abstract: Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) is one of the fastest growing field in silicon industry. Low cost production is key for any company to improve their market share. MEMS testing is challenging since input to test a MEMS device require physical stimulus like acceleration, pressure etc. Also, MEMS device vary with process and requires calibration to make them reliable. This increases test cost and testing time. This challenge can be overcome by combining electrical stimulus based testing along with statistical analysis on MEMS response for electrical stimulus and also limited physical stimulus response data. This thesis proposes electrical stimulus based built in self test(BIST) which can be used to get MEMS data and later this data can be used for statistical analysis. A capacitive MEMS accelerometer is considered to test this BIST approach. This BIST circuit overhead is less and utilizes most of the standard readout circuit. This thesis discusses accelerometer response for electrical stimulus and BIST architecture. As a part of this BIST circuit, a second order sigma delta modulator has been designed. This modulator has a sampling frequency of 1MHz and bandwidth of 6KHz. SNDR of 60dB is achieved with 1Vpp differential input signal and 3.3V supply / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Electrical Engineering 2013

Orientador: Maria Cristina Volpato / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-08T06:11:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Branco_FilipePolese_D.pdf: 1567364 bytes, checksum: 49e978a109d02d28d81bb848765787cd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: O uso do pulp tester ainda não está padronizado na literatura. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar as condições ideais para determinação do limiar basal de resposta pulpar a estímulo elétrico. Duzentos e cinqüenta e seis voluntários sadios e com dentes responsíveis a estímulo elétrico foram selecionados e divididos em 7 estudos. Estímulo elétrico foi aplicado aos dentes em testes sucessivos, com intervalo de 2 minutos entre eles. As variáveis estudadas foram: número de medidas e de voluntários, necessidade de secagem do dente, influência da solução condutora, do operador, do período do dia e da temperatura ambiente, do grupo étnico-racial do voluntário, e do uso de ácido mefenâmico e nimesulida. Foi também avaliada a sensibilidade dolorosa dos voluntários por meio da escala analógica visual (EAV). Os resultados de limiar basal de resposta pulpar foram submetidos aos testes t e de Tukey e os de EAV aos testes de Wilcoxon e Friedman (a=0,05). A média obtida com 3 medidas não diferiu das obtidas com número maior de medidas; a secagem prévia do dente e o uso de gel de flúor neutro levaram a menores valores de limiar pulpar; voluntários de ambos os gêneros apresentam maiores valores de limiar pulpar quando avaliados por operador do gênero feminino. Não houve diferença no limiar pulpar entre os horários 8h, 11h, 14h e 17h, entre as sessões com temperatura ambiente inferior a 15oC ou superior a 25oC, bem como entre as raças amarela, branca e preta, e após administração de dose única de ácido mefenâmico ou de nimesulida quando comparados a placebo. Concluiu-se que para a determinação do limiar basal pulpar após aplicação de estímulo elétrico deve-se fazer a média de pelo menos 3 medidas consecutivas e utilizar no mínimo 20 voluntários; a secagem prévia do dente pode levar à melhor condução do impulso; o gel de flúor neutro deve ser a substância condutora de escolha; o gênero do operador pode exercer influência nos voluntários; o limiar basal pulpar não apresenta ritmo circadiano e não sofre interferência da temperatura ambiente, da etnia do voluntário ou da nimesulida e ácido mefenâmico, administrados em dose única / Abstract: There are some unclear aspects about electrical pulpal threshold measure. The objective of this study was to determine the ideal conditions for pulpal threshold measure. Two hundred and fifty six healthy volunteers with teeth able to respond to electrical stimulus were selected and divided in 7 studies. Pulpal threshold was evaluated by means of an electric pulp tester, with a 2min interval between tests. The variables studied were: number of measures and volunteers, and the influence of moisture, conductive media, gender of the operator, room temperature, period of the day, volunteers¿ ethnicity, and administration of mefenamic acid and nimesulide. Pain sensibility was evaluated by Analogue Visual Scale (VAS). Pulpal threshold data were evaluated by ANOVA and t and Tukey tests; VAS results were submitted to Wilcoxon and Friedman tests. Results: the mean obtained with 3 measures was not dfferent than the obtained with higher number of measures; lower pulpal threshold means were obtained with previous dryness of teeth and neutral fluoride gel as conductive media; male and female volunteers presented higher pulpal threshold mean when evaluated by female operator; no difference in pulpal threshold were observed among ethnic Brazilian groups, yellow, white, and black, among periods of the day (8h, 11h, 14h and 17h), between room temperature bellow 15oC and above 25oC and with the administration of mefenamic acid and nimesulid when compared to placebo. It was concluded that at least 20 volunteers must be measured and 3 measures must be performed to determine electrical pulpal threshold; dryness of teeth can improve electrical conductance; operator gender can influence the volunteers¿ pulpal threshold; pulpal threshold is not influenced by room temperature, volunteer ethnicity, and single dose dministration of mefenamic acid and nimesulide. No circadian pattern was observed for pulpal threshold / Doutorado / Farmacologia, Anestesiologia e Terapeutica / Doutor em Odontologia

O objetivo do presente estudo foi verificar variáveis relevantes no ensino de leitura via o paradigma de equivalência, sobretudo na emergência do controle por unidades menores e leitura recombinativa. Por meio do software EQUIV foram ensinadas relações entre a palavra ditada e impressa (AC) e entre a palavra ditada e a respectiva figura (AB); em seguida eram testadas (1) as relações de equivalência entre figura-palavra impressa (BC) e palavra impressa-figura (CB), e (2) a leitura de novas palavras, formadas pela recombinação das unidades menores presentes nas palavras ensinadas previamente. A variável manipulada na presente pesquisa foi a solicitação para emissão de um comportamento textual nos treinos com tentativas AC. Oito crianças (quatro no grupo controle) participaram do programa, com 21 fases experimentais divididas em quatro tipos básicos: Pré-Teste , Pré-Treino, Treinos e Testes (04 palavras eram ensinadas, 08 ensinadas e testadas e 04 apenas testadas). Depois de aprenderem três conjuntos formados por quatro palavras (compostas por letras e sílabas sistematicamente recombinadas), os participantes mostraram aquisição de leitura com compreensão de palavras e sílabas, recombinação de unidades menores e leitura recombinativa em performances próximas de 100% de acertos. Os Pré e Pós-testes também mostraram que todos os participantes foram capazes de desenvolver o repertório de nomear palavras e sílabas as quais não eram capazes de nomear anteriormente. Entretanto, a comparação entre dois grupos (controle e experimental) sugeriu que a emissão de comportamento textual durante a tarefa não foi uma variável crítica sobre a emergência do controle por unidades menores e leitura recombinativa, já que os resultados foram estatisticamente semelhantes. Conclui-se que, conforme apontam os estudos prévios de Hübner e Hübner e Matos, o número de conjuntos de palavras treinado (o que envolve o treino de múltiplos exemplares) e a forma como as unidades menores que a palavra são recombinadas sistematicamente ao longo do procedimento são as variáveis mais importantes envolvidas na leitura recombinativa e no controle por unidades menores. / The objective of the present study was to verify relevant variables in the teaching of reading through equivalence paradigm, mainly in the emergence of the control by minimal units emergence and recombinative reading. Using the EQUIV software, relations between oral-printed word (AC) and between the oral word-picture were taught (AB). After that, were tested: (1) relations between picture-printed word (BC) and between printed word-picture (CB); and (2) the reading of novel words, which are composed by the minimal units of the words taught previously. The variable manipulated on the present research was a textual behavior request in the AC training trials. Eight children (four on control group) participated in the program, which consists of 21 experimental phases divided in four basic types: pre-test, pre-training, training and tests (04 words were taught, 08 words were taught and tested and 04 words were only tested). After learning three sets of 04 words (composed by letters and syllables systematic recombined), participants showed acquisition of reading comprehension with word and syllable, recombination of minimal units and recombinative reading in closer to 100% correct performances. Pretests and posttests showed that all participants developed the repertoire of oral naming words and syllables that they weren\'t able to name before. Nevertheless, comparison between the two groups suggested that textual behavior request wasn\'t a critical variable over the emergence of control by minimal units and recombinative reading, since both results are statistically similar. It seems to be, according to Hübner and Matos and Hübner previous studies, that the number of word sets trained (which involves multiple exemplars training) and the systematic recombination of minimal units used during procedure are the most important variables involved in recombinative reading and minimal units control.

Abstract The activity of neurons is critically dependent upon the suite of voltage-dependent ion channels expressed in their membranes. In particular, voltage-gated K+ channels are extremely diverse in their function, contributing to the regulation of distinct aspects of neuronal activity by shaping the voltage responses. In this study the role of K+ channels in neural coding is investigated in Drosophila photoreceptors by using biophysical models with parameters derived from the electrophysiological experiments. Due to their biophysical properties, the Shaker channels attenuate the fast transients and amplify the slower signal components, enabling photoreceptors to use their voltage range more effectively. Slow delayed rectifier channels, shown to be encoded by the Shab gene, activate at high light intensities, thereby attenuating the light-induced depolarization and preventing response saturation. Activation of Shab channels also reduces the membrane time constant making it possible to encode faster events. Interactions between the voltage-gated K+ channels and the currents generated by the light induced conductance (LIC) were investigated during naturalistic stimulation in wild type and Shaker mutant photoreceptors. It is shown that in addition to eliminating the Shaker current, the mutation increased the Shab current and affected the current flowing through the LIC. Part of these changes could be attributed to direct feedback from the Shaker channels via the membrane potential. However, it is suggested that also other changes may occur in the LIC due to mutation in K+ channels, possibly during photoreceptor development. Comparison of the Shaker and Shab mutant photoreceptors with the wild type revealed that a concurrent decrease in the steady-state input resistance followed from deletion of the voltage-gated K+ channels. This allowed partial compensation of the compression and saturation caused by the loss of Shaker channels and it maintained the characteristics of the light-voltage relationship in Shab mutant photoreceptors. However, wild type properties were not fully restored in either mutant. Indeed, decreased input resistance results in reduced efficiency of neural processing, assessed by the metabolic cost of information. Results of this study demonstrate the importance of the voltage-gated K+ channels for neural coding precision and highlight the robustness of neuronal information processing gained through regulation of the electrical properties.

The present study determined how object-based alignment effects are influenced by the arrangement of the stimuli and response options. It is well established that the magnitude of these effects differ depending on the mode of responding. This finding has often been used to support claims that viewing photograph images of graspable objects can automatically trigger motor representations, regardless of the intentions of the observer. Our findings instead suggest that the distinction between response modes is primarily a difference in response discriminability. More importantly, it was found that this influence of response discriminability works in a completely opposite manner, dependent on the technique used to center the frying pan stimuli. Pixel-centered stimuli produced a handle-based alignment effect that was enhanced under conditions of high response discriminability. Object-centered stimuli produced a body-based alignment effect that was diminished under conditions of high-response discriminability. These findings provide overwhelming evidence that qualitatively different principles govern the alignment effect found with pixel-centered and object-centered stimuli. Crucially, these finding also provide strong evidence against the notion that motor representations are triggered by images of graspable objects in the absence of an intention to act. / Graduate

This work investigated the effects of various stressors on auditory speech processing using speech-evoked auditory brainstem response (ABR). This work was carried out in three distinct studies: (1) the effects of stimulus rate and noise on the speech-evoked ABR, (2) the effects of direct, early, and later-arriving speech reflections on the speech-evoked ABR, and (3) the effects of self-masking and overlap masking in a reverberant environment using speech-evoked ABR. Results from the first study indicate a complex interaction of fast stimulus rate and noise on the speech-evoked ABR. In particular, dissociation was found between electrophysiological responses to the envelope and the responses to the temporal fine structure or transient waves. The main finding from the second study is that direct sound and early reflections produce similar speech-evoked ABR, while the response to late reverberation shows different characteristics. Results from the third study indicate that severe reverberation significantly weakened the ABR when compared to anechoic or moderate reverberation, while moderate reverberation significantly enhanced the ABR when compared to anechoic speech. Overall, the new findings from this research shed light on the effects of stressors such as noise, increased stimulus rate, and reverberation. Up until now, these effects have mostly been studied perceptually. Our research demonstrates that these effects can be studied electrophysiologically using speech-evoked brainstem responses. This method of investigation permits the probing of particular stages of the auditory pathway and evaluating how neural activity in response to specific elements of speech, such as the fundamental frequency and formants, is affected by different stressors.

Behavior analysts refer to a decrease in response rate following repeated, contingent presentations of a reinforcing stimulus as a product of satiation. Other evidence suggests that these decreases may often be due to habituation to the sensory properties of the reinforcing stimulus. The investigation reported here sought to determine whether decreases in operant responding by 3 adults with developmental disabilities were due to satiation or habituation. During baseline, participants placed poker chips into a container, and no reinforcement was available. Within subsequent phases, participants received diet lemon-lime soda on a fixed-ratio (FR) schedule of reinforcement. In one condition, the color of the soda was constant throughout the session, and in another condition food coloring was added several minutes into the session. Results for at least 2 participants indicated that: (a) soda functioned as a reinforcer for placing poker chips in the can; (b) response rates decreased within the session to baseline levels; and (c) response rates increased following a change in the color of the soda within the session. Results for the third participant were less clear. The results support the argument made by other researchers that the terms habituation (a weakening of a behavior following contact with the reinforcing stimulus) and stimulus specificity (a strengthening of a behavior following a change in the reinforcing stimulus) may be more appropriate descriptors of within-session changes in responding. The factors associated with habituation and satiation, as well as both basic and applied research examples, are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to investigate differences in the stimulus value of the Bender Gestalt designs. It is concerned with both differences in structural values and affective values of the nine figures. The investigation is primarily concerned with the reliability of such differences, and secondarily with the general nature of the differences in stimulus value.

This study compared results of two experiments that tested transfer of function in stimulus equivalence classes in a task dissimilar to (in Experiment I) and similar to (in Experiment II) the task that trained functional responding. Eleven students from UNT participated in return for monetary compensation. Phase 1 and 2 were identical in the two experiments, in which they established stimulus equivalence classes and functional responding, respectively. Each experiment then used different tasks in the third phase to test differential responding. Only participants in Experiment II demonstrated consistent transfer of function. Results are discussed in terms of how task similarity may function as a type of contextual control when there is limited experience with the task.

Hälsoproblemen relaterat till rökning är ett problem som kräver många liv årligen och är ett problem i Sverige, liksom många andra delar i världen. Avmarknadsföring är en av flera lösningarpå detta problem. Målet med avmarknadsföring är att sträva mot regleringar och förändringar fö ratt uppnå mer hälsosamma och socialt hållbara val i samhället. Med hjälp avmarknadsföringsmixen även kallad 4P som används i klassisk marknadsföringsteori kan detta måluppnås och kommer i denna uppsats tas upp som en avmarknadsföringsstrategi av rökning. Olika avmarknadsföringsstrategier har tagits fram med syftet att avråda konsumenterna från att fortsätta röka och den existerande forskning som har gjorts i andra länder har byggts upp av kvantitativaundersökningar med fokus på att undersöka individens beteende såsom attityd och rökvanor tillföljd av avmarknadsföring av cigarettpaket. Denna studie ämnar skapa ökad förståelse till varförkonsumenter röker och hur avmarknadsföring av cigaretter kan påverka konsumenternas beteende i form av reaktion, attityd och köpbeslut genom att studera hur avmarknadsföring av cigaretterpåverkar konsumenter i Sverige. För att uppnå detta har en kvalitativ undersökning gjorts med stödoch vägledning av modellen om konsumentens stimulus-respons samt utforskar i konceptetavmarknadsföring och dess strategier. Modellen om konsumentens stimulus-respons bygger påhur extern stimulans påverkar konsumenter och de olika faktorerna som påverkar konsumentslutgiltiga köpbeslut. Empirin i denna undersökning bygger på semi-strukturerade intervjuer med ett icke slumpmässigturval av respondenter och en intervjuguide som följer specifika fråge teman med avsikt att lösastudiens syfte. Den kvalitativa undersökningen har resulterat i identifiering av faktorer som delsger förklaring till konsumenternas anledningar om varför rökvanor startades men även förklaringartill varför konsumenter väljer att fortsätta röka trots information om rökningens effekter. I analysen lyfter författarna fram de faktorer som har stor påverkan på konsumenternas rökvanoroch beteende gentemot avmarknadsföring av cigaretter i Sverige. Genom den insamlade empirin har forskarna upptäckt att beroende och vanor har stor påverkan på konsuments beteende gentemotden externa stimulansen från avmarknadsföringen. En uppdaterad teori med grund från modellen om konsumentens stimulus-responsmodell presenteras för att ge bättre förståelse för konsumenternas påverkan av avmarknadsföring av cigaretter och som möjligtvis även är applicerbar på andra produkter där det finns risk för beroende. Denna uppdaterade teori är denna kvalitativa studiens bidrag till forskning och kan agera som föregångare till en kvantitativ studieom avmarknadsföring av cigaretter i Sverige.