Niche Technology Research Articles

Mapping Intravascular Ultrasound Controversies in Interventional Cardiology Practice

Intravascular ultrasound is a catheter-based imaging modality that was developed to investigate the condition of coronary arteries and assess the vulnerability of coronary atherosclerotic plaques in particular. Since its introduction in the clinic 20 years ago, use of intravascular ultrasound innovation has been relatively limited. Intravascular ultrasound remains a niche technology; its clinical practice did not vastly expand, except in Japan, where intravascular ultrasound is an appraised tool for guiding percutaneous coronary interventions. In this qualitative research study, we follow scholarship on the sociology of innovation in exploring both the current adoption practices and perspectives on the future of intravascular ultrasound. We conducted a survey of biomedical experts with experience in the technology, the practice, and the commercialization of intravascular ultrasound. The collected information enabled us to map intravascular ultrasound controversies as well as to outline the dynamics of the international network of experts that generates intravascular ultrasound innovations and uses intravascular ultrasound technologies. While the technology is praised for its capacity to measure coronary atherosclerotic plaque morphology and is steadily used in clinical research, the lack of demonstrated benefits of intravascular ultrasound guided coronary interventions emerges as the strongest factor that prevents its expansion. Furthermore, most of the controversies identified were external to intravascular ultrasound technology itself, meaning that decision making at the industrial, financial and regulatory levels are likely to determine the future of intravascular ultrasound. In light of opinions from the responding experts', a wider adoption of intravascular ultrasound as a stand-alone imaging modality seems rather uncertain, but the appeal for this technology may be renewed by improving image quality and through combination with complementary imaging modalities.

Automatic Detection Algorithm for Chest Compressions Signal with Classification Algorithm

Transthoracic impedance (TTI) has been demonstrated to be a potential indicator to monitor the quality of chest compressions (CCs) during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). However, TTI signals are challenged by noise artifact from multiple sources, such as ventilations and baseline drift. Practically, it is very essential to accurately detect the peak-to-trough of the complicated TTI signals. However, nowadays, there is no method to solve the problem. In this paper, Extrima search with niche technology was used to search the peak-to-trough of TTI signal. We select 2 features to judge the potential peaks and troughs in order to remove the false ones. Besides, we designed a LDA classifier for recognizing the compression and ventilation waves. The experimental results show that this method in this paper can precisely recognize the real peaks and troughs of TTI signals which include some false ones.

CRISPR-Cas systems for editing, regulating and targeting genomes

Targeted genome editing using engineered nucleases has rapidly gone from being a niche technology to a mainstream method used by many biological researchers. This widespread adoption has been largely fueled by the emergence of the clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) technology, an important new approach for generating RNA-guided nucleases, such as Cas9, with customizable specificities. Genome editing mediated by these nucleases has been used to rapidly, easily and efficiently modify endogenous genes in a wide variety of biomedically important cell types and in organisms that have traditionally been challenging to manipulate genetically. Furthermore, a modified version of the CRISPR-Cas9 system has been developed to recruit heterologous domains that can regulate endogenous gene expression or label specific genomic loci in living cells. Although the genome-wide specificities of CRISPR-Cas9 systems remain to be fully defined, the power of these systems to perform targeted, highly efficient alterations of genome sequence and gene expression will undoubtedly transform biological research and spur the development of novel molecular therapeutics for human disease.

The big time: build a giant version of the 555 Timer IC [Resources_Hands On

Biologists have plastic DNA helices, astronomers have celestial globes, and chemists the ubiquitous periodic table wall chart. These iconic objects each encapsulate a foundational piece of working knowledge, recognizable to all practitioners in a field. Sadly, such touchstones are thin on the ground for electrical engineers. Although pretty, vacuum tubes, for example, are a niche technology these days, while the transistors and integrated circuits that define the discipline are a bit on the small side for easy viewing. So I was pleased when I learned about the recent creation of the US $35 Three Fives Discrete 555 Timer Kit, sold by Evil Mad Scientist, a DIY and open-source hardware company located in Silicon Valley.

Research on the time optimization model algorithm of Customer Collaborative Product Innovation

Purpose: To improve the efficiency of information sharing among the innovation agents of customer collaborative product innovation and shorten the product design cycle, an improved genetic annealing algorithm of the time optimization was presented. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the analysis of the objective relationship between the design tasks, the paper takes job shop problems for machining model and proposes the improved genetic algorithm to solve the problems, which is based on the niche technology and thus a better product collaborative innovation design time schedule is got to improve the efficiency. Finally, through the collaborative innovation design of a certain type of mobile phone, the proposed model and method were verified to be correct and effective. Findings and Originality/value: An algorithm with obvious advantages in terms of searching capability and optimization efficiency of customer collaborative product innovation was proposed. According to the defects of the traditional genetic annealing algorithm, the niche genetic annealing algorithm was presented. Firstly, it avoided the effective gene deletions at the early search stage and guaranteed the diversity of solution; Secondly, adaptive double point crossover and swap mutation strategy were introduced to overcome the defects of long solving process and easily converging local minimum value due to the fixed crossover and mutation probability; Thirdly, elite reserved strategy was imported that optimal solution missing was avoided effectively and evolution speed was accelerated. Originality/value: Firstly, the improved genetic simulated annealing algorithm overcomes some defects such as effective gene easily lost in early search. It is helpful to shorten the calculation process and improve the accuracy of the convergence value. Moreover, it speeds up the evolution and ensures the reliability of the optimal solution. Meanwhile, it has obvious advantages in efficiency of information sharing among the innovation agents of customer collaborative product innovation. So, the product design cycle could be shortened.

Plant Molecular Pharming for the Treatment of Chronic and Infectious Diseases

Plant molecular pharming has emerged as a niche technology for the manufacture of pharmaceutical products indicated for chronic and infectious diseases, particularly for products that do not fit into the current industry-favored model of fermenter-based production campaigns. In this review, we explore the areas where molecular pharming can make the greatest impact, including the production of pharmaceuticals that have novel glycan structures or that cannot be produced efficiently in microbes or mammalian cells because they are insoluble or toxic. We also explore the market dynamics that encourage the use of molecular pharming, particularly for pharmaceuticals that are required in small amounts (such as personalized medicines) or large amounts (on a multi-ton scale, such as blood products and microbicides) and those that are needed in response to emergency situations (pandemics and bioterrorism). The impact of molecular pharming will increase as the platforms become standardized and optimized through adoption of good manufacturing practice (GMP) standards for clinical development, offering a new opportunity to produce inexpensive medicines in regional markets that are typically excluded under current business models.

Concentrated photovoltaics, a case study

Concentrated Photovoltaics (CPV), once a niche technology, has now reached the maturity and reliability for large scale power generation. Especially in regions where temperatures are very high, the use of high efficiency triple junction solar cells with concentrating optics allows stable energy yield. Thus CPV can be seen as complementary and not in concurrence with silicon photovoltaics. The state of the art, the advantages and limitations of this technology will be shown. Among the main advantages of CPV is the possibility of a much higher energy supply, when compared to silicon photovoltaics, both comparing CPV and silicon with same area or the same installed power. The use of recycled and recyclable materials allows a more environmentally friendly production. The possibility to couple CPV with desalination facilities, energy storage will be analysed. As an example a case study of a CPV installation in Northern Italy is discussed. Here the use of mature technologies, derived from automotive and lighting sectors resulted in a simple and efficient module.

Concentrated photovoltaics, a case study

Concentrated Photovoltaics (CPV), once a niche technology, has now reached the maturity and reliability for large scale power generation. Especially in regions where temperatures are very high, the use of high efficiency triple junction solar cells with concentrating optics allows stable energy yield. Thus CPV can be seen as complementary and not in concurrence with silicon photovoltaics. The state of the art, the advantages and limitations of this technology will be shown. Among the main advantages of CPV is the possibility of a much higher energy supply, when compared to silicon photovoltaics, both comparing CPV and silicon with same area or the same installed power. The use of recycled and recyclable materials allows a more environmentally friendly production. The possibility to couple CPV with desalination facilities, energy storage will be analysed. As an example a case study of a CPV installation in Northern Italy is discussed. Here the use of mature technologies, derived from automotive and lighting sectors resulted in a simple and efficient module.

CupraEtch DE - Recyclable Anisotropic Etch: Differential Etch for SAP Manufacturing

The demand for ever finer circuitry especially for IC-substrate manufacturing has lead the way from the traditional subtractive circuit formation to additive, semi-additive, and modified semi-additive technology. Fully additive processing remains a niche technology, while semi-additive (SAP) and especially modified semi-additive processing (mSAP) are already widely used in the IC-substrate manufacturing business. Both SAP and mSAP require a copper seed layer in order to be able to pattern plate the desired circuitry. In SAP this seed layer consists only of a layer of electroless copper, with a thickness ranging from 0,3 μm to 1,5 μm depending on the design and manufacturer. Therefore after pattern plating and resist stripping only the thin electroless copper seed layer needs to be removed for circuit formation. Considering mSAP several different variations exist. In some cases the seed layer consists only of sputtered copper, in others it is a layer of electroless copper with strike copper plating as protective layer, and in other cases half-etched copper panels are being used. Depending on which type of mSAP was applied the seed layer thickness can be in the nanometer range but also up to 10 μm. Nevertheless for both SAP and mSAP the copper seed layer has to be removed through etching to finalize the circuit formation. Typical etching solutions contain sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide in addition to organic stabilizers and banking agents. Two draw-backs have been observed with peroxide based etchants; firstly the solution requires feed and bleed operation to maintain the maximal copper content and to replenish spent oxidizer, and secondly peroxide based etchants etch three-dimensionally with the same etching speed no mater if sprayed or in immersion. The first draw back has economical as well as ecological effects, since considerable amounts of chemical waste is being generated and thereby requires waste treatment. The second drawback has functional effects, since the three-dimensional etching causes undercut of the conductor tracks of several micrometers, thereby affecting the mechanical stability of the track as well as the electrical properties (i.e. impedance control). In order to prevent these two draw-backs of the typical peroxide based etchants a different etchant system has been developed. The novel etchant is based on ferric sulfate and thereby offers the possibility to regenerate the solution in bypass equipment, therefore eliminating the need for feed and bleed operation. Furthermore, besides regenerating the oxidizer pure copper is plated, which could either be re-used internally or sold to recyclers. In addition this ferric sulfate based etchant causes minute to none undercut eliminating the second draw back of peroxide based etchants. This paper describes the newly developed ferric sulfate based etchant. The focus will be on the etch performance in comparison to hydrogen peroxide etchants. In addition regeneration equipment suitable for this application will be illustrated and discussed, especially under economical and ecological aspects.

Are we there yet? Improving solar PV economics and power planning in developing countries: The case of Kenya

Despite the rapid decline in the cost of solar photo-voltaic (PV) systems in the past five years, even recent academic research suggests that the cost of generating PV electricity remains too high for PV to make a meaningful contribution to the generation of grid electricity in developing countries. This assessment is reflected in the views of policy-makers throughout Africa, who often consider PV as a technology suited only to remote locations and small-scale applications. This paper therefore analyzes whether, in contrast to conventional wisdom, PV is already competitive with other generation technologies. Analytically, the paper is based on a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) model to calculate the cost of PV electricity in Kenya, which serves as a case study. Based on actual technology costs and Kenya’s solar resource, the LCOE from PV is estimated at USD 0.21/kWh for the year 2011, with scenario results ranging from USD 0.17-0.30/kWh. This suggests that the LCOE of grid-connected PV systems may already be below that of the most expensive conventional power plants, i.e. medium-speed diesel generators and gas turbines, which account for a large share of Kenya’s current power mix. This finding implies that researchers and policy-makers may be mistaken in perceiving solar PV as a costly niche technology, rather than a feasible option for the expansion of power generation in developing countries.

Surface engineering of synthetic nanopores by atomic layer deposition and their applications

In the past decade, nanopores have been developed extensively for various potential applications, and their performance greatly depends on the surface properties of the nanopores. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a new technology for depositing thin films, which has been rapidly developed from a niche technology to an established method. ALD films can cover the surface in confined regions even in nanoscale conformally, thus it is proved to be a powerful tool to modify the surface of the synthetic nanopores and also to fabricate complex nanopores. This review gives a brief introduction on nanopore synthesis and ALD fundamental knowledge, and then focuses on the various aspects of synthetic nanopores processing by ALD and their applications, including single-molecule sensing, nanofluidic devices, nanostructure fabrication and other applications.

Verifying Three Nodes Optimization Based on LM-BP Neural Network and Hybrid Genetic Algorithm

Taking the minimum to cylinder thrust force, turntable force and boom force as the objective function then establish the optimization mathematical model of the verifying three nodes, taking BP Neural Network as the main method instead of the cumbersome formula derivation. This article puts forward a Hybrid Genetic Algorithm flow set of solving pareto optimal solution, It is achieved by mixed-using Niche Technology, Groups Sorting Technology. The optimal position of the arm verifying three nodes is conformed by programming using Matlab genetic algorithm toolbox. And the force of the fuel tank , boom and turntable is effectively mitigated. This gives a appropriate reference for the next boom verifying three nodes position to determine and the optimal design of similar structures in other engineering machinery.

A decision-making method for personalized composite service

Web services are emerging technologies that enable application to application communication and reuse of autonomous services. Web services composition is a concept of integrating component services to conduct complex business transactions based on functionality and performance constraints. With the rapid growth of Web services on the Internet, the services owing the same functionality and different performance become more and more, and different users care for different quality. Therefore, designing effective decision-making method for the personalized composite service has become a fundamental problem for the application based on Web service. In this paper, oriented to the user need with single optimization objective, an efficient algorithm, which consists of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Niche technology, is presented to solve the Web service selection problem. Furthermore, in view of the practical composition requirements including multiple optimization objectives, an algorithm used to resolve the service selection with multi-objective multi-constraint is designed based on NPSO and the intelligent optimization theory of multi-objective PSO, which can produce a set of Pareto optimal composite services by means of optimizing various objective functions simultaneously. Experimental results show that NPSO algorithm owns better global convergence ability with faster convergence speed. Meanwhile, multi-objective multi-constraint NPSO is both feasible and efficient.

Are We There Yet? Improving Solar PV Economics and Power Planning in Developing Countries: The Case of Kenya

Despite the rapid decline in the cost of solar photo-voltaic (PV) systems in the past five years, even recent academic research suggests that the cost of generating PV electricity remains too high for PV to make a meaningful contribution to the generation of grid electricity in developing countries. This assessment is reflected in the views of policy-makers throughout Africa, who often consider PV as a technology suited only to remote locations and small-scale applications. This paper therefore analyzes whether, in contrast to conventional wisdom, PV is already competitive with other generation technologies. Analytically, the paper is based on a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) model to calculate the cost of PV electricity in Kenya, which serves as a case study. Based on actual technology costs and Kenya’s solar resource, the LCOE from PV is estimated at USD 0.21/kWh for the year 2011, with scenario results ranging from USD 0.17-0.30/kWh. This suggests that the LCOE of grid-connected PV systems may already be below that of the most expensive conventional power plants, i.e. medium-speed diesel generators and gas turbines, which account for a large share of Kenya’s current power mix. This finding implies that researchers and policy-makers may be mistaken in perceiving solar PV as a costly niche technology, rather than a feasible option for the expansion of power generation in developing countries.

What's Next for Solar

Though solar is still miniscule, a cross-section of industry observers, including major utility executives, believe solar will provide as much as 15 to 20 percent of the nation's power by 2030. As solar grows into a resource of that magnitude, the inherently distributed nature of this niche technology will influence other changes in the electric power sector.

Mathematical modelling of abrasive waterjet footprints for arbitrarily moving jets: Part II—Overlapped single and multiple straight paths

Controlled-depth abrasive waterjet machining (milling) is considered as a niche technology, capable of generating complex geometries in any material regardless of its properties. The key enabler of waterjet milling is the development of a model for predicting the jet footprint. The authors' previous work reported on a geometrical model for a single footprint of a free-moving jet for various impingement angles upon the target surface. Firstly, the present work identifies ways to make the single jet footprint models accurate for low jet impingement angles that are likely to occur when footprints are overlapped. Then, the paper presents for the first time a validated model that predicts the surface micro-geometry for overlapped footprints (jet with step-over movement), and an analysis of error propagation for predicting the material removed in successive layers. The modelling approach has proved its validity by being able to predict the surfaces obtained from single and multiple (i.e. layered) overlapped footprints with low errors, i.e. <6% and <9% respectively. The importance of the development of the model (dependent on feed velocity, tilt angle and stepover of the jet) for surface micro-geometry resulting from overlapped jet footprints research resides in (i) ability to simulate real controlled-depth waterjet machining when jet kinematics follows a raster path; (ii) it opens up the possibility of generating complex part geometries by adjusting the trajectory and velocity of the jet and thus the development of accurate and flexible CAM software for waterjet milling to support this technology.

Development and application of biotechnologies in the metal mining industry

Metal mining faces a number of significant economic and environmental challenges in the twenty-first century for which established and emerging biotechnologies may, at least in part, provide the answers. Bioprocessing of mineral ores and concentrates is already used in variously engineered formats to extract base (e.g., copper, cobalt, and nickel) and precious (gold and silver) metals in mines throughout the world, though it remains a niche technology. However, current projections of an increasing future need to use low-grade primary metal ores, to reprocess mine wastes, and to develop in situ leaching technologies to extract metals from deep-buried ore bodies, all of which are economically more amenable to bioprocessing than conventional approaches (e.g., pyrometallurgy), would suggest that biomining will become more extensively utilized in the future. Recent research has also shown that bioleaching could be used to process a far wider range of metal ores (e.g., oxidized ores) than has previously been the case. Biotechnologies are also being developed to control mine-related pollution, including securing mine wastes (rocks and tailings) by using "ecological engineering" approaches, and also to remediate and recover metals from waste waters, such as acid mine drainage. This article reviews the current status of biotechnologies within the mining sector and considers how these may be developed and applied in future years.

Single vesicle biochips for ultra-miniaturized nanoscale fluidics and single molecule bioscience

One of the major bottlenecks in the development of biochips is maintaining the structure and function of biomolecules when interfacing them with hard matter (glass, plastics, metals, etc.), a challenge that is exacerbated during miniaturization that inevitably increases the interface to volume ratio of these devices. Biochips based on immobilized vesicles circumvent this problem by encapsulating biomolecules in the protective environment of a lipid bilayer, thus minimizing interactions with hard surfaces. Here we review the development of biochips based on arrays of single nanoscale vesicles, their fabrication via controlled self-assembly, and their characterization using fluorescence microscopy. We also highlight their applications in selected fields such as nanofluidics and single molecule bioscience. Despite their great potential for improved biocompatibility, extreme miniaturization and high throughput, single vesicle biochips are still a niche technology that has yet to establish its commercial relevance.

A Unidirectional Guided-path Network Design Method under Flexible Job Shop Environment

With the objective of minimizing makespan,an improved niche genetic algorithm(INGA) is proposed to solve the unidirectional guided-path network design problem of automated guided vehicle system under flexible job shop environment.In the genetic algorithm,each chromosome consists of unidirectional guided-path network chromosome and operation chromosome,denoting unidirectional segment direction and feasibility scheduling respectively.Corresponding crossover and mutation operators are designed for two types of chromosome.Neighborhood search is adopted to improve the convergence speed of the algorithm.To keep a high degree of population diversity,niche technology and spirit strategy are applied.The experimental results show that the proposed NGA is effective.

Are QCA cryptographic circuits resistant to power analysis attack?

Quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) technology is expected to offer fast computation performance, high density, and low power consumption. Thus, researchers believe that QCA may be an attractive alternative to CMOS for future digital designs. Side channel attacks, such as power analysis attacks, have become a significant threat to the security of CMOS cryptographic circuits. A power analysis attack can reveal the secret key from measurements of the power consumption during the encryption and decryption process. As there is no electric current flow in QCA technology, the power consumption of QCA circuits is extremely low when compared to their CMOS counterparts. Therefore, in this paper an investigation into both the best and worst case scenarios for attackers is carried out to ascertain if QCA circuits are immune to power analysis attack. A QCA design of a submodule of the Serpent cipher is proposed. In comparison to a previous design, the proposed design is more efficient in terms of complexity, area, and latency. By using an upper bound power model, the first power analysis attack of a QCA cryptographic circuit is presented. The simulation results show that even though the power consumption is low, it can still be correlated with the correct key guess, and all possible subkeys applied to the Serpent submodule can be revealed in the best case scenario. Therefore, in theory QCA cryptographic circuits would be vulnerable to power analysis attack. However, the security of practical QCA devices can be greatly improved by applying a smoother clock. Moreover, in the worst case scenario, the design of logically reversible QCA circuits with Bennett clocking could be used as a natural countermeasure to power analysis attack. Therefore, it is believed that QCA could be a niche technology in the future for the implementation of security architectures resistant to power analysis attack.