A Fluidic Drive System for Intra-Aortic Balloon Heart Assist Device

Intra-aortic balloon pumping is a counter pulsation technique for temporary circulatory assistance in cardiogenic shock and other low cardiac output conditions. Conventional systems use a balloon at the end of a catheter driven by a solenoid valve, controlled by patient's ECG or ventricular pressure signal. This results in time delay introducted by solenoid spool inertia, gas inertia, and hysteresis effects of the solenoid. Fluidics, because of their non-moving part operation and high switching speeds, minimizes the inertial effects while contributing high reliability. This communication describes a fluidic system developed for driving the balloon accepting electric control signals.

Tunable device properties of free-standing inorganic/organic flexible hybrid structures obtained by exfoliation

We report the fabrication of free-standing flexible inorganic/organic hybrid structures by exfoliating ZnO nanostructured films from the flat indium tin oxide (ITO)/silicon/sapphire substrates using poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). Strong interaction between ZnO and PEDOT: PSS and the thermomechanical response of PEDOT: PSS are the key issues for the exfoliation to prevail. The performance of the free-standing hybrid structures as rectifiers and photodetectors is better as compared to ITO supported hybrid structures. It is also shown that device properties of hybrid structures can be tuned by using different electrode materials. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4729550]

SuSeFLAV: A program for calculating supersymmetric spectra and lepton flavour violation

The program SuSeFLAV is introduced for computing supersymmetric mass spectra with flavour violation in various supersymmetric breaking scenarios with/without see-saw mechanism. A short user guide summarizing the compilation, executables and the input files is provided.

Implications of program phase behavior on timing analysis

Knowledge about program worst case execution time (WCET) is essential in validating real-time systems and helps in effective scheduling. One popular approach used in industry is to measure execution time of program components on the target architecture and combine them using static analysis of the program. Measurements need to be taken in the least intrusive way in order to avoid affecting accuracy of estimated WCET. Several programs exhibit phase behavior, wherein program dynamic execution is observed to be composed of phases. Each phase being distinct from the other, exhibits homogeneous behavior with respect to cycles per instruction (CPI), data cache misses etc. In this paper, we show that phase behavior has important implications on timing analysis. We make use of the homogeneity of a phase to reduce instrumentation overhead at the same time ensuring that accuracy of WCET is not largely affected. We propose a model for estimating WCET using static worst case instruction counts of individual phases and a function of measured average CPI. We describe a WCET analyzer built on this model which targets two different architectures. The WCET analyzer is observed to give safe estimates for most benchmarks considered in this paper. The tightness of the WCET estimates are observed to be improved for most benchmarks compared to Chronos, a well known static WCET analyzer.

Device oriented statistical modeling method for process variability in 45nm analog CMOS technology

With the rapid scaling down of the semiconductor process technology, the process variation aware circuit design has become essential today. Several statistical models have been proposed to deal with the process variation. We propose an accurate BSIM model for handling variability in 45nm CMOS technology. The MOSFET is designed to meet the specification of low standby power technology of International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS).The process parameters variation of annealing temperature, oxide thickness, halo dose and title angle of halo implant are considered for the model development. One parameter variation at a time is considered for developing the model. The model validation is done by performance matching with device simulation results and reported error is less than 10%.© (2012) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

SuSeFLAV 1.2: Program for supersymmetric mass spectra with seesaw mechanism and rare lepton flavor violating decays

Accurate supersymmetric spectra are required to confront data from direct and indirect searches of supersymmetry. SuSeFLAV is a numerical tool capable of computing supersymmetric spectra precisely for various supersymmetric breaking scenarios applicable even in the presence of flavor violation. The program solves MSSM RGEs with complete 3 x 3 flavor mixing at 2-loop level and one loop finite threshold corrections to all MSSM parameters by incorporating radiative electroweak symmetry breaking conditions. The program also incorporates the Type-I seesaw mechanism with three massive right handed neutrinos at user defined mass scales and mixing. It also computes branching ratios of flavor violating processes such as l(j) -> l(i)gamma, l(j) -> 3 l(i), b -> s gamma and supersymmetric contributions to flavor conserving quantities such as (g(mu) - 2). A large choice of executables suitable for various operations of the program are provided. Program summary Program title: SuSeFLAV Catalogue identifier: AEOD_v1_0 Program summary URL: http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEOD_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: GNU General Public License No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 76552 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 582787 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: Fortran 95. Computer: Personal Computer, Work-Station. Operating system: Linux, Unix. Classification: 11.6. Nature of problem: Determination of masses and mixing of supersymmetric particles within the context of MSSM with conserved R-parity with and without the presence of Type-I seesaw. Inter-generational mixing is considered while calculating the mass spectrum. Supersymmetry breaking parameters are taken as inputs at a high scale specified by the mechanism of supersymmetry breaking. RG equations including full inter-generational mixing are then used to evolve these parameters up to the electroweak breaking scale. The low energy supersymmetric spectrum is calculated at the scale where successful radiative electroweak symmetry breaking occurs. At weak scale standard model fermion masses, gauge couplings are determined including the supersymmetric radiative corrections. Once the spectrum is computed, the program proceeds to various lepton flavor violating observables (e.g., BR(mu -> e gamma), BR(tau -> mu gamma) etc.) at the weak scale. Solution method: Two loop RGEs with full 3 x 3 flavor mixing for all supersymmetry breaking parameters are used to compute the low energy supersymmetric mass spectrum. An adaptive step size Runge-Kutta method is used to solve the RGEs numerically between the high scale and the electroweak breaking scale. Iterative procedure is employed to get the consistent radiative electroweak symmetry breaking condition. The masses of the supersymmetric particles are computed at 1-loop order. The third generation SM particles and the gauge couplings are evaluated at the 1-loop order including supersymmetric corrections. A further iteration of the full program is employed such that the SM masses and couplings are consistent with the supersymmetric particle spectrum. Additional comments: Several executables are presented for the user. Running time: 0.2 s on a Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 650 with 3.20 GHz. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Computational representations for multi state design tasks and enumeration of mechanical device behaviour

The role of a computer emerged from modeling and analyzing concepts (ideas) to generate concepts. Research into methods for supporting conceptual design using automated synthesis had attracted much attention in the past decades. To find out how designers synthesize solution concepts for multi-state mechanical devices, ten experimental studies were conducted. Observations from these empirical studies would be used as the basis to develop knowledge involved in the multi-state design synthesis process. In this paper, we propose a computational representation for expressing the multi-state design task and for enumerating multi-state behaviors of kinematic pairs and mechanisms. This computational representation would be used to formulate computational methods for the synthesis process to develop a system for supporting design synthesis of multiple state mechanical devices by generating a comprehensive variety of solution alternatives.

Ionomer based blend as water vapor barrier material for organic device encapsulation

Blends of poly (ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) (PEMA) and poly (vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) (EVOH) were studied for encapsulating Schottky structured organic devices. A calcium degradation test was used to determine water vapor transmission rates and to determine the moisture barrier performance of neat and blend films. Moisture barrier analysis for the neat and blend compositions was discussed concerning the interactions in the blend, diffusivity of water molecules through the unit cell systems, and the occupiable free volumes available in the unit cells using molecular dynamics simulations. The experimental results of water vapor permeation were correlated with diffusion behavior predicted from molecular dynamics simulations results. The effectiveness of the blend as a suitable barrier material in increasing the lifetime of an encapsulated Schottky structured organic device was determined.

Blood pressure evaluation using sphygmomanometry assisted by arterial pulse waveform detection by fiber Bragg grating pulse device

We report a blood pressure evaluation methodology by recording the radial arterial pulse waveform in real time using a fiber Bragg grating pulse device (FBGPD). Here, the pressure responses of the arterial pulse in the form of beat-to-beat pulse amplitude and arterial diametrical variations are monitored. Particularly, the unique signatures of pulse pressure variations have been recorded in the arterial pulse waveform, which indicate the systolic and diastolic blood pressure while the patient is subjected to the sphygmomanometric blood pressure examination. The proposed method of blood pressure evaluation using FBGPD has been validated with the auscultatory method of detecting the acoustic pulses (Korotkoff sounds) by an electronic stethoscope. (C) 2013 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

Device Fabrication of insoluble donor-acceptor-donor structured molecule by pulsed laser deposition- A comparative study using different laser source

Many of the conducting polymers though having good material property are not solution processable. Hence an alternate method of fabrication of film by pulsed laser deposition, was explored in this work. PDTCPA, a donor-acceptor-donor type of polymer having absorption from 900 nm to 300 nm was deposited by both UV and IR laser to understand the effect of deposition parameters on the film quality. It was observed that the laser ablation of PDTCPA doesn't alter its chemical structure hence retaining the chemical integrity of the polymer. Microscopic studies of the ablated film shows that the IR laser ablated films were particulate in nature while UV laser ablated films are deposited as smooth continuous layer. The morphology of the film influences its electrical characteristics as current-voltage characteristic of these films shows that films deposited by UV laser are p rectifying while those by IR laser are more of resistor in nature.

A Reduced Device-Count Hybrid Multilevel Inverter Topology with single DC Source and Improved Fault Tolerance

A new hybrid multilevel power converter topology is presented in this paper. The proposed power converter topology uses only one DC source and floating capacitors charged to asymmetrical voltage levels, are used for generating different voltage levels. The SVPWM based control strategy used in this converter maintains the capacitor voltages at the required levels in the entire modulation range including the over-modulation region. For the voltage levels: nine and above, the number of components required in the proposed topology is significantly lower, compared to the conventional multilevel inverter topologies. The number of capacitors required in this topology reduces drastically compared to the conventional flying capacitor topology, when the number of levels in the inverter output increases. This topology has better fault tolerance, as it is capable of operating with reduced number of levels, in the entire modulation range, in the event of any failure in the H-bridges. The transient as well as the steady state performance of the nine-level version of the proposed topology is experimentally verified in the entire modulation range including the over-modulation region.

Organic device electrode fabricated by aluminum in nanopowder and bulk form and effect on device properties

Schottky barrier devices of metal/semiconductor/metal structure were fabricated using organic semiconductor polyaniline (PANI) and aluminium thin film cathode. Aluminium contacts were made by thermal evaporation technique using two different forms of metals (bulk and nanopowder). The structure and surface morphology of these films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Grain size of the as-deposited films obtained by Scherrer's method, modified Williamson-Hall method, and SEM were found to be different. Current-voltage (I-V) characteristic of Schottky barrier device structure indicates that the calculated current density (J) for device fabricated from aluminium nanopowder is more than that from aluminium in bulk form.

Vertically aligned ZnO nanorods on flexible substrates for multifunctional device applications: Easy and cost-effective route

Zinc oxide nanorods (ZnO NRs) have been synthesized on flexible substrates by adopting a new and novel three-step process. The as-grown ZnO NRs are vertically aligned and have excellent chemical stoichiometry between its constituents. The transmission electron microscopic studies show that these NR structures are single crystalline and grown along the < 001 > direction. The optical studies show that these nanostructures have a direct optical band gap of about 3.34 eV. Therefore, the proposed methodology for the synthesis of vertically aligned NRs on flexible sheets launches a new route in the development of low-cost flexible devices. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Low-Cost Cloud-Based Design of Smart Rural Energy Device in Microgrid: Perspective India An Energy-On-Demand Service for Rural India

In this paper we present a combination of technologies to provide an Energy-on-Demand (EoD) service to enable low cost innovation suitable for microgrid networks. The system is designed around the low cost and simple Rural Energy Device (RED) Box which in combination with Short Message Service (SMS) communication methodology serves as an elementary proxy for Smart meters which are typically used in urban settings. Further, customer behavior and familiarity in using such devices based on mobile experience has been incorporated into the design philosophy. Customers are incentivized to interact with the system thus providing valuable behavioral and usage data to the Utility Service Provider (USP). Data that is collected over time can be used by the USP for analytics envisioned by using remote computing services known as cloud computing service. Cloud computing allows for a sharing of computational resources at the virtual level across several networks. The customer-system interaction is facilitated by a third party Telecom Service provider (TSP). The approximate cost of the RED Box is envisaged to be under USD 10 on production scale.