Sharp Slope Research Articles

Study of effective parameters on nanostructures growth by three-dimensional simulation

In this paper the Monte Carlo three-dimensional simulation method is used for Ni nanostructures growth. Nucleation stage and bulk growth are simulated. The Metropolis algorithm is used for applying the temperature effect. At the nucleation stage, the increasing substrate temperature causes reduction of island number and enhancement of island size. The Bulk growth model is assumed ballistic and the effect of the substrate size variation on the roughness is studied after termination of the bulk growth stage. The structure zone model is simulated and variations of grown column angle with respect to particles incidence angle is reviewed. Our results show that roughness variation is a function of substrate temperature and particles incidence angle. Our simulation shows that increasing the substrate temperature reduces the roughness. Also enhancement of particles incidence angle increases roughness and with increasing the substrate size, the roughness curve gets a sharp slope. With increasing the incidence angle, the shadowing length and void space become larger and the surface roughness increases as well.

Double fishbone instability excited by energetic ions with m = n = 1 in a reversed magnetic shear tokamak plasmas

Double fishbone mode excited by energetic particles at q = 1 rational surfaces is studied, with the minimum of the safety factor qmin<1. The dispersion relation of the mode is derived based on energy principle and the radial displacement structure is calculated by an iterative method self-consistently. It is found that the double fishbone mode has a two-step mode structure similar to that of double kink modes. For qmin→1, the sharp slope of the ξr distribution at the rational surfaces is smoothened. The effects of the magnetic shear, the minimum of safety factor, the fast ion beta, and the precession frequency on the plasma displacement and growth rate are also analyzed, respectively.

Landslides falling onto a shallow erodible substrate or water layer: an experimental and numerical approach

Landslides often collapse in areas covered by alluvial deposits forming an erodible layer. This erodible substrate may deform plastically under the intense shear stress of the landslide mass. In other cases, the collapse occurs onto a water basin or tidal flat, creating impulse water waves whilst the landslide may be lubricated by a water layer underneath. In either cases the presence of a medium underneath the landslide will change its dynamics introducing complex processes. While frictional, dry masses and taluses generally hamper the landslide motion. In this work, we present some experiments mimicking the collapse of a landslide onto shallow erodible or water layers. The landslide is simulated with a granular material (sand or gravel) flowing on an incline (35-66°) followed by a horizontal sector covered with a granular bed 1 to 2 cm thick or with a 0.5-1 cm of water. Monitoring evolution in time allows us to describe in detail the process of fluidization of the material at impact, the generation of impact waves, and the erosion process. Concerning impact on a sand layer, the apparent friction coefficient (H/L) is found to increase with the chute slope angle and with the thickness of the erodible layer, and to decrease with the volume. At low slope angles, the material accumulates backwards in a shock wave mode, while at larger slope angles (>45°) it accumulates by prograding forward. A granular avalanche falling from the slope is partially reflected at the sharp slope break where erosion occurs and then propagates initially as a wave partially eroding the superficial material. Folding and thrusting occur within the dense shear flow and the erodible layer. Experiments with a water layer show that the dynamics depends much on the permeability of the granular avalanche. FEM numerical simulations replicate and allow to describe and understand both the spreading and the erosion, and internal deformation recorded in the erodible layer. Experimental findings are compared with real rock avalanches, flowslides and snow avalanches characteristics and morphological features. A medium with low permeability may be lubricated by the presence of water, resulting in a front acceleration and a final double-ringed deposit.

(Invited) Resistive Random Access Memory for Storage Class Applications

Resistive RAM (RRAM) is one of the most promising emerging nonvolatile memory technologies thanks to fast operation, superior scalability, low power consumption and potential for 3D stacking. From an architectural point of view, 1T1R architecture is suitable for embedded memory applications while 1S1R based cross-point architecture is suited to high density memory applications. In the 1S1R based cross-point integration, however, the suppression of sneak current paths has been the major technical barrier for the high density RRAM. We show that the sneak path challenge has been overcome by utilizing a Field Assisted Superlinear Threshold (FAST) selector [1]. The FAST selector device uses an insulating amorphous material which provides volatile switching at critical electric field. Excellent selector performance is presented, including high selectivity of > 107, sharp switching slope of < 5mV/dec., and large endurance of > 1011. The low fabrication temperature (≤300°C) of the FAST selector allows 3D stacking of 1S1R memory layers. It is also demonstrated that a volatile switch based selector has inherent benefits such as low voltage overhead for 1S1R integration and high read voltage margin. For the 1S1R demonstration, electrochemical metallization RRAM with a sub-5nm filament is utilized. The RRAM device offers a self-current-limiting feature during the program operation [2]. The self-limited program obviates the need for external current compliance, which can increase the number of concurrent programs in the 1S1R cross-point architecture with reduced power consumption and increased reliability benefits. Furthermore, the hold voltage property (snap-back behavior) of a FAST selector allows novel sensing techniques such as Resistance Ratio Amplification (RRA) which amplifies the intrinsic ON/OFF ratio of RRAM by a factor of > 104 [2]. Besides the direct advantage of increased memory ON/OFF ratio, the RRA technique also reduces BER and increases read bandwidth of the RRAM array. The integrated self-current-limited RRAM with FAST selector enables the high density and high performance 1S1R RRAM technology.

(Invited) Novel Selector and 3D RRAM Development for High Density Non-Volatile Memory

The development of a higher density non-volatile memory with the 3D vertical resistive random access memory (VRRAM) has attracted great interest from the industries. However, VRRAM currently faces the challenges in selecting the specific cell due to a large number of leakage paths, and fabrication process difficulties. In order to eliminate the sneak path and reduce the power consumption, we have developed a novel selector based on doped chalcogenide material. This novel selector shows nearly ideal selector performances with >107 on/off ratio, 0.2 V holding voltage, 10 pA off-state leakage current, sharp on-switch slope of 7 mV/dec, <10 ns turn on speed, >109 endurance, >1.6 MA/cm2 on current density. To investigate the VRRAM fabrication process, we have developed a process flow to fabricate VRRAM and demonstrated a single level sidewall TaOx based VRRAM device. These VRRAM devices can work properly and its switching performance is independent on the thickness of the switching material. Beside the novel selector and VRRAM integration investigation, we have also proposed a transistor-based novel VRRAM (TB-RRAM) architecture. By forming the RRAM cells and transistors at different layer simultaneously, the fabrication cost related to the lithography, etch and deposition can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, with transistor as RRAM selector, better read/write endurance and reliability is expected and it is believed to be industry friendly because of the similar architecture of 3D NAND.

Categorical perception of lexical tones in mandarin-speaking congenital amusics.

Previous research suggests that within Mandarin-speaking congenital amusics, only a subgroup has behavioral lexical tone perception impairments (tone agnosia), whereas the rest of amusics do not. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the categorical nature of lexical tone perception in Mandarin-speaking amusics with and without behavioral lexical tone deficits. Three groups of listeners (controls, pure amusics, and amusics with tone agnosia) participated in tone identification and discrimination tasks. Indexes of the categorical perception (CP) of a physical continuum of fundamental frequencies ranging from a rising to level tone were measured. Specifically, the stimulus durations were manipulated at 100 and 200 ms. For both stimulus durations, all groups exhibited similar categorical boundaries. The pure amusics showed sharp identification slopes and significantly peaked discrimination functions similar to those of normal controls. However, such essential characteristics for the CP of lexical tones were not observed in amusics with tone agnosia. An enlarged step-size from 20 to 35 Hz was not able to produce any discrimination peaks in tone agnosics either. The current study revealed that only amusics with tone agnosia showed a lack of categorical tone perception, while the pure amusics demonstrated typical CP of lexical tones, indicating that the deficit of pitch processing in music does not necessarily result in the deficit in the CP of lexical tones. The different performance between congenital amusics with and without tone agnosia provides a new perspective on the proposition of the relationship between music and speech perception.

Determination of Soil Parameters to Analyze Mechanical Behavior Using Lade's Double-Surface Work-Hardening Model

In this study, Lade's double-surface work-hardening constitutive model was adopted which uses the elasto-plasticity model as a basic conceptual framework. The model can analyze work hardening and work softening of nonlinear stress-strain behavior, and is regarded as superior to other elasto-plasticity constitutive models in terms of estimation. In the double-surface work-hardening constitutive model, 14 soil parameters are needed to estimate soil behaviors. To determine them, laboratory tests—isotropical consolidation test and conventional compression test—were conducted. Determining of soil parameters is highly complicated and time-consuming; randomness cannot be ruled out in determining parameters that are sensitive to stress-strain estimation, and error may occur. For this reason, a linear and nonlinear regression analysis was used to determine soil parameters. In estimation of undrained behavior, the estimated stress-strain behavior based on the two constitutive models largely overlapped with the test results. However, in estimating drained behavior, the outcome of the two models and the test results were mostly the same, but between the two models, the double-surface work-hardening constitutive model had a sharper slope in initial stress state, and a smaller maximum deviatoric stress.

MO‐FG‐204‐05: Evaluation of a Novel Algorithm for Improved 4DCT Resolution

Purpose:Accurate tumor motion characterization is critical for increasing the therapeutic ratio of radiation therapy. To accommodate the divergent fan‐beam geometry of the scanner, the current 4D‐CT algorithm utilizes a larger temporal window to ensure that pixel values are valid throughout the entire FOV. To minimize the impact on temporal resolution, a cos2 weighting is employed. We propose a novel exponential weighting (“exponential”) 4DCT reconstruction algorithm that has a sharper slope and provides a more optimal temporal resolution.Methods:A respiratory motion platform translated a lung‐mimicking Styrofoam slab with several high and low‐contrast inserts 2 cm in the superior‐inferior direction. Breathing rates (10–15 bpm) and couch pitch (0.06–0.1 A.U.) were varied to assess interplay between parameters. Multi‐slice helical 4DCTs were acquired with 0.5 sec gantry rotation and data were reconstructed with cos2 and exponential weighting. Mean and standard deviation were calculated via region of interest analysis. Intensity profiles evaluated object boundaries. Retrospective raw data reconstructions were performed for both 4DCT algorithms for 3 liver and lung cancer patients. Image quality (temporal blurring/sharpness) and subtraction images were compared between reconstructions.Results:In the phantom, profile analysis revealed that sharper boundaries were obtained with exponential reconstructions at transitioning breathing phases (i.e. mid‐inhale or mid‐exhale). Reductions in full‐width half maximum were ∼1 mm in the superior‐inferior direction and appreciable sharpness could be observed in difference maps. This reduction also yielded a slight reduction in target volume between reconstruction algorithms. For patient cases, coronal views showed less blurring at object boundaries and local intensity differences near the tumor and diaphragm with exponential weighted reconstruction.Conclusion:Exponential weighted 4DCT offers potential for improving image sharpness in 4DCT. Comparisons with true object extent using static CTs of varied phantom positions are necessary to confirm these findings. Future work with additional patient cases is warranted.Research partially sponsored by Philips Healthcare

Model Membrane-Free Li-S Batteries for Enhanced Performance and Cycle Life.

The success of the rechargeable Li-S cell is limited in part by the dissolution of lithium-polysulfide in the electrolyte. Remarkably, it is found that removal of the conventional membrane separator in a Li-S cell improves sulfur utilization and cycling performance, whether the sulfur is initially contained in the cathode or electrolyte. An optimized cell design yields discharge capacities as high as 980 mA h g-1 after 100 cycles.

Effect of some Ecological Factors on Quantity and Quality of the Essential Oils of Zhumeria majdae

Zhumeria majdae Rech.f. & Wendelbois the medicinal, endomic and endangered plant that has been distributed in the south of Iran. This plant is seen on very sharp slope of mountains at 520-1450 meters altitude of sea level. It has noticed by natives and is used for digestion painful as swelling, diarrhea, stomatchache and coolness. In this research, the leaves of plant and soil samples were collected from different localities (Geno, Sarchahan and Tangezagh mounts). The plant materials were hydri-distilled in order to obtain their essential oils. The oils were analyzed by capillary GC and GC/MS. The results showed that with increasing of height, Ca+², Mg+², HCO3¯, Na+, EC, O.C.%, sand% contents and also with decreasing of rainfall, moisture, temperature, K+and neutralized materials, oil yield and componentnumber of essential oils of Z. majdae would have decreased. Constituents as Linalool, Limonene, α-Pinene, Octan-3-one, Myrcene, Terpinolene and trans-Linalool oxide will increased and constituents as Camphor, Geraniol, Neral, Geranial, Thymul, Terpinene, β-Elemene, β- Bizabulene will decreased. Therefore, height is effective on quantity and quality of the essential oils of Z.majdae.

High-pressure behavior of amorphous selenium from ultrasonic measurements and Raman spectroscopy

The high-pressure behavior of melt-quenched amorphous selenium (a-Se) has been investigated via ultrasonic measurements and Raman scattering at room temperature. The ultrasonic measurements were conducted on a-Se in a multi-anvil apparatus with two different sample assemblies at pressures of up to 4.5 and 4.8 GPa. We discovered that similar kinks occur in the slopes of the pressure dependence characteristics of the travel time and the sound velocity in both shear and longitudinal waves in the 2.0–2.5 GPa range. These kinks are independent of the sample assemblies, indicating an intrinsic transformation of the a-Se. Additionally, we deduced the pressure-volume relationship of a-Se from the sound velocity characteristics using the Birch–Murnaghan equation of state, and the results agreed well with those of previous reports. In situ high-pressure Raman scattering measurements of a-Se were conducted in a diamond anvil cell with an 830 nm excitation line up to a pressure of 4.3 GPa. We found that the characteristic band of a-Se at ∼250 cm−1 experienced a smooth shift to a lower frequency with pressure, but a sharp slope change in the band intensity versus pressure occurred near 2.5 GPa. The results of X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry measurements indicate that the samples remain in their amorphous states after decompression. Thus, we proposed that the abnormal compression behavior of a-Se in the 2.0–2.5 GPa range can be attributed to pressure-induced local atomic reconfiguration, implying an amorphous-amorphous transition of the elementary selenium.

화성쇄설류 분출 지역의 감시를 위한 광학영상과 화성쇄설류 범람 예측 모델링 분석

화산활동으로 인한 피해를 현장관측을 통해 조사할 경우, 비용과 인력, 안전 등의 문제로 인한 어려움이 많다. 인공위성 영상을 활용한 원격탐사는 이와 같은 문제를 극복하기에 매우 유용한 도구 중에 하나이다. 본 연구에서는 2009년 4월 17일과 2012년 7월 30일에 획득된 Landsat 7 ETM+ 위성 영상을 이용하여 인도네시아 수마트라 섬에 위치한 시나붕 화산의 2010년 화산활동을 관측하였다. 피복분류를 통해 2010년 분화 전 후의 화성쇄설류 범람 지역을 추출한 결과, 2010년 분화로 인해 화성쇄설류 범람 지역의 면적이 약 3배나 증가한 것을 확인하였다. 화성쇄설류 범람 지역 예측 모델링으로 얻어진 결과는 Landsat 영상에서 추출된 화성쇄설류 범람 지역과 비교되었다. 그 결과, 화성쇄설류 범람 지역 예측 모델링은 범람의 거리(길이)는 92%로 정확하게 계산되었지만 화산의 경사가 급격한 지역에서는 범람의 폭이 다소 부정확하게 계산되어 17%의 정확도를 나타내었다. Field survey research on damages caused by volcanic activities has plenty of difficulties due to human resources, safety and costs issues. Remote sensing application using satellite image is one of very useful tools to overcome those issues. In this study, we monitored the volcanic activities of Sinabung volcano in 2010, which is located in Sumatra island, Indonesia by using Landsat 7 ETM+ satellite images acquired on 17 April, 2009 and 30 July, 2012. We found that the area of pyroclastic flow inundation after 2010 has been tripled roughly, since extracting the pyroclastic flow inundation before and after 2010 eruption from classification. The result from modeling of pyroclastic flow inundation has been compared with the extracted pyroclastic flow inundation from Landsat 7 ETM+ images. As a result, we confirmed that the length of inundation area from the modeling was calculated to 92% accurate, but the width of inundation area was somewhat imprecisely estimated in the volcanic area having the sharp slope and only calculated to 17% accurate.

3D shape acquisition and integral compact representation using optical scanning and enhanced shape parameterization

An efficient computational methodology for shape acquisition, processing and representation is developed. It includes 3D computer vision by applying triangulation and stereo-photogrammetry for high-accuracy 3D shape acquisition. Resulting huge 3D point clouds are successively parameterized into mathematical surfaces to provide for compact data-set representation, yet capturing local details sufficiently. B-spline surfaces are employed as parametric entities in fitting to point clouds resulting from optical 3D scanning. Beyond the linear best-fitting algorithm with control points as fitting variables, an enhanced non-linear procedure is developed. The set of best fitting variables in minimizing the approximation error norm between the parametric surface and the 3D cloud includes the control points coordinates. However, they are augmented by the set of position parameter values which identify the respectively closest matching points on the surface for the points in the cloud. The developed algorithm is demonstrated to be efficient on demanding test cases which encompass sharp edges and slope discontinuities originating from physical damage of the 3D objects or shape complexity.

Rheological Behavior of Agharan Contains Different Concentrations of Whey Powder, Starch and Gum Arabic

The Agharan is fermented concentrated fermented camel milk which prepared in some pastoral region of Golestan Province in Iran, and among the Turkmen tribes where camels are kept and bred called Agharan. Agharan has not been introduced in any article, conferences or etc. in the world, yet. So this is the first article written about Agharan and has introduced it, and investigate the rheology of this product. Accordingly, this study can provide important information for other researchers. The aim of the this work is to study the effect of 0.05, 0.1 and 0.15% Whey Powder, Gum Arabic and Starch at 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 105, 120, 135, 140, 150, 160, 180, 200 rpms on rheological properties of Agharan at 24°C. Results with Mitschka Method revealed all samples were Shear Thining. All samples showed similar decrease in apparent viscosity with increasing the Shear rate. In all concentration of Agharan contain Gum arabic, viscosity decreased slightly in comparison to control. In contrast, Agharan contains 0.15% Whey powder has sharp slope. The level of decrease depended on the levels of materials added. The highest and lowest Apparent viscosity were recorded for Agharan contain 0.1, 0.05% Starch (3520.7, 2678.4) and 0.15% gum arabic (823.25) respectively. Accordingly Starch, Whey powder and Gum Arabic can alter rheological properties of Agharan.

SOCIAL ECOLOGY AND SUICIDE: AN ANALYSIS OF TOPOGRAPHIC AND CLIMATIC CHARACTERISTICS IN AREAS WITH LOW AND HIGH SUICIDE INCIDENCE

The current article examines the potential role of topography in suicide. First, I analyzed suicide data from 3,318 municipalities in Japan during the 30-year period of 1973–2002. I found that suicide rate was higher in municipalities with steeper slopes than less steep slopes. Moreover, the association between steep slopes and suicide rate remained significant, controlling for other well-known ecological factors such as population density, daylight hours, and snow. Second, I found that elevation per se was less important in predicting suicide rate than the presence of sharp slopes. That is, even if two municipalities are located in the same elevation (e.g., 600 meters above the water level), a municipality with more steep slopes tends to have a higher suicide rate than a municipality with more flat areas. In a flat community, there are more shops, clinics, and other gathering places easily accessible to its residents than in a sloped community. More generally, I posit that harsh natural environments demand more patience and self-control, which in turn makes residents in harsh environments less likely to seek help from others, which could result in a higher rate of suicide.

Theory for correlation between plasma fluctuation and fluctuation of nanoparticle growth in reactive plasmas

We propose a simple theoretical model that describes the correlation between plasma fluctuation and fluctuation of nanoparticle growth in reactive plasmas. The model predicts that the high density of nanoparticles brings about small mean size, narrow size dispersion, and sharp size slope on the large side of the size distribution. The model suggests some methods of tuning the size dispersion, and it also suggests that a self-limiting process is the key to markedly suppressing fluctuations in nanostructure fabrication. All predictions coincide with the experimental results reported previously. Moreover, the model suggests that plasma fluctuation induces both the linear and nonlinear responses of nanoparticle growth.

Miniaturized Mixed Electric and Magnetic Coupling Bandpass Filter Based on Interdigital Resonator

By integrating the interdigital structure into a conventional open-loop resonator, a compact mixed electric and magnetic coupling bandpass filter is designed and fabricated for the first time. Due to the high intensity inner coupling capacitor, which is generated by interdigital lines, not only did the size of the filter sharply decrease, but the electric field was strengthened. Therefore, by properly adjusting the ratio of electric and magnetic coupling, the transmission zeros very close to the passband is obtained readily. Based on mixed electric and magnetic coupling, a fourth-order bandpass filter with multiple transmission zeros is realized without requiring either a cross-coupled path or source-load coupling. For design purposes, the equivalent-circuit model is also derived and verified. Advantages of this filter include its miniaturized size of only 0.06λ0 × 0.045λ0, its sharp cutoff slope, as well as the tiny discrepancies between simulation and measurement.

A Statistical Analysis for Increasing Reward with Increasing Size of Jam′at

The concept of jam’at is one of the most intrinsic concepts of the social edifice of Islam. The reward of asalaat, as enunciated by Holy Prophet (SAW) is multiplied by saying it in jama’at. There are sayings ofthe Holy Prophet (SAW) which can be made to show that the reward of a jama’at is a mathematical function of that of a salaat said individually. This paper is an attempt to find that function. It is being established here that this function is parabolic, with a very sharp slope in nature, and may be deduced toextrapolate the divine reward one may have by saying a salaat in jama’at, at one hand, and to appraisethe increase in reward with the size of the jama’at. The same function also connects different, apparentlyconflicting sayings of the Holy Prophet (SAW) regarding the comparisons in this reward.

Specific biochemical amniotic fluid pattern of fetal isolated esophageal atresia

Perinatal care of esophageal atresia (EA) may be improved by prenatal diagnosis. Ultrasound findings (polyhydramnios and/or nonvisualization of fetal stomach) lead to a detection rate of ~50%. An amniotic fluid (AF) biochemical pattern characterized by high total protein, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP), and normal l-leucine-aminopeptidase (AMP) leads to a 100% detection rate. The aim of this study was to explain this specific pattern. On the basis of enzyme activities assay, the following four objectives were sought: (i) comparing AF markers between EA and other digestive tract atresias, (ii) determining local GGTP synthesis in the esophagus (immunohistobiochemistry), (iii) determining the presence of a specific AF-AMP activity inhibitor, and (iv) comparing AF-AMP and AF-GGTP half-lives. The AF-EA pattern was similar to that observed in upper duodenal atresia (above the Oddi sphincter). No local synthesis of GGTP was observed in the esophagus. No AF-AMP activity inhibitor was found. AF-GGTP had a longer half-life than AF-AMP. Due to the swallowing anomaly observed in EA, GGTP and AMP values physiologically observed at 18 wk will decrease on the basis of the half-lives of markers, with a flat slope for GGTP and a sharp slope for AMP, therefore explaining the differences observed in the AF-EA pattern.

A compact HTS bandpass microstrip filter with novel coupling structure for on-chip integration

A compact low-complexity high-selectivity high-temperature superconducting (HTS) microstrip bandpass filter is presented in this paper, which consists of only three half-wavelength resonators. A novel coupling scheme is used to provide a pair of transmission zeros outside the passband, so that the selectivity of the filter is improved. The filter is fabricated on an MgO substrate with YBa2Cu3O7−x (YBCO) coating. Measurement result shows an in-band insertion loss at 0.5dB, a sharp slope, and a stopband rejection better than 20dB. The compactness and high-selectivity features make the filter suitable for on-chip integration of HTS receiver front-ends.