An explicit multi-time-stepping algorithm for aerodynamic flows

OpenAIRE

Niemann-Tuitman, B.E.; Veldman, A.E.P.

1997-01-01

An explicit multi-time-stepping algorithm with applications to aerodynamic flows is presented. In the algorithm, in different parts of the computational domain different time steps are taken, and the flow is synchronized at the so-called synchronization levels. The algorithm is validated for aerodynamic turbulent flows. For two-dimensional flows speedups in the order of five with respect to single time stepping are obtained.

Multi-step ahead forecasts for electricity prices using NARX: A new approach, a critical analysis of one-step ahead forecasts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andalib, Arash; Atry, Farid

2009-01-01

The prediction of electricity prices is very important to participants of deregulated markets. Among many properties, a successful prediction tool should be able to capture long-term dependencies in market's historical data. A nonlinear autoregressive model with exogenous inputs (NARX) has proven to enjoy a superior performance to capture such dependencies than other learning machines. However, it is not examined for electricity price forecasting so far. In this paper, we have employed a NARX network for forecasting electricity prices. Our prediction model is then compared with two currently used methods, namely the multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) and wavelet neural network. All the models are built on the reconstructed state space of market's historical data, which either improves the results or decreases the complexity of learning algorithms. Here, we also criticize the one-step ahead forecasts for electricity price that may suffer a one-term delay and we explain why the mean square error criterion does not guarantee a functional prediction result in this case. To tackle the problem, we pursue multi-step ahead predictions. Results for the Ontario electricity market are presented

In core monitor having multi-step seals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kasai, Makoto; Ono, Susumu.

1976-01-01

Purpose: To completely prevent a sensor gas sealed in a pipe from leaking in an in-core neutron detector for use with a bwr type reactor. Constitution: In an in core monitor fabricated by disposing inner and outer electrodes in a housing, forming a layer of neutron conversion material on the outer electrode, filling an ionizing gas within the space between the layer and the inner electrode and, thereafter, attaching an insulation cable and an exhaust pipe respectively by way of insulators to both ends of the housing, the exhaust pipe is sealed in two-steps through pressure bonding using a multi-stepped pincher tool having two pressure bonding bits of a step shape and the outer sealing portion is further welded. The sensor gas sealed in the pipe can thus be prevented from leaking upon pressure bonding and welding. (Horiuchi, T.)

In core monitor having multi-step seals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kasai, M; Ono, S

1976-12-09

A method to completely prevent a sensor gas sealed in a pipe from leaking in an in-core neutron detector for use with a BWR type reactor is described. In an in core monitor fabricated by disposing inner and outer electrodes in a housing, forming a layer of neutron conversion material on the outer electrode, filling an ionizing gas within the space between the layer and the inner electrode and, thereafter, attaching an insulation cable and an exhaust pipe respectively by way of insulators to both ends of the housing, the exhaust pipe is sealed in two-steps through pressure bonding using a multi-stepped pincher tool having two pressure bonding bits of a step shape and the outer sealing portion is further welded. The sensor gas sealed in the pipe can thus be prevented from leaking upon pressure bonding and welding.

48 CFR 15.202 - Advisory multi-step process.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... CONTRACTING METHODS AND CONTRACT TYPES CONTRACTING BY NEGOTIATION Solicitation and Receipt of Proposals and Information 15.202 Advisory multi-step process. (a) The agency may publish a presolicitation notice (see 5.204) that provides a general description of the scope or purpose of the acquisition and invites potential...

A Multi-step and Multi-level approach for Computer Aided Molecular Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

. The problem formulation step incorporates a knowledge base for the identification and setup of the design criteria. Candidate compounds are identified using a multi-level generate and test CAMD solution algorithm capable of designing molecules having a high level of molecular detail. A post solution step...... using an Integrated Computer Aided System (ICAS) for result analysis and verification is included in the methodology. Keywords: CAMD, separation processes, knowledge base, molecular design, solvent selection, substitution, group contribution, property prediction, ICAS Introduction The use of Computer...... Aided Molecular Design (CAMD) for the identification of compounds having specific physic...

Multi-step rearrangement mechanism for acetyl cedrene to the hydrocarbon follower

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Paknikar, Shashikumar Keshav; Kamounah, Fadhil S.; Hansen, Poul Erik

2017-01-01

Conversion of acetyl cedrene (2) to its follower (3) using acetic anhydride and polyphosphoric acid involves a multi-step cationic molecular rearrangement, which is consistent with deuteriation and 1-13C labeling studies of acetyl cedrene. The key step involves cyclopropylcarbinyl cation-cyclopro...

Antimicrobial potential of actinobacteria isolated from the rhizosphere of the Caatinga biome plant Caesalpinia pyramidalis Tul.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva-Lacerda, G R; Santana, R C F; Vicalvi-Costa, M C V; Solidônio, E G; Sena, K X F R; Lima, G M S; Araújo, J M

2016-03-04

Actinobacteria are known to produce various secondary metabolites having antibiotic effects. This study assessed the antimicrobial potential of actinobacteria isolated from the rhizosphere of Caesalpinia pyramidalis Tul. from the Caatinga biome. Sixty-eight actinobacteria isolates were evaluated for antimicrobial activity against different microorganisms by disk diffusion and submerged fermentation, using different culture media, followed by determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and chemical prospecting of the crude extract. Of the isolates studied, 52.9% of those isolated at 37°C and 47.05% of those isolated at 45°C had activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), Fusarium moniliforme, and Candida albicans. When compared with others actinobacteria, the isolate C1.129 stood out with better activity and was identified by 16S rDNA gene analysis as Streptomyces parvulus. The crude ethanol extract showed an MIC of 0.97 μg/mL for MRSA and B. subtilis, while the ethyl acetate extract showed MIC of 3.9 μg/mL for S. aureus and MRSA, showing the greatest potential among the metabolites produced. Chemical prospecting revealed the presence of mono/sesquiterpenes, proanthocyanidin, triterpenes, and steroids in both crude extracts. This study evaluates S. parvulus activity against multi-resistant microorganisms such as MRSA. Thus, it proves that low-fertility soil, as is found in the Caatinga, may contain important microorganisms for the development of new antimicrobial drugs.

Impact of user influence on information multi-step communication in a micro-blog

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Yue; Hu Yong; He Xiao-Hai; Deng Ken

2014-01-01

User influence is generally considered as one of the most critical factors that affect information cascading spreading. Based on this common assumption, this paper proposes a theoretical model to examine user influence on the information multi-step communication in a micro-blog. The multi-steps of information communication are divided into first-step and non-first-step, and user influence is classified into five dimensions. Actual data from the Sina micro-blog is collected to construct the model by means of an approach based on structural equations that uses the Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique. Our experimental results indicate that the dimensions of the number of fans and their authority significantly impact the information of first-step communication. Leader rank has a positive impact on both first-step and non-first-step communication. Moreover, global centrality and weight of friends are positively related to the information non-first-step communication, but authority is found to have much less relation to it

Multi-step prediction for influenza outbreak by an adjusted long short-term memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, J; Nawata, K

2018-05-01

Influenza results in approximately 3-5 million annual cases of severe illness and 250 000-500 000 deaths. We urgently need an accurate multi-step-ahead time-series forecasting model to help hospitals to perform dynamical assignments of beds to influenza patients for the annually varied influenza season, and aid pharmaceutical companies to formulate a flexible plan of manufacturing vaccine for the yearly different influenza vaccine. In this study, we utilised four different multi-step prediction algorithms in the long short-term memory (LSTM). The result showed that implementing multiple single-output prediction in a six-layer LSTM structure achieved the best accuracy. The mean absolute percentage errors from two- to 13-step-ahead prediction for the US influenza-like illness rates were all LSTM has been applied and refined to perform multi-step-ahead prediction for influenza outbreaks. Hopefully, this modelling methodology can be applied in other countries and therefore help prevent and control influenza worldwide.

Photon Production through Multi-step Processes Important in Nuclear Fluorescence Experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hagmann, C; Pruet, J

2006-01-01

The authors present calculations describing the production of photons through multi-step processes occurring when a beam of gamma rays interacts with a macroscopic material. These processes involve the creation of energetic electrons through Compton scattering, photo-absorption and pair production, the subsequent scattering of these electrons, and the creation of energetic photons occurring as these electrons are slowed through Bremsstrahlung emission. Unlike single Compton collisions, during which an energetic photon that is scattered through a large angle loses most of its energy, these multi-step processes result in a sizable flux of energetic photons traveling at large angles relative to an incident photon beam. These multi-step processes are also a key background in experiments that measure nuclear resonance fluorescence by shining photons on a thin foil and observing the spectrum of back-scattered photons. Effective cross sections describing the production of backscattered photons are presented in a tabular form that allows simple estimates of backgrounds expected in a variety of experiments. Incident photons with energies between 0.5 MeV and 8 MeV are considered. These calculations of effective cross sections may be useful for those designing NRF experiments or systems that detect specific isotopes in well-shielded environments through observation of resonance fluorescence

Multivariate statistical analysis of a multi-step industrial processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reinikainen, S.P.; Høskuldsson, Agnar

2007-01-01

Monitoring and quality control of industrial processes often produce information on how the data have been obtained. In batch processes, for instance, the process is carried out in stages; some process or control parameters are set at each stage. However, the obtained data might not be utilized...... efficiently, even if this information may reveal significant knowledge about process dynamics or ongoing phenomena. When studying the process data, it may be important to analyse the data in the light of the physical or time-wise development of each process step. In this paper, a unified approach to analyse...... multivariate multi-step processes, where results from each step are used to evaluate future results, is presented. The methods presented are based on Priority PLS Regression. The basic idea is to compute the weights in the regression analysis for given steps, but adjust all data by the resulting score vectors...

Densities of accessible final states for multi-step compound reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maoming De; Guo Hua

1993-01-01

The densities of accessible final states for calculations of multi-step compound reactions are derived. The Pauli exclusion principle is taken into account in the calculations. The results are compared with a previous author's results and the effect of the Pauli exclusion principle is investigated. (Author)

Multi-step process for concentrating magnetic particles in waste sludges

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, John L.

1990-01-01

This invention involves a multi-step, multi-force process for dewatering sludges which have high concentrations of magnetic particles, such as waste sludges generated during steelmaking. This series of processing steps involves (1) mixing a chemical flocculating agent with the sludge; (2) allowing the particles to aggregate under non-turbulent conditions; (3) subjecting the mixture to a magnetic field which will pull the magnetic aggregates in a selected direction, causing them to form a compacted sludge; (4) preferably, decanting the clarified liquid from the compacted sludge; and (5) using filtration to convert the compacted sludge into a cake having a very high solids content. Steps 2 and 3 should be performed simultaneously. This reduces the treatment time and increases the extent of flocculation and the effectiveness of the process. As partially formed aggregates with active flocculating groups are pulled through the mixture by the magnetic field, they will contact other particles and form larger aggregates. This process can increase the solids concentration of steelmaking sludges in an efficient and economic manner, thereby accomplishing either of two goals: (a) it can convert hazardous wastes into economic resources for recycling as furnace feed material, or (b) it can dramatically reduce the volume of waste material which must be disposed.

Towards single step production of multi-layer inorganic hollow fibers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Jong, J.; Benes, Nieck Edwin; Koops, G.H.; Wessling, Matthias

2004-01-01

In this work we propose a generic synthesis route for the single step production of multi-layer inorganic hollow fibers, based on polymer wet spinning combined with a heat treatment. With this new method, membranes with a high surface area per unit volume ratio can be produced, while production time

Dissolvable fluidic time delays for programming multi-step assays in instrument-free paper diagnostics.

Science.gov (United States)

Lutz, Barry; Liang, Tinny; Fu, Elain; Ramachandran, Sujatha; Kauffman, Peter; Yager, Paul

2013-07-21

Lateral flow tests (LFTs) are an ingenious format for rapid and easy-to-use diagnostics, but they are fundamentally limited to assay chemistries that can be reduced to a single chemical step. In contrast, most laboratory diagnostic assays rely on multiple timed steps carried out by a human or a machine. Here, we use dissolvable sugar applied to paper to create programmable flow delays and present a paper network topology that uses these time delays to program automated multi-step fluidic protocols. Solutions of sucrose at different concentrations (10-70% of saturation) were added to paper strips and dried to create fluidic time delays spanning minutes to nearly an hour. A simple folding card format employing sugar delays was shown to automate a four-step fluidic process initiated by a single user activation step (folding the card); this device was used to perform a signal-amplified sandwich immunoassay for a diagnostic biomarker for malaria. The cards are capable of automating multi-step assay protocols normally used in laboratories, but in a rapid, low-cost, and easy-to-use format.

A multi-step electrochemical etching process for a three-dimensional micro probe array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yoonji; Youn, Sechan; Cho, Young-Ho; Park, HoJoon; Chang, Byeung Gyu; Oh, Yong Soo

2011-01-01

We present a simple, fast, and cost-effective process for three-dimensional (3D) micro probe array fabrication using multi-step electrochemical metal foil etching. Compared to the previous electroplating (add-on) process, the present electrochemical (subtractive) process results in well-controlled material properties of the metallic microstructures. In the experimental study, we describe the single-step and multi-step electrochemical aluminum foil etching processes. In the single-step process, the depth etch rate and the bias etch rate of an aluminum foil have been measured as 1.50 ± 0.10 and 0.77 ± 0.03 µm min −1 , respectively. On the basis of the single-step process results, we have designed and performed the two-step electrochemical etching process for the 3D micro probe array fabrication. The fabricated 3D micro probe array shows the vertical and lateral fabrication errors of 15.5 ± 5.8% and 3.3 ± 0.9%, respectively, with the surface roughness of 37.4 ± 9.6 nm. The contact force and the contact resistance of the 3D micro probe array have been measured to be 24.30 ± 0.98 mN and 2.27 ± 0.11 Ω, respectively, for an overdrive of 49.12 ± 1.25 µm.

Simulation of self-focusing of laser beam through medium with multi-step photo-ionization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akaoka, Katsuaki; Wakaida, Ikuo; Arisawa, Takashi

1995-01-01

We built a computation code for the coupled nonlinear Maxwell-Density Matrix equations of multi-level atomic systems including transverse and time-dependent variations. Numerical solutions for two-level atomic systems shown as a function of laser detuning in Na and U are in good agreement with the experimental result. Applying this code to the laser beam propagation through medium with two-step photo-ionization, it is concluded that the group velocity in the spatial edge of a laser pulse is slower than that in the center, and the self-focusing and the temporal reshaping of the laser pulse used for the first-excitation are more distinguished than that used for ionization. (author)

Bayesian emulation for optimization in multi-step portfolio decisions

OpenAIRE

Irie, Kaoru; West, Mike

2016-01-01

We discuss the Bayesian emulation approach to computational solution of multi-step portfolio studies in financial time series. "Bayesian emulation for decisions" involves mapping the technical structure of a decision analysis problem to that of Bayesian inference in a purely synthetic "emulating" statistical model. This provides access to standard posterior analytic, simulation and optimization methods that yield indirect solutions of the decision problem. We develop this in time series portf...

Rapid decay of vacancy islands at step edges on Ag(111): step orientation dependence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, Mingmin; Thiel, P A; Jenks, Cynthia J; Evans, J W

2010-01-01

Previous work has established that vacancy islands or pits fill much more quickly when they are in contact with a step edge, such that the common boundary is a double step. The present work focuses on the effect of the orientation of that step, with two possibilities existing for a face centered cubic (111) surface: A- and B-type steps. We find that the following features can depend on the orientation: (1) the shapes of islands while they shrink; (2) whether the island remains attached to the step edge; and (3) the rate of filling. The first two effects can be explained by the different rates of adatom diffusion along the A- and B-steps that define the pit, enhanced by the different filling rates. The third observation-the difference in the filling rate itself-is explained within the context of the concerted exchange mechanism at the double step. This process is facile at all regular sites along B-steps, but only at kink sites along A-steps, which explains the different rates. We also observe that oxygen can greatly accelerate the decay process, although it has no apparent effect on an isolated vacancy island (i.e. an island that is not in contact with a step).

Incremental Learning of Medical Data for Multi-Step Patient Health Classification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kranen, Philipp; Müller, Emmanuel; Assent, Ira

2010-01-01

of textile sensors, body sensors and preprocessing techniques as well as the integration and merging of sensor data in electronic health record systems. Emergency detection on multiple levels will show the benefits of multi-step classification and further enhance the scalability of emergency detection...

Multi-step direct reactions at low energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marcinkowski, A.; Marianski, B.

2001-01-01

Full text: The theory of the multistep direct (MSD) reactions of Feshbach, Kerman and Koonin has for quite some time become a subject of controversy due to the bi orthogonal distorted waves involved in the transition amplitudes describing the MSD cross sections. The bi orthogonal wave functions result in non-normal DWBA matrix elements, that can be expressed in terms of normal DWBA matrix elements multiplied by the inverse elastic scattering S-matrix. It has been argued that the enhancing inverse S-factors are washed out by averaging over energy in the continuum. As a result normal DWBA matrix elements are commonly used in practical calculations. Almost all analyses of inelastic scattering and charge-exchange reactions using the DWBA matrix elements have concluded that nucleon emission at low energies can be described as one-step reaction mainly. On the other hand, it has been shown that the limits imposed by the energy weighted sum rules (EWSR's) on transition of given angular momentum transfer lead to a significant reduction of the one step cross section that can be compensated by the enhanced MSD cross sections obtained with the use of the non-normal DWBA matrix elements. Very recently the MSD theory of FKK was modified to include collective excitations and the non-normal DWBA matrix elements and the prescription for calculations of the cross sections for the MSD reactions was given. In the present paper we present the results of the modified theory used for describing the 93 Nb (n,xn) 93 Nb reaction at incident energy of 20 MeV and the 65 Cu (p,xn) 65 Zn reaction at 27 MeV. The results show enhanced contributions from two-, three- and four step reactions. We investigate the importance of the multi-phonon, multi particle hole and the mixed particle hole-phonon excitations in neutron scattering to the continuum. We also show the importance of the different sequences of collisions of the leading continuum nucleon that contribute to the MSD (p,n) reaction. When all

Space-dependent step features: Transient breakdown of slow-roll, homogeneity, and isotropy during inflation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lerner, Rose N.; McDonald, John

2009-01-01

A step feature in the inflaton potential can model a transient breakdown of slow-roll inflation. Here we generalize the step feature to include space-dependence, allowing it also to model a breakdown of homogeneity and isotropy. The space-dependent inflaton potential generates a classical curvature perturbation mode characterized by the wave number of the step inhomogeneity. For inhomogeneities small compared with the horizon at the step, space-dependence has a small effect on the curvature perturbation. Therefore, the smoothly oscillating quantum power spectrum predicted by the homogeneous step is robust with respect to subhorizon space-dependence. For inhomogeneities equal to or greater than the horizon at the step, the space-dependent classical mode can dominate, producing a curvature perturbation in which modes of wave number determined by the step inhomogeneity are superimposed on the oscillating power spectrum. Generation of a space-dependent step feature may therefore provide a mechanism to introduce primordial anisotropy into the curvature perturbation. Space-dependence also modifies the quantum fluctuations, in particular, via resonancelike features coming from mode coupling to amplified superhorizon modes. However, these effects are small relative to the classical modes.

Data-based control of a multi-step forming process

Science.gov (United States)

Schulte, R.; Frey, P.; Hildenbrand, P.; Vogel, M.; Betz, C.; Lechner, M.; Merklein, M.

2017-09-01

The fourth industrial revolution represents a new stage in the organization and management of the entire value chain. However, concerning the field of forming technology, the fourth industrial revolution has only arrived gradually until now. In order to make a valuable contribution to the digital factory the controlling of a multistage forming process was investigated. Within the framework of the investigation, an abstracted and transferable model is used to outline which data have to be collected, how an interface between the different forming machines can be designed tangible and which control tasks must be fulfilled. The goal of this investigation was to control the subsequent process step based on the data recorded in the first step. The investigated process chain links various metal forming processes, which are typical elements of a multi-step forming process. Data recorded in the first step of the process chain is analyzed and processed for an improved process control of the subsequent process. On the basis of the gained scientific knowledge, it is possible to make forming operations more robust and at the same time more flexible, and thus create the fundament for linking various production processes in an efficient way.

Controllable 3D architectures of aligned carbon nanotube arrays by multi-step processes

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Shaoming

2003-06-01

An effective way to fabricate large area three-dimensional (3D) aligned CNTs pattern based on pyrolysis of iron(II) phthalocyanine (FePc) by two-step processes is reported. The controllable generation of different lengths and selective growth of the aligned CNT arrays on metal-patterned (e.g., Ag and Au) substrate are the bases for generating such 3D aligned CNTs architectures. By controlling experimental conditions 3D aligned CNT arrays with different lengths/densities and morphologies/structures as well as multi-layered architectures can be fabricated in large scale by multi-step pyrolysis of FePc. These 3D architectures could have interesting properties and be applied for developing novel nanotube-based devices.

Impact of multi-resolution analysis of artificial intelligence models inputs on multi-step ahead river flow forecasting

Science.gov (United States)

Badrzadeh, Honey; Sarukkalige, Ranjan; Jayawardena, A. W.

2013-12-01

Discrete wavelet transform was applied to decomposed ANN and ANFIS inputs.Novel approach of WNF with subtractive clustering applied for flow forecasting.Forecasting was performed in 1-5 step ahead, using multi-variate inputs.Forecasting accuracy of peak values and longer lead-time significantly improved.

Evaluation of accuracy in implant site preparation performed in single- or multi-step drilling procedures.

Science.gov (United States)

Marheineke, Nadine; Scherer, Uta; Rücker, Martin; von See, Constantin; Rahlf, Björn; Gellrich, Nils-Claudius; Stoetzer, Marcus

2018-06-01

Dental implant failure and insufficient osseointegration are proven results of mechanical and thermal damage during the surgery process. We herein performed a comparative study of a less invasive single-step drilling preparation protocol and a conventional multiple drilling sequence. Accuracy of drilling holes was precisely analyzed and the influence of different levels of expertise of the handlers and additional use of drill template guidance was evaluated. Six experimental groups, deployed in an osseous study model, were representing template-guided and freehanded drilling actions in a stepwise drilling procedure in comparison to a single-drill protocol. Each experimental condition was studied by the drilling actions of respectively three persons without surgical knowledge as well as three highly experienced oral surgeons. Drilling actions were performed and diameters were recorded with a precision measuring instrument. Less experienced operators were able to significantly increase the drilling accuracy using a guiding template, especially when multi-step preparations are performed. Improved accuracy without template guidance was observed when experienced operators were executing single-step versus multi-step technique. Single-step drilling protocols have shown to produce more accurate results than multi-step procedures. The outcome of any protocol can be further improved by use of guiding templates. Operator experience can be a contributing factor. Single-step preparations are less invasive and are promoting osseointegration. Even highly experienced surgeons are achieving higher levels of accuracy by combining this technique with template guidance. Hereby template guidance enables a reduction of hands-on time and side effects during surgery and lead to a more predictable clinical diameter.

Diffusion coefficients for multi-step persistent random walks on lattices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilbert, Thomas; Sanders, David P

2010-01-01

We calculate the diffusion coefficients of persistent random walks on lattices, where the direction of a walker at a given step depends on the memory of a certain number of previous steps. In particular, we describe a simple method which enables us to obtain explicit expressions for the diffusion coefficients of walks with a two-step memory on different classes of one-, two- and higher dimensional lattices.

Multi-type Step-wise group screening designs with unequal A-priori ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... design with unequal group sizes and obtain values of the group sizes that minimize the expected number of runs.. Keywords: Group Screening, Group factors, multi-type step-wise group screening, expected number of runs, Optimum group screening designs > East African Journal of Statistics Vol. 1 (1) 2005: pp. 49-67 ...

Enhancing multi-step quantum state tomography by PhaseLift

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yiping; Zhao, Qing

2017-09-01

Multi-photon system has been studied by many groups, however the biggest challenge faced is the number of copies of an unknown state are limited and far from detecting quantum entanglement. The difficulty to prepare copies of the state is even more serious for the quantum state tomography. One possible way to solve this problem is to use adaptive quantum state tomography, which means to get a preliminary density matrix in the first step and revise it in the second step. In order to improve the performance of adaptive quantum state tomography, we develop a new distribution scheme of samples and extend it to three steps, that is to correct it once again based on the density matrix obtained in the traditional adaptive quantum state tomography. Our numerical results show that the mean square error of the reconstructed density matrix by our new method is improved to the level from 10-4 to 10-9 for several tested states. In addition, PhaseLift is also applied to reduce the required storage space of measurement operator.

KAPSIES: A program for the calculation of multi-step direct reaction cross sections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koning, A.J.; Akkermans, J.M.

1994-09-01

We present a program for the calculation of continuum cross sections, sepctra, angular distributions and analyzing powers according to various quantum-mechanical theories for statistical multi-step direct nuclear reactions. (orig.)

Time dependent theory of two-step absorption of two pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rebane, Inna, E-mail: inna.rebane@ut.ee

2015-09-25

The time dependent theory of two step-absorption of two different light pulses with arbitrary duration in the electronic three-level model is proposed. The probability that the third level is excited at the moment t is found in depending on the time delay between pulses, the spectral widths of the pulses and the energy relaxation constants of the excited electronic levels. The time dependent perturbation theory is applied without using “doorway–window” approach. The time and spectral behavior of the spectrum using in calculations as simple as possible model is analyzed. - Highlights: • Time dependent theory of two-step absorption in the three-level model is proposed. • Two different light pulses with arbitrary duration is observed. • The time dependent perturbation theory is applied without “door–window” approach. • The time and spectral behavior of the spectra is analyzed for several cases.

Particle-hole state densities for statistical multi-step compound reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oblozinsky, P.

1986-01-01

An analytical relation is derived for the density of particle-hole bound states applying the equidistant-spacing approximation and the Darwin-Fowler statistical method. The Pauli exclusion principle as well as the finite depth of the potential well are taken into account. The set of densities needed for calculations of multi-step compound reactions is completed by deriving the densities of accessible final states for escape and damping. (orig.)

Multi-Time Step Service Restoration for Advanced Distribution Systems and Microgrids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Bo; Chen, Chen; Wang, Jianhui; Butler-Purry, Karen L.

2017-01-01

Modern power systems are facing increased risk of disasters that can cause extended outages. The presence of remote control switches (RCSs), distributed generators (DGs), and energy storage systems (ESS) provides both challenges and opportunities for developing post-fault service restoration methodologies. Inter-temporal constraints of DGs, ESS, and loads under cold load pickup (CLPU) conditions impose extra complexity on problem formulation and solution. In this paper, a multi-time step service restoration methodology is proposed to optimally generate a sequence of control actions for controllable switches, ESSs, and dispatchable DGs to assist the system operator with decision making. The restoration sequence is determined to minimize the unserved customers by energizing the system step by step without violating operational constraints at each time step. The proposed methodology is formulated as a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model and can adapt to various operation conditions. Furthermore, the proposed method is validated through several case studies that are performed on modified IEEE 13-node and IEEE 123-node test feeders.

Underground structure pattern and multi AO reaction with step feed concept for upgrading an large wastewater treatment plant

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Yi; Zhang, Jie; Li, Dong

2018-03-01

A large wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) could not meet the new demand of urban environment and the need of reclaimed water in China, using a US treatment technology. Thus a multi AO reaction process (Anaerobic/oxic/anoxic/oxic/anoxic/oxic) WWTP with underground structure was proposed to carry out the upgrade project. Four main new technologies were applied: (1) multi AO reaction with step feed technology; (2) deodorization; (3) new energy-saving technology such as water resource heat pump and optical fiber lighting system; (4) dependable old WWTP’s water quality support measurement during new WWTP’s construction. After construction, upgrading WWTP had saved two thirds land occupation, increased 80% treatment capacity and improved effluent standard by more than two times. Moreover, it had become a benchmark of an ecological negative capital changing to a positive capital.

Explorando la variabilidad morfométrica del conjunto de camélidos pequeños durante el Arcaico Tardío y el Formativo Temprano en Quebrada Tulán, norte de Chile

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isabel Cartajena Fasting

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Frequently, it is possible to differentiate among large and small size camelids when analysing registers from archaeological sites located at the occidental slope of Puna de Atacama. However, larger animals have received most of the attention having less knowledge about the group of small size camelids. In this paper and by using osteometric methods we study this small size later group. On one hand, we analyse different variables that may affect variability among modern alpacas and vicuñas collections. We focus our work on differences among anterior and posterior phalanxes, inter specific variation and sexual dimorphism. On the other hand, we analyse first phalanxes from Tulán-52 (Late Archaic ca. 4500-3800 BP and Tulán-54 (Early Formative ca. 3200-2300 BP characterising their variability through time by comparing current and archaeological samples. Both archaeofaunal assemblages are similar despite their temporal distance. The analyzed specimens correspond to vicuñas denoting the importance of vicuña hunting through time

Wavelength-dependent Crosstalk in Trench-Assisted Multi-Core Fibers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ye, Feihong; Tu, Jiajing; Saitoh, Kunimasa

2014-01-01

Analytical expressions for wavelength-dependent crosstalk in homogeneous trench-assisted multi-core fibers are derived. The calculated results from the expressions agree well with the numerical simulation results based on finite element method.......Analytical expressions for wavelength-dependent crosstalk in homogeneous trench-assisted multi-core fibers are derived. The calculated results from the expressions agree well with the numerical simulation results based on finite element method....

Multi-Step Deep Reactive Ion Etching Fabrication Process for Silicon-Based Terahertz Components

Science.gov (United States)

Jung-Kubiak, Cecile (Inventor); Reck, Theodore (Inventor); Chattopadhyay, Goutam (Inventor); Perez, Jose Vicente Siles (Inventor); Lin, Robert H. (Inventor); Mehdi, Imran (Inventor); Lee, Choonsup (Inventor); Cooper, Ken B. (Inventor); Peralta, Alejandro (Inventor)

2016-01-01

A multi-step silicon etching process has been developed to fabricate silicon-based terahertz (THz) waveguide components. This technique provides precise dimensional control across multiple etch depths with batch processing capabilities. Nonlinear and passive components such as mixers and multipliers waveguides, hybrids, OMTs and twists have been fabricated and integrated into a small silicon package. This fabrication technique enables a wafer-stacking architecture to provide ultra-compact multi-pixel receiver front-ends in the THz range.

Fabrication of different pore shapes by multi-step etching technique in ion-irradiated PET membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Mo, D.; Liu, J. D.; Duan, J. L.; Yao, H. J.; Latif, H.; Cao, D. L.; Chen, Y. H.; Zhang, S. X.; Zhai, P. F.; Liu, J.

2014-08-01

A method for the fabrication of different pore shapes in polyethylene terephthalate (PET)-based track etched membranes (TEMs) is reported. A multi-step etching technique involving etchant variation and track annealing was applied to fabricate different pore shapes in PET membranes. PET foils of 12-μm thickness were irradiated with Bi ions (kinetic energy 9.5 MeV/u, fluence 106 ions/cm2) at the Heavy Ion Research Facility (HIRFL, Lanzhou). The cross-sections of fundamental pore shapes (cylinder, cone, and double cone) were analyzed. Funnel-shaped and pencil-shaped pores were obtained using a two-step etching process. Track annealing was carried out in air at 180 °C for 120 min. After track annealing, the selectivity of the etching process decreased, which resulted in isotropic etching in subsequent etching steps. Rounded cylinder and rounded cone shapes were obtained by introducing a track-annealing step in the etching process. Cup and spherical funnel-shaped pores were fabricated using a three- and four-step etching process, respectively. The described multi-step etching technique provides a controllable method to fabricate new pore shapes in TEMs. Introduction of a variety of pore shapes may improve the separation properties of TEMs and enrich the series of TEM products.

Multi-step-prediction of chaotic time series based on co-evolutionary recurrent neural network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Qianli; Zheng Qilun; Peng Hong; Qin Jiangwei; Zhong Tanwei

2008-01-01

This paper proposes a co-evolutionary recurrent neural network (CERNN) for the multi-step-prediction of chaotic time series, it estimates the proper parameters of phase space reconstruction and optimizes the structure of recurrent neural networks by co-evolutionary strategy. The searching space was separated into two subspaces and the individuals are trained in a parallel computational procedure. It can dynamically combine the embedding method with the capability of recurrent neural network to incorporate past experience due to internal recurrence. The effectiveness of CERNN is evaluated by using three benchmark chaotic time series data sets: the Lorenz series, Mackey-Glass series and real-world sun spot series. The simulation results show that CERNN improves the performances of multi-step-prediction of chaotic time series

Multi-step wind speed forecasting based on a hybrid forecasting architecture and an improved bat algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao, Liye; Qian, Feng; Shao, Wei

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Propose a hybrid architecture based on a modified bat algorithm for multi-step wind speed forecasting. • Improve the accuracy of multi-step wind speed forecasting. • Modify bat algorithm with CG to improve optimized performance. - Abstract: As one of the most promising sustainable energy sources, wind energy plays an important role in energy development because of its cleanliness without causing pollution. Generally, wind speed forecasting, which has an essential influence on wind power systems, is regarded as a challenging task. Analyses based on single-step wind speed forecasting have been widely used, but their results are insufficient in ensuring the reliability and controllability of wind power systems. In this paper, a new forecasting architecture based on decomposing algorithms and modified neural networks is successfully developed for multi-step wind speed forecasting. Four different hybrid models are contained in this architecture, and to further improve the forecasting performance, a modified bat algorithm (BA) with the conjugate gradient (CG) method is developed to optimize the initial weights between layers and thresholds of the hidden layer of neural networks. To investigate the forecasting abilities of the four models, the wind speed data collected from four different wind power stations in Penglai, China, were used as a case study. The numerical experiments showed that the hybrid model including the singular spectrum analysis and general regression neural network with CG-BA (SSA-CG-BA-GRNN) achieved the most accurate forecasting results in one-step to three-step wind speed forecasting.

Testing the multi-configuration time-dependent Hartree-Fock method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zanghellini, Juergen; Kitzler, Markus; Brabec, Thomas; Scrinzi, Armin

2004-01-01

We test the multi-configuration time-dependent Hartree-Fock method as a new approach towards the numerical calculation of dynamical processes in multi-electron systems using the harmonic quantum dot and one-dimensional helium in strong laser pulses as models. We find rapid convergence for quantities such as ground-state population, correlation coefficient and single ionization towards the exact results. The method converges, where the time-dependent Hartree-Fock method fails qualitatively

Application of byproducts from food processing for production of 2,3-butanediol using Bacillus amyloliquefaciens TUL 308.

Science.gov (United States)

Sikora, Barbara; Kubik, Celina; Kalinowska, Halina; Gromek, Ewa; Białkowska, Aneta; Jędrzejczak-Krzepkowska, Marzena; Schüett, Fokko; Turkiewicz, Marianna

2016-08-17

A nonpathogenic bacterial strain Bacillus amyloliquefaciens TUL 308 synthesized minor 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BD) amounts from glucose, fructose, sucrose, and glycerol, and efficiently produced the diol from molasses and hydrolysates of food processing residues. Batch fermentations yielded 16.53, 10.72, and 5 g/L 2,3-BD from enzymatic hydrolysates of apple pomace, dried sugar beet pulp, and potato pulp (at initial concentrations equivalent to 45, 20, and 30 g/L glucose, respectively), and 25.3 g/L 2,3-BD from molasses (at its initial concentration equivalent to 60 g/L saccharose). Fed-batch fermentations in the molasses-based medium with four feedings with either glucose or sucrose (in doses increasing their concentration by 25 g/L) resulted in around twice higher maximum 2,3-BD concentration (of about 60 and 50 g/L, respectively). The GRAS Bacillus strain is an efficient 2,3-BD producer from food industry byproducts.

Metaphase II oocytes from human unilaminar follicles grown in a multi-step culture system.

Science.gov (United States)

McLaughlin, M; Albertini, D F; Wallace, W H B; Anderson, R A; Telfer, E E

2018-03-01

Can complete oocyte development be achieved from human ovarian tissue containing primordial/unilaminar follicles and grown in vitro in a multi-step culture to meiotic maturation demonstrated by the formation of polar bodies and a Metaphase II spindle? Development of human oocytes from primordial/unilaminar stages to resumption of meiosis (Metaphase II) and emission of a polar body was achieved within a serum free multi-step culture system. Complete development of oocytes in vitro has been achieved in mouse, where in vitro grown (IVG) oocytes from primordial follicles have resulted in the production of live offspring. Human oocytes have been grown in vitro from the secondary/multi-laminar stage to obtain fully grown oocytes capable of meiotic maturation. However, there are no reports of a culture system supporting complete growth from the earliest stages of human follicle development through to Metaphase II. Ovarian cortical biopsies were obtained with informed consent from women undergoing elective caesarean section (mean age: 30.7 ± 1.7; range: 25-39 years, n = 10). Laboratory setting. Ovarian biopsies were dissected into thin strips, and after removal of growing follicles were cultured in serum free medium for 8 days (Step 1). At the end of this period secondary/multi-laminar follicles were dissected from the strips and intact follicles 100-150 μm in diameter were selected for further culture. Isolated follicles were cultured individually in serum free medium in the presence of 100 ng/ml of human recombinant Activin A (Step 2). Individual follicles were monitored and after 8 days, cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) were retrieved by gentle pressure on the cultured follicles. Complexes with complete cumulus and adherent mural granulosa cells were selected and cultured in the presence of Activin A and FSH on membranes for a further 4 days (Step 3). At the end of Step 3, complexes containing oocytes >100 μm diameter were selected for IVM in SAGE medium (Step 4) then

Time-dependent density functional theory for multi-component systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tiecheng Li; Peiqing Tong

1985-10-01

The Runge-Gross version of Hohenberg-Kohn-Sham's density functional theory is generalized to multi-component systems, both for arbitrary time-dependent pure states and for arbitrary time-dependent ensembles. (author)

Roles of multi-step transfer in fusion process induced by heavy-ion reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imanishi, B.; Oertzen, W. von.

1993-06-01

In nucleus-nucleus collisions of the systems, 12 C+ 13 C and 13 C+ 16 O- 12 C+ 17 O, the effects of the multi-step transfers and inelastic excitations on the fusion cross sections are investigated in the framework of the coupled-reaction-channel (CRC) method. Strong CRC effects of the multi-step processes are observed. Namely, the valence neutron in 13 C or 17 O plays an important role in the enhancement of the fusion. The potential barrier is effectively lowered with the formation of the covalent molecule of the configuration, 12 C+n+ 12 C or 12 C+n+ 16 O. In the analyses of the system 12 C+ 13 C, however, it is still required to introduce core-core optical potential of lower barrier height in the state of the positive total parity. This could be due to the neck formation with the nucleons contained in two core nuclei. (author)

The multi-step prompt particle emission from fission fragments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhivopistsev, A.; Oprea, C.; Oprea, I.

2003-01-01

The purpose of this work is the study of non-equilibrium high-energy gamma emission from 252 Cf. In the framework of the formalism of statistical multi-step compound processes in nuclear reactions. A relation was found between the shape of the high-energy part of the gamma spectrum and different mechanisms of excitation of the fission fragments. Agreement with experimental data for different groups of fission fragments was obtained. The analysis of the experimental high-energy part of gamma spectra yields information about the mechanism of excitation of fission fragments. The influence of dissipation of the deformation excess on intrinsic excitation of fission fragments was studied. (authors)

The average angular distribution of emitted particles in multi-step compound processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonetti, R.; Carlson, B.V.; Hussein, M.S.; Toledo, A.S. de

1983-05-01

A simple model for the differential cross-section that describes the angular distribution of emitted particles in heavy-ion induced multi-step compound reactions, is constructed. It is suggested that through a careful analysis of the deviations of the experimental data from the pure Hauser-Feshbach behaviour may shed light on the physical nature of the pre-compound, heavy-ion configuration. (Author) [pt

Diffusion coefficients for periodically induced multi-step persistent walks on regular lattices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilbert, Thomas; Sanders, David P

2012-01-01

We present a generalization of our formalism for the computation of diffusion coefficients of multi-step persistent random walks on regular lattices to walks which include zero-displacement states. This situation is especially relevant to systems where tracer particles move across potential barriers as a result of the action of a periodic forcing whose period sets the timescale between transitions. (paper)

A Novel Molten Salt Reactor Concept to Implement the Multi-Step Time-Scheduled Transmutation Strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Csom, Gyula; Feher, Sandor; Szieberthj, Mate

2002-01-01

Nowadays the molten salt reactor (MSR) concept seems to revive as one of the most promising systems for the realization of transmutation. In the molten salt reactors and subcritical systems the fuel and material to be transmuted circulate dissolved in some molten salt. The main advantage of this reactor type is the possibility of the continuous feed and reprocessing of the fuel. In the present paper a novel molten salt reactor concept is introduced and its transmutation capabilities are studied. The goal is the development of a transmutation technique along with a device implementing it, which yield higher transmutation efficiencies than that of the known procedures and thus results in radioactive waste whose load on the environment is reduced both in magnitude and time length. The procedure is the multi-step time-scheduled transmutation, in which transformation is done in several consecutive steps of different neutron flux and spectrum. In the new MSR concept, named 'multi-region' MSR (MRMSR), the primary circuit is made up of a few separate loops, in which salt-fuel mixtures of different compositions are circulated. The loop sections constituting the core region are only neutronically and thermally coupled. This new concept makes possible the utilization of the spatial dependence of spectrum as well as the advantageous features of liquid fuel such as the possibility of continuous chemical processing etc. In order to compare a 'conventional' MSR and a proposed MRMSR in terms of efficiency, preliminary calculational results are shown. Further calculations in order to find the optimal implementation of this new concept and to emphasize its other advantageous features are going on. (authors)

Single-step reinitialization and extending algorithms for level-set based multi-phase flow simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Lin; Hu, Xiangyu Y.; Adams, Nikolaus A.

2017-12-01

We propose efficient single-step formulations for reinitialization and extending algorithms, which are critical components of level-set based interface-tracking methods. The level-set field is reinitialized with a single-step (non iterative) "forward tracing" algorithm. A minimum set of cells is defined that describes the interface, and reinitialization employs only data from these cells. Fluid states are extrapolated or extended across the interface by a single-step "backward tracing" algorithm. Both algorithms, which are motivated by analogy to ray-tracing, avoid multiple block-boundary data exchanges that are inevitable for iterative reinitialization and extending approaches within a parallel-computing environment. The single-step algorithms are combined with a multi-resolution conservative sharp-interface method and validated by a wide range of benchmark test cases. We demonstrate that the proposed reinitialization method achieves second-order accuracy in conserving the volume of each phase. The interface location is invariant to reapplication of the single-step reinitialization. Generally, we observe smaller absolute errors than for standard iterative reinitialization on the same grid. The computational efficiency is higher than for the standard and typical high-order iterative reinitialization methods. We observe a 2- to 6-times efficiency improvement over the standard method for serial execution. The proposed single-step extending algorithm, which is commonly employed for assigning data to ghost cells with ghost-fluid or conservative interface interaction methods, shows about 10-times efficiency improvement over the standard method while maintaining same accuracy. Despite their simplicity, the proposed algorithms offer an efficient and robust alternative to iterative reinitialization and extending methods for level-set based multi-phase simulations.

Multi-column step-gradient chromatography system for automated ion exchange separations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rucker, T.L.

1985-01-01

A multi-column step-gradient chromatography system has been designed to perform automated sequential separations of radionuclides by ion exchange chromatography. The system consists of a digital programmer with automatic stream selection valve, two peristaltic pumps, ten columns, and a fraction collector. The automation allows complicated separations of radionuclides to be made with minimal analyst attention and allows for increased productivity and reduced cost of analyses. Results are reported for test separations on mixtures of radionuclides by the system

Coherent states for the time dependent harmonic oscillator: the step function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moya-Cessa, Hector; Fernandez Guasti, Manuel

2003-01-01

We study the time evolution for the quantum harmonic oscillator subjected to a sudden change of frequency. It is based on an approximate analytic solution to the time dependent Ermakov equation for a step function. This approach allows for a continuous treatment that differs from former studies that involve the matching of two time independent solutions at the time when the step occurs

Cross-cultural adaptation of instruments assessing breastfeeding determinants: a multi-step approach

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Cross-cultural adaptation is a necessary process to effectively use existing instruments in other cultural and language settings. The process of cross-culturally adapting, including translation, of existing instruments is considered a critical set to establishing a meaningful instrument for use in another setting. Using a multi-step approach is considered best practice in achieving cultural and semantic equivalence of the adapted version. We aimed to ensure the content validity of our instruments in the cultural context of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Methods The Iowa Infant Feeding Attitudes Scale, Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form and additional items comprise our consolidated instrument, which was cross-culturally adapted utilizing a multi-step approach during August 2012. Cross-cultural adaptation was achieved through steps to maintain content validity and attain semantic equivalence in the target version. Specifically, Lynn’s recommendation to apply an item-level content validity index score was followed. The revised instrument was translated and back-translated. To ensure semantic equivalence, Brislin’s back-translation approach was utilized followed by the committee review to address any discrepancies that emerged from translation. Results Our consolidated instrument was adapted to be culturally relevant and translated to yield more reliable and valid results for use in our larger research study to measure infant feeding determinants effectively in our target cultural context. Conclusions Undertaking rigorous steps to effectively ensure cross-cultural adaptation increases our confidence that the conclusions we make based on our self-report instrument(s) will be stronger. In this way, our aim to achieve strong cross-cultural adaptation of our consolidated instruments was achieved while also providing a clear framework for other researchers choosing to utilize existing instruments for work in other cultural, geographic and population

A Dimensionality Reduction-Based Multi-Step Clustering Method for Robust Vessel Trajectory Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huanhuan Li

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The Shipboard Automatic Identification System (AIS is crucial for navigation safety and maritime surveillance, data mining and pattern analysis of AIS information have attracted considerable attention in terms of both basic research and practical applications. Clustering of spatio-temporal AIS trajectories can be used to identify abnormal patterns and mine customary route data for transportation safety. Thus, the capacities of navigation safety and maritime traffic monitoring could be enhanced correspondingly. However, trajectory clustering is often sensitive to undesirable outliers and is essentially more complex compared with traditional point clustering. To overcome this limitation, a multi-step trajectory clustering method is proposed in this paper for robust AIS trajectory clustering. In particular, the Dynamic Time Warping (DTW, a similarity measurement method, is introduced in the first step to measure the distances between different trajectories. The calculated distances, inversely proportional to the similarities, constitute a distance matrix in the second step. Furthermore, as a widely-used dimensional reduction method, Principal Component Analysis (PCA is exploited to decompose the obtained distance matrix. In particular, the top k principal components with above 95% accumulative contribution rate are extracted by PCA, and the number of the centers k is chosen. The k centers are found by the improved center automatically selection algorithm. In the last step, the improved center clustering algorithm with k clusters is implemented on the distance matrix to achieve the final AIS trajectory clustering results. In order to improve the accuracy of the proposed multi-step clustering algorithm, an automatic algorithm for choosing the k clusters is developed according to the similarity distance. Numerous experiments on realistic AIS trajectory datasets in the bridge area waterway and Mississippi River have been implemented to compare our

A Dimensionality Reduction-Based Multi-Step Clustering Method for Robust Vessel Trajectory Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Huanhuan; Liu, Jingxian; Liu, Ryan Wen; Xiong, Naixue; Wu, Kefeng; Kim, Tai-Hoon

2017-08-04

The Shipboard Automatic Identification System (AIS) is crucial for navigation safety and maritime surveillance, data mining and pattern analysis of AIS information have attracted considerable attention in terms of both basic research and practical applications. Clustering of spatio-temporal AIS trajectories can be used to identify abnormal patterns and mine customary route data for transportation safety. Thus, the capacities of navigation safety and maritime traffic monitoring could be enhanced correspondingly. However, trajectory clustering is often sensitive to undesirable outliers and is essentially more complex compared with traditional point clustering. To overcome this limitation, a multi-step trajectory clustering method is proposed in this paper for robust AIS trajectory clustering. In particular, the Dynamic Time Warping (DTW), a similarity measurement method, is introduced in the first step to measure the distances between different trajectories. The calculated distances, inversely proportional to the similarities, constitute a distance matrix in the second step. Furthermore, as a widely-used dimensional reduction method, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is exploited to decompose the obtained distance matrix. In particular, the top k principal components with above 95% accumulative contribution rate are extracted by PCA, and the number of the centers k is chosen. The k centers are found by the improved center automatically selection algorithm. In the last step, the improved center clustering algorithm with k clusters is implemented on the distance matrix to achieve the final AIS trajectory clustering results. In order to improve the accuracy of the proposed multi-step clustering algorithm, an automatic algorithm for choosing the k clusters is developed according to the similarity distance. Numerous experiments on realistic AIS trajectory datasets in the bridge area waterway and Mississippi River have been implemented to compare our proposed method with

MATERIAL DEPENDENCE OF TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION IN MULTI-LAYER MULTI-METAL COOKWARE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MOHAMMADREZA SEDIGH

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Laminated structure is becoming more popular in cookware markets; however, there seems to be a lack of enough scientific studies to evaluate its pros and cons, and to show that how it functions. A numerical model using a finite element method with temperature-dependent material properties has been performed to investigate material and layer dependence of temperature distribution in multi-layer multi-metal plate exposed to irregular heating. Behavior of two parameters including mean temperature value and uniformity on the inner surface of plate under variations of thermal properties and geometrical conditions have been studied. The results indicate that conductive metals used as first layer in bi-layer plates have better thermal performance than those used in the second layer. In addition, since cookware manufacturers increasingly prefer to use all-clad aluminium plate, recently, this structure is analysed in the present study as well. The results show all-clad copper and aluminum plate possesses lower temperature gradient compared with single layer aluminum and all-clad aluminum core plates.

Multi-step contrast sensitivity gauge

Science.gov (United States)

Quintana, Enrico C; Thompson, Kyle R; Moore, David G; Heister, Jack D; Poland, Richard W; Ellegood, John P; Hodges, George K; Prindville, James E

2014-10-14

An X-ray contrast sensitivity gauge is described herein. The contrast sensitivity gauge comprises a plurality of steps of varying thicknesses. Each step in the gauge includes a plurality of recesses of differing depths, wherein the depths are a function of the thickness of their respective step. An X-ray image of the gauge is analyzed to determine a contrast-to-noise ratio of a detector employed to generate the image.

The large discretization step method for time-dependent partial differential equations

Science.gov (United States)

Haras, Zigo; Taasan, Shlomo

1995-01-01

A new method for the acceleration of linear and nonlinear time dependent calculations is presented. It is based on the Large Discretization Step (LDS) approximation, defined in this work, which employs an extended system of low accuracy schemes to approximate a high accuracy discrete approximation to a time dependent differential operator. Error bounds on such approximations are derived. These approximations are efficiently implemented in the LDS methods for linear and nonlinear hyperbolic equations, presented here. In these algorithms the high and low accuracy schemes are interpreted as the same discretization of a time dependent operator on fine and coarse grids, respectively. Thus, a system of correction terms and corresponding equations are derived and solved on the coarse grid to yield the fine grid accuracy. These terms are initialized by visiting the fine grid once in many coarse grid time steps. The resulting methods are very general, simple to implement and may be used to accelerate many existing time marching schemes.

Selective maintenance of multi-state systems with structural dependence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dao, Cuong D.; Zuo, Ming J.

2017-01-01

This paper studies the selective maintenance problem for multi-state systems with structural dependence. Each component can be in one of multiple working levels and several maintenance actions are possible to a component in a maintenance break. The components structurally form multiple hierarchical levels and dependence groups. A directed graph is used to represent the precedence relations of components in the system. A selective maintenance optimization model is developed to maximize the system reliability in the next mission under time and cost constraints. A backward search algorithm is used to determine the assembly sequence for a selective maintenance scenario. The maintenance model helps maintenance managers in determining the best combination of maintenance activities to maximize the probability of successfully completing the next mission. Examples showing the use of the proposed method are presented. - Highlights: • A selective maintenance model for multi-state systems is proposed considering both economic and structural dependence. • Structural dependence is modeled as precedence relationship when disassembling components for maintenance. • Resources for disassembly and maintenance are evaluated using a backward search algorithm. • Maintenance strategies with and without structural dependence are analyzed. • Ignoring structural dependence may lead to over-estimation of system reliability.

A Software Module for High-Accuracy Calibration of Rings and Cylinders on CMM using Multi-Orientation Techniques (Multi-Step and Reversal methods)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tosello, Guido; De Chiffre, Leonardo

. The Centre for Geometrical Metrology (CGM) at the Technical University of Denmark takes care of free form measurements, in collaboration with DIMEG, University of Padova, Italy. The present report describes a software module, ROUNDCAL, to be used for high-accuracy calibration of rings and cylinders....... The purpose of the software is to calculate the form error and the least square circle of rings and cylinders by mean of average of pontwise measuring results becoming from so-called multi-orientation techniques (both reversal and multi-step methods) in order to eliminate systematic errors of CMM ....

Multi-step Monte Carlo calculations applied to nuclear reactor instrumentation - source definition and renormalization to physical values

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radulovic, Vladimir; Barbot, Loic; Fourmentel, Damien; Villard, Jean-Francois [CEA, DEN, DER, Instrumentation Sensors and Dosimetry Laboratory, Cadarache, F-13108 St Paul-Lez-Durance, (France); Snoj, Luka; Zerovnik, Gasper [Jozef Stefan Institute, Reactor Physics Department, Jamova cesta 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana, (Slovenia); Trkov, Andrej [IAEA, Vienna International Centre, PO Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, (Austria)

2015-07-01

Significant efforts have been made over the last few years in the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) to adopt multi-step Monte Carlo calculation schemes in the investigation and interpretation of the response of nuclear reactor instrumentation detectors (e.g. miniature ionization chambers - MICs and self-powered neutron or gamma detectors - SPNDs and SPGDs). The first step consists of the calculation of the primary data, i.e. evaluation of the neutron and gamma flux levels and spectra in the environment where the detector is located, using a computational model of the complete nuclear reactor core and its surroundings. These data are subsequently used to define sources for the following calculation steps, in which only a model of the detector under investigation is used. This approach enables calculations with satisfactory statistical uncertainties (of the order of a few %) within regions which are very small in size (the typical volume of which is of the order of 1 mm{sup 3}). The main drawback of a calculation scheme as described above is that perturbation effects on the radiation conditions caused by the detectors themselves are not taken into account. Depending on the detector, the nuclear reactor and the irradiation position, the perturbation in the neutron flux as primary data may reach 10 to 20%. A further issue is whether the model used in the second step calculations yields physically representative results. This is generally not the case, as significant deviations may arise, depending on the source definition. In particular, as presented in the paper, the injudicious use of special options aimed at increasing the computation efficiency (e.g. reflective boundary conditions) may introduce unphysical bias in the calculated flux levels and distortions in the spectral shapes. This paper presents examples of the issues described above related to a case study on the interpretation of the signal from different types of SPNDs, which

Mechanical properties of molybdenum-titanium alloys micro-structurally controlled by multi-step internal nitriding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagae, M.; Yoshio, T.; Takemoto, Y.; Takada, J.; Hiraoka, Y.

2001-01-01

Internally nitrided dilute Mo-Ti alloys having a heavily deformed microstructure near the specimen surface were prepared by a novel two-step nitriding process at 1173 to 1773 K in N 2 gas. For the nitrided specimens three-point bend tests were performed at temperatures from 77 to 298 K in order to investigate the effect of microstructure control by internal nitriding on the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) of the alloy Yield strength obtained at 243 K of the specimen maintaining the deformed microstructure by the two-step nitriding was about 1.7 times as much as recrystallized specimen. The specimen subjected to the two-step nitriding was bent more than 90 degree at 243 K, whereas recrystallized specimen was fractured after showing a slight ductility at 243 K. DBTT of the specimen subjected to the two-step nitriding and recrystallized specimen was about 153 K and 203 K, respectively. These results indicate that multi-step internal nitriding is very effective to the improvement in the embrittlement by the recrystallization of molybdenum alloys. (author)

Quantummechanical multi-step direct models for nuclear data applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koning, A.J.

1992-10-01

Various multi-step direct models have been derived and compared on a theoretical level. Subsequently, these models have been implemented in the computer code system KAPSIES, enabling a consistent comparison on the basis of the same set of nuclear parameters and same set of numerical techniques. Continuum cross sections in the energy region between 10 and several hundreds of MeV have successfully been analysed. Both angular distributions and energy spectra can be predicted in an essentially parameter-free manner. It is demonstrated that the quantum-mechanical MSD models (in particular the FKK model) give an improved prediction of pre-equilibrium angular distributions as compared to the experiment-based systematics of Kalbach. This makes KAPSIES a reliable tool for nuclear data applications in the afore-mentioned energy region. (author). 10 refs., 2 figs

Two-Step Multi-Physics Analysis of an Annular Linear Induction Pump for Fission Power Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Geng, Steven M.; Reid, Terry V.

2016-01-01

One of the key technologies associated with fission power systems (FPS) is the annular linear induction pump (ALIP). ALIPs are used to circulate liquid-metal fluid for transporting thermal energy from the nuclear reactor to the power conversion device. ALIPs designed and built to date for FPS project applications have not performed up to expectations. A unique, two-step approach was taken toward the multi-physics examination of an ALIP using ANSYS Maxwell 3D and Fluent. This multi-physics approach was developed so that engineers could investigate design variations that might improve pump performance. Of interest was to determine if simple geometric modifications could be made to the ALIP components with the goal of increasing the Lorentz forces acting on the liquid-metal fluid, which in turn would increase pumping capacity. The multi-physics model first calculates the Lorentz forces acting on the liquid metal fluid in the ALIP annulus. These forces are then used in a computational fluid dynamics simulation as (a) internal boundary conditions and (b) source functions in the momentum equations within the Navier-Stokes equations. The end result of the two-step analysis is a predicted pump pressure rise that can be compared with experimental data.

Optimization of a Multi-Step Procedure for Isolation of Chicken Bone Collagen

OpenAIRE

Cansu, ?mran; Boran, G?khan

2015-01-01

Chicken bone is not adequately utilized despite its high nutritional value and protein content. Although not a common raw material, chicken bone can be used in many different ways besides manufacturing of collagen products. In this study, a multi-step procedure was optimized to isolate chicken bone collagen for higher yield and quality for manufacture of collagen products. The chemical composition of chicken bone was 2.9% nitrogen corresponding to about 15.6% protein, 9.5% fat, 14.7% mineral ...

Variation of nanopore diameter along porous anodic alumina channels by multi-step anodization.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kwang Hong; Lim, Xin Yuan; Wai, Kah Wing; Romanato, Filippo; Wong, Chee Cheong

2011-02-01

In order to form tapered nanocapillaries, we investigated a method to vary the nanopore diameter along the porous anodic alumina (PAA) channels using multi-step anodization. By anodizing the aluminum in either single acid (H3PO4) or multi-acid (H2SO4, oxalic acid and H3PO4) with increasing or decreasing voltage, the diameter of the nanopore along the PAA channel can be varied systematically corresponding to the applied voltages. The pore size along the channel can be enlarged or shrunken in the range of 20 nm to 200 nm. Structural engineering of the template along the film growth direction can be achieved by deliberately designing a suitable voltage and electrolyte together with anodization time.

High speed quantitative digital beta autoradiography using a multi-step avalanche detector and an Apple-II microcomputer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bateman, J.E.; Connolly, J.F.; Stephenson, R.

1985-04-01

The development of an electronic, digital beta autoradiography system is described. Using a Multi-Step Avalanche/Multi-Wire Proportional Counter (MSA/MWPC) detector system fitted with delay line readout, high speed digital imaging is demonstrated with sub-millimeter spatial resolution. Good proportionality of observed counting rate relative to the known tritium activity is demonstrated. The application of the system to autoradiography in immunoelectrophoresis, histopathology and DNA sequencing is described. (author)

Performance assessment of laboratory and field-scale multi-step passive treatment of iron-rich acid mine drainage for design improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Rakotonimaro, Tsiverihasina V; Neculita, Carmen Mihaela; Bussière, Bruno; Genty, Thomas; Zagury, Gérald J

2018-04-17

Multi-step passive systems for the treatment of iron-rich acid mine drainage (Fe-rich AMD) perform satisfactorily at the laboratory scale. However, their field-scale application has revealed dissimilarities in performance, particularly with respect to hydraulic parameters. In this study, the assessment of factors potentially responsible for the variations in performance of laboratory and field-scale multi-step systems was undertaken. Three laboratory multi-step treatment scenarios, involving a combination of dispersed alkaline substrate (DAS) units, anoxic dolomitic drains, and passive biochemical reactors (PBRs), were set up in 10.7-L columns. The field-scale treatment consisted of two PBRs separated by a wood ash (WA) reactor. The parameters identified as possibly influencing the performances of the laboratory and field-scale experiments were the following: AMD chemistry (electrical conductivity and Fe and SO 4 2- concentrations), flow rate (Q), and saturated hydraulic conductivity (k sat ). Based on these findings, the design of an efficient passive multi-step treatment system is suggested to consider the following: (1) Fe pretreatment, using materials with high k sat and low HRT. If a PBR is to be used, the Fe load should be PBR/DAS filled with a mixture with at least 20% of neutralizing agent; (3) include Q and k sat (> 10 -3  cm/s) in the long-term prediction. Finally, mesocosm testing is strongly recommended prior to construction of full-scale systems for the treatment of Fe-rich AMD.

A New Multi-Step Iterative Algorithm for Approximating Common Fixed Points of a Finite Family of Multi-Valued Bregman Relatively Nonexpansive Mappings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wiyada Kumam

2016-05-01

Full Text Available In this article, we introduce a new multi-step iteration for approximating a common fixed point of a finite class of multi-valued Bregman relatively nonexpansive mappings in the setting of reflexive Banach spaces. We prove a strong convergence theorem for the proposed iterative algorithm under certain hypotheses. Additionally, we also use our results for the solution of variational inequality problems and to find the zero points of maximal monotone operators. The theorems furnished in this work are new and well-established and generalize many well-known recent research works in this field.

SPAR-H Step-by-Step Guidance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

W. J. Galyean; A. M. Whaley; D. L. Kelly; R. L. Boring

2011-05-01

This guide provides step-by-step guidance on the use of the SPAR-H method for quantifying Human Failure Events (HFEs). This guide is intended to be used with the worksheets provided in: 'The SPAR-H Human Reliability Analysis Method,' NUREG/CR-6883, dated August 2005. Each step in the process of producing a Human Error Probability (HEP) is discussed. These steps are: Step-1, Categorizing the HFE as Diagnosis and/or Action; Step-2, Rate the Performance Shaping Factors; Step-3, Calculate PSF-Modified HEP; Step-4, Accounting for Dependence, and; Step-5, Minimum Value Cutoff. The discussions on dependence are extensive and include an appendix that describes insights obtained from the psychology literature.

SPAR-H Step-by-Step Guidance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galyean, W.J.; Whaley, A.M.; Kelly, D.L.; Boring, R.L.

2011-01-01

This guide provides step-by-step guidance on the use of the SPAR-H method for quantifying Human Failure Events (HFEs). This guide is intended to be used with the worksheets provided in: 'The SPAR-H Human Reliability Analysis Method,' NUREG/CR-6883, dated August 2005. Each step in the process of producing a Human Error Probability (HEP) is discussed. These steps are: Step-1, Categorizing the HFE as Diagnosis and/or Action; Step-2, Rate the Performance Shaping Factors; Step-3, Calculate PSF-Modified HEP; Step-4, Accounting for Dependence, and; Step-5, Minimum Value Cutoff. The discussions on dependence are extensive and include an appendix that describes insights obtained from the psychology literature.

Comparison of microbial community shifts in two parallel multi-step drinking water treatment processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Jiajiong; Tang, Wei; Ma, Jun; Wang, Hong

2017-07-01

Drinking water treatment processes remove undesirable chemicals and microorganisms from source water, which is vital to public health protection. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of treatment processes and configuration on the microbiome by comparing microbial community shifts in two series of different treatment processes operated in parallel within a full-scale drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) in Southeast China. Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA genes of water samples demonstrated little effect of coagulation/sedimentation and pre-oxidation steps on bacterial communities, in contrast to dramatic and concurrent microbial community shifts during ozonation, granular activated carbon treatment, sand filtration, and disinfection for both series. A large number of unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at these four treatment steps further illustrated their strong shaping power towards the drinking water microbial communities. Interestingly, multidimensional scaling analysis revealed tight clustering of biofilm samples collected from different treatment steps, with Nitrospira, the nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, noted at higher relative abundances in biofilm compared to water samples. Overall, this study provides a snapshot of step-to-step microbial evolvement in multi-step drinking water treatment systems, and the results provide insight to control and manipulation of the drinking water microbiome via optimization of DWTP design and operation.

Multi-step processes in the (d, t) and (d, 3He) reactions on 116Sn and 208Pb targets at Ed = 200 MeV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Langevin-Joliot, H.; Van de Wiele, J.; Guillot, J.; Koning, A.J.

2000-01-01

The role of multi-step processes in the reactions 116 Sn(d,t), 208 Pb(d,t) and 116 Sn(d, 3 He), previously studied at E d = 200 MeV at forward angles and for relatively low energy transfers, has been investigated. We have performed for the first time multi-step calculations taking into account systematically collective excitations in the second and higher order step inelastic transitions. A calculation code based on the Feshbach, Kerman and Koonin model has been modified to handle explicitly these collective excitations, most important in the forward angle domain. One step double differential pick-up cross sections were built from finite range distorted wave results spread in energy using known or estimated hole state characteristics. It is shown that two-step cross sections calculated using the above method compare rather well with those deduced via coupled channel calculations for the same collective excitations. The multi-step calculations performed up to 6 steps reproduce reasonably well the 115 Sn, 207 Pb and 115 In experimental spectra measured up to E x ∼- 40 MeV and 15 deg. The relative contributions of steps of increasing order to pick-up cross sections at E d = 200 MeV and 150 MeV are discussed. (authors)

Grade Distribution Modeling within the Bauxite Seams of the Wachangping Mine, China, Using a Multi-Step Interpolation Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shaofeng Wang

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Mineral reserve estimation and mining design depend on a precise modeling of the mineralized deposit. A multi-step interpolation algorithm, including 1D biharmonic spline estimator for interpolating floor altitudes, 2D nearest neighbor, linear, natural neighbor, cubic, biharmonic spline, inverse distance weighted, simple kriging, and ordinary kriging interpolations for grade distribution on the two vertical sections at roadways, and 3D linear interpolation for grade distribution between sections, was proposed to build a 3D grade distribution model of the mineralized seam in a longwall mining panel with a U-shaped layout having two roadways at both sides. Compared to field data from exploratory boreholes, this multi-step interpolation using a natural neighbor method shows an optimal stability and a minimal difference between interpolation and field data. Using this method, the 97,576 m3 of bauxite, in which the mass fraction of Al2O3 (Wa and the mass ratio of Al2O3 to SiO2 (Wa/s are 61.68% and 27.72, respectively, was delimited from the 189,260 m3 mineralized deposit in the 1102 longwall mining panel in the Wachangping mine, Southwest China. The mean absolute errors, the root mean squared errors and the relative standard deviations of errors between interpolated data and exploratory grade data at six boreholes are 2.544, 2.674, and 32.37% of Wa; and 1.761, 1.974, and 67.37% of Wa/s, respectively. The proposed method can be used for characterizing the grade distribution in a mineralized seam between two roadways at both sides of a longwall mining panel.

A transition from using multi-step procedures to a fully integrated system for performing extracorporeal photopheresis: A comparison of costs and efficiencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Azar, Nabih; Leblond, Veronique; Ouzegdouh, Maya; Button, Paul

2017-12-01

The Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital Hemobiotherapy Department, Paris, France, has been providing extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) since November 2011, and started using the Therakos ® CELLEX ® fully integrated system in 2012. This report summarizes our single-center experience of transitioning from the use of multi-step ECP procedures to the fully integrated ECP system, considering the capacity and cost implications. The total number of ECP procedures performed 2011-2015 was derived from department records. The time taken to complete a single ECP treatment using a multi-step technique and the fully integrated system at our department was assessed. Resource costs (2014€) were obtained for materials and calculated for personnel time required. Time-driven activity-based costing methods were applied to provide a cost comparison. The number of ECP treatments per year increased from 225 (2012) to 727 (2015). The single multi-step procedure took 270 min compared to 120 min for the fully integrated system. The total calculated per-session cost of performing ECP using the multi-step procedure was greater than with the CELLEX ® system (€1,429.37 and €1,264.70 per treatment, respectively). For hospitals considering a transition from multi-step procedures to fully integrated methods for ECP where cost may be a barrier, time-driven activity-based costing should be utilized to gain a more comprehensive understanding the full benefit that such a transition offers. The example from our department confirmed that there were not just cost and time savings, but that the time efficiencies gained with CELLEX ® allow for more patient treatments per year. © 2017 The Authors Journal of Clinical Apheresis Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Overcoming the hurdles of multi-step targeting (MST) for effective radioimmunotherapy of solid tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larson, Steven M.; Cheung, Nai-Kong

2009-01-01

The 4 specific aims of this project are: (1) Optimization of MST to increase tumor uptake; (2) Antigen heterogeneity; (3) Characterization and reduction of renal uptake; and (4) Validation in vivo of optimized MST targeted therapy. This proposal focussed upon optimizing multistep immune targeting strategies for the treatment of cancer. Two multi-step targeting constructs were explored during this funding period: (1) anti-Tag-72 and (2) anti-GD2.

Non-equilibrium quantum dynamics of ultra-cold atomic mixtures: the multi-layer multi-configuration time-dependent Hartree method for bosons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krönke, Sven; Cao, Lushuai; Schmelcher, Peter; Vendrell, Oriol

2013-01-01

We develop and apply the multi-layer multi-configuration time-dependent Hartree method for bosons, which represents an ab initio method for investigating the non-equilibrium quantum dynamics of multi-species bosonic systems. Its multi-layer feature allows for tailoring the wave function ansatz to describe intra- and inter-species correlations accurately and efficiently. To demonstrate the beneficial scaling and efficiency of the method, we explored the correlated tunneling dynamics of two species with repulsive intra- and inter-species interactions, to which a third species with vanishing intra-species interaction was weakly coupled. The population imbalances of the first two species can feature a temporal equilibration and their time evolution significantly depends on the coupling to the third species. Bosons of the first and second species exhibit a bunching tendency, whose strength can be influenced by their coupling to the third species. (paper)

Multi-step magnetization of the Ising model on a Shastry-Sutherland lattice: a Monte Carlo simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, W C; Huo, L; Tian, G; Qian, H R; Gao, X S; Qin, M H; Liu, J-M

2012-01-01

The magnetization behaviors and spin configurations of the classical Ising model on a Shastry-Sutherland lattice are investigated using Monte Carlo simulations, in order to understand the fascinating magnetization plateaus observed in TmB 4 and other rare-earth tetraborides. The simulations reproduce the 1/2 magnetization plateau by taking into account the dipole-dipole interaction. In addition, a narrow 2/3 magnetization step at low temperature is predicted in our simulation. The multi-step magnetization can be understood as the consequence of the competitions among the spin-exchange interaction, the dipole-dipole interaction, and the static magnetic energy.

Cross-Dependency Inference in Multi-Layered Networks: A Collaborative Filtering Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chen; Tong, Hanghang; Xie, Lei; Ying, Lei; He, Qing

2017-08-01

The increasingly connected world has catalyzed the fusion of networks from different domains, which facilitates the emergence of a new network model-multi-layered networks. Examples of such kind of network systems include critical infrastructure networks, biological systems, organization-level collaborations, cross-platform e-commerce, and so forth. One crucial structure that distances multi-layered network from other network models is its cross-layer dependency, which describes the associations between the nodes from different layers. Needless to say, the cross-layer dependency in the network plays an essential role in many data mining applications like system robustness analysis and complex network control. However, it remains a daunting task to know the exact dependency relationships due to noise, limited accessibility, and so forth. In this article, we tackle the cross-layer dependency inference problem by modeling it as a collective collaborative filtering problem. Based on this idea, we propose an effective algorithm Fascinate that can reveal unobserved dependencies with linear complexity. Moreover, we derive Fascinate-ZERO, an online variant of Fascinate that can respond to a newly added node timely by checking its neighborhood dependencies. We perform extensive evaluations on real datasets to substantiate the superiority of our proposed approaches.

Baking Powder Actuated Centrifugo-Pneumatic Valving for Automation of Multi-Step Bioassays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David J. Kinahan

2016-10-01

Full Text Available We report a new flow control method for centrifugal microfluidic systems; CO2 is released from on-board stored baking powder upon contact with an ancillary liquid. The elevated pressure generated drives the sample into a dead-end pneumatic chamber sealed by a dissolvable film (DF. This liquid incursion wets and dissolves the DF, thus opening the valve. The activation pressure of the DF valve can be tuned by the geometry of the channel upstream of the DF membrane. Through pneumatic coupling with properly dimensioned disc architecture, we established serial cascading of valves, even at a constant spin rate. Similarly, we demonstrate sequential actuation of valves by dividing the disc into a number of distinct pneumatic chambers (separated by DF membranes. Opening these DFs, typically through arrival of a liquid to that location on a disc, permits pressurization of these chambers. This barrier-based scheme provides robust and strictly ordered valve actuation, which is demonstrated by the automation of a multi-step/multi-reagent DNA-based hybridization assay.

Application of multi-step direct reaction theory to 14 MeV neutron reaction, 3 (n,. cap alpha. )

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumabe, I.; Matoba, M.; Fukuda, K. [Kyushu Univ., Fukuoka (Japan). Faculty of Engineering; Ikegami, H.; Muraoka, M [eds.

1980-01-01

Multi-step direct-reaction theory proposed by Tamura et al. has been applied to continuous spectra of the 14 MeV (n, ..cap alpha..) reaction with some modifications. Calculated results reproduce well the experimental energy and angular distributions of the 14 MeV (n, ..cap alpha..) reactions.

EXPLORANDO LA VARIABILIDAD MORFOMÉTRICA DEL CONJUNTO DE CAMÉLIDOS PEQUEÑOS DURANTE EL ARCAICO TARDÍO Y EL FORMATIVO TEMPRANO EN QUEBRADA TULÁN, NORTE DE CHILE / Exploring the morphometric variability of lesser camelids from Quebrada Tulán (northern Chile

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isabel Cartajena Fasting

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Frecuentemente en el registro arqueofaunístico de sitios arqueológicos ubicados en la vertiente occidental de la puna de Atacama, es posible diferenciar un conjunto de camélidos grandes y otro de menor tamaño. En general, el grupo de camélidos grandes ha recibido mayor atención, existiendo un escaso conocimiento del grupo de tamaño más pequeño. En este trabajo se explora el conjunto de camélidos pequeños a través de la utilización de métodos osteométricos. Por una parte, se consideran colecciones actuales de alpacas y vicuñas en las que se analizan las distintas variables que pudiesen estar incidiendo en la variabilidad de los conjuntos. Se otorga especial énfasis a la diferenciación entre falanges anteriores y posteriores, variación interespecífica y dimorfismo sexual. Por otra parte, se analizan las primeras falanges de los sitios Tulán-52 (Arcaico Tardío ca. 4500-3800 A.P. y Tulán-54 (Formativo Temprano ca. 3200-2300 A.P. con el fin de caracterizar la variabilidad que presentan los conjuntos a través del tiempo, mediante la comparación de los resultados del análisis de muestras actuales y arqueológicas. Ambos conjuntos arqueofaunísticos son muy similares a pesar de las diferencias temporales. Los especimenes analizados corresponderían a vicuñas, lo que denotaría la importancia de la caza de la vicuña a través del tiempo.Palabras clave:arqueofaunas,osteometria, alpacas, vicuñasAbstractFrequently, it is possible to differentiate among large and small size camelids when analysing registers from archaeological sites located at the occidental slope of Puna de Atacama. However, larger animals have received most of the attention having less knowledge about the group of small size camelids. In this paper and by using osteometric methods we study this small size later group. On one hand, we analyse different variables that may affect variability among modern alpacas and vicuñas collections. We focus our work on

Modelling of epitaxial film growth with an Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier dependent on the step height

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leal, F F; Ferreira, S C; Ferreira, S O

2011-01-01

The formation of mounded surfaces in epitaxial growth is attributed to the presence of barriers against interlayer diffusion in the terrace edges, known as Ehrlich-Schwoebel (ES) barriers. We investigate a model for epitaxial growth using an ES barrier explicitly dependent on the step height. Our model has an intrinsic topological step barrier even in the absence of an explicit ES barrier. We show that mounded morphologies can be obtained even for a small barrier while a self-affine growth, consistent with the Villain-Lai-Das Sarma equation, is observed in the absence of an explicit step barrier. The mounded surfaces are described by a super-roughness dynamical scaling characterized by locally smooth (facetted) surfaces and a global roughness exponent α > 1. The thin film limit is featured by surfaces with self-assembled three-dimensional structures having an aspect ratio (height/width) that may increase or decrease with temperature depending on the strength of the step barrier. (fast track communication)

Performance Optimization of a Solar-Driven Multi-Step Irreversible Brayton Cycle Based on a Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmadi Mohammad Hosein

2016-01-01

Full Text Available An applicable approach for a multi-step regenerative irreversible Brayton cycle on the basis of thermodynamics and optimization of thermal efficiency and normalized output power is presented in this work. In the present study, thermodynamic analysis and a NSGA II algorithm are coupled to determine the optimum values of thermal efficiency and normalized power output for a Brayton cycle system. Moreover, three well-known decision-making methods are employed to indicate definite answers from the outputs gained from the aforementioned approach. Finally, with the aim of error analysis, the values of the average and maximum error of the results are also calculated.

Single Machine Multi-product Capacitated Lotsizing with Sequence-dependent Setups

OpenAIRE

Almada-Lobo , Bernardo; Klabjan , Diego; Carravilla , Maria Antónia; Oliveira , Jose Fernando

2007-01-01

Abstract In production planning in the glass container industry, machine dependent setup times and costs are incurred for switchovers from one product to another. The resulting multi-item capacitated lot sizing problem has sequence-dependent setup times and costs. We present two novel linear mixed integer programming formulations for this problem, incorporating all the necessary features of setup carryovers. The compact formulation has polynomially many constraints, while, on the o...

Self-Regulated Strategy Development Instruction for Teaching Multi-Step Equations to Middle School Students Struggling in Math

Science.gov (United States)

Cuenca-Carlino, Yojanna; Freeman-Green, Shaqwana; Stephenson, Grant W.; Hauth, Clara

2016-01-01

Six middle school students identified as having a specific learning disability or at risk for mathematical difficulties were taught how to solve multi-step equations by using the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) model of instruction. A multiple-probe-across-pairs design was used to evaluate instructional effects. Instruction was provided…

Optical three-step binary-logic-gate-based MSD arithmetic

Science.gov (United States)

Fyath, R. S.; Alsaffar, A. A. W.; Alam, M. S.

2003-11-01

A three-step modified signed-digit (MSD) adder is proposed which can be optically implmented using binary logic gates. The proposed scheme depends on encoding each MSD digits into a pair of binary digits using a two-state and multi-position based encoding scheme. The design algorithm depends on constructing the addition truth table of binary-coded MSD numbers and then using Karnaugh map to achieve output minimization. The functions associated with the optical binary logic gates are achieved by simply programming the decoding masks of an optical shadow-casting logic system.

Simple analytical expression for crosstalk estimation in homogeneous trench-assisted multi-core fibers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ye, Feihong; Tu, Jiajing; Saitoh, Kunimasa

2014-01-01

An analytical expression for the mode coupling coe cient in homogeneous trench-assisted multi-core fibers is derived, which has a sim- ple relationship with the one in normal step-index structures. The amount of inter-core crosstalk reduction (in dB) with trench-assisted structures compared...... to the one with normal step-index structures can then be written by a simple expression. Comparison with numerical simulations confirms that the obtained analytical expression has very good accuracy for crosstalk estimation. The crosstalk properties in trench-assisted multi-core fibers, such as crosstalk...... dependence on core pitch and wavelength-dependent crosstalk, can be obtained by this simple analytical expression....

Fungistatic Activity Of Essential Oils Extracted from Peumus boldus Mol., Laureliopsis philippiana (Looser Schodde and Laurelia sempervirens (Ruiz & Pav. Tul. (Chilean Monimiaceae Actividad Fungistática de Extractos de Aceites Asenciales de Peumus boldus Mol., Laureliopsis philippiana (Looser Schodde y Laurelia sempervirens (Ruiz & Pav. Tul. (Monimiaceae chilenas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magalis Bittner

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Components of essential oils from the Chilean Monimiaceae, boldo (Peumus boldus Mol., tepa (Laureliopsis philippiana (Looser Schodde, and laurel (Laurelia sempervirens (Ruiz & Pav. Tul. were determined using Gas Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry (GCMS and fungistatic activity of the essential oils was tested against Rhizoctonia solani Kühn (Donk, Pythium irregulare Buisman, Ceratocystis pilifera (Fr. C. Moreau, Phragmidium violaceum (Schultz G. Winter, and Fusarium oxysporum Schltdl. The essential oils of the Monimiaceae species shared some common components; all three had the 3-carene, α-phellandrene, and α-pinene terpenes. L. philippiana and L. sempervirens also had safrole.The main components were ascaridol in P. boldus oil, 3-carene in L. philippiana, and safrole in L. sempervirens. The essential oil from L. sempervirens showed the highest fungistatic activity with significant differences in dose as well as exposure. P. violaceum was the most sensitive strain and P. irregulare the most resistant of all the essential oils (P. boldus extract affected growth by only 19%. Therefore, essential oils from these three plants could be used to control the fungal strains studied.Se determinaron los compuestos de aceites esenciales de Monimiaceae chilenas, boldo (Peumus boldus Mol., tepa (Laureliopsis philippiana (Looser Schodde, y laurel (Laurelia sempervirens (Ruiz & Pav. Tul. a través de cromatografía de gas con espectrometría de masas (CG-EM y se midió la actividad fungistática de los aceites sobre los hongos Rhizoctonia solani Kühn (Donk, Pythium irregulare Buisman, Ceratocystis pilifera (Fr. C. Moreau, Phragmidium violaceum (Schultz Winter y Fusarium oxysporum Schltdl. Los aceites esenciales de las especies de Monimiaceae tienen algunos compuestos en común; en las especies estudiadas se encontró que todos tenían los terpenos 3-careno, α-felandreno, y α-pineno. L. philippiana y L. sempervirens además tienen safrol. En cambio

Genetic diversity in a Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul.) L.P. Queiroz population assessed by RAPD molecular markers.

Science.gov (United States)

Belarmino, K S; Rêgo, M M; Bruno, R L A; Medeiros, G D A; Andrade, A P; Rêgo, E R

2017-08-31

Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul.) L.P. Queiroz is an endemic Caatinga (Brazilian savannah biome) species that has been exploited for different purposes, although information is necessary about still existing natural populations. The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity among 20 P. pyramidalis individuals occurring in a population localized in the Caatinga biome of Paraíba State, aiming at seed collection, using RAPD markers. For the DNA extraction, young shoots of the individuals were used, and amplification was carried out using 20 primers. The obtained markers were converted to a binary matrix, from which a genetic dissimilarity matrix was built using the arithmetic complement of Jaccard's coefficient, and the dendrogram was built by the UPGMA analysis. No amplified fragment was monomorphic, resulting in 100% polymorphism of the analyzed population. The mean genetic diversity among the matrices was 63.28%, ranging from 30.9 to 97.7%. Individuals 09 and 17 showed relevant genetic proximity, and thus planting their seedlings at close sites would not be indicated. The population evaluated in this study showed high genetic diversity, originating twelve groups from the UPGMA hierarchical cluster analysis. Based on the results, individuals 09 and 17 can provide plant material for the evaluation of the physiological performance of P. pyramidalis seeds, and the set of individuals of this population has a high genetic diversity that characterizes them as adequate matrices for projects of restoration and conservation of the seed species.

A positive and multi-element conserving time stepping scheme for biogeochemical processes in marine ecosystem models

Science.gov (United States)

Radtke, H.; Burchard, H.

2015-01-01

In this paper, an unconditionally positive and multi-element conserving time stepping scheme for systems of non-linearly coupled ODE's is presented. These systems of ODE's are used to describe biogeochemical transformation processes in marine ecosystem models. The numerical scheme is a positive-definite modification of the Runge-Kutta method, it can have arbitrarily high order of accuracy and does not require time step adaption. If the scheme is combined with a modified Patankar-Runge-Kutta method from Burchard et al. (2003), it also gets the ability to solve a certain class of stiff numerical problems, but the accuracy is restricted to second-order then. The performance of the new scheme on two test case problems is shown.

Detection of Heterogeneous Small Inclusions by a Multi-Step MUSIC Method

Science.gov (United States)

Solimene, Raffaele; Dell'Aversano, Angela; Leone, Giovanni

2014-05-01

In this contribution the problem of detecting and localizing scatterers with small (in terms of wavelength) cross sections by collecting their scattered field is addressed. The problem is dealt with for a two-dimensional and scalar configuration where the background is given as a two-layered cylindrical medium. More in detail, while scattered field data are taken in the outermost layer, inclusions are embedded within the inner layer. Moreover, the case of heterogeneous inclusions (i.e., having different scattering coefficients) is addressed. As a pertinent applicative context we identify the problem of diagnose concrete pillars in order to detect and locate rebars, ducts and other small in-homogeneities that can populate the interior of the pillar. The nature of inclusions influences the scattering coefficients. For example, the field scattered by rebars is stronger than the one due to ducts. Accordingly, it is expected that the more weakly scattering inclusions can be difficult to be detected as their scattered fields tend to be overwhelmed by those of strong scatterers. In order to circumvent this problem, in this contribution a multi-step MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) detection algorithm is adopted [1]. In particular, the first stage aims at detecting rebars. Once rebars have been detected, their positions are exploited to update the Green's function and to subtract the scattered field due to their presence. The procedure is repeated until all the inclusions are detected. The analysis is conducted by numerical experiments for a multi-view/multi-static single-frequency configuration and the synthetic data are generated by a FDTD forward solver. Acknowledgement This work benefited from networking activities carried out within the EU funded COST Action TU1208 "Civil Engineering Applications of Ground Penetrating Radar." [1] R. Solimene, A. Dell'Aversano and G. Leone, "MUSIC algorithms for rebar detection," J. of Geophysics and Engineering, vol. 10, pp. 1

Multi-step resistive switching behavior of Li-doped ZnO resistance random access memory device controlled by compliance current

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Chun-Cheng; Tang, Jian-Fu; Su, Hsiu-Hsien; Hong, Cheng-Shong; Huang, Chih-Yu; Chu, Sheng-Yuan

2016-01-01

The multi-step resistive switching (RS) behavior of a unipolar Pt/Li 0.06 Zn 0.94 O/Pt resistive random access memory (RRAM) device is investigated. It is found that the RRAM device exhibits normal, 2-, 3-, and 4-step RESET behaviors under different compliance currents. The transport mechanism within the device is investigated by means of current-voltage curves, in-situ transmission electron microscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. It is shown that the ion transport mechanism is dominated by Ohmic behavior under low electric fields and the Poole-Frenkel emission effect (normal RS behavior) or Li + ion diffusion (2-, 3-, and 4-step RESET behaviors) under high electric fields.

Examination of post-Fukushima action items for Korean NPPs from multi-unit dependency perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Kyung Jin; Park, Chul Kyu; Oh, Seung Jong [KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

This paper examines qualitatively the adequacy of the above improvements from multi-unit dependency point-of-view. We chose an extended SBO scenario and utilized extensive damage mitigation guidelines to make the examination more realistic. In this study, we examined qualitatively the improvement of Korean NPP against extreme events such as extended SBO from the multi-unit dependency perspective. In performing Seabrook PSA in 1983, multi-unit effect was examined. With the Fukushima accident, PSA community recognized the importance of multi-unit dependency and it has become one of active research area in PSA. In light of Fukushima event, all IAEA member nations adopted an action plan on nuclear safety to strengthen nuclear safety worldwide. In Korea, the special team organized by the government led special safety inspection to Korean nuclear facilities, which resulted in identifying 56 plant improvements. Most of these improvements have been implemented and all of the improvements will be implemented by the end of 2015. One important area of improvement is to strengthen the mitigation capability against extreme events such as extended SBO utilizing portable equipment. The benefit of mobile generator is substantial in reducing the failure probability of power unavailable to 4.16 kV SWGR. Though there are multi-unit dependency in portable pumps (using identical pumps), its impact due to common cause seems to be smaller than other contribution such as human error. Considering the consequence of common cause failure of portable pumps, the cost aspect of having two different types of pumps needs to be evaluated.

Is Antibiotic Prophylaxis Necessary in Patients Undergoing Ureterolithotripsy?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Pasha Meysamie

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Transurethral Ureterolithotripsy (TUL is a frequently used procedure in urology departments. Many urologists perform TUL without antibiotic prophylaxis; however the use of chemoprophylaxis before TUL remains a controversial issue in urology. Thisstudy was carried out to assess the safety of omitting antibiotic prophylaxis prior to TUL. In a prospective randomized clinical trial from January 2005 to December 2007, 114 patients with ureteral stones were enrolled; Fifty seven had preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis administered before TUL and fifty seven patients underwent TUL without antibiotic prophylaxis. The rate of postoperative infectious complications (fever, positive blood culture, significant bactriuria, the length of hospital stay and overall stone free rate were compared between the two groups. There was no statistically significant difference between two groups in the operation time, length of hospital stay, postoperative bacteriuria, positive urine culture, postoperative fever and overall success rate of TUL. It appears that the incidence of infectious complications does not increase in patients undergoing TUL without antibiotic prophylaxis if they have negative pre-operative urine culture and antiseptic technique have been performed thorough the procedure.

A review of multi-component maintenance models with economic dependence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

R. Dekker (Rommert); R.E. Wildeman (Ralph); F.A. van der Duyn Schouten (Frank)

1997-01-01

textabstractIn this paper we review the literature on multi-component maintenance models with economic dependence. The emphasis is on papers that appeared after 1991, but there is an overlap with Section 2 of the most recent review paper by Cho and Parlar (1991). We distinguish between stationary

Magnetic-field-dependent morphology of self-organized Fe on stepped Si(111) surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cougo dos Santos, M.; Geshev, J.; Pereira, L. G.; Schmidt, J. E.

2009-01-01

The present work reports on Fe thin films grown on vicinal Si(111) substrates via rf magnetron sputtering. The dependencies of the growth mode and magnetic properties of the obtained iron nanostructures on both crystallographic surface orientation and on the direction of the very weak stray magnetic field from the magnetron gun were studied. Scanning tunneling microscopy images showed strong dependence of the Fe grains' orientation on the stray field direction in relation to the substrate's steps demonstrating that, under appropriately directed magnetic field, Si surfaces can be used as templates for well-defined self-assembled iron nanostructures. Magneto-optical Kerr effect hysteresis loops showed an easy-axis coercivity almost one order of magnitude smaller for the film deposited with stray field applied along the steps, accompanied with a change in the magnetization reversal mode. Phenomenological models involving coherent rotation and/or domain-wall unpinning were used for the interpretation of these results.

Protein (multi-)location prediction: using location inter-dependencies in a probabilistic framework

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Motivation Knowing the location of a protein within the cell is important for understanding its function, role in biological processes, and potential use as a drug target. Much progress has been made in developing computational methods that predict single locations for proteins. Most such methods are based on the over-simplifying assumption that proteins localize to a single location. However, it has been shown that proteins localize to multiple locations. While a few recent systems attempt to predict multiple locations of proteins, their performance leaves much room for improvement. Moreover, they typically treat locations as independent and do not attempt to utilize possible inter-dependencies among locations. Our hypothesis is that directly incorporating inter-dependencies among locations into both the classifier-learning and the prediction process can improve location prediction performance. Results We present a new method and a preliminary system we have developed that directly incorporates inter-dependencies among locations into the location-prediction process of multiply-localized proteins. Our method is based on a collection of Bayesian network classifiers, where each classifier is used to predict a single location. Learning the structure of each Bayesian network classifier takes into account inter-dependencies among locations, and the prediction process uses estimates involving multiple locations. We evaluate our system on a dataset of single- and multi-localized proteins (the most comprehensive protein multi-localization dataset currently available, derived from the DBMLoc dataset). Our results, obtained by incorporating inter-dependencies, are significantly higher than those obtained by classifiers that do not use inter-dependencies. The performance of our system on multi-localized proteins is comparable to a top performing system (YLoc+), without being restricted only to location-combinations present in the training set. PMID:24646119

Protein (multi-)location prediction: using location inter-dependencies in a probabilistic framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Simha, Ramanuja; Shatkay, Hagit

2014-03-19

Knowing the location of a protein within the cell is important for understanding its function, role in biological processes, and potential use as a drug target. Much progress has been made in developing computational methods that predict single locations for proteins. Most such methods are based on the over-simplifying assumption that proteins localize to a single location. However, it has been shown that proteins localize to multiple locations. While a few recent systems attempt to predict multiple locations of proteins, their performance leaves much room for improvement. Moreover, they typically treat locations as independent and do not attempt to utilize possible inter-dependencies among locations. Our hypothesis is that directly incorporating inter-dependencies among locations into both the classifier-learning and the prediction process can improve location prediction performance. We present a new method and a preliminary system we have developed that directly incorporates inter-dependencies among locations into the location-prediction process of multiply-localized proteins. Our method is based on a collection of Bayesian network classifiers, where each classifier is used to predict a single location. Learning the structure of each Bayesian network classifier takes into account inter-dependencies among locations, and the prediction process uses estimates involving multiple locations. We evaluate our system on a dataset of single- and multi-localized proteins (the most comprehensive protein multi-localization dataset currently available, derived from the DBMLoc dataset). Our results, obtained by incorporating inter-dependencies, are significantly higher than those obtained by classifiers that do not use inter-dependencies. The performance of our system on multi-localized proteins is comparable to a top performing system (YLoc+), without being restricted only to location-combinations present in the training set.

Effects of the multi-step activation process on the carrier concentration of p-type GaN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jae-Kwan [Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering, Sunchon National University, Sunchon, Chonnam 540-742 (Korea, Republic of); Jeon, Seong-Ran [LED Research and Business Division, Korea Photonics Technology Institute, Gwanju 500-779 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Ji-Myon, E-mail: jimlee@sunchon.ac.kr [Department of Printed Electronics Engineering, Sunchon National University, Sunchon, Chonnam 540-742 (Korea, Republic of)

2014-06-25

Highlights: • Hole concentration of p-GaN was enhanced by multi-step activation process. • The O{sub 2} plasma treatment is attributed to the enhanced hole concentration of p-GaN. • PL peak intensity was also enhanced by MS activation process. - Abstract: A multi-step activation method, which include an oxygen plasma treatment, chemical treatment, and post annealing in N{sub 2} was proposed to enhance the hole concentration of a p-type GaN epitaxial layer. This process was found to effectively activate p-GaN by increasing the hole concentration compared to that of the conventionally annealed sample. After the optimal oxygen plasma treatment (10 min at a source and table power of 500 W and 100 W, respectively), followed by a HCl and buffered oxide etchant treatment, and then by a post-RTA process in a N{sub 2} environment, the hole concentration was increased from 4.0 × 10{sup 17} to 2.0 × 10{sup 18} cm{sup −3}. The oxygen plasma was found to effectively remove the remaining H atoms and subsequent wet treatment can effectively remove the GaO{sub x} that had formed during O plasma treatment, resulting in the higher intensity of photoluminescence.

Influence of multi-step heat treatments in creep age forming of 7075 aluminum alloy: Optimization for springback, strength and exfoliation corrosion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arabi Jeshvaghani, R.; Zohdi, H. [Department of Materials Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, P.O. Box 14115-143, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Shahverdi, H.R., E-mail: shahverdi@modares.ac.ir [Department of Materials Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, P.O. Box 14115-143, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Bozorg, M. [Department of Materials Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, P.O. Box 14115-143, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Hadavi, S.M.M. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, MA University of Technology, P.O. Box 16765-3197, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2012-11-15

Multi-step heat treatments comprise of high temperature forming (150 Degree-Sign C/24 h plus 190 Degree-Sign C for several minutes) and subsequent low temperature forming (120 Degree-Sign C for 24 h) is developed in creep age forming of 7075 aluminum alloy to decrease springback and exfoliation corrosion susceptibility without reduction in tensile properties. The results show that the multi-step heat treatment gives the low springback and the best combination of exfoliation corrosion resistance and tensile strength. The lower springback is attributed to the dislocation recovery and more stress relaxation at higher temperature. Transmission electron microscopy observations show that corrosion resistance is improved due to the enlargement in the size and the inter-particle distance of the grain boundaries precipitates. Furthermore, the achievement of the high strength is related to the uniform distribution of ultrafine {eta} Prime precipitates within grains. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Creep age forming developed for manufacturing of aircraft wing panels by aluminum alloy. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A good combination of properties with minimal springback is required in this component. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer This requirement can be improved through the appropriate heat treatments. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Multi-step cycles developed in creep age forming of AA7075 for improving of springback and properties. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Results indicate simultaneous enhancing the properties and shape accuracy (lower springback).

Wavelength-Dependence of Inter-Core Crosstalk in Homogeneous Multi-Core Fibers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ye, Feihong; Saitoh, Kunimasa; Takenaga, Katsuhiro

2016-01-01

The wavelength dependence of inter-core crosstalk in homogeneous multi-core fibers (MCFs) is investigated, and the corresponding analytical expressions are derived. The derived analytical expressions can be used to determine the crosstalk at any wavelength necessary for designing future MCF...

Multi-step resistive switching behavior of Li-doped ZnO resistance random access memory device controlled by compliance current

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Chun-Cheng [Department of Electrical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan (China); Department of Mathematic and Physical Sciences, R.O.C. Air Force Academy, Kaohsiung 820, Taiwan (China); Tang, Jian-Fu; Su, Hsiu-Hsien [Department of Electrical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan (China); Hong, Cheng-Shong; Huang, Chih-Yu [Department of Electronic Engineering, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Kaohsiung 802, Taiwan (China); Chu, Sheng-Yuan, E-mail: chusy@mail.ncku.edu.tw [Department of Electrical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan (China); Center for Micro/Nano Science and Technology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan (China)

2016-06-28

The multi-step resistive switching (RS) behavior of a unipolar Pt/Li{sub 0.06}Zn{sub 0.94}O/Pt resistive random access memory (RRAM) device is investigated. It is found that the RRAM device exhibits normal, 2-, 3-, and 4-step RESET behaviors under different compliance currents. The transport mechanism within the device is investigated by means of current-voltage curves, in-situ transmission electron microscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. It is shown that the ion transport mechanism is dominated by Ohmic behavior under low electric fields and the Poole-Frenkel emission effect (normal RS behavior) or Li{sup +} ion diffusion (2-, 3-, and 4-step RESET behaviors) under high electric fields.

Effects of Stroke on Ipsilesional End-Effector Kinematics in a Multi-Step Activity of Daily Living

OpenAIRE

Gulde, Philipp; Hughes, Charmayne Mary Lee; Hermsdörfer, Joachim

2017-01-01

Background: Stroke frequently impairs activities of daily living (ADL) and deteriorates the function of the contra- as well as the ipsilesional limbs. In order to analyze alterations of higher motor control unaffected by paresis or sensory loss, the kinematics of ipsilesional upper limb movements in patients with stroke has previously been analyzed during prehensile movements and simple tool use actions. By contrast, motion recording of multi-step ADL is rare and patient-control comparisons f...

Microarc oxidation coating covered Ti implants with micro-scale gouges formed by a multi-step treatment for improving osseointegration.

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Yixin; Zhou, Rui; Cao, Jianyun; Wei, Daqing; Du, Qing; Li, Baoqiang; Wang, Yaming; Jia, Dechang; Zhou, Yu

2017-07-01

The sub-microporous microarc oxidation (MAO) coating covered Ti implant with micro-scale gouges has been fabricated via a multi-step MAO process to overcome the compromised bone-implant integration. The as-prepared implant has been further mediated by post-heat treatment to compare the effects of -OH functional group and the nano-scale orange peel-like morphology on osseointegration. The bone regeneration, bone-implant contact interface, and biomechanical push-out force of the modified Ti implant have been discussed thoroughly in this work. The greatly improved push-out force for the MAO coated Ti implants with micro-scale gouges could be attributed to the excellent mechanical interlocking effect between implants and biologically meshed bone tissues. Attributed to the -OH functional group which promotes synostosis between the biologically meshed bone and the gouge surface of implant, the multi-step MAO process could be an effective strategy to improve the osseointegration of Ti implant. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multi-configuration time-dependent density-functional theory based on range separation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fromager, E.; Knecht, S.; Jensen, Hans Jørgen Aagaard

2013-01-01

Multi-configuration range-separated density-functional theory is extended to the time-dependent regime. An exact variational formulation is derived. The approximation, which consists in combining a long-range Multi-Configuration- Self-Consistent Field (MCSCF) treatment with an adiabatic short...... (srGGA) approximations. As expected, when modeling long-range interactions with the MCSCF model instead of the adiabatic Buijse-Baerends density-matrix functional as recently proposed by Pernal [J. Chem. Phys. 136, 184105 (2012)10.1063/1.4712019], the description of both the 1D doubly-excited state...

Effects of walking speed on the step-by-step control of step width.

Science.gov (United States)

Stimpson, Katy H; Heitkamp, Lauren N; Horne, Joscelyn S; Dean, Jesse C

2018-02-08

Young, healthy adults walking at typical preferred speeds use step-by-step adjustments of step width to appropriately redirect their center of mass motion and ensure mediolateral stability. However, it is presently unclear whether this control strategy is retained when walking at the slower speeds preferred by many clinical populations. We investigated whether the typical stabilization strategy is influenced by walking speed. Twelve young, neurologically intact participants walked on a treadmill at a range of prescribed speeds (0.2-1.2 m/s). The mediolateral stabilization strategy was quantified as the proportion of step width variance predicted by the mechanical state of the pelvis throughout a step (calculated as R 2 magnitude from a multiple linear regression). Our ability to accurately predict the upcoming step width increased over the course of a step. The strength of the relationship between step width and pelvis mechanics at the start of a step was reduced at slower speeds. However, these speed-dependent differences largely disappeared by the end of a step, other than at the slowest walking speed (0.2 m/s). These results suggest that mechanics-dependent adjustments in step width are a consistent component of healthy gait across speeds and contexts. However, slower walking speeds may ease this control by allowing mediolateral repositioning of the swing leg to occur later in a step, thus encouraging slower walking among clinical populations with limited sensorimotor control. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Analyzing powers and interference between one- and multi-step processes in (polarized p, t) reactions on medium-mass vibrational nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yagi, K.; Kunori, S.; Aoki, Y.; Nagano, K.; Tagishi, Y.

1978-01-01

A neutron-number (N) dependence of analyzing powers A (theta) has been observed for the first time in (polarized p, t) reactions leading to the quadrupole vibrational states (2 1 + ) in 98 Ru, sup(102,108)Pd, 114 Cd, 116 Sn, and sup(120,126)Te. Although analyzing powers for the ground-state transitions A(theta,0 sub(g)sup(+)) are very similar to each other, those for the 2 1 + transitions A(theta,2 1 + ) for the nuclei belonging to the beginning of the N = 50 - 82 shell are markedly different, having almost opposite signs, from A(theta,2 1 + ) for nuclei belonging to the latter half of the major shell. The difference is explained as a result of a sign change of the interference between one- and inelastic multi-step processes in two-neutron pickup reactions. Nuclear structure effects on such an interference are discussed on the basis of the microscopic description of collective quadrupole oscillation of nuclei. (author)

Multi-step processes in the (d, t) and (d, {sup 3}He) reactions on {sup 116}Sn and {sup 208}Pb targets at E{sub d} = 200 MeV

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Langevin-Joliot, H.; Van de Wiele, J.; Guillot, J. [Institut de Physique Nucleaire, IN2P3/CNRS, 91 - Orsay (France); Koning, A.J. [Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group NRG, NL (Netherlands)

2000-07-01

The role of multi-step processes in the reactions {sup 116}Sn(d,t), {sup 208}Pb(d,t) and {sup 116}Sn(d,{sup 3}He), previously studied at E{sub d} = 200 MeV at forward angles and for relatively low energy transfers, has been investigated. We have performed for the first time multi-step calculations taking into account systematically collective excitations in the second and higher order step inelastic transitions. A calculation code based on the Feshbach, Kerman and Koonin model has been modified to handle explicitly these collective excitations, most important in the forward angle domain. One step double differential pick-up cross sections were built from finite range distorted wave results spread in energy using known or estimated hole state characteristics. It is shown that two-step cross sections calculated using the above method compare rather well with those deduced via coupled channel calculations for the same collective excitations. The multi-step calculations performed up to 6 steps reproduce reasonably well the {sup 115}Sn, {sup 207}Pb and {sup 115}In experimental spectra measured up to E{sub x}{approx}- 40 MeV and 15 deg. The relative contributions of steps of increasing order to pick-up cross sections at E{sub d} = 200 MeV and 150 MeV are discussed. (authors)

Numerical simulation of machining distortions on a forged aerospace component following a one and a multi-step approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Prete, Antonio Del; Franchi, Rodolfo; Antermite, Fabrizio; Donatiello, Iolanda

2018-05-01

Residual stresses appear in a component as a consequence of thermo-mechanical processes (e.g. ring rolling process) casting and heat treatments. When machining these kinds of components, distortions arise due to the redistribution of residual stresses due to the foregoing process history inside the material. If distortions are excessive, they can lead to a large number of scrap parts. Since dimensional accuracy can affect directly the engines efficiency, the dimensional control for aerospace components is a non-trivial issue. In this paper, the problem related to the distortions of large thin walled aeroengines components in nickel superalloys has been addressed. In order to estimate distortions on inner diameters after internal turning operations, a 3D Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis has been developed on a real industrial test case. All the process history, has been taken into account by developing FEM models of ring rolling process and heat treatments. Three different strategies of ring rolling process have been studied and the combination of related parameters which allows to obtain the best dimensional accuracy has been found. Furthermore, grain size evolution and recrystallization phenomena during manufacturing process has been numerically investigated using a semi empirical Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kohnogorov (JMAK) model. The volume subtractions have been simulated by boolean trimming: a one step and a multi step analysis have been performed. The multi-step procedure has allowed to choose the best material removal sequence in order to reduce machining distortions.

SPAR-H Step-by-Step Guidance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

April M. Whaley; Dana L. Kelly; Ronald L. Boring; William J. Galyean

2012-06-01

Step-by-step guidance was developed recently at Idaho National Laboratory for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the use of the Standardized Plant Analysis Risk-Human Reliability Analysis (SPAR-H) method for quantifying Human Failure Events (HFEs). This work was done to address SPAR-H user needs, specifically requests for additional guidance on the proper application of various aspects of the methodology. This paper overviews the steps of the SPAR-H analysis process and highlights some of the most important insights gained during the development of the step-by-step directions. This supplemental guidance for analysts is applicable when plant-specific information is available, and goes beyond the general guidance provided in existing SPAR-H documentation. The steps highlighted in this paper are: Step-1, Categorizing the HFE as Diagnosis and/or Action; Step-2, Rate the Performance Shaping Factors; Step-3, Calculate PSF-Modified HEP; Step-4, Accounting for Dependence, and; Step-5, Minimum Value Cutoff.

Evaluation of the Interaction between the Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul. LP Queiroz Extract and Antimicrobials Using Biological and Analytical Models.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thiago P Chaves

Full Text Available Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul. LP Queiroz (Fabaceae is an endemic tree of northeastern Brazil, occurring mainly in the Caatinga. Its medicinal use is widespread and is an important therapeutic option against diarrhea, dysentery, and respiratory and urinary infections, among other diseases. In this study we determined the chemical marker and evaluated the interaction between P. pyramidalis extract and a commercial antimicrobial through the use of biological and analytical models. To obtain the extract, an ethanol-water mixture (50:50 v/v was used as solvent. It was nebulized in a spray dryer using colloidal silicon dioxide as a drying adjuvant. The extract (ENPp was subjected to HPLC analysis to verify the presence of certain secondary metabolites. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC of the extract against Gram-negative bacteria was determined by broth microdilution and the MIC of synthetic antimicrobial drugs in the presence and absence of the extract. The antioxidant activity of ENPp was evaluated by the DPPH method. The compatibility between the antimicrobial and the extract was evaluated by thermal analysis (TG/DTA. The acute toxicity of the extract was evaluated in vivo in rodents. The results indicate significant additive action of the extract on synthetic antibiotics, considerable antioxidant activity and absence of toxicity. This extract shows high potential for the development of formulations for antimicrobial therapy when used with a vegetable-active ingredient.

Reference-Dependent Aggregation in Multi-AttributeGroup Decision-Making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianwei Gao

2017-03-01

Full Text Available To characterize the influence of decision makers’ psychological factors on the group decisionprocess, this paper develops a new class of aggregation operators based on reference-dependentutility functions (RUs in multi-attribute group decision analysis. We consider two types of RUs:S-shaped, representing decision makers who are risk-seeking for relative losses, and non-S-shaped,representing those that are risk-averse for relative losses. Based on these RUs, we establish twonew classes of reference-dependent aggregation operators; we study their properties and showthat their generality covers a number of existing aggregation operators. To determine the optimalweights for these aggregation operators, we construct an attribute deviation weight model and adecision maker (DM deviation weight model. Furthermore, we develop a new multi-attribute groupdecision-making (MAGDM approach based on these RU aggregation operators and weight models.Finally, numerical examples are given to illustrate the application of the approach.

A novel single-step procedure for the calibration of the mounting parameters of a multi-camera terrestrial mobile mapping system

Science.gov (United States)

Habib, A.; Kersting, P.; Bang, K.; Rau, J.

2011-12-01

Mobile Mapping Systems (MMS) can be defined as moving platforms which integrates a set of imaging sensors and a position and orientation system (POS) for the collection of geo-spatial information. In order to fully explore the potential accuracy of such systems and guarantee accurate multi-sensor integration, a careful system calibration must be carried out. System calibration involves individual sensor calibration as well as the estimation of the inter-sensor geometric relationship. This paper tackles a specific component of the system calibration process of a multi-camera MMS - the estimation of the relative orientation parameters among the cameras, i.e., the inter-camera geometric relationship (lever-arm offsets and boresight angles among the cameras). For that purpose, a novel single step procedure, which is easy to implement and not computationally intensive, will be introduced. The proposed method is implemented in such a way that it can also be used for the estimation of the mounting parameters among the cameras and the IMU body frame, in case of directly georeferenced systems. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated through experimental results using simulated data. A comparative analysis between the proposed single-step and the two-step, which makes use of the traditional bundle adjustment procedure, is demonstrated.

Selective maintenance for multi-state series–parallel systems under economic dependence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dao, Cuong D.; Zuo, Ming J.; Pandey, Mayank

2014-01-01

This paper presents a study on selective maintenance for multi-state series–parallel systems with economically dependent components. In the selective maintenance problem, the maintenance manager has to decide which components should receive maintenance activities within a finite break between missions. All the system reliabilities in the next operating mission, the available budget and the maintenance time for each component from its current state to a higher state are taken into account in the optimization models. In addition, the components in series–parallel systems are considered to be economically dependent. Time and cost savings will be achieved when several components are simultaneously repaired in a selective maintenance strategy. As the number of repaired components increases, the saved time and cost will also increase due to the share of setting up between components and another additional reduction amount resulting from the repair of multiple identical components. Different optimization models are derived to find the best maintenance strategy for multi-state series–parallel systems. A genetic algorithm is used to solve the optimization models. The decision makers may select different components to be repaired to different working states based on the maintenance objective, resource availabilities and how dependent the repair time and cost of each component are

Shutdown Dose Rate Analysis Using the Multi-Step CADIS Method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ibrahim, Ahmad M.; Peplow, Douglas E.; Peterson, Joshua L.; Grove, Robert E.

2015-01-01

The Multi-Step Consistent Adjoint Driven Importance Sampling (MS-CADIS) hybrid Monte Carlo (MC)/deterministic radiation transport method was proposed to speed up the shutdown dose rate (SDDR) neutron MC calculation using an importance function that represents the neutron importance to the final SDDR. This work applied the MS-CADIS method to the ITER SDDR benchmark problem. The MS-CADIS method was also used to calculate the SDDR uncertainty resulting from uncertainties in the MC neutron calculation and to determine the degree of undersampling in SDDR calculations because of the limited ability of the MC method to tally detailed spatial and energy distributions. The analysis that used the ITER benchmark problem compared the efficiency of the MS-CADIS method to the traditional approach of using global MC variance reduction techniques for speeding up SDDR neutron MC calculation. Compared to the standard Forward-Weighted-CADIS (FW-CADIS) method, the MS-CADIS method increased the efficiency of the SDDR neutron MC calculation by 69%. The MS-CADIS method also increased the fraction of nonzero scoring mesh tally elements in the space-energy regions of high importance to the final SDDR

Multi-Step Ka/Ka Dichroic Plate with Rounded Corners for NASA's 34m Beam Waveguide Antenna

Science.gov (United States)

Veruttipong, Watt; Khayatian, Behrouz; Hoppe, Daniel; Long, Ezra

2013-01-01

A multi-step Ka/Ka dichroic plate Frequency Selective Surface (FSS structure) is designed, manufactured and tested for use in NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) 34m Beam Waveguide (BWG) antennas. The proposed design allows ease of manufacturing and ability to handle the increased transmit power (reflected off the FSS) of the DSN BWG antennas from 20kW to 100 kW. The dichroic is designed using HFSS and results agree well with measured data considering the manufacturing tolerances that could be achieved on the dichroic.

Unraveling the sequence-dependent polymorphic behavior of d(CpG) steps in B-DNA.

Science.gov (United States)

Dans, Pablo Daniel; Faustino, Ignacio; Battistini, Federica; Zakrzewska, Krystyna; Lavery, Richard; Orozco, Modesto

2014-10-01

We have made a detailed study of one of the most surprising sources of polymorphism in B-DNA: the high twist/low twist (HT/LT) conformational change in the d(CpG) base pair step. Using extensive computations, complemented with database analysis, we were able to characterize the twist polymorphism in the d(CpG) step in all the possible tetranucleotide environment. We found that twist polymorphism is coupled with BI/BII transitions, and, quite surprisingly, with slide polymorphism in the neighboring step. Unexpectedly, the penetration of cations into the minor groove of the d(CpG) step seems to be the key element in promoting twist transitions. The tetranucleotide environment also plays an important role in the sequence-dependent d(CpG) polymorphism. In this connection, we have detected a previously unexplored intramolecular C-H···O hydrogen bond interaction that stabilizes the low twist state when 3'-purines flank the d(CpG) step. This work explains a coupled mechanism involving several apparently uncorrelated conformational transitions that has only been partially inferred by earlier experimental or theoretical studies. Our results provide a complete description of twist polymorphism in d(CpG) steps and a detailed picture of the molecular choreography associated with this conformational change. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

One-Step Generation of Multi-Qubit GHZ and W States in Superconducting Transmon Qubit System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Guilong; Huang Shousheng; Wang Mingfeng; Jiang Nianquan; Cai Genchang

2012-01-01

We propose a one-step method to prepare multi-qubit GHZ and W states with transmon qubits capacitively coupled to a superconducting transmission line resonator (TLR). Compared with the scheme firstly introduced by Wang et al. [Phys. Rev. B 81 (2010) 104524], our schemes have longer dephasing time and much shorter operation time because the transmon qubits we used are not only more robust to the decoherence and the unavoidable parameter variations, but also have much stronger coupling constant with TLR. Based on the favourable properties of transmons and TLR, our method is more feasible in experiment. (general)

Radially and azimuthally dependent resonance self-shielding treatment for general multi-region geometry based on a unified theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koike, Hiroki; Kirimura, Kazuki; Yamaji, Kazuya; Kosaka, Shinya; Yamamoto, Akio

2018-01-01

A unified resonance self-shielding method, which can treat general sub-divided fuel regions, is developed for lattice physics calculations in reactor physics field. In a past study, a hybrid resonance treatment has been developed by theoretically integrating equivalence theory and ultra-fine-group slowing-down calculation. It can be applied to a wide range of neutron spectrum conditions including low moderator density ranges in severe accident states, as long as each fuel region is not sub-divided. In order to extend the method for radially and azimuthally sub-divided multi-region geometry, a new resonance treatment is established by incorporating the essence of sub-group method. The present method is composed of two-step flux calculation, i.e. 'coarse geometry + fine energy' (first step) and 'fine geometry + coarse energy' (second step) calculations. The first step corresponds to a hybrid model of the equivalence theory and the ultra-fine-group calculation, and the second step corresponds to the sub-group method. From the verification results, effective cross-sections by the new method show good agreement with the continuous energy Monte-Carlo results for various multi-region geometries including non-uniform fuel compositions and temperature distributions. The present method can accurately generate effective cross-sections with short computation time in general lattice physics calculations. (author)

BIOMETRIA DE FRUTOS E SEMENTES E SUPERAÇÃO DE DORMÊNCIA DE JUCÁ (Caesalpinia ferrea Mart. ex Tul (LEGUMINOSAE - CAESALPINOIDEAE

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Francisco Augusto Alves Câmara

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of the present work was to study the characteristics biometrics of the fruit and the effect of the physical and chemical scarification in the germination of seeds of Caesalpinia ferrea Mart. ex Tul. Ripe fruits were collected in August of 2007 of existent trees in the campus of the Rural Federal University of the Semi-arid, Mossoró- RN. The evaluations were carried at the Laboratory of Analysis of Seeds of the Department of Vegetable Sciences of UFERSA. The germination test was constituted of witness and 4 treatments (types of common vinegar: vinegar of alcohol, vinegar of red wine and vinegar of white wine and hot water to 65ºC, with 4 repetitions of 50 seeds. The sowing was in containers plastic with dimensions of 32.5 x 24 x 4 cm (length, width and depth. The used substrates were sand washed sterilized previously and being irrigated with water distilled. The appraised characteristics were: mass of the fresh matter and matter dries of the seedling, germination percentage and index of emergency velocity. The immersion of the seeds in vinegar of white wine favors the germination, the index of germination velocity and the accumulation of fresh and dry matter of the juca seedlings.

Effect of caries-affected dentin on one-step universal and multi-step etch-and-rinse adhesives’ bond strength

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Clecila MÜLLER

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Objective To evaluate the influence of caries-affected dentin on bond strength of a universal one-step and a multi-step etch-and-rinse adhesive system. Material and method Enamel of 60 third human molars with and without caries was removed to expose dentin. The teeth were randomly assigned to six groups: Single Bond Universal (3M ESPE, St. Paul, MN, USA in etch-and-rinse and in self-etch mode and Prime & Bond NT (Dentsply Co, Konstanz, Germany, all on sound and caries-affected dentin. Smear layer of the 30 sound dentin specimens was standardized by polishing with 600-grit SiC paper under water cooling. Residual infected dentin of the 30 caries-affected specimens was removed with a number 4 CA carbide bur until no caries smooth tissue was detectable by tactile-visual inspection. Cylinders of a light cured composite resin (Filtek Z350 XT, 3M ESPE were built up using starch tubes and microshear test was performed until failure. The data was analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc test. Result Significant differences in microshear bond strength (μSBS were observed for the caries-affected groups, but not for sound dentin. The μSBS of Single Bond Universal were not influenced by the application protocol on sound dentin, however they were lower in the caries-affected group with both application protocols. The μSBS for Prime & Bond NT was not influenced by the dentin conditions. Conclusion Caries-affected dentin decrease in bond strength of Single Bond Universal in comparison to sound dentin. The bond strength of Prime & Bond NT was not altered by substrate conditions.

Time-dependent evolution of rock slopes by a multi-modelling approach

Science.gov (United States)

Bozzano, F.; Della Seta, M.; Martino, S.

2016-06-01

This paper presents a multi-modelling approach that incorporates contributions from morpho-evolutionary modelling, detailed engineering-geological modelling and time-dependent stress-strain numerical modelling to analyse the rheological evolution of a river valley slope over approximately 102 kyr. The slope is located in a transient, tectonically active landscape in southwestern Tyrrhenian Calabria (Italy), where gravitational processes drive failures in rock slopes. Constraints on the valley profile development were provided by a morpho-evolutionary model based on the correlation of marine and river strath terraces. Rock mass classes were identified through geomechanical parameters that were derived from engineering-geological surveys and outputs of a multi-sensor slope monitoring system. The rock mass classes were associated to lithotechnical units to obtain a high-resolution engineering-geological model along a cross section of the valley. Time-dependent stress-strain numerical modelling reproduced the main morpho-evolutionary stages of the valley slopes. The findings demonstrate that a complex combination of eustatism, uplift and Mass Rock Creep (MRC) deformations can lead to first-time failures of rock slopes when unstable conditions are encountered up to the generation of stress-controlled shear zones. The multi-modelling approach enabled us to determine that such complex combinations may have been sufficient for the first-time failure of the S. Giovanni slope at approximately 140 ka (MIS 7), even without invoking any trigger. Conversely, further reactivations of the landslide must be related to triggers such as earthquakes, rainfall and anthropogenic activities. This failure involved a portion of the slope where a plasticity zone resulted from mass rock creep that evolved with a maximum strain rate of 40% per thousand years, after the formation of a river strath terrace. This study demonstrates that the multi-modelling approach presented herein is a useful

Continuous Video Modeling to Assist with Completion of Multi-Step Home Living Tasks by Young Adults with Moderate Intellectual Disability

Science.gov (United States)

Mechling, Linda C.; Ayres, Kevin M.; Bryant, Kathryn J.; Foster, Ashley L.

2014-01-01

The current study evaluated a relatively new video-based procedure, continuous video modeling (CVM), to teach multi-step cleaning tasks to high school students with moderate intellectual disability. CVM in contrast to video modeling and video prompting allows repetition of the video model (looping) as many times as needed while the user completes…

Multi-scale simulations of droplets in generic time-dependent flows

Science.gov (United States)

Milan, Felix; Biferale, Luca; Sbragaglia, Mauro; Toschi, Federico

2017-11-01

We study the deformation and dynamics of droplets in time-dependent flows using a diffuse interface model for two immiscible fluids. The numerical simulations are at first benchmarked against analytical results of steady droplet deformation, and further extended to the more interesting case of time-dependent flows. The results of these time-dependent numerical simulations are compared against analytical models available in the literature, which assume the droplet shape to be an ellipsoid at all times, with time-dependent major and minor axis. In particular we investigate the time-dependent deformation of a confined droplet in an oscillating Couette flow for the entire capillary range until droplet break-up. In this way these multi component simulations prove to be a useful tool to establish from ``first principles'' the dynamics of droplets in complex flows involving multiple scales. European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No 642069. & European Research Council under the European Community's Seventh Framework Program, ERC Grant Agreement No 339032.

Analysis of Tourism Resource Dependency on Collaboration among Local Governments in the Multi-Regional Tourism Development

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Ha Dong-Won

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to derive the multidimensional attributes of resource dependency of local governments in multi-regional tourism development. The questionnaire was designed based on resource dependence theory and related literature, and five factors of resource dependency were derived by analysis of the questionnaire for the civil servants who participated in the Jirisan area tourism development project which is a representative multi-regional tourism development project of Korea. The measured values of the derived possession, importance, discretion, alternative, and connection were found in various ways according to the project characteristics such as project scale and visitors in the Jirisan area tourism development project. This shows that a variety of variables have an effect on resource dependency.

Abundance and composition of indigenous bacterial communities in a multi-step biofiltration-based drinking water treatment plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Lautenschlager, Karin; Hwang, Chiachi; Ling, Fangqiong; Liu, Wen-Tso; Boon, Nico; Köster, Oliver; Egli, Thomas; Hammes, Frederik

2014-10-01

Indigenous bacterial communities are essential for biofiltration processes in drinking water treatment systems. In this study, we examined the microbial community composition and abundance of three different biofilter types (rapid sand, granular activated carbon, and slow sand filters) and their respective effluents in a full-scale, multi-step treatment plant (Zürich, CH). Detailed analysis of organic carbon degradation underpinned biodegradation as the primary function of the biofilter biomass. The biomass was present in concentrations ranging between 2-5 × 10(15) cells/m(3) in all filters but was phylogenetically, enzymatically and metabolically diverse. Based on 16S rRNA gene-based 454 pyrosequencing analysis for microbial community composition, similar microbial taxa (predominantly Proteobacteria, Planctomycetes, Acidobacteria, Bacteriodetes, Nitrospira and Chloroflexi) were present in all biofilters and in their respective effluents, but the ratio of microbial taxa was different in each filter type. This change was also reflected in the cluster analysis, which revealed a change of 50-60% in microbial community composition between the different filter types. This study documents the direct influence of the filter biomass on the microbial community composition of the final drinking water, particularly when the water is distributed without post-disinfection. The results provide new insights on the complexity of indigenous bacteria colonizing drinking water systems, especially in different biofilters of a multi-step treatment plant. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dependability and Treatment Sensitivity of Multi-Item Direct Behavior Rating Scales for Interpersonal Peer Conflict

Science.gov (United States)

Daniels, Brian; Volpe, Robert J.; Briesch, Amy M.; Gadow, Kenneth D.

2017-01-01

Direct behavior rating (DBR) represents a feasible method for monitoring student behavior in the classroom; however, limited work to date has focused on the use of multi-item scales. The purposes of the study were to examine the (a) dependability of data obtained from a multi-item DBR designed to assess peer conflict and (b) treatment sensitivity…

The micro-step motor controller

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Kwang Pyo; Lee, Chang Hee; Moon, Myung Kook; Choi, Bung Hun; Choi, Young Hyun; Cheon, Jong Gu

2004-11-01

The developed micro-step motor controller can handle 4 axes stepping motor drivers simultaneously and provide high power bipolar driving mechanism with constant current mode. It can be easily controlled by manual key functions and the motor driving status is displayed by the front panel VFD. Due to the development of several kinds of communication and driving protocol, PC can operate even several micro-step motor controllers at once by multi-drop connection

FEM simulation of multi step forming of thick sheet

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wisselink, H.H.; Huetink, Han

2004-01-01

A case study has been performed on the forming of an industrial product. This product, a bracket, is made of 5mm thick sheet in multiple steps. The process exists of a bending step followed by a drawing and a flanging step. FEM simulations have been used to investigate this forming process. First,

Redox-dependent spatially resolved electrochemistry at graphene and graphite step edges.

Science.gov (United States)

Güell, Aleix G; Cuharuc, Anatolii S; Kim, Yang-Rae; Zhang, Guohui; Tan, Sze-yin; Ebejer, Neil; Unwin, Patrick R

2015-04-28

The electrochemical (EC) behavior of mechanically exfoliated graphene and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) is studied at high spatial resolution in aqueous solutions using Ru(NH3)6(3+/2+) as a redox probe whose standard potential sits close to the intrinsic Fermi level of graphene and graphite. When scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) data are coupled with that from complementary techniques (AFM, micro-Raman) applied to the same sample area, different time-dependent EC activity between the basal planes and step edges is revealed. In contrast, other redox couples (ferrocene derivatives) whose potential is further removed from the intrinsic Fermi level of graphene and graphite show uniform and high activity (close to diffusion-control). Macroscopic voltammetric measurements in different environments reveal that the time-dependent behavior after HOPG cleavage, peculiar to Ru(NH3)6(3+/2+), is not associated particularly with any surface contaminants but is reasonably attributed to the spontaneous delamination of the HOPG with time to create partially coupled graphene layers, further supported by conductive AFM measurements. This process has a major impact on the density of states of graphene and graphite edges, particularly at the intrinsic Fermi level to which Ru(NH3)6(3+/2+) is most sensitive. Through the use of an improved voltammetric mode of SECCM, we produce movies of potential-resolved and spatially resolved HOPG activity, revealing how enhanced activity at step edges is a subtle effect for Ru(NH3)6(3+/2+). These latter studies allow us to propose a microscopic model to interpret the EC response of graphene (basal plane and edges) and aged HOPG considering the nontrivial electronic band structure.

Contributions of dopamine-related genes and environmental factors to highly sensitive personality: a multi-step neuronal system-level approach.

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Chunhui Chen

Full Text Available Traditional behavioral genetic studies (e.g., twin, adoption studies have shown that human personality has moderate to high heritability, but recent molecular behavioral genetic studies have failed to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL with consistent effects. The current study adopted a multi-step approach (ANOVA followed by multiple regression and permutation to assess the cumulative effects of multiple QTLs. Using a system-level (dopamine system genetic approach, we investigated a personality trait deeply rooted in the nervous system (the Highly Sensitive Personality, HSP. 480 healthy Chinese college students were given the HSP scale and genotyped for 98 representative polymorphisms in all major dopamine neurotransmitter genes. In addition, two environment factors (stressful life events and parental warmth that have been implicated for their contributions to personality development were included to investigate their relative contributions as compared to genetic factors. In Step 1, using ANOVA, we identified 10 polymorphisms that made statistically significant contributions to HSP. In Step 2, these polymorphism's main effects and interactions were assessed using multiple regression. This model accounted for 15% of the variance of HSP (p<0.001. Recent stressful life events accounted for an additional 2% of the variance. Finally, permutation analyses ascertained the probability of obtaining these findings by chance to be very low, p ranging from 0.001 to 0.006. Dividing these loci by the subsystems of dopamine synthesis, degradation/transport, receptor and modulation, we found that the modulation and receptor subsystems made the most significant contribution to HSP. The results of this study demonstrate the utility of a multi-step neuronal system-level approach in assessing genetic contributions to individual differences in human behavior. It can potentially bridge the gap between the high heritability estimates based on traditional

Constitutive relations describing creep deformation for multi-axial time-dependent stress states

Science.gov (United States)

McCartney, L. N.

1981-02-01

A THEORY of primary and secondary creep deformation in metals is presented, which is based upon the concept of tensor internal state variables and the principles of continuum mechanics and thermodynamics. The theory is able to account for both multi-axial and time-dependent stress and strain states. The wellknown concepts of elastic, anelastic and plastic strains follow naturally from the theory. Homogeneous stress states are considered in detail and a simplified theory is derived by linearizing with respect to the internal state variables. It is demonstrated that the model can be developed in such a way that multi-axial constant-stress creep data can be presented as a single relationship between an equivalent stress and an equivalent strain. It is shown how the theory may be used to describe the multi-axial deformation of metals which are subjected to constant stress states. The multi-axial strain response to a general cyclic stress state is calculated. For uni-axial stress states, square-wave loading and a thermal fatigue stress cycle are analysed.

The Effect of Prazosin and Oxybutynin on the Symptoms Due to Using Double J Catheter in Patients Underwent TUL

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K. Tavakkoli Tabassi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background & Aims: Double J catheter has been used for years as an independent practice or a part of other urological practices. Although these catheters have solved many patients’ problems but those can cause symptoms and problems for patients. The aim of this study was the investigation the effect of prazosin and oxybutynin on the degree of symptoms due to using Double J catheter. Methods: In this interventional study, patients who underwent TUL from July 2008 to march 2008 in the lithotripsy ward of Imam Reza hospital were entered to the study and randomly divided in 3 groups randomly. In the first group, placebo, in the second group, oxybutynin, in the third group prazosin were prescribed. Three weeks later standard questionnaire Ureteric Stent Symptom Questionnaire (USSQ was completed. After collecting data, was analyzed using SPSS software. Results: A total of 113 patients (70 men 43 women were included to the study. The mean age was 39 years. There were no significance difference among urinary symptoms score pain of body and physical activity problems in three groups (P>0.05, but there was a significant difference in general health and work problems among them (P<0.05. Conclusion: Oxybutynin caused a low effect on improvement of general health and work problems in patients who were studied. It might Prazosin does not has a sufficient time to affect on urinary symptoms, because of shortness of usage.

Investigations towards multi-step laser spectroscopy of stored H{sub 3}{sup +} molecular ions; Untersuchungen zur Mehrstufen-Laserspektroskopie an gespeicherten H{sub 3}{sup +}-Molekuelionen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bing, Dennis

2010-07-21

The triatomic H{sub 3}{sup +} molecular ion plays an important role in molecular quantum dynamics through its equilateral triangular structure. Many studies of molecular reactions involving H{sub 3}{sup +} have been done thus far, among them dissociative recombination in storage ring experiments with a cold electron-beam. For these strongly energy dependent reactions, the population in individual rovibrational levels is of large importance. To determine such populations for H{sub 3}{sup +} ions inside a storage ring, an extremely sensitive state-selective method must be used, such as the Resonant- Enhanced Multi-Photon Dissociation (REMPD). In REMPD, molecules are highly excited from a low lying initial level in a first resonant step and photodissociated from these high lying states in a second step. To fully employ this method, detailed investigations are necessary. Here, an experiment is presented which determines the energy range of the highly excited vibrational states of H{sub 3}{sup +} suitable for photodissociation. Additional photodissociation experiments, using hot H{sub 3}{sup +} ions in the storage ring TSR at the Max-Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, yield an effective lifetime of these dissociated H{sub 3}{sup +} states. Finally selective vibrational excitation of cold H{sub 3}{sup +} (the rst step of REMPD) is discussed with the aim of reaching the highly excited vibrational states suitable for photodissociation. (orig.)

MONTEBURNS 2.0: An Automated, Multi-Step Monte Carlo Burnup Code System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

A - Description of program or function: MONTEBURNS Version 2 calculates coupled neutronic/isotopic results for nuclear systems and produces a large number of criticality and burnup results based on various material feed/removal specifications, power(s), and time intervals. MONTEBURNS is a fully automated tool that links the LANL MCNP Monte Carlo transport code with a radioactive decay and burnup code. Highlights on changes to Version 2 are listed in the transmittal letter. Along with other minor improvements in MONTEBURNS Version 2, the option was added to use CINDER90 instead of ORIGEN2 as the depletion/decay part of the system. CINDER90 is a multi-group depletion code developed at LANL and is not currently available from RSICC, nor from the NEA Databank. This MONTEBURNS release was tested with various combinations of CCC-715/MCNPX 2.4.0, CCC-710/MCNP5, CCC-700/MCNP4C, CCC-371/ORIGEN2.2, ORIGEN2.1 and CINDER90. Perl is required software and is not included in this distribution. MCNP, ORIGEN2, and CINDER90 are not included. The following changes have been made: 1) An increase in the number of removal group information that must be provided for each material in each step in the feed input file. 2) The capability to use CINDER90 instead of ORIGEN2.1 as the depletion/decay part of the code. 3) ORIGEN2.2 can also be used instead of ORIGEN2.1 in Monteburns. 4) The correction of including the capture cross sections to metastable as well as ground states if applicable for an isotope (i.e. Am-241 and Am-243 in particular). 5) The ability to use a MCNP input file that has a title card starting with 'm' (this was a bug in the first version of Monteburns). 6) A decrease in run time for cases involving decay-only steps (power of 0.0). Monteburns does not run MCNP to calculate cross sections for a step unless it is an irradiation step. 7) The ability to change the cross section libraries used each step. If different cross section libraries are desired for multiple steps. 8

PEGASUS: a preequilibrium and multi-step evaporation code for neutron cross section calculation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakagawa, Tsuneo; Sugi, Teruo [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; Iijima, Shungo; Nishigori, Takeo

1999-06-01

The computer code PEGASUS was developed to calculate neutron-induced reaction cross sections on the basis of the closed form exciton model preequilibrium theory and the multi-step evaporation theory. The cross sections and emitted particle spectra are calculated for the compound elastic scattering, (n,{gamma}), (n,n`), (n,p), (n,{alpha}), (n,d), (n,t), (n,{sup 3}He), (n,2n), (n,n`p), (n,n`{alpha}), (n,n`d), (n,n`t), (n,2p) and (n,3n) reactions. The double differential cross sections of emitted particles are also calculated. The calculated results are written on a magnetic disk in the ENDF format. Parameter files and/or systematics formulas are provided for level densities, mass excess, radiation widths and inverse cross sections so that the input data to the code are made minimum. (author)

Active Mycobacterium Infection Due to Intramuscular BCG Administration Following Multi-Steps Medication Errors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MohammadReza Rafati

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG is indicated for treatment of primary or relapsing flat urothelial cell carcinoma in situ (CIS of the urinary bladder. Disseminated infectious complications occasionally occur due to BCG as a vaccine and intravesical therapy.  Intramuscular (IM or Intravenous (IV administrations of BCG are rare medication errors which are more probable to produce systemic infections. This report presents 13 years old case that several steps medication errors occurred consequently from physician handwriting, pharmacy dispensing, nursing administration and patient family. The physician wrote βHCG instead of HCG in the prescription. βHCG was read as BCG by the pharmacy staff and 6 vials of intravesical BCG were administered IM twice a week for 3 consecutive weeks. The patient experienced fever and chills after each injection, but he was admitted 2 months after first IM administration of BCG with fever and pancytopenia. Unfortunately four month after using drug, during second admission duo to cellulitis at the sites of BCG injection the physicians diagnosed the medication error. Using handwritten prescription and inappropriate abbreviations, spending inadequate time for taking a brief medical history in pharmacy, lack of verifying name, dose and wrote before medication administration and lack of considering medication error as an important differential diagnosis had roles to occur this multi-steps medication error.

Anti-Inflammatory benefits of antibiotic-induced neutrophil apoptosis: tulathromycin induces caspase-3-dependent neutrophil programmed cell death and inhibits NF-kappaB signaling and CXCL8 transcription.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Carrie D; Beatty, Jennifer K; Zvaigzne, Cheryl G; Morck, Douglas W; Lucas, Merlyn J; Buret, A G

2011-01-01

Clearance of apoptotic neutrophils is a central feature of the resolution of inflammation. Findings indicate that immuno-modulation and induction of neutrophil apoptosis by macrolide antibiotics generate anti-inflammatory benefits via mechanisms that remain obscure. Tulathromycin (TUL), a new antimicrobial agent for bovine respiratory disease, offers superior clinical efficacy for reasons not fully understood. The aim of this study was to identify the immuno-modulating effects of tulathromycin and, in this process, to establish tulathromycin as a new model for characterizing the novel anti-inflammatory properties of antibiotics. Bronchoalveolar lavage specimens were collected from Holstein calves 3 and 24 h postinfection, challenged intratracheally with live Mannheimia haemolytica (2 × 10(7) CFU), and treated with vehicle or tulathromycin (2.5 mg/kg body weight). Terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) revealed that tulathromycin treatment significantly increased leukocyte apoptosis and reduced levels of proinflammatory leukotriene B(4) in M. haemolytica-challenged calves. In vitro, tulathromycin concentration dependently induced apoptosis in freshly isolated bovine neutrophils from healthy steers in a capase-3-dependent manner but failed to induce apoptosis in bovine fibroblasts, epithelial cells, and endothelial cells, as well as freshly isolated bovine blood monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages. The proapoptotic effects of TUL were also, in part, drug specific; equimolar concentrations of penicillin G, oxytetracycline, and ceftiofur failed to cause apoptosis in bovine neutrophils. In addition, tulathromycin significantly reduced levels of phosphorylated IκBα, nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65, and mRNA levels of proinflammatory interleukin-8 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated bovine neutrophils. The findings illustrate novel mechanisms through which

Four wind speed multi-step forecasting models using extreme learning machines and signal decomposing algorithms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Hui; Tian, Hong-qi; Li, Yan-fei

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A hybrid architecture is proposed for the wind speed forecasting. • Four algorithms are used for the wind speed multi-scale decomposition. • The extreme learning machines are employed for the wind speed forecasting. • All the proposed hybrid models can generate the accurate results. - Abstract: Realization of accurate wind speed forecasting is important to guarantee the safety of wind power utilization. In this paper, a new hybrid forecasting architecture is proposed to realize the wind speed accurate forecasting. In this architecture, four different hybrid models are presented by combining four signal decomposing algorithms (e.g., Wavelet Decomposition/Wavelet Packet Decomposition/Empirical Mode Decomposition/Fast Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition) and Extreme Learning Machines. The originality of the study is to investigate the promoted percentages of the Extreme Learning Machines by those mainstream signal decomposing algorithms in the multiple step wind speed forecasting. The results of two forecasting experiments indicate that: (1) the method of Extreme Learning Machines is suitable for the wind speed forecasting; (2) by utilizing the decomposing algorithms, all the proposed hybrid algorithms have better performance than the single Extreme Learning Machines; (3) in the comparisons of the decomposing algorithms in the proposed hybrid architecture, the Fast Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition has the best performance in the three-step forecasting results while the Wavelet Packet Decomposition has the best performance in the one and two step forecasting results. At the same time, the Wavelet Packet Decomposition and the Fast Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition are better than the Wavelet Decomposition and the Empirical Mode Decomposition in all the step predictions, respectively; and (4) the proposed algorithms are effective in the wind speed accurate predictions

SYSTEMATIZATION OF THE BASIC STEPS OF THE STEP-AEROBICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darinka Korovljev

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Following the development of the powerful sport industry, in front of us appeared a lot of new opportunities for creating of the new programmes of exercising with certain requisites. One of such programmes is certainly step-aerobics. Step-aerobics can be defined as a type of aerobics consisting of the basic aerobic steps (basic steps applied in exercising on stepper (step bench, with a possibility to regulate its height. Step-aerobics itself can be divided into several groups, depending on the following: type of music, working methods and adopted knowledge of the attendants. In this work, the systematization of the basic steps in step-aerobics was made on the basis of the following criteria: steps origin, number of leg motions in stepping and relating the body support at the end of the step. Systematization of the basic steps of the step-aerobics is quite significant for making a concrete review of the existing basic steps, thus making creation of the step-aerobics lesson easier

Analysis of Critical Infrastructure Dependencies and Interdependencies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petit, Frederic [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Verner, Duane [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Brannegan, David [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Buehring, William [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Dickinson, David [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Guziel, Karen [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Haffenden, Rebecca [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Phillips, Julia [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Peerenboom, James [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2015-06-01

The report begins by defining dependencies and interdependencies and exploring basic concepts of dependencies in order to facilitate a common understanding and consistent analytical approaches. Key concepts covered include; Characteristics of dependencies: upstream dependencies, internal dependencies, and downstream dependencies; Classes of dependencies: physical, cyber, geographic, and logical; and Dimensions of dependencies: operating environment, coupling and response behavior, type of failure, infrastructure characteristics, and state of operations From there, the report proposes a multi-phase roadmap to support dependency and interdependency assessment activities nationwide, identifying a range of data inputs, analysis activities, and potential products for each phase, as well as key steps needed to progress from one phase to the next. The report concludes by outlining a comprehensive, iterative, and scalable framework for analyzing dependencies and interdependencies that stakeholders can integrate into existing risk and resilience assessment efforts.

A multi-time-step noise reduction method for measuring velocity statistics from particle tracking velocimetry

Science.gov (United States)

Machicoane, Nathanaël; López-Caballero, Miguel; Bourgoin, Mickael; Aliseda, Alberto; Volk, Romain

2017-10-01

We present a method to improve the accuracy of velocity measurements for fluid flow or particles immersed in it, based on a multi-time-step approach that allows for cancellation of noise in the velocity measurements. Improved velocity statistics, a critical element in turbulent flow measurements, can be computed from the combination of the velocity moments computed using standard particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) or particle image velocimetry (PIV) techniques for data sets that have been collected over different values of time intervals between images. This method produces Eulerian velocity fields and Lagrangian velocity statistics with much lower noise levels compared to standard PIV or PTV measurements, without the need of filtering and/or windowing. Particle displacement between two frames is computed for multiple different time-step values between frames in a canonical experiment of homogeneous isotropic turbulence. The second order velocity structure function of the flow is computed with the new method and compared to results from traditional measurement techniques in the literature. Increased accuracy is also demonstrated by comparing the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy measured from this function against previously validated measurements.

Simulation study of multi-step model algorithmic control of the nuclear reactor thermal power tracking system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi Xiaoping; Xu Tianshu

2001-01-01

The classical control method is usually hard to ensure the thermal power tracking accuracy, because the nuclear reactor system is a complex nonlinear system with uncertain parameters and disturbances. A sort of non-parameter model is constructed with the open-loop impulse response of the system. Furthermore, a sort of thermal power tracking digital control law is presented using the multi-step model algorithmic control principle. The control method presented had good tracking performance and robustness. It can work despite the existence of unmeasurable disturbances. The simulation experiment testifies the correctness and effectiveness of the method. The high accuracy matching between the thermal power and the referenced load is achieved

One-step synthesis of multi-emission carbon nanodots for ratiometric temperature sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Vanthan; Yan, Lihe; Xu, Huanhuan; Yue, Mengmeng

2018-01-01

Measuring temperature with greater precision at localized small length scales or in a nonperturbative manner is a necessity in widespread applications, such as integrated photonic devices, micro/nano electronics, biology, and medical diagnostics. To this context, use of nanoscale fluorescent temperature probes is regarded as the most promising method for temperature sensing because they are noninvasive, accurate, and enable remote micro/nanoscale imaging. Here, we propose a novel ratiometric fluorescent sensor for nanothermometry using carbon nanodots (C-dots). The C-dots were synthesized by one-step method using femtosecond laser ablation and exhibit unique multi-emission property due to emissions from abundant functional groups on its surface. The as-prepared C-dots demonstrate excellent ratiometric temperature sensing under single wavelength excitation that achieves high temperature sensitivity with a 1.48% change per °C ratiometric response over wide-ranging temperature (5-85 °C) in aqueous buffer. The ratiometric sensor shows excellent reversibility and stability, holding great promise for the accurate measurement of temperature in many practical applications.

Explicit/multi-parametric model predictive control (MPC) of linear discrete-time systems by dynamic and multi-parametric programming

KAUST Repository

Kouramas, K.I.

2011-08-01

This work presents a new algorithm for solving the explicit/multi- parametric model predictive control (or mp-MPC) problem for linear, time-invariant discrete-time systems, based on dynamic programming and multi-parametric programming techniques. The algorithm features two key steps: (i) a dynamic programming step, in which the mp-MPC problem is decomposed into a set of smaller subproblems in which only the current control, state variables, and constraints are considered, and (ii) a multi-parametric programming step, in which each subproblem is solved as a convex multi-parametric programming problem, to derive the control variables as an explicit function of the states. The key feature of the proposed method is that it overcomes potential limitations of previous methods for solving multi-parametric programming problems with dynamic programming, such as the need for global optimization for each subproblem of the dynamic programming step. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigation of solutions of state-dependent multi-impulsive boundary value problems

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Rontó, András; Rachůnková, I.; Rontó, M.; Rachůnek, L.

2017-01-01

Roč. 24, č. 2 (2017), s. 287-312 ISSN 1072-947X R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-06958S Institutional support: RVO:67985840 Keywords : state-dependent multi-impulsive systems * non-linear boundary value problem * parametrization technique Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics OBOR OECD: Applied mathematics Impact factor: 0.290, year: 2016 https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/gmj.2017.24.issue-2/gmj-2016-0084/gmj-2016-0084. xml

Investigation of solutions of state-dependent multi-impulsive boundary value problems

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Rontó, András; Rachůnková, I.; Rontó, M.; Rachůnek, L.

2017-01-01

Roč. 24, č. 2 (2017), s. 287-312 ISSN 1072-947X R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-06958S Institutional support: RVO:67985840 Keywords : state-dependent multi-impulsive systems * non-linear boundary value problem * parametrization technique Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics OBOR OECD: Applied mathematics Impact factor: 0.290, year: 2016 https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/gmj.2017.24.issue-2/gmj-2016-0084/gmj-2016-0084.xml

Thermal design of heat-exchangeable reactors using a dry-sorbent CO2 capture multi-step process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moon, Hokyu; Yoo, Hoanju; Seo, Hwimin; Park, Yong-Ki; Cho, Hyung Hee

2015-01-01

The present study proposes a multi-stage CO 2 capture process that incorporates heat-exchangeable fluidized-bed reactors. For continuous multi-stage heat exchange, three dry regenerable sorbents: K 2 CO 3 , MgO, and CaO, were used to create a three-stage temperature-dependent reaction chain for CO 2 capture, corresponding to low (50–150 °C), middle (350–650 °C), and high (750–900 °C) temperature stages, respectively. Heat from carbonation in the high and middle temperature stages was used for regeneration for the middle and low temperature stages. The feasibility of this process is depending on the heat-transfer performance of the heat-exchangeable fluidized bed reactors as the focus of this study. The three-stage CO 2 capture process for a 60 Nm 3 /h CO 2 flow rate required a reactor area of 0.129 and 0.130 m 2 for heat exchange between the mid-temperature carbonation and low-temperature regeneration stages and between the high-temperature carbonation and mid-temperature regeneration stages, respectively. The reactor diameter was selected to provide dense fluidization conditions for each bed with respect to the desired flow rate. The flow characteristics and energy balance of the reactors were confirmed using computational fluid dynamics and thermodynamic analysis, respectively. - Highlights: • CO 2 capture process is proposed using a multi-stage process. • Reactor design is conducted considering heat exchangeable scheme. • Reactor surface is designed by heat transfer characteristics of fluidized bed

HTSC-Josephson step contacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herrmann, K.

1994-03-01

In this work the properties of josephson step contacts are investigated. After a short introduction into Josephson step contacts the structure, properties and the Josphson contacts of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x high-T c superconductors is presented. The fabrication of HTSC step contacts and the microstructure is discussed. The electric properties of these contacts are measured together with the Josephson emission and the magnetic field dependence. The temperature dependence of the stationary transport properties is given. (WL)

Fluidic origami with embedded pressure dependent multi-stability: a plant inspired innovation.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Suyi; Wang, K W

2015-10-06

Inspired by the impulsive movements in plants, this research investigates the physics of a novel fluidic origami concept for its pressure-dependent multi-stability. In this innovation, fluid-filled tubular cells are synthesized by integrating different Miura-Ori sheets into a three-dimensional topological system, where the internal pressures are strategically controlled similar to the motor cells in plants. Fluidic origami incorporates two crucial physiological features observed in nature: one is distributed, pressurized cellular organization, and the other is embedded multi-stability. For a single fluidic origami cell, two stable folding configurations can coexist due to the nonlinear relationships among folding, crease material deformation and internal volume change. When multiple origami cells are integrated, additional multi-stability characteristics could occur via the interactions between pressurized cells. Changes in the fluid pressure can tailor the existence and shapes of these stable folding configurations. As a result, fluidic origami can switch between being mono-stable, bistable and multi-stable with pressure control, and provide a rapid 'snap-through' type of shape change based on the similar principles as in plants. The outcomes of this research could lead to the development of new adaptive materials or structures, and provide insights for future plant physiology studies at the cellular level. © 2015 The Author(s).

MORSEC-SP, Step Function Angular Distribution for Cross-Sections Calculation by Program MORSE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

1 - Description of problem or function: MORSEC-SP allows one to utilize a step distribution to describe the angular dependence of the multi- group function in the MORSEC cross section module of the MORSE Monte Carlo code. The step distribution is always non-negative and may be used in the random walk and for making point detector estimators. 2 - Method of solution: MORSEC-SP utilizes a table look up procedure to provide the probability of scattering when making point detector estimates for a given incident energy group and scattering angle. In the random walk, the step distributions are converted to cumulative distributions and an angle of scatter is selected from the cumulative distributions. Step distributions are obtained from calculation using the converted moments from the given Legendre coefficients of the scattering distributions. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: Additional coding to the MORSEC module is variable dimensional and fully incorporated into blank common

A Robust and Accurate Two-Step Auto-Labeling Conditional Iterative Closest Points (TACICP Algorithm for Three-Dimensional Multi-Modal Carotid Image Registration.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hengkai Guo

Full Text Available Atherosclerosis is among the leading causes of death and disability. Combining information from multi-modal vascular images is an effective and efficient way to diagnose and monitor atherosclerosis, in which image registration is a key technique. In this paper a feature-based registration algorithm, Two-step Auto-labeling Conditional Iterative Closed Points (TACICP algorithm, is proposed to align three-dimensional carotid image datasets from ultrasound (US and magnetic resonance (MR. Based on 2D segmented contours, a coarse-to-fine strategy is employed with two steps: rigid initialization step and non-rigid refinement step. Conditional Iterative Closest Points (CICP algorithm is given in rigid initialization step to obtain the robust rigid transformation and label configurations. Then the labels and CICP algorithm with non-rigid thin-plate-spline (TPS transformation model is introduced to solve non-rigid carotid deformation between different body positions. The results demonstrate that proposed TACICP algorithm has achieved an average registration error of less than 0.2mm with no failure case, which is superior to the state-of-the-art feature-based methods.

Bioactivity of Peumus boldus Molina, Laurelia sempervirens (Ruiz & Pav. Tul. and Laureliopsis philippiana (Looser Schodde (Monimiacea essential oils against Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen Herrera-Rodríguez

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky is one of most important pest of stored seeds worldwide, but its current control method is based on the use of synthetic insecticides, usually leading to undesirable problems such as insecticide residues on treated food, human intoxications, and insect resistance development. Therefore the search of friendly alternative methods is required. The aim of this study was to assess, under laboratory conditions, the insecticidal properties of Peumus boldus Molina, Laurelia sempervirens (Ruiz & Pav. Tul., and Laureliopsis philippiana (Looser Schodde essential oils against S. zeamais. The phytochemical analysis of the three essential oils showed 1,8-cineole, safrole and methyleugenol as the common components; all of them documented with insecticidal activity from essential oils from other plant species. The highest toxicity (100% mortality of these three oils acting as a contact insecticide was observed at 24 h exposure at 4% concentration. The estimated LC50 values for P. boldus, L. sempervirens, and L. philippiana were 0.37, 1.02, and 0.28 μL g-1, respectively. Peumus boldus exhibited the highest fumigant activity with 100% adult mortality at 30 μL oil L-1 air. At ≥ 0.5% (v/w concentration, all essential oils showed repellent activity. These three essential oils showed a promissory insecticidal activity against the maize weevil.

Characterization of Angle Dependent Color Travel of Printed Multi-Color Effect Pigment on Different Color Substrates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirica Karlovits

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Color-travel pigments, which exhibit much more extensive color change as well provide angle-dependent optical effect can be used in many industrial products. In present paper the multi-color effect pigment printed on three different foils with different background color (black, silver and transparent was investigated. The pigment was based on synthetically produced transparent silicon dioxide platelets coated with titanium dioxide. CIEL*a*b* values and reflection of prints were measured by multi-angle spectrophotometer at constant illumination at an angle of 45º and different viewing angles (-15º, 15°, 25º, 45º, 75º and 110º were used. The measurements of printed multi-color pigment showed that CIEL*a*b* color coordinates varied to great extents, depending on detection angles as well on color of the printing substrate. The study revealed that pigmnet printed on black background obtained significant change in color. The study has also shown that when viewing angle increases, the reflection curves decreases.

Rapid discrimination of sea buckthorn berries from different H. rhamnoides subspecies by multi-step IR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate data analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yue; Zhang, Ying; Zhang, Jing; Fan, Gang; Tu, Ya; Sun, Suqin; Shen, Xudong; Li, Qingzhu; Zhang, Yi

2018-03-01

As an important ethnic medicine, sea buckthorn was widely used to prevent and treat various diseases due to its nutritional and medicinal properties. According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, sea buckthorn was originated from H. rhamnoides, which includes five subspecies distributed in China. Confusion and misidentification usually occurred due to their similar morphology, especially in dried and powdered forms. Additionally, these five subspecies have vital differences in quality and physiological efficacy. This paper focused on the quick classification and identification method of sea buckthorn berry powders from five H. rhamnoides subspecies using multi-step IR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate data analysis. The holistic chemical compositions revealed by the FT-IR spectra demonstrated that flavonoids, fatty acids and sugars were the main chemical components. Further, the differences in FT-IR spectra regarding their peaks, positions and intensities were used to identify H. rhamnoides subspecies samples. The discrimination was achieved using principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The results showed that the combination of multi-step IR spectroscopy and chemometric analysis offered a simple, fast and reliable method for the classification and identification of the sea buckthorn berry powders from different H. rhamnoides subspecies.

Multi-morbidity, dependency, and frailty singly or in combination have different impact on health outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Woo, Jean; Leung, Jason

2014-04-01

Multi-morbidity, dependency, and frailty were studied simultaneously in a community-living cohort of 4,000 men and women aged 65 years and over to examine the independent and combined effects on four health outcomes (mortality, decline in physical function, depression, and polypharmacy). The influence of socioeconomic status on these relationships is also examined. Mortality data was documented after a mean follow-up period of 9 years, while other health outcomes were documented after 4 years of follow-up. Fifteen percent of the cohort did not have any of these syndromes. Of the remaining participants, nearly one third had multi-morbidity and frailty (pre-frail and frail), while all three syndromes were present in 11 %. All syndromes as well as socioeconomic status were significantly associated with all health outcomes. Mortality was only increased for age, being male, frailty status, and combinations of syndromes that included frailty. Both multi-morbidity and frailtymale was protective. Only a combination of all three syndromes, and age per se, increased the risk of depressive symptoms at 4 years while being male conferred reduced risk. Multi-morbidity, but not frailty status or dependency, and all syndrome combinations that included multi-morbidity were associated with use of ≥ four medications. Decline in homeostatic function with age may thus be quantified and taken into account in prediction of various health outcomes, with a view to prevention, management, formulation of guidelines, service planning, and the conduct of randomized controlled trials of interventions or treatment.

Continuous Energy, Multi-Dimensional Transport Calculations for Problem Dependent Resonance Self-Shielding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Downar, T.

2009-01-01

The overall objective of the work here has been to eliminate the approximations used in current resonance treatments by developing continuous energy multi-dimensional transport calculations for problem dependent self-shielding calculations. The work here builds on the existing resonance treatment capabilities in the ORNL SCALE code system. The overall objective of the work here has been to eliminate the approximations used in current resonance treatments by developing continuous energy multidimensional transport calculations for problem dependent self-shielding calculations. The work here builds on the existing resonance treatment capabilities in the ORNL SCALE code system. Specifically, the methods here utilize the existing continuous energy SCALE5 module, CENTRM, and the multi-dimensional discrete ordinates solver, NEWT to develop a new code, CENTRM( ) NEWT. The work here addresses specific theoretical limitations in existing CENTRM resonance treatment, as well as investigates advanced numerical and parallel computing algorithms for CENTRM and NEWT in order to reduce the computational burden. The result of the work here will be a new computer code capable of performing problem dependent self-shielding analysis for both existing and proposed GENIV fuel designs. The objective of the work was to have an immediate impact on the safety analysis of existing reactors through improvements in the calculation of fuel temperature effects, as well as on the analysis of more sophisticated GENIV/NGNP systems through improvements in the depletion/transmutation of actinides for Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiatives.

Configurable multi-step linear feedback shift register

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2010-01-01

The state transition of a linear feedback shift register (LFSR) controlled by a clock (310) with length N and step size W, W being at least two, is accomplished via a next-state function (320). The next-state function deploys a state transition matrix (350). The state vector (330), which represents

Determination of the step dipole moment and the step line tension on Ag(0 0 1) electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beltramo, G.L.; Ibach, H.; Linke, U.; Giesen, M.

2008-01-01

Using impedance spectroscopy, we determined the step dipole moment and the potential dependence of the step line tension of silver electrodes in contact with an electrolyte: (0 0 1) and vicinal surfaces (1 1 n) with n = 5, 7, 11 in 10 mM ClO 4 - -solutions were investigated. The step dipole moment is determined from the shift of the potential of zero charge (pzc) as a function of the surface step density. The dipole moment per step atom was found to be 3.5 ± 0.5 x 10 -3 e A. From the pzc and the potential dependence of the capacitance curves, the potential dependence of the surface tension of the vicinal surfaces is determined. The line tension of the steps is then calculated from the difference between the surface tensions of stepped (1 1 n) and the nominally step-free (0 0 1) surfaces. The results are compared to a previous study on Au(1 1 n) surfaces. For gold, the step line tension decreases roughly linear with potential, whereas a parabolic shape is observed for silver

MSBIS: A Multi-Step Biomedical Informatics Screening Approach for Identifying Medications that Mitigate the Risks of Metoclopramide-Induced Tardive Dyskinesia

OpenAIRE

Dong Xu; Alexandrea G. Ham; Rickey D. Tivis; Matthew L. Caylor; Aoxiang Tao; Steve T. Flynn; Peter J. Economen; Hung K. Dang; Royal W. Johnson; Vaughn L. Culbertson

2017-01-01

In 2009 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) placed a black box warning on metoclopramide (MCP) due to the increased risks and prevalence of tardive dyskinesia (TD). In this study, we developed a multi-step biomedical informatics screening (MSBIS) approach leveraging publicly available bioactivity and drug safety data to identify concomitant drugs that mitigate the risks of MCP-induced TD. MSBIS includes (1) TargetSearch (http://dxulab.org/software) bioinformatics scoring for drug anti...

A data acquisition system for measuring ionization cross section in laser multi-step resonant ionization experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qian Dongbin; Guo Yuhui; Zhang Dacheng; Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing; Ma Xinwen; Zhao Zhizheng; Wang Yanyu; Zu Kailing

2006-01-01

A CAMAC data acquisition system for measuring ionization cross section in laser multi-step resonant ionization experiment is described. The number of scalers in the front-end CAMAC can be adjusted by changing the data read-out table files. Both continuous and manual acquisition models are available, and there is a wide adjustable range from 1 ms to 800 s with the acquisition time unit. The long-term stability, Δt/t, for the data acquisition system with an acquisition time unit of 100 s was measured to be better than ±0.01%, thus validating its reliability in long-term online experimental data acquisition. The time response curves for three electrothermal power-meters were also measured by this DAQ system. (authors)

Multi-step direct reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koning, A.J.

1992-07-01

In recent years a variety of statistical theories has been developed concerning multistep direct (MSD) nuclear reactions. In addition, dominant in applications is a whole class of semiclassical models that may be subsumed under the heading of 'generalized exciton models'; these are basically MSD-type extensions on top of compound-like concepts. In this report the relation between their underlying statistical MSD-postulates are highlighted. A command framework is sketched that enables to generate the various MSD theories through assigning statistical properties to different parts of the nuclear Hamiltonian. Then it is shown that distinct forms of nuclear randomness are embodied in the mentioned theories. All these theories appear to be very similar at a qualitative level. In order to explain the high energy-tails and forward-peaked angular distribution typical for particles emitted in MSD reactions, it is imagined that the incident continuum particle stepwise looses its energy and direction in a sequence of collisions, thereby creating new particle-hole pairs in the target system. At each step emission may take place. The statistical aspect comes in because many continuum states are involved in the process. These are supposed to display chaotic behavior, the associated randomness assumption giving rise to important simplifications in the expression for MSD emission cross sections. This picture suggests that mentioned MSD models can be interpreted as a variant of essentially one and the same theory. 113 refs.; 25 figs.; 9 tabs

Step-by-step cyclic processes scheduling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bocewicz, G.; Nielsen, Izabela Ewa; Banaszak, Z.

2013-01-01

Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) fleet scheduling is one of the big problems in Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) control. The problem is more complicated when concurrent multi-product manufacturing and resource deadlock avoidance policies are considered. The objective of the research is to pro......Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) fleet scheduling is one of the big problems in Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) control. The problem is more complicated when concurrent multi-product manufacturing and resource deadlock avoidance policies are considered. The objective of the research...... is to provide a declarative model enabling to state a constraint satisfaction problem aimed at AGVs fleet scheduling subject to assumed itineraries of concurrently manufactured product types. In other words, assuming a given layout of FMS’s material handling and production routes of simultaneously manufactured...... orders, the main objective is to provide the declarative framework aimed at conditions allowing one to calculate the AGVs fleet schedule in online mode. An illustrative example of the relevant algebra-like driven step-by-stem cyclic scheduling is provided....

7.9 pJ/Step Energy-Efficient Multi-Slope 13-bit Capacitance-to-Digital Converter

KAUST Repository

Omran, Hesham

2014-08-01

In this brief, an energy-efficient capacitance-to-digital converter (CDC) is presented. The proposed CDC uses digitally controlled coarse-fine multi-slope integration to digitize a wide range of capacitance in short conversion time. Both integration current and frequency are scaled, which leads to significant improvement in the energy efficiency of both analog and digital circuitry. Mathematical analysis for circuit nonidealities, noise, and improvement in energy efficiency is provided. A prototype fabricated in a 0.35-μm CMOS process occupies 0.09 mm2 and consumes a total of 153 μA from 3.3 V supply while achieving 13-bit resolution. The operation of the prototype is experimentally verified using MEMS capacitive pressure sensor. Compared to recently published work, the prototype achieves an excellent energy efficiency of 7.9 pJ/Step. © 2004-2012 IEEE.

7.9 pJ/Step Energy-Efficient Multi-Slope 13-bit Capacitance-to-Digital Converter

KAUST Repository

Omran, Hesham; Arsalan, Muhammad; Salama, Khaled N.

2014-01-01

In this brief, an energy-efficient capacitance-to-digital converter (CDC) is presented. The proposed CDC uses digitally controlled coarse-fine multi-slope integration to digitize a wide range of capacitance in short conversion time. Both integration current and frequency are scaled, which leads to significant improvement in the energy efficiency of both analog and digital circuitry. Mathematical analysis for circuit nonidealities, noise, and improvement in energy efficiency is provided. A prototype fabricated in a 0.35-μm CMOS process occupies 0.09 mm2 and consumes a total of 153 μA from 3.3 V supply while achieving 13-bit resolution. The operation of the prototype is experimentally verified using MEMS capacitive pressure sensor. Compared to recently published work, the prototype achieves an excellent energy efficiency of 7.9 pJ/Step. © 2004-2012 IEEE.

Incorporating time dependent link costs in multi-state supernetworks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Liao, F.

2011-01-01

Multi-state supernetwork represents a promising approach to model multi-modal and multi-activity travel behaviour. A derived feature of this approach is that a point-to-point path through the supernetwork represents a specific activity-travel pattern. A limitation of current multi-state

A condition-based maintenance policy for multi-component systems with Lévy copulas dependence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Heping; Deloux, Estelle; Dieulle, Laurence

2016-01-01

In this paper, we propose a new condition-based maintenance policy for multi-component systems taking into account stochastic and economic dependences. The stochastic dependence between components due to common environment is modelled by Lévy copulas. Its influence on the maintenance optimization is investigated with different dependence degrees. On the issue of economic dependence providing opportunities to group maintenance activities, a new maintenance decision rule is proposed which permits maintenance grouping. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed maintenance policy, we compare it to the classical maintenance policies. - Highlights: • A new adaptive maintenance policy for grouping maintenance actions is proposed. • The impacts of both economic and stochastic dependences are investigated. • The performance of the proposed maintenance policy is evaluated under different system configurations. • The stochastic dependence is modelled by Lévy copulas. • The proposed maintenance decision rule can take full advantage of economic and stochastic dependences.

Characterization of olive oil volatiles by multi-step direct thermal desorption-comprehensive gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry using a programmed temperature vaporizing injector

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Koning, S.; Kaal, E.; Janssen, H.-G.; van Platerink, C.; Brinkman, U.A.Th.

2008-01-01

The feasibility of a versatile system for multi-step direct thermal desorption (DTD) coupled to comprehensive gas chromatography (GC × GC) with time-of-flight mass spectrometric (TOF-MS) detection is studied. As an application the system is used for the characterization of fresh versus aged olive

Exact free vibration of multi-step Timoshenko beam system with several attachments

Science.gov (United States)

Farghaly, S. H.; El-Sayed, T. A.

2016-05-01

This paper deals with the analysis of the natural frequencies, mode shapes of an axially loaded multi-step Timoshenko beam combined system carrying several attachments. The influence of system design and the proposed sub-system non-dimensional parameters on the combined system characteristics are the major part of this investigation. The effect of material properties, rotary inertia and shear deformation of the beam system for each span are included. The end masses are elastically supported against rotation and translation at an offset point from the point of attachment. A sub-system having two degrees of freedom is located at the beam ends and at any of the intermediate stations and acts as a support and/or a suspension. The boundary conditions of the ordinary differential equation governing the lateral deflections and slope due to bending of the beam system including the shear force term, due to the sub-system, have been formulated. Exact global coefficient matrices for the combined modal frequencies, the modal shape and for the discrete sub-system have been derived. Based on these formulae, detailed parametric studies of the combined system are carried out. The applied mathematical model is valid for wide range of applications especially in mechanical, naval and structural engineering fields.

Multi-objective optimization for generating a weighted multi-model ensemble

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, H.

2017-12-01

Many studies have demonstrated that multi-model ensembles generally show better skill than each ensemble member. When generating weighted multi-model ensembles, the first step is measuring the performance of individual model simulations using observations. There is a consensus on the assignment of weighting factors based on a single evaluation metric. When considering only one evaluation metric, the weighting factor for each model is proportional to a performance score or inversely proportional to an error for the model. While this conventional approach can provide appropriate combinations of multiple models, the approach confronts a big challenge when there are multiple metrics under consideration. When considering multiple evaluation metrics, it is obvious that a simple averaging of multiple performance scores or model ranks does not address the trade-off problem between conflicting metrics. So far, there seems to be no best method to generate weighted multi-model ensembles based on multiple performance metrics. The current study applies the multi-objective optimization, a mathematical process that provides a set of optimal trade-off solutions based on a range of evaluation metrics, to combining multiple performance metrics for the global climate models and their dynamically downscaled regional climate simulations over North America and generating a weighted multi-model ensemble. NASA satellite data and the Regional Climate Model Evaluation System (RCMES) software toolkit are used for assessment of the climate simulations. Overall, the performance of each model differs markedly with strong seasonal dependence. Because of the considerable variability across the climate simulations, it is important to evaluate models systematically and make future projections by assigning optimized weighting factors to the models with relatively good performance. Our results indicate that the optimally weighted multi-model ensemble always shows better performance than an arithmetic

Improving the performance of the MWPC X-ray imaging detector by means of the Multi-Step Avalanche technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bateman, J.E.; Connolly, J.F.; Stephenson, R.

1984-01-01

X-ray imaging systems based on conventional MWPC technology and artificial delay line readout techniques have been developed at RAL for several applications over a period of some eight years. It is perceived that very limited scope exists for the further improvement of the imaging capability of the standard MWPC design. Attention has therefore been turned to the possibility of exploiting the Multi-Step Avalanche (MSA) system of electron multiplication in this context. Results from a prototype system are presented which show spatial resolution better than that achieved in the MWPC systems. The facility for controlling the effective depth of the detector electronically is also demonstrated. (author)

Thin-walled nanoscrolls by multi-step intercalation from tubular halloysite-10 Å and its rearrangement upon peroxide treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Zsirka, Balázs; Horváth, Erzsébet; Szabó, Péter; Juzsakova, Tatjána; Szilágyi, Róbert K.; Fertig, Dávid; Makó, Éva; Varga, Tamás; Kónya, Zoltán; Kukovecz, Ákos; Kristóf, János

2017-03-01

Surface modification of the halloysite-10 Å mineral with tubular morphology can be achieved by slightly modified procedures developed for the delamination of kaolinite minerals. The resulting delaminated halloysite nanoparticles have unexpected surface/morphological properties that display, new potentials in catalyst development. In this work, a four-step intercalation/delamination procedure is described for the preparation of thin-walled nanoscrolls from the multi-layered hydrated halloysite mineral that consists of (1) intercalation of halloysite with potassium acetate, (2) replacement intercalation with ethylene glycol, (3) replacement intercalation with hexylamine, and (4) delamination with toluene. The intercalation steps were followed by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, N2 adsorption-desorption, thermogravimetry, and infrared spectroscopy. Delamination eliminated the crystalline order and the crystallite size along the 'c'-axis, increased the specific surface area, greatly decreased the thickness of the mineral tubes to a monolayer, and shifted the pore diameter toward the micropore region. Unexpectedly, the removal of residual organics from intercalation steps adsorbed at the nanoscroll surface with a peroxide treatment resulted in partial recovery of crystallinity and increase of crystallite size along the 'c'-crystal direction. The d(001) value showed a diffuse pattern at 7.4-7.7 Å due to the rearrangement of the thin-walled nanoscrolls toward the initial tubular morphology of the dehydrated halloysite-7 Å mineral.

Influence of multi-step washing using Na2EDTA, oxalic acid and phosphoric acid on metal fractionation and spectroscopy characteristics from contaminated soil.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Meng; Chen, Jiajun

2016-11-01

A multi-step soil washing test using a typical chelating agent (Na 2 EDTA), organic acid (oxalic acid), and inorganic weak acid (phosphoric acid) was conducted to remediate soil contaminated with heavy metals near an arsenic mining area. The aim of the test was to improve the heavy metal removal efficiency and investigate its influence on metal fractionation and the spectroscopy characteristics of contaminated soil. The results indicated that the orders of the multi-step washing were critical for the removal efficiencies of the metal fractions, bioavailability, and potential mobility due to the different dissolution levels of mineral fractions and the inter-transformation of metal fractions by XRD and FT-IR spectral analyses. The optimal soil washing options were identified as the Na 2 EDTA-phosphoric-oxalic acid (EPO) and phosphoric-oxalic acid-Na 2 EDTA (POE) sequences because of their high removal efficiencies (approximately 45 % for arsenic and 88 % for cadmium) and the minimal harmful effects that were determined by the mobility and bioavailability of the remaining heavy metals based on the metal stability (I R ) and modified redistribution index ([Formula: see text]).

BIOLOGIA FLORAL E REPRODUTIVA DE CENOSTIGMA MACROPHYLLUM TUL. (FABACEAE NO PARQUE ZOOBOTÂNICO DE TERESINA, PIAUÍ

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Ayron de Souza Aguiar

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Cenostigma macrophyllum Tul. é conhecido popularmente como caneleiro, possui hábito arbóreo, caule sulcado, sendo considerada planta símbolo da capital Teresina (PI. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a biologia floral e Reprodutiva de Cenostigma macrophyllum no Parque Zoobotânico de Teresina, Piauí. Foram selecionados 15 indivíduos e analisados quanto à morfologia e morfometria floral, período de antese, receptividade estigmática, deiscência das anteras, volume de néctar, comportamento dos visitantes florais na eficácia da polinização e o sistema reprodutivo. As flores são monóclinas, dispõem-se em cerca de 81,28±25,74 flores por inflorescência racemosas. Néctar produzido e armazenado no hipanto com média de produção de 1,75 μL. A antese floral teve duração de dois dias, com pétalas totalmente distendidas às 6h, estigma receptivo as 7h e deiscência iniciando as 9h, abrindo em grupos no decorrer do dia. Os polinizadores e pilhadores iniciaram as visitas por volta das 6h até às 17h em flores do primeiro dia de antese forrageando em busca de néctar. Os polinizadores efetivos foram abelhas, com maior frequência (64%, Xylocopa sps, Apis mellifera e Centris sp., que utilizavam a pétala estandarte para acessar o néctar. Os polinizadores ocasionais foram lepidópteros, pois nem sempre contactavam as partes reprodutivas. Como pilhadoras, abelhas Trigona spinipes e o beija-flor Amazilia fimbriata que não tocavam os órgãos reprodutivos ao coletarem néctar. A espécie é Xenogâmica e apresenta sistema reprodutivo dicogâmico protogínico, uma vez que, ocorre a separação temporal de maturação dos verticilos reprodutivos. O Tratamento de escarificação mecânica apresentou maior pontecial para rápida germinação das sementes.

A multi-stage stochastic program for supply chain network redesign problem with price-dependent uncertain demands

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fattahi, Mohammad; Govindan, Kannan; Keyvanshokooh, Esmaeil

2018-01-01

In this paper, we address a multi-period supply chain network redesign problem in which customer zones have price-dependent stochastic demand for multiple products. A novel multi-stage stochastic program is proposed to simultaneously make tactical decisions including products' prices and strategic...... redesign decisions. Existing uncertainty in potential demands of customer zones is modeled through a finite set of scenarios, described in the form of a scenario tree. The scenarios are generated using a Latin Hypercube Sampling method and then a forward scenario construction technique is employed...

Biologically Costly Altruism Depends on Emotional Closeness among Step but Not Half or Full Sibling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paola Bressan

2009-01-01

Full Text Available We studied altruistic behaviors of varying biological cost (high, medium, and low among siblings of varying genetic relatedness (full, half, and step. In agreement with inclusive fitness theory, the relative importance of either reliable (such as co-residence or heuristic (such as emotional closeness kinship cues depended crucially on the costs of help. When help did not endanger the altruist's life, thus making reciprocation possible, emotional closeness was the strongest predictor of altruism; perceived physical and psychological similarity to the sibling amplified altruistic behavior via their association with emotional closeness. When help endangered the altruist's life, thus making reciprocation unlikely, the strongest predictor of altruism was the ancestrally valid kinship cue of co-residence duration. Emotional closeness predicted costly altruism only for step siblings; its effects were nonsignificant when siblings were genetically related. Our findings support the idea that emotional closeness promotes costly altruistic behavior by serving as a surrogate kinship cue when more reliable cues are missing.

New records of truffle fungi (Basidiomycetes) from Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Aziz Turkoglu; Michael Angelo. Castellano

2013-01-01

We report the first records of 5 truffle taxa in Turkey: Gymnomyces xanthosporus (Hawker) A.H.Sm., Hymenogaster griseus Vittad., Hymenogaster olivaceous Vittad., Hymenogaster thwaitesii Berk. & Broome, and Hymenogaster vulgaris Tul. & C.Tul. We also report a new...

Multi-layered nanoparticles for penetrating the endosome and nuclear membrane via a step-wise membrane fusion process.

Science.gov (United States)

Akita, Hidetaka; Kudo, Asako; Minoura, Arisa; Yamaguti, Masaya; Khalil, Ikramy A; Moriguchi, Rumiko; Masuda, Tomoya; Danev, Radostin; Nagayama, Kuniaki; Kogure, Kentaro; Harashima, Hideyoshi

2009-05-01

Efficient targeting of DNA to the nucleus is a prerequisite for effective gene therapy. The gene-delivery vehicle must penetrate through the plasma membrane, and the DNA-impermeable double-membraned nuclear envelope, and deposit its DNA cargo in a form ready for transcription. Here we introduce a concept for overcoming intracellular membrane barriers that involves step-wise membrane fusion. To achieve this, a nanotechnology was developed that creates a multi-layered nanoparticle, which we refer to as a Tetra-lamellar Multi-functional Envelope-type Nano Device (T-MEND). The critical structural elements of the T-MEND are a DNA-polycation condensed core coated with two nuclear membrane-fusogenic inner envelopes and two endosome-fusogenic outer envelopes, which are shed in stepwise fashion. A double-lamellar membrane structure is required for nuclear delivery via the stepwise fusion of double layered nuclear membrane structure. Intracellular membrane fusions to endosomes and nuclear membranes were verified by spectral imaging of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between donor and acceptor fluorophores that had been dually labeled on the liposome surface. Coating the core with the minimum number of nucleus-fusogenic lipid envelopes (i.e., 2) is essential to facilitate transcription. As a result, the T-MEND achieves dramatic levels of transgene expression in non-dividing cells.

EMPIRE-II 2.18, Comprehensive Nuclear Model Code, Nucleons, Ions Induced Cross-Sections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herman, Michal Wladyslaw; Panini, Gian Carlo

2003-01-01

1 - Description of program or function: EMPIRE-II is a flexible code for calculation of nuclear reactions in the frame of combined optical, Multi-step Direct (TUL), Multi-step Compound (NVWY) and statistical (Hauser-Feshbach) models. Incident particle can be a nucleon or any nucleus(Heavy Ion). Isomer ratios, residue production cross sections and emission spectra for neutrons, protons, alpha-particles, gamma-rays, and one type of Light Ion can be calculated. The energy range starts just above the resonance region for neutron induced reactions and extends up to several hundreds of MeV for the Heavy Ion induced reactions. IAEA1169/06: This version corrects an error in the Absoft compile procedure. 2 - Method of solution: For projectiles with A<5 EMPIRE calculates fusion cross section using spherical optical model transmission coefficients. In the case of Heavy Ion induced reactions the fusion cross section can be determined using various approaches including simplified coupled channels method (code CCFUS). Pre-equilibrium emission is treated in terms of quantum-mechanical theories (TUL-MSD and NVWY-MSC). MSC contribution to the gamma emission is taken into account. These calculations are followed by statistical decay with arbitrary number of subsequent particle emissions. Gamma-ray competition is considered in detail for every decaying compound nucleus. Different options for level densities are available including dynamical approach with collective effects taken into account. EMPIRE contains following third party codes converted into subroutines: - SCAT2 by O. Bersillon, - ORION and TRISTAN by H. Lenske and H. Wolter, - CCFUS by C.H. Dasso and S. Landowne, - BARMOM by A. Sierk. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: The code can be easily adjusted to the problem by changing dimensions in the dimensions.h file. The actual limits are set by the available memory. In the current formulation up to 4 ejectiles plus gamma are allowed. This limit can be relaxed

A multi scale approximation solution for the time dependent Boltzmann-transport equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merk, B.

2004-03-01

The basis of all transient simulations for nuclear reactor cores is the reliable calculation of the power production. The local power distribution is generally calculated by solving the space, time, energy and angle dependent neutron transport equation known as Boltzmann equation. The computation of exact solutions of the Boltzmann equation is very time consuming. For practical numerical simulations approximated solutions are usually unavoidable. The objective of this work is development of an effective multi scale approximation solution for the Boltzmann equation. Most of the existing methods are based on separation of space and time. The new suggested method is performed without space-time separation. This effective approximation solution is developed on the basis of an expansion for the time derivative of different approximations to the Boltzmann equation. The method of multiple scale expansion is used for the expansion of the time derivative, because the problem of the stiff time behaviour can't be expressed by standard expansion methods. This multiple scale expansion is used in this work to develop approximation solutions for different approximations of the Boltzmann equation, starting from the expansion of the point kinetics equations. The resulting analytic functions are used for testing the applicability and accuracy of the multiple scale expansion method for an approximation solution with 2 delayed neutron groups. The results are tested versus the exact analytical results for the point kinetics equations. Very good agreement between both solutions is obtained. The validity of the solution with 2 delayed neutron groups to approximate the behaviour of the system with 6 delayed neutron groups is demonstrated in an additional analysis. A strategy for a solution with 4 delayed neutron groups is described. A multiple scale expansion is performed for the space-time dependent diffusion equation for one homogenized cell with 2 delayed neutron groups. The result is

Can Reduced-Step Polishers Be as Effective as Multiple-Step Polishers in Enhancing Surface Smoothness?

Science.gov (United States)

Kemaloglu, Hande; Karacolak, Gamze; Turkun, L Sebnem

2017-02-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of various finishing and polishing systems on the final surface roughness of a resin composite. Hypotheses tested were: (1) reduced-step polishing systems are as effective as multiple-step systems on reducing the surface roughness of a resin composite and (2) the number of application steps in an F/P system has no effect on reducing surface roughness. Ninety discs of a nano-hybrid resin composite were fabricated and divided into nine groups (n = 10). Except the control, all of the specimens were roughened prior to be polished by: Enamel Plus Shiny, Venus Supra, One-gloss, Sof-Lex Wheels, Super-Snap, Enhance/PoGo, Clearfil Twist Dia, and rubber cups. The surface roughness was measured and the surfaces were examined under scanning electron microscope. Results were analyzed with analysis of variance and Holm-Sidak's multiple comparisons test (p One-gloss, Enamel Plus Shiny, and Venus Supra groups. (1) The number of application steps has no effect on the performance of F/P systems. (2) Reduced-step polishers used after a finisher can be preferable to multiple-step systems when used on nanohybrid resin composites. (3) The effect of F/P systems on surface roughness seems to be material-dependent rather than instrument- or system-dependent. Reduced-step systems used after a prepolisher can be an acceptable alternative to multiple-step systems on enhancing the surface smoothness of a nanohybrid composite; however, their effectiveness depends on the materials' properties. (J Esthet Restor Dent 29:31-40, 2017). © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Rapid determination and chemical change tracking of benzoyl peroxide in wheat flour by multi-step IR macro-fingerprinting

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Xiao-Xi; Hu, Wei; Liu, Yuan; Sun, Su-Qin; Gu, Dong-Chen; He, Helen; Xu, Chang-Hua; Wang, Xi-Chang

2016-02-01

BPO is often added to wheat flour as flour improver, but its excessive use and edibility are receiving increasing concern. A multi-step IR macro-fingerprinting was employed to identify BPO in wheat flour and unveil its changes during storage. BPO contained in wheat flour (treatment of BPO in wheat flour based on 2DCOS-IR and spectral subtraction analysis, it was found that BPO in wheat flour not only decomposed into benzoic acid and benzoate, but also produced other deleterious substances, e.g., benzene. This study offers a promising method with minimum pretreatment and time-saving to identify BPO in wheat flour and its chemical products during storage in a holistic manner.

Multi-step optimization strategy for fuel-optimal orbital transfer of low-thrust spacecraft

Science.gov (United States)

Rasotto, M.; Armellin, R.; Di Lizia, P.

2016-03-01

An effective method for the design of fuel-optimal transfers in two- and three-body dynamics is presented. The optimal control problem is formulated using calculus of variation and primer vector theory. This leads to a multi-point boundary value problem (MPBVP), characterized by complex inner constraints and a discontinuous thrust profile. The first issue is addressed by embedding the MPBVP in a parametric optimization problem, thus allowing a simplification of the set of transversality constraints. The second problem is solved by representing the discontinuous control function by a smooth function depending on a continuation parameter. The resulting trajectory optimization method can deal with different intermediate conditions, and no a priori knowledge of the control structure is required. Test cases in both the two- and three-body dynamics show the capability of the method in solving complex trajectory design problems.

Qualidade fisiológica de sementes de diferentes árvores matrizes de Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul. L. P. Queiroz

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cosmo Rufino de Lima

Full Text Available A catingueira [Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul. L. P. Queiroz] é uma espécie arbórea endêmica do bioma Caatinga, bastante explorada devido ao seu potencial madeireiro, forrageiro e farmacológico. Face à relevância de sua importância, este trabalho teve o objetivo de avaliar a qualidade fisiológica das sementes entre matrizes de P. pyramidalis por meio de testes fisiológicos para fins de restauração ambiental. O estudo de campo foi conduzido na Fazenda Açude, município de Soledade-PB, onde foram selecionados 28 matrizes de catingueira, sendo as análises, realizadas no Laboratório de Análise de Sementes do Centro de Ciências Agrárias da Universidade Federal da Paraíba. Foram avaliadas as seguintes variáveis: teor de água, peso de mil sementes, número de sementes por quilograma, germinação, vigor {primeira contagem e índice de velocidade de germinação, comprimento e massa seca de plântulas, emergência, índice de velocidade e primeira contagem de emergência, envelhecimento acelerado (procedimento tradicional e solução saturada de NaCl}. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi inteiramente casualizado, com os dados submetidos à análise de variância e a comparação entre as médias realizadas pelo teste de Scott-Knott a 5% de probabilidade. Com base nos resultados, a qualidade fisiológica das sementes de Poincianella pyramidalis varia mesmo quando oriundas de matrizes de uma única área de coleta; o teste de envelhecimento acelerado, utilizado no método tradicional, no período de 24 horas e à temperatura de 41 ºC mostra ser o teste de vigor mais eficiente na avaliação do potencial fisiológico das sementes de P. pyramidalis.

Pitch dependence of longitudinal sampling and aliasing effects in multi-slice helical computed tomography (CT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

La Riviere, Patrick J.; Pan Xiaochuan

2002-01-01

In this work, we investigate longitudinal sampling and aliasing effects in multi-slice helical CT. We demonstrate that longitudinal aliasing can be a significant, complicated, and potentially detrimental effect in multi-slice helical CT reconstructions. Multi-slice helical CT scans are generally undersampled longitudinally for all pitches of clinical interest, and the resulting aliasing effects are spatially variant. As in the single-slice case, aliasing is shown to be negligible at the isocentre for circularly symmetric objects due to a fortuitous aliasing cancellation phenomenon. However, away from the isocentre, aliasing effects can be significant, spatially variant, and highly pitch dependent. This implies that measures more sophisticated than isocentre slice sensitivity profiles are needed to characterize longitudinal properties of multi-slice helical CT systems. Such measures are particularly important in assessing the question of whether there are preferred pitches in helical CT. Previous analyses have generally focused only on isocentre sampling patterns, and our more global analysis leads to somewhat different conclusions than have been reached before, suggesting that pitches 3, 4, 5, and 6 are favourable, and that half-integer pitches are somewhat suboptimal. (author)

Caracteres das sementes, plântulas e plantas jovens de Ormosia arborea (Vell. Harms E Ormosia fastigiata Tul. (Leg-papilionoideae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristina Gurski

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Ormosia arborea (Vell. Harms e Ormosia fastigiata Tul. são espécies similares em muitos caracteres morfológicos, o que resulta em dificuldade na sua identificação, tanto em campo quanto em material herborizado. Neste estudo foram descritas as características morfológicas das sementes e morfoanatômicas das plântulas e plantas jovens de O. arborea e O. fastigiata, coletadas em restinga e em mata ciliar, respectivamente. Sementes e plântulas foram processadas segundo técnicas usuais. As sementes de O. arborea são mais pesadas e têm germinação hipógea criptocotiledonar. O caule contém tricomas tectores esparsos e grande quantidade de lenticelas e, na raiz, nodulações. A folha apresenta parênquima paliçádico de células mais curtas, com base mais larga e presença de pigmentos vacuolares, espaços intercelulares conspícuos no parênquima esponjoso, tricomas tectores restritos à nervura principal e células epidérmicas da face adaxial maiores que as da face abaxial. A germinação de O. fastigiata é fanerocotiledonar, e a plântula possui muitos tricomas ao longo do caule e lenticelas restritas à região basal deste. As folhas apresentam tricomas tectores em todas as nervuras, com parênquima paliçádico de células tipicamente alongadas e parênquima esponjoso com espaços intercelulares reduzidos. Tais características são consistentes para separar as plântulas e sementes dessas espécies, que têm a mesma denominação popular e contribuem com informações úteis para o meio produtivo.

Multi-criteria objective based climate change impact assessment for multi-purpose multi-reservoir systems

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Ruben; Schütze, Niels

2014-05-01

Water resources systems with reservoirs are expected to be sensitive to climate change. Assessment studies that analyze the impact of climate change on the performance of reservoirs can be divided in two groups: (1) Studies that simulate the operation under projected inflows with the current set of operational rules. Due to non adapted operational rules the future performance of these reservoirs can be underestimated and the impact overestimated. (2) Studies that optimize the operational rules for best adaption of the system to the projected conditions before the assessment of the impact. The latter allows for estimating more realistically future performance and adaption strategies based on new operation rules are available if required. Multi-purpose reservoirs serve various, often conflicting functions. If all functions cannot be served simultaneously at a maximum level, an effective compromise between multiple objectives of the reservoir operation has to be provided. Yet under climate change the historically preferenced compromise may no longer be the most suitable compromise in the future. Therefore a multi-objective based climate change impact assessment approach for multi-purpose multi-reservoir systems is proposed in the study. Projected inflows are provided in a first step using a physically based rainfall-runoff model. In a second step, a time series model is applied to generate long-term inflow time series. Finally, the long-term inflow series are used as driving variables for a simulation-based multi-objective optimization of the reservoir system in order to derive optimal operation rules. As a result, the adapted Pareto-optimal set of diverse best compromise solutions can be presented to the decision maker in order to assist him in assessing climate change adaption measures with respect to the future performance of the multi-purpose reservoir system. The approach is tested on a multi-purpose multi-reservoir system in a mountainous catchment in Germany. A

Kinetic mechanism of human DNA ligase I reveals magnesium-dependent changes in the rate-limiting step that compromise ligation efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Mark R; Conrad, John A; Wahl, Daniel; O'Brien, Patrick J

2011-07-01

DNA ligase I (LIG1) catalyzes the ligation of single-strand breaks to complete DNA replication and repair. The energy of ATP is used to form a new phosphodiester bond in DNA via a reaction mechanism that involves three distinct chemical steps: enzyme adenylylation, adenylyl transfer to DNA, and nick sealing. We used steady state and pre-steady state kinetics to characterize the minimal mechanism for DNA ligation catalyzed by human LIG1. The ATP dependence of the reaction indicates that LIG1 requires multiple Mg(2+) ions for catalysis and that an essential Mg(2+) ion binds more tightly to ATP than to the enzyme. Further dissection of the magnesium ion dependence of individual reaction steps revealed that the affinity for Mg(2+) changes along the reaction coordinate. At saturating concentrations of ATP and Mg(2+) ions, the three chemical steps occur at similar rates, and the efficiency of ligation is high. However, under conditions of limiting Mg(2+), the nick-sealing step becomes rate-limiting, and the adenylylated DNA intermediate is prematurely released into solution. Subsequent adenylylation of enzyme prevents rebinding to the adenylylated DNA intermediate comprising an Achilles' heel of LIG1. These ligase-generated 5'-adenylylated nicks constitute persistent breaks that are a threat to genomic stability if they are not repaired. The kinetic and thermodynamic framework that we have determined for LIG1 provides a starting point for understanding the mechanism and specificity of mammalian DNA ligases.

Antiplasmodial, cytotoxic activities and characterization of a new naturally occurring quinone methide pentacyclic triterpenoid derivative isolated from Salacia leptoclada Tul. (Celastraceae) originated from Madagascar.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruphin, Fatiany Pierre; Baholy, Robijaona; Emmanue, Andrianarivo; Amelie, Raharisololalao; Martin, Marie-Therese; Koto-te-Nyiwa, Ngbolua

2013-10-01

To validate scientifically the traditional use of Salacia leptoclada Tul. (Celastraceae) (S. leptoclada) and to isolate and elucidate the structure of the biologically active compound. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the acetonic extract of the stem barks of S. leptoclada was carried out by a combination of chromatography technique and biological experiments in viro using Plasmodium falciparum and P388 leukemia cell lines as models. The structure of the biologically active pure compound was elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Biological screening of S. leptoclada extracts resulted in the isolation of a pentacyclic triterpenic quinone methide. The pure compound exhibited both in vitro a cytotoxic effect on murine P388 leukemia cells with IC50 value of (0.041±0.020) μg/mL and an antiplasmodial activity against the chloroquine-resistant strain FC29 of Plasmodium falciparum with an IC50 value of (0.052±0.030) μg/mL. Despite this interesting anti-malarial property of the lead compound, the therapeutic index was weak (0.788). In the best of our knowledge, the quinone methide pentacyclic triterpenoid derivative compound is reported for the first time in S. leptoclada. The results suggest that furthers studies involving antineoplastic activity is needed for the development of this lead compound as anticancer drug. Copyright © 2013 Asian Pacific Tropical Biomedical Magazine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Guidelines for using sensitivity analysis and auto-calibration tools for multi-gage or multi-step calibration in SWAT

Science.gov (United States)

Autocalibration of a water quality model such as SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) can be a powerful, labor-saving tool. When multi-gage or multi-pollutant calibration is desired, autocalibration is essential because the time involved in manual calibration becomes prohibitive. The ArcSWAT Interf...

Multi-step inhibition explains HIV-1 protease inhibitor pharmacodynamics and resistance

Science.gov (United States)

Rabi, S. Alireza; Laird, Gregory M.; Durand, Christine M.; Laskey, Sarah; Shan, Liang; Bailey, Justin R.; Chioma, Stanley; Moore, Richard D.; Siliciano, Robert F.

2013-01-01

HIV-1 protease inhibitors (PIs) are among the most effective antiretroviral drugs. They are characterized by highly cooperative dose-response curves that are not explained by current pharmacodynamic theory. An unresolved problem affecting the clinical use of PIs is that patients who fail PI-containing regimens often have virus that lacks protease mutations, in apparent violation of fundamental evolutionary theory. Here, we show that these unresolved issues can be explained through analysis of the effects of PIs on distinct steps in the viral life cycle. We found that PIs do not affect virion release from infected cells but block entry, reverse transcription, and post–reverse transcription steps. The overall dose-response curves could be reconstructed by combining the curves for each step using the Bliss independence principle, showing that independent inhibition of multiple distinct steps in the life cycle generates the highly cooperative dose-response curves that make these drugs uniquely effective. Approximately half of the inhibitory potential of PIs is manifest at the entry step, likely reflecting interactions between the uncleaved Gag and the cytoplasmic tail (CT) of the Env protein. Sequence changes in the CT alone, which are ignored in current clinical tests for PI resistance, conferred PI resistance, providing an explanation for PI failure without resistance. PMID:23979165

Zinc-dependent multi-conductance channel activity in mitochondria isolated from ischemic brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonanni, Laura; Chachar, Mushtaque; Jover-Mengual, Teresa; Li, Hongmei; Jones, Adrienne; Yokota, Hidenori; Ofengeim, Dimitry; Flannery, Richard J; Miyawaki, Takahiro; Cho, Chang-Hoon; Polster, Brian M; Pypaert, Marc; Hardwick, J Marie; Sensi, Stefano L; Zukin, R Suzanne; Jonas, Elizabeth A

2006-06-21

Transient global ischemia is a neuronal insult that induces delayed cell death. A hallmark event in the early post-ischemic period is enhanced permeability of mitochondrial membranes. The precise mechanisms by which mitochondrial function is disrupted are, as yet, unclear. Here we show that global ischemia promotes alterations in mitochondrial membrane contact points, a rise in intramitochondrial Zn2+, and activation of large, multi-conductance channels in mitochondrial outer membranes by 1 h after insult. Mitochondrial channel activity was associated with enhanced protease activity and proteolytic cleavage of BCL-xL to generate its pro-death counterpart, deltaN-BCL-xL. The findings implicate deltaN-BCL-xL in large, multi-conductance channel activity. Consistent with this, large channel activity was mimicked by introduction of recombinant deltaN-BCL-xL to control mitochondria and blocked by introduction of a functional BCL-xL antibody to post-ischemic mitochondria via the patch pipette. Channel activity was also inhibited by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, indicative of a role for the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) of the outer mitochondrial membrane. In vivo administration of the membrane-impermeant Zn2+ chelator CaEDTA before ischemia or in vitro application of the membrane-permeant Zn2+ chelator tetrakis-(2-pyridylmethyl) ethylenediamine attenuated channel activity, suggesting a requirement for Zn2+. These findings reveal a novel mechanism by which ischemic insults disrupt the functional integrity of the outer mitochondrial membrane and implicate deltaN-BCL-xL and VDAC in the large, Zn2+-dependent mitochondrial channels observed in post-ischemic hippocampal mitochondria.

Imaging-pathologic correlation of multi-step hepatocarcinogenesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsui, O.

2012-01-01

Full text: Approximately 80% of Japanese HCC cases are derived from HCV-associated liver cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis, and the remaining less than 20% of patients are HBV positive. Because of the introduction of this surveillance system by periodic ultrasound in these high-risk patients, the size of HCCs firstly detected during 2004 to 2005 (n=16809) was less than 2cm in 35% of all cases, 2.1-5.0 cm 48%, respectively. However, various types of hepatocellular nodules such as dysplastic nodule are also detected during screening procedures. Pathologically, human HCC often develops in a multistep fashion from dysplastic nodule to classic hyper vascular HCC. Therefore, for the early diagnosis of HCC, understanding of the sequential changes of imaging findings in accordance with multi-step hepatocarcinogenseis is important. In addition, to understand the imaging features of various types of HCC is also important for the precise characterization of HCCs. (1) Classification of hepatocellular nodules during multistep hepatocarcinogenesis; According to International Consensus Group for Hepatocellular Neoplasia, these nodules are divided into large regenerative nodule, low grade dysplastic nodule (L-DN), high-grade dysplastic nodule (H-DN), and HCC. In addition, small HCC (less than 2 cm) is divided into early HCC and progressed HCC. Early HCC has a vaguely nodular appearance and is highly well differentiated. (2) Imaging of multistep hepatocarcinogenesis; We revealed that the intranodular blood supply changes in accordance with the progression of human hepatocarcinogenesis from dyspalstic nodule to overt HCC. The intranodular portal supply relative to the surrounding liver parenchyma evaluated by CT during arterial portography (CTAP) is decreased, whereas the intranodular arterial supply evaluated by CT during hepatic arteriography (CTHA) revealed is first decreased during the early stage of hepatocarcinogenesis and then increased in parallel with increasing grade of

Transport coefficients of multi-particle collision algorithms with velocity-dependent collision rules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ihle, Thomas

2008-01-01

Detailed calculations of the transport coefficients of a recently introduced particle-based model for fluid dynamics with a non-ideal equation of state are presented. Excluded volume interactions are modeled by means of biased stochastic multi-particle collisions which depend on the local velocities and densities. Momentum and energy are exactly conserved locally. A general scheme to derive transport coefficients for such biased, velocity-dependent collision rules is developed. Analytic expressions for the self-diffusion coefficient and the shear viscosity are obtained, and very good agreement is found with numerical results at small and large mean free paths. The viscosity turns out to be proportional to the square root of temperature, as in a real gas. In addition, the theoretical framework is applied to a two-component version of the model, and expressions for the viscosity and the difference in diffusion of the two species are given

Unified Modeling Language description of the object-oriented multi-scale adaptive finite element method for Step-and-Flash Imprint Lithography Simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paszynski, Maciej; Gurgul, Piotr; Sieniek, Marcin; Pardo, David

2010-01-01

In the first part of the paper we present the multi-scale simulation of the Step-and-Flash Imprint Lithography (SFIL), a modern patterning process. The simulation utilizes the hp adaptive Finite Element Method (hp-FEM) coupled with Molecular Statics (MS) model. Thus, we consider the multi-scale problem, with molecular statics applied in the areas of the mesh where the highest accuracy is required, and the continuous linear elasticity with thermal expansion coefficient applied in the remaining part of the domain. The degrees of freedom from macro-scale element's nodes located on the macro-scale side of the interface have been identified with particles from nano-scale elements located on the nano-scale side of the interface. In the second part of the paper we present Unified Modeling Language (UML) description of the resulting multi-scale application (hp-FEM coupled with MS). We investigated classical, procedural codes from the point of view of the object-oriented (O-O) programming paradigm. The discovered hierarchical structure of classes and algorithms makes the UML project as independent on the spatial dimension of the problem as possible. The O-O UML project was defined at an abstract level, independent on the programming language used.

Folic acid supplementation before and during pregnancy in the Newborn Epigenetics STudy (NEST

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kurtzberg Joanne

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Folic acid (FA added to foods during fortification is 70-85% bioavailable compared to 50% of folate occurring naturally in foods. Thus, if FA supplements also are taken during pregnancy, both mother and fetus can be exposed to FA exceeding the Institute of Medicine's recommended tolerable upper limit (TUL of 1,000 micrograms per day (μg/d for adult pregnant women. The primary objective is to estimate the proportion of women taking folic acid (FA doses exceeding the TUL before and during pregnancy, and to identify correlates of high FA use. Methods During 2005-2008, pre-pregnancy and pregnancy-related data on dietary supplementation were obtained by interviewing 539 pregnant women enrolled at two obstetrics-care facilities in Durham County, North Carolina. Results Before pregnancy, 51% of women reported FA supplementation and 66% reported this supplementation during pregnancy. Before pregnancy, 11.9% (95% CI = 9.2%-14.6% of women reported supplementation with FA doses above the TUL of 1,000 μg/day, and a similar proportion reported this intake prenatally. Before pregnancy, Caucasian women were more likely to take FA doses above the TUL (OR = 2.99; 95% = 1.28-7.00, compared to African American women, while women with chronic conditions were less likely to take FA doses above the TUL (OR = 0.48; 95%CI = 0.21-0.97. Compared to African American women, Caucasian women were also more likely to report FA intake in doses exceeding the TUL during pregnancy (OR = 5.09; 95%CI = 2.07-12.49. Conclusions Fifty-one percent of women reported some FA intake before and 66% during pregnancy, respectively, and more than one in ten women took FA supplements in doses that exceeded the TUL. Caucasian women were more likely to report high FA intake. A study is ongoing to identify possible genetic and non-genotoxic effects of these high doses.

Parallel Execution of Multi Set Constraint Rewrite Rules

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sulzmann, Martin; Lam, Edmund Soon Lee

2008-01-01

that the underlying constraint rewrite implementation executes rewrite steps in parallel on increasingly popular becoming multi-core architectures. We design and implement efficient algorithms which allow for the parallel execution of multi-set constraint rewrite rules. Our experiments show that we obtain some......Multi-set constraint rewriting allows for a highly parallel computational model and has been used in a multitude of application domains such as constraint solving, agent specification etc. Rewriting steps can be applied simultaneously as long as they do not interfere with each other.We wish...

Multi-scale graphene patterns on arbitrary substrates via laser-assisted transfer-printing process

KAUST Repository

Park, J. B.

2012-01-01

A laser-assisted transfer-printing process is developed for multi-scale graphene patterns on arbitrary substrates using femtosecond laser scanning on a graphene/metal substrate and transfer techniques without using multi-step patterning processes. The short pulse nature of a femtosecond laser on a graphene/copper sheet enables fabrication of high-resolution graphene patterns. Thanks to the scale up, fast, direct writing, multi-scale with high resolution, and reliable process characteristics, it can be an alternative pathway to the multi-step photolithography methods for printing arbitrary graphene patterns on desired substrates. We also demonstrate transparent strain devices without expensive photomasks and multi-step patterning process. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.

Optimal maintenance of a multi-unit system under dependencies

Science.gov (United States)

Sung, Ho-Joon

The availability, or reliability, of an engineering component greatly influences the operational cost and safety characteristics of a modern system over its life-cycle. Until recently, the reliance on past empirical data has been the industry-standard practice to develop maintenance policies that provide the minimum level of system reliability. Because such empirically-derived policies are vulnerable to unforeseen or fast-changing external factors, recent advancements in the study of topic on maintenance, which is known as optimal maintenance problem, has gained considerable interest as a legitimate area of research. An extensive body of applicable work is available, ranging from those concerned with identifying maintenance policies aimed at providing required system availability at minimum possible cost, to topics on imperfect maintenance of multi-unit system under dependencies. Nonetheless, these existing mathematical approaches to solve for optimal maintenance policies must be treated with caution when considered for broader applications, as they are accompanied by specialized treatments to ease the mathematical derivation of unknown functions in both objective function and constraint for a given optimal maintenance problem. These unknown functions are defined as reliability measures in this thesis, and theses measures (e.g., expected number of failures, system renewal cycle, expected system up time, etc.) do not often lend themselves to possess closed-form formulas. It is thus quite common to impose simplifying assumptions on input probability distributions of components' lifetime or repair policies. Simplifying the complex structure of a multi-unit system to a k-out-of-n system by neglecting any sources of dependencies is another commonly practiced technique intended to increase the mathematical tractability of a particular model. This dissertation presents a proposal for an alternative methodology to solve optimal maintenance problems by aiming to achieve the

First-step nucleation growth dependence of InAs/InGaAs/InP quantum dot formation in two-step growth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yin Zongyou; Tang Xiaohong; Deny, Sentosa; Chin, Mee Koy; Zhang Jixuan; Teng Jinghua; Du Anyan

2008-01-01

First-step nucleation growth has an important impact on the two-step growth of high-quality mid-infrared emissive InAs/InGaAs/InP quantum dots (QDs). It has been found that an optimized growth rate for first-step nucleation is critical for forming QDs with narrow size distribution, high dot density and high crystal quality. High growth temperature has an advantage in removing defects in the QDs formed, but the dot density will be reduced. Contrasting behavior in forming InAs QDs using metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) by varying the input flux ratio of group-V versus group-III source (V/III ratio) in the first-step nucleation growth has been observed and investigated. High-density, 2.5 x 10 10 cm -2 , InAs QDs emitting at>2.15 μm have been formed with narrow size distribution, ∼1 nm standard deviation, by reducing the V/III ratio to zero in first-step nucleation growth

A successful backward step correlates with hip flexion moment of supporting limb in elderly people.

Science.gov (United States)

Takeuchi, Yahiko

2018-01-01

The objective of this study was to determine the positional relationship between the center of mass (COM) and the center of pressure (COP) at the time of step landing, and to examine their relationship with the joint moments exerted by the supporting limb, with regard to factors of the successful backward step response. The study population comprised 8 community-dwelling elderly people that were observed to take successive multi steps after the landing of a backward stepping. Using a motion capture system and force plate, we measured the COM, COP and COM-COP deviation distance on landing during backward stepping. In addition, we measured the moment of the supporting limb joint during backward stepping. The multi-step data were compared with data from instances when only one step was taken (single-step). Variables that differed significantly between the single- and multi-step data were used as objective variables and the joint moments of the supporting limb were used as explanatory variables in single regression analyses. The COM-COP deviation in the anteroposterior was significantly larger in the single-step. A regression analysis with COM-COP deviation as the objective variable obtained a significant regression equation in the hip flexion moment (R2 = 0.74). The hip flexion moment of supporting limb was shown to be a significant explanatory variable in both the PS and SS phases for the relationship with COM-COP distance. This study found that to create an appropriate backward step response after an external disturbance (i.e. the ability to stop after 1 step), posterior braking of the COM by a hip flexion moment are important during the single-limbed standing phase.

Multi-User Interactive TV: the Next Step in Personalization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Brandenburg, Ray; van Deventer, M. Oskar; Karagiannis, Georgios; Schenk, Mike

2010-01-01

In the past few years there has been an increasing trend towards personalization in the TV world. IMS-based IPTV is a good example of a highly personalized IPTV architecture, featuring an advanced identity management subsystem. This article studies a next step in the personalization of the

Thin-walled nanoscrolls by multi-step intercalation from tubular halloysite-10 Å and its rearrangement upon peroxide treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zsirka, Balázs; Horváth, Erzsébet; Szabó, Péter; Juzsakova, Tatjána; Szilágyi, Róbert K.; Fertig, Dávid; Makó, Éva; Varga, Tamás

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Halloysite intercalation/delamination. • Thin-walled nanoscroll preparation. • Oxidative surface cleaning with H_2O_2 and heating. • X-ray diffraction, TEM, N_2 adsorption, TG/DTG and FT-IR/ATR measurements. • Nanoscroll rearrangement, periodicity along the crystallographic ‘c’-axis. - Abstract: Surface modification of the halloysite-10 Å mineral with tubular morphology can be achieved by slightly modified procedures developed for the delamination of kaolinite minerals. The resulting delaminated halloysite nanoparticles have unexpected surface/morphological properties that display, new potentials in catalyst development. In this work, a four-step intercalation/delamination procedure is described for the preparation of thin-walled nanoscrolls from the multi-layered hydrated halloysite mineral that consists of (1) intercalation of halloysite with potassium acetate, (2) replacement intercalation with ethylene glycol, (3) replacement intercalation with hexylamine, and (4) delamination with toluene. The intercalation steps were followed by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, N_2 adsorption-desorption, thermogravimetry, and infrared spectroscopy. Delamination eliminated the crystalline order and the crystallite size along the ‘c’-axis, increased the specific surface area, greatly decreased the thickness of the mineral tubes to a monolayer, and shifted the pore diameter toward the micropore region. Unexpectedly, the removal of residual organics from intercalation steps adsorbed at the nanoscroll surface with a peroxide treatment resulted in partial recovery of crystallinity and increase of crystallite size along the ‘c’-crystal direction. The d(001) value showed a diffuse pattern at 7.4–7.7 Å due to the rearrangement of the thin-walled nanoscrolls toward the initial tubular morphology of the dehydrated halloysite-7 Å mineral.

Thin-walled nanoscrolls by multi-step intercalation from tubular halloysite-10 Å and its rearrangement upon peroxide treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zsirka, Balázs, E-mail: zsirkab@almos.vein.hu [University of Pannonia, Institute of Environmental Engineering, P.O. Box 158, Veszprém 8201 Hungary (Hungary); Horváth, Erzsébet, E-mail: erzsebet.horvath@gmail.com [University of Pannonia, Institute of Environmental Engineering, P.O. Box 158, Veszprém 8201 Hungary (Hungary); Szabó, Péter, E-mail: xysma@msn.com [University of Pannonia, Department of Analytical Chemistry, P.O. Box 158, Veszprém 8201 Hungary (Hungary); Juzsakova, Tatjána, E-mail: yuzhakova@almos.uni-pannon.hu [University of Pannonia, Institute of Environmental Engineering, P.O. Box 158, Veszprém 8201 Hungary (Hungary); Szilágyi, Róbert K., E-mail: szilagyi@montana.edu [Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 (United States); Fertig, Dávid, E-mail: fertig.david92@gmail.com [University of Pannonia, Department of Analytical Chemistry, P.O. Box 158, Veszprém 8201 Hungary (Hungary); Makó, Éva, E-mail: makoe@almos.vein.hu [University of Pannonia, Institute of Materials Engineering, P.O. Box 158, Veszprém 8201 Hungary (Hungary); Varga, Tamás, E-mail: vtamas@chem.u-szeged.hu [University of Szeged, Department of Applied and Environmental Chemistry, Rerrich B. tér 1., Szeged H-6720 Hungary (Hungary); and others

2017-03-31

Highlights: • Halloysite intercalation/delamination. • Thin-walled nanoscroll preparation. • Oxidative surface cleaning with H{sub 2}O{sub 2} and heating. • X-ray diffraction, TEM, N{sub 2} adsorption, TG/DTG and FT-IR/ATR measurements. • Nanoscroll rearrangement, periodicity along the crystallographic ‘c’-axis. - Abstract: Surface modification of the halloysite-10 Å mineral with tubular morphology can be achieved by slightly modified procedures developed for the delamination of kaolinite minerals. The resulting delaminated halloysite nanoparticles have unexpected surface/morphological properties that display, new potentials in catalyst development. In this work, a four-step intercalation/delamination procedure is described for the preparation of thin-walled nanoscrolls from the multi-layered hydrated halloysite mineral that consists of (1) intercalation of halloysite with potassium acetate, (2) replacement intercalation with ethylene glycol, (3) replacement intercalation with hexylamine, and (4) delamination with toluene. The intercalation steps were followed by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, N{sub 2} adsorption-desorption, thermogravimetry, and infrared spectroscopy. Delamination eliminated the crystalline order and the crystallite size along the ‘c’-axis, increased the specific surface area, greatly decreased the thickness of the mineral tubes to a monolayer, and shifted the pore diameter toward the micropore region. Unexpectedly, the removal of residual organics from intercalation steps adsorbed at the nanoscroll surface with a peroxide treatment resulted in partial recovery of crystallinity and increase of crystallite size along the ‘c’-crystal direction. The d(001) value showed a diffuse pattern at 7.4–7.7 Å due to the rearrangement of the thin-walled nanoscrolls toward the initial tubular morphology of the dehydrated halloysite-7 Å mineral.

Single Machine Problem with Multi-Rate-Modifying Activities under a Time-Dependent Deterioration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Huang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The single machine scheduling problem with multi-rate-modifying activities under a time-dependent deterioration to minimize makespan is studied. After examining the characteristics of the problem, a number of properties and a lower bound are proposed. A branch and bound algorithm and a heuristic algorithm are used in the solution, and two special cases are also examined. The computational experiments show that, for the situation with a rate-modifying activity, the proposed branch and bound algorithm can solve situations with 50 jobs within a reasonable time, and the heuristic algorithm can obtain the near-optimal solution with an error percentage less than 0.053 in a very short time. In situations with multi-rate-modifying activities, the proposed branch and bound algorithm can solve the case with 15 jobs within a reasonable time, and the heuristic algorithm can obtain the near-optimal with an error percentage less than 0.070 in a very short time. The branch and bound algorithm and the heuristic algorithm are both shown to be efficient and effective.

Pipe-dependent ventral processing of Easter by Snake is the defining step in Drosophila embryo DV axis formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Yong Suk; Stevens, Leslie M; Stein, David

2010-06-22

The establishment of Drosophila embryonic dorsal-ventral (DV) polarity relies on serine proteolytic activity in the perivitelline space between the embryonic membrane and the eggshell. Gastrulation Defective cleaves and activates Snake, which processes and activates Easter, which cleaves Spätzle to form the activating ligand for the Toll receptor. Ventral restriction of ligand formation depends on the Pipe sulfotransferase, which is expressed in ventral cells of the follicular epithelium surrounding the developing oocyte. Pipe modifies components of the developing eggshell to produce a ventral cue embedded in the vitelline membrane. This ventral cue is believed to promote one or more of the proteolysis steps in the perivitelline space. By examining the processing of transgenic, tagged versions of the perivitelline proteins during DV patterning, we find that the proteolysis of Easter by Snake is the first Pipe-dependent step and therefore the key ventrally restricted event in the protease cascade. We also find that Snake and Easter associate together in a complex in both wild-type and pipe mutant-derived embryos. This observation suggests a mechanism in which the sulfated target of Pipe promotes a productive interaction between Snake and Easter, perhaps by facilitating conformational changes in a complex containing the two proteins. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Extent and Area of Swidden in Montane Mainland Southeast Asia: Estimation by Multi-Step Thresholds with Landsat-8 OLI Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peng Li

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Information on the distribution, area and extent of swidden agriculture landscape is necessary for implementing the program of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD, biodiversity conservation and local livelihood improvement. To our knowledge, explicit spatial maps and accurate area data on swidden agriculture remain surprisingly lacking. However, this traditional farming practice has been transforming into other profit-driven land use, like tree plantations and permanent cash agriculture. Swidden agriculture is characterized by a rotational and dynamic nature of agroforestry, with land cover changing from natural forests, newly-cleared swiddens to different-aged fallows. The Operational Land Imager (OLI onboard the Landsat-8 satellite has visible, near-infrared and shortwave infrared bands, which are sensitive to the changes in vegetation cover, land surface moisture content and soil exposure, and therefore, four vegetation indices (VIs were calculated, including the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI, the Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI, the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR and the Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI. In this study, we developed a multi-step threshold approach that uses a combination of thresholds of four VIs and local elevation range (LER and applied it to detect and map newly-opened swiddens and different-aged fallows using OLI imagery acquired between 2013 and 2015. The resultant Landsat-derived swidden agriculture maps have high accuracy with an overall accuracy of 86.9% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.864. The results of this study indicated that the Landsat-based multi-step threshold algorithms could potentially be applied to monitor the long-term change pattern of swidden agriculture in montane mainland Southeast Asia since the late 1980s and also in other tropical regions, like insular Southeast Asia, South Asia, Latin America and Central Africa, where swidden agriculture is

MULTI-PHOTON PHOSPHOR FEASIBILITY RESEARCH

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

R. Graham; W. Chow

2003-05-01

Development of multi-photon phosphor materials for discharge lamps represents a goal that would achieve up to a doubling of discharge (fluorescent) lamp efficacy. This report reviews the existing literature on multi-photon phosphors, identifies obstacles in developing such phosphors, and recommends directions for future research to address these obstacles. To critically examine issues involved in developing a multi-photon phosphor, the project brought together a team of experts from universities, national laboratories, and an industrial lamp manufacturer. Results and findings are organized into three categories: (1) Multi-Photon Systems and Processes, (2) Chemistry and Materials Issues, and (3) Concepts and Models. Multi-Photon Systems and Processes: This category focuses on how to use our current understanding of multi-photon phosphor systems to design new phosphor systems for application in fluorescent lamps. The quickest way to develop multi-photon lamp phosphors lies in finding sensitizer ions for Gd{sup 3+} and identifying activator ions to red shift the blue emission from Pr{sup 3+} due to the {sup 1}S{sub 0} {yields} {sup 1}I{sub 6} transition associated with the first cascading step. Success in either of these developments would lead to more efficient fluorescent lamps. Chemistry and Materials Issues: The most promising multi-photon phosphors are found in fluoride hosts. However, stability of fluorides in environments typically found in fluorescent lamps needs to be greatly improved. Experimental investigation of fluorides in actual lamp environments needs to be undertaken while working on oxide and oxyfluoride alternative systems for backup. Concepts and Models: Successful design of a multi-photon phosphor system based on cascading transitions of Gd{sup 3+} and Pr{sup 3+} depends critically on how the former can be sensitized and the latter can sensitize an activator ion. Methods to predict energy level diagrams and Judd-Ofelt parameters of multi

Voltage and temperature dependence of the grain boundary tunneling magnetoresistance in manganites

OpenAIRE

Hoefener, C.; Philipp, J. B.; Klein, J.; Alff, L.; Marx, A.; Buechner, B.; Gross, R.

2000-01-01

We have performed a systematic analysis of the voltage and temperature dependence of the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) of grain boundaries (GB) in the manganites. We find a strong decrease of the TMR with increasing voltage and temperature. The decrease of the TMR with increasing voltage scales with an increase of the inelastic tunneling current due to multi-step inelastic tunneling via localized defect states in the tunneling barrier. This behavior can be described within a three-current...

Hybrid Pareto artificial bee colony algorithm for multi-objective single machine group scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setup times and learning effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, Lei; Guan, Zailin; Saif, Ullah; Zhang, Fei; Wang, Hao

2016-01-01

Group scheduling is significant for efficient and cost effective production system. However, there exist setup times between the groups, which require to decrease it by sequencing groups in an efficient way. Current research is focused on a sequence dependent group scheduling problem with an aim to minimize the makespan in addition to minimize the total weighted tardiness simultaneously. In most of the production scheduling problems, the processing time of jobs is assumed as fixed. However, the actual processing time of jobs may be reduced due to "learning effect". The integration of sequence dependent group scheduling problem with learning effects has been rarely considered in literature. Therefore, current research considers a single machine group scheduling problem with sequence dependent setup times and learning effects simultaneously. A novel hybrid Pareto artificial bee colony algorithm (HPABC) with some steps of genetic algorithm is proposed for current problem to get Pareto solutions. Furthermore, five different sizes of test problems (small, small medium, medium, large medium, large) are tested using proposed HPABC. Taguchi method is used to tune the effective parameters of the proposed HPABC for each problem category. The performance of HPABC is compared with three famous multi objective optimization algorithms, improved strength Pareto evolutionary algorithm (SPEA2), non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGAII) and particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO). Results indicate that HPABC outperforms SPEA2, NSGAII and PSO and gives better Pareto optimal solutions in terms of diversity and quality for almost all the instances of the different sizes of problems.

ONE-STEP AND TWO-STEP CALIBRATION OF A PORTABLE PANORAMIC IMAGE MAPPING SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P.-C. Wang

2012-07-01

Full Text Available A Portable Panoramic Image Mapping System (PPIMS is proposed for rapid acquisition of three-dimensional spatial information. By considering the convenience of use, cost, weight of equipment, precision, and power supply, the designed PPIMS is equipped with 6 circularly arranged cameras to capture panoramic images and a GPS receiver for positioning. The motivation for this design is to develop a hand-held Mobile Mapping System (MMS for some difficult accessing areas by vehicle MMS, such as rugged terrains, forest areas, heavily damaged disaster areas, and crowed places etc. This PPIMS is in fact a GPS assisted close-range photogrammetric system. Compared with the traditional close-range photogrammetry, PPIMS can reduce the need of ground control points significantly. Under the condition of knowing the relative geometric relationships of the equipped sensors, the elements of exterior orientation of each captured image can be solved. However, the procedure of a system calibration should be done accurately to determine the relative geometric relationships of multi-cameras and the GPS antenna center, before the PPIMS can be applied for geo-referenced mapping. In this paper, both of one-step and two-step calibration procedures for PPIMS are performed to determine the lever-arm offsets and boresight angles among cameras and GPS. The performance of the one-step and two-step calibration is evaluated through the analysis of the experimental results. The comparison between these two calibration procedures was also conducted. The two-step calibration method outperforms the one-step calibration method in terms of calibration accuracy and operation convenience. We expect that the proposed two-step calibration procedure can also be applied to other platform-based MMSs.

Panel Data with Cross-Sectional Dependence Characterized by a Multi-Level Factor Structure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rodríguez-Caballero, Carlos Vladimir

A panel data model with a multi-level cross-sectional dependence is proposed. The factor structure is driven by top-level common factors as well as non-pervasive factors. I propose a simple method to filter out the full factor structure that overcomes limitations in standard procedures which may...... mix up both levels of unobservable factors and may hamper the identification of the model. The model covers both stationary and non-stationary cases and takes into account other relevant features that make the model well suited to the analysis of many types of time series frequently addressed...

Off-line mapping of multi-rate dependent task sets to many-core platforms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Puffitsch, Wolfgang; Noulard, Eric; Pagetti, Claire

2015-01-01

This paper presents an approach to execute safety-critical applications on multi- and many-core processors in a predictable manner. We investigate three concrete platforms: the Intel Single-chip Cloud Computer, the Texas Instruments TMS320C6678 and the Tilera TILEmpower-Gx36. We define an execution...... model to safely execute dependent periodic task sets on these platforms. The four rules of the execution model entail that an off-line mapping of the application to the platform must be computed. The paper details our approach to automatically compute a valid mapping. Furthermore, we evaluate our...

Evaluation and optimisation of phenomenological multi-step soot model for spray combustion under diesel engine-like operating conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Pang, Kar Mun; Jangi, Mehdi; Bai, Xue-Song; Schramm, Jesper

2015-05-01

In this work, a two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics study is reported of an n-heptane combustion event and the associated soot formation process in a constant volume combustion chamber. The key interest here is to evaluate the sensitivity of the chemical kinetics and submodels of a semi-empirical soot model in predicting the associated events. Numerical computation is performed using an open-source code and a chemistry coordinate mapping approach is used to expedite the calculation. A library consisting of various phenomenological multi-step soot models is constructed and integrated with the spray combustion solver. Prior to the soot modelling, combustion simulations are carried out. Numerical results show that the ignition delay times and lift-off lengths exhibit good agreement with the experimental measurements across a wide range of operating conditions, apart from those in the cases with ambient temperature lower than 850 K. The variation of the soot precursor production with respect to the change of ambient oxygen levels qualitatively agrees with that of the conceptual models when the skeletal n-heptane mechanism is integrated with a reduced pyrene chemistry. Subsequently, a comprehensive sensitivity analysis is carried out to appraise the existing soot formation and oxidation submodels. It is revealed that the soot formation is captured when the surface growth rate is calculated using a square root function of the soot specific surface area and when a pressure-dependent model constant is considered. An optimised soot model is then proposed based on the knowledge gained through this exercise. With the implementation of optimised model, the simulated soot onset and transport phenomena before reaching quasi-steady state agree reasonably well with the experimental observation. Also, variation of spatial soot distribution and soot mass produced at oxygen molar fractions ranging from 10.0 to 21.0% for both low and high density conditions are reproduced.

Statistical properties of multi-theta polymer chains

Science.gov (United States)

Uehara, Erica; Deguchi, Tetsuo

2018-04-01

We study statistical properties of polymer chains with complex structures whose chemical connectivities are expressed by graphs. The multi-theta curve of m subchains with two branch points connected by them is one of the simplest graphs among those graphs having closed paths, i.e. loops. We denoted it by θm , and for m  =  2 it is given by a ring. We derive analytically the pair distribution function and the scattering function for the θm -shaped polymer chains consisting of m Gaussian random walks of n steps. Surprisingly, it is shown rigorously that the mean-square radius of gyration for the Gaussian θm -shaped polymer chain does not depend on the number m of subchains if each subchain has the same fixed number of steps. For m  =  3 we show the Kratky plot for the theta-shaped polymer chain consisting of hard cylindrical segments by the Monte-Carlo method including reflection at trivalent vertices.

Effects of Cu and Ag additions on age-hardening behavior during multi-step aging in Al--Mg--Si alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, JaeHwang; Daniel Marioara, Calin; Holmestad, Randi; Kobayashi, Equo; Sato, Tatsuo

2013-01-01

Low Cu and Ag additions (≤0.10 at%) were found to strongly affect the age-hardening behavior in Al--Mg--Si alloys with Mg+Si>1.5 at%. The hardness increased during aging at 170 °C and the formation of β ″ precipitates was kinetically accelerated. The activation energy of the formation of the β ″ phase was calculated to 127, 105, 108 and 99 KJmol −1 in the base, Cu-added, Ag-added and Cu--Ag-added alloys, respectively using the Kissinger method. The negative effect of two-step aging caused by the formation of Cluster (1) during natural aging was not overcome by the addition of microalloying elements. However, it was suppressed by the formation of Cluster (2) through a pre-aging at 100 °C. Quantitative analysis of the precipitate microstructure was performed using a transmission electron microscope equipped with a parallel electron energy loss spectrometer for the determination of specimen thickness. The formation of Cluster (2) was found to increase the number density of β ″ precipitates, whereas the formation of Cluster (1) decreased the number density and increased the needle length. The effects of low Cu and Ag additions in combination with multi-step aging are discussed based on microstructure observations and hardness and resistivity measurements.

Evaluation of full and degraded mission reliability and mission dependability for intermittently operated, multi-functional systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sols, Alberto; Ramirez-Marquez, Jose E.; Verma, Dinesh; Vitoriano, Begona

2007-01-01

Availability is one of the metrics often used in the evaluation of system effectiveness. Its use as an effectiveness metric is often dictated by the nature of the system under consideration. While some systems operate continuously, many others operate on an intermittent basis where each operational period may often involve a different set of missions. This is the most likely scenario for complex multi-functional systems, where each specific system mission may require the availability of a different combination of system elements. Similarly, for these systems, not only is it important to know whether a mission can be initiated, it is just as important to know whether the system is capable of completing such a mission. Thus, for these systems, additional measures become relevant to provide a more holistic assessment of system effectiveness. This paper presents techniques for the evaluation of both full and degraded mission reliability and mission dependability for coherent, intermittently operated multi-functional systems. These metrics complement previously developed availability and degraded availability measures of multi-functional systems, in the comprehensive assessment of system effectiveness

Dependence structure of the commodity and stock markets, and relevant multi-spread strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Min Jae; Kim, Sehyun; Jo, Yong Hwan; Kim, Soo Yong

2011-10-01

Understanding the dependence structure between the commodity and stock markets is a crucial issue in constructing a portfolio. It can also help us to discover new opportunities to implement spread trading using multiple assets classified in the two different markets. This study analyzed the dependence structure of the commodity and stock markets using the random matrix theory technique and network analysis. Our results show that the stock and commodity markets must be handled as completely separated asset classes except for the oil and gold markets, so the performance enhancement of the mean-variance portfolio is significant as expected. In light of the fact that WTI 1 month futures and four oil-related stocks are strongly correlated, they were selected as basic ingredients to complement the multi-spread convergence trading strategy using a machine learning technique called the AdaBoost algorithm. The performance of this strategy for non-myopic investors, who can endure short-term loss, can be enhanced significantly on a risk measurement basis.

Multi-time-step domain coupling method with energy control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mahjoubi, N.; Krenk, Steen

2010-01-01

the individual time step. It is demonstrated that displacement continuity between the subdomains leads to cancelation of the interface contributions to the energy balance equation, and thus stability and algorithmic damping properties of the original algorithms are retained. The various subdomains can...... by a numerical example using a refined mesh around concentrated forces. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd....

Initial-boundary value problems for multi-term time-fractional diffusion equations with x-dependent coefficients

OpenAIRE

Li, Zhiyuan; Huang, Xinchi; Yamamoto, Masahiro

2018-01-01

In this paper, we discuss an initial-boundary value problem (IBVP) for the multi-term time-fractional diffusion equation with x-dependent coefficients. By means of the Mittag-Leffler functions and the eigenfunction expansion, we reduce the IBVP to an equivalent integral equation to show the unique existence and the analyticity of the solution for the equation. Especially, in the case where all the coefficients of the time-fractional derivatives are non-negative, by the Laplace and inversion L...

Linear coupling dependence on intensity and a next step towards a feedback (MD1850)

CERN Document Server

Persson, Tobias Hakan Bjorn; Coello De Portugal - Martinez Vazquez, Jaime Maria; Gasior, Marek; Giovannozzi, Massimo; Olexa, Jakub; Tomas Garcia, Rogelio; Garcia-Tabares Valdivieso, Ana; Valuch, Daniel

2017-01-01

Transverse coupling has proven to be an important variable to control beam dynamics and performance in the LHC. In this report, we present the first measurement of transverse coupling vs beam intensity. The analysis shows no dependency within the experimental uncertainties. This study was made possible with the new implementation of an AC-dipole-like excitation using the ADT. It provides the functionality to excite a single bunch in a train. The demonstration of this functionality is also an important step towards creating an automatic coupling correction tool for the LHC. Transverse coupling has been observed to vary with time at injection. In this report, a quantitative measurement of the coupling as a function of time after ramp-down is presented. Turn-by-turn data was also acquired to compare the performance of the new DOROS system to the standard BPMs.

Numerical method for solving the three-dimensional time-dependent neutron diffusion equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khaled, S.M.; Szatmary, Z.

2005-01-01

A numerical time-implicit method has been developed for solving the coupled three-dimensional time-dependent multi-group neutron diffusion and delayed neutron precursor equations. The numerical stability of the implicit computation scheme and the convergence of the iterative associated processes have been evaluated. The computational scheme requires the solution of large linear systems at each time step. For this purpose, the point over-relaxation Gauss-Seidel method was chosen. A new scheme was introduced instead of the usual source iteration scheme. (author)

Morphology Dependent Flow Stress in Nickel-Based Superalloys in the Multi-Scale Crystal Plasticity Framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahriyar Keshavarz

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This paper develops a framework to obtain the flow stress of nickel-based superalloys as a function of γ-γ’ morphology. The yield strength is a major factor in the design of these alloys. This work provides additional effects of γ’ morphology in the design scope that has been adopted for the model developed by authors. In general, the two-phase γ-γ’ morphology in nickel-based superalloys can be divided into three variables including γ’ shape, γ’ volume fraction and γ’ size in the sub-grain microstructure. In order to obtain the flow stress, non-Schmid crystal plasticity constitutive models at two length scales are employed and bridged through a homogenized multi-scale framework. The multi-scale framework includes two sub-grain and homogenized grain scales. For the sub-grain scale, a size-dependent, dislocation-density-based finite element model (FEM of the representative volume element (RVE with explicit depiction of the γ-γ’ morphology is developed as a building block for the homogenization. For the next scale, an activation-energy-based crystal plasticity model is developed for the homogenized single crystal of Ni-based superalloys. The constitutive models address the thermo-mechanical behavior of nickel-based superalloys for a large temperature range and include orientation dependencies and tension-compression asymmetry. This homogenized model is used to obtain the morphology dependence on the flow stress in nickel-based superalloys and can significantly expedite crystal plasticity FE simulations in polycrystalline microstructures, as well as higher scale FE models in order to cast and design superalloys.

The multi region molten-salt reactor concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gyula, Csom; Sandor, Feher; Szieberth, M.; Szabolcs, Czifrus

2003-01-01

The molten-salt reactor (MSR) concept is one of the most promising systems for the realisation of transmutation. The objective is the development of a transmutation technique along with a device implementing it, which yield higher transmutation efficiencies than that of the known procedures. The procedure is the multi-step transmutation, in which the transformation is carried out in several consecutive steps of different neutron flux and spectrum. In order to implement this, a multi-region transmutation device, i.e. nuclear reactor or sub-critical system is proposed, in which several separate flow-through irradiation rooms are formed with various neutron spectra and fluxes. The paper presents calculations that were performed for a special 5-region version of the multi-region molten-salt reactor. (author)

A multi-cycle optimization approach for low leakage in-core fuel management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng Pingdong; Shen Wei

1999-01-01

A new approach was developed to optimize pressurized waster reactor (PWR) low-leakage multi-cycle reload core design. The multi-cycle optimization process is carried out by the following three steps: The first step is a linear programming in search for an optimum power sharing distribution and optimum cycle length distribution for the successive several cycles to yield maximum multi-cycle total cycle length. In the second step, the fuel arrangement and burnable poison (BP) assignment are decoupled by using Haling power distribution and the optimum fuel arrangement is determined at the EOL in the absence of all BPs by employing a linear programming method or direct search method with objective function to force the calculated cycle length to be as close as possible to the optimum single cycle length obtained in the first step and with optimum power sharing distribution as additional constraints during optimization. In the third step, the BP assignment is optimized by the Flexible Tolerance Method (FTM) or linear programming method using the number of BP rods as control variable. The technology employed in the second and third steps was the usual decoupling method used in low-leakage core design. The first step was developed specially for multi-cycle optimization design and discussed in detail. Based on the proposed method a computer code MCYCO was encoded and tested for Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant (QNPP) low leakage reload core design. The multi-cycle optimization method developed, together with the program MCYCO, provides an applicable tool for solving the PWR low leakage reload core design problem

Multibrid technology - a significant step to multi-megawatt wind turbines

Science.gov (United States)

Siegfriedsen, S.; Böhmeke, G.

1998-12-01

To fulfil the significant economic potential for offshore wind energy, it is essential that the largest possible installations must be allowed to come into use. Infrastructure investments for foundations and energy transport are only slightly dependent on the size of the installation, so these costs become proportionally smaller as the installed power output increases. This article puts forward a technologically novel type of development for a drive train design, specifically introduced for a 5 MW installation. The concept is especially suited for offshore application and the components are designed for this purpose. The usual way of modifying onshore plants partially and using them in the sea has been left with the present proposals. The design comprises a single-stage planetary gear, into which the rotor bearing is integrated, and a generator rotating at slow speed. Both components are assembled into a compact unit and are characterized by low wear and complete enclosure. New solutions are also proposed for the cooling of the machinery and the yaw system, offering particular advantages in offshore application. The advantages of the new technology are brought out from system comparisons with both a conventional plant configuration with a multi-stage gear and a high-speed generator, and also a combination with a direct drive generator in the 1·5 MW class. A particular design solution, worked through for a 5 MW installation, is presented and described in detail. At 31 kg kW-1, the specific tower head mass achieves a value that has not previously been realized in this power output class. As a result of the advantages that are brought together by this technology, both investment and operating costs are lowered, particularly for offshore applications. Implementation of this technology can thus provide a further stimulus for progress in wind energy utilization. Copyright

A proposal toward a possibilistic multi-robot task allocation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guerrero, J.

2017-07-01

One of the main problems to solve in multi-agent (or multi-robot) systems is to select the best robot or group of robots to carry out a specific task. This problem, referenced as Multi-Agent (robot) task allocation (MRTA), is still an open issue in real environments. Swarm intelligence methods provide very simple solutions for the MRTA problem. One of the most widely used swarm methods are the so-called Response Threshold algorithms, where the behavior of the systems is modeled as a Markov chain and the robots in each time step select the next task to execute according to a transition probability function. Among other factors, this probability depends on a stimulus (for example the distance between the robot and the task). This classical probabilistic approach presents a lot of disadvantages:the transition function must meet constraints of a probabilistic distribution, the system only convergences to a stationary asymptotically, and so on. In order to overcome these problems, a new theoretical framework based on fuzzy (possibilistic) Markov chains was proposed [2]. As was proved, the possibilistic Markov chains outperform the classical probabilistic when a Max-Min algebra is considered for matrix composition. For example, fuzzy Markov chains convergence to a stable state in a finite number of steps 10 times faster than its probability counter part. Moreover, they improve the predictions of the system under imprecise information. Firstly, this paper will review relevant work in MRTA, from theoretical and experimental point of view. Then it will be summarized the aforementioned recent advances given toward a new possibilistic swarm multi-robot task allocation framework. It will be seen how the possibilistic Markov chains behave when other algebras are considered for matrix composition [1] and how the possibility transition function impacts on the system's performance [3]. Finally, it will be proposed new future works in this field. (Author)

A proposal toward a possibilistic multi-robot task allocation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guerrero, J.

2017-01-01

One of the main problems to solve in multi-agent (or multi-robot) systems is to select the best robot or group of robots to carry out a specific task. This problem, referenced as Multi-Agent (robot) task allocation (MRTA), is still an open issue in real environments. Swarm intelligence methods provide very simple solutions for the MRTA problem. One of the most widely used swarm methods are the so-called Response Threshold algorithms, where the behavior of the systems is modeled as a Markov chain and the robots in each time step select the next task to execute according to a transition probability function. Among other factors, this probability depends on a stimulus (for example the distance between the robot and the task). This classical probabilistic approach presents a lot of disadvantages:the transition function must meet constraints of a probabilistic distribution, the system only convergences to a stationary asymptotically, and so on. In order to overcome these problems, a new theoretical framework based on fuzzy (possibilistic) Markov chains was proposed [2]. As was proved, the possibilistic Markov chains outperform the classical probabilistic when a Max-Min algebra is considered for matrix composition. For example, fuzzy Markov chains convergence to a stable state in a finite number of steps 10 times faster than its probability counter part. Moreover, they improve the predictions of the system under imprecise information. Firstly, this paper will review relevant work in MRTA, from theoretical and experimental point of view. Then it will be summarized the aforementioned recent advances given toward a new possibilistic swarm multi-robot task allocation framework. It will be seen how the possibilistic Markov chains behave when other algebras are considered for matrix composition [1] and how the possibility transition function impacts on the system's performance [3]. Finally, it will be proposed new future works in this field. (Author)

Multi-label Learning with Missing Labels Using Mixed Dependency Graphs

KAUST Repository

Wu, Baoyuan

2018-04-06

This work focuses on the problem of multi-label learning with missing labels (MLML), which aims to label each test instance with multiple class labels given training instances that have an incomplete/partial set of these labels (i.e., some of their labels are missing). The key point to handle missing labels is propagating the label information from the provided labels to missing labels, through a dependency graph that each label of each instance is treated as a node. We build this graph by utilizing different types of label dependencies. Specifically, the instance-level similarity is served as undirected edges to connect the label nodes across different instances and the semantic label hierarchy is used as directed edges to connect different classes. This base graph is referred to as the mixed dependency graph, as it includes both undirected and directed edges. Furthermore, we present another two types of label dependencies to connect the label nodes across different classes. One is the class co-occurrence, which is also encoded as undirected edges. Combining with the above base graph, we obtain a new mixed graph, called mixed graph with co-occurrence (MG-CO). The other is the sparse and low rank decomposition of the whole label matrix, to embed high-order dependencies over all labels. Combining with the base graph, the new mixed graph is called as MG-SL (mixed graph with sparse and low rank decomposition). Based on MG-CO and MG-SL, we further propose two convex transductive formulations of the MLML problem, denoted as MLMG-CO and MLMG-SL respectively. In both formulations, the instance-level similarity is embedded through a quadratic smoothness term, while the semantic label hierarchy is used as a linear constraint. In MLMG-CO, the class co-occurrence is also formulated as a quadratic smoothness term, while the sparse and low rank decomposition is incorporated into MLMG-SL, through two additional matrices (one is assumed as sparse, and the other is assumed as low

Model of cap-dependent translation initiation in sea urchin: a step towards the eukaryotic translation regulation network.

Science.gov (United States)

Bellé, Robert; Prigent, Sylvain; Siegel, Anne; Cormier, Patrick

2010-03-01

The large and rapid increase in the rate of protein synthesis following fertilization of the sea urchin egg has long been a paradigm of translational control, an important component of the regulation of gene expression in cells. This translational up-regulation is linked to physiological changes that occur upon fertilization and is necessary for entry into first cell division cycle. Accumulated knowledge on cap-dependent initiation of translation makes it suited and timely to start integrating the data into a system view of biological functions. Using a programming environment for system biology coupled with model validation (named Biocham), we have built an integrative model for cap-dependent initiation of translation. The model is described by abstract rules. It contains 51 reactions involved in 74 molecular complexes. The model proved to be coherent with existing knowledge by using queries based on computational tree logic (CTL) as well as Boolean simulations. The model could simulate the change in translation occurring at fertilization in the sea urchin model. It could also be coupled with an existing model designed for cell-cycle control. Therefore, the cap-dependent translation initiation model can be considered a first step towards the eukaryotic translation regulation network.

Influence of multi-deposition multi-annealing on time-dependent dielectric breakdown characteristics of PMOS with high-k/metal gate last process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yan-Rong; Yang Hong; Xu Hao; Wang Xiao-Lei; Luo Wei-Chun; Qi Lu-Wei; Zhang Shu-Xiang; Wang Wen-Wu; Yan Jiang; Zhu Hui-Long; Zhao Chao; Chen Da-Peng; Ye Tian-Chun

2015-01-01

A multi-deposition multi-annealing technique (MDMA) is introduced into the process of high-k/metal gate MOSFET for the gate last process to effectively reduce the gate leakage and improve the device’s performance. In this paper, we systematically investigate the electrical parameters and the time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) characteristics of positive channel metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS) under different MDMA process conditions, including the deposition/annealing (D and A) cycles, the D and A time, and the total annealing time. The results show that the increases of the number of D and A cycles (from 1 to 2) and D and A time (from 15 s to 30 s) can contribute to the results that the gate leakage current decreases by about one order of magnitude and that the time to fail (TTF) at 63.2% increases by about several times. However, too many D and A cycles (such as 4 cycles) make the equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) increase by about 1 Å and the TTF of PMOS worsen. Moreover, different D and A times and numbers of D and A cycles induce different breakdown mechanisms. (paper)

Multi-step intramolecular excitation energy transfer in dendritic pyrene-phosphorus(V)porphyrin heptads

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirakawa, Kazutaka, E-mail: hirakawa.kazutaka@shizuoka.ac.jp [Applied Chemistry and Biochemical Engineering Course, Department of Engineering, Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Johoku 3-5-1, Naka-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8561 (Japan); Department of Optoelectronics and Nanostructure Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Johoku 3-5-1, Naka-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8561 (Japan); Segawa, Hiroshi [Department of Multi-Disciplinary Science - General Systems Studies, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Komaba 3-8-1, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8904 (Japan); Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Komaba 4-6-1, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8904 (Japan)

2016-11-15

Dendritic heptad molecules in which four pyrenyl groups are connected at the central phosphorus atom of the edge-porphyrins of the center-to-edge type porphyrin trimers were synthesized to investigate a multi-step excitation energy transfer. As the central energy acceptor, two types porphyrins which one was phosphorus(V)tetraphenylporphyrin (H2) and another was its derivative substituted by butoxy groups at four para-position of meso-phenyl groups (H1) were used. In the photoexcited state of the pyrene units, the excitation energy transfer to the central-porphyrin unit was observed in toluene. The excitation energy transfer is considered to be through two pathways; one is a stepwise pathway through the edge-porphyrin unit and another is a direct excitation energy transfer to the central porphyrin. The direct excitation energy transfer from pyrenes to the edge-porphyrin and central-porphyrin were observed in the case for H1. From the excited state of the edge-porphyrins, the excitation energy transfer to the central-porphyrin occurs in the H1 case. In the H2 case, the excitation energy of central-porphyrin is higher than that of H1, and the electron transfer from edge-porphyrin to the central-porphyrin become predominant process. - Highlights: • Dendritic pyrene-porphyrin heptads were synthesized. • Excitation energy transfer occurs from the pyrenyl moiety to the phosphorus(V)porphyrin. • The stepwise and direct energy transfer pathways were observed. • The quantum yields of these energy transfer pathways could be determined.

Multi-step intramolecular excitation energy transfer in dendritic pyrene-phosphorus(V)porphyrin heptads

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirakawa, Kazutaka; Segawa, Hiroshi

2016-01-01

Dendritic heptad molecules in which four pyrenyl groups are connected at the central phosphorus atom of the edge-porphyrins of the center-to-edge type porphyrin trimers were synthesized to investigate a multi-step excitation energy transfer. As the central energy acceptor, two types porphyrins which one was phosphorus(V)tetraphenylporphyrin (H2) and another was its derivative substituted by butoxy groups at four para-position of meso-phenyl groups (H1) were used. In the photoexcited state of the pyrene units, the excitation energy transfer to the central-porphyrin unit was observed in toluene. The excitation energy transfer is considered to be through two pathways; one is a stepwise pathway through the edge-porphyrin unit and another is a direct excitation energy transfer to the central porphyrin. The direct excitation energy transfer from pyrenes to the edge-porphyrin and central-porphyrin were observed in the case for H1. From the excited state of the edge-porphyrins, the excitation energy transfer to the central-porphyrin occurs in the H1 case. In the H2 case, the excitation energy of central-porphyrin is higher than that of H1, and the electron transfer from edge-porphyrin to the central-porphyrin become predominant process. - Highlights: • Dendritic pyrene-porphyrin heptads were synthesized. • Excitation energy transfer occurs from the pyrenyl moiety to the phosphorus(V)porphyrin. • The stepwise and direct energy transfer pathways were observed. • The quantum yields of these energy transfer pathways could be determined.

Studying fire mitigation strategies in multi-ownership landscapes: balancing the management of fire-dependent ecosystems and fire risk

Science.gov (United States)

Brian R. Sturtevant; Brian R. Miranda; Jian Yang; Hong S. He; Eric J. Gustafson; Robert M. Scheller

2009-01-01

Public forests are surrounded by land over which agency managers have no control, and whose owners expect the public forest to be a "good neighbor." Fire risk abatement on multi-owner landscapes containing flammable but fire-dependent ecosystems epitomizes the complexities of managing public lands. We report a case study that applies a landscape disturbance...

A multi-step approach for testing non-toxic amphiphilic antifouling coatings against marine microfouling at different levels of biological complexity.

Science.gov (United States)

Zecher, Karsten; Aitha, Vishwa Prasad; Heuer, Kirsten; Ahlers, Herbert; Roland, Katrin; Fiedel, Michael; Philipp, Bodo

2018-03-01

Marine biofouling on artificial surfaces such as ship hulls or fish farming nets causes enormous economic damage. The time for the developmental process of antifouling coatings can be shortened by reliable laboratory assays. For designing such test systems, it is important that toxic effects can be excluded, that multiple parameters can be addressed simultaneously and that mechanistic aspects can be included. In this study, a multi-step approach for testing antifouling coatings was established employing photoautotrophic biofilm formation of marine microorganisms in micro- and mesoscoms. Degree and pattern of biofilm formation was determined by quantification of chlorophyll fluorescence. For the microcosms, co-cultures of diatoms and a heterotrophic bacterium were exposed to fouling-release coatings. For the mesocosms, a novel device was developed that permits parallel quantification of a multitude of coatings under defined conditions with varying degrees of shear stress. Additionally, the antifouling coatings were tested for leaching of potential compounds and finally tested in sea trials. This multistep-approach revealed that the individual steps led to consistent results regarding antifouling activity of the coatings. Furthermore, the novel mesocosm system can be employed for advanced antifouling analysis including metagenomic approaches for determination of microbial diversity attaching to different coatings under changing shear forces. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Performance of a new one-step multi-mode adhesive on etched vs non-etched enamel on bond strength and interfacial morphology.

Science.gov (United States)

de Goes, Mario Fernando; Shinohara, Mirela Sanae; Freitas, Marcela Santiago

2014-06-01

To compare microtensile bond strength (μTBS) and interfacial morphology of a new one-step multimode adhesive with a two-step self-etching adhesive and two etch-and-rinse adhesives systems on enamel. Thirty human third molars were sectioned to obtain two enamel fragments. For μTBS, 48 enamel surfaces were ground using 600-grit SiC paper and randomly assigned into 6 groups (n = 8): nonetched Scotchbond Universal [SBU]; etched SBU [SBU-et]; non-etched Clearfil SE Bond [CSE]; etched CSE [CSE-et]; Scotchbond Multi-PURPOSE [SBMP]; Excite [EX]. The etched specimens were conditioned with 37% phosphoric acid for 30 s, each adhesive system was applied according to manufacturers' instructions, and composite resin blocks (Filtek Supreme Plus, 3M ESPE) were incrementally built up. Specimens were sectioned into beams with a cross-sectional area of 0.8-mm2 and tested under tension (1 mm/min). The data were analyzed with oneway ANOVA and Fisher's PLSD (α = 0.05). For interface analysis, two samples from each group were embedded in epoxy resin, polished, and then observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The μTBS values (in MPa) and the standard deviations were: SBU = 27.4 (8.5); SBU-et = 33.6 (9.3); CSE = 28.5 (8.3); CSE-et = 34.2 (9.0); SBMP = 30.4 (11.0); EX = 23.3 (8.2). CSE-et and SBU-et presented the highest bond strength values, followed by SBMP, CSE, and SBU which did not differ significantly from each other. EX showed the statistically significantly lowest bond strength values. SEM images of interfaces from etched samples showed long adhesive-resin tags penetrating into demineralized enamel. Preliminary etching of enamel significantly increased bond strength for the new one-step multimode adhesive SBU and two-step self-etching adhesive CSE.

User-Dependent CFD Predictions of a Backward-Facing Step Flow

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peng, Lei; Nielsen, Peter Vilhelm; Wang, Xiaoxue

2015-01-01

The backward-facing step flow with an expansion ratio of 5 has been modelled by 19 teams without benchmark solution or experimental data. Different CFD codes, turbulence models, boundary conditions, numerical schemes and convergent criteria are adopted based on the participants’ own experience...

Critical flux determination by flux-stepping

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beier, Søren; Jonsson, Gunnar Eigil

2010-01-01

In membrane filtration related scientific literature, often step-by-step determined critical fluxes are reported. Using a dynamic microfiltration device, it is shown that critical fluxes determined from two different flux-stepping methods are dependent upon operational parameters such as step...... length, step height, and.flux start level. Filtrating 8 kg/m(3) yeast cell suspensions by a vibrating 0.45 x 10(-6) m pore size microfiltration hollow fiber module, critical fluxes from 5.6 x 10(-6) to 1.2 x 10(-5) m/s have been measured using various step lengths from 300 to 1200 seconds. Thus......, such values are more or less useless in itself as critical flux predictors, and constant flux verification experiments have to be conducted to check if the determined critical fluxes call predict sustainable flux regimes. However, it is shown that using the step-by-step predicted critical fluxes as start...

SU-E-T-614: Plan Averaging for Multi-Criteria Navigation of Step-And-Shoot IMRT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guo, M; Gao, H [Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, Shanghai (China); Craft, D [Massachusetts General Hospital, Cambridge, MA (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: Step-and-shoot IMRT is fundamentally discrete in nature, while multi-criteria optimization (MCO) is fundamentally continuous: the MCO planning consists of continuous sliding across the Pareto surface (the set of plans which represent the tradeoffs between organ-at-risk doses and target doses). In order to achieve close to real-time dose display during this sliding, it is desired that averaged plans share many of the same apertures as the pre-computed plans, since dose computation for apertures generated on-the-fly would be expensive. We propose a method to ensure that neighboring plans on a Pareto surface share many apertures. Methods: Our baseline step-and-shoot sequencing method is that of K. Engel (a method which minimizes the number of segments while guaranteeing the minimum number of monitor units), which we customize to sequence a set of Pareto optimal plans simultaneously. We also add an error tolerance to study the relationship between the number of shared apertures, the total number of apertures needed, and the quality of the fluence map re-creation. Results: We run tests for a 2D Pareto surface trading off rectum and bladder dose versus target coverage for a clinical prostate case. We find that if we enforce exact fluence map recreation, we are not able to achieve much sharing of apertures across plans. The total number of apertures for all seven beams and 4 plans without sharing is 217. With sharing and a 2% error tolerance, this number is reduced to 158 (73%). Conclusion: With the proposed method, total number of apertures can be decreased by 42% (averaging) with no increment of total MU, when an error tolerance of 5% is allowed. With this large amount of sharing, dose computations for averaged plans which occur during Pareto navigation will be much faster, leading to a real-time what-you-see-is-what-you-get Pareto navigation experience. Minghao Guo and Hao Gao were partially supported by the NSFC (#11405105), the 973 Program (#2015CB856000

SU-E-T-614: Plan Averaging for Multi-Criteria Navigation of Step-And-Shoot IMRT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, M; Gao, H; Craft, D

2015-01-01

Purpose: Step-and-shoot IMRT is fundamentally discrete in nature, while multi-criteria optimization (MCO) is fundamentally continuous: the MCO planning consists of continuous sliding across the Pareto surface (the set of plans which represent the tradeoffs between organ-at-risk doses and target doses). In order to achieve close to real-time dose display during this sliding, it is desired that averaged plans share many of the same apertures as the pre-computed plans, since dose computation for apertures generated on-the-fly would be expensive. We propose a method to ensure that neighboring plans on a Pareto surface share many apertures. Methods: Our baseline step-and-shoot sequencing method is that of K. Engel (a method which minimizes the number of segments while guaranteeing the minimum number of monitor units), which we customize to sequence a set of Pareto optimal plans simultaneously. We also add an error tolerance to study the relationship between the number of shared apertures, the total number of apertures needed, and the quality of the fluence map re-creation. Results: We run tests for a 2D Pareto surface trading off rectum and bladder dose versus target coverage for a clinical prostate case. We find that if we enforce exact fluence map recreation, we are not able to achieve much sharing of apertures across plans. The total number of apertures for all seven beams and 4 plans without sharing is 217. With sharing and a 2% error tolerance, this number is reduced to 158 (73%). Conclusion: With the proposed method, total number of apertures can be decreased by 42% (averaging) with no increment of total MU, when an error tolerance of 5% is allowed. With this large amount of sharing, dose computations for averaged plans which occur during Pareto navigation will be much faster, leading to a real-time what-you-see-is-what-you-get Pareto navigation experience. Minghao Guo and Hao Gao were partially supported by the NSFC (#11405105), the 973 Program (#2015CB856000

Automatic Generation of Wide Dynamic Range Image without Pseudo-Edge Using Integration of Multi-Steps Exposure Images

Science.gov (United States)

Migiyama, Go; Sugimura, Atsuhiko; Osa, Atsushi; Miike, Hidetoshi

Recently, digital cameras are offering technical advantages rapidly. However, the shot image is different from the sight image generated when that scenery is seen with the naked eye. There are blown-out highlights and crushed blacks in the image that photographed the scenery of wide dynamic range. The problems are hardly generated in the sight image. These are contributory cause of difference between the shot image and the sight image. Blown-out highlights and crushed blacks are caused by the difference of dynamic range between the image sensor installed in a digital camera such as CCD and CMOS and the human visual system. Dynamic range of the shot image is narrower than dynamic range of the sight image. In order to solve the problem, we propose an automatic method to decide an effective exposure range in superposition of edges. We integrate multi-step exposure images using the method. In addition, we try to erase pseudo-edges using the process to blend exposure values. Afterwards, we get a pseudo wide dynamic range image automatically.

Development of Stepped-Frequency Ground-Penetrating Radar

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakobsen, Kaj Bjarne

1998-01-01

The status of the development of a multi-monostatic stepped-frequency ground-penetrating radar (GPR) at The Department of Applied Electronics (IAE), The Technical University of Denmark (DTU) is presented. The feasibility of the used approach is demonstrated by the successful detection of small me...... metallic and non-metallic objects with a diameter of 54 mm buried in loamy soil....

A constructive heuristic for time-dependent multi-depot vehicle routing problem with time-windows and heterogeneous fleet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Behrouz Afshar-Nadjafi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we consider the time-dependent multi-depot vehicle routing problem. The objective is to minimize the total heterogeneous fleet cost assuming that the travel time between locations depends on the departure time. Also, hard time window constraints for the customers and limitation on maximum number of the vehicles in depots must be satisfied. The problem is formulated as a mixed integer programming model. A constructive heuristic procedure is proposed for the problem. Also, the efficiency of the proposed algorithm is evaluated on 180 test problems. The obtained computational results indicate that the procedure is capable to obtain a satisfying solution.

Hardware Synchronization for Embedded Multi-Core Processors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stoif, Christian; Schoeberl, Martin; Liccardi, Benito

2011-01-01

Multi-core processors are about to conquer embedded systems — it is not the question of whether they are coming but how the architectures of the microcontrollers should look with respect to the strict requirements in the field. We present the step from one to multiple cores in this paper, establi......Multi-core processors are about to conquer embedded systems — it is not the question of whether they are coming but how the architectures of the microcontrollers should look with respect to the strict requirements in the field. We present the step from one to multiple cores in this paper...

PredPPCrys: accurate prediction of sequence cloning, protein production, purification and crystallization propensity from protein sequences using multi-step heterogeneous feature fusion and selection.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huilin Wang

Full Text Available X-ray crystallography is the primary approach to solve the three-dimensional structure of a protein. However, a major bottleneck of this method is the failure of multi-step experimental procedures to yield diffraction-quality crystals, including sequence cloning, protein material production, purification, crystallization and ultimately, structural determination. Accordingly, prediction of the propensity of a protein to successfully undergo these experimental procedures based on the protein sequence may help narrow down laborious experimental efforts and facilitate target selection. A number of bioinformatics methods based on protein sequence information have been developed for this purpose. However, our knowledge on the important determinants of propensity for a protein sequence to produce high diffraction-quality crystals remains largely incomplete. In practice, most of the existing methods display poorer performance when evaluated on larger and updated datasets. To address this problem, we constructed an up-to-date dataset as the benchmark, and subsequently developed a new approach termed 'PredPPCrys' using the support vector machine (SVM. Using a comprehensive set of multifaceted sequence-derived features in combination with a novel multi-step feature selection strategy, we identified and characterized the relative importance and contribution of each feature type to the prediction performance of five individual experimental steps required for successful crystallization. The resulting optimal candidate features were used as inputs to build the first-level SVM predictor (PredPPCrys I. Next, prediction outputs of PredPPCrys I were used as the input to build second-level SVM classifiers (PredPPCrys II, which led to significantly enhanced prediction performance. Benchmarking experiments indicated that our PredPPCrys method outperforms most existing procedures on both up-to-date and previous datasets. In addition, the predicted crystallization

Recovery of forward stepping in spinal cord injured patients does not transfer to untrained backward stepping.

Science.gov (United States)

Grasso, Renato; Ivanenko, Yuri P; Zago, Myrka; Molinari, Marco; Scivoletto, Giorgio; Lacquaniti, Francesco

2004-08-01

Six spinal cord injured (SCI) patients were trained to step on a treadmill with body-weight support for 1.5-3 months. At the end of training, foot motion recovered the shape and the step-by-step reproducibility that characterize normal gait. They were then asked to step backward on the treadmill belt that moved in the opposite direction relative to standard forward training. In contrast to healthy subjects, who can immediately reverse the direction of walking by time-reversing the kinematic waveforms, patients were unable to step backward. Similarly patients were unable to perform another untrained locomotor task, namely stepping in place on the idle treadmill. Two patients who were trained to step backward for 2-3 weeks were able to develop control of foot motion appropriate for this task. The results show that locomotor improvement does not transfer to untrained tasks, thus supporting the idea of task-dependent plasticity in human locomotor networks.

Period-dependent source rupture behavior of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake estimated by multi period-band Bayesian waveform inversion

Science.gov (United States)

Kubo, H.; Asano, K.; Iwata, T.; Aoi, S.

2014-12-01

Previous studies for the period-dependent source characteristics of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake (e.g., Koper et al., 2011; Lay et al., 2012) were based on the short and long period source models using different method. Kubo et al. (2013) obtained source models of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake using multi period-bands waveform data by a common inversion method and discussed its period-dependent source characteristics. In this study, to achieve more in detail spatiotemporal source rupture behavior of this event, we introduce a new fault surface model having finer sub-fault size and estimate the source models in multi period-bands using a Bayesian inversion method combined with a multi-time-window method. Three components of velocity waveforms at 25 stations of K-NET, KiK-net, and F-net of NIED are used in this analysis. The target period band is 10-100 s. We divide this period band into three period bands (10-25 s, 25-50 s, and 50-100 s) and estimate a kinematic source model in each period band using a Bayesian inversion method with MCMC sampling (e.g., Fukuda & Johnson, 2008; Minson et al., 2013, 2014). The parameterization of spatiotemporal slip distribution follows the multi-time-window method (Hartzell & Heaton, 1983). The Green's functions are calculated by the 3D FDM (GMS; Aoi & Fujiwara, 1999) using a 3D velocity structure model (JIVSM; Koketsu et al., 2012). The assumed fault surface model is based on the Pacific plate boundary of JIVSM and is divided into 384 subfaults of about 16 * 16 km^2. The estimated source models in multi period-bands show the following source image: (1) First deep rupture off Miyagi at 0-60 s toward down-dip mostly radiating relatively short period (10-25 s) seismic waves. (2) Shallow rupture off Miyagi at 45-90 s toward up-dip with long duration radiating long period (50-100 s) seismic wave. (3) Second deep rupture off Miyagi at 60-105 s toward down-dip radiating longer period seismic waves then that of the first deep rupture. (4) Deep

Aspectos ecológicos de fungos micorrízicos vesículo-arbusculares da mata tropical úmida da Ilha do Cardoso, SP, Brasil Ecological aspects of mycorrhizal vesicular-arbuscular fungi of the tropical humid forest of Cardoso Island, SP, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra F. B Trufem

1990-12-01

Full Text Available No período de agosto/1984 a maio/1987, em nove ocasiões, foram coletadas 300 amostras de solo da rizosfera de 35 espécies de plantas nativas da mata tropical úmida do Parque Estadual da Ilha do Cardoso, SP, Brasil, para a investigação da ocorrência de fungos micorrízicos vesículo-arbusculares (MVA ea obtenção de dados sobre aspectos ecológicos desses microrganismos. Foram verificados 35 taxa de fungos MV A, sete dos quais espécies novas. Os esporos qué ocorreram em maior quantidade foram os de Acaulospora foveata Trappe & Janos, Acaulospora scrobiculata Trappe, Glomus etunicatum Becker & Gerd.. Glomus geosporum (Nicol. & Gerd. Walker, Glomus macrocarpum Tul. & Tul. e Glomus microcarpum Tul. & Tul. As plantas cujas rizosferas apresentaram maior número de esporos de fungos MV A foram as de Blechnum serrulatum L.C. Rich., Euterpe edulis Mart, Neomarica caerulia Sprague, Geonoma elegans Mart, e Piper aduncum L. A maior diversidade de espécies de fugnos MV A ocorreu nas rizosferas de Aphettandra sp., Geonoma elegans Mart e Leandra barbinervis Cogn. Verificouse que houve predominancia de espécies de fungos micorrízicos vesículo-arbusculares clamidospóricas sobre as azigospóricas, bem como que a quantidade de esporos em urna dada rizosfera está diretamente relacionada com a diversidade. Glomus monosporum Gerd. & Trappe e as espécies de Sclerocystis podem ser apontadas como características do ecossistema estudado, que apresentou a média de 50,04 esporos/ 100g de solo.From August/1984 to May/1987, 300 soil samples were collected from the rhizospheres of 35 species of native plants of Parque Estadual da Ilha do Cardoso, SP, Brazil, in a wet tropical forest, to investigate the occurrence and some ecological aspects of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM fungi. Thirty five taxa of VA M fungi were reported, seven of them as new species. The most numerous VA M fungal spores belong to Acaulospora foveata Trappe & Janos, Acaulospora

Initial and long-term bond strengths of one-step self-etch adhesives with silane coupling agent to enamel-dentin-composite in combined situation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mamanee, Teerapong; Takahashi, Masahiro; Nakajima, Masatoshi; Foxton, Richard M; Tagami, Junji

2015-01-01

This study evaluated the effect of adding silane coupling agent on initial and long-term bond strengths of one-step self-etch adhesives to enamel-dentin-composite in combined situation. Cervical cavities were prepared on extracted molars and filled with Clearfil AP-X. After water-storage for one-week, the filled teeth were sectioned in halves to expose enamel, dentin and composite surfaces and then enamel-dentin-composite surface was totally applied with one of adhesive treatments (Clearfil SE One, Clearfil SE One with Clearfil Porcelain Bond Activator, Beautibond Multi, Beautibond Multi with Beautibond Multi PR Plus and Scotchbond Universal). After designed period, micro-shear bond strengths (µSBSs) to each substrate were determined. For each period of water-storage, additive silane treatments significantly increased µSBS to composite (penamel (p>0.05). Moreover, the stability of µSBS was depended on materials and substrates used.

Prevention of low back pain and its consequences among nurses’ aides in elderly care: a stepped-wedge multi-faceted cluster-randomized controlled trial

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background A high prevalence of low back pain has persisted over the years despite extensive primary prevention initiatives among nurses’ aides. Many single-faceted interventions addressing just one aspect of low back pain have been carried out at workplaces, but with low success rate. This may be due to the multi-factorial origin of low back pain. Participatory ergonomics, cognitive behavioral training and physical training have previously shown promising effects on prevention and rehabilitation of low back pain. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to examine whether a multi-faceted workplace intervention consisting of participatory ergonomics, physical training and cognitive behavioral training can prevent low back pain and its consequences among nurses’ aides. External resources for the participating workplace and a strong commitment from the management and the organization support the intervention. Methods/design To overcome implementation barriers within usual randomized controlled trial designed workplace interventions, this study uses a stepped-wedge cluster-randomized controlled trial design with 4 groups. The intervention is delivered to the groups at random along four successive time periods three months apart. The intervention lasts three months and integrates participatory ergonomics, physical training and cognitive behavioral training tailored to the target group. Local physiotherapists and occupational therapists conduct the intervention after having received standardized training. Primary outcomes are low back pain and its consequences measured monthly by text messages up to three months after initiation of the intervention. Discussion Intervention effectiveness trials for preventing low back pain and its consequences in workplaces with physically demanding work are few, primarily single-faceted, with strict adherence to a traditional randomized controlled trial design that may hamper implementation and compliance, and have mostly been

Strong Stability Preserving Explicit Linear Multistep Methods with Variable Step Size

KAUST Repository

Hadjimichael, Yiannis

2016-09-08

Strong stability preserving (SSP) methods are designed primarily for time integration of nonlinear hyperbolic PDEs, for which the permissible SSP step size varies from one step to the next. We develop the first SSP linear multistep methods (of order two and three) with variable step size, and prove their optimality, stability, and convergence. The choice of step size for multistep SSP methods is an interesting problem because the allowable step size depends on the SSP coefficient, which in turn depends on the chosen step sizes. The description of the methods includes an optimal step-size strategy. We prove sharp upper bounds on the allowable step size for explicit SSP linear multistep methods and show the existence of methods with arbitrarily high order of accuracy. The effectiveness of the methods is demonstrated through numerical examples.

Newmark local time stepping on high-performance computing architectures

KAUST Repository

Rietmann, Max

2016-11-25

In multi-scale complex media, finite element meshes often require areas of local refinement, creating small elements that can dramatically reduce the global time-step for wave-propagation problems due to the CFL condition. Local time stepping (LTS) algorithms allow an explicit time-stepping scheme to adapt the time-step to the element size, allowing near-optimal time-steps everywhere in the mesh. We develop an efficient multilevel LTS-Newmark scheme and implement it in a widely used continuous finite element seismic wave-propagation package. In particular, we extend the standard LTS formulation with adaptations to continuous finite element methods that can be implemented very efficiently with very strong element-size contrasts (more than 100×). Capable of running on large CPU and GPU clusters, we present both synthetic validation examples and large scale, realistic application examples to demonstrate the performance and applicability of the method and implementation on thousands of CPU cores and hundreds of GPUs.

Newmark local time stepping on high-performance computing architectures

KAUST Repository

Rietmann, Max; Grote, Marcus; Peter, Daniel; Schenk, Olaf

2016-01-01

In multi-scale complex media, finite element meshes often require areas of local refinement, creating small elements that can dramatically reduce the global time-step for wave-propagation problems due to the CFL condition. Local time stepping (LTS) algorithms allow an explicit time-stepping scheme to adapt the time-step to the element size, allowing near-optimal time-steps everywhere in the mesh. We develop an efficient multilevel LTS-Newmark scheme and implement it in a widely used continuous finite element seismic wave-propagation package. In particular, we extend the standard LTS formulation with adaptations to continuous finite element methods that can be implemented very efficiently with very strong element-size contrasts (more than 100×). Capable of running on large CPU and GPU clusters, we present both synthetic validation examples and large scale, realistic application examples to demonstrate the performance and applicability of the method and implementation on thousands of CPU cores and hundreds of GPUs.

Newmark local time stepping on high-performance computing architectures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rietmann, Max, E-mail: max.rietmann@erdw.ethz.ch [Institute for Computational Science, Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano (Switzerland); Institute of Geophysics, ETH Zurich (Switzerland); Grote, Marcus, E-mail: marcus.grote@unibas.ch [Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Basel (Switzerland); Peter, Daniel, E-mail: daniel.peter@kaust.edu.sa [Institute for Computational Science, Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano (Switzerland); Institute of Geophysics, ETH Zurich (Switzerland); Schenk, Olaf, E-mail: olaf.schenk@usi.ch [Institute for Computational Science, Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano (Switzerland)

2017-04-01

In multi-scale complex media, finite element meshes often require areas of local refinement, creating small elements that can dramatically reduce the global time-step for wave-propagation problems due to the CFL condition. Local time stepping (LTS) algorithms allow an explicit time-stepping scheme to adapt the time-step to the element size, allowing near-optimal time-steps everywhere in the mesh. We develop an efficient multilevel LTS-Newmark scheme and implement it in a widely used continuous finite element seismic wave-propagation package. In particular, we extend the standard LTS formulation with adaptations to continuous finite element methods that can be implemented very efficiently with very strong element-size contrasts (more than 100x). Capable of running on large CPU and GPU clusters, we present both synthetic validation examples and large scale, realistic application examples to demonstrate the performance and applicability of the method and implementation on thousands of CPU cores and hundreds of GPUs.

Multi-step cure kinetic model of ultra-thin glass fiber epoxy prepreg exhibiting both autocatalytic and diffusion-controlled regimes under isothermal and dynamic-heating conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Ye Chan; Min, Hyunsung; Hong, Sungyong; Wang, Mei; Sun, Hanna; Park, In-Kyung; Choi, Hyouk Ryeol; Koo, Ja Choon; Moon, Hyungpil; Kim, Kwang J.; Suhr, Jonghwan; Nam, Jae-Do

2017-08-01

As packaging technologies are demanded that reduce the assembly area of substrate, thin composite laminate substrates require the utmost high performance in such material properties as the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), and stiffness. Accordingly, thermosetting resin systems, which consist of multiple fillers, monomers and/or catalysts in thermoset-based glass fiber prepregs, are extremely complicated and closely associated with rheological properties, which depend on the temperature cycles for cure. For the process control of these complex systems, it is usually required to obtain a reliable kinetic model that could be used for the complex thermal cycles, which usually includes both the isothermal and dynamic-heating segments. In this study, an ultra-thin prepreg with highly loaded silica beads and glass fibers in the epoxy/amine resin system was investigated as a model system by isothermal/dynamic heating experiments. The maximum degree of cure was obtained as a function of temperature. The curing kinetics of the model prepreg system exhibited a multi-step reaction and a limited conversion as a function of isothermal curing temperatures, which are often observed in epoxy cure system because of the rate-determining diffusion of polymer chain growth. The modified kinetic equation accurately described the isothermal behavior and the beginning of the dynamic-heating behavior by integrating the obtained maximum degree of cure into the kinetic model development.

Fatigue life and cyclic deformation behaviour of quenched and tempered steel AISI 4140 at two-step stress- and total-strain-controlled push-pull loading

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schulze, V.; Lang, K.H.; Macherauch, E. [Inst. fuer Werkstoffkunde I, Univ. Karlsruhe (Germany)

2003-05-01

The behaviour of steels at multi-step cyclic loading was explored up to now almost exclusively in fatigue-life-oriented investigations. Thus, only few works exist dealing with the cyclic deformation behaviour at two- and multi-step loading. Therefore, the cyclic deformation behaviour at two-step experiments with a single amplitude change (2-block experiments) and with multiple changes between two blocks of certain length and different amplitudes (multi-block experiments) was investigated in this work at the technically important steel AISI 4140 (German grade 42CrMo4). (orig.)

Multi-step polynomial regression method to model and forecast malaria incidence.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chandrajit Chatterjee

Full Text Available Malaria is one of the most severe problems faced by the world even today. Understanding the causative factors such as age, sex, social factors, environmental variability etc. as well as underlying transmission dynamics of the disease is important for epidemiological research on malaria and its eradication. Thus, development of suitable modeling approach and methodology, based on the available data on the incidence of the disease and other related factors is of utmost importance. In this study, we developed a simple non-linear regression methodology in modeling and forecasting malaria incidence in Chennai city, India, and predicted future disease incidence with high confidence level. We considered three types of data to develop the regression methodology: a longer time series data of Slide Positivity Rates (SPR of malaria; a smaller time series data (deaths due to Plasmodium vivax of one year; and spatial data (zonal distribution of P. vivax deaths for the city along with the climatic factors, population and previous incidence of the disease. We performed variable selection by simple correlation study, identification of the initial relationship between variables through non-linear curve fitting and used multi-step methods for induction of variables in the non-linear regression analysis along with applied Gauss-Markov models, and ANOVA for testing the prediction, validity and constructing the confidence intervals. The results execute the applicability of our method for different types of data, the autoregressive nature of forecasting, and show high prediction power for both SPR and P. vivax deaths, where the one-lag SPR values plays an influential role and proves useful for better prediction. Different climatic factors are identified as playing crucial role on shaping the disease curve. Further, disease incidence at zonal level and the effect of causative factors on different zonal clusters indicate the pattern of malaria prevalence in the city

Multi-time-step ahead daily and hourly intermittent reservoir inflow prediction by artificial intelligent techniques using lumped and distributed data

Science.gov (United States)

Jothiprakash, V.; Magar, R. B.

2012-07-01

SummaryIn this study, artificial intelligent (AI) techniques such as artificial neural network (ANN), Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and Linear genetic programming (LGP) are used to predict daily and hourly multi-time-step ahead intermittent reservoir inflow. To illustrate the applicability of AI techniques, intermittent Koyna river watershed in Maharashtra, India is chosen as a case study. Based on the observed daily and hourly rainfall and reservoir inflow various types of time-series, cause-effect and combined models are developed with lumped and distributed input data. Further, the model performance was evaluated using various performance criteria. From the results, it is found that the performances of LGP models are found to be superior to ANN and ANFIS models especially in predicting the peak inflows for both daily and hourly time-step. A detailed comparison of the overall performance indicated that the combined input model (combination of rainfall and inflow) performed better in both lumped and distributed input data modelling. It was observed that the lumped input data models performed slightly better because; apart from reducing the noise in the data, the better techniques and their training approach, appropriate selection of network architecture, required inputs, and also training-testing ratios of the data set. The slight poor performance of distributed data is due to large variations and lesser number of observed values.

Loss of ERβ expression as a common step in estrogen-dependent tumor progression

Science.gov (United States)

Bardin, Allison; Boulle, Nathalie; Lazennec, Gwendal; Vignon, Françoise; Pujol, Pascal

2004-01-01

The characterization of estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) brought new insight into the mechanisms underlying estrogen signaling. Estrogen induction of cell proliferation is a crucial step in carcinogenesis of gynecologic target tissues and the mitogenic effects of estrogen in these tissues (e.g. breast, endometrium and ovary) are well documented both in vitro and in vivo. There is also an emerging body of evidence that colon and prostate cancer growth is influenced by estrogens. In all of these tissues, most studies have shown decreased ERβ expression in cancer as compared to benign tumors or normal tissues, whereas ERα expression persists. The loss of ERβ expression in cancer cells could reflect tumor cell dedifferentiation but may also represent a critical stage in estrogen-dependent tumor progression. Modulation of the expression of ERα target genes by ERβ, or ERβ specific gene induction could indicate that ERβ has a differential effect on proliferation as compared to ERα. ERβ may exert a protective effect and thus constitute a new target for hormone therapy, e.g. via ligand specific activation. The potential distinct roles of ERα and ERβ expression in carcinogenesis, as suggested by experimental and clinical data, are discussed in this review. PMID:15369453

Algorithm-Dependent Generalization Bounds for Multi-Task Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Tongliang; Tao, Dacheng; Song, Mingli; Maybank, Stephen J

2017-02-01

Often, tasks are collected for multi-task learning (MTL) because they share similar feature structures. Based on this observation, in this paper, we present novel algorithm-dependent generalization bounds for MTL by exploiting the notion of algorithmic stability. We focus on the performance of one particular task and the average performance over multiple tasks by analyzing the generalization ability of a common parameter that is shared in MTL. When focusing on one particular task, with the help of a mild assumption on the feature structures, we interpret the function of the other tasks as a regularizer that produces a specific inductive bias. The algorithm for learning the common parameter, as well as the predictor, is thereby uniformly stable with respect to the domain of the particular task and has a generalization bound with a fast convergence rate of order O(1/n), where n is the sample size of the particular task. When focusing on the average performance over multiple tasks, we prove that a similar inductive bias exists under certain conditions on the feature structures. Thus, the corresponding algorithm for learning the common parameter is also uniformly stable with respect to the domains of the multiple tasks, and its generalization bound is of the order O(1/T), where T is the number of tasks. These theoretical analyses naturally show that the similarity of feature structures in MTL will lead to specific regularizations for predicting, which enables the learning algorithms to generalize fast and correctly from a few examples.

Identification of electric-field-dependent steps in the Na(+),K(+)-pump cycle.

Science.gov (United States)

Mares, Laura J; Garcia, Alvaro; Rasmussen, Helge H; Cornelius, Flemming; Mahmmoud, Yasser A; Berlin, Joshua R; Lev, Bogdan; Allen, Toby W; Clarke, Ronald J

2014-09-16

The charge-transporting activity of the Na(+),K(+)-ATPase depends on its surrounding electric field. To isolate which steps of the enzyme's reaction cycle involve charge movement, we have investigated the response of the voltage-sensitive fluorescent probe RH421 to interaction of the protein with BTEA (benzyltriethylammonium), which binds from the extracellular medium to the Na(+),K(+)-ATPase's transport sites in competition with Na(+) and K(+), but is not occluded within the protein. We find that only the occludable ions Na(+), K(+), Rb(+), and Cs(+) cause a drop in RH421 fluorescence. We conclude that RH421 detects intramembrane electric field strength changes arising from charge transport associated with conformational changes occluding the transported ions within the protein, not the electric fields of the bound ions themselves. This appears at first to conflict with electrophysiological studies suggesting extracellular Na(+) or K(+) binding in a high field access channel is a major electrogenic reaction of the Na(+),K(+)-ATPase. All results can be explained consistently if ion occlusion involves local deformations in the lipid membrane surrounding the protein occurring simultaneously with conformational changes necessary for ion occlusion. The most likely origin of the RH421 fluorescence response is a change in membrane dipole potential caused by membrane deformation. Copyright © 2014 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Municipal solid waste incineration plant: A multi-step approach to the evaluation of an energy-recovery configuration.

Science.gov (United States)

Panepinto, D; Zanetti, M C

2018-03-01

This study proposes a multi-step approach to evaluating the environmental and economic aspects of a thermal treatment plant with an energy-recovery configuration. In order to validate the proposed approach, the Turin incineration plant was analyzed, and the potential of the incinerator and several different possible connections to the district heating network were then considered. Both local and global environmental balances were defined. The global-scale results provided information on carbon dioxide emissions, while the local-scale results were used as reference values for the implementation of a Gaussian model that could evaluate the actual concentrations of pollutants released into the atmosphere. The economic aspects were then analyzed, and a correspondence between the environmental and economic advantages defined. The results showed a high energy efficiency for the combined production of heat and electricity, and the opportunity to minimize environmental impacts by including cogeneration in a district heating scheme. This scheme showed an environmental advantage, whereas the electricity-only configuration showed an economic advantage. A change in the thermal energy price (specifically, to 40 €/MWh), however, would make it possible to obtain both environmental and economic advantages. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of multi-step transitions in spin crossover nanochains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chiruta, Daniel [GEMaC, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, CNRS-UVSQ (UMR 8635), 78035 Versailles Cedex (France); LISV, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, 78140 Velizy (France); Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Stefan cel Mare University, Suceava 720229 (Romania); Linares, Jorge, E-mail: jorge.linares@uvsq.fr [GEMaC, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, CNRS-UVSQ (UMR 8635), 78035 Versailles Cedex (France); Garcia, Yann, E-mail: yann.garcia@uclouvain.be [Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, Université Catholique de Louvain, Molecules, Solids and Reactivity (IMCN/MOST), Place Louis Pasteur, 1, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium); Dimian, Mihai [Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Stefan cel Mare University, Suceava 720229 (Romania); Dahoo, Pierre Richard [LATMOS, Université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, CNRS-UPMC-UVSQ (UMR 8190), 78280 Guyancourt (France)

2014-02-01

The temperature driven phase transition occurring in spin crossover nanochains has been studied by an Ising-like model considering both short-range and long-range interactions. Various types of spin crossover profiles have been described in this framework, including a novel three-step transition identified in a nanosystem with eight molecules, which is modeled for the first time. A special interest has been also given to stepwise transitions accompanied by two hysteresis loops. The edge and size effects on spin crossover behavior have been investigated in order to get a deeper insight of the underlying mechanisms involved in these unusual spin transitions.

Reducing workpieces to their base geometry for multi-step incremental forming using manifold harmonics

Science.gov (United States)

Carette, Yannick; Vanhove, Hans; Duflou, Joost

2018-05-01

Single Point Incremental Forming is a flexible process that is well-suited for small batch production and rapid prototyping of complex sheet metal parts. The distributed nature of the deformation process and the unsupported sheet imply that controlling the final accuracy of the workpiece is challenging. To improve the process limits and the accuracy of SPIF, the use of multiple forming passes has been proposed and discussed by a number of authors. Most methods use multiple intermediate models, where the previous one is strictly smaller than the next one, while gradually increasing the workpieces' wall angles. Another method that can be used is the manufacture of a smoothed-out "base geometry" in the first pass, after which more detailed features can be added in subsequent passes. In both methods, the selection of these intermediate shapes is freely decided by the user. However, their practical implementation in the production of complex freeform parts is not straightforward. The original CAD model can be manually adjusted or completely new CAD models can be created. This paper discusses an automatic method that is able to extract the base geometry from a full STL-based CAD model in an analytical way. Harmonic decomposition is used to express the final geometry as the sum of individual surface harmonics. It is then possible to filter these harmonic contributions to obtain a new CAD model with a desired level of geometric detail. This paper explains the technique and its implementation, as well as its use in the automatic generation of multi-step geometries.

A multi-step strategy to obtain crystals of the dengue virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase that diffract to high resolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yap, Thai Leong; Chen, Yen Liang; Xu, Ting; Wen, Daying; Vasudevan, Subhash G.; Lescar, Julien

2007-01-01

Crystals of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase catalytic domain from the dengue virus NS5 protein have been obtained using a strategy that included expression screening of naturally occurring serotype variants of the protein, the addition of divalent metal ions and crystal dehydration. These crystals diffract to 1.85 Å resolution and are thus suitable for a structure-based drug-design program. Dengue virus, a member of the Flaviviridae genus, causes dengue fever, an important emerging disease with several million infections occurring annually for which no effective therapy exists. The viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase NS5 plays an important role in virus replication and represents an interesting target for the development of specific antiviral compounds. Crystals that diffract to 1.85 Å resolution that are suitable for three-dimensional structure determination and thus for a structure-based drug-design program have been obtained using a strategy that included expression screening of naturally occurring serotype variants of the protein, the addition of divalent metal ions and crystal dehydration

A multi-step strategy to obtain crystals of the dengue virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase that diffract to high resolution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yap, Thai Leong [Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, 10 Biopolis Road, Chromos Building, Singapore 138670 (Singapore); School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637551 (Singapore); Chen, Yen Liang; Xu, Ting; Wen, Daying; Vasudevan, Subhash G. [Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, 10 Biopolis Road, Chromos Building, Singapore 138670 (Singapore); Lescar, Julien, E-mail: julien@ntu.edu.sg [Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, 10 Biopolis Road, Chromos Building, Singapore 138670 (Singapore); School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637551 (Singapore)

2007-02-01

Crystals of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase catalytic domain from the dengue virus NS5 protein have been obtained using a strategy that included expression screening of naturally occurring serotype variants of the protein, the addition of divalent metal ions and crystal dehydration. These crystals diffract to 1.85 Å resolution and are thus suitable for a structure-based drug-design program. Dengue virus, a member of the Flaviviridae genus, causes dengue fever, an important emerging disease with several million infections occurring annually for which no effective therapy exists. The viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase NS5 plays an important role in virus replication and represents an interesting target for the development of specific antiviral compounds. Crystals that diffract to 1.85 Å resolution that are suitable for three-dimensional structure determination and thus for a structure-based drug-design program have been obtained using a strategy that included expression screening of naturally occurring serotype variants of the protein, the addition of divalent metal ions and crystal dehydration.

GC ‘Multi-Analyte’ Detection Method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dudar, E. [Plant Protection & Soil Conservation Service of Budapest, Budapest (Hungary)

2009-07-15

Elaborated methodologies for GC multi-analyte detection are presented, comprising the steps of method development, chromatographic conditions and procedures including the determination of relative retention times and summary results tables. (author)

Multi-Level Simulated Fault Injection for Data Dependent Reliability Analysis of RTL Circuit Descriptions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

NIMARA, S.

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes data-dependent reliability evaluation methodology for digital systems described at Register Transfer Level (RTL. It uses a hybrid hierarchical approach, combining the accuracy provided by Gate Level (GL Simulated Fault Injection (SFI and the low simulation overhead required by RTL fault injection. The methodology comprises the following steps: the correct simulation of the RTL system, according to a set of input vectors, hierarchical decomposition of the system into basic RTL blocks, logic synthesis of basic RTL blocks, data-dependent SFI for the GL netlists, and RTL SFI. The proposed methodology has been validated in terms of accuracy on a medium sized circuit – the parallel comparator used in Check Node Unit (CNU of the Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC decoders. The methodology has been applied for the reliability analysis of a 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES crypto-core, for which the GL simulation was prohibitive in terms of required computational resources.

Direction sensitive bending sensors based on multi-wall carbon nanotube/epoxy nanocomposites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wichmann, Malte H G; Buschhorn, Samuel T; Boeger, Lars; Schulte, Karl; Adelung, Rainer

2008-01-01

In the present work, a direction sensitive bending strain sensor consisting of a single block of epoxy/multi-wall carbon nanotube composite was developed. Moreover, the manufacturing could be realized in a straightforward single-step processing route. The directional sensitivity to bending deformations is related to the change in electrical resistance, which becomes positive or negative, depending on the direction of bending deflection. This effect is achieved by generating a gradient in electrical conductivity throughout the material. The resistance versus strain behaviour of these devices is investigated in detail and related to the microstructure of the nanocomposites.

Theoretical intercomparison of multi-step direct reaction models and computational intercomparison of multi-step direct reaction models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koning, A.J.

1992-08-01

In recent years several statistical theories have been developed concerning multistep direct (MSD) nuclear reactions. In addition, dominant in applications is a whole class of semiclassical models that may be subsumed under the heading of 'generalized exciton models'. These are basically MSD-type extensions on top of compound-like concepts. In this report the relationship between their underlying statistical MSD-postulates is highlighted. A command framework is outlined that enables to generate the various MSD theories through assigning statistical properties to different parts of the nuclear Hamiltonian. Then it is shown that distinct forms of nuclear randomness are embodied in the mentioned theories. All these theories appear to be very similar at a qualitative level. In order to explain the high energy-tails and forward-peaked angular distribution typical for particles emitted in MSD reactions, it is imagined that the incident continuum particle stepwise looses its energy and direction in a sequence of collisions, thereby creating new particle-hole pairs in the target system. At each step emission may take place. The statistical aspect comes in because many continuum states are involved in the process. These are supposed to display chaotic behavior, the associated randomness assumption giving rise to important simplifications in the expression for MSD emission cross sections. This picture suggests that mentioned MSD models can be interpreted as a variant of essentially one and the same theory. However, this appears not to be the case. To show this usual MSD distinction within the composite reacting nucleus between the fast continuum particle and the residual interactions, the nucleons of the residual core are to be distinguished from those of the leading particle with the residual system. This distinction will turn out to be crucial to present analysis. 27 refs.; 5 figs.; 1 tab

Breakdown voltage mapping through voltage dependent ReBEL intensity imaging of multi-crystalline Si solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Dix-Peek, RM.; van Dyk, EE.; Vorster, FJ.; Pretorius, CJ.

2018-04-01

Device material quality affects both the efficiency and the longevity of photovoltaic (PV) cells. Therefore, identifying these defects can be beneficial in the development of more efficient and longer lasting PV cells. In this study, a combination of spatially-resolved, electroluminescence (EL), and light beam induced current (LBIC) measurements, were used to identify specific defects and features of a multi-crystalline Si PV cells. In this study, a novel approach is used to map the breakdown voltage of a PV cell through voltage dependent Reverse Bias EL (ReBEL) intensity imaging.

Multi-element trace analysis of solid samples using one-photon two-step RIMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Telle, H. H.; Abraham, C. J.; Jones, O. R.; Krustev, T.

1998-01-01

In this study we have investigated the feasibility of multi-element analysis using a simple 1+1 photo-excitation/photo-ionization scheme. Although such schemes are usually far from ideal for optimum resonance ionization, they are the approach of choice if one wishes to maintain a simple, easy-to-operate laser set-up which is potentially suitable for routine analysis. In addition, we only made use of the second-harmonic tuning range of a single dye. While this limits the range of elements which are accessible in the 1+1 RIS scheme it further adds to the simplicity and allows for automation of sequential multi-element analysis

Purification of melt-spun metallurgical grade silicon micro-flakes through a multi-step segregation procedure

Science.gov (United States)

Martinsen, F. A.; Nordstrand, E. F.; Gibson, U. J.

2013-01-01

Melt-spun metallurgical grade (MG) micron dimension silicon flakes have been purified into near solar grade (SG) quality through a multi-step melting and re-solidification procedure. A wet oxidation-applied thermal oxide maintained the sample morphology during annealing while the interiors were melted and re-solidified. The small thickness of the flakes allowed for near elimination of in-plane grain boundaries, with segregation enhanced accumulation of impurities at the object surface and in the few remaining grain boundaries. A subsequent etch in 48% hydrofluoric acid (HF) removed the impure oxide layer, and part of the contamination at the oxide-silicon interface, as shown by electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and backscattered electron imaging (BEI). The sample grains were investigated by electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) after varying numbers of oxidation-annealing-etch cycles, and were observed to grow from ˜5 μm to ˜200 μm. The concentration of iron, titanium, copper and aluminium were shown by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICPMS) to drop between five and six orders of magnitude. The concentration of boron was observed to drop approximately one order of magnitude. A good correlation was observed between impurity removal rates and segregation models, indicating that the purification effect is mainly caused by segregation. Deviations from these models could be explained by the formation of oxides and hydroxides later removed through etching.

Step-by-step phacoemulsification training program for ophthalmology residents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Yulan

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Aims: The aim was to analyze the learning curve of phacoemulsification (phaco performed by residents without experience in performing extra-capsular cataract extraction (ECCE in a step-by-step training program (SBSTP. Materials and Methods: Consecutive surgical records of phaco performed from March 2009 to Sept 2011 by four residents without previous ECCE experience were retrospectively reviewed. The completion rate of the first 30 procedures by each resident was calculated. The main intraoperative phaco parameter records for the first 30 surgeries by each resident were compared with those for their last 30 surgeries. Intraoperative complications in the residents′ procedures were also recorded and analyzed. Results: A total of 1013 surgeries were performed by residents. The completion rate for the first 30 phaco procedures was 79.2 μ 5.8%. The main reasons for halting the procedure were as follows: Anterior capsule tear, inability to crack the nucleus, and posterior capsular rupture during phaco or cortex removal. Cumulative dissipated energy of phaco power used during the surgeries was significantly less in the last 30 cases compared with the first 30 cases (30.10 μ 17.58 vs. 55.41 μ 37.59, P = 0.021. Posterior capsular rupture rate was 2.5 μ 1.2% in total (10.8 μ 4.2% in the first 30 cases and 1.7 μ 1.9% in the last 30 cases, P = 0.008; a statistically significant difference. Conclusion:The step-by-step training program might be a necessary process for a resident to transit from dependence to a self-supported operator. It is also an essential middle step between wet lab training to performing the entire phaco procedure on the patient both effectively and safely.

MSBIS: A Multi-Step Biomedical Informatics Screening Approach for Identifying Medications that Mitigate the Risks of Metoclopramide-Induced Tardive Dyskinesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dong Xu

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In 2009 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA placed a black box warning on metoclopramide (MCP due to the increased risks and prevalence of tardive dyskinesia (TD. In this study, we developed a multi-step biomedical informatics screening (MSBIS approach leveraging publicly available bioactivity and drug safety data to identify concomitant drugs that mitigate the risks of MCP-induced TD. MSBIS includes (1 TargetSearch (http://dxulab.org/software bioinformatics scoring for drug anticholinergic activity using CHEMBL bioactivity data; (2 unadjusted odds ratio (UOR scoring for indications of TD-mitigating effects using the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS; (3 adjusted odds ratio (AOR re-scoring by removing the effect of cofounding factors (age, gender, reporting year; (4 logistic regression (LR coefficient scoring for confirming the best TD-mitigating drug candidates. Drugs with increasing TD protective potential and statistical significance were obtained at each screening step. Fentanyl is identified as the most promising drug against MCP-induced TD (coefficient: −2.68; p-value < 0.01. The discovery is supported by clinical reports that patients fully recovered from MCP-induced TD after fentanyl-induced general anesthesia. Loperamide is identified as a potent mitigating drug against a broader range of drug-induced movement disorders through pharmacokinetic modifications. Using drug-induced TD as an example, we demonstrated that MSBIS is an efficient in silico tool for unknown drug-drug interaction detection, drug repurposing, and combination therapy design.

MSBIS: A Multi-Step Biomedical Informatics Screening Approach for Identifying Medications that Mitigate the Risks of Metoclopramide-Induced Tardive Dyskinesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Dong; Ham, Alexandrea G; Tivis, Rickey D; Caylor, Matthew L; Tao, Aoxiang; Flynn, Steve T; Economen, Peter J; Dang, Hung K; Johnson, Royal W; Culbertson, Vaughn L

2017-12-01

In 2009 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) placed a black box warning on metoclopramide (MCP) due to the increased risks and prevalence of tardive dyskinesia (TD). In this study, we developed a multi-step biomedical informatics screening (MSBIS) approach leveraging publicly available bioactivity and drug safety data to identify concomitant drugs that mitigate the risks of MCP-induced TD. MSBIS includes (1) TargetSearch (http://dxulab.org/software) bioinformatics scoring for drug anticholinergic activity using CHEMBL bioactivity data; (2) unadjusted odds ratio (UOR) scoring for indications of TD-mitigating effects using the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS); (3) adjusted odds ratio (AOR) re-scoring by removing the effect of cofounding factors (age, gender, reporting year); (4) logistic regression (LR) coefficient scoring for confirming the best TD-mitigating drug candidates. Drugs with increasing TD protective potential and statistical significance were obtained at each screening step. Fentanyl is identified as the most promising drug against MCP-induced TD (coefficient: -2.68; p-valueTD after fentanyl-induced general anesthesia. Loperamide is identified as a potent mitigating drug against a broader range of drug-induced movement disorders through pharmacokinetic modifications. Using drug-induced TD as an example, we demonstrated that MSBIS is an efficient in silico tool for unknown drug-drug interaction detection, drug repurposing, and combination therapy design. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Angle Control-Based Multi-Terminal Out-of-Step Protection System

OpenAIRE

Antans Sauhats; Andrejs Utans; Dmitrijs Antonovs; Andrejs Svalovs

2017-01-01

From time to time a sequence of unexpected and overlapping contingencies may lead to power system angular instability and even blackouts if not addressed adequately by means of an out-of-step (OOS) protection system. The motivation of the paper is an attempt to develop a workable prototype of the OOS protection system. The deficiencies of the protection currently used in the Latvian Power System network are highlighted and a new protection structure is proposed. The protection system comprise...

One-step synthesis of layered CuS/multi-walled carbon nanotube nanocomposites for supercapacitor electrode material with ultrahigh specific capacitance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Ke-Jing; Zhang, Ji-Zong; Xing, Ke

2014-01-01

In this work, hierarchical-structured copper sulfide/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CuS/MWCNTs) are synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal process. The chemical composition and microstructure of CuS-MWCNTs are characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and research as electrode matericals for high-performance supercapacitors by cyclic voltammogram, galvanostatic charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. As expected, the CuS-MWCNTs exhibit a much higher specific capacitance up to 2831 F g −1 , compared with 925.1 F g −1 for CuS and 555.6 F g −1 for MWCNTs. Furthermore, the CuS-MWCNTs hybrids also exhibit good cycling stability with more than 90% capacitance retention over 600 cycles. The enhancement of CuS/MWCNTs in supercapacitor performance not only attribute to their unique 3D structures with large specific surface area, but also their excellent conductivity, which facilitate efficient charge transport and promotes electrolyte diffusion

Objectively Measured Patterns of Activities of Different Intensity Categories and Steps Taken Among Working Adults in a Multi-ethnic Asian Population.

Science.gov (United States)

Müller-Riemenschneider, Falk; Ng, Sheryl Hui Xian; Koh, David; Chu, Anne Hin Yee

2016-06-01

To objectively assess sedentary behavior (SB), light- and moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA), and steps among Singaporean office-based workers across days of the week. A convenience sample of office-based employees of a public University was recruited. Time spent for SB, light-, and MVPA using different validated accelerometry counts per minute (CPM), and step count were determined. Depending on applied CPM for SB (less than 100, less than 150 and less than 200 CPM), 107 working adults spent between 69.2% and 76.4% of their daily wakeful time in SB. Time spent in SB and MVPA were higher on weekdays than weekends. The hourly analysis highlights patterns of greater SB during usual working hours on weekdays but not on weekends. SB at work contributes greatly toward total daily sitting time. Low PA levels and high SB levels were found on weekends.

A single step methane conversion into synthetic fuels using microplasma reactor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nozaki, Tomohiro; Agiral, A.; Gardeniers, Johannes G.E.; Yuzawa, Shuhei; Okazaki, Ken

2011-01-01

Direct conversion of natural gas into synthetic fuels such as methanol attracts keen attention because direct process can reduce capital and operating costs of high temperature, energy intensive, multi-step processes. We report a direct and selective synthesis of organic oxygenates such as methanol,

Case study: Accelerated schedule for MULTI LIMS installation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ibsen, T.G.

1994-05-01

This presentation focuses on the steps taken by the Westinghouse Hanford Company to meet an accelerated schedule for configuration and implementation of the MULTI LIMS in a multiple laboratory environment. The Westinghouse Hanford Company purchased the MULTI LIMS Laboratory Information Management System in August, 1993. Hardware delivery began in October, 1993. Less than four months later, the initial configuration was released for use in two Westinghouse Hanford Company laboratories. Several major obstacles were overcome during implementation. These include information gathering for base table loading, user training, acceptance of the new system by users of a legacy system, and hardware configuration issues. In summary, steps needed to be taken to meet the accelerated implementation schedule of the MULTI LIMS at the Hanford Site. The obstacles faced were overcome through the in-depth knowledge and help of the vendor and the dedication and drive of the technical staff

Proton pump inhibitor step-down therapy for GERD: A multi-center study in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Tsuzuki, Takao; Okada, Hiroyuki; Kawahara, Yoshiro; Takenaka, Ryuta; Nasu, Junichiro; Ishioka, Hidehiko; Fujiwara, Akiko; Yoshinaga, Fumiya; Yamamoto, Kazuhide

2011-01-01

AIM: To investigate the predictors of success in step-down of proton pump inhibitor and to assess the quality of life (QOL). METHODS: Patients who had heartburn twice a week or more were treated with 20 mg omeprazole (OPZ) once daily for 8 wk as an initial therapy (study 1). Patients whose heartburn decreased to once a week or less at the end of the initial therapy were enrolled in study 2 and treated with 10 mg OPZ as maintenance therapy for an additional 6 mo (study 2). QOL was investigated using the gastrointestinal symptom rating scale (GSRS) before initial therapy, after both 4 and 8 wk of initial therapy, and at 1, 2, 3, and 6 mo after starting maintenance therapy. RESULTS: In study 1, 108 patients were analyzed. Their characteristics were as follows; median age: 63 (range: 20-88) years, sex: 46 women and 62 men. The success rate of the initial therapy was 76%. In the patients with successful initial therapy, abdominal pain, indigestion and reflux GSRS scores were improved. In study 2, 83 patients were analyzed. Seventy of 83 patients completed the study 2 protocol. In the per-protocol analysis, 80% of 70 patients were successful for step-down. On multivariate analysis of baseline demographic data and clinical information, no previous treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) [odds ratio (OR) 0.255, 95% CI: 0.06-0.98] and a lower indigestion score in GSRS at the beginning of step-down therapy (OR 0.214, 95% CI: 0.06-0.73) were found to be the predictors of successful step-down therapy. The improved GSRS scores by initial therapy were maintained through the step-down therapy. CONCLUSION: OPZ was effective for most GERD patients. However, those who have had previous treatment for GERD and experience dyspepsia before step-down require particular monitoring for relapse. PMID:21472108

A Multi-Resolution Mode CMOS Image Sensor with a Novel Two-Step Single-Slope ADC for Intelligent Surveillance Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daehyeok Kim

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present a multi-resolution mode CMOS image sensor (CIS for intelligent surveillance system (ISS applications. A low column fixed-pattern noise (CFPN comparator is proposed in 8-bit two-step single-slope analog-to-digital converter (TSSS ADC for the CIS that supports normal, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, and 1/64 mode of pixel resolution. We show that the scaled-resolution images enable CIS to reduce total power consumption while images hold steady without events. A prototype sensor of 176 × 144 pixels has been fabricated with a 0.18 μm 1-poly 4-metal CMOS process. The area of 4-shared 4T-active pixel sensor (APS is 4.4 μm × 4.4 μm and the total chip size is 2.35 mm × 2.35 mm. The maximum power consumption is 10 mW (with full resolution with supply voltages of 3.3 V (analog and 1.8 V (digital and 14 frame/s of frame rates.

A Multi-Resolution Mode CMOS Image Sensor with a Novel Two-Step Single-Slope ADC for Intelligent Surveillance Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Daehyeok; Song, Minkyu; Choe, Byeongseong; Kim, Soo Youn

2017-06-25

In this paper, we present a multi-resolution mode CMOS image sensor (CIS) for intelligent surveillance system (ISS) applications. A low column fixed-pattern noise (CFPN) comparator is proposed in 8-bit two-step single-slope analog-to-digital converter (TSSS ADC) for the CIS that supports normal, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, and 1/64 mode of pixel resolution. We show that the scaled-resolution images enable CIS to reduce total power consumption while images hold steady without events. A prototype sensor of 176 × 144 pixels has been fabricated with a 0.18 μm 1-poly 4-metal CMOS process. The area of 4-shared 4T-active pixel sensor (APS) is 4.4 μm × 4.4 μm and the total chip size is 2.35 mm × 2.35 mm. The maximum power consumption is 10 mW (with full resolution) with supply voltages of 3.3 V (analog) and 1.8 V (digital) and 14 frame/s of frame rates.

space vector pulse width modulation of a multi-level diode clamped

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ES Obe

step by step development of MATLAB /SIMULINK modeling of the space vector ..... Pulse Width Mod. of Multi-Level Diode Clamped Converter 119 powergui. Discrete, .... Load. Figure 22: Block diagram of the three level DCC design. 3 LEVEL ...

Simulation-optimization framework for multi-site multi-season hybrid stochastic streamflow modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Srivastav, Roshan; Srinivasan, K.; Sudheer, K. P.

2016-11-01

A simulation-optimization (S-O) framework is developed for the hybrid stochastic modeling of multi-site multi-season streamflows. The multi-objective optimization model formulated is the driver and the multi-site, multi-season hybrid matched block bootstrap model (MHMABB) is the simulation engine within this framework. The multi-site multi-season simulation model is the extension of the existing single-site multi-season simulation model. A robust and efficient evolutionary search based technique, namely, non-dominated sorting based genetic algorithm (NSGA - II) is employed as the solution technique for the multi-objective optimization within the S-O framework. The objective functions employed are related to the preservation of the multi-site critical deficit run sum and the constraints introduced are concerned with the hybrid model parameter space, and the preservation of certain statistics (such as inter-annual dependence and/or skewness of aggregated annual flows). The efficacy of the proposed S-O framework is brought out through a case example from the Colorado River basin. The proposed multi-site multi-season model AMHMABB (whose parameters are obtained from the proposed S-O framework) preserves the temporal as well as the spatial statistics of the historical flows. Also, the other multi-site deficit run characteristics namely, the number of runs, the maximum run length, the mean run sum and the mean run length are well preserved by the AMHMABB model. Overall, the proposed AMHMABB model is able to show better streamflow modeling performance when compared with the simulation based SMHMABB model, plausibly due to the significant role played by: (i) the objective functions related to the preservation of multi-site critical deficit run sum; (ii) the huge hybrid model parameter space available for the evolutionary search and (iii) the constraint on the preservation of the inter-annual dependence. Split-sample validation results indicate that the AMHMABB model is

Age and gender estimation using Region-SIFT and multi-layered SVM

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hyunduk; Lee, Sang-Heon; Sohn, Myoung-Kyu; Hwang, Byunghun

2018-04-01

In this paper, we propose an age and gender estimation framework using the region-SIFT feature and multi-layered SVM classifier. The suggested framework entails three processes. The first step is landmark based face alignment. The second step is the feature extraction step. In this step, we introduce the region-SIFT feature extraction method based on facial landmarks. First, we define sub-regions of the face. We then extract SIFT features from each sub-region. In order to reduce the dimensions of features we employ a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA). Finally, we classify age and gender using a multi-layered Support Vector Machines (SVM) for efficient classification. Rather than performing gender estimation and age estimation independently, the use of the multi-layered SVM can improve the classification rate by constructing a classifier that estimate the age according to gender. Moreover, we collect a dataset of face images, called by DGIST_C, from the internet. A performance evaluation of proposed method was performed with the FERET database, CACD database, and DGIST_C database. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach classifies age and performs gender estimation very efficiently and accurately.

Advances in multi-unit nuclear power plant probabilistic risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Modarres, Mohammad; Zhou, Taotao; Massoud, Mahmoud

2017-01-01

The Fukushima Dai-ichi accident highlighted the importance of risks from multiple nuclear reactor unit accidents at a site. As a result, there has been considerable interest in Multi-Unit Probabilistic Risk Assessment (MUPRA) in the past few years. For considerations in nuclear safety, the MUPRA estimates measures of risk and identifies contributors to risk representing the entire site rather than the individual units in the site. In doing so, possible unit-to-unit interactions and dependencies should be modeled and accounted for in the MUPRA. In order to effectively account for these risks, six main commonality classifications—initiating events, shared connections, identical components, proximity dependencies, human dependencies, and organizational dependencies—may be used. This paper examines advances in MUPRA, offers formal definitions of multi-unit site risk measures and proposes quantitative approaches and data to account for unit-to-unit dependencies. Finally, a parametric approach for the multi-unit dependencies has been discussed and a simple example illustrates application of the proposed methodology. - Highlights: • This paper will discuss the technical aspects of an integrated MUPRA, including consideration of dependencies and assessment of the multi-unit dependency data and models for quantifying such dependencies. • The paper also provides discussions on formal definitions and metrics for multi-unit site risks. • The parametric methods are used to address multi-unit dependency situations. • A conceptual two-unit logic example is used to demonstrate the application of proposed methodology.

(Tul.) LP Queiroz

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Aghomotsegin

glucopyranosyloxy-7-Z- hydroxycinnamic acid and 4-Ob-glucopiranosiloxi Z-8- hydroxycinnamic acid were also isolated from the leaves. The chloroform extract gave the stem 4, 4'-dihydroxy-2'- methoxy-chalcone, (-) - Methyl gallate and syringaresinol.

The Effect of Multi-step Oral-revision Processes on Iranian EFL Learners’ Argumentative Writing Achievement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farrokhlagha Heidari

2010-05-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to explore the role of two multi-step oral-revision processes as feedback providing tools on Iranian EFL learners’ argumentative writing achievement. The participants taking part in this study were 45 Iranian EFL students who were randomly assigned into three groups. The participants of the groups were given three argumentative writing assignments, each assignment demanding three separate drafts. In the control group, the participants revised their essays in response to teacher's written feedback, while the participants of the two experimental groups experienced oral-revision talks with their teacher or a peer. Two sets of quantitative and qualitative data were collected: Argumentative essays written at the beginning and the end of the semester and interviews. The results of the quantitative aspect of the study revealed the significant outperformance of the two experimental groups. Moreover, the data provided through interviews revealed some differences in terms of the effectiveness of feedback between the two experimental groups. The participants of the peer-led group reported more awareness of the rhetorical structures and an ability to revise surface errors. While, the teacher-led group reported more global writing concerns like content, organization of ideas,   and discourse. The obtained results point out that the mutual co-construction of participation roles and certain combinations of negotiation and scaffolding let the teacher provide a supportive conversational environment and assistance in accordance with the proficiency of learners of the teacher-led group to promote greater learner participation.

Transport characteristics of n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction as determined from temperature dependent current–voltage measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Djiokap, S.R. Tankio, E-mail: stive.tankiodjiokap@nmmu.ac.za; Urgessa, Z.N.; Mbulanga, C.M.; Venter, A.; Botha, J.R.

2016-01-01

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods have been synthesized by a two-step chemical bath deposition process on silicon substrates having different dopant densities and orientations. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis reveal that the orientation of the Si substrate does not affect the orientation, distribution or crystallinity of the nanostructures. The electrical properties of the ZnO/Si heterojunction are also investigated by current–voltage (I–V) measurements. The ideality factor is found to be 2.6 at 295 K, indicating that complex current transport mechanisms are at play. Temperature dependent I–V characteristics have been used to determine the dominant transport mechanism. The experimental results suggest that in the low bias region the current is dominated by a trap assisted multi-step tunneling process.

Multi-dimensional relativistic simulations of core-collapse supernovae with energy-dependent neutrino transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, Bernhard

2009-01-01

In this thesis, we have presented the first multi-dimensional models of core-collapse supernovae that combine a detailed, up-to-date treatment of neutrino transport, the equation of state, and - in particular - general relativistic gravity. Building on the well-tested neutrino transport code VERTEX and the GR hydrodynamics code CoCoNuT, we developed and implemented a relativistic generalization of a ray-by-ray-plus method for energy-dependent neutrino transport. The result of these effort, the VERTEX-CoCoNuT code, also incorporates a number of improved numerical techniques that have not been used in the code components VERTEX and CoCoNuT before. In order to validate the VERTEX-CoCoNuT code, we conducted several test simulations in spherical symmetry, most notably a comparison with the one-dimensional relativistic supernova code AGILE-BOLTZTRAN and the Newtonian PROMETHEUSVERTEX code. (orig.)

Multi-dimensional relativistic simulations of core-collapse supernovae with energy-dependent neutrino transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mueller, Bernhard

2009-05-07

In this thesis, we have presented the first multi-dimensional models of core-collapse supernovae that combine a detailed, up-to-date treatment of neutrino transport, the equation of state, and - in particular - general relativistic gravity. Building on the well-tested neutrino transport code VERTEX and the GR hydrodynamics code CoCoNuT, we developed and implemented a relativistic generalization of a ray-by-ray-plus method for energy-dependent neutrino transport. The result of these effort, the VERTEX-CoCoNuT code, also incorporates a number of improved numerical techniques that have not been used in the code components VERTEX and CoCoNuT before. In order to validate the VERTEX-CoCoNuT code, we conducted several test simulations in spherical symmetry, most notably a comparison with the one-dimensional relativistic supernova code AGILE-BOLTZTRAN and the Newtonian PROMETHEUSVERTEX code. (orig.)

parvifolia (Mart. ex Tul. L. P. Queiroz Pod Preparations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. C. C. Freitas

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Libidibia ferrea has been used in folk medicine throughout Brazil, and this study evaluated the biological activities of crude extract (CE as well as a partially purified fraction (F80 obtained from its pods. Results from the MTT assay revealed that only F80 inhibited NCI-H292 cell growth; however, neither CE nor F80 reduced HEp-2 cell growth or sarcoma 180 tumor weight with the in vivo assay. Acute oral toxicity of the extract and fraction was evaluated following the steps of Guideline 423, using female mice; LD50 for both preparations was determined as 2,500 mg/kg body weight. CE and F80 promoted a reduction of the leukocyte number and nitrite level in inflammatory exudates when the anti-inflammatory assay (carrageenan-induced peritonitis was performed. CE and F80 inhibited writhing regarding antinociceptive activity (acetic acid-induced writhing response in mice. In conclusion, CE and F80 have no significant cytotoxic or antitumor activities in cell lines showing low toxicity and no action against tumors in vivo. Both preparations revealed anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities, corroborating the pharmacological basis of L. ferrea for ethnomedical use.

Betel-quid dependence domains and syndrome associated with betel-quid ingredients among chewers: an Asian multi-country evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chien-Hung; Chiang, Shang-Lun; Ko, Albert Min-Shan; Hua, Chun-Hung; Tsai, Ming-Hsui; Warnakulasuriya, Saman; Ibrahim, Salah Osman; Sunarjo; Zain, Rosnah Binti; Ling, Tian-You; Huang, Chieh-Liang; Lane, Hsien-Yuan; Lin, Cheng-Chieh; Ko, Ying-Chin

2014-07-01

Betel-quid (BQ) contains biologically psychoactive ingredients; however, data are limited concerning the symptoms and syndrome of BQ dependence among chewers. The aims of this study were to evaluate the ingredients-associated BQ dependence syndrome and country-specific chewing features and behaviour for BQ dependence among chewers from six Asian communities. An intercountry Asian Betel-quid Consortium study. Six Asian general communities in Taiwan, Mainland China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Six multi-stage random samples of BQ chewers in the Asian Betel-quid Consortium study (n = 2078). All chewers were evaluated for BQ dependence using the DSM-IV and ICD-10 criteria. The 12-month BQ dependence rate was 12.5-92.6% and 47.9-99.3% (P = 0.023) among tobacco-free and tobacco-added BQ chewers across the six Asian communities, with a higher dependence rate in chewers who used tobacco-free BQ with lime added than without (23.3-95.6% versus 4.0%, P ≤ 0.001). Taiwanese and Hunanese BQ chewers both notably endorsed the dependency domain of 'time spent chewing'. 'Tolerance' and 'withdrawal' were the major dependence domains associated with the Nepalese and Indonesian chewers, with high BQ dependence rates. Malaysian and Sri Lankan chewers formed a BQ dependence cluster linked closely to 'craving'. In Sri Lanka, the quantity consumed explained 90.5% (P betel quid users in Asian communities, more so if they use it with tobacco or lime. © 2014 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Case Study of Multi-Unit Risk: Multi-Unit Station Black-Out

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oh, Kyemin; Jang, Seung-cheol [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Heo, Gyunyoung [Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-15

After Fukushima Daiichi Accident, importance and public concern for Multi-Unit Risk (MUR) or Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) have been increased. Most of nuclear power plant sites in the world have more than two units. These sites have been facing the problems of MUR or accident such as Fukushima. In case of South Korea, there are generally more than four units on the same site and even more than ten units are also expected. In other words, sites in South Korea also have been facing same problems. Considering number of units on the same site, potential of these problems may be larger than other countries. The purpose of this paper is to perform case study based on another paper submitted in the conference. MUR is depended on various site features such as design, shared systems/structures, layout, environmental condition, and so on. Considering various dependencies, we assessed Multi-Unit Station Black-out (MSBO) accident based on Hanul Unit 3 and 4 model. In this paper, case study for multi-unit risk or PSA had been performed. Our result was incomplete to assess total multi-unit risk because of two challenging issues. First, economic impact had not been evaluated to estimate multi-unit risk. Second, large uncertainties were included in our result because of various assumptions. These issues must be resolved in the future.

Case Study of Multi-Unit Risk: Multi-Unit Station Black-Out

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Kyemin; Jang, Seung-cheol; Heo, Gyunyoung

2015-01-01

After Fukushima Daiichi Accident, importance and public concern for Multi-Unit Risk (MUR) or Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) have been increased. Most of nuclear power plant sites in the world have more than two units. These sites have been facing the problems of MUR or accident such as Fukushima. In case of South Korea, there are generally more than four units on the same site and even more than ten units are also expected. In other words, sites in South Korea also have been facing same problems. Considering number of units on the same site, potential of these problems may be larger than other countries. The purpose of this paper is to perform case study based on another paper submitted in the conference. MUR is depended on various site features such as design, shared systems/structures, layout, environmental condition, and so on. Considering various dependencies, we assessed Multi-Unit Station Black-out (MSBO) accident based on Hanul Unit 3 and 4 model. In this paper, case study for multi-unit risk or PSA had been performed. Our result was incomplete to assess total multi-unit risk because of two challenging issues. First, economic impact had not been evaluated to estimate multi-unit risk. Second, large uncertainties were included in our result because of various assumptions. These issues must be resolved in the future

Expression of RNA virus proteins by RNA polymerase II dependent expression plasmids is hindered at multiple steps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Überla Klaus

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Proteins of human and animal viruses are frequently expressed from RNA polymerase II dependent expression cassettes to study protein function and to develop gene-based vaccines. Initial attempts to express the G protein of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV and the F protein of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV by eukaryotic promoters revealed restrictions at several steps of gene expression. Results Insertion of an intron flanked by exonic sequences 5'-terminal to the open reading frames (ORF of VSV-G and RSV-F led to detectable cytoplasmic mRNA levels of both genes. While the exonic sequences were sufficient to stabilise the VSV-G mRNA, cytoplasmic mRNA levels of RSV-F were dependent on the presence of a functional intron. Cytoplasmic VSV-G mRNA levels led to readily detectable levels of VSV-G protein, whereas RSV-F protein expression remained undetectable. However, RSV-F expression was observed after mutating two of four consensus sites for polyadenylation present in the RSV-F ORF. Expression levels could be further enhanced by codon optimisation. Conclusion Insufficient cytoplasmic mRNA levels and premature polyadenylation prevent expression of RSV-F by RNA polymerase II dependent expression plasmids. Since RSV replicates in the cytoplasm, the presence of premature polyadenylation sites and elements leading to nuclear instability should not interfere with RSV-F expression during virus replication. The molecular mechanisms responsible for the destabilisation of the RSV-F and VSV-G mRNAs and the different requirements for their rescue by insertion of an intron remain to be defined.

Multi-step capacitor discharges as an RF generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hotta, Eiki; Yamamoto, Shunji; Ishii, Shozo; Hayashi, Izumi

1979-01-01

A variety of methods have been developed for large output radio frequency (RF) generators to heat and stabilize high temperature plasma. As the generators for this purpose, capacitor discharge, cable discharge, and oscillation with electronic tubes are considered. Here, a new RF generator is reported, which utilizes capacitor discharge to extract heavy current, and solves the difficulty of short duration by employing multistep discharges. The authors solved the problem of frequency decrease in capacitor discharge by cutting off the unnecessary capacitors reasonably from the load circuit, using the additional circuit for shunting current and vacuum gap switches. The vacuum gap switches and the trigger system are described together with the RF generator manufactured. The generator was fabricated to be rather compact for its large output and simple in circuitry as compared with conventional oscillator systems. The shortcomings are frequency variation and the improper phase of switching the next step in to cause instability, when the load change occurs. It would be difficult to operate the generator in a RF range of more than about 10 MHz due to jitter of the vacuum gap switches and others. (Wakatsuki, Y.)

Strain-dependent electrical resistance of multi-walled carbon nanotube/polymer composite films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Myounggu; Kim, Hyonny; Youngblood, Jeffrey P

2008-01-01

The strain-dependent electrical resistance characteristics of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/polymer composite films were investigated. In this research, polyethylene oxide (PEO) is used as the polymer matrix. Two representative volume fractions of MWCNT/PEO composite films were selected: 0.56 vol% (near the percolation threshold) and 1.44 vol% (away from the percolation threshold) of MWCNT. An experimental setup which can measure electrical resistance and strain simultaneously and continuously has been developed. Unique and repeatable relationships in resistance versus strain were obtained for multiple specimens with different volume fractions of MWCNT. The overall pattern of electrical resistance change versus strain for the specimens tested consists of linear and nonlinear regions. A resistance change model to describe the combination of linear and nonlinear modes of electrical resistance change as a function of strain is suggested. The unique characteristics in electrical resistance change for different volume fractions imply that MWCNT/PEO composite films can be used as tunable strain sensors and for application into embedded sensor systems in structures

Multi-objective evolutionary algorithms for fuzzy classification in survival prediction.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiménez, Fernando; Sánchez, Gracia; Juárez, José M

2014-03-01

This paper presents a novel rule-based fuzzy classification methodology for survival/mortality prediction in severe burnt patients. Due to the ethical aspects involved in this medical scenario, physicians tend not to accept a computer-based evaluation unless they understand why and how such a recommendation is given. Therefore, any fuzzy classifier model must be both accurate and interpretable. The proposed methodology is a three-step process: (1) multi-objective constrained optimization of a patient's data set, using Pareto-based elitist multi-objective evolutionary algorithms to maximize accuracy and minimize the complexity (number of rules) of classifiers, subject to interpretability constraints; this step produces a set of alternative (Pareto) classifiers; (2) linguistic labeling, which assigns a linguistic label to each fuzzy set of the classifiers; this step is essential to the interpretability of the classifiers; (3) decision making, whereby a classifier is chosen, if it is satisfactory, according to the preferences of the decision maker. If no classifier is satisfactory for the decision maker, the process starts again in step (1) with a different input parameter set. The performance of three multi-objective evolutionary algorithms, niched pre-selection multi-objective algorithm, elitist Pareto-based multi-objective evolutionary algorithm for diversity reinforcement (ENORA) and the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II), was tested using a patient's data set from an intensive care burn unit and a standard machine learning data set from an standard machine learning repository. The results are compared using the hypervolume multi-objective metric. Besides, the results have been compared with other non-evolutionary techniques and validated with a multi-objective cross-validation technique. Our proposal improves the classification rate obtained by other non-evolutionary techniques (decision trees, artificial neural networks, Naive Bayes, and case

Feasibility of a three-step magnetic resonance imaging approach for the assessment of hepatic steatosis in an asymptomatic study population

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hetterich, Holger; Bayerl, Christian; Auweter, Sigrid; Ertl-Wagner, Birgit [Ludwig-Maximilian University Hospital, Institute of Clinical Radiology, Munich (Germany); Peters, Annette; Linkohr, Birgit [German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, Neuherberg (Germany); Heier, Margit; Meisinger, Christa [German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, Neuherberg (Germany); Central Hospital of Augsburg, KORA Myocardial Infarction Registry, Augsburg (Germany); Kannengiesser, Stephan A.R. [Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen (Germany); Kramer, Harald [Ludwig-Maximilian University Hospital, Institute of Clinical Radiology, Munich (Germany); University of Wisconsin - Madison, Department of Radiology, Madison, WI (United States); Bamberg, Fabian [Ludwig-Maximilian University Hospital, Institute of Clinical Radiology, Munich (Germany); University Hospital Tuebingen, Department of Radiology, Tuebingen (Germany)

2016-06-15

To determine the feasibility of a multi-step magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approach for comprehensive assessment of hepatic steatosis defined as liver fat content of ≥5 % in an asymptomatic population. The study was approved by the institutional review board and written informed consent of all participants was obtained. Participants of a population-based study cohort underwent a three-step 3-T MRI-based assessment of liver fat. A dual-echo Dixon sequence was performed to identify subjects with hepatic steatosis, followed by a multi-echo Dixon sequence with proton density fat fraction estimation. Finally, single-voxel T2-corrected multi-echo spectroscopy was performed. A total of 215 participants completed the MRI protocol (56.3 % male, average age 57.2 ± 9.4 years). The prevalence of hepatic steatosis was 55 %. Mean liver proton density fat fraction was 9.2 ± 8.5 % by multi-echo Dixon and 9.3 ± 8.6 % by multi-echo spectroscopy (p = 0.51). Dual-echo Dixon overestimated liver fat fraction by 1.4 ± 2.0 % (p < 0.0001). All measurements showed excellent correlations (r ≥ 0.9, p < 0.001). Dual-echo Dixon was highly sensitive for the detection of hepatic steatosis (sensitivity 0.97, NPV 0.96) with good specificity and PPV (0.75 and 0.81, respectively). A multi-step MRI approach may enable rapid and accurate identification of subjects with hepatic steatosis in an asymptomatic population. (orig.)

Feasibility of a three-step magnetic resonance imaging approach for the assessment of hepatic steatosis in an asymptomatic study population

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hetterich, Holger; Bayerl, Christian; Auweter, Sigrid; Ertl-Wagner, Birgit; Peters, Annette; Linkohr, Birgit; Heier, Margit; Meisinger, Christa; Kannengiesser, Stephan A.R.; Kramer, Harald; Bamberg, Fabian

2016-01-01

To determine the feasibility of a multi-step magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approach for comprehensive assessment of hepatic steatosis defined as liver fat content of ≥5 % in an asymptomatic population. The study was approved by the institutional review board and written informed consent of all participants was obtained. Participants of a population-based study cohort underwent a three-step 3-T MRI-based assessment of liver fat. A dual-echo Dixon sequence was performed to identify subjects with hepatic steatosis, followed by a multi-echo Dixon sequence with proton density fat fraction estimation. Finally, single-voxel T2-corrected multi-echo spectroscopy was performed. A total of 215 participants completed the MRI protocol (56.3 % male, average age 57.2 ± 9.4 years). The prevalence of hepatic steatosis was 55 %. Mean liver proton density fat fraction was 9.2 ± 8.5 % by multi-echo Dixon and 9.3 ± 8.6 % by multi-echo spectroscopy (p = 0.51). Dual-echo Dixon overestimated liver fat fraction by 1.4 ± 2.0 % (p < 0.0001). All measurements showed excellent correlations (r ≥ 0.9, p < 0.001). Dual-echo Dixon was highly sensitive for the detection of hepatic steatosis (sensitivity 0.97, NPV 0.96) with good specificity and PPV (0.75 and 0.81, respectively). A multi-step MRI approach may enable rapid and accurate identification of subjects with hepatic steatosis in an asymptomatic population. (orig.)

Performance of single-pass and by-pass multi-step multi-soil-layering systems for low-(C/N)-ratio polluted river water treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Cai-Jie; Wu, Wei-Zhong

2018-09-01

Two kinds of hybrid two-step multi-soil-layering (MSL) systems loaded with different filter medias (zeolite-ceramsite MSL-1 and ceramsite-red clay MSL-2) were set-up for the low-(C/N)-ratio polluted river water treatment. A long-term pollutant removal performance of these two kinds of MSL systems was evaluated for 214 days. By-pass was employed in MSL systems to evaluate its effect on nitrogen removal enhancement. Zeolite-ceramsite single-pass MSL-1 system owns outstanding ammonia removal capability (24 g NH 4 + -Nm -2 d -1 ), 3 times higher than MSL-2 without zeolite under low aeration rate condition (0.8 × 10 4  L m -2 .h -1 ). Aeration rate up to 1.6 × 10 4  L m -2 .h -1 well satisfied the requirement of complete nitrification in first unit of both two MSLs. However, weak denitrification in second unit was commonly observed. By-pass of 50% influent into second unit can improve about 20% TN removal rate for both MSL-1 and MSL-2. Complete nitrification and denitrification was achieved in by-pass MSL systems after addition of carbon source with the resulting C/N ratio up to 2.5. The characters of biofilms distributed in different sections inside MSL-1 system well illustrated the nitrogen removal mechanism inside MSL systems. Two kinds of MSLs are both promising as an appealing nitrifying biofilm reactor. Recirculation can be considered further for by-pass MSL-2 system to ensure a complete ammonia removal. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multi-scale graphene patterns on arbitrary substrates via laser-assisted transfer-printing process

KAUST Repository

Park, J. B.; Yoo, J.-H.; Grigoropoulos, C. P.

2012-01-01

A laser-assisted transfer-printing process is developed for multi-scale graphene patterns on arbitrary substrates using femtosecond laser scanning on a graphene/metal substrate and transfer techniques without using multi-step patterning processes

A rate-dependent multi-scale crack model for concrete

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Karamnejad, A.; Nguyen, V.P.; Sluys, L.J.

2013-01-01

A multi-scale numerical approach for modeling cracking in heterogeneous quasi-brittle materials under dynamic loading is presented. In the model, a discontinuous crack model is used at macro-scale to simulate fracture and a gradient-enhanced damage model has been used at meso-scale to simulate

Computational Analysis of Multi-Rotor Flows

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Seokkwan; Lee, Henry C.; Pulliam, Thomas H.

2016-01-01

Interactional aerodynamics of multi-rotor flows has been studied for a quadcopter representing a generic quad tilt-rotor aircraft in hover. The objective of the present study is to investigate the effects of the separation distances between rotors, and also fuselage and wings on the performance and efficiency of multirotor systems. Three-dimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes equations are solved using a spatially 5th order accurate scheme, dual-time stepping, and the Detached Eddy Simulation turbulence model. The results show that the separation distances as well as the wings have significant effects on the vertical forces of quadroror systems in hover. Understanding interactions in multi-rotor flows would help improve the design of next generation multi-rotor drones.

Performance prediction method for a multi-stage Knudsen pump

Science.gov (United States)

Kugimoto, K.; Hirota, Y.; Kizaki, Y.; Yamaguchi, H.; Niimi, T.

2017-12-01

In this study, the novel method to predict the performance of a multi-stage Knudsen pump is proposed. The performance prediction method is carried out in two steps numerically with the assistance of a simple experimental result. In the first step, the performance of a single-stage Knudsen pump was measured experimentally under various pressure conditions, and the relationship of the mass flow rate was obtained with respect to the average pressure between the inlet and outlet of the pump and the pressure difference between them. In the second step, the performance of a multi-stage pump was analyzed by a one-dimensional model derived from the mass conservation law. The performances predicted by the 1D-model of 1-stage, 2-stage, 3-stage, and 4-stage pumps were validated by the experimental results for the corresponding number of stages. It was concluded that the proposed prediction method works properly.

Charge equilibration and potential steps in organic semiconductor multilayers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brocks, G.; Cakir, Deniz; Bokdam, Menno; de Jong, Machiel Pieter; Fahlman, M.

2012-01-01

Substantial potential steps ∼0.5 eV are frequently observed in organic multilayers of donor and acceptor molecules. Often such potential steps depend on the order in which the individual layers are deposited, or on which substrate they are deposited. In this paper we outline a model for these

A multi-step system for screening and localization of hard exudates in retinal images

Science.gov (United States)

Bopardikar, Ajit S.; Bhola, Vishal; Raghavendra, B. S.; Narayanan, Rangavittal

2012-03-01

The number of people being affected by Diabetes mellitus worldwide is increasing at an alarming rate. Monitoring of the diabetic condition and its effects on the human body are therefore of great importance. Of particular interest is diabetic retinopathy (DR) which is a result of prolonged, unchecked diabetes and affects the visual system. DR is a leading cause of blindness throughout the world. At any point of time 25 - 44% of people with diabetes are afflicted by DR. Automation of the screening and monitoring process for DR is therefore essential for efficient utilization of healthcare resources and optimizing treatment of the affected individuals. Such automation would use retinal images and detect the presence of specific artifacts such as hard exudates, hemorrhages and soft exudates (that may appear in the image) to gauge the severity of DR. In this paper, we focus on the detection of hard exudates. We propose a two step system that consists of a screening step that classifies retinal images as normal or abnormal based on the presence of hard exudates and a detection stage that localizes these artifacts in an abnormal retinal image. The proposed screening step automatically detects the presence of hard exudates with a high sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV ). The detection/localization step uses a k-means based clustering approach to localize hard exudates in the retinal image. Suitable feature vectors are chosen based on their ability to isolate hard exudates while minimizing false detections. The algorithm was tested on a benchmark dataset (DIARETDB1) and was seen to provide a superior performance compared to existing methods. The two-step process described in this paper can be embedded in a tele-ophthalmology system to aid with speedy detection and diagnosis of the severity of DR.

A Multi-touch Tool for Co-creation

Science.gov (United States)

Ludden, Geke D. S.; Broens, Tom

Multi-touch technology provides an attractive way for knowledge workers to collaborate. Co-creation is an important collaboration process in which collecting resources, creating results and distributing these results is essential. We propose a wall-based multi-touch system (called CoCreate) in which these steps are made easy due to the notion of connected private spaces and a shared co-create space. We present our ongoing work, expert evaluation of interaction scenarios and future plans.

A Practical Guide to Multi-image Alignment

OpenAIRE

Aguerrebere, Cecilia; Delbracio, Mauricio; Bartesaghi, Alberto; Sapiro, Guillermo

2018-01-01

Multi-image alignment, bringing a group of images into common register, is an ubiquitous problem and the first step of many applications in a wide variety of domains. As a result, a great amount of effort is being invested in developing efficient multi-image alignment algorithms. Little has been done, however, to answer fundamental practical questions such as: what is the comparative performance of existing methods? is there still room for improvement? under which conditions should one techni...

Grain refinement in a AlZnMgCuTi alloy by intensive melt shearing: A multi-step nucleation mechanism

Science.gov (United States)

Li, H. T.; Xia, M.; Jarry, Ph.; Scamans, G. M.; Fan, Z.

2011-01-01

Direct chill (DC) cast ingots of wrought Al alloys conventionally require the deliberate addition of a grain refiner to provide a uniform as-cast microstructure for the optimisation of both mechanical properties and processability. Grain refiner additions have been in widespread industrial use for more than half a century. Intensive melt shearing can provide grain refinement without the need for a specific grain refiner addition for both magnesium and aluminium based alloys. In this paper we present experimental evidence of the grain refinement in an experimental wrought aluminium alloy achieved by intensive melt shearing in the liquid state prior to solidification. The mechanisms for high shear induced grain refinement are correlated with the evolution of oxides in alloys. The oxides present in liquid aluminium alloys, normally as oxide films and clusters, can be effectively dispersed by intensive shearing and then provide effective sites for the heterogeneous nucleation of Al 3Ti phase. As a result, Al 3Ti particles with a narrower size distribution and hence improved efficiency as active nucleation sites of α-aluminium grains are responsible for the achieved significant grain refinement. This is termed a multi-step nucleation mechanism.

Modulation format dependence of digital nonlinearity compensation performance in optical fibre communication systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Tianhua; Shevchenko, Nikita A; Lavery, Domaniç; Semrau, Daniel; Liga, Gabriele; Alvarado, Alex; Killey, Robert I; Bayvel, Polina

2017-02-20

The relationship between modulation format and the performance of multi-channel digital back-propagation (MC-DBP) in ideal Nyquist-spaced optical communication systems is investigated. It is found that the nonlinear distortions behave independent of modulation format in the case of full-field DBP, in contrast to the cases of electronic dispersion compensation and partial-bandwidth DBP. It is shown that the minimum number of steps per span required for MC-DBP depends on the chosen modulation format. For any given target information rate, there exists a possible trade-off between modulation format and back-propagated bandwidth, which could be used to reduce the computational complexity requirement of MC-DBP.

Status of the new multi-frequency ECRH system for ASDEX Upgrade

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wagner, D.; Grünwald, G.; Leuterer, F.

2008-01-01

Currently, a new multi-frequency ECRH system is under construction at the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak experiment. This system employs, for the first time in a fusion device, multi-frequency gyrotrons, step-tunable in the range 105-140 GHz. The first two gyrotrons, working at 105 and 140 GHz, were...

Step out - Step in Sequencing Games

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Musegaas, M.; Borm, P.E.M.; Quant, M.

2014-01-01

In this paper a new class of relaxed sequencing games is introduced: the class of Step out - Step in sequencing games. In this relaxation any player within a coalition is allowed to step out from his position in the processing order and to step in at any position later in the processing order.

Long-wave model for strongly anisotropic growth of a crystal step.

Science.gov (United States)

Khenner, Mikhail

2013-08-01

A continuum model for the dynamics of a single step with the strongly anisotropic line energy is formulated and analyzed. The step grows by attachment of adatoms from the lower terrace, onto which atoms adsorb from a vapor phase or from a molecular beam, and the desorption is nonnegligible (the "one-sided" model). Via a multiscale expansion, we derived a long-wave, strongly nonlinear, and strongly anisotropic evolution PDE for the step profile. Written in terms of the step slope, the PDE can be represented in a form similar to a convective Cahn-Hilliard equation. We performed the linear stability analysis and computed the nonlinear dynamics. Linear stability depends on whether the stiffness is minimum or maximum in the direction of the step growth. It also depends nontrivially on the combination of the anisotropy strength parameter and the atomic flux from the terrace to the step. Computations show formation and coarsening of a hill-and-valley structure superimposed onto a long-wavelength profile, which independently coarsens. Coarsening laws for the hill-and-valley structure are computed for two principal orientations of a maximum step stiffness, the increasing anisotropy strength, and the varying atomic flux.

Structure of period-2 step-1 accelerator island in area preserving maps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirose, K.; Ichikawa, Y.H.; Saito, S.

1996-03-01

Since the multi-periodic accelerator modes manifest their contribution even in the region of small stochastic parameters, analysis of such regular motion appears to be critical to explore the stochastic properties of the Hamiltonian system. Here, structure of period-2 step-1 accelerator mode is analyzed for the systems described by the Harper map and by the standard map. The stability criterions have been analyzed in detail in comparison with numerical analyses. The period-3 squeezing around the period-2 step-1 islands is identified in the standard map. (author)

Molecular wave function and effective adiabatic potentials calculated by extended multi-configuration time-dependent Hartree-Fock method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kato, Tsuyoshi; Ide, Yoshihiro; Yamanouchi, Kaoru [Department of Chemistry, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033 (Japan)

2015-12-31

We first calculate the ground-state molecular wave function of 1D model H{sub 2} molecule by solving the coupled equations of motion formulated in the extended multi-configuration time-dependent Hartree-Fock (MCTDHF) method by the imaginary time propagation. From the comparisons with the results obtained by the Born-Huang (BH) expansion method as well as with the exact wave function, we observe that the memory size required in the extended MCTDHF method is about two orders of magnitude smaller than in the BH expansion method to achieve the same accuracy for the total energy. Second, in order to provide a theoretical means to understand dynamical behavior of the wave function, we propose to define effective adiabatic potential functions and compare them with the conventional adiabatic electronic potentials, although the notion of the adiabatic potentials is not used in the extended MCTDHF approach. From the comparison, we conclude that by calculating the effective potentials we may be able to predict the energy differences among electronic states even for a time-dependent system, e.g., time-dependent excitation energies, which would be difficult to be estimated within the BH expansion approach.

Step out-step in sequencing games

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Musegaas, Marieke; Borm, Peter; Quant, Marieke

2015-01-01

In this paper a new class of relaxed sequencing games is introduced: the class of Step out–Step in sequencing games. In this relaxation any player within a coalition is allowed to step out from his position in the processing order and to step in at any position later in the processing order. First,

The multi-targeted kinase inhibitor sorafenib inhibits enterovirus 71 replication by regulating IRES-dependent translation of viral proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Meng; Duan, Hao; Liu, Jing; Zhang, Hao; Wang, Xin; Zhu, Meng; Guo, Jitao; Zhao, Zhenlong; Meng, Lirong; Peng, Yihong

2014-06-01

The activation of ERK and p38 signal cascade in host cells has been demonstrated to be essential for picornavirus enterovirus 71 (EV71) replication and up-regulation of virus-induced cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)/prostaglandins E2 (PGE2) expression. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of sorafenib, a clinically approved anti-cancer multi-targeted kinase inhibitor, on the propagation and pathogenesis of EV71, with a view to its possible mechanism and potential use in the design of therapy regimes for Hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) patients with life threatening neurological complications. In this study, non-toxic concentrations of sorafenib were shown to inhibit the yield of infectious progeny EV71 (clinical BC08 strain) by about 90% in three different cell types. A similar inhibitory effect of sorafenib was observed on the synthesis of both viral genomic RNA and the VP1 protein. Interestingly, sorafenib exerted obvious inhibition of the EV71 internal ribosomal entry site (IRES)-mediated translation, the first step in picornavirus replication, by linking it to a firefly luciferase reporter gene. Sorafenib was also able to prevent both EV71-induced CPE and the activation of ERK and p38, which contributes to up-regulation COX-2/PGE2 expression induced by the virus. Overall, this study shows that sorafenib strongly inhibits EV71 replication at least in part by regulating viral IRES-dependent translation of viral proteins, indicating a novel potential strategy for the treatment of HFMD patients with severe neurological complications. To our knowledge, this is the first report that investigates the mechanism by which sorafenib inhibits EV71 replication. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analyzing the dependence of oxygen incorporation current density on overpotential and oxygen partial pressure in mixed conducting oxide electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Guan, Zixuan; Chen, Di; Chueh, William C

2017-08-30

The oxygen incorporation reaction, which involves the transformation of an oxygen gas molecule to two lattice oxygen ions in a mixed ionic and electronic conducting solid, is a ubiquitous and fundamental reaction in solid-state electrochemistry. To understand the reaction pathway and to identify the rate-determining step, near-equilibrium measurements have been employed to quantify the exchange coefficients as a function of oxygen partial pressure and temperature. However, because the exchange coefficient contains contributions from both forward and reverse reaction rate constants and depends on both oxygen partial pressure and oxygen fugacity in the solid, unique and definitive mechanistic assessment has been challenging. In this work, we derive a current density equation as a function of both oxygen partial pressure and overpotential, and consider both near and far from equilibrium limits. Rather than considering specific reaction pathways, we generalize the multi-step oxygen incorporation reaction into the rate-determining step, preceding and following quasi-equilibrium steps, and consider the number of oxygen ions and electrons involved in each. By evaluating the dependence of current density on oxygen partial pressure and overpotential separately, one obtains the reaction orders for oxygen gas molecules and for solid-state species in the electrode. We simulated the oxygen incorporation current density-overpotential curves for praseodymium-doped ceria for various candidate rate-determining steps. This work highlights a promising method for studying the exchange kinetics far away from equilibrium.

Melanin fluorescence spectra by step-wise three photon excitation

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Zhenhua; Kerimo, Josef; DiMarzio, Charles A.

2012-03-01

Melanin is the characteristic chromophore of human skin with various potential biological functions. Kerimo discovered enhanced melanin fluorescence by stepwise three-photon excitation in 2011. In this article, step-wise three-photon excited fluorescence (STPEF) spectrum between 450 nm -700 nm of melanin is reported. The melanin STPEF spectrum exhibited an exponential increase with wavelength. However, there was a probability of about 33% that another kind of step-wise multi-photon excited fluorescence (SMPEF) that peaks at 525 nm, shown by previous research, could also be generated using the same process. Using an excitation source at 920 nm as opposed to 830 nm increased the potential for generating SMPEF peaks at 525 nm. The SMPEF spectrum peaks at 525 nm photo-bleached faster than STPEF spectrum.

Automatic structural parcellation of mouse brain MRI using multi-atlas label fusion.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Da Ma

Full Text Available Multi-atlas segmentation propagation has evolved quickly in recent years, becoming a state-of-the-art methodology for automatic parcellation of structural images. However, few studies have applied these methods to preclinical research. In this study, we present a fully automatic framework for mouse brain MRI structural parcellation using multi-atlas segmentation propagation. The framework adopts the similarity and truth estimation for propagated segmentations (STEPS algorithm, which utilises a locally normalised cross correlation similarity metric for atlas selection and an extended simultaneous truth and performance level estimation (STAPLE framework for multi-label fusion. The segmentation accuracy of the multi-atlas framework was evaluated using publicly available mouse brain atlas databases with pre-segmented manually labelled anatomical structures as the gold standard, and optimised parameters were obtained for the STEPS algorithm in the label fusion to achieve the best segmentation accuracy. We showed that our multi-atlas framework resulted in significantly higher segmentation accuracy compared to single-atlas based segmentation, as well as to the original STAPLE framework.

Multi-Level Risk Assessment of a Power Plant Gas Turbine Applying ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Multi-Level Risk Assessment of a Power Plant Gas Turbine Applying the Criticality Index Model. ... Journal of the Nigerian Association of Mathematical Physics ... This study has carefully shown and expressed a step by step computation of the severity level of the Turbine component parts, using the Criticality Index model.

Multilevel and Multi-index Monte Carlo methods for the McKean–Vlasov equation

KAUST Repository

Haji-Ali, Abdul-Lateef

2017-09-12

We address the approximation of functionals depending on a system of particles, described by stochastic differential equations (SDEs), in the mean-field limit when the number of particles approaches infinity. This problem is equivalent to estimating the weak solution of the limiting McKean–Vlasov SDE. To that end, our approach uses systems with finite numbers of particles and a time-stepping scheme. In this case, there are two discretization parameters: the number of time steps and the number of particles. Based on these two parameters, we consider different variants of the Monte Carlo and Multilevel Monte Carlo (MLMC) methods and show that, in the best case, the optimal work complexity of MLMC, to estimate the functional in one typical setting with an error tolerance of $$\\\\mathrm {TOL}$$TOL, is when using the partitioning estimator and the Milstein time-stepping scheme. We also consider a method that uses the recent Multi-index Monte Carlo method and show an improved work complexity in the same typical setting of . Our numerical experiments are carried out on the so-called Kuramoto model, a system of coupled oscillators.

Modeling human faces with multi-image photogrammetry

Science.gov (United States)

D'Apuzzo, Nicola

2002-03-01

Modeling and measurement of the human face have been increasing by importance for various purposes. Laser scanning, coded light range digitizers, image-based approaches and digital stereo photogrammetry are the used methods currently employed in medical applications, computer animation, video surveillance, teleconferencing and virtual reality to produce three dimensional computer models of the human face. Depending on the application, different are the requirements. Ours are primarily high accuracy of the measurement and automation in the process. The method presented in this paper is based on multi-image photogrammetry. The equipment, the method and results achieved with this technique are here depicted. The process is composed of five steps: acquisition of multi-images, calibration of the system, establishment of corresponding points in the images, computation of their 3-D coordinates and generation of a surface model. The images captured by five CCD cameras arranged in front of the subject are digitized by a frame grabber. The complete system is calibrated using a reference object with coded target points, which can be measured fully automatically. To facilitate the establishment of correspondences in the images, texture in the form of random patterns can be projected from two directions onto the face. The multi-image matching process, based on a geometrical constrained least squares matching algorithm, produces a dense set of corresponding points in the five images. Neighborhood filters are then applied on the matching results to remove the errors. After filtering the data, the three-dimensional coordinates of the matched points are computed by forward intersection using the results of the calibration process; the achieved mean accuracy is about 0.2 mm in the sagittal direction and about 0.1 mm in the lateral direction. The last step of data processing is the generation of a surface model from the point cloud and the application of smooth filters. Moreover, a

Modelling customer behaviour in multi-channel service distribution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heinhuis, D.; de Vries, E.J.; Kundisch, D.; Veit, D.J.; Weitzel, T.; Weinhardt, C.

2009-01-01

Financial service providers are innovating their distribution strategy into multi-channel strategies. The success of a multi-channel approach and the high investments made in information systems and enterprise architectures depends on the adoption and multi-channel usage behaviour of consumers. We

Time step size selection for radiation diffusion calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rider, W.J.; Knoll, D.A.

1999-01-01

The purpose of this note is to describe a time step control technique as applied to radiation diffusion. Standard practice only provides a heuristic criteria related to the relative change in the dependent variables. The authors propose an alternative based on relatively simple physical principles. This time step control applies to methods of solution that are unconditionally stable and converges nonlinearities within a time step in the governing equations. Commonly, nonlinearities in the governing equations are evaluated using existing (old time) data. The authors refer to this as the semi-implicit (SI) method. When a method converges nonlinearities within a time step, the entire governing equation including all nonlinearities is self-consistently evaluated using advance time data (with appropriate time centering for accuracy)

Multi objective multi refinery optimization with environmental and catastrophic failure effects objectives

Science.gov (United States)

Khogeer, Ahmed Sirag

2005-11-01

Petroleum refining is a capital-intensive business. With stringent environmental regulations on the processing industry and declining refining margins, political instability, increased risk of war and terrorist attacks in which refineries and fuel transportation grids may be targeted, higher pressures are exerted on refiners to optimize performance and find the best combination of feed and processes to produce salable products that meet stricter product specifications, while at the same time meeting refinery supply commitments and of course making profit. This is done through multi objective optimization. For corporate refining companies and at the national level, Intea-Refinery and Inter-Refinery optimization is the second step in optimizing the operation of the whole refining chain as a single system. Most refinery-wide optimization methods do not cover multiple objectives such as minimizing environmental impact, avoiding catastrophic failures, or enhancing product spec upgrade effects. This work starts by carrying out a refinery-wide, single objective optimization, and then moves to multi objective-single refinery optimization. The last step is multi objective-multi refinery optimization, the objectives of which are analysis of the effects of economic, environmental, product spec, strategic, and catastrophic failure. Simulation runs were carried out using both MATLAB and ASPEN PIMS utilizing nonlinear techniques to solve the optimization problem. The results addressed the need to debottleneck some refineries or transportation media in order to meet the demand for essential products under partial or total failure scenarios. They also addressed how importing some high spec products can help recover some of the losses and what is needed in order to accomplish this. In addition, the results showed nonlinear relations among local and global objectives for some refineries. The results demonstrate that refineries can have a local multi objective optimum that does not

Comparability of river quality assessment using macrophytes: a multi-step procedure to overcome biogeographical differences.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguiar, F C; Segurado, P; Urbanič, G; Cambra, J; Chauvin, C; Ciadamidaro, S; Dörflinger, G; Ferreira, J; Germ, M; Manolaki, P; Minciardi, M R; Munné, A; Papastergiadou, E; Ferreira, M T

2014-04-01

This paper exposes a new methodological approach to solve the problem of intercalibrating river quality national methods when a common metric is lacking and most of the countries share the same Water Framework Directive (WFD) assessment method. We provide recommendations for similar works in future concerning the assessment of ecological accuracy and highlight the importance of a good common ground to make feasible the scientific work beyond the intercalibration. The approach herein presented was applied to highly seasonal rivers of the Mediterranean Geographical Intercalibration Group for the Biological Quality Element Macrophytes. The Mediterranean Group of river macrophytes involved seven countries and two assessment methods with similar acquisition data and assessment concept: the Macrophyte Biological Index for Rivers (IBMR) for Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain, and the River Macrophyte Index (RMI) for Slovenia. Database included 318 sites of which 78 were considered as benchmarks. The boundary harmonization was performed for common WFD-assessment methods (all countries except Slovenia) using the median of the Good/Moderate and High/Good boundaries of all countries. Then, whenever possible, the Slovenian method, RMI was computed for the entire database. The IBMR was also computed for the Slovenian sites and was regressed against RMI in order to check the relatedness of methods (R(2)=0.45; p<0.00001) and to convert RMI boundaries into the IBMR scale. The boundary bias of RMI was computed using direct comparison of classification and the median boundary values following boundary harmonization. The average absolute class differences after harmonization is 26% and the percentage of classifications differing by half of a quality class is also small (16.4%). This multi-step approach to the intercalibration was endorsed by the WFD Regulatory Committee. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Interaction of chemokines with their receptors--from initial chemokine binding to receptor activating steps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thiele, Stefanie; Rosenkilde, Mette Marie

2014-01-01

and surveillance. Chemokines are a group of 8-12 kDa large peptides with a secondary structure consisting of a flexible N-terminus and a core-domain usually stabilized by two conserved disulfide bridges. They mainly interact with the extracellular domains of their cognate 7TM receptors. Affinityand activity......-contributing interactions are attributed to different domains and known to occur in two steps. Here, knowledge on chemokine and receptor domains involved in the first binding-step and the second activation-step is reviewed. A mechanism comprising at least two steps seems consistent; however, several intermediate...... interactions possibly occur, resulting in a multi-step process, as recently proposed for other 7TM receptors. Overall, the N-terminus of chemokine receptors is pivotal for binding of all chemokines. During receptor activation, differences between the two major chemokine subgroups occur, as CC-chemokines mainly...

Multi Scale Models for Flexure Deformation in Sheet Metal Forming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Di Pasquale Edmondo

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the application of multi scale techniques to the simulation of sheet metal forming using the one-step method. When a blank flows over the die radius, it undergoes a complex cycle of bending and unbending. First, we describe an original model for the prediction of residual plastic deformation and stresses in the blank section. This model, working on a scale about one hundred times smaller than the element size, has been implemented in SIMEX, one-step sheet metal forming simulation code. The utilisation of this multi-scale modeling technique improves greatly the accuracy of the solution. Finally, we discuss the implications of this analysis on the prediction of springback in metal forming.

Dependence of the cytotoxicity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on the culture medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Ying; Ran Tiecheng; Li Yuguo; Guo Jinxue; Li Wenxin

2006-01-01

This study examined the influence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) on the growth of the unicellular protozoan Tetrahymena pyriformis. Contrary to the findings from most other investigations, our experiment indicated that MWNTs stimulated growth of the cells cultured in proteose peptone yeast extract medium (PPY). Atomic force microscopy images and thermogravimetric analysis showed the spontaneous formation of peptone-MWNT conjugates in the medium by noncovalent binding. Uptake of large amounts of the conjugates by Tetrahymena pyriformis was responsible for growth stimulation, evidenced by images with fluorescently labelled peptone. After the PPY medium was replaced by a filtrated pond water medium (FPW), however, inhibition of the growth of cells exposed to MWNTs occurred. Measurements of the level of malondialdehyde and superoxide dismutase activity demonstrated further that MWNTs might be either toxic or nontoxic, depending on the medium used to cultivate Tetrahymena pyriformis. The biological effects of the interaction of MWNTs with some composites in culture media would be helpful for understanding the mechanisms of the toxicity of carbon nanotubes to living systems

Three-dimensional photonic crystals created by single-step multi-directional plasma etching.

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Katsuyoshi; Kitano, Keisuke; Ishizaki, Kenji; Noda, Susumu

2014-07-14

We fabricate 3D photonic nanostructures by simultaneous multi-directional plasma etching. This simple and flexible method is enabled by controlling the ion-sheath in reactive-ion-etching equipment. We realize 3D photonic crystals on single-crystalline silicon wafers and show high reflectance (>95%) and low transmittance (photonic bandgap. Moreover, our method simply demonstrates Si-based 3D photonic crystals that show the photonic bandgap effect in a shorter wavelength range around 0.6 μm, where further fine structures are required.

Spectrum of Slip Processes on the Subduction Interface in a Continuum Framework Resolved by Rate-and State Dependent Friction and Adaptive Time Stepping

Science.gov (United States)

Herrendoerfer, R.; van Dinther, Y.; Gerya, T.

2015-12-01

To explore the relationships between subduction dynamics and the megathrust earthquake potential, we have recently developed a numerical model that bridges the gap between processes on geodynamic and earthquake cycle time scales. In a self-consistent, continuum-based framework including a visco-elasto-plastic constitutive relationship, cycles of megathrust earthquake-like ruptures were simulated through a purely slip rate-dependent friction, albeit with very low slip rates (van Dinther et al., JGR, 2013). In addition to much faster earthquakes, a range of aseismic slip processes operate at different time scales in nature. These aseismic processes likely accommodate a considerable amount of the plate convergence and are thus relevant in order to estimate the long-term seismic coupling and related hazard in subduction zones. To simulate and resolve this wide spectrum of slip processes, we innovatively implemented rate-and state dependent friction (RSF) and an adaptive time-stepping into our continuum framework. The RSF formulation, in contrast to our previous friction formulation, takes the dependency of frictional strength on a state variable into account. It thereby allows for continuous plastic yielding inside rate-weakening regions, which leads to aseismic slip. In contrast to the conventional RSF formulation, we relate slip velocities to strain rates and use an invariant formulation. Thus we do not require the a priori definition of infinitely thin, planar faults in a homogeneous elastic medium. With this new implementation of RSF, we succeed to produce consistent cycles of frictional instabilities. By changing the frictional parameter a, b, and the characteristic slip distance, we observe a transition from stable sliding to stick-slip behaviour. This transition is in general agreement with predictions from theoretical estimates of the nucleation size, thereby to first order validating our implementation. By incorporating adaptive time-stepping based on a

Multi-label Learning with Missing Labels Using Mixed Dependency Graphs

KAUST Repository

Wu, Baoyuan; Jia, Fan; Liu, Wei; Ghanem, Bernard; Lyu, Siwei

2018-01-01

This work focuses on the problem of multi-label learning with missing labels (MLML), which aims to label each test instance with multiple class labels given training instances that have an incomplete/partial set of these labels (i.e., some

Multi-functional surface acoustic wave sensor for monitoring enviromental and structural condition

Science.gov (United States)

Furuya, Y.; Kon, T.; Okazaki, T.; Saigusa, Y.; Nomura, T.

2006-03-01

As a first step to develop a health monitoring system with active and embedded nondestructive evaluation devices for the machineries and structures, multi-functional SAW (surface acoustic wave) device was developed. A piezoelectric LiNbO3(x-y cut) materials were used as a SAW substrate on which IDT(20μm pitch) was produced by lithography. On the surface of a path of SAW between IDTs, environmentally active material films of shape memory Ti50Ni41Cu(at%) with non-linear hysteresis and superelastic Ti48Ni43Cu(at%) with linear deformation behavior were formed by magnetron-sputtering technique. In this study, these two kinds of shape memory alloys SMA) system were used to measure 1) loading level, 2) phase transformation and 3)stress-strain hysteresis under cyclic loading by utilizing their linearity and non-linearity deformation behaviors. Temperature and stress dependencies of SAW signal were also investigated in the non-sputtered film state. Signal amplitude and phase change of SAW were chosen to measure as the sensing parameters. As a result, temperature, stress level, phase transformation in SMA depending on temperature and mechanical damage accumulation could be measured by the proposed multi-functional SAW sensor. Moreover, the wireless SAW sensing system which has a unique feature of no supplying electric battery was constructed, and the same characteristic evaluation is confirmed in comparison with wired case.

Multi-criteria decision making to support waste management: A critical review of current practices and methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Goulart Coelho, Lineker M; Lange, Liséte C; Coelho, Hosmanny Mg

2017-01-01

Solid waste management is a complex domain involving the interaction of several dimensions; thus, its analysis and control impose continuous challenges for decision makers. In this context, multi-criteria decision-making models have become important and convenient supporting tools for solid waste management because they can handle problems involving multiple dimensions and conflicting criteria. However, the selection of the multi-criteria decision-making method is a hard task since there are several multi-criteria decision-making approaches, each one with a large number of variants whose applicability depends on information availability and the aim of the study. Therefore, to support researchers and decision makers, the objectives of this article are to present a literature review of multi-criteria decision-making applications used in solid waste management, offer a critical assessment of the current practices, and provide suggestions for future works. A brief review of fundamental concepts on this topic is first provided, followed by the analysis of 260 articles related to the application of multi-criteria decision making in solid waste management. These studies were investigated in terms of the methodology, including specific steps such as normalisation, weighting, and sensitivity analysis. In addition, information related to waste type, the study objective, and aspects considered was recorded. From the articles analysed it is noted that studies using multi-criteria decision making in solid waste management are predominantly addressed to problems related to municipal solid waste involving facility location or management strategy.

Comparative efficacy of tulathromycin versus a combination of florfenicol-oxytetracycline in the treatment of undifferentiated respiratory disease in large numbers of sheep

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohsen Champour

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of tulathromycin (TUL with a combination of florfenicol (FFC and long-acting oxytetracycline (LAOTC in the treatment of naturally occurring undifferentiated respiratory diseases in large numbers of sheep. In this study, seven natural outbreaks of sheep pneumonia in Garmsar, Iran were considered. From these outbreaks, 400 sheep exhibiting the signs of respiratory diseases were selected, and the sheep were randomly divided into two equal groups. The first group was treated with a single injection of TUL (dosed at 2.5 mg/kg body weight, and the second group was treated with concurrent injections of FFC (dosed at 40 mg/kg bwt and LAOTC (dosed at 20 mg/kg bwt. In the first group, 186 (93% sheep were found to be cured 5 days after the injection, and 14 (7% sheep needed further treatment, of which 6 (3% were cured, and 8 (4% died. In the second group, 172 (86% sheep were cured after the injections, but 28 (14% sheep needed further treatment, of which 10 (5% were cured, and 18 (9% died. This study revealed that TUL was more efficacious as compared to the combined treatment using FFC and LAOTC. As the first report, this field trial describes the successful treatment of undifferentiated respiratory diseases in large numbers of sheep. Thus, TUL can be used for the treatment of undifferentiated respiratory diseases in sheep. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2015; 2(3.000: 279-284

A Dynamic Multi-Level Factor Model with Long-Range Dependence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ergemen, Yunus Emre; Rodríguez-Caballero, Carlos Vladimir

A dynamic multi-level factor model with stationary or nonstationary global and regional factors is proposed. In the model, persistence in global and regional common factors as well as innovations allows for the study of fractional cointegrating relationships. Estimation of global and regional...

Novel Two-Step Classifier for Torsades de Pointes Risk Stratification from Direct Features

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaimit Parikh

2017-11-01

Full Text Available While pre-clinical Torsades de Pointes (TdP risk classifiers had initially been based on drug-induced block of hERG potassium channels, it is now well established that improved risk prediction can be achieved by considering block of non-hERG ion channels. The current multi-channel TdP classifiers can be categorized into two classes. First, the classifiers that take as input the values of drug-induced block of ion channels (direct features. Second, the classifiers that are built on features extracted from output of the drug-induced multi-channel blockage simulations in the in-silico models (derived features. The classifiers built on derived features have thus far not consistently provided increased prediction accuracies, and hence casts doubt on the value of such approaches given the cost of including biophysical detail. Here, we propose a new two-step method for TdP risk classification, referred to as Multi-Channel Blockage at Early After Depolarization (MCB@EAD. In the first step, we classified the compound that produced insufficient hERG block as non-torsadogenic. In the second step, the role of non-hERG channels to modulate TdP risk are considered by constructing classifiers based on direct or derived features at critical hERG block concentrations that generates EADs in the computational cardiac cell models. MCB@EAD provides comparable or superior TdP risk classification of the drugs from the direct features in tests against published methods. TdP risk for the drugs highly correlated to the propensity to generate EADs in the model. However, the derived features of the biophysical models did not improve the predictive capability for TdP risk assessment.

Free Modal Algebras Revisited: The Step-by-Step Method

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bezhanishvili, N.; Ghilardi, Silvio; Jibladze, Mamuka

2012-01-01

We review the step-by-step method of constructing finitely generated free modal algebras. First we discuss the global step-by-step method, which works well for rank one modal logics. Next we refine the global step-by-step method to obtain the local step-by-step method, which is applicable beyond

Multi-Spacecraft Study of Kinetic scale Turbulence Using MMS Observations in the Solar Wind

Science.gov (United States)

Chasapis, A.; Matthaeus, W. H.; Parashar, T.; Fuselier, S. A.; Maruca, B.; Burch, J.; Moore, T. E.; Phan, T.; Pollock, C. J.; Gershman, D. J.; Torbert, R. B.; Russell, C. T.; Strangeway, R. J.

2017-12-01

We present a study investigating kinetic scale turbulence in the solar wind. Most previous studies relied on single spacecraft measurements, employing the Taylor hypothesis in order to probe different scales. The small separation of MMS spacecraft, well below the ion inertial scale, allow us for the first time to directly probe turbulent fluctuations at the kinetic range. Using multi-spacecraft measurements, we are able to measure the spatial characteristics of turbulent fluctuations and compare with the traditional Taylor-based single spacecraft approach. Meanwhile, combining observations from Cluster and MMS data we were able to cover a wide range of scales from the inertial range where the turbulent cascade takes place, down to the kinetic range where the energy is eventually dissipated. These observations present an important step in understanding the nature of solar wind turbulence and the processes through which turbulent energy is dissipated into particle heating and acceleration. We compute statistical quantities such as the second order structure function and the scale-dependent kurtosis, along with their dependence on the parameters such as the mean magnetic field direction. Overall, we observe an overall agreement between the single spacecraft and the multi-spacecraft approach. However, a small but significant deviation is observed at the smaller scales near the electron inertial scale. The high values of the scale dependent kurtosis at very small scales, observed via two-point measurements, open up a compelling avenue of investigation for theory and numerical modelling.

Modified random hinge transport mechanics and multiple scattering step-size selection in EGS5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilderman, S.J.; Bielajew, A.F.

2005-01-01

The new transport mechanics in EGS5 allows for significantly longer electron transport step sizes and hence shorter computation times than required for identical problems in EGS4. But as with all Monte Carlo electron transport algorithms, certain classes of problems exhibit step-size dependencies even when operating within recommended ranges, sometimes making selection of step-sizes a daunting task for novice users. Further contributing to this problem, because of the decoupling of multiple scattering and continuous energy loss in the dual random hinge transport mechanics of EGS5, there are two independent step sizes in EGS5, one for multiple scattering and one for continuous energy loss, each of which influences speed and accuracy in a different manner. Further, whereas EGS4 used a single value of fractional energy loss (ESTEPE) to determine step sizes at all energies, to increase performance by decreasing the amount of effort expended simulating lower energy particles, EGS5 permits the fractional energy loss values which are used to determine both the multiple scattering and continuous energy loss step sizes to vary with energy. This results in requiring the user to specify four fractional energy loss values when optimizing computations for speed. Thus, in order to simplify step-size selection and to mitigate step-size dependencies, a method has been devised to automatically optimize step-size selection based on a single material dependent input related to the size of problem tally region. In this paper we discuss the new transport mechanics in EGS5 and describe the automatic step-size optimization algorithm. (author)

Individualized In-Service Teacher Education. (Project IN-STEP). Evaluation Report, Phase II.

Science.gov (United States)

Thurber, John C.

Phase 2 of Project IN-STEP was conducted to revise, refine, and conduct further field testing of a new inservice teacher education model. The method developed (in Phase 1--see ED 003 905 for report) is an individualized, multi-media approach. Revision activities, based on feedback provided for Phase 1, include the remaking of six videotape…

Angular dependent anisotropic terahertz response of vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube arrays with spatial dispersion

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Yixuan; Yiwen, E.; Xu, Xinlong; Li, Weilong; Wang, Huan; Zhu, Lipeng; Bai, Jintao; Ren, Zhaoyu; Wang, Li

2016-12-01

Spatial dispersion effect of aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the terahertz (THz) region has significance for both theoretical and applied consideration due to the unique intrinsically anisotropic physical properties of CNTs. Herein, we report the angular dependent reflection of p-polarized THz wave from vertically aligned multi-walled CNT arrays in both experiment and theory. The spectra indicate that the reflection depends on the film thickness of vertically aligned CNTs, the incident angle, and the frequency. The calculation model is based on the spatial dispersion effect of aligned CNTs and performed with effective impedance method and the Maxwell-Garnett approximation. The results fit well with the experiment when the thickness of CNT film is thin, which reveals a coherent superposition mechanism of the CNT surface reflection and CNTs/Si interface reflection. For thick CNT films, the CNTs/Si interface response determines the reflection at small incident angles, while the CNTs surface effect dominates at large incident angles. This work investigates the spatial dispersion effect of vertically aligned CNT arrays in the THz region, and paves a way for potential anisotropic THz applications based on CNTs with oblique incidence requirements.

CT-Guided Percutaneous Step-by-Step Radiofrequency Ablation for the Treatment of Carcinoma in the Caudate Lobe

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Jun; Li, Wang; Zeng, Qi; Li, Sheng; Gong, Xiao; Shen, Lujun; Mao, Siyue; Dong, Annan; Wu, Peihong

2015-01-01

Abstract The location of the caudate lobe and its complex anatomy make caudate lobectomy and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) under ultrasound guidance technically challenging. The objective of the exploratory study was to introduce a novel modality of treatment of lesions in caudate lobe and discuss all details with our experiences to make this novel treatment modality repeatable and educational. The study enrolled 39 patients with liver caudate lobe tumor first diagnosed by computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). After consultation of multi-disciplinary team, 7 patients with hepatic caudate lobe lesions were enrolled and accepted CT-guided percutaneous step-by-step RFA treatment. A total of 8 caudate lobe lesions of the 7 patients were treated by RFA in 6 cases and RFA combined with percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) in 1 case. Median tumor diameter was 29 mm (range, 18–69 mm). A right approach was selected for 6 patients and a dorsal approach for 1 patient. Median operative time was 64 min (range, 59–102 min). Median blood loss was 10 mL (range, 8-16 mL) and mainly due to puncture injury. Median hospitalization time was 4 days (range, 2–5 days). All lesions were completely ablated (8/8; 100%) and no recurrence at the site of previous RFA was observed during median 8 months follow-up (range 3–11 months). No major or life-threatening complications or deaths occurred. In conclusion, percutaneous step-by-step RFA under CT guidance is a novel and effective minimally invasive therapy for hepatic caudate lobe lesions with well repeatability. PMID:26426638

Ethics Programs and Ethical Cultures: A Next Step in Unraveling their Multi-Faceted Relationship

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S.P. Kaptein (Muel)

2008-01-01

textabstractThe objective of an ethics program is to improve the ethical culture of an organization. To date, empirical research treats at least one of these concepts as a one-dimensional construct. This paper demonstrates that by conceptualizing both constructs as multi-dimensional, a better

Constitutive modeling of rate dependence and microinertia effects in porous-plastic materials with multi-sized voids (MSVs)

KAUST Repository

Liu, Jinxing

2012-11-27

Micro-voids of varying sizes exist in most metals and alloys. Both experiments and numerical studies have demonstrated the critical influence of initial void sizes on void growth. The classical Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman model summarizes the influence of voids with a single parameter, namely the void-volume fraction, excluding any possible effects of the void-size distribution. We extend our newly proposed model including the multi-sized void (MSV) effect and the void-interaction effect for the capability of working for both moderate and high loading rate cases, where either rate dependence or microinertia becomes considerable or even dominant. Parametric studies show that the MSV-related competitive mechanism among void growth leads to the dependence of the void growth rate on void size, which directly influences the void\\'s contribution to the total energy composition. We finally show that the stress-strain constitutive behavior is also affected by this MSV-related competitive mechanism. The stabilizing effect due to rate sensitivity and microinertia is emphasized. © 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Dependence theory via game theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Grossi, D.; Turrini, P.

2011-01-01

In the multi-agent systems community, dependence theory and game theory are often presented as two alternative perspectives on the analysis of social interaction. Up till now no research has been done relating these two approaches. The unification presented provides dependence theory with the sort

Steps Toward Innovative Childbirth Education: Selected Strategies From the Blueprint for Action

Science.gov (United States)

Jolivet, R. Rima; Corry, Maureen P.

2010-01-01

To mark the 50th anniversary of Lamaze International, Childbirth Connection celebrates landmark accomplishments in education for childbearing women and families, and takes stock of the changing educational needs and preferences of current childbearing families in looking toward the future. Childbirth Connection's multi-year, multi-stakeholder Transforming Maternity Care initiative resulted in two landmark reports: 2020 Vision for a High-Quality, High-Value Maternity Care System and Blueprint for Action: Steps Toward a High-Quality, High-Value Maternity Care System. Selected recommendations of greatest relevance to the field of childbirth education are discussed, and the new Transforming Maternity Care Partnership is introduced. PMID:21629389

Global phenomena from local rules: Peer-to-peer networks and crystal steps

Science.gov (United States)

Finkbiner, Amy

Even simple, deterministic rules can generate interesting behavior in dynamical systems. This dissertation examines some real world systems for which fairly simple, locally defined rules yield useful or interesting properties in the system as a whole. In particular, we study routing in peer-to-peer networks and the motion of crystal steps. Peers can vary by three orders of magnitude in their capacities to process network traffic. This heterogeneity inspires our use of "proportionate load balancing," where each peer provides resources in proportion to its individual capacity. We provide an implementation that employs small, local adjustments to bring the entire network into a global balance. Analytically and through simulations, we demonstrate the effectiveness of proportionate load balancing on two routing methods for de Bruijn graphs, introducing a new "reversed" routing method which performs better than standard forward routing in some cases. The prevalence of peer-to-peer applications prompts companies to locate the hosts participating in these networks. We explore the use of supervised machine learning to identify peer-to-peer hosts, without using application-specific information. We introduce a model for "triples," which exploits information about nearly contemporaneous flows to give a statistical picture of a host's activities. We find that triples, together with measurements of inbound vs. outbound traffic, can capture most of the behavior of peer-to-peer hosts. An understanding of crystal surface evolution is important for the development of modern nanoscale electronic devices. The most commonly studied surface features are steps, which form at low temperatures when the crystal is cut close to a plane of symmetry. Step bunching, when steps arrange into widely separated clusters of tightly packed steps, is one important step phenomenon. We analyze a discrete model for crystal steps, in which the motion of each step depends on the two steps on either side of

Finding Multi-step Attacks in Computer Networks using Heuristic Search and Mobile Ambients

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nunes Leal Franqueira, V.

2009-01-01

An important aspect of IT security governance is the proactive and continuous identification of possible attacks in computer networks. This is complicated due to the complexity and size of networks, and due to the fact that usually network attacks are performed in several steps. This thesis proposes

Individualized Inservice Teacher Education (Project In-Step). Evaluation Report. Phase III.

Science.gov (United States)

Thurber, John C.

This is a report on the third phase of Project IN-STEP, which was intended to develop a viable model for individualized, multi-media in-service teacher education programs. (Phase I and II are reported in ED 033 905, and ED 042 709). The rationale for Phase III was to see if the model could be successfully transferred to an area other than teaching…

Poly(ethylene-co-butylene) functionalized multi walled carbon nanotubes applied in polypropylene nanocomposites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Daugaard, Anders Egede; Jankova Atanasova, Katja; Marín, Jose Manuel Roman

2012-01-01

A novel functionalized multi walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) was prepared through grafting with α-azido-poly(ethylene-co-butylene) (PEB-N3). The PEB-N3 was prepared through a two step procedure and grafted onto an industrial grade multi walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) through a highly efficient...

Statistics translated a step-by-step guide to analyzing and interpreting data

CERN Document Server

Terrell, Steven R

2012-01-01

Written in a humorous and encouraging style, this text shows how the most common statistical tools can be used to answer interesting real-world questions, presented as mysteries to be solved. Engaging research examples lead the reader through a series of six steps, from identifying a researchable problem to stating a hypothesis, identifying independent and dependent variables, and selecting and interpreting appropriate statistical tests. All techniques are demonstrated both manually and with the help of SPSS software. The book provides students and others who may need to read and interpret sta

Stepping in Place While Voluntarily Turning Around Produces a Long-Lasting Posteffect Consisting in Inadvertent Turning While Stepping Eyes Closed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefania Sozzi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Training subjects to step in place on a rotating platform while maintaining a fixed body orientation in space produces a posteffect consisting in inadvertent turning around while stepping in place eyes closed (podokinetic after-rotation, PKAR. We tested the hypothesis that voluntary turning around while stepping in place also produces a posteffect similar to PKAR. Sixteen subjects performed 12 min of voluntary turning while stepping around their vertical axis eyes closed and 12 min of stepping in place eyes open on the center of a platform rotating at 60°/s (pretests. Then, subjects continued stepping in place eyes closed for at least 10 min (posteffect. We recorded the positions of markers fixed to head, shoulder, and feet. The posteffect of voluntary turning shared all features of PKAR. Time decay of angular velocity, stepping cadence, head acceleration, and ratio of angular velocity after to angular velocity before were similar between both protocols. Both postrotations took place inadvertently. The posteffects are possibly dependent on the repeated voluntary contraction of leg and foot intrarotating pelvic muscles that rotate the trunk over the stance foot, a synergy common to both protocols. We propose that stepping in place and voluntary turning can be a scheme ancillary to the rotating platform for training body segment coordination in patients with impairment of turning synergies of various origin.

Single-step affinity purification for fungal proteomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Hui-Lin; Osmani, Aysha H; Ukil, Leena; Son, Sunghun; Markossian, Sarine; Shen, Kuo-Fang; Govindaraghavan, Meera; Varadaraj, Archana; Hashmi, Shahr B; De Souza, Colin P; Osmani, Stephen A

2010-05-01

A single-step protein affinity purification protocol using Aspergillus nidulans is described. Detailed protocols for cell breakage, affinity purification, and depending on the application, methods for protein release from affinity beads are provided. Examples defining the utility of the approaches, which should be widely applicable, are included.

Transient multi-physics analysis of a magnetorheological shock absorber with the inverse Jiles-Atherton hysteresis model

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Jiajia; Li, Yancheng; Li, Zhaochun; Wang, Jiong

2015-10-01

This paper presents multi-physics modeling of an MR absorber considering the magnetic hysteresis to capture the nonlinear relationship between the applied current and the generated force under impact loading. The magnetic field, temperature field, and fluid dynamics are represented by the Maxwell equations, conjugate heat transfer equations, and Navier-Stokes equations. These fields are coupled through the apparent viscosity and the magnetic force, both of which in turn depend on the magnetic flux density and the temperature. Based on a parametric study, an inverse Jiles-Atherton hysteresis model is used and implemented for the magnetic field simulation. The temperature rise of the MR fluid in the annular gap caused by core loss (i.e. eddy current loss and hysteresis loss) and fluid motion is computed to investigate the current-force behavior. A group of impulsive tests was performed for the manufactured MR absorber with step exciting currents. The numerical and experimental results showed good agreement, which validates the effectiveness of the proposed multi-physics FEA model.

An examination of adaptive cellular protective mechanisms using a multi-stage carcinogenesis model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schollnberger, H.; Stewart, R. D.; Mitchel, R. E. J.; Hofmann, W.

2004-01-01

A multi-stage cancer model that describes the putative rate-limiting steps in carcinogenesis was developed and used to investigate the potential impact on lung cancer incidence of the hormesis mechanisms suggested by Feinendegen and Pollycove. In this deterministic cancer model, radiation and endogenous processes damage the DNA of target cells in the lung. Some fraction of the misrepaired our unrepaired DNA damage induces genomic instability and, ultimately, leads to the accumulation of malignant cells. The model accounts for cell birth and death processes. Ita also includes a rate of malignant transformation and a lag period for tumour formation. Cellular defence mechanisms are incorporated into the model by postulating dose and dose rate dependent radical scavenging. The accuracy of DNA damage repair also depends on dose and dose rate. Sensitivity studies were conducted to identify critical model inputs and to help define the shapes of the cumulative lung cancer incidence curves that may arise when dose and dose rate dependent cellular defence mechanisms are incorporated into a multi-stage cancer model. For lung cancer, both linear no-threshold (LNT) and non-LNT shaped responses can be obtained. The reported studied clearly show that it is critical to know whether or not and to what extent multiply damaged DNA sites are formed by endogenous processes. Model inputs that give rise to U-shaped responses are consistent with an effective cumulative lung cancer incidence threshold that may be as high as 300 mGy (4 mGy per year for 75 years). (Author) 11 refs

Elliptic genera from multi-centers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gaddam, Nava [Institute for Theoretical Physics and Center for Extreme Matter and Emergent Phenomena,Utrecht University, 3508 TD Utrecht (Netherlands)

2016-05-13

I show how elliptic genera for various Calabi-Yau threefolds may be understood from supergravity localization using the quantization of the phase space of certain multi-center configurations. I present a simple procedure that allows for the enumeration of all multi-center configurations contributing to the polar sector of the elliptic genera — explicitly verifying this in the cases of the quintic in ℙ{sup 4}, the sextic in Wℙ{sub (2,1,1,1,1)}, the octic in Wℙ{sub (4,1,1,1,1)} and the dectic in Wℙ{sub (5,2,1,1,1)}. With an input of the corresponding ‘single-center’ indices (Donaldson-Thomas invariants), the polar terms have been known to determine the elliptic genera completely. I argue that this multi-center approach to the low-lying spectrum of the elliptic genera is a stepping stone towards an understanding of the exact microscopic states that contribute to supersymmetric single center black hole entropy in N=2 supergravity.

Multi-step ahead nonlinear identification of Lorenz's chaotic system using radial basis neural network with learning by clustering and particle swarm optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guerra, Fabio A.; Coelho, Leandro dos S.

2008-01-01

An important problem in engineering is the identification of nonlinear systems, among them radial basis function neural networks (RBF-NN) using Gaussian activation functions models, which have received particular attention due to their potential to approximate nonlinear behavior. Several design methods have been proposed for choosing the centers and spread of Gaussian functions and training the RBF-NN. The selection of RBF-NN parameters such as centers, spreads, and weights can be understood as a system identification problem. This paper presents a hybrid training approach based on clustering methods (k-means and c-means) to tune the centers of Gaussian functions used in the hidden layer of RBF-NNs. This design also uses particle swarm optimization (PSO) for centers (local clustering search method) and spread tuning, and the Penrose-Moore pseudoinverse for the adjustment of RBF-NN weight outputs. Simulations involving this RBF-NN design to identify Lorenz's chaotic system indicate that the performance of the proposed method is superior to that of the conventional RBF-NN trained for k-means and the Penrose-Moore pseudoinverse for multi-step ahead forecasting

Step-to-step reproducibility and asymmetry to study gait auto-optimization in healthy and cerebral palsied subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Descatoire, A; Femery, V; Potdevin, F; Moretto, P

2009-05-01

The purpose of our study was to compare plantar pressure asymmetry and step-to-step reproducibility in both able-bodied persons and two groups of hemiplegics. The relevance of the research was to determine the efficiency of asymmetry and reproducibility as indexes for diagnosis and rehabilitation processes. This study comprised 31 healthy young subjects and 20 young subjects suffering from cerebral palsy hemiplegia assigned to two groups of 10 subjects according to the severity of their musculoskeletal disorders. The peaks of plantar pressure and the time to peak pressure were recorded with an in-shoe measurement system. The intra-individual coefficient of variability was calculated to indicate the consistency of plantar pressure during walking and to define gait stability. The effect size was computed to quantify the asymmetry and measurements were conducted at eight footprint locations. Results indicated few differences in step-to-step reproducibility between the healthy group and the less spastic group while the most affected group showed a more asymmetrical and unstable gait. From the concept of self-optimisation and depending on the neuromotor disorders the organism could make priorities based on pain, mobility, stability or energy expenditure to develop the best gait auto-optimisation.

Atomic Step Formation on Sapphire Surface in Ultra-precision Manufacturing

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Rongrong; Guo, Dan; Xie, Guoxin; Pan, Guoshun

2016-01-01

Surfaces with controlled atomic step structures as substrates are highly relevant to desirable performances of materials grown on them, such as light emitting diode (LED) epitaxial layers, nanotubes and nanoribbons. However, very limited attention has been paid to the step formation in manufacturing process. In the present work, investigations have been conducted into this step formation mechanism on the sapphire c (0001) surface by using both experiments and simulations. The step evolutions at different stages in the polishing process were investigated with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The simulation of idealized steps was constructed theoretically on the basis of experimental results. It was found that (1) the subtle atomic structures (e.g., steps with different sawteeth, as well as steps with straight and zigzag edges), (2) the periodicity and (3) the degree of order of the steps were all dependent on surface composition and miscut direction (step edge direction). A comparison between experimental results and idealized step models of different surface compositions has been made. It has been found that the structure on the polished surface was in accordance with some surface compositions (the model of single-atom steps: Al steps or O steps). PMID:27444267

Elementary steps in electrical doping of organic semiconductors

KAUST Repository

Tietze, Max Lutz

2018-03-15

Fermi level control by doping is established since decades in inorganic semiconductors and has been successfully introduced in organic semiconductors. Despite its commercial success in the multi-billion OLED display business, molecular doping is little understood, with its elementary steps controversially discussed and mostly-empirical-materials design. Particularly puzzling is the efficient carrier release, despite a presumably large Coulomb barrier. Here we quantitatively investigate doping as a two-step process, involving single-electron transfer from donor to acceptor molecules and subsequent dissociation of the ground-state integer-charge transfer complex (ICTC). We show that carrier release by ICTC dissociation has an activation energy of only a few tens of meV, despite a Coulomb binding of several 100 meV. We resolve this discrepancy by taking energetic disorder into account. The overall doping process is explained by an extended semiconductor model in which occupation of ICTCs causes the classically known reserve regime at device-relevant doping concentrations.

Multi-focus and multi-level techniques for visualization and analysis of networks with thematic data

Science.gov (United States)

Cossalter, Michele; Mengshoel, Ole J.; Selker, Ted

2013-01-01

Information-rich data sets bring several challenges in the areas of visualization and analysis, even when associated with node-link network visualizations. This paper presents an integration of multi-focus and multi-level techniques that enable interactive, multi-step comparisons in node-link networks. We describe NetEx, a visualization tool that enables users to simultaneously explore different parts of a network and its thematic data, such as time series or conditional probability tables. NetEx, implemented as a Cytoscape plug-in, has been applied to the analysis of electrical power networks, Bayesian networks, and the Enron e-mail repository. In this paper we briefly discuss visualization and analysis of the Enron social network, but focus on data from an electrical power network. Specifically, we demonstrate how NetEx supports the analytical task of electrical power system fault diagnosis. Results from a user study with 25 subjects suggest that NetEx enables more accurate isolation of complex faults compared to an especially designed software tool.

A multi-step method with signal quality assessment and fine-tuning procedure to locate maternal and fetal QRS complexes from abdominal ECG recordings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Chengyu; Li, Peng; Zhao, Lina; Di Maria, Costanzo; Zhang, Henggui; Chen, Zhiqing

2014-01-01

Non-invasive monitoring of fetal electrocardiogram (fECG) plays an important role in detecting and diagnosing fetal diseases. This study aimed to develop a multi-step method for locating both maternal and fetal QRS complexes from abdominal ECG (aECG) recordings. The proposed method included four major steps: abdominal ECG pre-processing, maternal QRS complex locating, maternal ECG cancellation and fetal QRS complex locating. Signal quality assessment (SQA) and fine-tuning for maternal ECG (FTM) were implemented in the first and third steps, respectively. The method was then evaluated using 75 non-invasive 4-channel aECG recordings provided by the PhysioNet/Computing in Cardiology Challenge 2013. The F 1 measure, which is a new index introduced by Behar et al (2013 Proc. Comput. Cardiol. 40 297–300), was used to assess the locating accuracy. The other two indices, mean squared error of heart rate (MSE H R) between the fetal HR signals estimated from the reference and our method (MSE H R in bpm 2 ) and root mean squared difference between the corresponding fetal RR intervals (MSE R R in ms) were also used to assess the locating accuracy. Overall, for the maternal QRS complex, the F 1 measure was 98.4% from the method without the implementation of SQA, and it was improved to 99.8% with SQA. For the fetal QRS complex, the F 1 measure, MSE H R and MSE R R were 84.9%, 185.6 bpm 2 and 19.4 ms for the method without both SQA and FTM procedures. They were improved to 93.9%, 47.5 bpm 2 and 7.6 ms with both SQA and FTM procedures. These improvements were observed from each individual subject. It can be concluded that implementing both SQA and FTM procedures could achieve better performance for locating both maternal and fetal QRS complexes. (paper)

Lateral step initiation behavior in older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Sparto, Patrick J; Jennings, J Richard; Furman, Joseph M; Redfern, Mark S

2014-02-01

Older adults have varied postural responses during induced and voluntary lateral stepping. The purpose of the research was to quantify the occurrence of different stepping strategies during lateral step initiation in older adults and to relate the stepping responses to retrospective history of falls. Seventy community-ambulating older adults (mean age 76 y, range 70-94 y) performed voluntary lateral steps as quickly as possible to the right or left in response to a visual cue, in a blocked design. Vertical ground reaction forces were measured using a forceplate, and the number and latency of postural adjustments were quantified. Subjects were assigned to groups based on their stepping strategy. The frequency of trials with one or two postural adjustments was compared with data from 20 younger adults (mean age 38 y, range 21-58 y). Logistic regression was used to relate presence of a fall in the previous year with the number and latency of postural adjustments. In comparison with younger adults, who almost always demonstrated one postural adjustment when stepping laterally, older adults constituted a continuous distribution in the percentage of step trials made with one postural adjustment (from 0% to 100% of trials). Latencies of the initial postural adjustment and foot liftoff varied depending on the number of postural adjustments made. A history of falls was associated a larger percentage of two postural adjustments, and a longer latency of foot liftoff. In conclusion, the number and latency of postural adjustments made during voluntary lateral stepping provides additional evidence that lateral control of posture may be a critical indicator of aging. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A pragmatic multi-centre randomised controlled trial of fluid loading and level of dependency in high-risk surgical patients undergoing major elective surgery: trial protocol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norrie John

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Patients undergoing major elective or urgent surgery are at high risk of death or significant morbidity. Measures to reduce this morbidity and mortality include pre-operative optimisation and use of higher levels of dependency care after surgery. We propose a pragmatic multi-centre randomised controlled trial of level of dependency and pre-operative fluid therapy in high-risk surgical patients undergoing major elective surgery. Methods/Design A multi-centre randomised controlled trial with a 2 * 2 factorial design. The first randomisation is to pre-operative fluid therapy or standard regimen and the second randomisation is to routine intensive care versus high dependency care during the early post-operative period. We intend to recruit 204 patients undergoing major elective and urgent abdominal and thoraco-abdominal surgery who fulfil high-risk surgical criteria. The primary outcome for the comparison of level of care is cost-effectiveness at six months and for the comparison of fluid optimisation is the number of hospital days after surgery. Discussion We believe that the results of this study will be invaluable in determining the future care and clinical resource utilisation for this group of patients and thus will have a major impact on clinical practice. Trial Registration Trial registration number - ISRCTN32188676

Charge distribution dependency on gap thickness of CMS endcap RPC

CERN Document Server

Park, Sung Keun

2016-01-01

We present a systematic study of charge distribution dependency of CMS Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) on gap thickness.Prototypes of double-gap with five different gap thickness from 1.8mm to 1.0mm in 0.2mm steps have been built with 2mm thick phenolic high-pressure-laminated (HPL) plates. The charges of cosmic-muon signals induced on the detector strips are measured as a function of time using two four-channel 400-MHz fresh ADCs. In addition, the arrival time of the muons and the strip cluster sizes are measured by digitizing the signal using a 32-channel voltage-mode front-end-electronics and a 400-MHz 64-channel multi-hit TDC. The gain and the input impedance of the front-end-electronics were 200mV/mV and 20 Ohm, respectively.

Numerical modeling of macrodispersion in heterogeneous media: a comparison of multi-Gaussian and non-multi-Gaussian models

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Xian-Huan; Gómez-Hernández, J. Jaime

1998-03-01

in the multi-Gaussian ones, while transverse macrodispersivities in the non-multi-Gaussian realizations can be larger or smaller than in the multi-Gaussian ones depending on the type of connectivity at extreme values. Comparing the numerical results for different flow directions, it is confirmed that macrodispersivities in multi-Gaussian realizations with isotropic spatial correlation are not flow direction-dependent. Macrodispersivities in the non-multi-Gaussian realizations, however, are flow direction-dependent although the covariance of ln T is isotropic (the same for all four models). It is important to account for high connectivities at extreme transmissivity values, a likely situation in some geological formations. Some of the discrepancies between first-order-based analytical results and field-scale tracer test data may be due to the existence of highly connected paths of extreme conductivity values.

Alternative statistics in multi-step direct reaction theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koning, A.J.

1990-06-01

In recent years a variety of statistical theories have been developed concerning multistep direct (MSD) nuclear reactions. In addition, dominant in applications is a whole class of semiclassical models that may be subsumed under the heading of 'generalized exciton model': these are basically MSD-type extensions on top of compound-like concepts. In this report the relationship between their underlying statistical MSD-postulates are highlighted. A common framework is sketched that enables to generate the various MSD theories through assigning statistical properties to different parts of the nuclear Hamiltonian. Then it is shown that distinct forms of nuclear randomness are embodied in the mentioned theories. All these theories appear to be very similar at a qualitative level. In order to explain the high-energy tails and forward-peaked angular distribution typical for particles emitted in MSD reactions, it is imaged that the incident continuum particle stepwise looses its energy and direction in a sequence of collisions, thereby creating new particle-hole pairs in the target system. At each step emission may take place. The statistical aspect comes in because many continuum states are involved in the process. These are supposed to display chaotic behavior, the associated randomness assumption giving rise to important simplifications in the expressions for the MSD emission cross sections. This picture suggests that the mentioned MSD models can be interpreted as variants of essentially one and the same theory. However, this appears not to be the case. To show this the usual MSD distinction within the composite reacting nucleus between the fast continuum particle and the residual system is introduced. One implication is that the mutual residual interactions of the nucleons of the residual core are to be distinguished from those of the leading particle with the residual system. This distinction will turn out to be central to the present analysis. (author). 14 refs.; 4

Fusion Kalman filtration with k-step delay sharing pattern

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duda Zdzisław

2015-09-01

Full Text Available A fusion hierarchical state filtration with k−step delay sharing pattern for a multisensor system is considered. A global state estimate depends on local state estimates determined by local nodes using local information. Local available information consists of local measurements and k−step delay global information - global estimate sent from a central node. Local estimates are transmitted to the central node to be fused. The synthesis of local and global filters is presented. It is shown that a fusion filtration with k−step delay sharing pattern is equivalent to the optimal centralized classical Kalman filtration when local measurements are transmitted to the center node and used to determine a global state estimate. It is proved that the k−step delay sharing pattern can reduce covariances of local state errors.

Angle Control-Based Multi-Terminal Out-of-Step Protection System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antans Sauhats

2017-03-01

Full Text Available From time to time a sequence of unexpected and overlapping contingencies may lead to power system angular instability and even blackouts if not addressed adequately by means of an out-of-step (OOS protection system. The motivation of the paper is an attempt to develop a workable prototype of the OOS protection system. The deficiencies of the protection currently used in the Latvian Power System network are highlighted and a new protection structure is proposed. The protection system comprises of several strategically located terminals, exchanging information in real time by means of a communication network. The OOS condition detection method is based on system-wide generation sources, electromotive forces, vectors, and angle control. The network splitting decision is based on generator coherence evaluation. Protection terminals determine online the groups of coherent generators and choose the splitting boundary from a predefined transmission lines (TLs cut sets list. The protection system structure, algorithm of operation, and possible IEC 61850 communication standard-based implementation are described.

Multi-phase AC/AC step-down converter for distribution systems

Science.gov (United States)

Aeloiza, Eddy C.; Burgos, Rolando P.

2017-10-25

A step-down AC/AC converter for use in an electric distribution system includes at least one chopper circuit for each one of a plurality of phases of the AC power, each chopper circuit including a four-quadrant switch coupled in series between primary and secondary sides of the chopper circuit and a current-bidirectional two-quadrant switch coupled between the secondary side of the chopper circuit and a common node. Each current-bidirectional two-quadrant switch is oriented in the same direction, with respect to the secondary side of the corresponding chopper circuit and the common node. The converter further includes a control circuit configured to pulse-width-modulate control inputs of the switches, to convert a first multiphase AC voltage at the primary sides of the chopper circuits to a second multiphase AC voltage at the secondary sides of the chopper circuits, the second multiphase AC voltage being lower in voltage than the first multiphase AC voltage.

An FPGA-Based Multiple-Axis Velocity Controller and Stepping Motors Drives Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lai Chiu-Keng

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A Field Programmable Gate Array based system is a great hardware platform to support the implementation of hardware controllers such as PID controller and fuzzy controller. It is also programmed as hardware accelerator to speed up the mathematic calculation and greatly enhance the performance as applied to motor drive and motion control. Furthermore, the open structure of FPGA-based system is suitable for those designs with the ability of parallel processing or soft code processor embedded. In this paper, we apply the FPGA to a multi-axis velocity controller design. The developed system integrated three functions inside the FPGA chip, which are respectively the stepping motor drive, the multi-axis motion controller and the motion planning. Furthermore, an embedded controller with a soft code processor compatible to 8051 micro-control unit (MCU is built to handle the data transfer between the FPGA board and host PC. The MCU is also used to initialize the motion control and run the interpolator. The designed system is practically applied to a XYZ motion platform which is driven by stepping motors to verify its performance.

Simulating transient dynamics of the time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Yan-Mei, E-mail: ymkang@mail.xjtu.edu.cn

2016-09-16

For a physically realistic type of time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck (FP) equation, derived as the continuous limit of the continuous time random walk with time-modulated Boltzmann jumping weight, a semi-analytic iteration scheme based on the truncated (generalized) Fourier series is presented to simulate the resultant transient dynamics when the external time modulation is a piece-wise constant signal. At first, the iteration scheme is demonstrated with a simple time-dependent time fractional FP equation on finite interval with two absorbing boundaries, and then it is generalized to the more general time-dependent Smoluchowski-type time fractional Fokker–Planck equation. The numerical examples verify the efficiency and accuracy of the iteration method, and some novel dynamical phenomena including polarized motion orientations and periodic response death are discussed. - Highlights: • An iteration method is proposed for the transient dynamics of time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck equations. • The method is based on Fourier Series solution and the multi-step transition probability formula. • With the time-modulated subdiffusion on finite interval as example, the polarized motion orientation is disclosed. • With the time-modulated subdiffusion within a confined potential as example, the death of dynamic response is observed.

Simulating transient dynamics of the time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Yan-Mei

2016-01-01

For a physically realistic type of time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck (FP) equation, derived as the continuous limit of the continuous time random walk with time-modulated Boltzmann jumping weight, a semi-analytic iteration scheme based on the truncated (generalized) Fourier series is presented to simulate the resultant transient dynamics when the external time modulation is a piece-wise constant signal. At first, the iteration scheme is demonstrated with a simple time-dependent time fractional FP equation on finite interval with two absorbing boundaries, and then it is generalized to the more general time-dependent Smoluchowski-type time fractional Fokker–Planck equation. The numerical examples verify the efficiency and accuracy of the iteration method, and some novel dynamical phenomena including polarized motion orientations and periodic response death are discussed. - Highlights: • An iteration method is proposed for the transient dynamics of time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck equations. • The method is based on Fourier Series solution and the multi-step transition probability formula. • With the time-modulated subdiffusion on finite interval as example, the polarized motion orientation is disclosed. • With the time-modulated subdiffusion within a confined potential as example, the death of dynamic response is observed.

Multi-level predictive maintenance for multi-component systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen, Kim-Anh; Do, Phuc; Grall, Antoine

2015-01-01

In this paper, a novel predictive maintenance policy with multi-level decision-making is proposed for multi-component system with complex structure. The main idea is to propose a decision-making process considered on two levels: system level and component one. The goal of the decision rules at the system level is to address if preventive maintenance actions are needed regarding the predictive reliability of the system. At component level the decision rules aim at identifying optimally a group of several components to be preventively maintained when preventive maintenance is trigged due to the system level decision. Selecting optimal components is based on a cost-based group improvement factor taking into account the predictive reliability of the components, the economic dependencies as well as the location of the components in the system. Moreover, a cost model is developed to find the optimal maintenance decision variables. A 14-component system is finally introduced to illustrate the use and the performance of the proposed predictive maintenance policy. Different sensitivity analysis are also investigated and discussed. Indeed, the proposed policy provides more flexibility in maintenance decision-making for complex structure systems, hence leading to significant profits in terms of maintenance cost when compared with existing policies. - Highlights: • A predictive maintenance policy for complex structure systems is proposed. • Multi-level decision process based on prognostic results is proposed. • A cost-based group importance measure is introduced for decision-making. • Both positive and negative dependencies between components are investigated. • A cost model and Monte Carlo simulation are developed for optimization process.

Multi-target-qubit unconventional geometric phase gate in a multi-cavity system.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Tong; Cao, Xiao-Zhi; Su, Qi-Ping; Xiong, Shao-Jie; Yang, Chui-Ping

2016-02-22

Cavity-based large scale quantum information processing (QIP) may involve multiple cavities and require performing various quantum logic operations on qubits distributed in different cavities. Geometric-phase-based quantum computing has drawn much attention recently, which offers advantages against inaccuracies and local fluctuations. In addition, multiqubit gates are particularly appealing and play important roles in QIP. We here present a simple and efficient scheme for realizing a multi-target-qubit unconventional geometric phase gate in a multi-cavity system. This multiqubit phase gate has a common control qubit but different target qubits distributed in different cavities, which can be achieved using a single-step operation. The gate operation time is independent of the number of qubits and only two levels for each qubit are needed. This multiqubit gate is generic, e.g., by performing single-qubit operations, it can be converted into two types of significant multi-target-qubit phase gates useful in QIP. The proposal is quite general, which can be used to accomplish the same task for a general type of qubits such as atoms, NV centers, quantum dots, and superconducting qubits.

A multi-stage noise adaptive switching filter for extremely corrupted images

Science.gov (United States)

Dinh, Hai; Adhami, Reza; Wang, Yi

2015-07-01

A multi-stage noise adaptive switching filter (MSNASF) is proposed for the restoration of images extremely corrupted by impulse and impulse-like noise. The filter consists of two steps: noise detection and noise removal. The proposed extrema-based noise detection scheme utilizes the false contouring effect to get better over detection rate at low noise density. It is adaptive and will detect not only impulse but also impulse-like noise. In the noise removal step, a novel multi-stage filtering scheme is proposed. It replaces corrupted pixel with the nearest uncorrupted median to preserve details. When compared with other methods, MSNASF provides better peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and structure similarity index (SSIM). A subjective evaluation carried out online also demonstrates that MSNASF yields higher fidelity.

Low-field multi-step magnetization of GaV4S8 single crystal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakamura, H; Kajinami, Y; Tabata, Y [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan); Ikeno, R; Motoyama, G; Kohara, T, E-mail: h.nakamura@ht8.ecs.kyoto-u.ac.j [Graduate School of Material Science, University of Hyogo, Kamigori, Hyogo 678-1297 (Japan)

2009-01-01

The magnetization process of single crystalline GaV4S8 including tetrahedral magnetic clusters was measured in the magnetically ordered state below T{sub C} {approx_equal} 13 K. Just below TC, steps were observed at very low fields of the order of 100 Oe, suggesting the competition of several intra- and inter-cluster interactions in a low energy range.

A MULTI-CORE PARALLEL MOSAIC ALORITHM FOR MULTI-VIEW UAV IMAGES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

X. Pan

2017-09-01

Full Text Available As the spread of the error and accumulation often lead to distortion or failure of image mosaic during the multi-view UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle images stitching. In this paper, to solve the problem we propose a mosaic strategy to construct a mosaic ring and multi-level grouping parallel acceleration as an auxiliary. First, the input images will be divided into several groups, each group in the ring way to stitch. Then, use SIFT for matching, RANSAC to remove the wrong matching points. And then, calculate the perspective transformation matrix. Finally weaken the error by using the adjustment equation. All these steps run between different groups at the same time. By using real UAV images, the experiment results show that this method can effectively reduce the influence of accumulative error, improve the precision of mosaic and reduce the mosaic time by 60 %. The proposed method can be used as one of the effective ways to minimize the accumulative error.

Effect of amino acid-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

In a single-step, rapid microwave-assisted process, multi-walled carbon nanotubes were functionalized by -valine amino acid. Formation of amino acid on nanotube surface was confirmed by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning and transmission ...

Relay-aided multi-cell broadcasting with random network coding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lu, Lu; Sun, Fan; Xiao, Ming

2010-01-01

We investigate a relay-aided multi-cell broadcasting system using random network codes, where the focus is on devising efficient scheduling algorithms between relay and base stations. Two scheduling algorithms are proposed based on different feedback strategies; namely, a one-step scheduling...

Integrated load distribution and production planning in series-parallel multi-state systems with failure rate depending on load

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nourelfath, Mustapha; Yalaoui, Farouk

2012-01-01

A production system containing a set of machines (also called components) arranged according to a series-parallel configuration is addressed. A set of products must be produced in lots on this production system during a specified finite planning horizon. This paper presents a method for integrating load distribution decisions, and tactical production planning considering the costs of capacity change and the costs of unused capacity. The objective is to minimize the sum of capacity change costs, unused capacity costs, setup costs, holding costs, backorder costs, and production costs. The main constraints consist in satisfying the demand for all products over the entire horizon, and in not exceeding available repair resource. The production series-parallel system is modeled as a multi-state system with binary-state components. The proposed model takes into account the dependence of machines' failure rates on their load. Universal generating function technique can be used in the optimization algorithm for evaluating the expected system production rate in each period. We show how the formulated problem can be solved by comparing the results of several multi-product lot-sizing problems with capacity associated costs. The importance of integrating load distribution decisions and production planning is illustrated through numerical examples.

Wireless Multi Hop Access Networks and Protocols

OpenAIRE

Nilsson Plymoth, Anders

2007-01-01

As more and more applications and services in our society now depend on the Internet, it is important that dynamically deployed wireless multi hop networks are able to gain access to the Internet and other infrastructure networks and services. This thesis proposes and evaluates solutions for providing multi hop Internet Access. It investigates how ad hoc networks can be combined with wireless and mesh networks in order to create wireless multi hop access networks. When several access points t...

DEPENDENCE OF X-RAY BURST MODELS ON NUCLEAR REACTION RATES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cyburt, R. H.; Keek, L.; Schatz, H. [National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 (United States); Amthor, A. M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837 (United States); Heger, A.; Meisel, Z.; Smith, K. [Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics (JINA), Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 (United States); Johnson, E. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 (United States)

2016-10-20

X-ray bursts are thermonuclear flashes on the surface of accreting neutron stars, and reliable burst models are needed to interpret observations in terms of properties of the neutron star and the binary system. We investigate the dependence of X-ray burst models on uncertainties in (p, γ ), ( α , γ ), and ( α , p) nuclear reaction rates using fully self-consistent burst models that account for the feedbacks between changes in nuclear energy generation and changes in astrophysical conditions. A two-step approach first identified sensitive nuclear reaction rates in a single-zone model with ignition conditions chosen to match calculations with a state-of-the-art 1D multi-zone model based on the Kepler stellar evolution code. All relevant reaction rates on neutron-deficient isotopes up to mass 106 were individually varied by a factor of 100 up and down. Calculations of the 84 changes in reaction rate with the highest impact were then repeated in the 1D multi-zone model. We find a number of uncertain reaction rates that affect predictions of light curves and burst ashes significantly. The results provide insights into the nuclear processes that shape observables from X-ray bursts, and guidance for future nuclear physics work to reduce nuclear uncertainties in X-ray burst models.

Simulations of Quantum Turing Machines by Quantum Multi-Stack Machines

OpenAIRE

Qiu, Daowen

2005-01-01

As was well known, in classical computation, Turing machines, circuits, multi-stack machines, and multi-counter machines are equivalent, that is, they can simulate each other in polynomial time. In quantum computation, Yao [11] first proved that for any quantum Turing machines $M$, there exists quantum Boolean circuit $(n,t)$-simulating $M$, where $n$ denotes the length of input strings, and $t$ is the number of move steps before machine stopping. However, the simulations of quantum Turing ma...

Single-objective vs. multi-objective autocalibration in modelling total suspended solids and phosphorus in a small agricultural watershed with SWAT.

Science.gov (United States)

Rasolomanana, Santatriniaina Denise; Lessard, Paul; Vanrolleghem, Peter A

2012-01-01

To obtain greater precision in modelling small agricultural watersheds, a shorter simulation time step is beneficial. A daily time step better represents the dynamics of pollutants in the river and provides more realistic simulation results. However, with a daily evaluation performance, good fits are rarely obtained. With the Shuffled Complex Evolution (SCE) method embedded in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), two calibration approaches are available, single-objective or multi-objective optimization. The goal of the present study is to evaluate which approach can improve the daily performance with SWAT, in modelling flow (Q), total suspended solids (TSS) and total phosphorus (TP). The influence of weights assigned to the different variables included in the objective function has also been tested. The results showed that: (i) the model performance depends not only on the choice of calibration approach, but essentially on the influential parameters; (ii) the multi-objective calibration estimating at once all parameters related to all measured variables is the best approach to model Q, TSS and TP; (iii) changing weights does not improve model performance; and (iv) with a single-objective optimization, an excellent water quality modelling performance may hide a loss of performance of predicting flows and unbalanced internal model components.

Self-Adaptive Event-Driven Simulation of Multi-Scale Plasma Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Omelchenko, Yuri; Karimabadi, Homayoun

2005-10-01

Multi-scale plasmas pose a formidable computational challenge. The explicit time-stepping models suffer from the global CFL restriction. Efficient application of adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) to systems with irregular dynamics (e.g. turbulence, diffusion-convection-reaction, particle acceleration etc.) may be problematic. To address these issues, we developed an alternative approach to time stepping: self-adaptive discrete-event simulation (DES). DES has origin in operations research, war games and telecommunications. We combine finite-difference and particle-in-cell techniques with this methodology by assuming two caveats: (1) a local time increment, dt for a discrete quantity f can be expressed in terms of a physically meaningful quantum value, df; (2) f is considered to be modified only when its change exceeds df. Event-driven time integration is self-adaptive as it makes use of causality rules rather than parametric time dependencies. This technique enables asynchronous flux-conservative update of solution in accordance with local temporal scales, removes the curse of the global CFL condition, eliminates unnecessary computation in inactive spatial regions and results in robust and fast parallelizable codes. It can be naturally combined with various mesh refinement techniques. We discuss applications of this novel technology to diffusion-convection-reaction systems and hybrid simulations of magnetosonic shocks.

Multi-Level and Multi-Scale Feature Aggregation Using Pretrained Convolutional Neural Networks for Music Auto-Tagging

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jongpil; Nam, Juhan

2017-08-01

Music auto-tagging is often handled in a similar manner to image classification by regarding the 2D audio spectrogram as image data. However, music auto-tagging is distinguished from image classification in that the tags are highly diverse and have different levels of abstractions. Considering this issue, we propose a convolutional neural networks (CNN)-based architecture that embraces multi-level and multi-scaled features. The architecture is trained in three steps. First, we conduct supervised feature learning to capture local audio features using a set of CNNs with different input sizes. Second, we extract audio features from each layer of the pre-trained convolutional networks separately and aggregate them altogether given a long audio clip. Finally, we put them into fully-connected networks and make final predictions of the tags. Our experiments show that using the combination of multi-level and multi-scale features is highly effective in music auto-tagging and the proposed method outperforms previous state-of-the-arts on the MagnaTagATune dataset and the Million Song Dataset. We further show that the proposed architecture is useful in transfer learning.

Desorption of Water from Distinct Step Types on a Curved Silver Crystal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jakrapan Janlamool

2014-07-01

Full Text Available We have investigated the adsorption of H2O onto the A and B type steps on an Ag single crystal by temperature programmed desorption. For this study, we have used a curved crystal exposing a continuous range of surface structures ranging from [5(111 × (100] via (111 to [5(111 × (110]. LEED and STM studies verify that the curvature of our sample results predominantly from monoatomic steps. The sample thus provides a continuous array of step densities for both step types. Desorption probed by spatially-resolved TPD of multilayers of H2O shows no dependence on the exact substrate structure and thus confirms the absence of thermal gradients during temperature ramps. In the submonolayer regime, we observe a small and linear dependence of the desorption temperature on the A and B step density. We argue that such small differences are only observable by means of a single curved crystal, which thus establishes new experimental benchmarks for theoretical calculation of chemically accurate binding energies. We propose an origin of the observed behavior based on a “two state” desorption model.

Alignments of multi-quasiparticle bands and seniority-dependent reduced pairing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dracoulis, G.D.

1994-09-01

Pairing correlations in multi-quasiparticle states in deformed nuclei are expected to be reduced because of blocking. New intrinsic states and their associated rotational bands have been identified allowing comparisons to be made as a function of seniority and between nuclei. The possible effects of the reduced pairing on the collective rotation, and its manifestation in terms of alignment, are discussed. 13 refs., 2 figs

Threshold-dependent variability of coronary artery calcification measurements - implications for contrast-enhanced multi-detector row-computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moselewski, Fabian; Ferencik, Maros; Achenbach, Stephan; Abbara, Suhny; Cury, Ricardo C.; Booth, Sarah L.; Jang, Ik-Kyung; Brady, Thomas J.; Hoffmann, Udo

2006-01-01

Introduction: The present study investigated the threshold-dependent variability of coronary artery calcification (CAC) measurements and the potential to quantify CAC in contrast-enhanced multi-detector row-computed tomography (MDCT). Methods: We compared the mean CT attenuation of CAC to luminal contrast enhancement of the coronary arteries in 30 patients (n = 30) undergoing standard coronary contrast-enhanced spiral MDCT. The modified Agatston score [AS], calcified plaque volume [CV], and mineral mass [MM]) at four different thresholds (130, 200, 300, and 400 HU) were measured in 50 patients who underwent non-contrast-enhanced MDCT. Results: Mean CT attenuation of CAC was similar to the attenuation of the contrast-enhanced coronary lumen (CAC 297.1 ± 68.7 HU versus 295 ± 65 HU (p < 0.0001), respectively). Above a threshold of 300 HU CAC measurements significantly varied to standard measurements obtained at a threshold of 130 HU (p < 0.0001). The threshold-dependent variation of MM measurements was significantly smaller than for AS and CV (130 HU versus 400 HU: 63, 75, and 81, respectively; p < 0.001). These differences resulted in a change of age and gender based percentile category for AS in 78% of subjects. Discussion: We demonstrated that CAC measurements are threshold dependent with MM measurements having significantly less variation than AS or CV. Due to the similarity of mean CT attenuation of CAC and the contrast-enhanced coronary lumen accurate quantification of CAC may be difficult in standard coronary contrast-enhanced spiral MDCT

Threshold-dependent variability of coronary artery calcification measurements - implications for contrast-enhanced multi-detector row-computed tomography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moselewski, Fabian [Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States); Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States); Ferencik, Maros [Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States); Achenbach, Stephan [Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States); Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States); Department of Internal Medicine II (Cardiology), University of Erlangen (Germany); Abbara, Suhny [Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States); Cury, Ricardo C. [Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States); Booth, Sarah L. [Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, 711 Washington St., Boston, MA 02114 (United States); Jang, Ik-Kyung [Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States); Brady, Thomas J. [Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States); Hoffmann, Udo [Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States)]. E-mail: uhoffman@partners.org

2006-03-15

Introduction: The present study investigated the threshold-dependent variability of coronary artery calcification (CAC) measurements and the potential to quantify CAC in contrast-enhanced multi-detector row-computed tomography (MDCT). Methods: We compared the mean CT attenuation of CAC to luminal contrast enhancement of the coronary arteries in 30 patients (n = 30) undergoing standard coronary contrast-enhanced spiral MDCT. The modified Agatston score [AS], calcified plaque volume [CV], and mineral mass [MM] at four different thresholds (130, 200, 300, and 400 HU) were measured in 50 patients who underwent non-contrast-enhanced MDCT. Results: Mean CT attenuation of CAC was similar to the attenuation of the contrast-enhanced coronary lumen (CAC 297.1 {+-} 68.7 HU versus 295 {+-} 65 HU (p < 0.0001), respectively). Above a threshold of 300 HU CAC measurements significantly varied to standard measurements obtained at a threshold of 130 HU (p < 0.0001). The threshold-dependent variation of MM measurements was significantly smaller than for AS and CV (130 HU versus 400 HU: 63, 75, and 81, respectively; p < 0.001). These differences resulted in a change of age and gender based percentile category for AS in 78% of subjects. Discussion: We demonstrated that CAC measurements are threshold dependent with MM measurements having significantly less variation than AS or CV. Due to the similarity of mean CT attenuation of CAC and the contrast-enhanced coronary lumen accurate quantification of CAC may be difficult in standard coronary contrast-enhanced spiral MDCT.

Multi-model-based Access Control in Construction Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frank Hilbert

2012-04-01

Full Text Available During the execution of large scale construction projects performed by Virtual Organizations (VO, relatively complex technical models have to be exchanged between the VO members. For linking the trade and transfer of these models, a so-called multi-model container format was developed. Considering the different skills and tasks of the involved partners, it is not necessary for them to know all the models in every technical detailing. Furthermore, the model size can lead to a delay in communication. In this paper an approach is presented for defining model cut-outs according to the current project context. Dynamic dependencies to the project context as well as static dependencies on the organizational structure are mapped in a context-sensitive rule. As a result, an approach for dynamic filtering of multi-models is obtained which ensures, together with a filtering service, that the involved VO members get a simplified view of complex multi-models as well as sufficient permissions depending on their tasks.

Optimal Multi-Level Lot Sizing for Requirements Planning Systems

OpenAIRE

Earle Steinberg; H. Albert Napier

1980-01-01

The wide spread use of advanced information systems such as Material Requirements Planning (MRP) has significantly altered the practice of dependent demand inventory management. Recent research has focused on development of multi-level lot sizing heuristics for such systems. In this paper, we develop an optimal procedure for the multi-period, multi-product, multi-level lot sizing problem by modeling the system as a constrained generalized network with fixed charge arcs and side constraints. T...

Euclidean supergravity and multi-centered solutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W.A. Sabra

2017-04-01

Full Text Available In ungauged supergravity theories, the no-force condition for BPS states implies the existence of stable static multi-centered solutions. The first solutions to Einstein–Maxwell theory with a positive cosmological constant describing an arbitrary number of charged black holes were found by Kastor and Traschen. Generalisations to five and higher dimensional theories were obtained by London. Multi-centered solutions in gauged supergravity, even with time-dependence allowed, have yet to be constructed. In this letter we construct supersymmetry-preserving multi-centered solutions for the case of D=5, N=2 Euclidean gauged supergravity coupled to an arbitrary number of vector multiplets. Higher dimensional Einstein–Maxwell multi-centered solutions are also presented.

Moment analysis of the time-dependent transmission of a step-function input of a radioactive gas through an adsorber bed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, T.V.; Rothstein, D.; Madey, R.

1986-01-01

The time-dependent concentration of a radioactive gas at the outlet of an adsorber bed for a step change in the input concentration is analyzed by the method of moments. This moment analysis yields analytical expressions for calculating the kinetic parameters of a gas adsorbed on a porous solid in terms of observables from a time-dependent transmission curve. Transmission is the ratio of the adsorbate outlet concentration to that at the inlet. The three nonequilibrium parameters are the longitudinal diffusion coefficient, the solid-phase diffusion coefficient, and the interfacial mass-transfer coefficient. Three quantities that can be extracted in principle from an experimental transmission curve are the equilibrium transmission, the average residence (or propagation) time, and the first-moment relative to the propagation time. The propagation time for a radioactive gas is given by the time integral of one minus the transmission (expressed as a fraction of the steady-state transmission). The steady-state transmission, the propagation time, and the first-order moment are functions of the three kinetic parameters and the equilibrium adsorption capacity. The equilibrium adsorption capacity is extracted from an experimental transmission curve for a stable gaseous isotope. The three kinetic parameters can be obtained by solving the three analytical expressions simultaneously. No empirical correlations are required

Benzoylformate analogues exhibit differential rate-determining steps in the benzoylformate decarboxylase reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, G.A.; Weiss, P.M.; Cook, P.F.; Kenyon, G.L.; Cleland, W.W.

1987-01-01

Benzoylformate decarboxylase from Pseudomonas putida is a thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP)-dependent enzyme which converts benzoylformate to benzaldehyde and CO 2 . The rate-determining step(s) in the benzoylformate decarboxylase reaction for a series of substituted benzoylformates (p-CH 3 O, p-CH 3 , p-Cl, and m-F) were studied using solvent deuterium and 13 C kinetic isotope effects. The normal substrate was found to have two partially rate-determining steps; initial tetrahedral adduct formation (D 2 O-sensitive) and decarboxylation ( 13 C-sensitive). D 2 O and 13 C isotope effects indicate that electron-withdrawing substituents (p-Cl and m-F) remove the rate dependence upon decarboxylation such that only a D 2 O effect on (V/K) is observed. Conversely, electron-donating substituents increase the rate-dependence upon decarboxylation such that a larger 13 (V/K) is seen while the D 2 O effects on (V) and (V/K) are not dramatically different from those for benzoylformate. All of the data are consistent with substituent stabilization or destabilization of the carbanionic intermediate formed upon decarboxylation

Temperature dependence of frequency dispersion in III–V metal-oxide-semiconductor C-V and the capture/emission process of border traps

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vais, Abhitosh, E-mail: Abhitosh.Vais@imec.be; Martens, Koen; DeMeyer, Kristin [Department of Electrical Engineering, KU Leuven, B-3000 Leuven (Belgium); IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Lin, Han-Chung; Ivanov, Tsvetan; Collaert, Nadine; Thean, Aaron [IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Dou, Chunmeng [Frontier Research Center, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8502 (Japan); Xie, Qi; Maes, Jan [ASM International, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Tang, Fu; Givens, Michael [ASM International, Phoenix, Arizona 85034-7200 (United States); Raskin, Jean-Pierre [Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, Electronics and Applied Mathematics, Universiteé Catholique de Louvain, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium)

2015-08-03

This paper presents a detailed investigation of the temperature dependence of frequency dispersion observed in capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements of III-V metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices. The dispersion in the accumulation region of the capacitance data is found to change from 4%–9% (per decade frequency) to ∼0% when the temperature is reduced from 300 K to 4 K in a wide range of MOS capacitors with different gate dielectrics and III-V substrates. We show that such significant temperature dependence of C-V frequency dispersion cannot be due to the temperature dependence of channel electrostatics, i.e., carrier density and surface potential. We also show that the temperature dependence of frequency dispersion, and hence, the capture/emission process of border traps can be modeled by a combination of tunneling and a “temperature-activated” process described by a non-radiative multi-phonon model, instead of a widely believed single-step elastic tunneling process.

Batch and multi-step fed-batch enzymatic saccharification of Formiline-pretreated sugarcane bagasse at high solid loadings for high sugar and ethanol titers.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Xuebing; Dong, Lei; Chen, Liang; Liu, Dehua

2013-05-01

Formiline pretreatment pertains to a biomass fractionation process. In the present work, Formiline-pretreated sugarcane bagasse was hydrolyzed with cellulases by batch and multi-step fed-batch processes at 20% solid loading. For wet pulp, after 144 h incubation with cellulase loading of 10 FPU/g dry solid, fed-batch process obtained ~150 g/L glucose and ~80% glucan conversion, while batch process obtained ~130 g/L glucose with corresponding ~70% glucan conversion. Solid loading could be further increased to 30% for the acetone-dried pulp. By fed-batch hydrolysis of the dried pulp in pH 4.8 buffer solution, glucose concentration could be 247.3±1.6 g/L with corresponding 86.1±0.6% glucan conversion. The enzymatic hydrolyzates could be well converted to ethanol by a subsequent fermentation using Saccharomices cerevisiae with ethanol titer of 60-70 g/L. Batch and fed-batch SSF indicated that Formiline-pretreated substrate showed excellent fermentability. The final ethanol concentration was 80 g/L with corresponding 82.7% of theoretical yield. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

One-step synthesis and characterization of CoS-Nanoparticles decorated multi-walled carbon nanotubes

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Kesavan Pillai, Sreejarani

2009-02-01

Full Text Available of applications. It is vital to develop efficient methods to attach quantum dots onto the sidewalls of CNTs whose structures have been preserved intact. In this study, a simple and facile one-step synthesis approach for the in situ mineralisation of Co...

Temporomandibular joint formation requires two distinct hedgehog-dependent steps.

Science.gov (United States)

Purcell, Patricia; Joo, Brian W; Hu, Jimmy K; Tran, Pamela V; Calicchio, Monica L; O'Connell, Daniel J; Maas, Richard L; Tabin, Clifford J

2009-10-27

We conducted a genetic analysis of the developing temporo-mandibular or temporomandi-bular joint (TMJ), a highly specialized synovial joint that permits movement and function of the mammalian jaw. First, we used laser capture microdissection to perform a genome-wide expression analysis of each of its developing components. The expression patterns of genes identified in this screen were examined in the TMJ and compared with those of other synovial joints, including the shoulder and the hip joints. Striking differences were noted, indicating that the TMJ forms via a distinct molecular program. Several components of the hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway are among the genes identified in the screen, including Gli2, which is expressed specifically in the condyle and in the disk of the developing TMJ. We found that mice deficient in Gli2 display aberrant TMJ development such that the condyle loses its growth-plate-like cellular organization and no disk is formed. In addition, we used a conditional strategy to remove Smo, a positive effector of the Hh signaling pathway, from chondrocyte progenitors. This cell autonomous loss of Hh signaling allows for disk formation, but the resulting structure fails to separate from the condyle. Thus, these experiments establish that Hh signaling acts at two distinct steps in disk morphogenesis, condyle initiation, and disk-condyle separation and provide a molecular framework for future studies of the TMJ.

Low-communication parallel quantum multi-target preimage search

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Banegas, G.S.; Bernstein, D.J.; Adams, Carlisle; Camenisch, Jan

2017-01-01

The most important pre-quantum threat to AES-128 is the 1994 van Oorschot–Wiener “parallel rho method”, a low-communication parallel pre-quantum multi-target preimage-search algorithm. This algorithm uses a mesh of p small processors, each running for approximately 2 128 /pt 2128/pt fast steps, to

Stepped piezoresistive microcantilever designs for biosensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ansari, Mohd Zahid; Cho, Chongdu; Urban, Gerald

2012-01-01

The sensitivity of a piezoresistive microcantilever biosensor strongly depends on its ability to convert the surface stress-induced deflections into large resistance change. To improve the sensitivity, we present stepped microcantilever biosensor designs that show significant resistance change compared with commonly used rectangular designs. The cantilever is made of silicon dioxide with a u-shaped silicon piezoresistor. The surface stress-induced deflections, bimorph deflection, fundamental resonant frequency and self-heating properties of the cantilever are studied using the FEM software. The surface stress-induced deflections are compared against the analytical model derived in this work. Results show that stepped designs have better signal-to-noise ratio than the rectangular ones and cantilevers with l/L between 0.5 and 0.75 are better designs for improving sensitivity. (paper)

Thermotropic phase transitions of catanionic dodecylsulfates with multi-charged and multi-tailed quaternary ammonium centers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mihelj, Tea, E-mail: tmihelj@irb.hr [Ruđer Bošković Institute, Department of Physical Chemistry, Laboratory for Synthesis and Processes of Self-assembling of Organic Molecules, Bijenička c. 54, P.O. Box 180, HR-10002 Zagreb (Croatia); Popović, Jasminka [Division for Materials Physics, Ruđer Bošković Institute, POB 180, HR-10002 Zagreb (Croatia); Skoko, Željko [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Bijenička cesta 32, HR-10000 Zagreb (Croatia); Tomašić, Vlasta, E-mail: vlastom@irb.hr [Ruđer Bošković Institute, Department of Physical Chemistry, Laboratory for Synthesis and Processes of Self-assembling of Organic Molecules, Bijenička c. 54, P.O. Box 180, HR-10002 Zagreb (Croatia)

2014-09-10

Highlights: • Thermal behavior of quaternary ammonium n-dodecylsulfates is characterized. • Typical layered structure dominates in all examined compounds at room temperature. • The dimeric didodecylsulfate crystallizes in monoclinic space group P21/m. • Thermotropic phases formation characteristic for multi-tailed n-dodecylsulfates. • Multi-charged n-dodecylsulfates are soft crystals at higher temperatures. - Abstract: Five novel anhydrous catanionic dodecylsulfates containing multi-charged and multi-tailed quaternary ammonium centers were synthesized and examined with light microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray powder diffraction. This study is an attempt to explain the relationship between chemical structure, molecular architecture, phase transition characteristics and thermodynamics and the nature of intermolecular interactions of the individual amphiphiles that ultimately lead to different mesomorphic product. All examined compounds are of typical layered structure at room temperature. The long spacing decreases linearly with the increase of either ionic head or n-dodecyl chain number. The thermal analysis of the examined multi-charged catanionics indicates thermotropic mesomorphism, whereas multi-tailed dodecylsulfates show only properties of soft crystals. Maltese crosses, oily streaks textures, stepped drops and fan-shaped textures affirmed the existence of various smectic mesophases at room and higher temperatures. Thermodynamically the most ordered compound is dimeric didodecylsulfate, and the most disordered is three-tailed dodecylsulfate. The addition of the new quaternary ammonium center or alkyl chain causes the increment of the lattice energy first, and it decreases by further changes in the structure. The temperatures of crystallization decrease by any mentioned addition.

Poisson solvers for self-consistent multi-particle simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiang, J; Paret, S

2014-01-01

Self-consistent multi-particle simulation plays an important role in studying beam-beam effects and space charge effects in high-intensity beams. The Poisson equation has to be solved at each time-step based on the particle density distribution in the multi-particle simulation. In this paper, we review a number of numerical methods that can be used to solve the Poisson equation efficiently. The computational complexity of those numerical methods will be O(N log(N)) or O(N) instead of O(N2), where N is the total number of grid points used to solve the Poisson equation

The effects of multi-disciplinary psycho-social care on socio-economic problems in cancer patients: a cluster-randomized trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Singer, Susanne; Roick, Julia; Meixensberger, Jürgen; Schiefke, Franziska; Briest, Susanne; Dietz, Andreas; Papsdorf, Kirsten; Mössner, Joachim; Berg, Thomas; Stolzenburg, Jens-Uwe; Niederwieser, Dietger; Keller, Annette; Kersting, Anette; Danker, Helge

2018-06-01

We examined whether multi-disciplinary stepped psycho-social care decreases financial problems and improves return-to-work in cancer patients. In a university hospital, wards were randomly allocated to either stepped or standard care. Stepped care comprised screening for financial problems, consultation between doctor and patient, and the provision of social service. Outcomes were financial problems at the time of discharge and return-to-work in patients financial problems at baseline were less likely to have financial problems at discharge when they had received stepped care (odds ratio (OR) 0.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.1, 0.7; p = 0.01). There was no evidence for an effect of stepped care on financial problems in patients without such problems at baseline (OR 1.1, CI 0.5, 2.6; p = 0.82). There were 399 patients Financial problems can be avoided more effectively with multi-disciplinary stepped psycho-social care than with standard care in patients who have such problems.

Step-up fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Bota; Li, Pan; Xu, Lijuan; Peng, Zhaoyuan; Xiang, Jie; He, Zhi; Zhang, Ting; Ji, Guozhong; Nie, Yongzhan; Wu, Kaichun; Fan, Daiming; Zhang, Faming

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Gut dysbiosis is a characteristic of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and is believed to play a role in the pathogenesis of IBD. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is an effective strategy to restore intestinal microbial diversity and has been reported to have a potential therapeutic value in IBD. Our recent study reported a holistic integrative therapy called “step-up FMT strategy,” which was beneficial in treating steroid-dependent IBD patients. This strategy consists of scheduled FMTs combined with steroids, anti-TNF-α antibody treatment or enteral nutrition. Herein, we will elaborate the strategy thoroughly, introducing the concept, potential indication, methodology, and safety of “step-up FMT strategy” in detail. PMID:26939622

Two-Dimensional Space-Time Dependent Multi-group Diffusion Equation with SLOR Method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yulianti, Y.; Su'ud, Z.; Waris, A.; Khotimah, S. N.

2010-01-01

The research of two-dimensional space-time diffusion equations with SLOR (Successive-Line Over Relaxation) has been done. SLOR method is chosen because this method is one of iterative methods that does not required to defined whole element matrix. The research is divided in two cases, homogeneous case and heterogeneous case. Homogeneous case has been inserted by step reactivity. Heterogeneous case has been inserted by step reactivity and ramp reactivity. In general, the results of simulations are agreement, even in some points there are differences.

Thermodynamic simulation of a multi-step externally fired gas turbine powered by biomass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Durante, A.; Pena-Vergara, G.; Curto-Risso, P.L.; Medina, A.; Calvo Hernández, A.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A realistic model for an EFGT fueled with solid biomass is presented. • Detailed submodels for the HTHE and the chemical reactions are incorporated. • An arbitrary number of compression and expansion stages is considered. • Model validation leads to good agreement with experimental results. • A layout with two-stage compression leads to good efficiencies and power output. - Abstract: A thermodynamic model for a realistic Brayton cycle, working as an externally fired gas turbine fueled with biomass is presented. The use of an external combustion chamber, allows to burn dirty fuels to preheat pure air, which is the working fluid for the turbine. It also avoids direct contact of ashes with the turbine blades, resulting in a higher life cycle for the turbine. The model incorporates a high temperature heat exchanger and an arbitrary number of turbines and compressors, with the corresponding number of intercoolers and reheaters. It considers irreversibilities such as non-isentropic compressions and expansions, and pressure losses in heat input and release. The composition and temperature of the combustion gases, as well as the variable flow rate of air and combustion gases, are calculated for specific biomasses. The numerical model for a single stage configuration has been validated by comparing its predictions with the data sheets of two commercial turbines. Results are in good agreement. Curves on the dependence of thermal efficiency and power output with the overall pressure ratio will be shown for several plant configurations with variable number of compression/expansion stages. Also the influence of different types of biomasses and their moisture will be analyzed on parameters such as fuel consumption and exhaust gases temperature. For a single step plant layout fueled with eucalyptus wood an efficiency of 23% is predicted, whereas for a configuration with two compressors and one turbine efficiency increases up to 25%. But it is remarkable

The Use of Importance Measures for Quantification of Multi-unit Risk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jang, Seung-Cheol; Lim, Ho-Gon [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

In this paper, we focus on the quantification of the multi-unit accident sequences frequencies, i.e., conditional core damage probability (CCDP) for a MUI from the SUR model. The paper proposes a method for the estimation of the r-units CCDP considered the interunit dependency, using importance measures. Note that the 1{sup st} and 2{sup nd} terms in the left hand side of the equation have different units of risk measure, i.e., reactor operating year and site operating year, respectively. The total risk of multi-unit reactor accidents concurred by the independent accident sequences each single-unit (the 1{sup st} term in the right-hand side of the Equation 1) can approximate the sum of n single-unit risk conservatively. It corresponds to the traditional multi-unit risk profile concept having used since post-PSA era. Simultaneously, the Equation 1 represent that multi-unit risk within a site with n units has been underestimated as much as the amount of the 2{sup nd} term (MUR by multi-unit initiators), which consists of three parts: 1) the frequency estimation of a MUI, , 2) the quantification of the multi-unit accident sequences frequencies for a MUI, , and 3) the multi-unit consequence analysis for a MUI. The paper proposes a method for the estimation of the r-units CCDP considered the inter-unit dependency, using importance measures. It can facilitate the treatment of the inter-unit dependencies in the multi-unit risk model and can give more comprehensive and more practicable technical platform for estimating multi-unit site risk.

The Use of Importance Measures for Quantification of Multi-unit Risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, Seung-Cheol; Lim, Ho-Gon

2015-01-01

In this paper, we focus on the quantification of the multi-unit accident sequences frequencies, i.e., conditional core damage probability (CCDP) for a MUI from the SUR model. The paper proposes a method for the estimation of the r-units CCDP considered the interunit dependency, using importance measures. Note that the 1 st and 2 nd terms in the left hand side of the equation have different units of risk measure, i.e., reactor operating year and site operating year, respectively. The total risk of multi-unit reactor accidents concurred by the independent accident sequences each single-unit (the 1 st term in the right-hand side of the Equation 1) can approximate the sum of n single-unit risk conservatively. It corresponds to the traditional multi-unit risk profile concept having used since post-PSA era. Simultaneously, the Equation 1 represent that multi-unit risk within a site with n units has been underestimated as much as the amount of the 2 nd term (MUR by multi-unit initiators), which consists of three parts: 1) the frequency estimation of a MUI, , 2) the quantification of the multi-unit accident sequences frequencies for a MUI, , and 3) the multi-unit consequence analysis for a MUI. The paper proposes a method for the estimation of the r-units CCDP considered the inter-unit dependency, using importance measures. It can facilitate the treatment of the inter-unit dependencies in the multi-unit risk model and can give more comprehensive and more practicable technical platform for estimating multi-unit site risk

Communication Dependent Control of Multi-Vehicle Formations

Science.gov (United States)

2016-05-11

On Maximizing the Second Smallest Eigen- value of a State-Dependent Graph Laplacian,” IEEE Transactions on Au- tomatic Control, vol. 51, no. 1, pp...Collective Motion With Limited Communication,” IEEE Transactions on Au- tomatic Control, vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 706–719, 2008. [Online]. Available: http

Integration of topological modification within the modeling of multi-physics systems: Application to a Pogo-stick

Science.gov (United States)

Abdeljabbar Kharrat, Nourhene; Plateaux, Régis; Miladi Chaabane, Mariem; Choley, Jean-Yves; Karra, Chafik; Haddar, Mohamed

2018-05-01

The present work tackles the modeling of multi-physics systems applying a topological approach while proceeding with a new methodology using a topological modification to the structure of systems. Then the comparison with the Magos' methodology is made. Their common ground is the use of connectivity within systems. The comparison and analysis of the different types of modeling show the importance of the topological methodology through the integration of the topological modification to the topological structure of a multi-physics system. In order to validate this methodology, the case of Pogo-stick is studied. The first step consists in generating a topological graph of the system. Then the connectivity step takes into account the contact with the ground. During the last step of this research; the MGS language (Modeling of General System) is used to model the system through equations. Finally, the results are compared to those obtained by MODELICA. Therefore, this proposed methodology may be generalized to model multi-physics systems that can be considered as a set of local elements.

Computation of multi-region relaxed magnetohydrodynamic equilibria

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hudson, S. R.; Lazerson, S. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, P.O. Box 451, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States); Dewar, R. L.; Dennis, G.; Hole, M. J.; McGann, M.; Nessi, G. von [Plasma Research Laboratory, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200 (Australia)

2012-11-15

We describe the construction of stepped-pressure equilibria as extrema of a multi-region, relaxed magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) energy functional that combines elements of ideal MHD and Taylor relaxation, and which we call MRXMHD. The model is compatible with Hamiltonian chaos theory and allows the three-dimensional MHD equilibrium problem to be formulated in a well-posed manner suitable for computation. The energy-functional is discretized using a mixed finite-element, Fourier representation for the magnetic vector potential and the equilibrium geometry; and numerical solutions are constructed using the stepped-pressure equilibrium code, SPEC. Convergence studies with respect to radial and Fourier resolution are presented.

Graphene Oxide/Silver Nanohybrid as Multi-functional Material for Highly Efficient Bacterial Disinfection and Detection of Organic Dye

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tam, L.T.; Dinh, N. X.; Cuong, N. V.

2016-01-01

In this work, a multi-functional hybrid system consisting of graphene oxide and silver nanoparticles (GO-Ag NPs) was successfully synthesized by using a two-step chemical process. We firstly demonstrated noticeable bactericidal ability of the GO-Ag hybrid system. We provide more chemo-physical ev......In this work, a multi-functional hybrid system consisting of graphene oxide and silver nanoparticles (GO-Ag NPs) was successfully synthesized by using a two-step chemical process. We firstly demonstrated noticeable bactericidal ability of the GO-Ag hybrid system. We provide more chemo...... media. With the aforementioned properties, the GO-Ag hybrid system is found to be very promising as a multi-functional material for advanced biomedicine and environmental monitoring applications....

Data-Based Predictive Control with Multirate Prediction Step

Science.gov (United States)

Barlow, Jonathan S.

2010-01-01

Data-based predictive control is an emerging control method that stems from Model Predictive Control (MPC). MPC computes current control action based on a prediction of the system output a number of time steps into the future and is generally derived from a known model of the system. Data-based predictive control has the advantage of deriving predictive models and controller gains from input-output data. Thus, a controller can be designed from the outputs of complex simulation code or a physical system where no explicit model exists. If the output data happens to be corrupted by periodic disturbances, the designed controller will also have the built-in ability to reject these disturbances without the need to know them. When data-based predictive control is implemented online, it becomes a version of adaptive control. One challenge of MPC is computational requirements increasing with prediction horizon length. This paper develops a closed-loop dynamic output feedback controller that minimizes a multi-step-ahead receding-horizon cost function with multirate prediction step. One result is a reduced influence of prediction horizon and the number of system outputs on the computational requirements of the controller. Another result is an emphasis on portions of the prediction window that are sampled more frequently. A third result is the ability to include more outputs in the feedback path than in the cost function.

Electric field dependent paramagnetic defect creation in single step implanted Simox films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leray, J.L.; Margail, J.

1991-01-01

X irradiation induced oxygen-vacancy defect creation has been studied in SIMOX produced by single step implantation and annealing. It is shown that SIMOX is substantially more radiation sensitive (for these defects) than thermal or bulk oxide. Irradiation in the presence of an electric field 0.5 -1 MV cm -1 is found to enhance the rate of defect creation by ≥ 2 times. Further enhanced defect creation is observed in SIMOX samples whose substrate has been chemically thinned prior to irradiation. This enhancement is attributed to modification of the network induced by hydrogen introduced during the thinning process

Structural comparison of anodic nanoporous-titania fabricated from single-step and three-step of anodization using two paralleled-electrodes anodizing cell

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mallika Thabuot

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Anodization of Ti sheet in the ethylene glycol electrolyte containing 0.38wt% NH4F with the addition of 1.79wt% H2O at room temperature was studied. Applied potential of 10-60 V and anodizing time of 1-3 h were conducted by single-step and three-step of anodization within the two paralleled-electrodes anodizing cell. Their structural and textural properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM. After annealing at 600°C in the air furnace for 3 h, TiO2-nanotubes was transformed to the higher proportion of anatase crystal phase. Also crystallization of anatase phase was enhanced as the duration of anodization as the final step increased. By using single-step of anodization, pore texture of oxide film was started to reveal at the applied potential of 30 V. Better orderly arrangement of the TiO2-nanotubes array with larger pore size was obtained with the increase of applied potential. The applied potential of 60 V was selected for the three-step of anodization with anodizing time of 1-3 h. Results showed that the well-smooth surface coverage with higher density of porous-TiO2 was achieved using prolonging time at the first and second step, however, discontinuity tube in length was produced instead of the long-vertical tube. Layer thickness of anodic oxide film depended on the anodizing time at the last step of anodization. More well arrangement of nanostructured-TiO2 was produced using three-step of anodization under 60 V with 3 h for each step.

Step dynamics and terrace-width distribution on flame-annealed gold films: The effect of step-step interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimoni, Nira; Ayal, Shai; Millo, Oded

2000-01-01

Dynamics of atomic steps and the terrace-width distribution within step bunches on flame-annealed gold films are studied using scanning tunneling microscopy. The distribution is narrower than commonly observed for vicinal planes and has a Gaussian shape, indicating a short-range repulsive interaction between the steps, with an apparently large interaction constant. The dynamics of the atomic steps, on the other hand, appear to be influenced, in addition to these short-range interactions, also by a longer-range attraction of steps towards step bunches. Both types of interactions promote self-ordering of terrace structures on the surface. When current is driven through the films a step-fingering instability sets in, reminiscent of the Bales-Zangwill instability

Traffic safety and step-by-step driving licence for young people

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tønning, Charlotte; Agerholm, Niels

2017-01-01

presents a review of safety effects from step-by-step driving licence schemes. Most of the investigated schemes consist of a step-by-step driving licence with Step 1) various tests and education, Step 2) a period where driving is only allowed together with an experienced driver and Step 3) driving without...... companion is allowed but with various restrictions and, in some cases, additional driving education and tests. In general, a step-by-step driving licence improves traffic safety even though the young people are permitted to drive a car earlier on. The effects from driving with an experienced driver vary......Young novice car drivers are much more accident-prone than other drivers - up to 10 times that of their parents' generation. A central solution to improve the traffic safety for this group is implementation of a step-by-step driving licence. A number of countries have introduced a step...

A Two-Step Approach to Analyze Satisfaction Data

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrari, Pier Alda; Pagani, Laura; Fiorio, Carlo V.

2011-01-01

In this paper a two-step procedure based on Nonlinear Principal Component Analysis (NLPCA) and Multilevel models (MLM) for the analysis of satisfaction data is proposed. The basic hypothesis is that observed ordinal variables describe different aspects of a latent continuous variable, which depends on covariates connected with individual and…

A diagnosis method for physical systems using a multi-modeling approach; Utilisation de l'approche multi-modeles pour l'aide au diagnostic d'installations industrielles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thetiot, R

2000-07-01

In this thesis we propose a method for diagnosis problem solving. This method is based on a multi-modeling approach describing both normal and abnormal behavior of a system. This modeling approach allows to represent a system at different abstraction levels (behavioral, functional and teleological). Fundamental knowledge is described according to a bond-graph representation. We show that bond-graph representation can be exploited in order to generate (completely or partially) the functional models. The different models of the multi-modeling approach allows to define the functional state of a system at different abstraction levels. We exploit this property to exonerate sub-systems for which the expected behavior is observed. The behavioral and functional descriptions of the remaining sub-systems are exploited hierarchically in a two steps process. In a first step, the abnormal behaviors explaining some observations are identified. In a second step, the remaining unexplained observations are used to generate conflict sets and thus the consistency based diagnoses. The modeling method and the diagnosis process have been applied to a Reactor Coolant Pump Sets. This application illustrates the concepts described in this thesis and shows its potentialities. (authors)

Macrostructural Treatment of Multi-word Lexical Items

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alenka Vrbinc

2011-05-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the macrostructural treatment of multi-word lexical items in mono- and bilingual dictionaries. First, the classification of multi-word lexical items is presented, and special attention is paid to the discussion of compounds – a specific group of multi-word lexical items that is most commonly afforded headword status but whose inclusion in the headword list may also depend on spelling. Then the inclusion of multi-word lexical items in monolingual dictionaries is dealt with in greater detail, while the results of a short survey on the inclusion of five randomly chosen multi-word lexical items in seven English monolingual dictionaries are presented. The proposals as to how to treat these five multi-word lexical items in bilingual dictionaries are presented in the section about the inclusion of multi-word lexical items in bilingual dictionaries. The conclusion is that it is most important to take the users’ needs into consideration and to make any dictionary as user friendly as possible.

A STEP TOWARDS DYNAMIC SCENE ANALYSIS WITH ACTIVE MULTI-VIEW RANGE IMAGING SYSTEMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Weinmann

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Obtaining an appropriate 3D description of the local environment remains a challenging task in photogrammetric research. As terrestrial laser scanners (TLSs perform a highly accurate, but time-dependent spatial scanning of the local environment, they are only suited for capturing static scenes. In contrast, new types of active sensors provide the possibility of simultaneously capturing range and intensity information by images with a single measurement, and the high frame rate also allows for capturing dynamic scenes. However, due to the limited field of view, one observation is not sufficient to obtain a full scene coverage and therefore, typically, multiple observations are collected from different locations. This can be achieved by either placing several fixed sensors at different known locations or by using a moving sensor. In the latter case, the relation between different observations has to be estimated by using information extracted from the captured data and then, a limited field of view may lead to problems if there are too many moving objects within it. Hence, a moving sensor platform with multiple and coupled sensor devices offers the advantages of an extended field of view which results in a stabilized pose estimation, an improved registration of the recorded point clouds and an improved reconstruction of the scene. In this paper, a new experimental setup for investigating the potentials of such multi-view range imaging systems is presented which consists of a moving cable car equipped with two synchronized range imaging devices. The presented setup allows for monitoring in low altitudes and it is suitable for getting dynamic observations which might arise from moving cars or from moving pedestrians. Relying on both 3D geometry and 2D imagery, a reliable and fully automatic approach for co-registration of captured point cloud data is presented which is essential for a high quality of all subsequent tasks. The approach involves using

[Research progress of multi-model medical image fusion and recognition].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Tao; Lu, Huiling; Chen, Zhiqiang; Ma, Jingxian

2013-10-01

Medical image fusion and recognition has a wide range of applications, such as focal location, cancer staging and treatment effect assessment. Multi-model medical image fusion and recognition are analyzed and summarized in this paper. Firstly, the question of multi-model medical image fusion and recognition is discussed, and its advantage and key steps are discussed. Secondly, three fusion strategies are reviewed from the point of algorithm, and four fusion recognition structures are discussed. Thirdly, difficulties, challenges and possible future research direction are discussed.

A step-defined sedentary lifestyle index: <5000 steps/day.

Science.gov (United States)

Tudor-Locke, Catrine; Craig, Cora L; Thyfault, John P; Spence, John C

2013-02-01

Step counting (using pedometers or accelerometers) is widely accepted by researchers, practitioners, and the general public. Given the mounting evidence of the link between low steps/day and time spent in sedentary behaviours, how few steps/day some populations actually perform, and the growing interest in the potentially deleterious effects of excessive sedentary behaviours on health, an emerging question is "How many steps/day are too few?" This review examines the utility, appropriateness, and limitations of using a reoccurring candidate for a step-defined sedentary lifestyle index: 10 000) to lower (sedentary lifestyle index for adults is appropriate for researchers and practitioners and for communicating with the general public. There is little evidence to advocate any specific value indicative of a step-defined sedentary lifestyle index in children and adolescents.

Promotion of multi-electron transfer for enhanced photocatalysis: A review focused on oxygen reduction reaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Changhua [Centre for Advanced Optoelectronic Functional Materials Research, and Key Laboratory for UV-Emitting Materials and Technology of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 (China); College of Chemistry and Biology, Beihua University, Jilin 132013 (China); Zhang, Xintong, E-mail: xtzhang@nenu.edu.cn [Centre for Advanced Optoelectronic Functional Materials Research, and Key Laboratory for UV-Emitting Materials and Technology of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 (China); Liu, Yichun [Centre for Advanced Optoelectronic Functional Materials Research, and Key Laboratory for UV-Emitting Materials and Technology of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 (China)

2015-12-15

Highlights: • Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in photocatalysis process is focused. • Multi-electron transfer ORR is reviewed. • This review provides a guide to access to enhanced photocatalysis via multi-electron transfer. - Abstract: Semiconductor photocatalysis has attracted significant interest for solar light induced environmental remediation and solar fuel generation. As is well known, photocatalytic performance is determined by three steps: photoexcitation, separation and transport of photogenerated charge carriers, and surface reactions. To achieve higher efficiency, significant efforts have been made on improvement of efficiency of above first two steps, which have been well documented in recent review articles. In contrast, this review intends to focus on strategies moving onto the third step of improvement for enhanced photocatalysis wherein active oxygen species including superoxide radical, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical are in situ detected. Particularly, surface electron-transfer reduction of oxygen over single component photocatalysts is reviewed and systems enabling multi-electron transfer induced oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are highlighted. It is expected this review could provide a guideline for readers to better understand the critical role of ORR over photocatalyst in charge carrier separation and transfer and obtain reliable results for enhanced aerobic photocatalysis.

A multi-state magnetic memory dependent on the permeability of Metglas

Science.gov (United States)

Petrie, J. R.; Wieland, K. A.; Timmerwilke, J. M.; Barron, S. C.; Burke, R. A.; Newburgh, G. A.; Burnette, J. E.; Fischer, G. A.; Edelstein, A. S.

2015-04-01

A three-state magnetic memory was developed based on differences in the magnetic permeability of a soft ferromagnetic media, Metglas 2826MB (Fe40Ni38Mo4B18). By heating bits of a 250 nm thick Metglas film with 70-100 mW of laser power, we were able to tune the local microstructure, and hence, the permeability. Ternary memory states were created by using lower laser power to enhance the initial permeability through localized atomic rearrangement and higher power to reduce the permeability through crystallization. The permeability of the bits was read by detecting variations in an external 32 Oe probe field within 10 μm of the media via a magnetic tunnel junction read head. Compared to data based on remanent magnetization, these multi-permeability bits have enhanced insensitivity to unexpected field and temperature changes. We found that data was not corrupted after exposure to fields of 1 T or temperatures of 423 K, indicating the effectiveness of this multi-state approach for safely storing large amounts of data.

A multi-state magnetic memory dependent on the permeability of Metglas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrie, J. R.; Wieland, K. A.; Timmerwilke, J. M.; Burke, R. A.; Newburgh, G. A.; Fischer, G. A.; Edelstein, A. S.; Barron, S. C.; Burnette, J. E.

2015-01-01

A three-state magnetic memory was developed based on differences in the magnetic permeability of a soft ferromagnetic media, Metglas 2826MB (Fe 40 Ni 38 Mo 4 B 18 ). By heating bits of a 250 nm thick Metglas film with 70–100 mW of laser power, we were able to tune the local microstructure, and hence, the permeability. Ternary memory states were created by using lower laser power to enhance the initial permeability through localized atomic rearrangement and higher power to reduce the permeability through crystallization. The permeability of the bits was read by detecting variations in an external 32 Oe probe field within 10 μm of the media via a magnetic tunnel junction read head. Compared to data based on remanent magnetization, these multi-permeability bits have enhanced insensitivity to unexpected field and temperature changes. We found that data was not corrupted after exposure to fields of 1 T or temperatures of 423 K, indicating the effectiveness of this multi-state approach for safely storing large amounts of data

Reliability optimization of a redundant system with failure dependencies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yu Haiyang [Institute Charles Delaunay (ICD, FRE CNRS 2848), Troyes University of Technology, Rue Marie Curie, BP 2060, 10010 Troyes (France)]. E-mail: Haiyang.YU@utt.fr; Chu Chengbin [Institute Charles Delaunay (ICD, FRE CNRS 2848), Troyes University of Technology, Rue Marie Curie, BP 2060, 10010 Troyes (France); Management School, Hefei University of Technology, 193 Tunxi Road, Hefei (China); Chatelet, Eric [Institute Charles Delaunay (ICD, FRE CNRS 2848), Troyes University of Technology, Rue Marie Curie, BP 2060, 10010 Troyes (France); Yalaoui, Farouk [Institute Charles Delaunay (ICD, FRE CNRS 2848), Troyes University of Technology, Rue Marie Curie, BP 2060, 10010 Troyes (France)

2007-12-15

In a multi-component system, the failure of one component can reduce the system reliability in two aspects: loss of the reliability contribution of this failed component, and the reconfiguration of the system, e.g., the redistribution of the system loading. The system reconfiguration can be triggered by the component failures as well as by adding redundancies. Hence, dependency is essential for the design of a multi-component system. In this paper, we study the design of a redundant system with the consideration of a specific kind of failure dependency, i.e., the redundant dependency. The dependence function is introduced to quantify the redundant dependency. With the dependence function, the redundant dependencies are further classified as independence, weak, linear, and strong dependencies. In addition, this classification is useful in that it facilitates the optimization resolution of the system design. Finally, an example is presented to illustrate the concept of redundant dependency and its application in system design. This paper thus conveys the significance of failure dependencies in the reliability optimization of systems.

Reliability optimization of a redundant system with failure dependencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Haiyang; Chu Chengbin; Chatelet, Eric; Yalaoui, Farouk

2007-01-01

In a multi-component system, the failure of one component can reduce the system reliability in two aspects: loss of the reliability contribution of this failed component, and the reconfiguration of the system, e.g., the redistribution of the system loading. The system reconfiguration can be triggered by the component failures as well as by adding redundancies. Hence, dependency is essential for the design of a multi-component system. In this paper, we study the design of a redundant system with the consideration of a specific kind of failure dependency, i.e., the redundant dependency. The dependence function is introduced to quantify the redundant dependency. With the dependence function, the redundant dependencies are further classified as independence, weak, linear, and strong dependencies. In addition, this classification is useful in that it facilitates the optimization resolution of the system design. Finally, an example is presented to illustrate the concept of redundant dependency and its application in system design. This paper thus conveys the significance of failure dependencies in the reliability optimization of systems

Performance enhancement of a heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) by two-step passivation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu, S.-I.; Lai, P.-H.; Tsai, Y.-Y.; Hung, C.-W.; Yen, C.-H.; Cheng, S.-Y.; Liu, W.-C.

2006-01-01

An interesting two-step passivation (with ledge structure and sulphide based chemical treatment) on base surface, for the first time, is demonstrated to study the temperature-dependent DC characteristics and noise performance of an InGaP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT). Improved transistor behaviors on maximum current gain β max , offset voltage ΔV CE , and emitter size effect are obtained by using the two-step passivation. Moreover, the device with the two-step passivation exhibits relatively temperature-independent and improved thermal stable performances as the temperature is increased. Therefore, the two-step passivationed device can be used for high-temperature and low-power electronics applications

Deployment of a multi-link flexible structure

Science.gov (United States)

Na, Kyung-Su; Kim, Ji-Hwan

2006-06-01

Deployment of a multi-link beam structure undergoing locking is analyzed in the Timoshenko beam theory. In the modeling of the system, dynamic forces are assumed to be torques and restoring forces due to the torsion spring at each joint. Hamilton's principle is used to determine the equations of motion and the finite element method is adopted to analyze the system. Newmark time integration and Newton-Raphson iteration methods are used to solve for the non-linear equations of motion at each time step. The locking at the joints of the multi-link flexible structure is analyzed by the momentum balance method. Numerical results are compared with the previous experimental data. The angles and angular velocities of each joint, tip displacement, and velocity of each link are investigated to study the motions of the links at each time step. To analyze the effect of thickness on the motion of the link, the angle and the tip displacement of each link are compared according to the various slenderness ratios. Additionally, in order to investigate the effect of shear, the tip displacements of a Timoshenko beam are compared with those of an Euler-Bernoulli beam.

Characterizing the Fundamental Intellectual Steps Required in the Solution of Conceptual Problems

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, John

2010-02-01

At some level, the performance of a science class must depend on what is taught, the information content of the materials and assignments of the course. The introductory calculus-based electricity and magnetism class at the University of Arkansas is examined using a catalog of the basic reasoning steps involved in the solution of problems assigned in the class. This catalog was developed by sampling popular physics textbooks for conceptual problems. The solution to each conceptual problem was decomposed into its fundamental reasoning steps. These fundamental steps are, then, used to quantify the distribution of conceptual content within the course. Using this characterization technique, an exceptionally detailed picture of the information flow and structure of the class can be produced. The intellectual structure of published conceptual inventories is compared with the information presented in the class and the dependence of conceptual performance on the details of coverage extracted. )

Numerical eduction of active multi-port data for in-duct obstructions

Science.gov (United States)

Sack, Stefan; Shur, Michael; Åbom, Mats; Strelets, Michael; Travin, Andrey

2017-12-01

A numerical method for aeroacoustic source characterization of in-duct components at frequencies beyond the cut-on frequencies of several acoustic modes is presented. Assuming linearity and time invariance, any ducted component can be fully characterized using a network (multi-port) model including source strength and scattering. A two-step multi-source approach is applied to numerical data in order to educe the multi-port characteristics. First, a scale resolving compressible flow simulation, here the Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (IDDES), is run to compute the channel flow that also contains the acoustic sources. Second, a linear acoustic computation, here the Linearized Navier Stokes Equations (LNSE), around a mean flow is solved for different acoustic loads to determine the component's scattering. The work uncovers the high potential of two-step numerical multi-port eduction methods. Particularly, it is shown that the acoustic source power spectra can be accurately extracted from IDDES data and the total acoustic power prediction is very good. Furthermore, a good result in the scattering data obtained from a second computationally inexpensive LNSE computation is achieved. The approach is interesting when describing mid-size duct systems, for example ventilation systems in aircraft and buildings, with a moderate number of higher order modes propagating in the considered frequency range. Therefore, the increasing availability of compressible flow data opens a wide field of applications.

Nucleation on a stepped surface with an Ehrlich–Schwöbel barrier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chromcova, Z; Chvoj, Z; Tringides, M C

2013-01-01

During deposition on a stepped surface the growth mode depends on the conditions such as temperature T, deposition rate F and width of the terraces w. In this work we studied the influence of all the above mentioned characteristics using the kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) technique. We concentrated on the conditions on the terrace at the moment of the first nucleation. The critical density of monomers for nucleation η m decreases with the width of the terrace and the nucleation starts at surprisingly low densities of monomers. We tested several definitions of the critical width for nucleation w c used in various articles in the past and we compared our results with results of the analytical steady-state mean-field model (Ranguelov and Altman 2007 Phys. Rev. B 75 245419). To check how the simplified assumption about the steady-state regime during deposition influences the resulting dependence of w c ≃ (D/F) κ , we set and also solved a time-dependent analytical model. This analytical model as well as kMC predict that w c ≃ (D/F) 1/5 . kMC simulation also shows that the Ehrlich–Schwöbel barrier has only limited influence on the nucleation on the stepped surface at conditions close to the nucleation regime. For all widths of terraces there is a critical value of the Ehrlich–Schwöbel barrier, and only below this critical value does the Ehrlich–Schwöbel barrier affect the final value of the density of nuclei. The results of the kMC are summarized in a semi-empirical analytical formula which describes the dependence of the step-flow growth and nucleation on the terrace width w, diffusion coefficient D and deposition rate F. In our simulations we tested two models of the stepped surface with different thicknesses of the step, both with an Ehrlich–Schwöbel barrier on the edge of the terrace. (paper)

Astronomical sketching a step-by-step introduction

CERN Document Server

Handy, Richard; Perez, Jeremy; Rix, Erika; Robbins, Sol

2007-01-01

This book presents the amateur with fine examples of astronomical sketches and step-by-step tutorials in each medium, from pencil to computer graphics programs. This unique book can teach almost anyone to create beautiful sketches of celestial objects.

Two-Step Classification of Unemployed People in the Czech Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zdeněk Šulc

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The paper analyzes structure and behavior of unemployed people in the Czech Republic by means of latent class analysis (LCA and CHAID analysis where the output of LCA serves as the input for CHAID. The unemployed are classified in two steps; for each step different characteristics are used. In the first step, respondents are split into latent classes according to their answers to questions concerning ways of searching for a new job. In the second step, CHAID analysis is performed with results obtained from LCA as a dependent variable. In the paper, data from periodical Labor Force Survey conducted in Czech Republic in spring 2011 are used. The results indicate that unemployed people in the Czech Republic can be divided into four segments: Active, Passive, Typical and Specific. A special attention is paid to extreme segments Active and Passive.

Ehrenfest's theorem and the validity of the two-step model for strong-field ionization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shvetsov-Shilovskiy, Nikolay; Dimitrovski, Darko; Madsen, Lars Bojer

By comparison with the solution of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation we explore the validity of the two-step semiclassical model for strong-field ionization in elliptically polarized laser pulses. We find that the discrepancy between the two-step model and the quantum theory correlates...

Screening wells by multi-scale grids for multi-stage Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Akbari, Hani; Engsig-Karup, Allan Peter

2018-01-01

/production wells, aiming at accurate breakthrough capturing as well as above mentioned efficiency goals. However this short time simulation needs fine-scale structure of the geological model around wells and running a fine-scale model is not as cheap as necessary for screening steps. On the other hand applying...... it on a coarse-scale model declines important data around wells and causes inaccurate results, particularly accurate breakthrough capturing which is important for prediction applications. Therefore we propose a multi-scale grid which preserves the fine-scale model around wells (as well as high permeable regions...... and fractures) and coarsens rest of the field and keeps efficiency and accuracy for the screening well stage and coarse-scale simulation, as well. A discrete wavelet transform is used as a powerful tool to generate the desired unstructured multi-scale grid efficiently. Finally an accepted proposal on coarse...

On the stability and multi-stability of a TCP/RED congestion control model with state-dependent delay and discontinuous marking function

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Shu; Xu, Jian; Chung, Kwok-wai

2015-05-01

Random early detection (RED) is an effective algorithm to control the Internet congestion. However, researches on RED parameters are difficult since there are state-dependent delay and discontinuous terms on the right-hand side of the model. We smooth the model by hyperbolic tangent function and reformulate it by a switch function to keep state variables positive. Numerical simulations on the original system validates the reformulated model. The multi-stability phenomenon is observed and some suggestions on the selection of RED parameters are given to enhance the global stability of the model by numerical bifurcation continuation on the reformulated model.

Steps to Opening the Skilled Trades to Women.

Science.gov (United States)

Employment Standards Administration (DOL), Washington, DC. Women's Bureau.

Employers' and unions' acceptance in attitude and practice of the equal capacity of women to function in the skilled trades and other apprentice-type jobs depends upon knowledge of facts, actual experience, and understanding of equal opportunity laws, according to the authors of the document, which offers to employers first steps to take to…

One step beyond: Different step-to-step transitions exist during continuous contact brachiation in siamangs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fana Michilsens

2012-02-01

In brachiation, two main gaits are distinguished, ricochetal brachiation and continuous contact brachiation. During ricochetal brachiation, a flight phase exists and the body centre of mass (bCOM describes a parabolic trajectory. For continuous contact brachiation, where at least one hand is always in contact with the substrate, we showed in an earlier paper that four step-to-step transition types occur. We referred to these as a ‘point’, a ‘loop’, a ‘backward pendulum’ and a ‘parabolic’ transition. Only the first two transition types have previously been mentioned in the existing literature on gibbon brachiation. In the current study, we used three-dimensional video and force analysis to describe and characterize these four step-to-step transition types. Results show that, although individual preference occurs, the brachiation strides characterized by each transition type are mainly associated with speed. Yet, these four transitions seem to form a continuum rather than four distinct types. Energy recovery and collision fraction are used as estimators of mechanical efficiency of brachiation and, remarkably, these parameters do not differ between strides with different transition types. All strides show high energy recoveries (mean  = 70±11.4% and low collision fractions (mean  = 0.2±0.13, regardless of the step-to-step transition type used. We conclude that siamangs have efficient means of modifying locomotor speed during continuous contact brachiation by choosing particular step-to-step transition types, which all minimize collision fraction and enhance energy recovery.

Multi-band Image Registration Method Based on Fourier Transform

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

庹红娅; 刘允才

2004-01-01

This paper presented a registration method based on Fourier transform for multi-band images which is involved in translation and small rotation. Although different band images differ a lot in the intensity and features,they contain certain common information which we can exploit. A model was given that the multi-band images have linear correlations under the least-square sense. It is proved that the coefficients have no effect on the registration progress if two images have linear correlations. Finally, the steps of the registration method were proposed. The experiments show that the model is reasonable and the results are satisfying.

On fault propagation in deterioration of multi-component systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, Zhenglin; Parlikad, Ajith Kumar; Srinivasan, Rengarajan; Rasmekomen, Nipat

2017-01-01

In extant literature, deterioration dependence among components can be modelled as inherent dependence and induced dependence. We find that the two types of dependence may co-exist and interact with each other in one multi-component system. We refer to this phenomenon as fault propagation. In practice, a fault induced by the malfunction of a non-critical component may further propagate through the dependence amongst critical components. Such fault propagation scenario happens in industrial assets or systems (bridge deck, and heat exchanging system). In this paper, a multi-layered vector-valued continuous-time Markov chain is developed to capture the characteristics of fault propagation. To obtain the mathematical tractability, we derive a partitioning rule to aggregate states with the same characteristics while keeping the overall aging behaviour of the multi-component system. Although the detailed information of components is masked by aggregated states, lumpability is attainable with the partitioning rule. It means that the aggregated process is stochastically equivalent to the original one and retains the Markov property. We apply this model on a heat exchanging system in oil refinery company. The results show that fault propagation has a more significant impact on the system's lifetime comparing with inherent dependence and induced dependence. - Highlights: • We develop a vector value continuous-time Markov chain to model the meta-dependent characteristic of fault propagation. • A partitioning rule is derived to reduce the state space and attain lumpability. • The model is applied on analysing the impact of fault propagation in a heat exchanging system.

Application of stepping motor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-10-01

This book is divided into three parts, which is about practical using of stepping motor. The first part has six chapters. The contents of the first part are about stepping motor, classification of stepping motor, basic theory og stepping motor, characteristic and basic words, types and characteristic of stepping motor in hybrid type and basic control of stepping motor. The second part deals with application of stepping motor with hardware of stepping motor control, stepping motor control by microcomputer and software of stepping motor control. The last part mentions choice of stepping motor system, examples of stepping motor, measurement of stepping motor and practical cases of application of stepping motor.

Single-Step Affinity Purification for Fungal Proteomics ▿ †

OpenAIRE

Liu, Hui-Lin; Osmani, Aysha H.; Ukil, Leena; Son, Sunghun; Markossian, Sarine; Shen, Kuo-Fang; Govindaraghavan, Meera; Varadaraj, Archana; Hashmi, Shahr B.; De Souza, Colin P.; Osmani, Stephen A.

2010-01-01

A single-step protein affinity purification protocol using Aspergillus nidulans is described. Detailed protocols for cell breakage, affinity purification, and depending on the application, methods for protein release from affinity beads are provided. Examples defining the utility of the approaches, which should be widely applicable, are included.

Response Surface Methodology's Steepest Ascent and Step Size Revisited

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kleijnen, J.P.C.; den Hertog, D.; Angun, M.E.

2002-01-01

Response Surface Methodology (RSM) searches for the input combination maximizing the output of a real system or its simulation.RSM is a heuristic that locally fits first-order polynomials, and estimates the corresponding steepest ascent (SA) paths.However, SA is scale-dependent; and its step size is

Internship guide : Work placements step by step

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haag, Esther

2013-01-01

Internship Guide: Work Placements Step by Step has been written from the practical perspective of a placement coordinator. This book addresses the following questions : what problems do students encounter when they start thinking about the jobs their degree programme prepares them for? How do you

Multi-enzyme Process Modeling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andrade Santacoloma, Paloma de Gracia

are affected (in a positive or negative way) by the presence of the other enzymes and compounds in the media. In this thesis the concept of multi-enzyme in-pot term is adopted for processes that are carried out by the combination of enzymes in a single reactor and implemented at pilot or industrial scale...... features of the process and provides the information required to structure the process model by using a step-by-step procedure with the required tools and methods. In this way, this framework increases efficiency of the model development process with respect to time and resources needed (fast and effective....... In this way the model parameters that drives the main dynamic behavior can be identified and thus a better understanding of this type of processes. In order to develop, test and verify the methodology, three case studies were selected, specifically the bi-enzyme process for the production of lactobionic acid...

Microsoft Office professional 2010 step by step

CERN Document Server

Cox, Joyce; Frye, Curtis

2011-01-01

Teach yourself exactly what you need to know about using Office Professional 2010-one step at a time! With STEP BY STEP, you build and practice new skills hands-on, at your own pace. Covering Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel, Access, Publisher, and OneNote, this book will help you learn the core features and capabilities needed to: Create attractive documents, publications, and spreadsheetsManage your e-mail, calendar, meetings, and communicationsPut your business data to workDevelop and deliver great presentationsOrganize your ideas and notes in one placeConnect, share, and accom

Stage I surface crack formation in thermal fatigue: A predictive multi-scale approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osterstock, S.; Robertson, C.; Sauzay, M.; Aubin, V.; Degallaix, S.

2010-01-01

A multi-scale numerical model is developed, predicting the formation of stage I cracks, in thermal fatigue loading conditions. The proposed approach comprises 2 distinct calculation steps. Firstly, the number of cycles to micro-crack initiation is determined, in individual grains. The adopted initiation model depends on local stress-strain conditions, relative to sub-grain plasticity, grain orientation and grain deformation incompatibilities. Secondly, 2-4 grains long surface cracks (stage I) is predicted, by accounting for micro-crack coalescence, in 3 dimensions. The method described in this paper is applied to a 500 grains aggregate, loaded in representative thermal fatigue conditions. Preliminary results provide quantitative insight regarding position, density, spacing and orientations of stage I surface cracks and subsequent formation of crack networks. The proposed method is fully deterministic, provided all grain crystallographic orientations and micro-crack linking thresholds are specified. (authors)

A Container-based Trusted Multi-level Security Mechanism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Xiao-Yong

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Multi-level security mechanism has been widely applied in the military, government, defense and other domains in which information is required to be divided by security-level. Through this type of security mechanism, users at different security levels are provided with information at corresponding security levels. Traditional multi-level security mechanism which depends on the safety of operating system finally proved to be not practical. We propose a container-based trusted multi-level security mechanism in this paper to improve the applicability of the multi-level mechanism. It guarantees multi-level security of the system through a set of multi-level security policy rules and trusted techniques. The technical feasibility and application scenarios are also discussed. The ease of realization, strong practical significance and low cost of our method will largely expand the application of multi-level security mechanism in real life.

Evaluation of high step-up power electronics stages in thermoelectric generator systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sun, Kai; Ni, Longxian; Chen, Min

2013-01-01

To develop practical thermoelectric generator (TEG) systems, especially radioisotope thermoelectric power supplies for deep-space exploration, a power conditioning stage with high step-up gain is indispensable. This stage is used to step up the low output voltage of thermoelectric generators...... to the required high level. Furthermore, maximum power point tracking control for TEG modules needs to be implemented into the power electronics stages. In this paper, the temperature-dependent electrical characteristics of a thermoelectric generator are analyzed in depth. Three typical high step-up power...... converters suitable for TEG applications are discussed: an interleaved boost converter, a boost converter with a coupled inductor and an interleaved boost converter with an auxiliary transformer. A general comparison of the three high step-up converters is conducted to study the step-up gain, conversion...

Exit selection strategy in pedestrian evacuation simulation with multi-exits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yue Hao; Zhang Bin-Ya; Shao Chun-Fu; Xing Yan

2014-01-01

A mixed strategy of the exit selection in a pedestrian evacuation simulation with multi-exits is constructed by fusing the distance-based and time-based strategies through a cognitive coefficient, in order to reduce the evacuation imbalance caused by the asymmetry of exits or pedestrian layout, to find a critical density to distinguish whether the strategy of exit selection takes effect or not, and to analyze the exit selection results with different cognitive coefficients. The strategy of exit selection is embedded in the computation of the shortest estimated distance in a dynamic parameter model, in which the concept of a jam area layer and the procedure of step-by-step expending are introduced. Simulation results indicate the characteristics of evacuation time gradually varying against cognitive coefficient and the effectiveness of reducing evacuation imbalance caused by the asymmetry of pedestrian or exit layout. It is found that there is a critical density to distinguish whether a pedestrian jam occurs in the evacuation and whether an exit selection strategy is in effect. It is also shown that the strategy of exit selection has no effect on the evacuation process in the no-effect phase with a low density, and that evacuation time and exit selection are dependent on the cognitive coefficient and pedestrian initial density in the in-effect phase with a high density. (general)

A diagnosis method for physical systems using a multi-modeling approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thetiot, R.

2000-01-01

In this thesis we propose a method for diagnosis problem solving. This method is based on a multi-modeling approach describing both normal and abnormal behavior of a system. This modeling approach allows to represent a system at different abstraction levels (behavioral, functional and teleological. Fundamental knowledge is described according to a bond-graph representation. We show that bond-graph representation can be exploited in order to generate (completely or partially) the functional models. The different models of the multi-modeling approach allows to define the functional state of a system at different abstraction levels. We exploit this property to exonerate sub-systems for which the expected behavior is observed. The behavioral and functional descriptions of the remaining sub-systems are exploited hierarchically in a two steps process. In a first step, the abnormal behaviors explaining some observations are identified. In a second step, the remaining unexplained observations are used to generate conflict sets and thus the consistency based diagnoses. The modeling method and the diagnosis process have been applied to a Reactor Coolant Pump Sets. This application illustrates the concepts described in this thesis and shows its potentialities. (authors)

Investigation of the slice sensitivity profile for step-and-shoot mode multi-slice computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsieh Jiang

2001-01-01

Multislice computed tomography (MCT) is one of the recent technology advancements in CT. Compared to single slice CT, MCT significantly improves examination time, x-ray tube efficiency, and contrast material utilization. Although the scan mode of MCT is predominately helical, step-and-shoot (axial) scans continue to be an important part of routine clinical protocols. In this paper, we present a detailed investigation on the slice sensitivity profile (SSP) of MCT in the step-and-shoot mode. Our investigation shows that, unlike single slice CT, the SSP for MCT exhibits multiple peaks and valleys resulting from intercell gaps between detector rows. To fully understand the characteristics of the SSP, we developed an analytical model to predict the behavior of MCT. We propose a simple experimental technique that can quickly and accurately measure SSP. The impact of the SSP on image artifacts and low contrast detectability is also investigated

Maximizing Efficiency in Two-step Solar-thermochemical Fuel Production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ermanoski, I. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-05-01

Widespread solar fuel production depends on its economic viability, largely driven by the solar-to-fuel conversion efficiency. In this paper, the material and energy requirements in two-step solar-thermochemical cycles are considered.The need for advanced redox active materials is demonstrated, by considering the oxide mass flow requirements at a large scale. Two approaches are also identified for maximizing the efficiency: optimizing reaction temperatures, and minimizing the pressure in the thermal reduction step by staged thermal reduction. The results show that each approach individually, and especially the two in conjunction, result in significant efficiency gains.

Radiation-induced transformation in oncogene primed C3H/10T1/2 cells; a new system for analysis of multi-step transformation in vitro

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drozdoff, V.V.

1988-01-01

Several established rodent cell lines, such as C3H/10T1/2 fibroblasts, have been developed to study radiation and chemically-induced malignant transformation. Most experimental evidence has supported the idea that transformation in 10T1/2 cells involved at least two steps but that the apparent frequency of transformation depends on the density of plated cells. A new approach is presented here for studying radiation-induced transformation. An oncogene primed cell system (C3H-myc) was developed by introducing a constitutively active mouse c-myc gene into 10T1/2 cells. A primary goal was to determine if the introduction of an activated oncogene could substitute for one of the required steps in radiation-induced transformation. Results are presented that show that the expression of the exogenous myc gene significantly increased the frequency of radiation-induced transformation in these cells. Subculture experiments performed to analyze the kinetics of transformation in C3H-myc cells and reconstruction experiments allowing the effects of normal cells on radiation-induced transformants to be determined indicated that transformed cells arose very shortly after irradiation. These results support the conclusion that a radiation-induced event can complement the effect of myc in C3H-myc cells and directly result in transformation. This system thus provides an opportunity to isolate early steps in radiation-induced transformation and should facilitate the identification and analysis of these events

Development of a new Xe-133 single dose multi-step method (SDMM) for muscle blood flow measurement using gamma camera

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bunko, Hisashi; Seto, Mikito; Taki, Junichi

1985-01-01

In order to measure the muscle blood flow (MBF) during exercise (Ex), a new Xe-133 single dose multi-step method (SDMM) for leg MBF measurement before, during and after Ex using gamma camera was developped. Theoretically, if the activity of Xe-133 in the muscle immediately before and after Ex are known, then the mean MBF during Ex can be calculated. In SDMM, these activities are corrected through correction formula using time delays between end of data aquisition (DA) at rest (R1) and begining of the Ex (TAB), and between end of Ex and begining of the DA after Ex (R2) (TDA). Validity of the SDMM and MBF response on mild and heavy Ex were evaluated in 11 normal volunteers. Ex MBF calculated from 5 and 2.5 min DA (5 sec/frame) both at R1 and R2 were highly correlated (r=.996). Ex MBF by SDMM and direct(measurement by fixed leg exercise were also highly correlated (r=.999). Reproducibility of the R1 and Ex MBF were excellent (r=.999). The highest MBF was seen in GCM on miled walking Ex and in VLM on heavy squatting Ex. After miled Ex, MBF rapidly returned to normal. After heavy Ex, MBF remaind high in VLM In conclusion, SDMM is simple and accurate method for evaluation of dynamic MBF response according to exercise. SDMM is also applicable to the field of sports medicine. (author)

UWALK: the development of a multi-strategy, community-wide physical activity program

OpenAIRE

Jennings, Cally A.; Berry, Tanya R.; Carson, Valerie; Culos-Reed, S. Nicole; Duncan, Mitch J.; Loitz, Christina C.; McCormack, Gavin R.; McHugh, Tara-Leigh F.; Spence, John C.; Vallance, Jeff K.; Mummery, W. Kerry

2016-01-01

UWALK is a multi-strategy, multi-sector, theory-informed, community-wide approach using e and mHealth to promote physical activity in Alberta, Canada. The aim of UWALK is to promote physical activity, primarily via the accumulation of steps and flights of stairs, through a single over-arching brand. This paper describes the development of the UWALK program. A social ecological model and the social cognitive theory guided the development of key strategies, including the marketing and communica...