senate's version. Denise Fulton is an executive editor at Frontline Medical News.

Purification of baculovirus vectors using heparin affinity chromatography

Baculoviruses are commonly used for recombinant protein and vaccine production. Baculoviruses are nonpathogenic to vertebrates, have a large packaging capacity, display broad host and cell type tropism, infect both dividing and nondividing cells, and do not elicit strong immune or allergic responses in vivo. Hence, their use as gene delivery vehicles has become increasingly popular in recent years. Moreover, baculovirus vectors carrying mammalian regulatory elements can efficiently transduce and express transgenes in mammalian cells. Based on the finding that heparan sulfate, which is structurally similar to heparin, is an attachment receptor for baculovirus, we developed a novel scalable baculovirus purification method using heparin-affinity chromatography. Baculovirus supernatants were loaded onto a POROS heparin column, washed to remove unbound materials, and eluted with 1.5 mol/l NaCl, which yielded a recovery of purified baculovirus of 85%. After ultracentrifugation, baculovirus titers increased from 200- to 700-fold with overall yields of 26–29%. We further show that baculovirus particles were infectious, normal in morphology and size, despite high-salt elution and shear forces used during purification and concentration. Our chromatography-based purification method is scalable and, together with ultracentrifugation and/or tangential flow filtration, will be suitable for large-scale manufacturing of baculovirus stocks for protein and vaccine production and in gene therapy applications.

Plans for performance and model improvements in the LISE++ software

The LISE++ software for fragment separator simulations is undergoing a major update. LISE++ is the standard software used at in-flight separator facilities for predicting beam intensity and purity. The code simulates nuclear physics experiments where fragments are produced and then selected with a fragment separator. A set of modifications to improve the functionality of the code is discussed in this work. These modifications include transportation to a modern graphics framework and updated compilers to aid in the performance and sustainability of the code. To accommodate the diversity of our users’ computer platform preferences, we extend the software from Windows to a cross-platform application. The calculations of beam transport and isotope production are becoming more computationally intense with the new large scale facilities. Planned new features include new types of optimization, for example, optimization of ion optics, improvements in reaction models, and new event generator options. In addition, LISE++ interface with control systems are planned. Computational improvements as well as the schedule for updating this large package will be discussed.

Advanced Connectivity Analysis (ACA): a Large Scale Functional Connectivity Data Mining Environment.

Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to study functional connectivity is of great importance to understand normal development and function as well as a host of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Seed-based analysis is one of the most widely used rs-fMRI analysis methods. Here we describe a freely available large scale functional connectivity data mining software package called Advanced Connectivity Analysis (ACA). ACA enables large-scale seed-based analysis and brain-behavior analysis. It can seamlessly examine a large number of seed regions with minimal user input. ACA has a brain-behavior analysis component to delineate associations among imaging biomarkers and one or more behavioral variables. We demonstrate applications of ACA to rs-fMRI data sets from a study of autism.

A large LNG tank technology system “CGTank®” of CNOOC and its engineering application

LNG tanks are complex in design and building process and high in costs, so LNG tank technology is one of the most advanced ones in the field of energy, which has been monopolized by foreign companies for a long time. In order to work out LNG tank technology domestically, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC for short), the largest LNG importer in China, develops a LNG tank technology system “CGTank®” successfully in reference to the design and construction experience of domestic and foreign companies, after years of scientific research in tackling difficult problems. This system presents four traits as follows. First, a set of calculation software is developed independently by CNOOC, and the tanks in all operating conditions are calculated after 3D hologram and multi-point contact model of fluid-solid coupling effect is built up. Second, earthquake effect research and inner tank check research are improved innovatively by means of response spectrum analysis after European standards are introduced. Third, it is put forward for the first time that the stress strength discrimination standard is based on the principal stress which is obtained by means of the maximum shearing failure theory. And fourth, a large LNG full-capacity tank technology package with completely independent intellectual property right is established. The “CGTank®” system was first applied in the Tianjin LNG demonstration project, which has passed all indicator tests and is now in operation smoothly. The project is provided with the core tank design technology by CNOOC Gas and Power Group and with the EPC by CNOOC Engineering Co., Ltd. The independent LNG tank technology can be applied in a wide scope and it is favorable for impelling domestic production of LNG industry completely.

A Low-Impedance Projection Welding Device for Large Package Hermetic Sealing

Electronic packages for medical, communications, defense, and other applications are often hermetically sealed into metal containers using projection welding. However, current projection welding machines may not reliably seal packages with weld perimeters exceeding 7.6 cm (3.0 in), and also may expel metallic particles into the package. This paper describes a novel low-impedance projection welding device that can reliably weld large packages with up to 25.4 cm (10.0 in) weld perimeters with zero weld expulsion and zero weld defects, using half the energy required by traditional machines. The device does not rely on conventional power supplies and transformers, and delivers ≫120kA of weld current while operating from standard electrical outlet (110V, 15A circuits), and requires no external bus bars or cooling system. The system architecture can be easily scaled upward to significantly increase the delivered weld current and hermetically seal packages with weld perimeters greater than 25.4 cm (10.0 in). A commercial version of this device has welded more than 1 million medical, communications, and military electronic packages with zero customer returns. Data is presented showing the weld parameters for a variety of commercial and military hermetic electronic packages.

What Cost and Usage Data Reveals About E-Book Acquisitions: Ramifications for Collection Development

To better determine how e-book acquisitions might affect future collection development decisions, a team of librarians from the University of Florida (UF) launched a project to assess cost and usage of e-books purchased using three different acquisitions methods: e-books acquired in large publisher packages; single-title e-books selected through firm orders; and e-books purchased through two patron-driven acquisitions (PDA) plans. The cost-usage data were then sorted into three broad areas of subject disciplines—humanities and social sciences (HSS); science-technology-engineering-mathematics (STEM); and medicine (MED)—and the results were reviewed and summarized. The authors compared the cost-usage data of e-books acquired by the acquisitions methods across the three subject areas and describe how the findings are affecting current and future acquisitions, traditional collection management, and budgeting at UF.