This work quantitatively analyses vessel traffic service (VTS) communications in ports and suggests improvements for more efficient control of the service. For this purpose, analysis of VTS communications was performed on VHF channel 12 in Busan North Port, South Korea. This communications service follows the queue of M/G/1 (the arrivals have a Poisson distribution, the service time is characterized by a general distribution, and with a single server). The degree of congestion of the communication channel was shown as the utilisation rate of the queue, which was 67·7% at peak times and 29·6% at non-peak times. To reduce congestion in the communication channel, we propose to separate the peak time control channel, exclude passing reporting, and decrease the reporting time. With separation of the peak time control channel, the utilisation rate decreased by 41·1%. The utilisation rate decreased by 5·7% when passing reporting was omitted, and by 8·3% when reporting time was reduced by 60%. The results of this study can be used as basic policy data to improve VTS, including reinforcement of the VTS officer's role and adjustment of the control report contents.

The sap of Acer mono has been called ‘bone-benefit-water’ in Korea because of its mineral and sugar content. In particular, the calcium concentration of the sap of A. mono is 37·5 times higher than commercial spring water. In the current study, we examined whether A. mono sap could improve or prevent osteoporosis-like symptoms in a mouse model. Male mice (3 weeks old) were fed a low-calcium diet supplemented with 25, 50 or 100 % A. mono sap, commercial spring water or a high calcium-containing solution as a beverage for 7 weeks. There were no differences in weekly weight gain and food intake among all the groups. Mice that were given a low-calcium diet supplemented with commercial spring water developed osteoporosis-like symptoms. To assess the effect of sap on osteoporosis-like symptoms, we examined serum calcium concentration, and femur density and length, and carried out a histological examination. Serum calcium levels were significantly lower in mice that received a low-calcium diet supplemented with commercial spring water (the negative control group), and in the 25 % sap group compared to mice fed a normal diet, but were normal in the 50 and 100 % sap and high-calcium solution groups. Femur density and length were significantly reduced in the negative control and 25 % sap groups. These results indicate that a 50 % sap solution can mitigate osteoporosis-like symptoms induced by a low-calcium diet. We also examined the regulation of expression of calcium-processing genes in the duodenum and kidney. Duodenal TRPV6 and renal calbindin-D9k were up-regulated dose-dependently by sap, and the levels of these factors were higher than those attained in the spring water-treated control. The results demonstrate that the sap of A. mono ameliorates the low bone density induced by a low-calcium diet, most likely by increasing calcium ion absorption.

Effects of pedagogical interventions with visual input enhancement on grammar learning have been investigated by a number of researchers during the past decade and a half. The present review delineates this research domain via a systematic synthesis of 16 primary studies (comprising 20 unique study samples) retrieved through an exhaustive literature search. The overall magnitude of visual input enhancement was addressed by calculating and aggregating effect size d values. The results indicate that second language readers provided with enhancement-embedded texts barely outperformed those who were exposed to unenhanced texts with the same target forms flooded in them (d = 0.22). A theoretical tension between form and meaning was indicated by a small but negative effect size value for learners' meaning processing (d = −0.26). The importance of improving methodological practices in this research domain, including the reporting of statistical and treatment-related information and the counteracting of a possible publication bias, was also revealed by the synthetic analyses and is further discussed.

The features of dynamic transformation for grain refinement of low carbon steels are presented and representative results of trial hot strip productions are reported. Laboratory experiments have established that dynamic transformation occurs in under-cooled austenite under suitable deformation conditions. Trial production results showed that utilizing the dynamic transformation concept, grain refinement of ferrite is feasible in commercial hot strip mills: a ferrite grain size of 2~3 μm can be obtained, along with various controlled second phases.

We report on the basic characteristics and gas sensing operation of density controlled single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) thin films on poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) substrates The vacuum filteration and PDMS mold transfer method allowed the density of SWCNT distributed to have non-local uniformity. The optical transparency of the SWCNT thin films was inversely proportional to SWCNT density and conductivity. The flexible SWCNT thin film showed high mechanical stability with negligible change in conductance after being bent by 180o. We evaluated its gas sensing operation depending on SWCNT density and bias voltage. It was shown that lower SWCNT density thin films had higher sensitivity to NH3 gas, which may be due to higher exposed surface area for lower density SWCNT thin films. Also, we found that lower bias voltage devices showed faster recovery times. The results show that vacuum filteration and mold transfer method produced flexible SWCNT thin films that have stable mechanical and electrical characteristics and also stable gas sensing capabilities making them applicable to future flexible integrated sensors.

The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of computed tomography (CT) images in determining the anatomy and topographic relationship between various important structures. Using 40 ears from 20 patients with various otological diseases, a 3D reconstruction based on the image data from spiral high-resolution CT was performed by segmentation, volume-rendering and surface-rendering algorithms on a personal computer. The 3D display of the middle and inner ear structures was demonstrated in detail. Computer-assisted measurements, many of which could not be easily measured in vivo, of the reconstructed structures provided accurate anatomic details that improved the surgeon’s understanding of spatial relationships. A 3D reconstruction of temporal bone CT might be useful for education and increasing understanding of the anatomical structures of the temporal bone. However, it will be necessary to confirm the correlation between the 3D reconstructed images and histological sections through a validation study.

Conventional Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) was modified by adding up a small amount of SiOx, using co-sputtering technique from multiple targets. The SiOx content was gradually increased by increasing the power applied to SiOx target, up to 8 volume percent. The sheet resistance of SiOx-containing GST exponentially increased, when the room-temperature-deposited samples were annealed at 300 °C. Transmission electron microscopy images revealed that no SiOx particulates were formed, which was confirmed by Gattan image filtering. It was indicated by x-ray diffraction patterns that the grain size of SiOx-containing GST is smaller than normal GST with lattice locally distorted at its crystalline state, suggesting that molecular SiOx is homogeneously distributed throughout the GST matrix. We observed that the crystallization temperature of SiOx-containing GST is gradually elevated by increasing the SiOx content, while the melting point decreased. These observations led to the reset current reduction, which is a critical requirement for the high density PRAM.

This report demonstrates the effects of IR and UV laser energy on common semiconductor layer stack materials used for DRAM laser fuses. By moving from IR to UV wavelengths it is possible to significantly shrink the laser spot diameter from ∼1.6 μm to 0.8 μm. Effects and concerns for the absorption of UV energy by Si, SiO2, nitrides, and oxynitrides are also presented.

Until now, little was known about the mode of parotid involvement in external auditory canal (EAC) carcinoma. The incidence of parotid node metastasis and direct parotid invasion was examined in patients with EAC carcinoma. The study comprised 11 patients with squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and 10 patients with adenoid cystic carcinomas (ACC). A retrospective review of the surgical specimens was undertaken with specific reference to parotid node metastasis and parotid invasion. Parotid node metastasis was noted only in two cases of advanced staged SCC, whereas none of the ACC patients showed parotid node metastasis. Direct parotid invasion occurred only in advanced staged SCC,however, it did occur in early stage ACC. Our data indicated that elective parotidectomy for control of occult parotid node metastasis is necessary only in advanced SCC carcinoma, whereas parotid management to secure adequate safety margins is mandatory for advanced SCC and all cases of ACC.

RF MEMS(Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System) switch technology is one of powerful solution for future RF systems. This technology provides low insertion loss, High linearity and broad bandwidth. Wide driving membrane used MEMS switch can reduce driving voltage but it is easy to bend because of the stress gradient. In order to solve this problem we fabricated Au cantilever in various sputtering condition and various substrate materials. As a result of this experiment, we fabricated cantilever which was bent within 1 um, with 2 um thickness and 340 um length. We applied this condition to RF MEMS switch and we fabricated switch membrane within 1 um bend, under 10MPa stress gradient.

This paper compared two different film deposition processes for formation of TiN barrier layers, conventional TiCl4-based chemical vapor deposition and atomic layer deposition (ALD). The 30nm thick TiN film deposited by conventional TiCl4-based CVD at the process temperature of 600°C followed by NH3 post-deposition anneal showed about 180 μΩcm of resistivity, over 95 % of step coverage for the pattern aspect ratio of 6 on 0.35 μm contact diameters, and below 2 at.% of chlorine contents in the film. Meanwhile, the films deposited by ALD at 100°C lower process temperature than CVD showed much better film properties even without post-deposition anneal. It showed lower resistivity values and lower chlorine incorporation along with better step coverage characteristics. More detailed material analysis was done by AFM, SEM, and AES.

A new photo-electrochemical etching method was developed and used to fabricate GaN MESFETs. The etching process uses photoresist for masking illumination and the etchant is KOH based. The etching rate with 1.0 mol% of KOH for n-GaN is as high as 1600 Å/min under the Hg illumination of 35 mW/cm/2. The MESFET saturates at VDS = 4 V and pinches off at VGS = −3 V. The maximum drain current of the device is 230 mA/mmn at 300 K and the value is remained almost same for 500 K operation. The characteristic frequencies, fT and fmax, are 6.35 GHz and 10.25 GHz, respectively. Insensitivity of the device performance to temperature was attributed to the defect-related high activation energy of dopants for ionization and band-bending at the subgrain boundaries in GaN thin films.

The influence of ion bombardment on the mechanical stress and microstructure of sputtered silicon nitride (SiNx) films has been systematically investigated. Applied substrate bias voltage was used to control the bombardment energy in a radio frequency (rf) reactive magnetron sputtering system. The resultant films were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), stress and chemical etch rate measurements. As the bias voltage was increased, the internal stress in SiNx films became increasingly compressive and reached a value of about 18.3 × 109 dyne/cm2 at higher bias voltages. These correlated well with the transition of the film microstructure from a porous microcolumnar structure containing large void to the more densely packed one. The obtained results can be explained in terms of atomic peening by energetic particles, leading to densification of the microstructure. It was also found that the amount of argon incorporated in the film is increased with increasing bias voltage, whereas the oxygen content is decreased. The lowest etch rate in buffered HF solution, approximately 1.2 Å/sec, was observed with the application of a substrate bias of -50 V.

MeV ion induced damage and annealing behavior in Si are reported using 3 ion species such as B, P and Si. Si self implantations were done to reveal the intrinsic behavior of secondary defect formation by excluding the possibility of chemical interactions between substrate atoms and dopant atoms. Experimental results of B and P implantations were compared to those of Si. TEM observations showed that interstitial type secondary defects are exclusively formed at around Rp. DCXRD rocking curve analyses indicated that an isolated layer of (+) strain is built up at around Rp after strain relaxation by annealing. Sources for secondary defects were thought to be Si self interstitials. Atomistic mechanisms of secondary defect formation and the effect of ion species on them are discussed.