bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Energy Harvesting From Heartbeat Using Piezoelectric Beams With Fan-Folded Configuration and Added Tip Mass
Authors: Ansari M. H. , Karami M. Amin
Published: January 2016

A fan-folded piezoelectric energy harvester is designed to generate electricity using heartbeat vibrations. This energy harvester consists of several bimorph beams stacked on top of each other making a fan-folded shape. Each beam has a brass substrate and two piezoelectric patches attached on both sides of it. These beams are connected to each other by rigid beams. One end of the device is clamped to the wall and the other end is free to vibrate. A tip mass is placed at the free end to enhance the output power of the device and reduce the natural frequency of the system.

High natural frequency is one major concern about the microscaled energy harvesters. The size for this energy harvester is 1 cm by 1 cm by 1 cm, which makes the natural frequency very high. By utilizing the fan-folded geometry and adding tip mass and link mass to the configuration, this natural frequency is reduced to the desired range.

The generated electricity can be used to power up a pacemaker. If enough electricity is generated, the pacemaker operates without having a battery and the patient does not need to have a surgery every seven to ten years to have the battery replaced. The power needed for a pacemaker to operate is about 1 microwatt. In this paper, the natural frequencies and mode shapes of fan-folded energy harvesters with added tip mass and link mass are analytically derived. The electro-mechanical coupling has been included in the model and the expression for the multi-mode power frequency response function is calculated.
Experimental Investigation and Model Predictions of a NiMnGa Alloy’s Response to Three Dimensional Magneto-Mechanical Loading
Authors: Dikes Jason L. , Feigenbaum Heidi P. , Ciocanel Constantin , Guiel Roger
Published: January 2016

Researchers have attempted to model the magneto-mechanical behavior of magnetic shape memory alloys (MSMAs) for over a decade, but all of the models developed to date have only been validated against experimental data generated under two-dimensional loading conditions. As efforts have been underway to develop models able to predict the most general (i.e. 3D) loading conditions for the material, there is a need for experimental data to support the calibration and validation of these models. This paper presents magneto-mechanical data from experiments where a MSMA specimen whose microstructure accommodates three martensite variants is subjected to three-dimensional magneto-mechanical loading. To the best of our knowledge, all prior experimental investigations on MSMA have been performed on samples accommodating two martensite variants and exposed to two-dimensional magneto-mechanical loads. The experimental results from the 3D loading of the three variant MSMA specimen are used to calibrate and validate a 3D model developed by this group [LaMaster et al. (2014)]. This model assumes that three martensite variants coexist in the material. The LaMaster et al. model captures the general trends seen in the experimental data, but does not predict the data with a high degree of accuracy. Possible reasons for the mismatch between experimental data and model predictions are discussed.
Characterization of Mechanoluminescent Composites and Their Applications for SHM of Polymer Composites
Authors: Krishnan Srivatsava , Vijayaraghavan Prasant , Sundaresan Vishnubaba
Published: January 2016

Mechanoluminescence (ML) is a property of inorganic and organic materials that describes the emission of light due from the application of force. Inorganic crystals (mostly phosphors) and certain organic macromolecules exhibit elastico-ML and are a natural fit for structural health monitoring (SHM) of composite structures. Composites with particulate ML crystals enable the visualization of stress distribution over a plane and over contoured surfaces in a spatially continuous manner. Imaging ML composites with affordable high-resolution imaging methods further enables the creation of high-resolution validation method for computational methods. Also, with the embedding of suitable photo-detectors for signal detection, the need for additional wiring, sensor electronics and high-level electronics is eliminated. In this conference proceedings technical publication, the application of commercially available ZnS:Cu, Mn phosphors for SHM of polymer composites will be presented via experimental and structural simulation. Results demonstrate the dependence of intensity of elastico-ML (in cd/cm2) on strain rate, strain and composition (w/w of ML particulates). The experiments show methods to fabricate elastic coupons of phosphors in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and subsequent methods for application in SHM. The structures are excited at 5Hz to 17.5Hz to develop empirical relationships between strain rate and EML intensity and it is shown that the intensity increases nonlinearly with the magnitude of stress/strain rate. A range of stresses transferred to the EML particles by the PDMS matrix is also numerically predicted. The numerical simulations show the importance of interfacial binding in the transfer of stress and subsequent EML emission. These results also provided a basis for validation and improvement of structural simulation models.
A Real-Time Simulation for Path Planning in Needle Insertion Tasks
Authors: Konh Bardia , Hutapea Parsaoran
Published: January 2016

In the last two decades it has been proposed to use actuation forces of shape memory alloy wires to develop an active needling tool to facilitate the conventional needle-based procedures. In these procedures it is always desired to guide the needle though an accurate trajectory reaching the target location. In some cases it is also desired to maintain a curved path to avoid obstacles and prevent damage to sensitive organs. Therefore, it is of a great importance to investigate the interactions of needle within tissue and understand the mechanics of the needle insertion procedure. The nonlinear properties of the deforming tissue while needle is inserted make the prediction of the needle tip placement difficult. Previous studies include experimental and analytical investigations based on a particular tissue properties and needle shape. In this work mechanics of a bevel-tipped needle inserted into soft tissue has been investigated via numerical simulation. The nonlinear properties of the tissue have been implemented in the model. This model has been generated in LS-DYNA software using Arbitrary-Eulerian-Lagrangian formulation for the solid-fluid interactions. Total insertion depth of 150mm of a 0.5mm diameter needle has been modeled. The small stiff element sizes of the needle dictate an expensive computational time. In order to have reasonable computational costs many assumptions were made such as decreasing the Young’s Modulus of the needle and tissue by the same factor. Needle insertion tests have also been performed to evaluate the accuracy of the simulations. The error of less than 10% was found and therefore validated our simulation approach. Using this model it would be possible to predict the steerability of different configurations of the needle inside the tissue. It can also be used for surgical simulation and training purposes and path planning.
Damage Imaging and Quantification Using Spectral Field
Authors: Tian Zhenhua , Yu Lingyu
Published: January 2016

This paper presents damage imaging and quantification by using the spectral field of Lamb waves. The spectral field is acquired through a piezoelectric transducer (PZT)-scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (SLDV) sensing. A wideband chirp signal is used for PZT excitation in order to generate wideband Lamb waves. With the SLDV, the time-space wavefield is acquired, and transformed into the spectral field representation through Fourier transform. The spectral field, which contains wideband Lamb wave responses of the structure, is further analyzed for damage detection and quantification. Using the spatial wavenumber analysis, the local wavenumber at each location are obtained, and represented as a spatial wavenumber image which can be used for damage detection and evaluation. Moreover, the dispersion curve regression method is developed to quantify the thickness change of a defect. For verification, experiments are performed on aluminum plates with blind holes of different depths. The experimental results show that the blind holes can be detected by both the spatial wavenumber imaging and dispersion curve regression. In addition, the dispersion curve regression can further quantify the depths of the blind holes.
Hydrodynamic Thrust Generation and Power Consumption Investigations for Piezoelectric Fins With Different Aspect Ratios
Authors: Shahab Shima , Tan David , Erturk Alper
Published: January 2016

Bio-inspired hydrodynamic thrust generation using piezoelectric transduction has recently been explored using Macro-Fiber Composite (MFC) actuators. The MFC technology strikes a balance between the actuation force and structural deformation levels for effective swimming performance, and additionally offers geometric scalability, silent operation, and ease of fabrication. Recently we have shown that mean thrust levels comparable to biological fish of similar size can be achieved using MFC fins. The present work investigates the effect of length-to-width (L/b) aspect ratio on the hydrodynamic thrust generation performance of MFC cantilever fins by accounting for the power consumption level. It is known that the hydrodynamic inertia and drag coefficients are controlled by the aspect ratio especially for L/b<5. The three MFC bimorph fins explored in this work have the aspect ratios of 2.1, 3.9, and 5.4. A nonlinear electrohydroelastic model is employed to extract the inertia and drag coefficients from the vibration response to harmonic actuation for the first bending mode. Experiments are then conducted for various actuation voltage levels to quantify the mean thrust resultant and power consumption levels for different aspect ratios. Variation of the thrust coefficient of the MFC fins with aspect ratio is also modeled and validated.
2-Scale Hierarchical Multiscale Modeling of Piezoresistive Response in Polymer Nanocomposite Bonded Explosives
Authors: Talamadupula Krishna K. , Chaurasia Adarsh K. , Seidel Gary D.
Published: January 2016

The current work aims to explore the effective piezoresistive response of polymer bonded explosive (PBX) materials where the polymer medium is reinforced with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The effective piezoresistive response of these nanocomposite bound polymer explosives (NCBX) is evaluated using micromechanics based 2-scale hierarchical model connecting the CNT-polymer nanocomposite scale (nanoscale) to the explosive grain structure scale (microscale). The binding nanocomposite medium is modeled as electromechanical cohesive zones between adjacent explosive grains which are representative of effective electromechanical response of CNT-polymer nanocomposites. The hierarchical framework developed here is used to explore key features of the NCBX microstructure, e.g. ratio of grain to nanocomposite stiffness, ratio of grain to nanocomposite conductivities etc., and related to the NCBX effective piezoresistive response. The results obtained from the current work show dependence of effective NCBX piezoresistive properties on each of these microstructural features with and without interfacial damage between the explosive grains.
A Sub-Surface Model of Solar Power for Distributed Marine Sensor Systems
Authors: Hahn Gregory G. , Morgan Eric R. , Shafer Michael W.
Published: January 2016

The capabilities of distributed sensor systems, such as wildlife telemetry tags, could be significantly enhanced through the application of energy harvesting. For animal telemetry systems, supplemental energy would allow for longer tag deployments, wherein more data could be collected, enhancing our temporal and spatial comprehension of the hosts activities and/or environments. There are various transduction methods that could be employed for energy harvesting in aquatic environments. Photovoltaic elements have not been widely deployed in the subsurface marine environments despite a significant potential. In addition to wildlife telemetry systems, photovoltaic energy harvesting systems could also serve as a means of energy supply for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), as well as submersible buoys for oceanographic data collection. Until now, the use of photovoltaic cells for underwater energy harvesting has generally been disregarded as a viable energy source in this arena, with only one company currently offering solar modules integrated with marine telemetry tags. In this article, we develop a model of power available from photovoltaic cells deployed in a sub-surface marine environment. We cover the methods and tools used to estimate solar energy at depth, including the effects of: latitude and longitude, reflected solar energy off of the oceans surface, solar irradiance lost due to the absorption and turbidity of the sea water, cloud cover, etc. We present the availability of this solar energy source in the context of the energy requirements of some of these sensor systems, such as marine bio-loggers. Additionally, we apply our model to simulate the energy harvested on specific marine species in which high fidelity depth information is known. We also apply our model to simulate solar cells at certain depths under the ocean to gain a general understanding of the solar energy available at these depths.
Catch bond interaction allows cells to attach to strongly hydrated interfaces
Authors: Hanke-Roos Maximilian , Meseck Georg R. , Rosenhahn Axel
Published: January 2016

Hyaluronans are a class of glycosaminoglycans that are widespread in the mammalian body and serve a variety of functions. Their most striking characteristic is their pronounced hydrophilicity and their capability to inhibit unspecific adhesion when present at interfaces. Catch-bond interactions are used by the CD44 receptor to interact with this inert material and to roll on the surfaces coated with hyaluronans. In this minireview, the authors discuss the general properties of hyaluronans and the occurrence and relevance of the CD44 catch-bond interaction in the context of hematopoiesis, cancer development, and leukemia.
Perceptions of emergency care in Kenyan communities lacking access to formalised emergency medical systems: a qualitative study
Authors: Broccoli Morgan C , Calvello Emilie J B , Skog Alexander P , Wachira Benjamin , Wallis Lee A
Published: January 2016

Objectives

We undertook this study in Kenya to understand the community's emergency care needs and barriers they face when trying to access care, and to seek community members’ thoughts regarding high impact solutions to expand access to essential emergency services.

Design

We used a qualitative research methodology to conduct 59 focus groups with 528 total Kenyan community member participants. Data were coded, aggregated and analysed using the content analysis approach.

Setting

Participants were uniformly selected from all eight of the historical Kenyan provinces (Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley and Western), with equal rural and urban community representation.

Results

Socioeconomic and cultural factors play a major role both in seeking and reaching emergency care. Community members in Kenya experience a wide range of medical emergencies, and seem to understand their time-critical nature. They rely on one another for assistance in the face of substantial barriers to care—a lack of: system structure, resources, transportation, trained healthcare providers and initial care at the scene.

Conclusions

Access to emergency care in Kenya can be improved by encouraging recognition and initial treatment of emergent illness in the community, strengthening the pre-hospital care system, improving emergency care delivery at health facilities and creating new policies at a national level. These community-generated solutions likely have a wider applicability in the region.
A new classification of HLA-DRB1 alleles based on acid–base properties of the amino acids located at positions 13, 70 and 71: impact on ACPA status or structural progression, and meta-analysis on 1235 patients with rheumatoid from two cohorts (ESPOIR and EAC cohort)
Authors: Ruyssen-Witrand Adeline , van Steenbergen Hanna W , van Heemst Jurgen , Gourraud Pierre-Antoine , Nigon Delphine , Lukas Cédric , Miceli-Richard Corinne , Jamard Bénédicte , Cambon-Thomsen Anne , Cantagrel Alain , Dieudé Philippe , van der Helm-van Mil Annette H M , Constantin Arnaud
Published: January 2016

Objective

To groupHLA-DRB1alleles based on acid–base properties of amino acids at positions 13, 70 and 71 and analyse their association with the presence of anticitrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPA) and structural progression in 2 cohorts of early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods

Patients with RA (N=612) from ESPOIR cohort and from EAC cohort (n=624) were genotyped forHLA-DRB1alleles. The alleles containing the RAA sequence at positions 72–74 were classified into 3 groups according to the amino acid at positions 13, 70 and 71: BB encoding basic amino acids at positions 13, 70 and 71; A encoding acidic amino acids at positions 70 and 71; and BN encoding either neutral amino acids at position 13 and basic amino acids at positions 70 and 71, or basic amino acid at position 13 and neutral amino acids at positions 70 and 71. The associations between the different alleles and (1) the ACPA presence, and (2) the structural progression were assessed by χ2test; a meta-analysis was performed on the 2 cohorts using the Mantel-Haenszel method.

Results

After meta-analysis, BB alleles were significantly associated with ACPA presence (OR (95% CI) 4.08 (3.14 to 5.31)) and structural progression (OR (95% CI) 2.33 (1.76 to 3.09)). The alleles protected significantly against ACPA presence (OR (95% CI) 0.37 (0.28 to 0.50)) and structural progression (OR (95% CI) 0.34 (0.23 to 0.50)). This acid–base classification allowed to separate another group BN with an intermediate risk of ACPA production (OR (95% CI) 1.14 (0.91 to 1.44)) and structural progression (OR (95% CI) 1.01 (0.77 to 1.33)).

Conclusions

This new classification permitted to make a hierarchy ofHLA-DRB1alleles in terms of association with ACPA presence or structural progression in early RA.
Incorporation of Inter-Subject Information to Improve the Accuracy of Subject-Specific P300 Classifiers
Authors: Xu Minpeng , Liu Jing , Chen Long , Qi Hongzhi , He Feng , Zhou Peng , Wan Baikun , Ming Dong
Published: January 2016

Although the inter-subject information has been demonstrated to be effective for a rapid calibration of the P300-based brain–computer interface (BCI), it has never been comprehensively tested to find if the incorporation of heterogeneous data could enhance the accuracy. This study aims to improve the subject-specific P300 classifier by adding other subject’s data. A classifier calibration strategy, weighted ensemble learning generic information (WELGI), was developed, in which elementary classifiers were constructed by using both the intra- and inter-subject information and then integrated into a strong classifier with a weight assessment. 55 subjects were recruited to spell 20 characters offline using the conventional P300-based BCI, i.e. the P300-speller. Four different metrics, the P300 accuracy and precision, the round accuracy, and the character accuracy, were performed for a comprehensive investigation. The results revealed that the classifier constructed on the training dataset in combination with adding other subject’s data was significantly superior to that without the inter-subject information. Therefore, the WELGI is an effective classifier calibration strategy which uses the inter-subject information to improve the accuracy of subject-specific P300 classifiers, and could also be applied to other BCI paradigms.
An Improved Online Algorithm for the Online Preemptive Scheduling of Equal-Length Intervals on a Single Machine with Lookahead
Authors: Li Wenjie , Yuan Jinjiang
Published: January 2016

This paper studies the online preemptive scheduling of equal-length intervals on a single machine with lookahead. Let [Formula: see text] be the length (processing time) of all intervals. In the problem, at every time point [Formula: see text], online algorithms can foresee all the intervals that will arrive in the time segment [Formula: see text] for a certain [Formula: see text]. When [Formula: see text], Zheng et al. [Comput- ers & Operations Research, 2013] established a lower bound of [Formula: see text] and provided an online algorithm with a competitive ratio of 3. In this paper, we provide for this problem an improved online algorithm with a competitive ratio of 2.
Scheduling with Deteriorating Jobs and Non-Simultaneous Machine Available Times
Authors: Wang Xuyin , Hu Xiangpei , Liu Weiguo
Published: January 2016

In this paper, We deal with the scheduling problems with simple linear deterioration function on unrelated parallel-machine and identical parallel-machine. We assume that all the jobs (tasks) are available at time zero, but all machines (processors) may not be available simultaneously at time zero. The objective functions are to minimize the total logarithm of completion time, the total logarithm of machine load, the total absolute differences in logarithm completion times and the total absolute differences in logarithm waiting times respectively. We provide the polynomial-time algorithms to solve the problems under the proposed model respectively.
Yang–Mills theory and fermionic path integrals
Authors: Fujikawa Kazuo
Published: January 2016

The Yang–Mills gauge field theory, which was proposed 60 years ago, is extremely successful in describing the basic interactions of fundamental particles. The Yang–Mills theory in the course of its developments also stimulated many important field theoretical machinery. In this brief review I discuss the path integral techniques, in particular, the fermionic path integrals which were developed together with the successful applications of quantized Yang–Mills field theory. I start with the Faddeev–Popov path integral formula with emphasis on the treatment of fermionic ghosts as an application of Grassmann numbers. I then discuss the ordinary fermionic path integrals and the general treatment of quantum anomalies. The contents of this review are mostly pedagogical except for a recent analysis of path integral bosonization.
Generalization of the Yang–Mills theory
Authors: Savvidy G.
Published: January 2016

We suggest an extension of the gauge principle which includes tensor gauge fields. In this extension of the Yang–Mills theory the vector gauge boson becomes a member of a bigger family of gauge bosons of arbitrary large integer spins. The proposed extension is essentially based on the extension of the Poincaré algebra and the existence of an appropriate transversal representations. The invariant Lagrangian is expressed in terms of new higher-rank field strength tensors. It does not contain higher derivatives of tensor gauge fields and all interactions take place through three- and four-particle exchanges with a dimensionless coupling constant. We calculated the scattering amplitudes of non-Abelian tensor gauge bosons at tree level, as well as their one-loop contribution into the Callan–Symanzik beta function. This contribution is negative and corresponds to the asymptotically free theory. Considering the contribution of tensorgluons of all spins into the beta function we found that it is leading to the theory which is conformally invariant at very high energies. The proposed extension may lead to a natural inclusion of the standard theory of fundamental forces into a larger theory in which vector gauge bosons, leptons and quarks represent a low-spin subgroup. We consider a possibility that inside the proton and, more generally, inside hadrons there are additional partons — tensorgluons, which can carry a part of the proton momentum. The extension of QCD influences the unification scale at which the coupling constants of the Standard Model merge, shifting its value to lower energies.
Frobenius algebras derived from the Kauffman bracket skein algebra
Authors: Frohman Charles , Abdiel Nel
Published: January 2016

The Kauffman bracket skein algebra of a compact oriented surface when the variable [Formula: see text] in the Kauffman bracket is set equal to [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is an odd counting number, is a central extension of the ring of [Formula: see text]-characters of the fundamental group of the underlying surface. In this paper, we construct symmetric Frobenius algebras from the Kauffman bracket skein algebra of some simple surfaces by two strategies. The first is to localize the skein algebra at the characters so it becomes an algebra over the function field of the character variety of the surface, and the second is to specialize at a place of the character ring.
On the flag curvature of invariant (α,β)-metrics
Authors: Parhizkar M. , Latifi D.
Published: January 2016

In this paper, we consider invariant [Formula: see text]-metrics which are induced by invariant Riemannian metrics [Formula: see text] and invariant vector fields [Formula: see text] on homogeneous spaces. We study the flag curvatures of invariant [Formula: see text]-metrics. We first give an explicit formula for the flag curvature of invariant [Formula: see text]-metrics arising from invariant Riemannian metrics on homogeneous spaces and Lie groups. We then give some explicit formula for the flag curvature of invariant Matsumoto metrics, invariant Kropina metrics and invariant Randers metrics.
ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION, MARKET ORIENTATION AND NETWORKING: IMPACT ON INNOVATION AND FIRM PERFORMANCE
Authors: BUCKTOWAR ROUMA , KOCAK AKIN , PADACHI KESSEVEN
Published: January 2016

The study examines the relationships among entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation and networking on firm performance with radical and incremental innovation as the mediator. The present study draws on the resource-based view theory to provide insights about intangible resources and capabilities among SMEs. The study adopts a subjectivist approach and is based on multiple case study method by conducting interviews with 7 SMEs purposively operating in different sectors. The research findings seem to support both proactive and responsive market orientation (PMO, RMO), entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and networking have positive relationships on firm performance with radical and incremental innovation as the mediator. It appears firms initiating radical innovation take longer for new product performance because of lack of information about customer needs in the market but networking assists in providing market information that enables commercialization of new products. Further, networking among firms drives performance while strong ties are practiced to a lesser extent.
EVERYBODY IS INVITED BUT NOT EVERYBODY WILL COME — THE INFLUENCE OF PERSONALITY DISPOSITIONS ON USERS’ ENTRY DECISIONS FOR CROWDSOURCING COMPETITIONS
Authors: FAULLANT RITA , HOLZMANN PATRICK , SCHWARZ ERICH J.
Published: January 2016

Crowdsourcing competitions have been introduced as powerful instruments to integrate users in new product development. While abundant research has investigated motives for participation, little research so far has addressed the reasons why users choose not to participate. We suggest that some potential solvers may refrain from participation from the outset on account of their personality dispositions. In our study, we complement existing knowledge about user motivation to engage in co-creation with findings from personality research. In particular, we investigate individual differences resulting from enduring personality dispositions that might affect potential solvers’ decisions whether or not to enter crowdsourcing competitions. The results of our study show that the likelihood that users will participate in a crowdsourcing competition increases when they score high on openness, extraversion and trait competitiveness. Dispositional trust was not, however, a discriminating factor between participants and non-participants.
Cobalt/Chromium Nanoparticles-Incorporated Carbon Nanofibers as Effective Nonprecious Catalyst for Methanol Electrooxidation in Alkaline Medium
Authors: Mohamed Ibrahim M. A. , Motlak Moaaed , Fouad H. , Barakat Nasser A. M.
Published: January 2016

Cobalt-Chrome nanoparticles-incorporated carbon nanofibers (CNFs) are proposed as an effective nonprecious electrocatalyst for methanol oxidation in the alkaline media. The introduced nanofibers were prepared by simple technique, electrospinning. Carbonization of as-spun mat composed of chromium acetate, cobalt acetate and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) at high temperature (900[Formula: see text]C) leads to production of the introduced nanofibers. The physicochemical characteristics were investigated by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) equipped with EDX and TEM mapping. The exploited analyses confirmed that the final product is in the form of CNFs decorated by Co/Cr nanoparticles. Based on the results obtained from the cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements, the proposed Co/Cr-incorporated CNFs possess high electrocatalytic activity toward methanol electrooxidation as a clear peak of methanol oxidation appeared with corresponding current density of 56[Formula: see text]mA/cm2. Moreover, the current density increased by increasing methanol concentration up to 4.0[Formula: see text]M. Overall, the proposed nanofibers open new avenue for platinum-free and stable nanostructural catalysts for fuel cell technology.
DSMC: Fast direct simulation Monte Carlo solver for the Boltzmann equation by Multi-Chain Markov Chain and multicore programming
Authors: Zhao Di , He Haiwu
Published: January 2016

Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) solves the Boltzmann equation with large Knudsen number. The Boltzmann equation generally consists of three terms: the force term, the diffusion term and the collision term. While the first two terms of the Boltzmann equation can be discretized by numerical methods such as the finite volume method, the third term can be approximated by DSMC, and DSMC simulates the physical behaviors of gas molecules. However, because of the low sampling efficiency of Monte Carlo Simulation in DSMC, this part usually occupies large portion of computational costs to solve the Boltzmann equation. In this paper, by Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) and multicore programming, we develop Direct Simulation Multi-Chain Markov Chain Monte Carlo (DSMC3): a fast solver to calculate the numerical solution for the Boltzmann equation. Computational results show that DSMC3 is significantly faster than the conventional method DSMC.
Analytical modeling of AlInSb/InSb MOS gate HEMT structure with improved performance
Authors: Subash T. D. , Gnanasekaran T. , Nair P. Deepthi
Published: January 2016

The performance of AlInSb/InSb heterostructure with various parameters is considered with T-Cad simulation. As the heterojunctions are having more advantageous properties that is a real support for so many application such as solar cells, semiconductor cells and transistors. Special properties of semiconductors are discussed here with various parameters that are depending up on the performance of accurate device [Pardeshi H., Pati S. K., Raj G., Mohankumar N., Sarkar C. K., J. Semicond. 33(12):124001-1–124001-7, 2012]. The maximum drain current density is achieved with improving the density of two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) and with high velocity. High electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structure is used with the different combinations of layers which have different bandgaps. Parameters such as electron mobility, bandgap, dielectric constant, etc., are considered differently for each layer [Zhang A., Zhang L., Tang Z., IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 61(3):755–761, 2014]. The high electron mobility electrons are now widely used in so many applications. The proposed work of AlInSb/InSb heterostructure implements the same process which will be a promise for future research works.
The Changing Regional Architectures in Asia and Their Potential Implications
Authors: Cai Penghong
Published: January 2016

Triggered by the ever closer regional integration and the rise of China, the geopolitical landscape of Asia has changed greatly since the end of the Cold War. Not only have a large number of new institutions for regional cooperation emerged, but China and some smaller countries are also playing an ever more active role in regional architecture building. Yet, the proliferation of various institutions indicate that the region lacks a unified or comprehensive institution, especially in the security domain. With the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as well as China’s many strategic initiatives competing for membership, major powers are slowly taking the lead in the building of regional economic architecture, while the new security architecture in Asia is evolving around how major powers, China and the U.S. in particular, seek regional leadership by working with each other, and engage all other countries to address their common challenges. Within this context, China must have a balanced strategy between its domestic development goals and international endeavors, and speeding up its domestic reform and opening-up will be the basis of its growing leadership in future regional architecture building in Asia.
Inter-, Intra-, and Extra-Chunk Pre-Ordering for Statistical Japanese-to-English Machine Translation
Authors: Ding Chenchen , Sakanushi Keisuke , Touji Hirona , Yamamoto Mikio
Published: January 2016

A rule-based pre-ordering approach is proposed for statistical Japanese-to-English machine translation using the dependency structure of source-side sentences. A Japanese sentence is pre-ordered to an English-like order at the morpheme level for a statistical machine translation system during the training and decoding phase to resolve the reordering problem. In this article,
extra-chunk
pre-ordering of morphemes is proposed, which allows Japanese functional morphemes to move across chunk boundaries. This contrasts with the intra-chunk reordering used in previous approaches, which restricts the reordering of morphemes within a chunk. Linguistically oriented discussions show that correct pre-ordering cannot be realized without extra-chunk movement of morphemes. The proposed approach is compared with five rule-based pre-ordering approaches designed for Japanese-to-English translation and with a language independent statistical pre-ordering approach on a standard patent dataset and on a news dataset obtained by crawling Internet news sites. Two state-of-the-art statistical machine translation systems, one phrase-based and the other hierarchical phrase-based, are used in experiments. Experimental results show that the proposed approach outperforms the compared approaches on automatic reordering measures (Kendall’s τ, Spearman’s ρ, fuzzy reordering score, and test set RIBES) and on the automatic translation precision measure of test set BLEU score.
Using Redundancy to Detect Security Anomalies: Towards IoT security attack detectors
Authors: Venkatakrishnan Roopak , Vouk Mladen A.
Published: January 2016

Cyber-attacks and breaches are often detected too late to avoid damage. While "classical" reactive cyber defenses usually work only if we have some prior knowledge about the attack methods and "allowable" patterns, properly constructed redundancy-based anomaly detectors can be more robust and often able to detect even zero day attacks. They are a step toward an oracle that uses knowable behavior of a healthy system to identify abnormalities. In the world of Internet of Things (IoT), security, and anomalous behavior of sensors and other IoT components, will be orders of magnitude more difficult unless we make those elements security aware from the start. In this article we examine the ability of redundancy-based anomaly detectors to recognize some high-risk and difficult to detect attacks on web servers---a likely management interface for many IoT stand-alone elements. In real life, it has taken long, a number of years in some cases, to identify some of the vulnerabilities and related attacks. We discuss practical relevance of the approach in the context of providing high-assurance Web-services that may belong to autonomous IoT applications and devices.
Designing withHDRdata
Authors: Sarat-St. Peter Hilary
Published: January 2016

Intercultural professional communication (IPC) requires a nuanced understanding of international users' interactions with technology and information. This requirement poses a distinct challenge to international communication and information designers who must overcome geographic, linguistic, and cultural barriers to understanding users as complex agents. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) annually publishes aHuman Development Report (HDR)that contains high-quality international statistics on the regional, national, and transnational contexts in which individuals use technology and information. Thus, the HDR can serve as a resource for communication designers working in international contexts. This article presents strategies for how communication designers might use the HDR when designing materials for users in other cultures as well as use when teaching international aspects of professional writing/communication."
Primary Lymphoepithelioma-Like Carcinoma of the Prostate Gland: A Review of the Literature
Authors: Venyo Anthony Kodzo-Grey
Published: January 2016

Background. Primary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the prostate gland (PLELCP) is rare with hardly any information on its diagnostic features and biological behaviour.Aim. To review the literature.Method. Various Internet data bases were searched.Literature Review. PLELCP is extremely rare and there are hardly any pictures of the tumour involving the prostate; hence it would appear that clinicians would need to use their knowledge of the microscopic and immunohistochemical characteristics of the tumour in the nasopharynx and urinary bladder as diagnostic aid. PLELCP on microscopy mimics nasopharyngeal LELC. The LELC component of the tumour is characterized by indistinct cytoplasmic borders and a syncytial growth pattern. The stroma may be densely infiltrated by lymphoid cells admixed with some plasma cells and neutrophils and at times prominent infiltration of eosinophils. PLELCPs tend to have adenocarcinoma, either as the only pattern or with additional ductal components or adenosquamous carcinoma. PLELCPs stain positively with PSA, PSAP, AMACR/P504S, EMA, and cytokeratins AE1/AE3, 7, 8, and 20. There is no consensus on treatment of PLECP. The reported prognosis has been poor.Conclusions. PLELCPs should be entered into a multicenter trial to determine the biological behaviour and to find the best treatment option that would improve the prognosis.
Effectiveness of Micro- and Nanomaterials in Asphalt Mixtures through Dynamic Modulus and Rutting Tests
Authors: Yao Hui , You Zhanping
Published: January 2016

The objectives of this research are to use micro- and nanomaterials to modify the asphalt mixture and to evaluate the mechanical performance of asphalt mixtures. These micro- and nanomaterials, including carbon microfiber, Nanomer material, nanosilica, nonmodified nanoclay, and polymer modified nanoclay, were selected to blend with the control asphalt to improve the overall performance of the modified asphalt binders and mixtures. The microstructures of original materials and asphalt binders were observed by the field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The mixture performance tests were employed to evaluate the resistance to rutting and permanent deformation of the modified asphalt mixtures. Test results indicate that(1)the dynamic modulus of micro- and nanomodified asphalt mixtures improved significantly;(2)the rutting susceptibility of the modified asphalt mixtures was reduced significantly compared to that of the control asphalt mixture;(3)the microstructures of modified asphalt binders were different from the control asphalt, and the structures determine the improvement in the performance of modified asphalt mixtures. These results indicate that the addition of micro- and nanomaterials enhanced the rutting performance and strength of asphalt mixtures. In addition, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the modifying effects of micro- and nanomaterials on the performance.
Active Control of Contact Force for a Pantograph-Catenary System
Authors: Wang Jiqiang
Published: January 2016

The performance of the high speed trains depends critically on the quality of the contact in the pantograph-catenary interaction. Maintaining a constant contact force needs taking special measures and one of the methods is to utilize active control to optimize the contact force. A number of active control methods have been proposed in the past decade. However, the primary objective of these methods has been to reduce the variation of the contact force in the pantograph-catenary system, ignoring the effects of locomotive vibrations on pantograph-catenary dynamics. Motivated by the problems in active control of vibration in large scale structures, the author has developed a geometric framework specifically targeting the remote vibration suppression problem based only on local control action. It is the intention of the paper to demonstrate its potential in the active control of the pantograph-catenary interaction, aiming to minimize the variation of the contact force while simultaneously suppressing the vibration disturbance from the train. A numerical study is provided through the application to a simplified pantograph-catenary model.
Childhood Obesity Associates Haemodynamic and Vascular Changes That Result in Increased Central Aortic Pressure with Augmented Incident and Reflected Wave Components, without Changes in Peripheral Amplification
Authors: Castro Juan M. , García-Espinosa Victoria , Curcio Santiago , Arana Maite , Chiesa Pedro , Giachetto Gustavo , Zócalo Yanina , Bia Daniel
Published: January 2016

The aims were to determine if childhood obesity is associated with increased central aortic blood pressure (BP) and to characterize haemodynamic and vascular changes associated with BP changes in obese children and adolescents by means of analyzing changes in cardiac output (stroke volume, SV), arterial stiffness (aortic pulse wave velocity, PWV), peripheral vascular resistances (PVR), and net and relative contributions of reflected waves to the aortic pulse wave amplitude. We included 117 subjects (mean/range age: 10 (5–15) years, 49 females), who were obese (OB) or had normal weight (NW). Peripheral and central aortic BP, PWV, and pulse wave-derived parameters (augmentation index, amplitude of forward and backward components) were measured with tonometry (SphygmoCor) and oscillometry (Mobil-O-Graph). With independence of the presence of dyslipidemia, hypertension, or sedentarism, the aortic systolic and pulse BP were higher in OB than in NW subjects. The increase in central BP could not be explained by the elevation in the relative contribution of reflections to the aortic pressure wave and higher PVR or by an augmented peripheral reflection coefficient. Instead, the rise in central BP could be explained by an increase in the amplitude of both incident and reflect wave components associated to augmented SV and/or PWV.
Characteristics ofSalmonellaspp. Isolated from Wild Birds Confiscated in Illegal Trade Markets, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Authors: Matias Carlos Alexandre Rey , Pereira Ingrid Annes , de Araújo Maiara dos Santos , Santos André Felipe Mercês , Lopes Rudi Pereira , Christakis Sandra , Rodrigues Dália dos Prazeres , Siciliano Salvatore
Published: January 2016

The prevalence ofSalmonellaspp. was investigated in 109 wild birds poached in the illegal wildlife trade in Rio de Janeiro; most of them are passerines from Thraupidae family and three from Psittacidae. One strain ofSalmonellaser. Typhimurium and two strains ofSalmonellaser. Panama were isolated from passerine species and all of them showed resistance to multiple antimicrobial drugs, like ampicillin, ceftriaxone, ceftiofur, tetracycline, gentamicin, nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, and enrofloxacin. PFGE showed 100% similarity among theSalmonellaser. Typhimurium strain isolated from a Temminck’s seedeater (Sporophila falcirostris) and the strains isolated from a human outbreak, in southern Brazil. The twoSalmonellaser. Panama strains isolated from two chestnut-capped blackbirds (Chrysomus ruficapillus) present in the same catch showed the same clonal origin and have never been associated with epizooties and human outbreaks. Potential for dissemination of resistantSalmonellathrough situations offered by captive management and the isolation of the same strain from wild birds and human sources may become a problem for the conservation of natural populations and to public health.
Comparison of Partec Rapid Malaria Test with Conventional Light Microscopy for Diagnosis of Malaria in Northwest Ethiopia
Authors: Birhanie Meseret
Published: January 2016

Background. Laboratory diagnosis of malaria is the key for effective disease management. Diagnosis of malaria infection requires rapid, sensitive, and specific test methods with an affordable cost. This study was aimed to assess the diagnostic performance of Partec rapid malaria test with reference to light microscopy for the diagnosis of malaria in Northwest Ethiopia.Methods. A total of 180 febrile patients were tested for malaria using Giemsa stain microscopy and Partec rapid malaria test from June to July 2013 at Gendewuha health centers, Metema district. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 statistical software. Odds ratio with 95% CI was calculated.Result. The sensitivity and specificity of Partec rapid malaria test were 93.8% (95% CI = 87.1%–100%) and 87.9% (95% CI = 79.7%–96.1%), respectively, while the positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 6.4% (95% CI = 77.2%–95.5%) and 94.6% (95% CI = 88.7%–100%), respectively. There was also an excellent agreement between two tests with Kappa value of 0.811 (95% CI = 0.625–0.996).Conclusion. Partec rapid malaria test showed good sensitivity and specificity with an excellent agreement to the reference light microscopy. Therefore PT can be considered as alternative diagnostic tools in malaria endemic areas.
Can Melatonin Act as an Antioxidant in Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Oxidative Stress Model in Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells?
Authors: Emamgholipour Solaleh , Hossein-Nezhad Arash , Ansari Mohammad
Published: January 2016

Purpose.We aimed to investigate the possible effects of melatonin on gene expressions and activities of MnSOD and catalase under conditions of oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).Materials and Methods.PBMCs were isolated from healthy subjects and treated as follows: (1) control (only with 0.1% DMSO for 12 h); (2) melatonin (1 mM) for 12 h; (3) H2O2(250 μM) for 2 h; (4) H2O2(250 μM) for 2 h following 10 h pretreatment with melatonin (1 mM). The gene expression was evaluated by real-time PCR. MnSOD and catalase activities in PBMCs were determined by colorimetric assays.Results.Pretreatment of PBMCs with melatonin significantly augmented expression and activity of MnSOD which were diminished by H2O2. Melatonin treatment of PBMCs caused a significant upregulation of catalase by almost 2-fold in comparison with untreated cells. However, activity and expression of catalase increased by 1.5-fold in PBMCs under H2O2-induced oxidative stress compared with untreated cell. Moreover, pretreatment of PBMCs with melatonin resulted in a significant 1.8-fold increase in catalase expression compared to PBMCs treated only with H2O2.Conclusion.It seems that melatonin could prevent from undesirable impacts of H2O2-induced oxidative stress on MnSOD downregulation. Moreover, melatonin could promote inductive effect of H2O2on catalase mRNA expression.