Photovoltaic devices fabricated from blends of copper indium sulfur (CIS) and poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) are demonstrated and cell performance is measured. The CIS material was made into ...nanocrystalline particles by polyol route. Both fabrication processes and parameters are adjusted to achieve optimal cell performance. These include selection of four different solvents used for dissolving both the P3HT and CIS for the formation of active layer, different concentration of CIS mixed into the polymer material leading to proper dispersion of the nanoparticles, and different baking temperatures used to vaporize the solvent. Optimal processing conditions are discussed. However, more effort is needed to increase the energy conversion efficiency.
In this paper, an autonomous control scheme is proposed for humanoid robot to accomplish the stair-climbing mission. At first, we design a fuzzy based auto-balance gait controller and adopt the zero ...moment point (ZMP) criterion to construct the basic motion patterns. Next we propose a ten-step stair-climbing control scheme. For acquiring the information from the environment, two kinds of sensors, the accelerometer and the force sensor are utilized. Experimental results demonstrate that the developed humanoid robot can successfully accomplish the stair-climbing mission though stair steps are with different height.
This paper proposes a novel dynamic logic which not only has a lower output parasitic capacitance but also has a switchable characteristic to achieve the speed improvement in the application of ...programmable divider. The speed of some logic circuits is discussed in this paper. A 16-GHz divide-by-two frequency divider based on the proposed dynamic logic has been demonstrated in TSMC 0.13-mum CMOS process, too. After a successful simulation, the implemented frequency divider has an operating range from 10.5 to 16.5 GHz and a maximum input sensitivity of 5 mV in amplitude at 13.5 GHz under a supply voltage of 1.3 V and a core power consumption of 4.7 mW.
This paper presents the research and development of a novel design and implementation of the light electric vehicle for the homecare of elderly use. The research efforts of one-year integration ...project is reported and discussed. Along with the developed web-based interactive platform, the aspects of user needs, application feedbacks, and human factors may be taken into account in research and development for the distant sites of varied research groups. The purpose of this study is to develop a light electric vehicle that may be used not only indoor for facilitating the mobility of elderly, but also outdoor for easing the transportation. Some innovation designs in varied areas such as industrial design, biomedical engineering, mechanical design, power electronics, communication technology, and information management are proposed and realized. This proposed vehicle may have the multiple functions good for homecare use.
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) films were fabricated by cosputtering titanium (Ti) target and SiO2 or Si slice with ion-beam-sputtering deposition (IBSD) technique and were postannealed at 450 deg C for 6 ...h. The variations of oxygen bonding, which included high-binding-energy oxygen (HBO), bridging oxygen (BO), low-binding-energy oxygen (LBO), and three chemical states of titanium (Ti4+, Ti3+ and Ti2+) were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The enhancement of HBO and reduction of BO in O 1s spectra as functions of SiO2 or Si amount in cosputtered film imply the formation of Si-O-Ti linkage. Corresponding increase of Ti3+ in Ti 2p spectra further confirmed the property modification of the cosputtered film resulting from the variation of the chemical bonding. An observed correlation between the chemical structure and optical properties, refractive index and extinction coefficient, of the SiO2 or Si cosputtered films demonstrated that the change of chemical bonding in the film results in the modification of optical properties. Furthermore, it was found that the optical properties of the cosputtered films were strongly depended on the cosputtering targets. In case of the Si cosputtered films both the refractive indices and extinction coefficients were reduced after postannealing, however, the opposite trend was observed in SiO2 cosputtered films.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
The mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a profound global threat due to its high rate of contagion and the lack of vaccine or effective treatment. Suramin is a symmetric polyanionic ...naphthylurea that is widely used in the clinical treatment of parasite infections. Numerous studies have reported the broad antiviral activities of suramin; however, inhibition effects against CHIKV have not yet been demonstrated. The aim of this study was thus to investigate the antiviral effect of suramin on CHIKV infection and to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying inhibition using plaque reduction assay, RT-qPCR, western blot analysis, and plaque assay. Microneutralization assay was used to determine the EC50 of suramin in the CHIKV-S27 strain as well as in three other clinical strains (0611aTw, 0810bTw and 0706aTw). Time-of-addition was used to reveal the anti-CHIKV mechanism of suramin. We also evaluated anti-CHIKV activity with regard to viral entry, virus release, and cell-to-cell transmission. Cytopathic effect, viral RNA, viral protein, and the virus yield of CHIKV infection were shown to diminish in the presence of suramin in a dose-dependent manner. Suramin was also shown the inhibitory activities of the three clinical isolates. Suramin inhibited the early progression of CHIKV infection, due perhaps to interference with virus fusion and binding, which subsequently prevented viral entry. Results of a molecular docking simulation indicate that suramin may embed within the cavity of the E1/E2 heterodimer to interfere with their function. Suramin was also shown to reduce viral release and cell-to-cell transmission of CHIKV. In conclusion, Suramin shows considerable potential as a novel anti-CHIKV agent targeting viral entry, extracellular transmission, and cell-to-cell transmission.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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