bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Yield Performance and Biological Efficiency of Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) and Palm Pressed Fibre (PPF) as Substrates for the Cultivation of Pleurotus Ostreatus
Authors: Ali Noorhalieza , Mohd Tabi Amal Nafissa , Ahmad Zakil Fathie , Mohd Fauzai Wan Nur Fauzan , Hassan Onn
Published: September 2013

This research was undertaken to evaluate the performance yield and biological efficiency of empty fruit bunch (EFB) and shredded palm pressed fibers (PPF) as an alternative substrate which is widely available for the cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus. Currently rubber tree sawdust (RS) is used which is of limited supply. In this study, five different substrates were prepared either alone or in combinations in the ratio of 1:1 with rubber tree sawdust. These substrates were supplemented with fixed ratio of rice bran and limestone to increase the yield of Pleurotus ostreatus. Shredded palm pressed fiber (PPF) and rubber sawdust (RS) in the ratio of 1:1 took 52 days for the mycelium to fully colonize the substrate as compared to 49 days for rubber saw dust alone. The performance yield and biological efficiency observed for the substrates comprising of 50% PPF and 50% rubber tree sawdust and 50% EFB and 50% rubber tree sawdust(RS) are 2.325 kg with a biological efficiency of 232.5% and 1.380 kg with a biological efficiency of 138%, respectively. The results obtained show that both shredded palm pressed fiber (PPF) and empty fruit bunch (EFB) show great potential as substrate for the cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus when incorporated with rubber tree sawdust (RS).
A Stakeholder Analysis for Collaborative Mobile Money Service
Authors: Karrar Azza Z. , Abdul Rahman Azizah
Published: September 2013

Mobile money is the use of mobile phone to access financial services by unbanked users who were not previously connected to formal financial system. Providing mobile money service requires collaboration between different stakeholders from different sectors: financial, telecommunication, regulatory bodies and retail agents. The aim of this study is to understand the different mobile money stakeholders’ interests in participating in mobile money ecosystem, their position from collaborative mobile money service provision policy, the different resources that they are willing to participate with and the possible collaboration alliances that they can formulate. Qualitative semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect data from different stakeholders in different sectors in Sudan. The data was analyzed using stakeholders analysis approach and results of the analysis were presented using different diagrams that contributes toward better understanding to the mobile money ecosystem in Sudan.
Assessing Engineering Students’ Practical Intelligence as the Outcome of Performing ‘hands-on’ Laboratory Classes
Authors: Razali Zol Bahri , Trevelyan James
Published: September 2013

Experience in an engineering laboratory is important for engineering students and expected to enhance understanding of engineering concepts for which they have learned the theory. Although the aim of the laboratory is an opportunity to learn and gain experience or practical intelligence (PI), the authors do not know much about what actually happens in a typical laboratory class. The development of practical intelligence is expected to be happened when students are performing tasks in the laboratory exercises and they may possibly be able to detect and solve problems or diagnose faults in similar equipment. Thus the purpose of this study is to assess students’ practical intelligence as the outcome of performing laboratory exercises and relating to the ability to diagnose equipment faults. Comparison of novel-expert rating approach is used in this study. The findings demonstrated that practical intelligence can be measured by calculating the difference between students’ ratings and the experts’ ratings.
Reduction of Major Pollutants via Air-staged Commbustion on Burner System
Authors: Mohd. Jaafar Mohammad Nazri , Zaini Mohd Nur Hanafi
Published: September 2013

Emission from the combustion processes can cause adverse effect to the environment.  The formation of pollutants such as NOx, CO, CO2 and SOx are hazardous and harmful to the ecosystem.  The awareness about the pollution due to the combustion activities, particularly in industrial field has set off an effort to find more comprehensive and enhanced technologies to reduce these pollutants.  There are several methods that can be used to reduce the emissions of these pollutants either by combustion modifications or post combustion treatment.  In this research, the method used is the post combustion treatment, i.e. the air staging method.  By air staging techniques, some of the combustion air will be directed into the primary combustion zone, while the remaining air is directed into the secondary zone.  The function of the secondary air is to reduce the peak flame temperatures, which theoretically reduce the emissions of NOx emissions.  The primary concern for this research is to study the effectiveness of the air staging in reducing NOx, CO, SO2, and UHC emissions from the combustion process.  The results obtained showed significant reduction in all major pollutants, i.e., a 31.8 percent reduction for CO emission, 16.8 percent for NOx, 12.7 percent for SO2 and 10.3 percent for UHC.  These reductions were obtained at different equivalence ratios for different gases.
Performance Evaluation of Deregulated Power System Static Security Assessment using RBF-NN Technique
Authors: Saeh I. S. , Mustafa M. W.
Published: September 2013

This paper proposes RBF-NN for classification and performance evaluation of static security assessment in deregulated power system. This study suggests an attribute selection and classification algorithms for static security evaluation (SSE) and its impact is proposed. For the base case, pure pool dispatch (with no bilateral transactions) and bilateral transaction comparisons are discussed on IEEE57- bus system. In this paper, a comprehensive comparison of AI classifiers to examine whether the power system is secured under steady-state operating conditions is presented. The proposed classifier is implemented on a 30 and 57 IEEE test system. To assess the actual overall performance regarding studying techniques, this research proposes performance evaluation schemes vis CCR, TPR and TNR and implemented on various IEEE test systems. The simulation results have shown the powerfulness of the proposed method as compare to another proposed AI classifiers.
Genetic Algorithm Optimization of a High-Pressure Turbine Vane Pressure Side Film Cooling Array
Authors: Johnson J. J. , King P. I. , Clark J. P. , Ooten M. K.
Published: September 2013

The following work is an in-depth investigation of the heat transfer characteristics and cooling effectiveness of a full-scale fully cooled modern high-pressure turbine (HPT) vane as a result of genetic algorithm (GA) optimization, relative to a modern baseline film cooling configuration. Individual designs were evaluated using 3D Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) that modeled film cooling injection using a transpiration boundary condition and evaluated 10 cells from the wall with an isothermal surface condition. 1800 different cooling arrays were assessed for fitness within the optimization where film cooling parameters such as axial and radial hole location, hole size, injection angle, compound angle, and custom-designed row patterns were varied in the design space. The GA optimization terminated with a unique pressure side (PS) cooling array after only 13 generations. The fitness functions prescribed for the problem lowered the PS average near-wall surface temperature, lowered the near-wall maximum temperature, and maintained the level of near-wall average overall effectiveness. Results show how the optimization resulted in redistributed flow from overcooled areas on the vane PS to undercooled areas near the shroud. The optimized cooling array yielded a reduction of average near-wall gas temperature of 2 K, a reduction in the maximum near-wall gas temperature of 3 K, a reduction in maximum heat flux of 2 kW/m2 and a reduction in pressure loss over the vane, all while maintaining a constant level of surface-averaged overall effectiveness. Methods used to improve pressure side film cooling performance here are promising in terms of eliminating hot spots on individual HPT components in their proper operating environments as well as increasing the potential to use less air for cooling purposes in a gas turbine engine.
A Numerical Study of the Unsteady Interaction Effects on Diffuser Performance in a Centrifugal Compressor
Authors: Anish S. , Sitaram N. , Kim H. D.
Published: September 2013

Interaction between rotating impeller and stationary diffuser in a centrifugal compressor is of practical importance in evaluating system performance. The present study aims at investigating how the interaction influences the unsteady diffuser performance and understanding the physical phenomena in the centrifugal compressor. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method has been applied to predict the flow field in the compressor, which has a conventional vaned diffuser (VD) and a low solidity vaned diffuser (LSVD). The radial gaps between impeller and diffuser and different flow coefficients are varied. The results obtained show that the major parameter that influences the unsteady variation of diffuser performance is due to the circumferential variation of the flow angle at the diffuser vane leading edge. The physical phenomena behind the pressure recovery variation are identified as the unsteady vortex shedding and the associated energy losses. The vortex core region as well as the shedding of vortices from the diffuser vane are triggered by the variation in the diffuser vane loading, which in turn is influenced by the circumferential variation of the impeller wake region. There is little unsteady variation of flow angle in the span-wise direction. This indicates that the steady state performance characteristics are related to the span-wise variation of flow angle, while the unsteady characteristics are contributed by the circumferential variation of flow angle. At design conditions, dominant frequency components of pressure fluctuation are all periodic and at near stall, these are aperiodic.
Performance of an Air-Cooled Heat Sink Channel With Microscale Dimples Under Transitional Flow Conditions
Authors: Kota Krishna , Burton Ludovic , Joshi Yogendra
Published: September 2013

The objective of this effort is to pursue artificial microscale surface roughness features in the form of dimples, on the walls of an air-cooled heat sink channel, as a passive option to energy-efficiently augment heat transfer in forced convection flows. High fidelity numerical simulations were employed for realizing an optimized dimple configuration and to comprehend the behavior of microsized dimples under high velocity (∼17 m/s) transitional flow conditions. Fully developed flow simulations were performed, and design of experiments with response surface methodology was employed for the numerical optimization. The results showed ∼30% heat transfer improvement and ∼15% pressure drop increase in the fully developed region compared to a smooth-walled channel. Practicability of manufacturing 200 μm deep dimples on a 600 μm thin aluminum fin was demonstrated. Experiments were also carried out to assess the performance of the aforementioned optimized configuration in a custom built setup in the laboratory, which showed up to 10.5% heat transfer improvement and ∼12% pressure drop increase over a corresponding smooth-walled channel. The above results indicate that the performance of dimples is allied with the flow development characteristics. In addition, experiments performed at Reynolds numbers other than one at which the dimples were optimized showed inferior performance showing that application-specific optimization of dimples is crucial. With further exploration of shape and design parameters, dimples might have the potential to improve thermal performance passively and form an attractive candidate to realize high-performance air-cooled heat sinks in the future.
Combined Spectral-Perturbation Approach for Systematic Mode Selection in Thermal Convection
Authors: Ahmed Zahir U. , Albaalbaki Bashar , Khayat Roger E.
Published: September 2013

A nonlinear spectral approach is proposed to simulate the post critical convective state for thermogravitational instability in a Newtonian fluid layer heated from below. The spectral methodology consists of expanding the flow and temperature fields periodically along the layer, and using orthonormal shape functions in the transverse direction. The Galerkin projection is then implemented to generate the equations for the expansion coefficients. Since most of the interesting bifurcation picture is close to criticality, a perturbation approach is developed to solve the nonlinear spectral system in the weakly post critical range. To leading order, the Lorenz model is recovered. The problem is also solved using amplitude equations for comparison. The similarity and difference among the three models are emphasized.
Parametric Study of the Effect of the Vapor Chamber Characteristics on Its Performance
Authors: Hassan Hamdy , Harmand Souad
Published: September 2013

In this work, the effect of vapor chamber characteristics, the properties of its working fluid and the operating parameters on the vapor chamber performance are studied. Also, the effects of these parameters on the cooling process are considered. A three dimensional hydrodynamic model is used for solving the fluid flow through the liquid and vapor regions of the vapor chamber. The hydrodynamic model is coupled with a three dimensional thermal model to calculate the model temperature. The hydrodynamic model takes into consideration the circulation of liquid between the two wick regions. An implicit finite difference method is used to solve the numerical model and a validation of the numerical model is presented. The effect of porosity of the wick material, wick structure, solid wall material, working fluid, wick region thickness, vapor region thickness, power input, and heat transfer coefficient of the cooling fluid are taken in the study. Their effects on the heat pipe temperature, pressure difference of the heat pipe, liquid and vapor velocities and mass evaporated are studied. The results show that, to increase the cooling performance of the heat pipe, the porosity, wick thickness, power input, and vapor region thickness should be decreased and the heat transfer coefficient should be increased. To minimize the maximum pressure difference of the heat pipe, increase porosity, wick thickness, and vapor thickness and decrease heat transfer coefficient and power input. The study shows that the increase of wick thickness by a factor of four decreases the maximum pressure difference by about 75% and increases the maximum vapor chamber temperature 30%. It also shows that the vapor region thickness has an insignificant effect on the vapor chamber temperature and pressure. The increase of the heat transfer coefficient of the cooling liquid decreases its effect on heat pipe performance.
Scaling of Convective Heat Transfer Enhancement Due to Flow Pulsation in an Axisymmetric Impinging Jet
Authors: Persoons Tim , Balgazin Kuanysh , Brown Karl , Murray Darina B.
Published: September 2013

Impinging jets are widely used to achieve a high local convective heat flux, with applications in high power density electronics and various other industrial fields. The heat transfer to steady impinging jets has been extensively researched, yet the understanding of pulsating impinging jets remains incomplete. Although some studies have shown a significant enhancement compared to steady jets, others have shown reductions in heat transfer rate, without consensus on the heat transfer mechanisms that determine this behavior. This study investigates the local convective heat transfer to a pulsating air jet from a long straight circular pipe nozzle impinging onto a smooth planar surface (nozzle-to-surface spacing 1 ≤ H/D ≤ 6, Reynolds numbers 6000 ≤ Re ≤ 14,000, pulsation frequency 9 Hz ≤ f ≤ 55Hz, Strouhal number 0.007 ≤ Sr = fD/Um ≤ 0.1). A different behavior is observed for the heat transfer enhancement in (i) the stagnation zone, (ii) the wall jet region and overall area average. Two different modified Strouhal numbers have been identified to scale the heat transfer enhancement in both regions: (i) Sr(H/D) and (ii) SrRe0.5. The average heat transfer rate increases by up to 75–85% for SrRe0.5 ≅ 8 (Sr = 0.1, Re = 6000), independent of nozzle-to-surface spacing. The stagnation heat transfer rate increases with nozzle-to-surface distance H/D. For H/D = 1 and low pulsation frequency (Sr < 0.025), a reduction in stagnation point heat transfer rate by 13% is observed, increasing to positive enhancements for Sr(H/D) > 0.1 up to a maximum enhancement of 48% at Sr(H/D) = 0.6.
Pool Boiling Heat Transfer Characteristics of HFO-1234yf on Plain and Microporous-Enhanced Surfaces
Authors: Moreno Gilberto , Narumanchi Sreekant , King Charles
Published: September 2013

This study characterizes the pool boiling performance of HFO-1234yf (hydrofluoroolefin 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene). HFO-1234yf is a new, environmentally friendly refrigerant likely to replace HFC-134a in automotive air-conditioning systems. Pool boiling experiments were conducted at system pressures ranging from 0.7 to 1.7 MPa using horizontally oriented 1-cm2 heated surfaces. Test results for pure (oil-free) HFO-1234yf and HFC-134a were compared. The results showed that the boiling heat transfer coefficients of HFO-1234yf and HFC-134a were nearly identical at lower heat fluxes. HFO-1234yf yielded lower heat transfer coefficients at higher heat fluxes and lower critical heat flux (CHF) values as compared with HFC-134a. To enhance boiling heat transfer, a copper microporous coating was applied to the test surfaces. The coating enhanced both the boiling heat transfer coefficients and CHF for both refrigerants at all tested pressures. Increasing pressure decreased the level of heat transfer coefficient enhancements and increased the level of CHF enhancements. The experimental data were then used to develop a correlation for predicting the CHF for a smooth/plain heated surface.
Suppression of Two-Phase Flow Instabilities in Parallel Microchannels by Using Synthetic Jets
Authors: Fang Ruixian , Khan Jamil A.
Published: September 2013

Two-phase flow instabilities in microchannels exhibit pressure and temperature fluctuations with different frequencies and amplitudes. An active way to suppress the dynamic instabilities in the boiling microchannels is to introduce synthetic jets into the channel fluid. Thus, the bubbles can be condensed before they clog the channel and expand upstream causing flow reversal. The present work experimentally investigated the effects of synthetic jets on microchannel flow boiling. An array of synthetic jets was introduced into the microchannel flow. The strength and frequency of the jets were controlled by changing the driving signals of the piezoelectric driven jet actuator. It is found that the bubbles were effectively condensed inside the jet cavity. The boiling flow reversals were notably delayed by the synthetic jets. Meanwhile, the pressure fluctuation amplitudes were suppressed to some extent. It was also observed that synthetic jets can help to uniformize the heat sink temperature distribution.
Effects of Diameter to Thickness Ratio and External Pressure on the Velocity of Dynamic Buckle Propagation in Offshore Pipelines
Authors: Omrani Z. , Abedi K. , Mostafa Gharabaghi A. R.
Published: September 2013

In this paper, a numerical study of the dynamic buckle propagation, initiated in long pipes under external pressure, is presented. For a long pipe, due to the high exerted pressure, local instability is likely to occur; therefore, the prevention of its occurrence and propagation are very important subjects in the design of pipelines. The 3D finite element modeling of the buckle propagation is presented by considering the inertia of the pipeline and the nonlinearity introduced by the contact between its collapsing walls. The buckling and collapse are assumed to take place in the vacuum. The numerical results of the nonlinear finite element analysis are compared with the experimental results obtained by Kyriakides and Netto (2000, “On the Dynamics of Propagating Buckle in Pipelines,” Int. J. Solids Struct., 37, pp. 6843–6878) from a study on the small-scale models. Comparison shows that the finite element results have very close agreement with those of the experimental study. Therefore, it is concluded that the finite element model is reliable enough to be used for nonlinear collapse analysis of the dynamic buckle propagation in the pipelines. In this study, the effects of external pressure on the velocity of dynamic buckle propagation for different diameter to thickness ratios are investigated. In addition, the mathematical relations, based on the initiation pressure, are derived for the velocity of buckle propagation considering the diameter to thickness ratio of the pipeline. Finally, a relation for the buckle velocity as a function of the pressure and diameter to thickness ratio is presented.
KALEIDOSCOPIC MODE CHANGE IN CROSS-SECTIONAL DEFORMATION OF REINFORCED CARBON NANOTUBES
Authors: PARK SUNG-JIN , SHIMA HIROYUKI , SATO MOTOHIRO
Published: September 2013

Cross-sectional deformation of multiwalled carbon nanotubes under isotropic radial pressure is investigated in a realm of continuum elastic approximation. The nanotube we assumed is subjected to the embedment into an elastic medium and stiffener insertion into the core cavity. Combination of the two reinforcement manipulations is found to cause kaleidoscopic mode changes in the radial corrugation, in which the cylindrical walls exhibit wavy patterns along the circumferential direction. Physical consequences of the diverse corrugation patters are also discussed.
CHARGE AMPLIFIER DESIGN METHODOLOGY FOR PVDF-BASED TACTILE SENSORS
Authors: PINNA LUIGI , VALLE MAURIZIO
Published: September 2013

This paper proposes and describes a charge amplifier-based interface electronics design methodology approach for piezoelectric polymer tactile sensors to be used for humanoid robot applications. The tactile sensor–consisting of a PVDF single sensor element–is illustrated, the electromechanical thickness mode behavior is modeled and a fabricated prototype is presented. The model allows associating the PVDF charge response to the effective load applied on the outer surface of the sensor. The model is also used as a key in the proposed design methodology to estimate the charge to be detected by the charge amplifier. A case study based on the design methodology approach is reported. The system (PVDF single taxel + interface electronics) is analyzed firstly, considering it as ideal and then when the nonidealities come into play. A charge amplifier-based interface electronics prototype is also presented. The implementation is used to validate the followed approach and then defining the design specs towards the dedicated IC design. Some experimental results are also reported.
REALIZATION OF A LAMBERT W-FUNCTION FOR A CHAOTIC CIRCUIT
Authors: SRISUCHINWONG BANLUE , AMONCHAILERTRAT NITHI
Published: September 2013

A new chaotic circuit is practically realized, for the first time, using a Lambert W-function. The circuit consists of three main parts. The first part employs a well-known Wilson current mirror, whereas the second part is a simple resistor at the two connected emitters of the current mirror. Both parts form a new circuit for a Lambert W-function by enabling a term of an emitter current to be simultaneously appeared on both sides of an exponential equation. Such a nonlinear equation is particularly well suited for realization of a Lambert W-function. The third part exploits a capacitor–inductor–capacitor (CLC) network and a resistor, which are connected to the nonlinear circuit of the Lambert W-function to allow for chaotic oscillations. The new circuit is capable of both a Lambert W-function and a current-tunable chaotic oscillator.
VALUING EARLY-EXERCISE INTEREST-RATE OPTIONS WITH MULTI-FACTOR AFFINE MODELS
Authors: JAIMUNGAL SEBASTIAN , SURKOV VLADIMIR
Published: September 2013

Multi-factor interest-rate models are widely used. Contingent claims with early exercise features are often valued by resorting to trees, finite-difference schemes and Monte Carlo simulations. When jumps are present, however, these methods are less effective. In this work we develop an algorithm based on a sequence of measure changes coupled with Fourier transform solutions of the pricing partial integro-differential equation to solve the pricing problem. The new algorithm, which we call the irFST method, also neatly computes option sensitivities. Furthermore, we are also able to obtain closed-form formulae for accrual swaps and accrual range notes. We demonstrate the versatility and precision of the method through numerical experiments on European, Bermudan and callable bond options, accrual swaps and accrual range notes.
Discotic liquid crystals of transition metal complexes 49: establishment of helical structure of fullerene moieties in columnar mesophase of phthalocyanine-fullerene dyads
Authors: Tauchi Lisa , Nakagaki Takahiro , Shimizu Masahiro , Itoh Eiji , Yasutake Mikio , Ohta Kazuchika
Published: September 2013

A homologous series of the phthalocyanine-fullerene dyads, Cn-PcM(OFbaC60) (n = 6, 8, 10, 12; M = Cu , Ni , Co : 3a–3f) have been synthesized to obtain homeotropic alignment at rt and investigate the effects of spacer chain length (n = 6, 8, 10, 12) and central metal ( M = Cu , Ni , Co ) on the mesomorphism. Interestingly, the shorter-spacer-substituted (n = 6, 8; M = Cu ) dyads 3a and 3b showed a hexagonal columnar mesophase (Colh), whereas the longer-spacer-substituted (n = 10, 12; M = Cu , Ni , Co ) dyads 3c–3f showed a tetragonal columnar mesophase (Coltet). Moreover, each of the homologs 3a–3e shows perfect homeotropic alignment in both the Colh and Coltet mesophases at rt. More interestingly, these columnar mesophases gave a very unique XRD reflection peak denoted as Peak H in a very small angle region of 0.8 < 2θ < 2.0 degree. We have established at the first time from our developed two new XRD sample preparation techniques that the Peak H is due to the helical structure of fullerenes around columns formed by one-dimensionally stacked Pc cores. 1D nano array structure of donor and acceptor between two electrodes is recently proposed to obtain higher photoelectric conversion efficiency for organic thin film solar cells. This 1D nano array structure is almost compatible with the present homeotropically aligned Pc- C 60 dyads 3a–3f between two glass plates. Hence, these novel Pc- C 60 dyads 3a–3f may be very suitable to organic thin film solar cells.
Deconstructing Amazon EC2 Spot Instance Pricing
Authors: Agmon Ben-Yehuda Orna , Ben-Yehuda Muli , Schuster Assaf , Tsafrir Dan
Published: September 2013

Cloud providers possessing large quantities of spare capacity must either incentivize clients to purchase it or suffer losses. Amazon is the first cloud provider to address this challenge, by allowing clients to bid on spare capacity and by granting resources to bidders while their bids exceed a periodically changing spot price. Amazon publicizes the spot price but does not disclose how it is determined.

By analyzing the spot price histories of Amazon’s EC2 cloud, we reverse engineer how prices are set and construct a model that generates prices consistent with existing price traces. Our findings suggest that usually prices are not market-driven, as sometimes previously assumed. Rather, they are likely to be generated most of the time at random from within a tight price range via a dynamic hidden reserve price mechanism. Our model could help clients make informed bids, cloud providers design profitable systems, and researchers design pricing algorithms.
Designing on-chip networks for throughput accelerators
Authors: Bakhoda Ali , Kim John , Aamodt Tor M.
Published: September 2013

As the number of cores and threads in throughput accelerators such as Graphics Processing Units (GPU) increases, so does the importance of on-chip interconnection network design. This article explores throughput-effective Network-on-Chips (NoC) for future compute accelerators that employ Bulk-Synchronous Parallel (BSP) programming models such as CUDA and OpenCL. A hardware optimization is “throughput effective” if it improves parallel application-level performance per unit chip area. We evaluate performance of future looking workloads using detailed closed-loop simulations modeling compute nodes, NoC, and the DRAM memory system. We start from a mesh design with bisection bandwidth balanced to off-chip demand. Accelerator workloads tend to demand high off-chip memory bandwidth which results in a many-to-few traffic pattern when coupled with expected technology constraints of slow growth in pins-per-chip. Leveraging these observations we reduce NoC area by proposing a “checkerboard” NoC which alternates between conventional
full
routers and
half
routers with limited connectivity. Next, we show that increasing network terminal bandwidth at the nodes connected to DRAM controllers alleviates a significant fraction of the remaining imbalance resulting from the many-to-few traffic pattern. Furthermore, we propose a “double checkerboard inverted” NoC organization which takes advantage of channel slicing to reduce area while maintaining the performance improvements of the aforementioned techniques. This organization also has a simpler routing mechanism and improves average application throughput per unit area by 24.3%.
Fuzzy ARTMAP Ensemble Based Decision Making and Application
Authors: Jin Min , Xu Zengbing , Li Ren , Wu Dan
Published: September 2013

Because the performance of single FAM is affected by the sequence of sample presentation for the offline mode of training, a fuzzy ARTMAP (FAM) ensemble approach based on the improved Bayesian belief method is supposed to improve the classification accuracy. The training samples are input into a committee of FAMs in different sequence, the output from these FAMs is combined, and the final decision is derived by the improved Bayesian belief method. The experiment results show that the proposed FAMs’ ensemble can classify the different category reliably and has a better classification performance compared with single FAM.
Dilepton Spectroscopy of QCD Matter at Collider Energies
Authors: Rapp Ralf
Published: September 2013

Low-mass dilepton spectra as measured in high-energy heavy-ion collisions are a unique tool to obtain spectroscopic information about the strongly interacting medium produced in these reactions. Specifically, in-medium modifications of the vector spectral function, which is well known in the vacuum, can be deduced from the thermal radiation off the expanding QCD fireball. This, in particular, allows to investigate the fate of theρresonance in the dense medium and possibly infer from it signatures of the (partial) restoration of chiral symmetry, which is spontaneously broken in the QCD vacuum. After briefly reviewing calculations of thermal dilepton emission rates from hot QCD matter, utilizing effective hadronic theory, lattice QCD, or resummed perturbative QCD, we focus on applications to dilepton spectra at heavy-ion collider experiments at RHIC and LHC. This includes invariant-mass spectra at full RHIC energy with transverse-momentum dependencies and azimuthal asymmetries, as well as a systematic investigation of the excitation function down to fixed-target energies, thus making contact to previous precision measurements at the SPS. Furthermore, predictions for the energy frontier at the LHC are presented in both dielectron and dimuon channels.
A Review Study on Traction Energy Saving of Rail Transport
Authors: Feng Xuesong , Zhang Hanxiao , Ding Yong , Liu Zhili , Peng Hongqin , Xu Bin
Published: September 2013

The energy cost of a rail transport system is very big especially for the tractions of trains in its daily operation. Continual effort on decreasing the traction energy cost intensities of various rail transport modes has been made by many researchers and practitioners on different aspects for a long time. From the rail transport operation perspective, this study reviews such energy-saving research mainly focusing on the optimizations of train coasting schemes, the rational designs and utilizations of track alignments, the ameliorations of train attributes, and the improvements of system operations. According to the review work, it is confirmed that in sound responses to distinct track alignments, dynamically optimizing control programs of trains with their reasonably improved attributes ought to be further studied in view of the systematic transport operation of a rail line or network in an integrated manner as much as possible in the future research on traction energy saving of rail transport.
Comment on “A Note on Kang-Rafiq-Kwun Iteration Method for Solving Nonlinear Equations”
Authors: Kang Shin Min , Rafiq Arif , Kwun Young Chel
Published: September 2013

We point out in this paper that the claims made by Li in “A Note on Kang-Rafiq-Kwun Iteration Method for Solving Nonlinear Equations” are not true.
Rheumatoid Arthritis with Deficiency Pattern in Traditional Chinese Medicine Shows Correlation with Cold and Hot Patterns in Gene Expression Profiles
Authors: Wang Minzhi , Chen Gao , Lu Cheng , Xiao Cheng , Li Li , Niu Xuyan , He Xiaojuan , Jiang Miao , Lu Aiping
Published: September 2013

In our precious study, the correlation between cold and hot patterns in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and gene expression profiles in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been explored. Based on TCM theory, deficiency pattern is another key pattern diagnosis among RA patients, which leads to a specific treatment principle in clinical management. Therefore, a further analysis was performed aiming at exploring the characteristic gene expression profile of deficiency pattern and its correlation with cold and hot patterns in RA patients by bioinformatics analysis approach based on gene expression profiles data detected with microarray technology. The TCM deficiency pattern-related genes network comprises 7 significantly, highly connected regions which are mainly involved in protein transcription processes, protein ubiquitination, toll-like receptor activated NF-κB regulated gene transcription and apoptosis, RNA clipping, NF-κB signal, nucleotide metabolism-related apoptosis, and immune response processes. Toll-like receptor activated NF-κB regulated gene transcription and apoptosis pathways are potential specific pathways related to TCM deficiency patterns in RA patients; TCM deficiency pattern is probably related to immune response. Network analysis can be used as a powerful tool for detecting the characteristic mechanism related to specific TCM pattern and the correlations between different patterns.
Generalized Neumann Expansion and Its Application in Stochastic Finite Element Methods
Authors: Wang Xiangyu , Cen Song , Li Chenfeng
Published: September 2013

An acceleration technique, termed generalized Neumann expansion (GNE), is presented for evaluating the responses of uncertain systems. The GNE method, which solves stochastic linear algebraic equations arising in stochastic finite element analysis, is easy to implement and is of high efficiency. The convergence condition of the new method is studied, and a rigorous error estimator is proposed to evaluate the upper bound of the relative error of a given GNE solution. It is found that the third-order GNE solution is sufficient to achieve a good accuracy even when the variation of the source stochastic field is relatively high. The relationship between the GNE method, the perturbation method, and the standard Neumann expansion method is also discussed. Based on the links between these three methods, quantitative error estimations for the perturbation method and the standard Neumann method are obtained for the first time in the probability context.
Stage-Stratified Analysis of Prognostic Significance of Bax-Interacting Factor-1 Expression in Resected Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Ko Yoon Ho , Cho Young-Seok , Won Hye Sung , An Ho Jung , Sun Der Sheng , Hong Soon Uk , Park Jin Hee , Lee Myung Ah
Published: September 2013

Background/Aim.Bax-interacting factor-1 (Bif-1) plays a crucial role in apoptosis and autophagy. The aim of this study was to evaluate Bif-1 protein expression and its prognostic significance in colorectal cancer (CRC).Methods.We analyzed Bif-1 protein expression in 251 resected specimens from patients with CRC by immunohistochemistry using tissue microarray.Results.Low Bif-1 expression was observed in 131 patients (52.2%) and high Bif-1 expression in 120 patients (47.8%). No significant differences were observed in clinicopathological parameters between patients with high and low Bif-1 expression. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed no difference in survival between patients with high and low Bif-1 expression. Stratified analysis of Bif-1 according to TNM stage demonstrated that low Bif-1 expression was significantly associated with a poor outcome in patients with stages I and II (P=0.034). Stratified multivariate analysis demonstrated that low Bif-1 expression was an independent indicator of poor prognosis (hazard ratio, 0.459; 95% confidence interval, 0.285–0.739;P=0.001).Conclusion.Patients with low levels of Bif-1 expression have shortened survival rates in CRC of stages I and II. This suggests that Bif-1 protein expression may be a useful prognostic marker in early-stage CRC.
Nobelist TD LEE Scientist Cooperation Network and Scientist Innovation Ability Model
Authors: Fang Jin-Qing , Liu Qiang
Published: September 2013

Nobelist TD Lee scientist cooperation network (TDLSCN) and their innovation ability are studied. It is found that the TDLSCN not only has the common topological properties both of scale-free and small-world for a general scientist cooperation networks, but also appears the creation multiple-peak phenomenon for number of published paper with year evolution, which become Nobelist TD Lee’s significant mark distinguished from other scientists. This new phenomenon has not been revealed in the scientist cooperation networks before. To demonstrate and explain this new finding, we propose a theoretical model for a nature scientist and his/her team innovation ability. The theoretical results are consistent with the empirical studies very well. This research demonstrates that the model has a certain universality and can be extended to estimate innovation ability for any nature scientist and his/her team. It is a better method for evaluating scientist innovation ability and his/her team for the academic profession and is of application potential.
Life Cycle Costs and Life Cycle Assessment for the Harvesting, Conversion, and the Use of Switchgrass to Produce Electricity
Authors: Lerkkasemsan Nuttapol , Achenie Luke E. K.
Published: September 2013

This paper considers both LCA and LCC of the pyrolysis of switchgrass to use as an energy source in a conventional power plant. The process consists of cultivation, harvesting, transportation, storage, pyrolysis, transportation, and power generation. Here pyrolysis oil is converted to electric power through cocombustion in conventional fossil fuel power plants. Several scenarios are conducted to determine the effect of selected design variables on the production of pyrolysis oil and type of conventional power plants. The set of design variables consist of land fraction, land shape, the distance needed to transport switchgrass to the pyrolysis plant, the distance needed to transport pyrolysis oil to electric generation plant, and the pyrolysis plant capacity. Using an average agriculture land fraction of the United States at 0.4, the estimated cost of electricity from pyrolysis of 5000 tons of switchgrass is the lowest at $0.12 per kwh. Using natural gas turbine power plant for electricity generation, the price of electricity can go as low as 7.70 cent/kwh. The main advantage in using a pyrolysis plant is the negative GHG emission from the process which can define that the process is environmentally friendly.
Artificial Hydrocarbon Networks Fuzzy Inference System
Authors: Ponce Hiram , Ponce Pedro , Molina Arturo
Published: September 2013

This paper presents a novel fuzzy inference model based on artificial hydrocarbon networks, a computational algorithm for modeling problems based on chemical hydrocarbon compounds. In particular, the proposed fuzzy-molecular inference model (FIM-model) uses molecular units of information to partition the output space in the defuzzification step. Moreover, these molecules are linguistic units that can be partially understandable due to the organized structure of the topology and metadata parameters involved in artificial hydrocarbon networks. In addition, a position controller for a direct current (DC) motor was implemented using the proposed FIM-model in type-1 and type-2 fuzzy inference systems. Experimental results demonstrate that the fuzzy-molecular inference model can be applied as an alternative of type-2 Mamdani’s fuzzy control systems because the set of molecular units can deal with dynamic uncertainties mostly present in real-world control applications.
Multiagent Consensus Control under Network-Induced Constraints
Authors: Kim Won Il , Xiong Rong , Zhu Qiuguo , Wu Jun
Published: September 2013

Mean consensus problem is studied using a class of discrete time multiagent systems in which information exchange is subjected to some network-induced constraints. These constraints include package dropout, time delay, and package disorder. Using Markov jump system method, the necessary and sufficient condition of mean square consensus is obtained and a design procedure is presented such that multiagent systems reach mean square consensus.
Best Proximity Points for Relatively -Continuous Mappings in Banach and Hyperconvex Spaces
Authors: Markin Jack , Shahzad Naseer
Published: September 2013

We prove some best proximity point results for relatively -continuous mappings in Banach and hyperconvex metric spaces. Our results generalize and extend some recent results to relatively -continuous mappings and to general spaces.
Characterization of Modified and Polymer Coated Alumina Surfaces by Infrared Spectroscopy
Authors: El-Naggar Ashraf Yehia
Published: September 2013

The prepared, modified, and coated alumina surfaces were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to investigate the surface properties of the individual and double modified samples. FTIR helps in reporting the changes occurred in hydroxyl groups as well as the structure changes as a result of thermal treating, hydrothermal treating, silylation treating, alkali metal treating, coating, and bonding with polymer. FTIR spectroscopy represents the strength and abundance of surface acidic OH which determine the adsorption properties of polar and nonpolar sorbents. Generally, all treated samples exhibit decrease of OH groups compared with those of parent ones producing alumina surfaces of different adsorptive powers.
Wild Fluctuations of Random Functions with the Pareto Distribution
Authors: Li Ming , Zhao Wei
Published: September 2013

This paper provides the fluctuation analysis of random functions with the Pareto distribution. By the introduced concept of wild fluctuations, we give an alternative way to classify the fluctuations from those with light-tailed distributions. Moreover, the suggested term wildest fluctuation may be used to classify random functions with infinite variance from those with finite variances.
Space-Time Radar Waveforms: Circulating Codes
Authors: Babur G. , Aubry P. , Le Chevalier F.
Published: September 2013

This paper describes a concept of the circulating codes covering the whole class of the space-time codes. The circulating codes do not narrow the radiated pattern of the antenna array, thus providing a wide angular coverage, possibly tunable. In turn, the beam-forming on transmit is achievable by means of the signal processing in one (or each) receiver channel. The modelling results demonstrate the efficiency of the circulating codes based on their multidimensional ambiguity functions.
Comparison of Super Resolution Reconstruction Acquisition Geometries for Use in Mouse Phenotyping
Authors: Manivannan Niranchana , Clymer Bradley D. , Bratasz Anna , Powell Kimerly A.
Published: September 2013

3D isotropic imaging at high spatial resolution (30–100 microns) is important for comparing mouse phenotypes. 3D imaging at high spatial resolutions is limited by long acquisition times and is not possible in manyin vivosettings. Super resolution reconstruction (SRR) is a postprocessing technique that has been proposed to improve spatial resolution in the slice-select direction using multiple 2D multislice acquisitions. Any 2D multislice acquisition can be used for SRR. In this study, the effects of using three different low-resolution acquisition geometries (orthogonal, rotational, and shifted) on SRR images were evaluated and compared to a known standard. Iterative back projection was used for the reconstruction of all three acquisition geometries. The results of the study indicate that super resolution reconstructed images based on orthogonally acquired low-resolution images resulted in reconstructed images with higher SNR and CNR in less acquisition time than those based on rotational and shifted acquisition geometries. However, interpolation artifacts were observed in SRR images based on orthogonal acquisition geometry, particularly when the slice thickness was greater than six times the inplane voxel size. Reconstructions based on rotational geometry appeared smoother than those based on orthogonal geometry, but they required two times longer to acquire than the orthogonal LR images.
Increased Anti-Phospholipid Antibodies in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Authors: Careaga Milo , Hansen Robin L. , Hertz-Piccotto Irva , Van de Water Judy , Ashwood Paul
Published: September 2013

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by impairments in communication, social interactions, and repetitive behaviors. While the etiology of ASD is complex and likely involves the interplay of genetic and environmental factors, growing evidence suggests that immune dysfunction and the presence of autoimmune responses including autoantibodies may play a role in ASD. Anti-phospholipid antibodies are believed to occur from both genetic and environmental factors and have been linked to a number of neuropsychiatric symptoms such as cognitive impairments, anxiety, and repetitive behaviors. In the current study, we investigated whether there were elevated levels of anti-phospholipid antibodies in a cross-sectional analysis of plasma of young children with ASD compared to age-matched typically developing (TD) controls and children with developmental delays (DD) other than ASD. We found that levels of anti-cardiolipin,β2-glycoprotein 1, and anti-phosphoserine antibodies were elevated in children with ASD compared with age-matched TD and DD controls. Further, the increase in antibody levels was associated with more impaired behaviors reported by parents. This study provides the first evidence for elevated production of anti-phospholipid antibodies in young children with ASD and provides a unique avenue for future research into determining possible pathogenic mechanisms that may underlie some cases of ASD.