bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of AC signal oscillator level on effective mobility measurement by split C–V technique in MOSFETs
Authors: Karatsori T.A. , Theodorou C.G. , Dimitriadis C.A. , Ghibaudo G.
Published: July 2016

The impact of the AC signal oscillator level on the effective mobility measurement by split C–V technique in MOSFETs is investigated. It is found that, due to strong nonlinearity below threshold, the gate‐to‐channel capacitance and, by turn, the channel inversion charge increases linearly with the oscillator level. As a consequence, the extracted effective mobility decreases linearly with the oscillator level, resulting in a huge underestimation of the effective mobility in weak inversion. A physical model explaining these behaviours is developed, which enables to obtain a quantitative description of both inversion charge and effective mobility variations with the oscillator level and the gate voltage.
PatchMatch belief propagation meets depth upsampling for high‐resolution depth maps
Authors: Shin Y. , Yoon K.‐J.
Published: July 2016

For stereo matching, PatchMatch belief propagation (PMBP) gives an efficient way of inferencing continuous labels on the Markov random field. Nevertheless, it still requires considerable time when the resolution of input images is high. To handle high‐resolution images, a two‐step stereo method is proposed that efficiently exploits PMBP by depth upsampling. In the first step, PMBP is conducted on the random field whose nodes correspond to the downsampled pixels from an input image. As a result, accurate low‐resolution disparity maps are efficiently obtained by taking advantage of PMBP. In the second step, the low‐resolution disparity map is upsampled while considering depth boundaries and sub‐pixel accuracy. Experimental results show that the proposed method provides more accurate disparity maps than the original PMBP while reducing computation time remarkably.
Simplified quantised kernel least mean square algorithm with fixed budget
Authors: Wang Shiyuan , Zheng Yunfei , Duan Shukai , Wang Lidan
Published: July 2016

Quantised kernel least mean square algorithm with fixed budget (QKLMS‐FB) is an effective method for constraining the final network size of QKLMS at the cost of less accuracy loss. However, the significances of all centres in the dictionary are required to be calculated at each iteration, which will lead to linear increasing in the computational complexity of QKLMS‐FB with the centre number. To reduce the computational cost and retain a better accuracy simultaneously, only the coefficient vector and influence factor are incorporated to measure the significance of each centre, thereby generating a novel simplified QKLMS‐FB (SQKLMS‐FB). In addition, the gradient descent method is applied in the SQKLMS‐FB to update the coefficient of the closest centre for accuracy improvement. Simulations both in stationary and non‐stationary cases validate the proposed SQKLMS‐FB.
Multiuser differential transmission scheme for massive MIMO systems
Authors: Fang Zhaoxi , Liang Feng , Li Jun , Wang Yang
Published: July 2016

Channel estimation is a big challenge in multiuser massive multiple‐input multiple‐output systems. A novel multiuser differential transmission scheme for uplink transmission with a large antenna array at the base station (BS) is proposed. In the proposed scheme, a block‐by‐block differential encoder is employed at each user, while simple symbol‐wise differential decoder is used at the BS to recover the information symbols without any knowledge of the channel state information (CSI). The performance of the proposed scheme when the number of BS antennas grows large is analysed. Both analytical and numerical results show that the proposed differential transmission scheme is able to achieve almost the same bit‐to‐error rate performance as the coherent maximum ratio combining receiver with perfect CSI in the high signal‐to‐noise ratio region.
Adaptive suppression method for DC‐link voltage offset in three‐phase four‐switch inverter‐fed PMSM drives
Authors: Zhu Chong , Zeng Zhiyong , Zhao Rongxiang
Published: July 2016

The DC‐link voltage offset in three‐phase four‐switch (TPFS) inverter‐fed permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drives deteriorates the linear modulation range severely, restricting the performance and adjustable speed range of the PMSM. An adaptive control method is proposed in this Letter to suppress the DC‐link voltage offset in TPFS inverter‐fed PMSM drives. By investigating the effects of four basic voltage vectors on the voltage offset, the proper compensating vectors, whose duration times are obtained by the closed‐loop control, are added in each control period. Moreover, an adaptive notch filter is proposed to extract the offset component, providing excellent dynamic and steady performances even at extremely low rotor speed. Experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed adaptive suppression method compared with previous methods.
Power sources coordination through multivariable linear parameter‐varying/ control with application to multi‐source electric vehicles
Authors: Nwesaty Waleed , Iuliana Bratcu Antoneta , Sename Olivier
Published: July 2016

In this study, the problem of multi‐source power sharing strategy within electric vehicles is considered. Three different kinds of power sources – fuel cell, battery and supercapacitor – compose the power supply system, where all sources are current‐controlled and paralleled together with their associated DC–DC converters on a common DC link. The DC‐link voltage must be regulated regardless of load variations corresponding to the driving cycle. The proposed strategy is a robust control solution using a multiple‐input multiple‐output linear parameter‐varying (LPV)/ H∞; controller which provides the three current references with respect to source frequency characteristics. The selection of the weighting functions is guided by a genetic algorithm whose optimisation criterion expresses the frequency separation requirements. A reduced‐order version of the LPV / H∞ controller is also proposed to handle an embedded implementation with limited computational burden. The non‐linear multi‐source system is simulated in MATLAB ®/Simulink ® using two different types of driving cycles: the driving cycle of IFSTTAR (Institut Français des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l'Aménagement et des Réseaux) and a constant load profile used in order to illustrate system steady‐state behaviour. Simulation results show good performance in supplying the load at constant DC‐link voltage according to user‐configured frequency‐separation power sharing strategy. When assessed against the classical‐proportional–integral‐based filtering strategy taken as base‐line, the proposed strategy offers the possibility of integrating a variety of constraints into a systematic design procedure, whose result guarantees stability and performance robustness.
Control and resource allocation of cyber‐physical systems
Authors: Wen Shixi , Guo Ge
Published: July 2016

The authors investigate the problem of control and channel resource allocation of a set of plants controlled by a remote computer in a cyber‐physical system framework via a wireless network. Owing to capacity limitation, at any time only a subset of plants are allowed to be attended by the cyber controller while others must wait. To establish a promising scheduling policy regulating the allocation of the controller attention to the plants, they use binary sequences to model the allocation procedure. Taking advantage of the binary sequences and considering the packet loss effects in the channel, they establish sufficient conditions guaranteeing simultaneous stabilisation of the collection of systems. Most excitedly, a systematic methodology for the scheduling and controller co‐design is established, which supplies a constructive and easily applicable design tool for most regular binary sequences and state‐feedback controllers for the collection of plants. The theory and the results are built on the piecewise Lyapunov function method and the average dwell time techniques. A numerical example and laboratory experiment results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the binary sequences sequence‐based co‐design method.
Conditions for consensus in directed networks of agents with heterogeneous output saturation
Authors: Wang Qingling , Sun Changyin
Published: July 2016

This study addresses the consensus problem for single‐integrator agents with heterogeneous output saturation. By investigating the unique achievable equilibrium and employing an integral Lyapunov function, some conditions of single‐integrator agents with heterogeneous and magnitude output saturation are presented. The main contribution of this work is that under the directed graph with strongly connected or a spanning tree, a necessary and sufficient condition for consensus with heterogeneous and magnitude output saturation is first obtained. In addition, some properties of the unachievable consensus are discussed. Finally, simulation examples are given to show the validity of the theoretical results.
Stabilisation for a class of high‐order non‐linear systems with output constraints
Authors: Guo Tianliang , Wang Xiangyu , Li Shihua
Published: July 2016

This study investigates the stabilisation problem for a class of inherently non‐linear systems which are output‐constrained. To solve such a control problem, a modified adding a power integrator approach is proposed. It is derived by combining standard adding a power integrator approach and a new barrier Lyapunov function together. The closed‐loop system is asymptotically stable under the proposed controller. At the same time, the output constraints are satisfied. Simulations are performed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.
Multi‐flocking of networked non‐holonomic mobile robots with proximity graphs
Authors: Zhao Xiao‐Wen , Hu Bin , Guan Zhi‐Hong , Chen Chao‐Yang , Chi Ming , Zhang Xian‐He
Published: July 2016

In this study, the authors develop the collective motion of flocking of networked mobile robots with non‐holonomic model via proximity graphs. To satisfy the requirements of different tasks, they formulate the notion of multi‐flocking for networked non‐holonomic mobile robots. Based on the neighbouring information, they propose a novel distributed control protocol for multi‐flocking problem of networked non‐holonomic mobile robots using potential function. By combing algebraic graph theory with Barbalat's lemma, the proposed distributed control protocol guarantees that the robots in the same subgroup asymptotically move with the same velocity and heading angle, while ensuring connectivity preservation of each subgraph and collision avoidance of the whole systems, if the initial proximity subgraph is connected. Finally, a numerical simulation is given to illustrate the theoretical results.
On‐line voltage stability index based on the voltage equation of transmission lines
Authors: Ancheng Xue , Ruihuang Liu , Mingkai Li , Chow Joe H. , Tianshu Bi , Ting Yu , Tianjiao Pu
Published: July 2016

This study proposes a new voltage stability index based on the voltage equation of transmission lines. The proposed index is obtained by using the characteristic that the sensitivity of voltage to power at the voltage collapse point tends to be infinite. Furthermore, the proposed index is also validated in the case of inverse power flow, and the condition of monotonicity is discussed. Simulation results in a single branch system, a 10‐bus system and a regional power system verify the effectiveness of the proposed on‐line voltage index. The simulation results also show that the proposed index is better than the on‐line branch voltage stability index and is more promising for use in industry. The proposed index can be readily calculated from the measurements at the two terminals of the branch, which can be obtained with PMUs. Hence it is suitable for online applications. Finally, issues related to the practical application of the proposed index are discussed.
Early warning method for transmission line galloping based on SVM and AdaBoost bi‐level classifiers
Authors: Wang Jian , Xiong Xiaofu , Zhou Ning , Li Zhe , Wang Wei
Published: July 2016

Transmission line galloping often causes structural and electrical failures, which is a serious threat to the security of transmission systems. Through analysing the influence factors of galloping, it reveals that weather conditions are the most significant excitation factors and conductors of any voltage level and region may gallop when the apt‐galloping weather conditions are satisfied. This study proposes an early warning method for transmission line galloping based on support vector machine (SVM) and AdaBoost bi‐level classifiers. First, a prediction model of apt‐galloping weather conditions based on an SVM classifier is built through data mining of historical weather parameters in regions where galloping frequently occurred. When the forecast weather conditions of a particular region satisfy the apt‐galloping weather conditions, the conductor type, cross‐section and span of transmission line are further considered to realise early warning of galloping through an AdaBoost classifier. Finally, the historical galloping events of a power grid are adopted to verify the validity of the proposed methods. The test results indicate that both the accurate classification rate and accurate warning rate are above 90%, whereas the missed warning rate is below 10%. The models are suitable for early warning of transmission line galloping and can provide important decision support for operation staff of power grid.
Virtual active power filter: a notable feature for hybrid ac/dc microgrids
Authors: Khederzadeh Mojtaba , Sadeghi Meisam
Published: July 2016

The coexistence of ac and dc subgrids is going to be inevitable in microgrids (MGs). This study introduces a virtual active power filter (APF) to improve the power quality of a grid connected hybrid ac/dc MG. In this approach, the dc subgrid and the IC are integrated to form a virtual APF. Thus, an enhanced control method for IC is proposed that improves the performance of hybrid ac/dc MG under non‐linear load conditions considering power quality of both ac and dc subgrids. The proposed control ensures acceptable power quality for both inverter‐based and rectifier‐based power transfer between ac and dc subgrids. Furthermore, the IC provides stable dc bus voltage for the dc subgrid and exchange power between the ac and dc buses, properly. A hybrid ac/dc MG is simulated using PSCAD/EMTDC software and various set of simulation studies is presented to validate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed control method. Furthermore, experimental results are provided to validate the mentioned properties. These features have not been previously discussed in the literature for virtual APF in hybrid ac/dc MGs, where existing APFs are mostly presented for unidirectional power flow applications such as distributed generators.
Robust automatic generation control regulators for a two‐area power system interconnected via AC/DC tie‐lines considering new structures of matrix Q
Authors: Sharma Gulshan , Nasiruddin Ibraheem , Niazi Khaleequr Rehman , Bansal Ramesh C.
Published: July 2016

This study discusses the design of robust automatic generation control (AGC) regulators based on the Ricatti‐equation approach for a two‐area system interconnected via a DC tie‐line in parallel with an AC tie‐line as an area interconnection between the control areas. The proposed robust AGC regulator designs require only the bounds of the system parameters and enable to ensure the overall asymptotic system stability for all admissible uncertainties. In this study, different models of state cost‐weighting matrix (Q) are also developed. Various aspects of controllability and observability of the system states which directly or indirectly affect the system dynamics are identified and used in the design of robust AGC regulators. The results obtained with proposed regulator designs in the wake of 1% load disturbance in area‐1 and these results are compared with those obtained with optimal AGC regulators to ensure the superiority of the designed AGC regulators. The system eigenvalues are also presented to check the system stability margins available with the implementation of AGC regulators.
Volt–var curves for photovoltaic inverters in distribution systems
Authors: O'Connell Alison , Keane Andrew
Published: July 2016

Photovoltaics (PV) are a technology that is becoming increasingly prevalent in the residential sector. The impacts of this new type of generation are not always desirable from a distribution system standpoint, as large penetration levels can lead to voltage increases, considerable unbalance, and excessive tap operations. Recent standard changes have allowed the inverters that are used to grid connect PV systems, to utilise their reactive power capability for voltage regulation. Although this new capability is desirable, it is important to ensure that it is being applied in the most beneficial way. The work in this study makes use of a three‐phase optimal power flow method to find optimal volt–var curves for grid‐connected rooftop PV inverters, which can perform autonomous voltage control. A number of scenarios are applied to produce a sufficient range of voltages, and the resulting reactive power settings are utilised to determine the volt–var curve for each PV system on a test feeder. An active control scheme is also presented, and the results are compared with the proposed autonomous scheme for a test 24 h period.
Horn antennas for generating radio waves bearing orbital angular momentum by using spiral phase plate
Authors: Wei Wenlong , Mahdjoubi Kourosh , Brousseau Christian , Emile Olivier
Published: July 2016

The design of two new horn antennas for the generation of radio waves bearing orbital angular momentum (OAM) is presented. The OAM mode ℓ = 1 or −1 is generated by combining the guided modes of a circular waveguide with a spiral phase plate. The authors present here two structures to generate OAM wave based on TE11 and TM01 modes. The resulting magnitude and phase patterns of the electrical field and the radiation patterns evidence the presence of waves carrying OAM.
Analysis and optimisation of broadband stacked microstrip antennas using transmission line model
Authors: Katyal Ankita , Basu Ananjan
Published: July 2016

This study presents a technique for analysis of multilayered stacked microstrip antennas using transmission‐line (TRL) equivalent circuits, which has been validated by analysis of a broadband stacked antenna. A circuit model is developed by dividing the antenna into a number of metal patch pairs which are modelled as TRLs. A procedure has also been outlined for applying the proposed method to a large class of multilayered stacked patch antennas. The proposed method models all the coupling parasitics of the stacked antenna, responsible for its broadband operation, by using only closed‐form equations for TRL model parameters without any curve fitting techniques. Different propagating modes are also considered in the model. The circuit model response for a three‐layered broadband stacked antenna is seen to be in qualitative agreement with simulated and measured results at each stage. The method enables quick circuit level simulation and optimisation to arrive at an initial guess of antenna parameters for a given specification. This can be subsequently fine‐tuned through full three‐dimensional electromagnetic simulation, which is slow, but is effective if given a good initial guess.
Efficient UWB low noise amplifier with high out of band interference cancellation
Authors: Taibi Abdelkader , Trabelsi Mohamed , Slimane Abdelhalim , Saadi Abdelhalim A. , Belaroussi Mohand Tahar
Published: July 2016

This work provides a new co‐design methodology of ultrawide band (UWB) low‐noise amplifier (LNA) with high out of band interference cancellation. The solution consists to cascade a selective microstrip UWB bandpass filter (BPF) with the proposed 0.18 µm complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor‐based LNA. Indeed, the usefulness of this co‐design technique is to address the interference mitigation through the BPF and amplification function by using the LNA. The proposed solution remains powerful since the out of band interferences are well avoided with an efficient amplification performance while well fulfilling UWB requirements, i.e. good matching over a wide bandwidth from 3.2 to 10.64 GHz, 17 dB of power gain (S21), the noise figure varies between 2.5 and 5.7 dB, and the dissipated power (PDC) is typically 16.5 mW. It is relevant to point out that the computed figure‐of‐merit of the proposed circuit is 29.03 which is very competitive compared with state‐of‐the art.
Flatness‐based control approach to drug infusion for cardiac function regulation
Authors: Rigatos Gerasimos , Zervos Nikolaos , Melkikh Alexey
Published: July 2016

A new control method based on differential flatness theory is developed in this study, aiming at solving the problem of regulation of haemodynamic parameters. Actually control of the cardiac output (volume of blood pumped out by heart per unit of time) and of the arterial blood pressure is achieved through the administered infusion of cardiovascular drugs such as dopamine and sodium nitroprusside. Time delays between the control inputs and the system's outputs are taken into account. Using the principle of dynamic extension, which means that by considering certain control inputs and their derivatives as additional state variables, a state‐space description for the heart's function is obtained. It is proven that the dynamic model of the heart is a differentially flat one. This enables its transformation into a linear canonical and decoupled form, for which the design of a stabilising feedback controller becomes possible. The proposed feedback controller is of proven stability and assures fast and accurate tracking of the reference setpoints by the outputs of the heart's dynamic model. Moreover, by using a Kalman filter‐based disturbances’ estimator, it becomes possible to estimate in real‐time and compensate for the model uncertainty and external perturbation inputs that affect the heart's model.
Low‐pressure fabrication of IR‐transparent Y2O3 via spark plasma sintering
Authors: Irom Elnaz , Zakeri Mohammad , Ahangari Hossein Zadeh Ali Sedaghat , Safian Saman , Rahbari Ali
Published: July 2016

Different pressures of 80 and 90 MPa were applied to produce Y2O3 ceramics by spark plasma sintering in this work. Effects of pressure were investigated on densification, microstructure, infrared (IR) transmission and mechanical properties. It was found that applying higher pressure led to finer microstructure and consequently higher hardness and fracture toughness. An IR‐transparent Y2O3 ceramic with 60% transmission at wavelength of 5 µm was obtained by sintering at 1300°C under uniaxial pressure of 90 MPa. This sample had an average grain size of 0.76 µm and hardness and fracture toughness of 9.37 GPa and 1.60 MPa.m1/2, respectively.
Gold-reinforced silver nanoprisms on optical fiber tapers—A new base for high precision sensing
Authors: Wieduwilt T. , Zeisberger M. , Thiele M. , Doherty B. , Chemnitz M. , Csaki A. , Fritzsche W. , Schmidt M. A.
Published: July 2016

Due to their unique optical properties, metallic nanoparticles offer a great potential for important applications such as disease diagnostics, demanding highly integrated device solutions with large refractive index sensitivity. Here we introduce a new type of monolithic localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) waveguide sensor based on the combination of an adiabatic optical fiber taper and a high-density ensemble of immobilized gold-reinforced silver nanoprisms, showing sensitivities up to 900 nm/RIU. This result represents the highest value reported so far for a fiber optic sensor using the LSPR effect and exceeds the corresponding value of the bulk solution by a factor of two. The plasmonic resonance is efficiently excited via the evanescent field of the propagating taper mode, leading to pronounced transmission dips (−20 dB). The particle density is so high (approx. 210 particle/μm2) that neighboring particles are able to interact, boosting the sensitivity, as confirmed by qualitative infinite element simulations. We additionally introduce a qualitative model explaining the interaction of plasmon resonance and taper mode on the basis of light extinction, allowing extracting key parameters of the plasmonic taper (e.g., modal attenuation). Due to the monolithic design and the extremely high sensitivity we expect our finding to be relevant in fields such as biomedicine, disease diagnostics, and molecular sensing.
The fermionic projector in a time-dependent external potential: Mass oscillation property and Hadamard states
Authors: Finster Felix , Murro Simone , Röken Christian
Published: July 2016

We give a non-perturbative construction of the fermionic projector in Minkowski space coupled to a time-dependent external potential which is smooth and decays faster than quadratically for large times. The weak and strong mass oscillation properties are proven. We show that the integral kernel of the fermionic projector is of the Hadamard form, provided that the time integral of the spatial sup-norm of the potential satisfies a suitable bound. This gives rise to an algebraic quantum field theory of Dirac fields in an external potential with a distinguished pure quasi-free Hadamard state.
Structure diagram of binary Lennard-Jones clusters
Authors: Mravlak Marko , Kister Thomas , Kraus Tobias , Schilling Tanja
Published: July 2016

We analyze the structure diagram for binary clusters of Lennard-Jones particles by means of a global optimization approach for a large range of cluster sizes, compositions, and interaction energies and present a publicly accessible database of 180 000 minimal energy structures (http://softmattertheory.lu/clusters.html). We identify a variety of structures such as core-shell clusters, Janus clusters, and clusters in which the minority species is located at the vertices of icosahedra. Such clusters can be synthesized from nanoparticles in agglomeration experiments and used as building blocks in colloidal molecules or crystals. We discuss the factors that determine the formation of clusters with specific structures.
First-principles study of Au–Cu alloy surface changes induced by gas adsorption of CO, NO, or O2
Authors: Dhifallah Marwa , Dhouib Adnene , Aldulaijan Sarah , D. I. Renzo Francesco , Guesmi Hazar
Published: July 2016

The surface composition of bimetallics can be strongly altered by adsorbing molecules where the metal with the strongest interaction with the adsorbate segregates into the surface. To investigate the effect of reactive gas on the surface composition of Au–Cu alloy, we examined by means of density functional theory to study the segregation behavior of copper in gold matrices. The adsorption mechanisms of CO, NO, and O2 gas molecules on gold, copper, and gold-copper low index (111), (100), and (110) surfaces were analyzed from energetic and electronic points of view. Our results show a strong segregation of Cu toward the (110) surface in the presence of all adsorbed molecules. Interestingly, the Cu segregation toward the (111) and (100) surface could occur only in the presence of CO and at a lower extent in the presence of NO. The analysis of the electronic structure highlights the different binding characters of adsorbates inducing the Cu segregation.
Structure of cyano-anion ionic liquids: X-ray scattering and simulations
Authors: Dhungana Kamal B. , Faria Luiz F. O. , Wu Boning , Liang Min , Ribeiro Mauro C. C. , Margulis Claudio J. , Castner Edward W.
Published: July 2016

Ionic liquids with cyano anions have long been used because of their unique combination of low-melting temperatures, reduced viscosities, and increased conductivities. Recently we have shown that cyano anions in ionic liquids are particularly interesting for their potential use as electron donors to excited state photo-acceptors [B. Wu et al., J. Phys. Chem. B 119, 14790–14799 (2015)]. Here we report on bulk structural and quantum mechanical results for a series of ionic liquids based on the 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium cation, paired with the following five cyano anions: SeCN−, SCN−, N(CN)2−, C(CN)3−, and B(CN)4−. By combining molecular dynamics simulations, high-energy X-ray scattering measurements, and periodic boundary condition DFT calculations, we are able to obtain a comprehensive description of the liquid landscape as well as the nature of the HOMO-LUMO states for these ionic liquids in the condensed phase. Features in the structure functions for these ionic liquids are somewhat different than the commonly observed adjacency, charge-charge, and polarity peaks, especially for the bulkiest B(CN)4− anion. While the other four cyano-anion ionic liquids present an anionic HOMO, the one for Im2,1+/B(CN)4− is cationic.
Polarizabilities and van der Waals C6 coefficients of fullerenes from an atomistic electrodynamics model: Anomalous scaling with number of carbon atoms
Authors: Saidi Wissam A. , Norman Patrick
Published: July 2016

The van der Waals C6 coefficients of fullerenes are shown to exhibit an anomalous dependence on the number of carbon atoms N such that C6 ∝ N2.2 as predicted using state-of-the-art quantum mechanical calculations based on fullerenes with small sizes, and N2.75 as predicted using a classical-metallic spherical-shell approximation of the fullerenes. We use an atomistic electrodynamics model where each carbon atom is described by a polarizable object to extend the quantum mechanical calculations to larger fullerenes. The parameters of this model are optimized to describe accurately the static and complex polarizabilities of the fullerenes by fitting against accurate ab initio calculations. This model shows that C6 ∝ N2.8, which is supportive of the classical-metallic spherical-shell approximation. Additionally, we show that the anomalous dependence of the polarizability on N is attributed to the electric charge term, while the dipole–dipole term scales almost linearly with the number of carbon atoms.
Multiple scattering mechanisms causing interference effects in the differential cross sections of H + D2 → HD(v′ = 4,  j′) + D at 3.26 eV collision energy
Authors: Sneha Mahima , Gao Hong , Zare Richard N. , Jambrina P. G. , Menéndez M. , Aoiz F. J.
Published: July 2016

Differential cross sections (DCSs) for the H + D2 → HD(v′ = 4,  j′) + D reaction at 3.26 eV collision energy have been measured using the photoloc technique, and the results have been compared with those from quantum and quasiclassical scattering calculations. The quantum mechanical DCSs are in good overall agreement with the experimental measurements. In common with previous results at 1.97 eV, clear interference patterns which appear as fingerlike structures have been found at 3.26 eV but in this case for vibrational states as high as v′ = 4. The oscillatory structure is prominent for low rotational states and progressively disappears as j′ increases. A detailed analysis, similar to that carried out at 1.97 eV, shows that the origin of these structures could be traced to interferences between well defined classical mechanisms. In addition, at this energy, we do not observe the anomalous positive j′–θ trend found for the v′ = 4 manifold at lower collision energies, thus reinforcing our explanation that the anomalous distribution for HD(v′ = 4,  j′) at 1.97 eV only takes place for those states associated with low product recoil energies.
Initial operation of a newly developed multichord motional Stark effect diagnostic in KSTAR
Authors: Chung J. , Ko J. , Wi H. , Messmer M. , Schenkelaars S. , Scheffer M. , Jaspers R. J. E.
Published: July 2016

A photo-elastic modulator based 25-chord motional Stark effect (MSE) diagnostic has been successfully developed and commissioned in Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research. The diagnostic measures the radial magnetic pitch angle profile of the Stark splitting of a D-alpha line at 656.1 nm by the electric field associated with the neutral deuterium heating beam. A tangential view of the neutral beam provides a good spatial resolution of 1–3 cm for covering the major radius from 1.74 m to 2.28 m, and the time resolution is achieved at 10 ms. An in-vessel calibration before the vacuum closing as well as an in situ calibration during the tokamak operation was performed by means of specially designed polarized lighting sources. In this work, we present the final design of the installed MSE diagnostic and the first results of the commissioning.
Systematic study of GeSn heterostructure-based light-emitting diodes towards mid-infrared applications
Authors: Zhou Yiyin , Dou Wei , Du Wei , Pham Thach , Ghetmiri Seyed Amir , Al-Kabi Sattar , Mosleh Aboozar , Alher Murtadha , Margetis Joe , Tolle John , Sun Greg , Soref Richard , Li Baohua , Mortazavi Mansour , Naseem Hameed , Yu Shui-Qing
Published: July 2016

Temperature-dependent characteristics of GeSn light-emitting diodes with Sn composition up to 9.2% have been systematically studied. Such diodes were based on Ge/GeSn/Ge double heterostructures (DHS) that were grown directly on a Si substrate via a chemical vapor deposition system. Both photoluminescence and electroluminescence spectra have been characterized at temperatures from 300 to 77 K. Based on our theoretical calculation, all GeSn alloys in this study are indirect bandgap materials. However, due to the small energy separation between direct and indirect bandgap, and the fact that radiative recombination rate greater than non-radiative, the emissions are mainly from the direct Γ-valley to valence band transitions. The electroluminescence emissions under current injection levels from 102 to 357 A/cm2 were investigated at 300 K. The monotonic increase of the integrated electroluminescence intensity was observed for each sample. Moreover, the electronic band structures of the DHS were discussed. Despite the indirect GeSn bandgap owing to the compressive strain, type-I band alignment was achieved with the barrier heights ranging from 11 to 47 meV.
GeSn-on-insulator substrate formed by direct wafer bonding
Authors: Lei Dian , Lee Kwang Hong , Bao Shuyu , Wang Wei , Wang Bing , Gong Xiao , Tan Chuan Seng , Yeo Yee-Chia
Published: July 2016

GeSn-on-insulator (GeSnOI) on Silicon (Si) substrate was realized using direct wafer bonding technique. This process involves the growth of Ge1-xSnx layer on a first Si (001) substrate (donor wafer) followed by the deposition of SiO2 on Ge1-xSnx, the bonding of the donor wafer to a second Si (001) substrate (handle wafer), and removal of the Si donor wafer. The GeSnOI material quality is investigated using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD), atomic-force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and spectroscopic ellipsometry. The Ge1-xSnx layer on GeSnOI substrate has a surface roughness of 1.90 nm, which is higher than that of the original Ge1-xSnx epilayer before transfer (surface roughness is 0.528 nm). The compressive strain of the Ge1-xSnx film in the GeSnOI is as low as 0.10% as confirmed using HRXRD and Raman spectroscopy.
Measurement of laser power for photo-triggered drug delivery in vivo
Authors: Wang R. , Zhang X. L. , Liu F. , Zhang Z. L. , Chen Y. J. , Zhao E. M. , Liu L.
Published: July 2016

Thus far, despite many investigations have been carried out for photo-triggered drug delivery systems, most of them suffer from an intrinsic drawback of without real-time monitoring mechanism. Incident intensity of light is a feasible parameter to monitor the drug release profiles. However, it is difficult to measure the incident laser power irradiated onto the photo-triggered carriers in drug delivery systems during in vivo therapy. We design an online measurement method based on the fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) technique through upconversion nanoparticles. FIR value varies with temperature of sample due to the thermal effect induced by the incident laser, which validates the laser power measurement. Effects of rare earth doping concentration, as well as experimental conditions including laser spots and wavelengths on the measurement behavior were also investigated.
Effects of different monochromatic LED light colours on fear reactions and physiological responses in Mulard ducks
Authors: Mohamed Radi A. , Abou-Ismail Usama A. , Shukry Mustafa
Published: July 2016

Although the effects of monochromatic light on behaviour and performance of birds have been extensively studied, it is not known how rearing Mulard ducks in different monochromatic lights affects their fear reactions, physiological responses to stress and welfare. A total of 108 newly hatched Mulard ducks, representing three replicates, were housed in either blue light (BL), green light (GL), red light (RL) or white light (WL) for 12 weeks. Ducks were exposed to a light/dark schedule of 23 L/1 D, and food and water were provided ad libitum. At the beginning of the 13th week of the rearing period, behavioural measurements of fear were assessed by using a tonic immobility test, open field test and fear of man test. Physiological responses of the birds to stress such as heterophil : lymphocyte ratio, total leukocyte count and plasma concentrations of corticosterone were also assessed. Results demonstrated that birds exposed to both RL and WL displayed higher levels of behavioural indicators of fear including tonic immobility durations (P < 0.01), latency to first immobilisation (P < 0.001) and avoidance of man index (P < 0.001), and higher levels of physiological indicators of stress such as heterophil : lymphocyte ratios (P < 0.001) and plasmas concentrations of corticosterone (P < 0.001), and lower total leukocytic counts (P < 0.01) compared with birds exposed to either BL or GL. Rearing Mulard ducks in BL or GL appeared to reduce their fear reactions and physiological responses to stress and to enhance their ability to cope with the environment and may therefore improve their welfare.
Effects of protected omega-3 fatty acid derived from linseed oil and vitamin E on growth performance, apparent digestibility, blood characteristics and meat quality of finishing pigs
Authors: Upadhaya Santi D. , Li Tian Shui , Kim In Ho
Published: July 2016

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of protected omega-3 fatty acid and vitamin E on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profiles and meat quality of finishing pigs. A total of 140 female and castrated-male finishing pigs [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc] with an average initial bodyweight of 46.5 kg were blocked and stratified based on sex and bodyweight to a 2 × 2 factorial design with the respective factors being (1) without and with 300 IU vitamin E (Vit E), and (2) without and with 0.75% protected omega-3 fatty acid (n-3 FA) derived from linseed oil in a 12-week trial. Each treatment consisted of seven replicate pens with five pigs (three barrows and two gilts) per pen. The supplementation of Vit E improved (P < 0.05) and n-3 FA tended to increase (P = 0.07) overall average daily gain. The apparent digestibility of nitrogen tended to increase (P = 0.07) with the addition of Vit E in the diet. The concentration of IgG significantly increased (P < 0.05) with the addition of Vit E in the diet whereas the concentration of cortisol was significantly reduced (P < 0.05) with the addition of Vit E. There was a significant (P < 0.05) interaction between Vit E and n-3 FA on cortisol levels. Surface longissimus muscle redness (a*) increased with the supplementation of Vit E. However, the score of colour darkness based on sensory evaluation and drip loss on Day 5 were significantly reduced with the addition of Vit E in the diet.
Pre- and peri-pubertal feed intake: effects on age at puberty and potential litter size of replacement gilts
Authors: van Wettere W. H. E. J. , Mitchell M. , Revell D. K. , Hughes P. E.
Published: July 2016

The effect of moderate restriction of pre- and peri-pubertal liveweight gain on puberty attainment and potential litter size was investigated. At 69 days of age, 48 Large White/Landrace crossbred gilts (28.3 ± 0.3 kg), were fed to attain a liveweight of 70 kg (LIGHT) or 100 kg (HEAVY) at 161 days of age (n = 24 gilts/treatment). At 161 days of age, half the gilts in each group were fed to gain liveweight at 0.5 (LOW) or 1.0 (HIGH) kg/day until puberty (n = 12 gilts/treatment). From 175 days of age, gilts received 20 min/day of full, physical boar contact. Gilts were artificially inseminated at the pubertal oestrus, with reproductive tracts collected 22 ± 0.1 days later, and the number of corpora lutea and viable embryos recorded. LIGHT-LOW gilts were older (P < 0.05) at puberty compared with LIGHT-HIGH, HEAVY-LOW and HEAVY-HIGH gilts; 207.7 ± 3.50 versus 191.7 ± 3.65, 193.1 ± 3.50 and 192.5 ± 3.65, respectively. Treatment (HIGH vs LOW) increased (P < 0.05) pubertal ovulation rate (15.2 ± 0.43 vs 13.1 ± 0.47), oestradiol at oestrus (13.4 ± 1.87 vs 9.1 ± 1.22 pg/mL) and progesterone 72 h post-oestrus (7.1 ± 0.48 vs 4.6 ± 0.50 ng/mL). Embryo number (10.8 ± 0.46) and survival (77.0 ± 3.21) were unaffected (P > 0.05) by treatment. To conclude, puberty was delayed by chronic, but not acute, dietary restriction. Although short-term, moderate increases in feed intake increased pubertal ovulation rates, embryo numbers and survival were unaffected.
Non-Equilibrium Capillary Electrophoresis of Equilibrium Mixtures-Based Affinity Separation and Selective Enrichment of a Long-Length DNA Aptamer
Authors: Hagiwara Kenta , Kasahara Yuuya , Fujita Hiroto , Kuwahara Masayasu
Published: July 2016

Non-equilibrium capillary electrophoresis of equilibrium mixtures (NECEEM) is a kinetic capillary electrophoresis method used for the affinity analysis of DNA binding to proteins or ligands as well as a rapid selection of DNA aptamers. However, long DNA strands (100-mer or more) are generally difficult to analyse by this method owing to their poor peak separation. Herein, we report optimized conditions (use of a neutral phosphate buffer with an ionic strength of 0.074 as a binding buffer and use of an 80-cm fused silica capillary with a 75-μm internal diameter) for the peak separation of a 100-mer thrombin-binding DNA aptamer-target complex and its consequent enrichment using the NECEEM-based capillary electrophoresis–systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (CE-SELEX) method.
A Case of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Associated with Adult Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis
Authors: Koifman Julius , Granton John , Thenganatt John
Published: July 2016

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is an aggressive, life‐threatening syndrome of excessive immune activation. Presentation is most common among the pediatric population, and cases in adults are rare. The number of nonhematologic presentations described in relation to HLH has been growing. We present a case involving a woman who developed HLH after autologous stem cell transplantation for mantle cell lymphoma. Months later, she received a diagnosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) while undergoing treatment for her HLH. To our knowledge, PAH associated with adult HLH has only been described in the literature once before. PAH may now be a potential differential diagnosis for patients with HLH who present with respiratory symptoms.
CRISPR-DO for genome-wide CRISPR design and optimization
Authors: Ma Jian , Köster Johannes , Qin Qian , Hu Shengen , Li Wei , Chen Chenhao , Cao Qingyi , Wang Jinzeng , Mei Shenglin , Liu Qi , Xu Han , Liu Xiaole Shirley
Published: July 2016

Motivation: Despite the growing popularity in using CRISPR/Cas9 technology for genome editing and gene knockout, its performance still relies on well-designed single guide RNAs (sgRNA). In this study, we propose a web application for the Design and Optimization (CRISPR-DO) of guide sequences that target both coding and non-coding regions in spCas9 CRISPR system across human, mouse, zebrafish, fly and worm genomes. CRISPR-DO uses a computational sequence model to predict sgRNA efficiency, and employs a specificity scoring function to evaluate the potential of off-target effect. It also provides information on functional conservation of target sequences, as well as the overlaps with exons, putative regulatory sequences and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The web application has a user-friendly genome–browser interface to facilitate the selection of the best target DNA sequences for experimental design.

Availability and Implementation: CRISPR-DO is available at http://cistrome.org/crispr/

Contact:  qiliu@tongji.edu.cn or hanxu@jimmy.harvard.edu or xsliu@jimmy.harvard.edu

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Hand preference during bimanual coordinated task in northern pig-tailed macaquesMacaca leonina
Authors: Zhao Dapeng , Wang Yuan , Wei Xueyan
Published: July 2016

In humans, handedness is one defining characteristic regardless of cultures and ethnicity. Population-level right handedness is considered to be related with the evolution of left hemisphere for manual control and language. In order to further understand evolutionary origins of human cerebral lateralization and its behavioral adaptation, standardized measures on hand preference are required to make reliable comparison in nonhuman primate species. In this study, we present the first evidence on hand preference during bimanual coordinated tasks in northern pig-tailed macaques Macaca leonina. The classical TUBE task was applied to examine hand preference among nine individuals from Tianjin Zoo of China. We recorded and made analysis on both frequency and bout data on manual laterality. The results consistently show that subjects displayed strong individual hand preferences, whereas no significant group-level handedness was found. There were no sex and age significant differences on both direction and strength of hand preference. The M. leonina preferred to use the index finger to extract the baited food inside the tube. Our findings fill the knowledge gap on primate handedness, and efficiently affirm the robustness of the TUBE task as one efficient measure of hand preference in primates.
Systems, Prosodies, and the Phonology of French: New Insights from a Case Study of the Clitic Pronouns
Authors: Temple Rosalind A. M. , Schladebeck Alexandra
Published: July 2016

The preverbal clitic pronouns of French manifest in their phonology three phenomena which have exercised phonologists and variationists for many years: liaison, schwa or
e-caduc
, and variable (l). Hitherto these have been treated as separate phenomena, of which the clitics are sometimes invoked as instances (the main instance, in the case of (l)). This article, by contrast, takes the preverbal clitic pronoun system as a whole and applies some of the key constructs of Firthian Prosodic Analysis to its synchronic phonological analysis. Using a polysystemic approach, we present subsystems of pronouns and the structural and phonematic contrasts that characterize them. We show how these systems of contrasts and Firthian constructs such as the ‘prosody’ afford new, insightful ways of formalizing these phonological phenomena, which have the potential for broader application to the language. Our analysis is theoretical, but we demonstrate briefly how some of its testable predictions are confirmed by empirical findings in the existing literature, illustrating its potential to provide new insights and a more holistic framework for further analysis of these and other variable phonological features of French.