bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bayes Estimation of Traffic Intensity in M/M/1 Queue under a New Weighted Square Error Loss Function
Authors: Ren Hai Ping , Li Jin Ping
Published: February 2012

Bayesian estimator of the traffic intensity in an M/M/1 queue is derived under a new weighted square error loss function. The Bayes estimators are obtained by using two different priors of the traffic intensity,namely,quasi-prior and beta prior. Finally, a Monte Carelo numerical simulation is used to compare these Bayes estimators with the corresponding maximum likelihood estimators.
The Application Research of Single-Molecule Magnets and Molecular Spin Electronics Materials
Authors: Xiao Hai Mei , Shi Li Chun
Published: February 2012

In the basic and applied research, the electronics and spin degrees of freedom is a very promising field of research and development over the past decade, spintronics from fundamental physics to technical devices already have a great deal of progress. This study made an overview of the synthesis, structure and properties of single molecular magnets and their applications in molecular spin combined with the latest research on this study sphere. Single molecular magnets are made of inner magnetic nuclei and peripheral organic molecule lamella, which can improve physical and chemical properties by means of adorn radical of organic ligand and exchange internal magnetic ions. And this paper also analyzes the molecular spin of the electron spin and charge electronic devices at the molecular level.
Stabilization Control of Complex Dynamics of Light-Emitting Diode System Based on LaSalle Invariant Principle
Authors: Duan Hai Long , Liu Yu Liang , Han Chun Xiao , Che Yan Qiu
Published: February 2012

Light-emitting diodes with optoelectronic feedback loop display complex sequences of periodic mixed mode oscillations and chaotic spiking. In this paper, we propose an adaptive control scheme for the stabilization of this complex dynamics, which is based on LaSalle invariant principle. The controller can asymptotically stabilize unstable equilibrium points of dynamical systems without explicit knowledge of the desired steady-state position. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.
Material Balance Calculation of Chromium Ore Smelting Reduction and Direct Alloying Process in a Converter
Authors: Liu Yan , Jiang Mao Fa , Wang De Yong
Published: February 2012

The production process of stainless steel by chromium ore smelting reduction and direct alloying is an important and advanced way to raise the productivity of stainless steel, decrease the production cost, save electric energy and improve the economic profit. The material balance calculation of producing stainless steel crude melts by chromium ore smelting reduction in a 150 t converter is carried out by use of the empirical data and the calculation method of refining plain carbon steel in a converter, according to the blowing conditions of 185 t smelting reduction converter of No.4 steelmaking shop in Chiba Works of JFE Steel. It includes the actual oxygen consumption, furnace gas composition and occurrence amount, mass calculation of stainless steel crude melts and preparation of total material balance table. The absolute error of material balance is -2.859 kg and the relative error is -0.169%. The error is very small, so the material balance calculation can provide certain quantitative basis for determining reasonable design parameters and increasing smelting technology economic indicators.
Performance Analysis of Space-Time and Amplify-and-Forward Cooperative System
Authors: Zhu Kai Yan , Wang Hong Yu , Qian Da Xing
Published: February 2012

In this paper, we consider a space-time and amplify-and-forward(ST-AF) cooperative system which consists of two-antenna source, single-antenna relay and destination. Source transmits Alamouti space-time coding symbols to destination with cooperation of relay which adopts AF strategy. Closed-form symbol error rate(SER) is derived for the ST-AF system with PSK signals. Moreover, an SER approximation are developed to show the asymptotic performance of the ST-AF cooperative system in medium and high SNR regimes. For comparison, the SER approximation of another cooperative space-time coding(C-STC) scheme is also derived. Theoretical analysis shows that the ST-AF can obtain more diversity gain and achieve higher diversity order than C-STC. Finally, computer simulations validate the theoretical analysis.
Vehicle License Plate Recognition with Intelligent Materials Based on Color Division
Authors: Che Sheng Bing , Luo Jin Kai
Published: February 2012

With the development and progress of the economic and technology, transportation has become more and more important in human’s usual life. Intelligent transportation system can be used in many areas. Images in RGB color space are very sensitive to the environment light intensity, and what’s more, there may be some pollution appeared on the plate and so on, these made it difficult to locate the plate area. In this paper, we proposed some new algorithms. In the first stage, car image preprocess, a new algorithm named color division was proposed. Experiments show that, influences from the environment as well as some inevitably differences of colors in the plate into standard color, so the performance of whole system was improved. In the period of license location, a new algorithm based on license color pairs was proposed, and it has good performance after experiments.
Photoelectrocatalytic Oxidation of Methyl Orange in KHCO3 Solution
Authors: Zhang Wen Jie , Yu Na
Published: February 2012

Photoelectrocatalytic oxidation of methyl orange on TiO2 films were investigated in KHCO3 solution. Electro-degradation alone could degrade little methyl orange in the solution. The film electrode prepared using PEG had less activity than the film without PEG. In the potential range from 0 to 1.3 V, degradation rate on film without PEG increased slowly until a sharp increase at potential of 1.2 V. Electrolyte concentration in the solution is not a key factor influencing degradation activity since the total potential was not high. With increasing reaction time, degradation rates on the two film electrodes increased at the same time, while the electrode prepared without PEG performed better than the electrode prepared with PEG.
Enhancement of Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2 Thin Film Using Diethanolamine and MCM-41
Authors: Karki Ananta Kumar , Grisdanurak Nurak , Chiarakorn Siriluk
Published: February 2012

TiO2thin film enhanced by diethanolamine (DEA) and MCM-41 (D-TiO2/MCM-41) was successfully synthesized by sol-gel dip coating technique on glass slides. The roles of DEA and MCM-41 on physical and photocatalytic characteristics of the films were studied using various techniques such as x-ray defraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultra violet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrometry, Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) surface area analysis and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The XRD results showed that the thin film contained almost 100% anatase phase and the crystal size of TiO2was in the range of 4-8 nm. The FTIR spectra indicated the formation of Ti-O-Si and Si-O-Si linkages due to interaction of TiO2and MCM-41. The surface area of TiO2was increased significantly when MCM-41 was added. The use DEA and MCM-41 caused slight increase in visible light absorption but UV absorption was decreased. The photocatalytic reactivity of the thin film was tested by photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under visible light. The addition of DEA as a nitrogen source was beneficial not only for obtaining stable/smooth surface of the thin film but also for enhancing photocatalysis of methylene blue by preventing charge carrier recombination. While MCM-41 played important functions in improving porosity and hydrophilicity of the film. The photodegradation of methylene blue was obtained up to 35% of its original concentration when 1M DEA and 0.3M MCM-41 were incorporated in TiO2thin film. The overall enhancement of photocatalytic activity of the film was a result of nitrogen doping, increased surface area as well as increased hydrophilicity provided by MCM-41.
Titanium Dioxide Catalyzed Photocatalytic Degradation of Carboxylic Acids from Waste Water: A Review
Authors: Gandhi Vimal , Mishra Manish , Joshi P.A.
Published: February 2012

Among the new oxidation methods in advanced oxidation processes, heterogeneous photocatalysis based on UV/ titanium dioxide is one of the emerging technologies for degrading and totally mineralizing toxic and highly stable carboxylic acids from waste water has attracted great attention in last decade. The aliphatic and aromatic carboxylic acids are widely used as reactants or produced as main products or byproducts in various chemical process industries. These chemical process industries generates waste water containing significant amount of carboxylic acids, which need to be removed from waste water before disposal to natural water bodies due to the environmental restrictions and their hazardous effects on flora and fauna. This paper reviews photocatalytic degradation (PCD) process for various carboxylic acids in detail, including basic mechanism of titanium dioxide, effect of carboxylic acid structure and various reaction parameters like effect of initial concentration and kinetic study, catalyst loading, pH, adsorption and deactivation of the photocatalyst. A critical analysis of the available literature has been made and some general conclusions have been drawn related to the above mentioned parameters. The photocatalytic degradation pathways for carboxylic acids are also discussed to understand this process thoroughly.
Application of Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Based Photocatalytic Nanomaterials in Solar and Hydrogen Energy: A Short Review
Authors: Al-Ahmed Amir , Mukhtar Bello , Hossain Safdar , Javaid Zaidi S.M. , Rahman S.U.
Published: February 2012

Tremendous amount of research work is going on Titanium dioxide (TiO2) based materials. These materials have many useful applications in our scientific and daily life and it ranges from photovoltaics to photocatalysis to photo-electrochromics, sensors etc.. All these applications can be divided into two broad categories such as environmental (photocatalysis and sensing) and energy (photovoltaics, water splitting, photo-/electrochromics, and hydrogen storage). Synthesis of TiO2nanoparticles with specific size and structural phase is crucial, for solar sell application. Monodispersed spherical colloids with minimum size variation (5% or less) is essential for the fabrication of photonic crystals. When sensitized with organic dyes or inorganic narrow band gap semiconductors, TiO2can absorb light into the visible light region and convert solar energy into electrical energy for solar cell applications. TiO2nanomaterials also have been widely studied for water splitting and hydrogen production due to their suitable electronic band structure given the redox potential of water. Again nanostructured TiO2has extensively been studied for hydrogen storage with good storage capacity and easy releasing procedure. All these issues and related finding will be discussed in this review.
Photocatalytic Activity of Sol-Gel Derived Bi2O3-TiO2 Nanocomposite
Authors: Karunakaran C. , Magesan P. , Gomathisankar P.
Published: February 2012

Bi2O3-TiO2 nanocomposites were obtained by sol-gel method using tween 80 (T-80) or polyvinyl pyrrolidone-polyethylene glycol (PVP-PEG) as templating agent. The powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of both the composites reveal the crystal structure of Bi2O3 as primitive tetragonal and TiO2 is in anatase phase. The energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectra provide the composition of Bi2O3 in Bi2O3-TiO2 (T-80) and Bi2O3-TiO2 (PVP-PEG) as 3.8 and 20.4 mol. %, respectively. The average crystallite sizes of Bi2O3-TiO2 (T-80) and Bi2O3-TiO2 (PVP-PEG), derived from XRD, are 9 and 17 nm, respectively. The scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images show the spherical shape of Bi2O3-TiO2 (T-80) and the composites are polycrystalline. The diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) of the composites display faint absorption of visible light and strong absorption in UV-A region. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of both the composites are similar and the observed near band gap emission (NBE) and deep level emission (DLE) agree with those of TiO2. The impedance spectra show that the charge-transfer resistances of the composites do not differ significantly. The visible light photoimpedance spectra display the photoconductance of Bi2O3-TiO2 (PVP-PEG) but not that of Bi2O3-TiO2 (T-80). Although the visible light-photocatalytic activities of the two nanocomposites to degrade dye do not differ significantly Bi2O3-TiO2 (T-80) under UV-A light degrades dyes faster than Bi2O3-TiO2 (PVP-PEG).
Physical Health Parameters: Comparison of People with Severe Mental Illness with the General Population
Authors: Northey Alyce , Barnett Fiona
Published: February 2012

Introduction:

Obesity is commonly associated with severe mental illness (SMI). Physical activity has been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality from chronic conditions. The aim of this exploratory study was to explore the physical health parameters and physical activity levels of people with SMI in North Queensland.

Method:

Twenty participants from the general population and 21 participants with SMI volunteered to participate in this comparative study. Information regarding participants' physical activity levels in the previous 7 days was collected. Anthropometric measures were taken, including body mass index, blood pressure and waist-to-hip ratio.

Results:

Body mass index was significantly higher for participants with SMI (p = 0.05). Total domestic and garden metabolic equivalent of task (MET) mean (p = 0.03), total leisure MET mean (p = 0.00), total moderate MET mean (p = 0.04), total vigorous MET mean (p = 0.01), total work MET mean (p = 0.05) and overall total physical activity (p = 0.00) scores were significantly higher for participants from the general population.

Conclusion:

This study found differences in physical health parameters and activity levels between these two populations. These results can inform future occupational therapy by providing a direction for intervention.
Global-scale pattern of peatland Sphagnum growth driven by photosynthetically active radiation and growing season length
Authors: Loisel J. , Gallego-Sala A. V. , Yu Z.
Published: February 2012

Abstract. High-latitude peatlands contain about one third of the world's soil organic carbon, most of which is derived from partly decomposed Sphagnum (peat moss) plants. We conducted a meta-analysis based on a global dataset of Sphagnum growth measurements collected from published literature to investigate the effects of bioclimatic variables on Sphagnum growth. Analysis of variance and general linear models were used to relate Sphagnum magellanicum and S. fuscum growth rates to photosynthetically active radiation integrated over the growing season (PAR0) and a moisture index. We found that PAR0 was the main predictor of Sphagnum growth for the global dataset, and effective moisture was only correlated with moss growth at continental sites. The strong correlation between Sphagnum growth and PAR0 suggests the existence of a global pattern of growth, with slow rates under cool climate and short growing seasons, highlighting the important role of temperature and growing season length in explaining peatland biomass production. Large-scale patterns of cloudiness during the growing season might also limit moss growth. Although considerable uncertainty remains over the carbon balance of peatlands under a changing climate, our results suggest that increasing PAR0 as a result of global warming and lengthening growing seasons could promote Sphagnum growth. Assuming that production and decomposition have the same sensitivity to temperature, this enhanced growth could lead to greater peat-carbon sequestration, inducing a negative feedback to climate change.
Effect of hydraulic parameters on sediment transport capacity in overland flow over erodible beds
Authors: Ali M. , Sterk G. , Seeger M. , Boersema M. , Peters P.
Published: February 2012

Abstract. Sediment transport is an important component of the soil erosion process, which depends on several hydraulic parameters like unit discharge, mean flow velocity, and slope gradient. In most of the previous studies, the impact of these hydraulic parameters on transport capacity was studied for non-erodible bed conditions. Hence, this study aimed to examine the influence of unit discharge, mean flow velocity and slope gradient on sediment transport capacity for erodible beds and also to investigate the relationship between transport capacity and composite force predictors, i.e. shear stress, stream power, unit stream power and effective stream power. In order to accomplish the objectives, experiments were carried out in a 3.0 m long and 0.5 m wide flume using four well sorted sands (0.230, 0.536, 0.719, 1.022 mm). Unit discharges ranging from 0.07 to 2.07 × 10−3 m2 s−1 were simulated inside the flume at four slopes (5.2, 8.7, 13.2 and 17.6%) to analyze their impact on sediment transport rate. The sediment transport rate measured at the bottom end of the flume by taking water and sediment samples was considered equal to sediment transport capacity, because the selected flume length of 3.0 m was found sufficient to reach the transport capacity. The experimental result reveals that the slope gradient has a stronger impact on transport capacity than unit discharge and mean flow velocity due to the fact that the tangential component of gravity force increases with slope gradient. Our results show that unit stream power is an optimal composite force predictor for estimating transport capacity. Stream power and effective stream power can also be successfully related to the transport capacity, however the relations are strongly dependent on grain size. Shear stress showed poor performance, because part of shear stress is dissipated by bed irregularities, bed form evolution and sediment detachment. An empirical transport capacity equation was derived, which illustrates that transport capacity can be predicted from median grain size, total discharge and slope gradient.
Intracorneal hematoma after canaloplasty and clear cornea phacoemulsification: surgical management
Authors: Freiberg Florentina Joyce , Salgado Josefina Parente , Grehn Franz , Klink Thomas
Published: February 2012

Purpose

This is a case report of intracorneal hematoma after canaloplasty and clear cornea phacoemulsification.

Methods

A 75-year-old woman presented with primary open angle glaucoma and visually significant cataract. Canaloplasty and clear corneal phacoemulsification were performed. Postoperatively she had an intracorneal hematoma, which was removed through a clear corneal tunnel.

Results

Preoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 20/40 in the right eye and mean intraocular pressure (IOP) was 20 mmHg. Uneventful canaloplasty, clear corneal phacoemulsification, and implantation of a posterior chamber intraocular lens were performed. One day after the operation, BCVA was 20/400 in the right eye. The IOP was 8 mmHg. Anterior segment examination revealed a nasally located intrastromal hematoma between corneal stroma and Descemet membrane. The intracorneal hematoma was removed through a clear corneal tunnel. Six months postoperatively, BCVA was 20/25 in the right eye. The IOP with one medication was 17 mmHg.

Conclusions

This operation was a minimally invasive technique to remove intrastromal hematocornea after viscocanaloplasty.
The Safety and Efficacy of One-Stage Bilateral Metal-On-Metal Hip Resurfacing Arthroplasty
Authors: Nam Denis , Rebolledo Brian J. , Su Edwin P.
Published: February 2012

The objective of this study was to report the perioperative safety and efficacy of single-stage, bilateral hip resurfacing arthroplasties (HRAs) in 104 patients. The mean preoperative ASA grade was 1.7 ± 0.6, and the mean total operative time was 3 hours and 31 minutes (± 32 mins). 13 patients (12.5%) required a homologous blood transfusion. Local complications included 5 patients with unilateral, serous, incisional drainage after postoperative day 3, with 1 patient (0.9%) requiring a superficial irrigation and debridement. One systemic complication (0.9%) was noted, as one patient developed atrial fibrillation. There were no episodes of femoral neck fracture, deep venous thrombosis, or pulmonary embolism, although routine screening for thromboembolic disease was not performed. Hospital length of stay averaged 4.1 ± 0.9 days, with 76% of patients discharged home. A single-stage procedure carries an acceptable complication risk, requires a low rate of homologous blood transfusion, and has a low rate of local and systemic complications when performed in the appropriately selected patient.
Outcomes in Nonagenarians after Hemiarthroplasty for Femoral Neck Fracture. A Prospective Matched Cohort Study
Authors: Sanz-Reig Javier , Lizaur-Utrilla Alejandro , Serna-Berna Ricardo
Published: February 2012

A prospective cohort of 33 nonagenarians with hemiartroplasty for femoral neck fracture was matched with 33 patients aged between 70 and 89, using preoperative and postoperative data, and the following were studied; epidemiological data, physical dependence, and SF-12 and WOMAC questionnaires.

The mortality rate at one year was 24.2%, influenced by the presence of 3 or more comorbidities, dementia, and previous dependence. The perioperative period was the most vulnerable time, and in some cases delaying surgery should be considered to stabilise the patient's medical condition in very elderly patients. Mortality and functional outcomes were worse than in younger patients, but the surgical complication rate was similar. Prognostic factors for a decline in quality of life were dementia and previous dependence.
Characterizing the Impact of Minor Cannula Design Modification
Authors: Abdel-Sayed Saad , Favre Julien , von Segesser Ludwig K.
Published: February 2012

Objective

Bench evaluation of the hydrodynamic behavior of venous cannulas is a valuable technique for the analysis of their performance during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the internal diameter of the extracorporeal connecting tube of venous cannulas on flow rate (Q), pressure drop (ΔP), and cannula resistance (ΔP/Q2) values, using a computer assisted test bench.

Methods

An in vitro circuit was set up with silicone tubing between the test cannula encased in a movable reservoir, and a static reservoir. The ΔP, defined as the difference between the drainage pressure and the preload pressure, was measured using high-fidelity Millar pressure transducers. Q was measured using an ultrasonic flowmeter. Data display and data recording were controlled using virtual instruments in a stepwise fashion.

Results

The 27 F Smartcanula® with a 9 mm connecting tube diameter showed 17% less resistance compared to that with an 8 mm connecting tube diameter. Q values were 7.22±0.1 and 7.81±0.04 L/min for cannulas with 8 mm and 9 mm connecting tube diameters, respectively. The ΔP/Q2 ratio values were 72% lower for the Medtronic cannula with a 9 mm connecting tube diameter compared to that with an 8 mm connecting tube diameter. Q values for the Medtronic cannula were 3.94±0.23 and 6.58±0.04 L/min with 8 mm and 9 mm connecting tube diameters, respectively. The 27 F Smartcanula® showed 13% more flow rate compared to the 28 F Medtronic cannula using the unpaired Student t-test (p<0.0001).

Conclusions

Our results demonstrated that Q was increased but ΔP and ΔP/Q2 values were significantly decreased when the connecting tube diameter was increased for venous cannulas. The connecting tube diameter significantly affected the resistance to liquid flow through the cannula. Smartcanulas® outperform Medtronic cannulas.
Stress and Violence in the Workplace and on Campus
Authors: Hunt Matthew L. , Hughey Aaron W. , Burke Monica G.
Published: February 2012

Levels of stress and violence at work have been increasing globally for the past few decades. Whether the setting is business and industry or a college campus, this disturbing trend affects a growing number of people, including those who do not work directly in these environments. In this paper the authors describe the relationship between stress and violence and offer recommendations as to how managers and administrators can reduce employee and student stress levels and help to prevent hostile behaviour from occurring in private companies, public agencies and institutions of higher education. Proactive strategies for preventing violent incidents are included together with suggestions on how to deal effectively with such incidents when they do arise.
Revenue Sharing: An Assessment of Current Policies at UK Universities
Authors: Gazzard James , Brown Sarah A.
Published: February 2012

The transfer of academic technologies to industry is an important process underpinning innovation and economic development. Various approaches have been adopted by universities to encourage academics to participate in commercial activities. Many have implemented revenue sharing policies, through which the revenues generated from university-owned intellectual property (IP) are distributed to internal stakeholders, including the inventing academics. This article assesses the current revenue sharing policies of 84 UK universities. The findings are of relevance to policy makers and practitioners seeking to benchmark existing policies and to explore how academics can be further incentivized to commercialize their research.
Relativistic Oscillators in a Noncommutative Space: a Path Integral Approach
Authors: Benzair H. , Merad M. , Boudjedaa T. , Makhlouf A.
Published: February 2012

In this paper, we consider the dynamics of Klein-Gordon and Dirac oscillators in (2+1) dimensions with noncommutativity of the spatial coordinates using the supersymmetric path integral formalism. The propagator is calculated and the energy eigenvalues with their corresponding eigenfunctions are deduced.
Cross Focusing of two Coaxial Gaussian Beams with Relativistic and Ponderomotive Nonlinearity
Authors: Sharma Prerana
Published: February 2012

This paper presents the cross focusing of two high power lasers by taking off-axial contributions of the laser beams in a collisionless plasma. Due to relativistic and ponderomotive nonlinearities the two laser beams affect the dynamics of each other and cross focusing takes place. The expressions for the laser beam intensities by using the eikonal method are derived. The contributions of the r2 and r4 terms are incorporated. By expanding the eikonal and the other relevant quantities up to the fourth power of r, the solution of the pump laser beam is obtained within the extended paraxial ray approximation. Filamentary structures of the laser beams are observed due to the relativistic and the ponderomotive nonlinearity. The focusing of the laser beams is shown to become fast in the extended paraxial region. Using the laser beam and the plasma parameters, appropriate for beat wave processes, the filaments of the laser beams are studied and the relevance of these results to beat wave processes is pointed out.
Light‐Induced Plasmon‐Assisted Phase Transformation of Carbon on Metal Nanoparticles
Authors: Kulkarni Dhaval D. , Kim Songkil , Fedorov Andrei G. , Tsukruk Vladimir V.
Published: February 2012

Highly localized light‐induced phase transformation of electron beam induced deposited carbon nanostructures (dots and squares) on noble metal surfaces is reported. The phase transformation from the amorphous phase to the disordered graphitic phase is analyzed using the characteristic Raman signatures for amorphous and graphitized carbon and conductive force microscopy. The extent of the transformation is found to be largely dependent on the plasmon absorption properties of the underlying metal film. It is observed that the amorphous carbon deposits on the silver films consisting of 12 nm particles with the plasmon absorption near the laser excitation wavelength (514 nm), undergo fast graphitization to a nanocrystalline or a disordered graphitic phase. This transformation results in the formation of a highly conductive carbon/metal interface with at least seven orders of magnitude lower electrical resistivity than the initial insulating interface. It is suggested that the fast graphitization of nanoscale carbon deposits might serve as an efficient path for the formation of complex patterned nanoscale metal‐carbon interconnects with high electrical conductivity.
3D Network Magnetophotonic Crystals Fabricated on Morpho Butterfly Wing Templates
Authors: Peng Wenhong , Zhu Shenmin , Wang Wanlin , Zhang Wang , Gu Jiajun , Hu Xiaobin , Zhang Di , Chen Zhixin
Published: February 2012

A simple synthesis method combining a sol‐gel route followed by a reduction step is developed for the fabrication of magnetophotonic crystal (MPC) materials from Morpho butterfly wings. The sol‐gel route leads to hematite with a photonic crystal structure (PC‐α‐Fe2O3) being faithfully replicated from a biotemplate, and the desired magnetophotonic crystal Fe3O4 (MPC‐Fe3O4) is obtained by the reduction of the PC‐α‐Fe2O3 under a H2/Ar atmosphere. The structural replication fidelity of the process is demonstrated on both the macro‐ and microscale, and even down to the nanoscale, as evidenced by scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, reflectance measurements, and transmission electron microscopy. It is found that the chemical transformation of PC‐α‐Fe2O3 to MPC‐Fe3O4 changes only the dielectric constant and does not induce structural defects that could affect the photonic‐crystal properties of the composite. The photonic band gap of MPC‐Fe3O4 can be red‐shifted with an increase of the external magnetic field strength, which is further supported by theoretical calculations. The reported biomimetic technique provides an effective approach to produce magnetophotonic crystals from nature with 3D networks, which may open up an avenue for the creation of new magneto‐optical devices and theoretical research in this field.
Dynamical properties of partially coherent Bose‐Einstein condensates in double wells
Authors: Lu L.‐H. , Li Y.‐Q.
Published: February 2012

Some dynamical features of partially coherent Bose‐Einstein condensate systems confined in double‐well potentials are investigated in mean field approximation. For one‐component system, the phenomena of self‐trapping is studied and it is shown that the partially coherent system, like completely coherent one, can also exhibit self‐trapping phenomena which are affected by both the degree of coherence and the initial relative phase. The adiabatic properties are also studied by introducing the fidelity for mixed state. It is shown that the introduced fidelity can characterize the adiabatic condition of the partially coherent system. For two‐component system, the time evolution of the degree of coherence for a time‐dependent tunneling strength is investigated. The corresponding results imply that the degree of coherence for such a two‐component system can exhibit decoherence phenomena even without the condensate‐environment coupling.
New stopping criteria for iterative decoding of LDPC codes in H‐ARQ systems
Authors: Shin Beomkyu , Kim Sang‐Hyo , Park Hosung , No Jong‐Seon , Shin Dong‐Joon
Published: February 2012

Under severely unreliable channel, decoding of error‐correcting codes frequently fails, which requires a lot of computational complexity, especially, in the iterative decoding algorithm. In hybrid automatic repeat request systems, most of computation power is wasted on failed decoding if a codeword is retransmitted many times. Therefore, early stopping of iterative decoding needs to be adopted. In this paper, we propose a new stopping algorithm of iterative belief propagation decoding for low‐density parity‐check codes, which is effective on both high and low signal‐to‐noise ratio ranges and scalable to variable code rate and length. The proposed stopping algorithm combines several good stopping criteria. Each criterion is extremely simple and will not be a burden to the overall system. With the proposed stopping algorithm, it is shown via numerical analysis that the decoding complexity of hybrid automatic repeat request system with adaptive modulation and coding scheme can be fairly reduced. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Heterogenization of copper catalyst for the oxidation of phenol, a common contaminant in industrial wastewater
Authors: Castro Isabel U. , Fortuny Agustí , Stüber Frank , Fabregat Azael , Font Josep , Bengoa Christophe
Published: February 2012

Advance oxidation process was employed as a pretreatment of industrial wastewater. For this purpose, the use of heavy metals as a catalyst is necessary but also complicated because homogeneous catalysts are difficult to recover after reaction process. The heterogenization of Cu(II) ions was proposed by taking advantage of the adsorptive characteristics of polymeric matrices. Crosslinked poly(4‐vinylpyridine) of 2 and 25% and poly(D‐glucosamine) were tested as supports of copper. Adsorption was employed to heterogenize Cu(II) by considering the influences of pH and temperature on the process. The catalysts were evaluated by their metal content, catalytic behavior for the oxidation of phenol and leaching degree after reaction. Poly(4‐vinylpyridine) 2% was the best material for Cu(II) immobilization with an adsorption capacity of 90 mg g−1. Afterward, poly(4‐vinylpyridine) 2%, Cu(II) achieved 64% of phenol conversion, which represents a favorable result for the oxidation of phenol as the model of industrial wastewater pretreatments. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 32: 269‐278, 2013
Identification of the hysteretic behaviour of a partial‐strength steel–concrete moment‐resisting frame structure subject to pseudodynamic tests
Authors: Bursi Oreste S. , Ceravolo Rosario , Erlicher Silvano , Zanotti Fragonara Luca
Published: February 2012

In low‐rise steel‐concrete composite structures, moment‐resisting frames can be designed to develop a ductile response in beam‐to‐column joints and column bases by activating flexural yielding of beams and end plates, shear yielding of column web panel zones and yielding of anchors. To evaluate the performance of these components under differing earthquake intensities, a series of pseudodynamic, quasistatic cyclic and vibration tests were carried out on a two‐storey two‐bay moment resisting structure. The performance‐based seismic design and control of these structures requires that stiffness degradation, strength deterioration and slip are properly modelled. In this context, compact hysteretic models can play a key role and must therefore be striven for. Nonetheless, relevant techniques, like nonlinear system identification, are far from representing standard and reliable tools for the dynamic characterization of full‐scale structural systems. With this objective in mind, we present a restoring force surface‐based technique applied to pseudodynamic test data, in view of the nonlinear identification of multistorey frames. The technique is developed by means of a parametric approach, where a time‐variant stiffness operator is coupled to a modified Bouc–Wen model that allows both for slip and for degradation in stiffness. Strength deterioration is indirectly taken into account too. We also show how model‐based parameters can be correlated to the damage process progressively observed both in the structure and in its components. Finally, the predictive capabilities of the identified model are highlighted. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Impulse Control Disorders in Obese Patients
Authors: Schmidt Frauke , Körber Stephanie , de Zwaan Martina , Müller Astrid
Published: February 2012

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of impulse control disorders (ICDs) in morbidly obese individuals. One hundred bariatric surgery candidates were examined using a module of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐IV that has been developed for ICDs. Nineteen per cent suffered from at least one current ICD and 27% met the criteria for any lifetime ICD, most frequently skin picking (current, 8%; lifetime, 9%), compulsive buying (current 6%, lifetime 8%), and intermittent explosive disorder (current, 5%; lifetime, 10%). Patients with regular binge eating (N = 25) reported significantly more often a history of at least one ICD compared with those without binge eating. The results indicate a high prevalence of ICDs among morbidly obese prebariatric surgery patients that are related to regular binge eating. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.
Coral: QSAR models for acute toxicity in fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)
Authors: Toropova A. P. , Toropov A. A. , Lombardo A. , Roncaglioni A. , Benfenati E. , Gini G.
Published: February 2012

CORrelation And Logic (CORAL) is a software that generates quantitative structure activity relationships (QSAR) for different endpoints. This study is dedicated to the QSAR analysis of acute toxicity in Fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas). Statistical quality for the external test set is a complex function of the split (into training and test subsets), the number of epochs of the Monte Carlo optimization, and the threshold that is a criterion for dividing the correlation weights into two classes rare (blocked) and not rare (active). Computational experiments with three random splits (data on 568 compounds) indicated that this approach can satisfactorily predict the desired endpoint (the negative decimal logarithm of the 50% lethal concentration, in mmol/L, pLC50). The average correlation coefficients (r2) are 0.675 ± 0.0053, 0.824 ± 0.0242, 0.787 ± 0.0101 for subtraining, calibration, and test set, respectively. The average standard errors of estimation (s) are 0.837 ± 0.021, 0.555 ± 0.047, 0.606 ± 0.049 for subtraining, calibration, and test set, respectively. The CORAL software together with three random splits into subtraining, calibration, and test sets can be downloaded on the Internet (http://www.insilico.eu/coral/). © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A New Calibration Method for the Accurate Determination of Ethylene Content in Ethylene‐Propylene Copolymers by CRYSTEX‐IR
Authors: Romero L. , Ortín A. , Monrabal B. , Torres‐Lapasió J. R. , García‐Álvarez‐Coque M. C.
Published: February 2012

Summary: CRYSTEX is a fully automated instrument for the determination of Xylene Solubles in polypropylene and ethylene‐propylene copolymers, providing an excellent correlation with gravimetric methods. The instrument can be equipped with a dual band infrared (IR) detector to quantify the ethylene weight percentage (C2%) in the amorphous fraction, and in the whole polymer sample. In this work, a new approach based on multiple linear regression (MLR) models is presented, which makes use of two independent IR absorbance signals acquired simultaneously by the detector. A compromise model to predict directly C2% is proposed, which balances good accuracy and reduced experimental effort. MLR models able to predict the total sample concentration were also developed. The results were successfully validated using copolymer standards in a wide chemical composition range.
Unsaturation Characterization of Polyolefins by NMR and Thermal Gradient NMR (TGNMR) with a High Temperature Cryoprobe
Authors: Zhou Zhe , Cong Rongjuan , He Yiyong , Paradkar Manjiri , Demirors Mehmet , Cheatham Mike , deGroot A. Willem
Published: February 2012

Summary: It is important to identify the types of unsaturation and to quantify the amount of unsaturation in polyolefins for understanding chain termination mechanisms of polymerization with different catalysts. Unsaturation is also closely related to processibility, weatherability of polyolefin products and the level of antioxidants to be added for stabilizing purposes. However, it can be very challenging to accurately measure samples with a low level of the unsaturation within a reasonable amount of NMR acquisition time, along with some challenging technical issues, such as dynamic range with 1H NMR. This paper reports a new method to accurately quantify unsaturation by using multi peak presaturation 1H NMR with a high temperature NMR cryoprobe. The limit of quantification can be less than 1 unsaturation/1,000,000 carbons with about 30 min NMR acquisition. This paper also introduces a new technique, temperature gradient NMR (TGNMR) with or without substrates, to characterize unsaturation distribution directly in NMR tube upon temperature change.
Crystallization Elution Fractionation of LLDPEs Made with Metallocene Catalysts
Authors: Alghyamah Abdulaziz A. , Soares João B. P.
Published: February 2012

Summary: Temperature rising elution fractionation (TREF) and crystallization analysis fractionation (CRYSTAF) fractionate semicrystalline polymers according to their crystallizabilities from dilute solution and have been widely used to measure the CCD of LLDPE. A new fractionation technique, known as crystallization elution fractionation (CEF), has been developed recently. The main difference between CEF and TREF and CRYSTAF is that the crystallization cycle in CEF is performed dynamically under solvent flow in a long column that contains an inert support material. In this paper, several metallocene‐LLDPE resins have been analyzed by CEF to investigate the effect of cooling cycle parameters, comonomer fraction, polymer molecular weight, and blend cocrystallization on the fractionation. This new technique can be used to obtain CCDs with better resolution and in shorter times than TREF and CRYSTAF.
Improving the top quark forward-backward asymmetry measurement at the LHC
Authors: Bai Yang , Han Zhenyu
Published: February 2012

Abstract

At the LHC, top quark pairs are dominantly produced from gluons, making it difficult to measure the top quark forward-backward asymmetry. To improve the asymmetry measurement, we study variables that can distinguish between top quarks produced from gluons and those from quarks: the invariant mass of the top pair, the rapity of the top-antitop system in the lab frame, the rapity of the top quark in the top quark polarization and the top-antitop spin correlation. We combine all the variables in a likelihood discriminant method to separate gluon-initiated events from quark-initiated events. We apply our method on models including G-prime’s and W-prime’s motivated by the recent observation of a large top quark forward-backward asymmetry at the Tevatron. We have found that the significance of the asymmetry measurement can be enhanced by 10% to 30%. At the same time, the central values of the asymmetry increase by 40% to 100%. We have also obtained the best spin quantization axes for studying top quark polarization as well as spin-correlation for the new physics models.
A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPORTANCE OF SEEDLING AGE IN THE SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION (SRI) IN EASTERN INDIA
Authors: DEB DEBAL , LÄSSIG JÖRG , KLOFT MARIUS
Published: February 2012

A survey of the system of rice intensification (SRI)-related literature indicates that different authors have drawn conflicting inferences about rice yield performances under the SRI, chiefly because the SRI methodology has been variously advocated, interpreted and implemented in the field using different rice varieties, seedling ages at transplantation, cultivation seasons and nutrient management regimes. In particular, the SRI method of single-seedling transplantation (SST) has potential economic advantage due to reduced seed costs, but it is not clear whether SST is an effective management strategy across a range of seedling ages, and whether there is any specific seedling age that is optimal for yield improvement of a given rice variety. This is an important consideration in rain-fed ecosystems where variable rainfall patterns and lack of controlled irrigation make it difficult to reliably transplant at a specific seedling age as recommended for the SRI. We conducted a five year-long experiment on a rain-fed organic farm using a short-duration upland and a medium-duration lowland landrace, following the SRI methodology. Rice seedlings of different ages (6, 10, 14, 18 and 28 days after establishment) were transplanted at 25 cm × 25 cm spacing in three replicated plots. The performance for each landrace was examined with respect to productive tillers, panicle density, total grain counts per hill and grain yield per unit area. Performances of seedlings of different ages were compared with that of control plots that employed all SRI practices with the exception that 28-day-old seedlings were transplanted with three seedlings per hill. The results indicate that (1) the SRI can improve mean panicle density if seedling age ≤ 18 days, but that responses differ between varieties; (2) the number of productive tillers per hill is significantly less in SST than that of multiple seedling transplants (MST) of 28-day-old seedlings of both upland and lowland varieties; (3) the total grain numbers per hill of the lowland variety is significantly greater for 14-day-old SST than 28-day-old MST; (4) the grain yield per unit area from young SRI transplants is significantly greater than that from 28-day-old MST for the lowland variety, although the magnitude of the improvement was small; (5) for the upland variety, grain yields declined with the oldest seedlings, but planting multiple seedlings per hill made the yield of the oldest transplants on par with that of younger seedlings planted singly. Our findings suggest that transplanting younger seedlings under the SRI management may not necessarily enhance grain yields.
Comparison of the principal proteins in bovine, caprine, buffalo, equine and camel milk
Authors: Hinz Katharina , O'Connor Paula M , Huppertz Thom , Ross R Paul , Kelly Alan L
Published: February 2012

Proteomic analysis of bovine, caprine, buffalo, equine and camel milk highlighted significant interspecies differences. Camel milk was found to be devoid of β-lactoglobulin, whereas β-lactoglobulin was the major whey protein in bovine, buffalo, caprine, and equine milk. Five different isoforms of κ-casein were found in camel milk, analogous to the micro-heterogeneity observed for bovine κ-casein. Several spots observed in 2D-electrophoretograms of milk of all species could tentatively be identified as polypeptides arising from the enzymatic hydrolysis of caseins. The understanding gained from the proteomic comparison of these milks may be of relevance both in terms of identifying sources of hypoallergenic alternatives to bovine milk and detection of adulteration of milk samples and products.
The roar of the lion, the taste of the salt: on really religious reasons
Authors: SMITH STEVEN G.
Published: February 2012

Some of the most significant religious appeals can be taken as reasons of a distinctively religious kind. But many popular ways of interpreting religious reasoning pose obstacles to appreciating religious reasons as such. To avoid binding the concept of religious reason to an intellectual programme that requires a disjunction between the religious and the rational or that dissolves all tension between religious claims and general rational standards of validity and normativity, religious reasons can be defined for purposes of liberal study by their challenging yet rationally appreciable transvalid claims and transnormative implications. Examples from the book of Amos and the Chandogya Upanishad are discussed.
Heat kernel bounds for complex time and Schrödinger Kernel on hyperbolic spaces and Kleinian groups
Authors: MANDOUVALOS N.
Published: February 2012

We obtain sharp heat Kernel bounds for complex time and bounds for the Schrödinger Kernel on hyperbolic spaces and for a class of Kleinian groups as well.