Mixed Input Research Articles

Variance component analysis based fault diagnosis of multi-layer overlay lithography processes

The overlay lithography process is one of the most important steps in semiconductor manufacturing. This work attempts to solve a challenging problem in this technique, namely error source identification and diagnosis for multistage overlay processes. In this paper, a multistage state space model for the misalignment errors of the lithography process is developed and a general mixed linear input–output model is then formulated to incorporate both fixed and random effects. Furthermore, the minimum norm quadric unbiased estimation strategy is used to estimate the mean and variance components of potential fault sources, and their asymptotic distributions are used to test the hypothesis concerning the statistical significance of each potential fault. Based on the above procedures, the root cause of misalignment errors in a multi-layer overlay process can be detected and diagnosed with physical inference. A number of simulated examples are designed and tested to verify the validity of the presented approach in fault detection and diagnosis of multi-stepper overlay processes.

Distribution, Sources and Characterization of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Sediment of the River Gomti, Lucknow, India

Sediment samples were collected for PAHs analysis (upstream, midstream and downstream) from the bank of the river Gomti in Lucknow city, India during 2005-2007. Total concentration of the PAHs ranged from 0.068 to 3.153 microg/g dry weight. A correlation existed between the sediment organic carbon content (f(OC)) and the total PAHs concentration with a correlation coefficient (r(2)) of 0.788, suggesting that sediment organic carbon content played an important role in controlling the PAHs levels in the sediments. According to observed molecular indices, PAHs contamination in the river Gomti seems to be originated both from the high temperature pyrolytic process as well as from the petrogenic source, indicating a mixed PAH input pattern.

Comparison of bioaccumulation of metals and induction of metallothioneins in two marine bivalves ( Mytilus edulis and Mya arenaria)

The St. Lawrence maritime estuary (Quebec, Canada) is subjected to mixed inputs of pollutants and the study of the induction of metallothionein in species of economic and ecologic importance such as Mytilus edulis and Mya arenaria was pertinent to assess the consequences of pollution in this northern estuary. Bivalves from an area devoid of anthropogenic influences but characterized by background metal contamination (Franquelin) were actively transplanted within this location and in a site contaminated by urban, industrial and endogenous pollutants, Baie-Comeau (Baie-des-Anglais). Spatial differences in metal concentrations were shown between sites. Cu and Zn concentrations were higher in mussels from Baie-des-Anglais at the beginning of the transfer and after 1 and 2 months. In clams, Zn concentrations were significantly higher in gills and digestive gland tissues for organisms transplanted in Baie-des-Anglais thus showing that spatio-temporal variations of metal concentrations were different between the two species studied. Mussels and clams partitioning of metals were shown to be different depending of the species, metal and/or tissue studied. In mussels, Cd and Cu concentrations decreased in both organs and both groups after the 3-month transfer in the polluted site. In mussels, total metal and metallothionein (MT) concentrations were positively correlated in digestive gland while in clams a positive correlation was only observed in gills.

Daily mixed visual experience that prevents amblyopia in cats does not always allow the development ofgood binocular depth perception

Kittens reared with mixed daily visual input that consists of episodes of normal (binocular) exposure followed by abnormal (monocular) exposure can develop normal visual acuity in both eyes if the length of the former exposure exceeds a critical amount. However, later studies of the tuning of cells in primary visual cortex of animals reared in this manner revealed that their responses to interocular differences in phase were not reliable suggesting that their binocular depth perception may not be normal. We examined this possibility in 3 kittens reared with mixed daily visual exposure (2 hrs binocular vision followed by 5 hrs monocular exposure) that allowed development of normal visual acuity in both eyes. Measurements made of the threshold differences in depth that could be perceived under monocular and binocular viewing revealed a 10-fold superiority of binocular over monocular depth thresholds in one animal while the depth thresholds of the other two animals were poor and there was no binocular superiority. Thus, there was evidence that only one animal possessed stereopsis while the other two were likely stereoblind. While 2 hrs of daily binocular vision protected against the development of amblyopia, the poor outcome with respect to stereopsis points to the need for additional measures to promote binocular vision.

Bi-lingual Handwritten Character and Numeral Recognition using Multi-Dimensional Recurrent Neural Networks (MDRNN)

This work describes the implementation of a multidimensional RNN and a MLP- RNN hybrid ANN structure for developing models of character recognition applied to AngloAssamese scripts and numerals. The first stage of the work is related to the feature extraction process of characters and numerals of Assamese- an important language in the North Eastern part of India. The second stage of the work is related to the implementation of multiple ANNs in cooperative format for handling Assamese scripts and numerals. The third part of the system deals with Anglo- Assamese scripts and keeps track of performance of ANNs while tackling such mixed inputs implemented in cooperative systems for ascertaining performance levels while handling mixed, time and size varying inputs. A detailed description is also included regarding the experiments performed and the results derived. Finally, a brief account concludes the description and provides likely directions the work can take in the future.

Relaxed control of sugar utilization in Lactobacillus brevis

Prioritization of sugar consumption is a common theme in bacterial growth and a problem for complete utilization of five and six carbon sugars derived from lignocellulose. Growth studies show that Lactobacillus brevis simultaneously consumes numerous carbon sources and appears to lack normal hierarchical control of carbohydrate utilization. Analysis of several independent L. brevis isolates indicated that co-utilization of xylose and glucose is a common trait for this species. Moreover, carbohydrates that can be used as a single carbon source are simultaneously utilized with glucose. Analysis of the proteome of L. brevis cells grown on glucose, xylose or a glucose/xylose mixture revealed the constitutive expression of the enzymes of the heterofermentative pathway. In addition, fermentative mass balances between mixed sugar inputs and end-products indicated that both glucose and xylose are simultaneously metabolized through the heterofermentative pathway. Proteomic and mRNA analyses revealed that genes in the xyl operon were expressed in the cells grown on xylose or on glucose/xylose mixtures but not in those grown on glucose alone. However, the expression level of XylA and XylB proteins in cells grown on a glucose/xylose mixture was reduced 2.7-fold from that observed in cells grown solely on xylose. These results suggest that regulation of xylose utilization in L. brevis is not stringently controlled as seen in other lactic acid bacteria, where carbon catabolite repression operates to prioritize carbohydrate utilization more rigorously.

Dynamics of the bounds of squared concurrence

The dynamics of the quantum entanglement is a fundamental characteristic for various quantum systems. Since the computable entanglement measure for higher dimensional quantum states itself is absent, the dynamics of the entanglement expressed in an operational method will be of interest. We study the dynamics of $\ensuremath{\tau}$, an analytical lower bound of squared concurrence, of a bipartite $d\ensuremath{\bigotimes}d$ quantum state when one party goes through an arbitrary noisy channel. For a pure input state, the range of $\ensuremath{\tau}$ is obtained explicitly. For a mixed input state, an upper bound of $\ensuremath{\tau}$ is found. Interestingly, the tangle ${\ensuremath{\tau}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$, as an upper bound of squared concurrence, also has a similar dynamical property. Our results are similar to that of Konrad et al. and can help the estimation of high-dimension bipartite entanglement in experiments.

Bus Modelling in Zoned Disks RAID Storage Systems

A model of bus contention in a Multi-RAID storage architecture is presented. Based on an M/G/1 queue, the main issues are to determine the service time distribution that accurately represents the highly mixed input traffic of requests. This arises from the coexistence of different RAID organisations that generate several types of physical request (read/write for each RAID level) with different related sizes. The size distributions themselves are made more complex by the striping mechanism, with full/large/small stripes in RAID5. We show the impact of the bus traffic on the system's overall performance as predicted by the model and validated against a simulation of the hardware, using common workload assumptions.

MIXED SPEECH OF AN EARLY BILINGUAL CHILD: A CASE STUDY ON JAVANESE-INDONESIAN BILINGUALISM

The present study is concerned with mixed languages in the speech of a bilin- gual child, in Indonesian and Javanese. It is a cross-sectional study. The data of this study are in the form of sentences containing mixed languages. There are 50 sentences used as the data that are collected through observation and note taking. The collected data are then analyzed using descriptive method. The data analysis has revealed that the child’s speech does contain elements from both languages: Indonesian and Javanese. The language mixing occurs at mostly all linguistic lev- els. The syntax, the morphology, and lexicon are formed or taken from both lan- guages. The analysis also reveals that the child is still at the initial level of a bilin- gual. He has one lexical system with words from both languages. He also uses a mixed syntactical system. Both are evidence that he is a simultaneous bilingual, a bilingual from the start. Such language mixing is so common among normal bilinguals. A child who grows up simultaneously learning two or more languages usually goes through such a phase. This also makes possible that the child has been exposed to a mixed language input. Key Words: Bilingual children, language mixing, mixed languages.

Neural mechanisms of recovery following early visual deprivation.

Natural patterned early visual input is essential for the normal development of the central visual pathways and the visual capacities they sustain. Without visual input, the functional development of the visual system stalls not far from the state at birth, and if input is distorted or biased the visual system develops in an abnormal fashion resulting in specific visual deficits. Monocular deprivation, an extreme form of biased exposure, results in large anatomical and physiological changes in terms of territory innervated by the two eyes in primary visual cortex (V1) and to a loss of vision in the deprived eye reminiscent of that in human deprivation amblyopia. We review work that points to a special role for binocular visual input in the development of V1 and vision. Our unique approach has been to provide animals with mixed visual input each day, which consists of episodes of normal and biased (monocular) exposures. Short periods of concordant binocular input, if continuous, can offset much longer episodes of monocular deprivation to allow normal development of V1 and prevent amblyopia. Studies of animal models of patching therapy for amblyopia reveal that the benefits are both heightened and prolonged by daily episodes of binocular exposure.

Chiral Current-Use Herbicides in Ontario Streams

Concentrations of mecoprop, dichlorprop, and metolachlor were investigated in 393 samples from Ontario streams in 2003-2004. Maximum concentrations of mecoprop, dichlorprop, and metolachlor were 1900, 6.62, and 1560 ng L(-1), respectively in 2003, and 103,000, 110, and 5290 ng L(-1), respectively, in 2004. Concentrations of metolachlor in agricultural watersheds were significantly (p < 0.0001) higher than those in urban watersheds, whereas concentrations of mecoprop did not differ (p > 0.1) between the two watershed types. Enantiomer fractions (EFs) of the acid herbicide mecoprop ranged from 0.236 to 0.928 and for dichlorprop EFs ranged from 0.152 to 0.549. EFs of mecoprop did not differ significantly (p > 0.1) between agricultural and urban land usage. Mecoprop EFs > or = 0.5 were found in 54% of samples, a situation expected during the transition years when racemic mecoprop was replaced by mecoprop-P, consisting of only the R(+) enantiomer. However, EFs < 0.5 were found in 46% of samples, which suggests preferential degradation of R(+) or conversion of R(+) to S(-). The four stereopluisomers of metolachlor were separated by HPLC and are reported as the ratio of the two herbicidally active stereoisomers (aS,1'S and aR,1'S) to the two inactive stereoisomers (aS,1'R and aR,1'R). The average S/R of metolachlor in streams was 6.73 +/- 2.28 and ranged from 1.08 to 12.7. Samples with higher concentrations of metolachlor had S/R ratios similar to the S/R of S-metolachlor (enriched in aS,1'S and aR,1'S stereoisomers) whereas samples with lower concentrations display lower S/R ratios with greater variability, suggesting mixed input of racemic and S-metolachlor or stereoselective degradation. S/R values were significantly higher (p < 0.001) in agricultural than urban watersheds. Streamwater from row crop areas showed higher S/R ratios than streamwater from fruit growing areas (p = 0.036).

Quantitative evaluation of sedimentary organic matter from Laguna Mar Chiquita, Argentina

Laguna Mar Chiquita (Central Argentina) is a highly variable saline lake particularly suitable for palaeolimnological studies. The most recent (20th century) and past (several 1000s of years) regional hydrological balance variability in southeastern South America has produced dramatic lake level fluctuation, making Laguna Mar Chiquita a sensitive climatic indicator. These fluctuations in the hydrological cycle additionally control the chemistry and biology of the water column and a variety of sedimentary processes, which are distinctively recorded in the composition of the sedimentary organic matter (OM). Lipid extracts, after fractionation, were analysed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and gas chromatography/flame ionization detection (GC/FID). The n-alkanes range from n-C 15 to n-C 35, with total hydrocarbon concentration in the range 8.49–133 μg g −1, and carbon preference index (CPI) values for n-C 15–35 between 0.55 and 1.19. C/N values are in the range 4.6–12.5, indicative of mainly algal, bacterial and non-vascular plant origins. The δ 13C values of individual n-alkanes in the C 15–33 range vary between –22.4‰ and –34.1‰, suggesting a mixed OM input, i.e., C 3 and C 4 plants, and lacustrine algae. The presence of C 27, C 28 and C 29 sterols (C 27 dominant) and their diagenetic products reflects a major algal contribution. Evaluation of all the data together points to a mainly lacustrine algal input to the OM. Samples for which a high lake level occurred showed a clear predominance in water column production of OM. On the other hand, samples for which an increase in vascular plant (C 3 and C 4) input occurred are in accord with a low lake level. The data, combined with sedimentology, geochemical and isotopic information allow the development of a robust model for reconstructing past lake level fluctuation. Furthermore, the results are useful for interpreting similar saline lacustrine records on wider geographical and temporal scales.

Quantum capacity of dephasing channels with memory

We show that the amount of coherent quantum information that can be reliably transmitted down a dephasing channel with memory is maximized by separable input states. In particular, we model the channel as a Markov chain or a multimode environment of oscillators. While in the first model, the maximization is achieved for the maximally mixed input state, in the latter it is convenient to exploit the presence of a decoherence-protected subspace generated by memory effects. We explicitly compute the quantum channel capacity for the first model while numerical simulations suggest a lower bound for the latter. In both cases memory effects enhance the coherent information. We present results valid for arbitrary input size.

Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in floodplain soils of the Mosel and Saar River

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have gained serious attention in the scientific community due to their persistence and toxic potential in the environment. PAHs may pose a risk to ecosystem health. Along the Mosel River/Germany, a tributary of the river Rhine, PAHs were found at significantly high concentrations (> 20 mg kg−1, German national guideline value Z2, LAGA 1998). These high concentrations were detected during the construction of a storm water retention basin, in which the contaminated soils had to be removed and treated as hazardous waste. This resulted in higher construction costs for implementing flood prevention measures, but did not address the origin of these PAHs and its distribution along Mosel River. Hence, for future flood prevention projects, it is necessary to estimate the extent of PAH contamination along the Mosel River. The aim of the study is to determine the extent of PAH contamination in soils collected along Mosel and Saar River, and to obtain a first insight into the origin of the PAH contamination in this region. In total twenty seven sample sites were investigated. Forty two single samples were collected along a 167 km distance of Mosel River and six samples were collected along a 20 km distance of Saar River. Soil samples were collected at a depth of 0 to 2 m with a stainless steel corer (▫ 8 cm). Each 2 m sample was further separated into two sub-samples (0–1 m and 1–2 m). The sixteen EPA PAHs and three additional PAHs (1methylnaphthalene, 2methylnaphthalene and perylene) were analysed with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). For soil characterisation, total organic carbon (TOC), grain size, microscope and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis were performed. Grain size for all soil samples was classified as a mixture of sand and silt. XRD analysis showed that all samples were dominated by quartz. Some clay minerals, such as illite and montmorillonite and feldspars, i.e. anorthoclase and orthoclase, were found in minor quantities. TOC ranged from 0.1% to 13%. Microscope analysis showed black coal particles in the majority of the soils collected from the Saar River and part of the Mosel River (downstream of the confluence of Saar and Mosel River). The black particles were not found further upstream along Mosel River. The sum of nineteen PAHs in the soil samples was up to 81 mg kg−1 dry weight (dw). Most soil samples showed a relationship between the presence of coal particles and PAH concentrations. Elevated PAH concentrations were found in all soil samples collected from Saar River and downstream Mosel River. Due to former coal mining activities in the Saarland, Germany, there is a strong evidence that the majority of the PAH contamination in the soils downstream Mosel River are linked to these mining activities. Upstream Mosel River coal particles were hardly found although PAH concentrations were high. Therefore another PAH source has to be responsible for these concentrations. PAH distribution patterns indicate a pyrogenic PAH input upstream Mosel River and a mixed input (petrogenic and pyrogenic) downstream Mosel River. Due to PAH distribution patterns, the contamination along the upstream of the Mosel River is probably linked to atmospheric depositions and other sources not linked to coal mining activities. Downstream Mosel River the PAH distribution patterns reflect former coal mining activities. We could corroborate for the first time that coal mining resulted in a serious problem of an extensive PAH contamination at Saar and Mosel River floodplain soils. Coal mining activities have a strong impact on the neighbouring regions (Johnson and Bustin 2006, Short et al. 1999, Stout et al. 2002). It is known that coals exhibit relative high PAH concentrations, especially in the low molecular weight PAHs (Chapman et al. 1996, Radke et al. 1990). However, PAHs in coals are hardly bioavailable (Chapman et al. 1996) and hence may have less adverse effects on exposed biota. They can act as sink for other hydrophobic contaminants. For the assessment of the environmental impact, a detailed study of the sorption and desorption behaviour of PAHs linked to coal particles should be carried out.

A numerical study of red–green colour opponent properties in the primate retina

It remains an important question whether neural function is mediated entirely by its tailored circuitry. A persistent debate in retinal colour vision is whether the centre and the surround of a ganglion cell receptive field receive dominant inputs either from L or M cones in an antagonistic manner (the selective wiring model) or mixed inputs (the mixed wiring model). Despite many anatomical, physiological and psychophysical experiments, a decisive conclusion has not been reached. An in-depth examination of what the pure mixed wiring mechanisms predicts is therefore important. These two models make different predictions both for the fovea and for the peripheral retina. Recently, a dynamic cellular model of the primate fovea was developed [Momiji et al. (2006) Vis. Res., 46, 365-381]. Unlike earlier models, it explicitly incorporates spatial non-uniformities, such as the random arrangement of L and M cones. Here, a related model is developed for the peripheral retina by incorporating anatomically reasonable degrees of convergence between cones, bipolar cells and ganglion cells. These two models, in which selective wiring mechanisms are absent, are applied to describe both foveal and peripheral colour vision. In numerical simulations, peripheral ganglion cells are less colour sensitive than foveal counterparts, but none-the-less display comparative sensitivities. Furthermore, peripheral colour sensitivity increases with temporal frequency, relative to foveal sensitivity. These results are congruent with recent physiological experiments.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the surface sediments from Yellow River, China

Fourteen surface sediment samples were collected from Lanzhou Reach of Yellow River, China in July 2005. The concentrations of 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined by gas chromatography equipped with a mass spectrometry detector (GC-MS). Total concentrations of the PAHs ranged from 464 to 2621 ng/g dry weight. Sediment samples with the highest PAH concentrations appeared at the downstream of Lanzhou City, where there was the biggest wastewater discharge pipeline from Lanzhou Oil Refinery Factory and Lanzhou Chemical Industry Company. Municipal sewage also contributed to the PAH contamination in the sediments. A correlation existed between the sediment organic carbon content (f(oc)) and the total PAH concentrations (r(2)=0.57), suggesting that sediment organic carbon content played an important role in controlling the PAHs levels in the sediments. According to the observed molecular indices, PAHs contamination in Lanzhou Reach of Yellow River originated both from the high-temperature pyrolytic processes and from the petrogenic source, showing a mixed PAH input pattern, which was also confirmed by the results of a principal component analysis (PCA). According to the numerical effect-based sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) of the United States, the levels of PAHs at most studied sites in Lanzhou Reach of Yellow River should not exert adverse biological effects. Although at some sites (such as S10, S12, etc.) one PAH may exceed the effects range low (ERL), individual PAH did not exceed the effects range median (ERM). The results indicated that sediments in all sites should have potential biological impact, but should have no impairment.

Apparatus and program for separating a desired sound from a mixed input sound

A sound separation apparatus for separating a target signal from a mixed input signal, wherein the mixed input signal includes the target signal and one or more sound signals emitted from different sound sources. The sound separation apparatus according comprises a frequency analyzer for performing a frequency analysis on the mixed input signal and calculating spectrum and frequency component candidate points at each time. The apparatus further comprises feature extraction means for extracting feature parameters which are estimated to correspond with the target signal, comprising a local layer for analyzing local feature parameters using the spectrum and the frequency component candidate points and one or more global layers for analyzing global feature parameters using the feature parameters extracted by the local layer. The apparatus further comprises a signal regenerator for regenerating a waveform of the target signal using the feature parameters extracted by the feature extraction means. Since both of local feature parameters and global feature parameters can be processed together in the feature extraction means, the separation accuracy of the target signal is improved without depending on the accuracy for extracting feature parameters from the input signal. Feature parameters to be extracted include frequencies and amplitudes and their variation rates for the frequency component candidate points, harmonic structure, pitch consistency, intonation, on-set/off-set information and/or sound source direction. The number of the layers provided in the feature extraction means may be changed according to the types of the feature parameters to be extracted

Hierarchical hybrid fuzzy-neural networks for approximation with mixed input variables

Real-world systems usually involve both continuous and discrete input variables. However, in existing learning algorithms of both neural networks and fuzzy systems, these mixed variables are usually treated as continuous without taking into account the special features of discrete variables. It is inefficient to represent each discrete input variable having only a few fixed values by one input neuron with full connection to the hidden layer. This paper proposes a novel hierarchical hybrid fuzzy neural network to represent systems with mixed input variables. The proposed model consists of two levels: the lower level are fuzzy sub-systems each of which aggregates several discrete input variables into an intermediate variable as its output; the higher level is a neural network whose input variables consist of continuous input variables and intermediate variables. For systems or function approximations with mixed variables, it is shown that the proposed hierarchical hybrid fuzzy neural networks outperform standard neural networks in accuracy with fewer parameters, and both provide greater transparency and preserve the universal approximation property (i.e., they can approximate any function with mixed input variables to any degree of accuracy).

Electrical coupling, receptive fields, and relative rod/cone inputs of horizontal cells in the tiger salamander retina

Light responses, dendritic/axonal morphology, receptive field diameters, patterns of dye coupling, and relative rod/cone inputs of various types of horizontal cells (HCs) were studied using intracellular recording and Lucifer yellow/neurobiotin dye injection methods in the flatmount tiger salamander retina. Three physiologically and morphologically distinct types of HC entities were identified. 1) The A-type HCs are somas that do not bear axons, with average (+/-SE) soma diameters of 20.01 +/- 0.59 microm, relatively sparse and thick dendrites, and they resemble the A-type HC in mammals. The average receptive field diameter of these cells is 529.6 +/- 10.87 microm and they receive inputs predominantly from cones. 2) The B-type HCs are broad-field somas that bear thin and long axons, with average soma diameters of 17.67 +/- 0.38 microm, thinner dendrites of higher density, and they resemble the B-type HC in mammals. The average receptive field diameter of these cells is 1,633.55 +/- 37.34 microm and they receive mixed inputs from rods and cones. 3) The B-type HC axon terminals are broad-field, coarse axon terminal processes and they resemble the B-type HC axon terminal in rabbits. The average receptive field diameter of these axon terminals is 1,291.67 +/- 24.02 microm and they receive mixed inputs from rods and cones. All these types of HC are dye-coupled with adjacent HCs of the same type. Additionally, B-type HCs and axon terminals are dye-coupled with subpopulations of bipolar cells whose axon terminals ramify in the proximal half of the inner plexiform layer, raising the possibility that these HCs may send feedforward antagonistic surround responses to depolarizing bipolar cells through electrical synapses.

Improvement of adhesive strength of Ti–Al plasma sprayed coating

In order to improve the adhesive strength of plasma sprayed titanium coating, titanium–aluminum mixed powder was used as a material for plasma spraying. Adhesive strength of the plasma sprayed Ti–Al coatings was examined by changing the Al powder ratio in the Ti–Al mixed powder and input electrical power to the plasma torch. And then, they were discussed from the points of microstructure, hardness and oxygen and nitrogen contents of the coating. The plasma sprayed Ti–Al coating was found to be composed of Al and Ti compounds of TiN 0.3, Ti(N,O) and Ti 3Al, which were synthesized during the powder particles flight in plasma jet. The adhesive strength of the coating was improved by filling cracks and pores of the Ti compounds layers with the Al phase to form a dense microstructure, and also by hardening the Ti compounds and Al phase with the oxygen and nitrogen contained in the coating.