The study of forming gas plasma on HSG-7000 silsesquioxane-based low-k dielectric film using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

HSG-7000 is a spin-on glass (SOG) low k dielectric material, manufactured by Hitachi Chemical and is silesquioxane (SSQ) based. The dielectric constant (k) of HSG-7000 is claimed to be 2.2. Cu diffusion through nanoporous structure of SSQ based material in Cu/Low k interconnects has been reported as a concern. Approaches to minimize Cu diffusion involve the implementation of a barrier layer between Cu and the low k dielectric material, or surface densification via plasma treatment. This paper discusses the effects of forming gas (93% N₂ + 7% H₂) plasma in an attempt to reduce Cu diffusion through the HSG-7000 film without significant increase in the dielectric constant (k). The FTIR and XPS results suggest a formation of C–N bonds due to the plasma treatment. The depth profile measurement of Cu using XPS confirms the reduction of Cu diffusion through the film with plasma treatment. Results show that plasma treatment of 30–40 s on HSG-7000 will provide a reasonable Cu diffusion resistance while ensuring the increase in k is below 2.4.     

Real-time quality authentication of honey using atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation mass spectrometry (APCI-MS)

The aim of this study was to use gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and APCI-MS techniques to detect adulteration in honey. The key volatile compounds in the headspace of the adulterated honey were marked by GC-MS and their representative fragment ions were utilised in scanning honey samples using the real-time APCI-MS system. The PLS models validated using independent data sets resulted in coefficient of the determination () of 0.97 and 0.96 and root mean square error in prediction (RMSEP) of 2.62 and 2.45 for the GC-MS and APCI-MS data sets respectively. The most efficient volatiles from GC-MS analysis and their corresponding fragment ions m/z from APCI-MS data analysis were then identified and used to develop new PLS models to predict the level of adulteration. The best PLS model gave of 0.95 and RMEP of 2.60% in the independent validation set indicating that the model was very accurate in predicting the level of adulteration.     

Improved quadtree image segmentation approach to region information

Images are full of information and most often, little information is desired for subsequent processing. Hence, region of interest has key importance in image processing. Quadtree image segmentation has been widely used in many image processing applications to locate the region of interest for further processing. There are also variable block-size image coding techniques to effectively reduce the number of transmitted parts. This paper presents quadtree partition technique as a pre-processing step in image processing to determine what part should be more heterogeneous than the others. It also introduces an idea to solve the problem of squared images. Finally, proposed approach is implemented and analysed. The simulation of the Matlab code of the quadtree is represented by all algorithms and the figures. Thus, achieved results are promising in the state of the art.     

Gamification Solutions to Enhance Software User Engagement—A Systematic Review

Gamification is the use of video-game mechanics and elements in nongame contexts to enhance user engagement and performance. The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review to have an in-depth investigation into the existing gamification solutions targeted at solving user engagement problems in different categories of software. We carried out this systematic review by proposing a framework of gamifying process, which is the basis for comparison of existing gamification solutions. In order to report the review, the primary studies are categorized according to the following: a) gamified software and their platforms; b) elements of the gamifying process; c) gamification solutions in each software type; d) gamification solutions for software user engagement problems; e) gamification solutions in general; and f) effects of gamification on software user engagement and performance. Based on the search procedure and criteria, a total of 78 primary studies were extracted. Most of the studies focused on educational and social software, which were developed for web or mobile platforms. We concluded that the number of studies on motivating users to use software content, solving problems in learning software, and using real identity is very limited. Furthermore, few studies have been carried out on gamifying the following software categories: productivity software, cloud storage, utility software, entertainment software, search engine software, tool software, fitness software, software engineering, information worker software, and health-care software. In addition, a large number of gamification solutions are relatively simple and require improvement. Thus, for future studies, researchers can work on the items discovered in this review; they can improve the quality of the current gamified systems by using a wide variety of game mechanics and interface elements, utilizing a combination of contextual types of rewards and giving users the ability to use received rewards “in-game” and “out-game.”     

Optimize adaptive media playout using dynamic fuzzy logic control for video streaming

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Adaptive Media Playout (AMP) controls adapt playout rate to prevent buffer outage and to reduce delay in playout. Most AMP techniques use buffer fullness or its...     

The Inhibition Performance of trans-Cinnamaldehyde as a Green Compound for Mild Steel in Acidic 1 M HCl Medium: Correlation between Experimental and Theoretical Studies

Protection of Metals and Physical Chemistry of Surfaces - Corrosion inhibition propriety of (2E)-3-phenylprop-2-enal, known as trans-cinnamaldehyde (TCA) for mild steel in 1 M HCl medium was...     

Temburong Bridge,Brunei – Design of two cable stayed bridges

The Temburong Bridge Project is a 30 km long dual two‐lane highway crossing over the Brunei Bay. It will connect the relatively isolated Brunei district of Temburong to the other three Brunei districts. The main objective of the project is to stimulate economic growth in the Temburong region by connecting it to the country's airport and ports. The alignment crosses two navigation channels resulting in the need for two cable stayed bridges – the Brunei Channel Bridge (145 m main span) and the Eastern Channel Bridge (260 m main span). The design of these cable stayed bridges is one of the first applications of the Eurocode to a fully concrete cable stayed bridge. Both cable stayed bridges draw on strong Islamic architectural influences from the region to form a tower shape that is unique and instantly recognisable. Temburong Brücke, Brunei – Entwurf von zwei Schrägkabelbrücken Die Temburong Brücke ist eine 30 km lange Verbindung über die Brunei Bucht mit zwei Richtungsfahrbahnen mit je zwei Fahrstreifen. Sie wird den relativ isolierten Distrikt Temburong mit den anderen drei Distrikten Bruneis verbinden. Hauptanliegen des Projekts ist die Stimulierung von ökonomischem Wachstum in der Temburong Region, indem sie an den Flughafen und Seehafen des Landes angebunden wird. Die Trassierung erfordert die Überquerung zweier Schiffahrtsrouten. Dies wird mit der Anordnung zweier Schrägkabelbrücken ermöglicht, der Brunei Channel Brücke (145 m Hauptspannweite) und der Eastern Channel Brücke (260 m Hauptspannweite). Die Bemessung der beiden Brücken stellt eine der ersten Anwendungen des Eurocode auf Schrägkabelbrücken mit Betonüberbau dar. Optisch sind die beiden Brücken geprägt von der islamischen Architektur der Umgebung, die Pylonform ist ein besonderes Erkennungsmerkmal der Brücken.     

MQBV: multicast quality of service swarm bee routing for vehicular ad hoc networks

Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are witnessing in recent years a rapid development for road transmissions and are considered as one of the most important types of next generation networks, in which drivers can have access anywhere and anytime to information. However, vehicles have to deal with many challenges such as the links failures due to their frequent mobility as well as limited degrees of freedom in their mobility patterns. In this paper, we propose a new quality of service multicast and multipath routing protocol for VANETs, based on the paradigm of bee's communication, called multicast quality of service swarm bee routing for VANETs (MQBV). The MQBV finds and maintains robust routes between the source node and all multicast group members. Therefore, the average end‐to‐end delay and the normalized overhead load should be reduced, while at the same time increasing the average bandwidth and the packet delivery ratio. Extensive simulation results were obtained using ns‐2 simulator in a realistic VANET settings and demonstrated the efficiency of the proposed protocol. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.