This paper describes a retinal prosthetic device using a modified pulse frequency modulation (PFM) based photosensor with a standard CMOS technology. The output waveform of the PFM based photosensor is modified to stimulate retinal cells effectively. Two improvements are achieved. First modification is to restrict the maximum output pulse frequency to protect cells and also to shift photosensit...

Formaldehyde (FA) is endogenously produced in live systems and has been implicated in a diverse array of pathophysiological processes. To disentangle the detailed molecular mechanisms of FA biology, a reliable method for monitoring FA changes in live cells would be indispensable. Although there have been several fluorescent probes reported to detect FA, most are limited by the slow detection ki...

An On-pixel Analog-to-Digital Converter based on both PFM and PWM schemes is reported. The proposed architecture uses a limited number of transistors that can be implemented in a small silicon area resulting in a 23% fill-factor. The digital sensor can be extemally configured in order to operate under either the PFM or PWM scheme. At high-light intensities, the PFM scheme is replaced by the PWM...

Dentin is a mesenchymal tissue, and, as such, is based on a collagenous matrix that is reinforced by apatite mineral. Collagen fibrils show piezoelectricity, a phenomenon that is used by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) to obtain high-resolution images. We applied PFM to image human dentin with 10-nm resolution, and to test the hypothesis that zones of piezoactivity, indicating the presence...

A mechanism for the switching behavior of (111)-oriented Pb(Zr, Ti)O3-based 1 × 1.5 μm2 capacitors has been investigated using three-dimensional piezoresponse force microscopy (3D-PFM). A combination of vertical and lateral piezoresponse force microscopy (VPFM and LPFM) has been used to map the out-of-plane and the in-plane components of the polarization. The three-dimensional polarization dist...

Tackling climate change and environmental sustainability requires collaboration of multiple stakeholders, across several sectors. Traditionally, government responses to issues have tended come from regulation, taxation, subsidies. This article is concerned with taking a holistic approach integrating into policy practice through public financial management (PFM) proposes incorporating features l...

We observed a new approach being adopted in the software industry that combines a business model with strong technical support. This Product Flow Model combines aspects of the Product Line model with workflow concepts for virtual enterprises. The Product Flow Model (PFM) addresses the costly ongoing maintenance of major products being delivered to customers. When such maintenance is provided by...

OBJECTIVE To determine which anthropometric measurement is the most reliable alternative for fat distribution as measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). DESIGN Population-based survey carried out in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A total of 376 individuals (200 women) with a mean age of 36.5 years and mean body mass index (BMI) of 24.0 (+/-3.1) kg/m2 underwent ...

OBJECTIVES To determine the ability of children and adolescents with acute asthma exacerbations to adhere to national guidelines for proper metered-dose inhaler (MDI) and peak flow meter (PFM) technique and to define characteristics associated with improper use. DESIGN A prospective study in which the patients were instructed to use a placebo MDI or a PFM in the emergency department exactly a...

OBJECTIVES This retrospective survey assessed the clinical survival of zirconia-based crowns (PFZ) and conventional porcelain- fused-to-metal (PFM) crowns on posterior teeth in private practice. METHOD AND MATERIALS A print survey of 13 private practitioners was conducted to assess the long-term survival of previously placed full-coverage crowns. The practitioners reported a total of 2,182 pr...