A proposed protocol for remote control of automated assessment devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kissock, P.S.; Pritchard, D.A.

1996-01-01

Systems and devices that are controlled remotely are becoming more common in security systems in the US Air Force and other government agencies to provide protection of valuable assets. These systems reduce the number of needed personnel while still providing a high level of protection. However, each remotely controlled device usually has its own communication protocol. This limits the ability to change devices without changing the system that provides the communications control to the device. Sandia is pursuing a standard protocol that can be used to communicate with the different devices currently in use, or may be used in the future, in the US Air Force and other government agencies throughout the security community. Devices to be controlled include intelligent pan/tilt mounts, day/night video cameras, thermal imaging cameras, and remote data processors. Important features of this protocol include the ability to send messages of varying length, identify the sender, and more importantly, control remote data processors. This paper describes the proposed public domain protocol, features, and examples of use. The authors hope to elicit comments from security technology developers regarding format and use of remotely controlled automated assessment devices

Abbreviations for device names: a proposed methodology with specific examples.

Science.gov (United States)

Alam, Murad; Dover, Jeffrey S; Alam, Murad; Goldman, Mitchel P; Kaminer, Michael S; Orringer, Jeffrey; Waldorf, Heidi; Alam, Murad; Avram, Mathew; Cohen, Joel L; Draelos, Zoe Diana; Dover, Jeffrey S; Hruza, George; Kilmer, Suzanne; Lawrence, Naomi; Lupo, Mary; Metelitsa, Andrei; Nestor, Mark; Ross, E Victor

2013-04-01

Many devices used in dermatology lack generic names. If investigators use commercial device names, they risk the appearance of bias. Alternatively, reliance on ad-hoc names and abbreviations may confuse readers who do not recognize these. To develop a system for assigning abbreviations to denote devices commonly used in dermatology. Secondarily, to use this system to create abbreviations for FDA-approved neurotoxins and prepackaged injectable soft-tissue augmentation materials. The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery convened a Lexicon Task Force in March 2012. One charge of this Task Force was to develop criteria for assigning abbreviations to medical devices. A modified consensus process was used. Abbreviations to denote devices were to be: based on a standardized approach; transparent to the casual reader; markedly brief; and in all cases, different than the commercial names. Three-letter all caps abbreviations, some with subscripts, were assigned to denote each of the approved neurotoxins and fillers. A common system of abbreviations for medical devices in dermatology may avoid the appearance of bias while ensuring effective communication. The proposed system may be expanded to name other devices, and the ensuing abbreviations may be suitable for journal articles, continuing medical education lectures, or other academic or clinical purposes. © 2013 by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, Inc. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Clinical outcomes of adjuvant external-beam radiotherapy for differentiated thyroid cancer. Results after 874 patient-years of follow-up in the MSDS-trial

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Biermann, M. [Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen (Norway). Dept. of Radiology; Pixberg, M.K.; Riemann, B.; Schober, O. [Muenster Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Nuclear Medicine; Schuck, A.; Willich, N. [Muenster Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Radiooncology; Heinecke, A. [Muenster Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Biometrics; Schmid, K.W. [University Hospital of Essen, West German Cancer Center (Germany). Inst. of Pathology and Neuropathology; Dralle, H. [Halle-Wittenberg Univ. (Germany). Dept. of General Surgery

2009-07-01

Evaluate the clinical benefit of external beam radiotherapy (RTx) for locally invasive thyroid carcinoma with follicular cell differentiation (DTC). The Multicentre Study on Differentiated Thyroid Cancer (MSDS) was planned as a prospective multicenter trial on the benefit of adjuvant RTx in locally invasive DTC (pT4; UICC 1997) with or without lymph node metastases and no known distant metastases. All patients were treated with thyroidectomy, {sup 131}I-therapy, and TSH-suppression and were randomized to receive additional RTx or not. In 4/2003 the trial became a prospective cohort study after only 45 of then 311 patients had consented to randomization. 351 of 422 patients met the trial's inclusion criteria. Age was 48 {+-} 12 years (mean {+-} SD). 25% were men. Tumours were papillary in 90% and follicular in 10%. Of 47 patients randomized or allocated to RTx, 26 actually received RTx. Mean follow-up was 930 days. In an actual treatment analysis, 96% (25/26) of the RTx-patients reached complete remission (CR) vs. 86% in the non-RTx patients. Recurrences occurred in 0 vs. 3 % of patients: 6 reoperated for regional lymph node metastases, 1 tracheal invasion treated with tracheoplasty, 1 local invasion necessitating laryngectomy, 2 distant metastases (1 lung, 1 lung + bone). Serious chronic RTx toxicity occurred in 1/26 patients. The MSDS trial showed low mortality and recurrence rates and a weak benefit of RTx in terms of local control that did however not reach statistical significance. Routine RTx in locally invasive DTC can no longer be recommended. (orig.)

Clinical outcomes of adjuvant external-beam radiotherapy for differentiated thyroid cancer. Results after 874 patient-years of follow-up in the MSDS-trial

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biermann, M.; Pixberg, M.K.; Riemann, B.; Schober, O.; Schuck, A.; Willich, N.; Heinecke, A.; Schmid, K.W.; Dralle, H.

2009-01-01

Evaluate the clinical benefit of external beam radiotherapy (RTx) for locally invasive thyroid carcinoma with follicular cell differentiation (DTC). The Multicentre Study on Differentiated Thyroid Cancer (MSDS) was planned as a prospective multicenter trial on the benefit of adjuvant RTx in locally invasive DTC (pT4; UICC 1997) with or without lymph node metastases and no known distant metastases. All patients were treated with thyroidectomy, 131 I-therapy, and TSH-suppression and were randomized to receive additional RTx or not. In 4/2003 the trial became a prospective cohort study after only 45 of then 311 patients had consented to randomization. 351 of 422 patients met the trial's inclusion criteria. Age was 48 ± 12 years (mean ± SD). 25% were men. Tumours were papillary in 90% and follicular in 10%. Of 47 patients randomized or allocated to RTx, 26 actually received RTx. Mean follow-up was 930 days. In an actual treatment analysis, 96% (25/26) of the RTx-patients reached complete remission (CR) vs. 86% in the non-RTx patients. Recurrences occurred in 0 vs. 3 % of patients: 6 reoperated for regional lymph node metastases, 1 tracheal invasion treated with tracheoplasty, 1 local invasion necessitating laryngectomy, 2 distant metastases (1 lung, 1 lung + bone). Serious chronic RTx toxicity occurred in 1/26 patients. The MSDS trial showed low mortality and recurrence rates and a weak benefit of RTx in terms of local control that did however not reach statistical significance. Routine RTx in locally invasive DTC can no longer be recommended. (orig.)

75 FR 53914 - Marine Sanitation Devices (MSDs): Proposed Regulation To Establish a No Discharge Zone (NDZ) for...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-02

... destination for tourists. Coastal tourism and recreation generate more than $10 billion per year in wages and... discharged instantaneously but at a moderate rate when the ship is en route and proceeding at a speed of at...

Who seeks primary care for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs with physicians prescribing homeopathic and other complementary medicine? Results from the EPI3-LASER survey in France

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magnier Anne-Marie

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is a paucity of information describing patients with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs using complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs and almost none distinguishing homeopathy from other CAMs. The objective of this study was to describe and compare patients with MSDs who consulted primary care physicians, either certified homeopaths (Ho or regular prescribers of CAMs in a mixed practice (Mx, to those consulting physicians who strictly practice conventional medicine (CM, with regard to the severity of their MSD expressed as chronicity, co-morbidity and quality of life (QOL. Methods The EPI3-LASER study was a nationwide observational survey of a representative sample of general practitioners and their patients in France. The sampling strategy ensured a sufficient number of GPs in each of the three groups to allow comparison of their patients. Patients completed a questionnaire on socio-demographics, lifestyle and QOL using the Short Form 12 (SF-12 questionnaire. Chronicity of MSDs was defined as more than twelve weeks duration of the current episode. Diagnoses and co-morbidities were recorded by the physician. Results A total of 825 GPs included 1,692 MSD patients (predominantly back pain and osteoarthritis were included, 21.6% in the CM group, 32.4% Ho and 45.9% Mx. Patients in the Ho group had more often a chronic MSD (62.1% than the CM (48.6% or Mx (50.3% groups, a result that was statistically significant after controlling for patients' characteristics (Odds ratio = 1.43; 95% confidence interval (CI: 1.07 - 1.89. Patients seen by homeopaths or mixed practice physicians who were not the regular treating physician, had more often a chronic MSD than those seen in conventional medicine (Odds ratios were1.75; 95% CI: 1.22 - 2.50 and 1.48; 95% CI: 1.06 - 2.12, respectively. Otherwise patients in the three groups did not differ for co-morbidities and QOL. Conclusion MSD patients consulting primary care physicians who

Musculoskeletal disorders as a fatigue failure process: evidence, implications and research needs.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallagher, Sean; Schall, Mark C

2017-02-01

Mounting evidence suggests that musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) may be the result of a fatigue failure process in musculoskeletal tissues. Evaluations of MSD risk in epidemiological studies and current MSD risk assessment tools, however, have not yet incorporated important principles of fatigue failure analysis in their appraisals of MSD risk. This article examines the evidence suggesting that fatigue failure may play an important role in the aetiology of MSDs, assesses important implications with respect to MSD risk assessment and discusses research needs that may be required to advance the scientific community's ability to more effectively prevent the development of MSDs. Practitioner Summary: Evidence suggests that musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) may result from a fatigue failure process. This article proposes a unifying framework that aims to explain why exposure to physical risk factors contributes to the development of work-related MSDs. Implications of that framework are discussed.

Multi-Device to Multi-Device (MD2MD Content-Centric Networking Based on Multi-RAT Device

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheolhoon Kim

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a method whereby a device can transmit and receive information using a beacon, and also describes application scenarios for the proposed method. In a multi-device to multi-device (MD2MD content-centric networking (CCN environment, the main issue involves searching for and connecting to nearby devices. However, if a device can’t find another device that satisfies its requirements, the connection is delayed due to the repetition of processes. It is possible to rapidly connect to a device without repetition through the selection of the optimal device using the proposed method. Consequently, the proposed method and scenarios are advantageous in that they enable efficient content identification and delivery in a content-centric Internet of Things (IoT environment, in which multiple mobile devices coexist.

Reducing musculoskeletal disorders among computer operators: comparison between ergonomics interventions at the workplace.

Science.gov (United States)

Levanon, Yafa; Gefen, Amit; Lerman, Yehuda; Givon, Uri; Ratzon, Navah Z

2012-01-01

Typing is associated with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) caused by multiple risk factors. This control study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a workplace intervention for reducing MSDs among computer workers. Sixty-six subjects with and without MSD were assigned consecutively to one of three groups: ergonomics intervention (work site and body posture adjustments, muscle activity training and exercises) accompanied with biofeedback training, the same ergonomics intervention without biofeedback and a control group. Evaluation of MSDs, body posture, psychosocial status, upper extremity (UE) kinematics and muscle surface electromyography were carried out before and after the intervention in the workplace and the motion lab. Our main hypothesis that significant differences in the reduction of MSDs will exist between subjects in the study groups and controls was confirmed (χ(2) = 13.3; p = 0.001). Significant changes were found in UE kinematics and posture as well. Both ergonomics interventions effectively reduced MSD and improved body posture. This study aimed to test the efficacy of an individual workplace intervention programme among computer workers by evaluating musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), body posture, upper extremity kinematics, muscle activity and psychosocial factors were tested. The proposed ergonomics interventions effectively reduced MSDs and improved body posture.

A modal specification theory for components with data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bauer, Sebastian S.; Larsen, Kim G.; Legay, Axel

2014-01-01

of transitions allows for developing a unique approach for both logical and structural compositions, and eases the step-wise refine- ment process for building implementations. We propose Modal Specifications with Data (MSDs), the first modal specification theory with explicit representation of data. Our new...... theory includes the most commonly seen ingredients of a specification the- ory; that is parallel composition, conjunction and quotient. As MSDs are by nature potentially infinite-state systems, we propose symbolic representations based on effec- tive predicates. Our theory serves as a new abstraction...

- LAA Occluder View for post-implantation Evaluation (LOVE) - standardized imaging proposal evaluating implanted left atrial appendage occlusion devices by cardiac computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Behnes, Michael; Akin, Ibrahim; Sartorius, Benjamin; Fastner, Christian; El-Battrawy, Ibrahim; Borggrefe, Martin; Haubenreisser, Holger; Meyer, Mathias; Schoenberg, Stefan O.; Henzler, Thomas

2016-01-01

A standardized imaging proposal evaluating implanted left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion devices by cardiac computed tomography angiography (cCTA) has never been investigated. cCTA datasets were acquired on a 3 rd generation dual-source CT system and reconstructed with a slice thickness of 0.5 mm. An interdisciplinary evaluation was performed by two interventional cardiologists and one radiologist on a 3D multi-planar workstation. A standardized multi-planar reconstruction algorithm was developed in order to assess relevant clinical aspects of implanted LAA occlusion devices being outlined within a pictorial essay. The following clinical aspects of implanted LAA occlusion devices were evaluated within the most appropriate cCTA multi-planar reconstruction: (1) topography to neighboring structures, (2) peri-device leaks, (3) coverage of LAA lobes, (4) indirect signs of neo-endothelialization. These are illustrated within concise CT imaging examples emphasizing the potential value of the proposed cCTA imaging algorithm: Starting from anatomical cCTA planes and stepwise angulation planes perpendicular to the base of the LAA devices generates an optimal LAA Occluder View for post-implantation Evaluation (LOVE). Aligned true axial, sagittal and coronal LOVE planes offer a standardized and detailed evaluation of LAA occlusion devices after percutaneous implantation. This pictorial essay presents a standardized imaging proposal by cCTA using multi-planar reconstructions that enables systematical follow-up and comparison of patients after LAA occlusion device implantation. The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12880-016-0127-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Proposed changes to the reimbursement of pharmaceuticals and medical devices in Poland and their impact on market access and the pharmaceutical industry

Science.gov (United States)

Badora, Karolina; Caban, Aleksandra; Rémuzat, Cécile; Dussart, Claude; Toumi, Mondher

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT In Poland, two proposed amendments to the reimbursement act are currently in preparation; these are likely to substantially change the pricing and reimbursement landscape for both drugs and medical devices. Proposed changes include: alignment of medical device reimbursement with that of pharmaceuticals; relaxing the strict reimbursement criteria for ultra-orphan drugs; establishment of an additional funding category for vaccines; introduction of compassionate use, and a simplified reimbursement pathway for well-established off-label indications; appreciation of manufacturers’ innovation and research and development efforts by creating a dedicated innovation budget; introduction of a mechanism preventing excessive parallel import; prolonged duration of reimbursement decisions and reimbursement lists; and increased flexibility in defining drug programmes. Both amendments are still at a draft stage and many aspects of the new regulations remain unclear. Nonetheless, the overall direction of some of the changes is already evident and warrants discussion due to their high expected impact on pharmaceutical and device manufacturers. Here we evaluate the main changes proposed to the reimbursement of drugs, vaccines, and medical devices, and examine the impact they are likely to have on market access and pharmaceutical industry in Poland. PMID:29081924

Virtual MIMO Beamforming and Device Pairing Enabled by Device-to-Device Communications for Multidevice Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yeonjin Jeong

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We consider a multidevice network with asymmetric antenna configurations which supports not only communications between an access point and devices but also device-to-device (D2D communications for the Internet of things. For the network, we propose the transmit and receive beamforming with the channel state information (CSI for virtual multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO enabled by D2D receive cooperation. We analyze the sum rate achieved by a device pair in the proposed method and identify the strategies to improve the sum rate of the device pair. We next present a distributed algorithm and its equivalent algorithm for device pairing to maximize the throughput of the multidevice network. Simulation results confirm the advantages of the transmit CSI and D2D cooperation as well as the validity of the distributive algorithm.

Implications of fusion results for a reactor: a proposed next step device-JIT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rebut, P.H.

1989-01-01

Simulations with a critical-temperature model have been made of proposed future devices (NET, ITER, JIT, etc.). These show that only machines with a current capability of ∼ 30MA have a sufficient ignition domain to cope with more realistic operating conditions (i.e. taking into account sawteeth effects, impurity dilution and semi-continuous operation). The importance of dilution and Bremsstrahlung radiation are clearly demonstrated; a mean temperature > 7keV is required for ignition. This prevents higher field, lower current devices from reaching ignition. Transient operations with monster sawteeth or H-mode allow such devices (>30MA) to reach ignition at lower density without additional heating. To investigate the problems of a controlled burning plasma for days in semi-continuous operation, the plasma of the next-step tokamak should be similar in size and performance to an energy producing reactor. The scientific and technical aims of such a machine should be to study burning plasma, test wall technology, provide a test-bed for breeding blankets and most importantly to demonstrate the potential and viability of fusion as an energy source. The main design characteristics of a Thermonuclear Furnace-JIT-dedicated to these objectives are presented. Watercooled copper magnets are used to benefit from proven technology. A single-null divertor configuration ensures helium exhaust and possibly benefits from an H-mode to reach the ignition domain. The X-point position relative to the dump plates would be swept to limit wall loading

Prediction of left ventricular dysfunction after device closure of patent ductus arteriosus: proposal for a new functional classification.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiran, Viralam S; Tiwari, Ashish

2018-04-06

The aims of this study were to determine the incidence and correlates of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction amongst percutaneous patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) device closure patients, and to propose an indexed parameter for predicting LV dysfunction. In a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of 30 months duration, 447 patients who underwent PDA device closure were studied. The diameter of the PDA at the pulmonary artery end was measured in the angiograms in all patients and was indexed for their body surface area. The indexed PDA size was categorised into group A (1-2.9 mm/m², 35/447), B (3-5.9 mm/m², 254/447), C (6-8.9 mm/m², 66/447) and D (>9 mm/m², 35/447). Systolic LV function was evaluated using echocardiography at frequent intervals. Overall, 62.63% of the patients were female (280/447). At baseline, all 447 patients had normal LV function. LV dysfunction was seen in 102/447 (22.8%) patients with 2.8% in category A (1/35), 10.6% in category B (27/254), 34.1% in category C (42/123) and 91.4% in category D (32/35) after PDA device closure. Correlation of indexed PDA size and LV dysfunction was statistically significant (pclosures. Indexed PDA size correlates well with post-procedural LV dysfunction. The authors propose a new classification of PDA utilising this accurate, reproducible and easy to perform parameter, which does not involve any extra cost, for risk stratification and early management in device closure of PDA.

Proposed high speed pellet injection system 'HIPEL' for Large Helical Device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sudo, S.; Kanno, M.; Kaneko, H.; Saka, S.; Shirai, T.; Baba, T.

1993-11-01

From the results of the simulation study including pellet ablation and 1-D transport code, it is found that a high speed pellet injector with pellet velocity of more than 3 km/s is necessary for the penetration of the pellet with diameter of 3 mm into the core region under the expected plasma condition of Large Helical Device (LHD) of heliotron/stellarator type with superconducting coils at NIFS in Japan. Therefore, a two stage pellet injector was constructed and tested successfully in order to obtain the pellet velocity range of 3 km/s. Based upon the above results, a high speed flexible multiple-pellet injection system 'HIPEL' for LHD is proposed. HIPEL consists of independent (1) 10 two-stage gun barrels and (2) 10 single-stage gun barrels. It has multi purposes such as refueling and flexible density profile control, diagnostics and the other functions. (author)

A proposal of a beam injection device for the proton storage ring of JAERI neutron science project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Yasuo

1998-01-01

A new injection device (a charge-exchange device) with light and magnetic field, is proposed for a proton storage ring of JAERI Neutron Science Project. This injection device is composed of a neutralizer and an ionizer. The neutralizer strips electrons of H 0 beam into H - one with the undulator magnetic field. The ionizer which is composed of undulator magnets and an optical resonator placed along a straight part in the storage ring, can ionize effectively the H 0 beam excited to n=3 level by a laser beam into H + one. Adopting the 2nd harmonics of Nd : YAG laser, the powerful laser on the market can be used, and the required items of the technological development can be minimized. The energy of the particle beam, however, should be accelerated up to 1.587 GeV by 6% increase from 1.5 GeV. In this device, the non-charge-exchange rate and beam-spill can be minimized by decreasing the deflection angle of the beam which occurs at the charge-exchange process. This method can be realized with exiting technologies and there are not any effects on the trajectory of the ring-circulating proton beam due to scatterings by the foil as the usual charge-exchange devices. This device, therefore, will be an optimal and highly effective method of the least beam-spill as the injector of the high power proton storage ring. (author)

Epidemiological and biomechanical evaluation of airline baggage handling.

Science.gov (United States)

Tafazzol, Alireza; Aref, Samin; Mardani, Majid; Haddad, Omid; Parnianpour, Mohamad

2016-01-01

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are prevalent among airline baggage handlers due to manual materials handling. In this study, the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire (NMQ), the revised National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) lifting equation, and the University of Michigan 3D Static Strength Prediction Program™ (3DSSPP) were used to analyze MSDs among baggage handlers. The NMQ was filled out by 209 baggage handlers and 46 arbitrarily selected baggage handlers were evaluated using the NIOSH method and 3DSSPP. The obtained results showed that the most common MSDs occurred in the lower back region. The next risky regions included knees, neck, and upper back, respectively. The NIOSH results confirmed that the subjects lifted loads heavier than the permitted limit and their lifting postures were inappropriate. The results of the 3DSSPP also indicated that compression forces exceeded the NIOSH limit in these awkward postures. Relying on this study, holding compulsory ergonomic lifting training courses could be proposed for workers and regulations adjusting an upper limit for maximum baggage weight must be also enacted in order to improve occupational health and prevent the prevalence of increasing MSDs.

MEMS variable capacitance devices utilizing the substrate: I. Novel devices with a customizable tuning range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elshurafa, Amro M; El-Masry, Ezz I

2010-01-01

This paper, the first in a series of two, presents a paradigm shift in the design of MEMS parallel plate PolyMUMPS variable capacitance devices by proposing two structures that utilize the substrate and are able to provide predetermined, customizable, tuning ranges and/or ratios. The proposed structures can provide theoretical tuning ranges anywhere from 4.9 to 35 and from 3.4 to 26 respectively with a simple, yet effective, layout modification as opposed to the previously reported devices where the tuning range is fixed and cannot be varied. Theoretical analysis is carried out and verified with measurements of fabricated devices. The first proposed device possessed initially a tuning range of 4.4. Two variations of the structure having tuning ranges of 3 and 3.4, all at 1 GHz, were also successfully developed and tested. The second proposed variable capacitance device behaved as a switch.

78 FR 29672 - Cardiovascular Devices; Reclassification of External Counter-Pulsating Devices for Treatment of...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-21

.... FDA-2013-N-0487] Cardiovascular Devices; Reclassification of External Counter- Pulsating Devices for... proposed rule (44 FR 13426, March 9, 1979), the Cardiovascular Device Classification Panel (the 1979 Panel... of Subjects in 21 CFR Part 870 Medical devices, Cardiovascular devices...

Novel Concepts for Device to Device Communication using Network Coding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pahlevani, Peyman; Hundebøll, Martin; Pedersen, Morten Videbæk

2014-01-01

Device-to-device communication is currently a hot research topic within 3GPP. Even though D2D communication has been part of previous ad hoc, meshed and sensor networks proposals, the main contribution by 3GPP is that the direct communication among two devices is carried out over a dynamically as...

MEMS variable capacitance devices utilizing the substrate: I. Novel devices with a customizable tuning range

KAUST Repository

Elshurafa, Amro M.

2010-03-22

This paper, the first in a series of two, presents a paradigm shift in the design of MEMS parallel plate PolyMUMPS variable capacitance devices by proposing two structures that utilize the substrate and are able to provide predetermined, customizable, tuning ranges and/or ratios. The proposed structures can provide theoretical tuning ranges anywhere from 4.9 to 35 and from 3.4 to 26 respectively with a simple, yet effective, layout modification as opposed to the previously reported devices where the tuning range is fixed and cannot be varied. Theoretical analysis is carried out and verified with measurements of fabricated devices. The first proposed device possessed initially a tuning range of 4.4. Two variations of the structure having tuning ranges of 3 and 3.4, all at 1 GHz, were also successfully developed and tested. The second proposed variable capacitance device behaved as a switch. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Massive boson-fermion degeneracy and the early structure of the universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kounnas, C.

2008-01-01

The existence of a new kind of massive boson-fermion symmetry is shown explicitly in the framework of the heterotic, type II and type II orientifold superstring theories. The target space-time is two-dimensional. Higher dimensional models are defined via large marginal deformations of J anti J-type. The spectrum of the initial undeformed two dimensional vacuum consists of massless boson degrees of freedom, while all massive boson and fermion degrees of freedom exhibit a new Massive Spectrum Degeneracy Symmetry (MSDS). This precise property, distinguishes the MSDS theories from the well known supersymmetric SUSY-theories. Some proposals are stated in the framework of these theories concerning the structure of: (i) The Early Non-singular Phase of the Universe, (ii) The two dimensional boundary theory of AdS 3 Black-Holes, (iii) Plausible applications of the MSDS theories in particle physics, alternative to SUSY. (Abstract Copyright [2008], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

DEPA classification: a proposal for standardising PRP use and a retrospective application of available devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Magalon, J; Chateau, A L; Bertrand, B; Louis, M L; Silvestre, A; Giraudo, L; Veran, J; Sabatier, F

2016-01-01

Significant biological differences in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) preparations have been highlighted and could explain the large variability in the clinical benefit of PRP reported in the literature. The scientific community now recommends the use of classification for PRP injection; however, these classifications are focused on platelet and leucocyte concentrations. This presents the disadvantages of (1) not taking into account the final volume of the preparation; (2) omitting the presence of red blood cells in PRP and (3) not assessing the efficiency of production. On the basis of standards classically used in the Cell Therapy field, we propose the DEPA (Dose of injected platelets, Efficiency of production, Purity of the PRP, Activation of the PRP) classification to extend the characterisation of the injected PRP preparation. We retrospectively applied this classification on 20 PRP preparations for which biological characteristics were available in the literature. Dose of injected platelets varies from 0.21 to 5.43 billion, corresponding to a 25-fold increase. Only a Magellan device was able to obtain an A score for this parameter. Assessments of the efficiency of production reveal that no device is able to recover more than 90% of platelets from the blood. Purity of the preparation reveals that a majority of the preparations are contaminated by red blood cells as only three devices reach an A score for this parameter, corresponding to a percentage of platelets compared with red blood cells and leucocytes over 90%. These findings should provide significant help to clinicians in selecting a system that meets their specific needs for a given indication.

76 FR 28689 - Microbiology Devices; Classification of In Vitro Diagnostic Device for Bacillus Species Detection

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-18

.... FDA-2011-N-0103] Microbiology Devices; Classification of In Vitro Diagnostic Device for Bacillus... of the Microbiology Devices Advisory Panel (the Panel). In addition, the proposed rule would... in the Federal Register. 1. Transcript of the FDA Microbiology Devices Panel meeting, March 7, 2002...

76 FR 64223 - Cardiovascular Devices; Reclassification of External Pacemaker Pulse Generator Devices

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-17

... Drug Administration 21 CFR Part 870 Cardiovascular Devices; Reclassification of External Pacemaker... Special Controls Guidance Document: External Pacemaker Pulse Generator; Availability; Proposed Rule and... [Docket No. FDA-2011-N-0650] Cardiovascular Devices; Reclassification of External Pacemaker Pulse...

The association of subjective stress, urinary catecholamine concentrations and PC game room use and musculoskeletal disorders of the upper limbs in young male Koreans.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Jong-Won; Kim, Heon; Cho, Soo-Hun; Lee, Myung-Koo; Kim, Yong-Dae; Nan, Hong-Mei; Lee, Chul-Ho

2003-06-01

The use of PCs can cause health problems, including musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) of the upper limbs. This study was performed to investigate whether using PCs in PC game rooms may induce MSDs of the upper limbs. 284 young male Koreans were included. A self-administered, structured questionnaire was used to gather information about game room use, perceived subjective stress, and the symptoms related to MSDs. Urinary concentrations of epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine were measured in spot urine. The symptom prevalence of MSDs of the upper limbs increased according to the increase of the duration of game room use. The intensity of perceived subjective stress showed a significant dose-response relationship with the frequency of MSDs symptoms in neck and shoulder areas. However, the urinary level of catecholamines was not significantly correlated with the symptom prevalence of MSDs in the upper limbs. These findings suggest that using PCs in game rooms produce physical stress on the upper limbs, strong enough to induce MSDs.

Prevalence of Work-related Musculoskeletal Symptoms among Iranian Workforce and Job Groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Choobineh, Alireza; Daneshmandi, Hadi; Saraj Zadeh Fard, Seyed Kazem; Tabatabaee, Seyed Hamidreza

2016-01-01

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are known to cause occupational injuries. This study aimed to collate the existed relevant data and develop a general feature of MSDs problem among Iranian workforce. In this study, we used the raw data related to 8004 employees from 20 Iranian industrial settings distributed throughout the country. In all studies, participants were selected based on simple random sampling method, and the data were collected using demographic characteristics and Nordic MSDs questionnaires. The most prevalent MSDs symptoms were reported in the lower back (48.9%), shoulders (45.9%), neck (44.2%), upper back (43.8%), and knees (43.8%). Prevalence rates of MSDs at least in one body region were found to be the highest (90.3%) among health-care workers. Prevalence rates of MSDs symptoms in all body regions were higher among workers with dynamic activities as compared to those of workers with static activities. MSDs symptoms were common among the study population. Health-care provider and workers with dynamic activities had the highest rate of MSDs. These results merit attention in planning and implementing ergonomics interventional program in Iranian industrial settings.

Musculoskeletal disorders, personality traits, psychological distress, and accident proneness of Chinese coal miners.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Mingming; Wu, Feng; Wang, Jun; Sun, Linyan

2017-01-01

Human factors comprise one of the important reasons leading to the casualty accidents in coal mines. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationships among musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), personality traits, psychological distress, and accident proneness of coal miners. There were 1500 Chinese coal miners surveyed in this study. Among these miners, 992 valid samples were obtained. The study surveyed the MSDs, personality traits, psychological distress, and accident proneness of coal miners with MSDs Likert scale, Eysenck personality questionnaire, Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) scale, and accident proneness questionnaire, respectively. The highest MSDs level was found in the waist. The increasing working age of the miners was connected with increased MSDs and psychological distress. Significant differences in MSDs and psychological distress of miners from different types of work were observed. Coal miners with higher MSDs had higher accident proneness. Coal miners with higher neuroticism dimension of Eysenck personality and more serious psychological distress had higher accident proneness. Phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation and psychoticism dimension of psychological distress were the three most important indicators that had significant positive relationships with accident proneness. The MSDs, neuroticism dimension, and psychological distress of the coal mine workers are important to work safety and require serious attention. Some implications concerning coal mine safety management in China were provided.

Marginal deformations of vacua with massive boson-fermion degeneracy symmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Florakis, Ioannis; Kounnas, Costas; Toumbas, Nicolaos

2010-01-01

Two-dimensional string vacua with Massive Spectrum boson-fermion Degeneracy Symmetry, [MSDS] d=2 , are explicitly constructed in Type II and Heterotic superstring theories. The study of their moduli space indicates the existence of large marginal deformations that connect continuously the initial [MSDS] d=2 vacua to higher-dimensional conventional superstring vacua, where spacetime supersymmetry is spontaneously broken by geometrical fluxes. We find that the maximally symmetric, [Max:MSDS] d=2 , Type II vacuum, is in correspondence with the maximal, N=8, d=4 'gauged supergravity', where the supergravity gauging is induced by the fluxes. This correspondence is extended to less symmetric cases where the initial MSDS symmetry is reduced by orbifolds: [Z orb :MSDS] d=2 ↔[N≤8:SUGRA] d=4,fluxes . We also exhibit and analyse thermal interpretations of some Euclidean versions of the models and identify classes of MSDS vacua that remain tachyon-free under arbitrary marginal deformations about the extended symmetry point. The connection between the two-dimensional MSDS vacua and the resulting four-dimensional effective supergravities arises naturally within the context of an adiabatic cosmological evolution, where the very early Universe is conjectured to be described by an MSDS vacuum, while at late cosmological times it is described by an effective N=1 supergravity theory with spontaneously broken supersymmetry.

Bolometric Device Based on Fluxoid Quantization

Science.gov (United States)

Bonetti, Joseph A.; Kenyon, Matthew E.; Leduc, Henry G.; Day, Peter K.

2010-01-01

The temperature dependence of fluxoid quantization in a superconducting loop. The sensitivity of the device is expected to surpass that of other superconducting- based bolometric devices, such as superconducting transition-edge sensors and superconducting nanowire devices. Just as important, the proposed device has advantages in sample fabrication.

Instantly decodable network coding for real-time device-to-device communications

KAUST Repository

Douik, Ahmed

2016-01-04

This paper studies the delay reduction problem for instantly decodable network coding (IDNC)-based device-to-device (D2D) communication-enabled networks. Unlike conventional point-to-multipoint (PMP) systems in which the wireless base station has the sufficient computation abilities, D2D networks rely on battery-powered operations of the devices. Therefore, a particular emphasis on the computation complexity needs to be addressed in the design of delay reduction algorithms for D2D networks. While most of the existing literature on IDNC directly extend the delay reduction PMP schemes, known to be NP-hard, to the D2D setting, this paper proposes to investigate and minimize the complexity of such algorithms for battery-powered devices. With delay minimization problems in IDNC-based systems being equivalent to a maximum weight clique problems in the IDNC graph, the presented algorithms, in this paper, can be applied to different delay aspects. This paper introduces and focuses on the reduction of the maximum value of the decoding delay as it represents the most general solution. The complexity of the solution is reduced by first proposing efficient methods for the construction, the update, and the dimension reduction of the IDNC graph. The paper, further, shows that, under particular scenarios, the problem boils down to a maximum clique problem. Due to the complexity of discovering such maximum clique, the paper presents a fast selection algorithm. Simulation results illustrate the performance of the proposed schemes and suggest that the proposed fast selection algorithm provides appreciable complexity gain as compared to the optimal selection one, with a negligible degradation in performance. In addition, they indicate that the running time of the proposed solution is close to the random selection algorithm.

78 FR 25308 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Coal Mine Dust Sampling Devices

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-30

...; Coal Mine Dust Sampling Devices AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health Administration, Labor. ACTION: 60-Day... mines. CPDMs must be designed and constructed for coal miners to wear and operate without impeding their... related to Coal Mine Dust Sampling Devices. MSHA is particularly interested in comments that: Evaluate...

Data-Sharing Method for Multi-Smart Devices at Close Range

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Myoungbeom Chung

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We proposed a useful data-sharing method among multi-smart devices at close range using inaudible frequencies and Wi-Fi. The existing near data-sharing methods mostly use Bluetooth technology, but these methods have the problem of being unable to be operated using different operating systems. To correct this flaw, the proposed method that uses inaudible frequencies through the inner speaker and microphone of smart device can solve the problems of the existing methods. Using the proposed method, the sending device generates trigger signals composed of inaudible sound. Moreover, smart devices that receive the signals obtain the shared data from the sending device through Wi-Fi. To evaluate the efficacy of the proposed method, we developed a near data-sharing application based on the trigger signals and conducted a performance evaluation experiment. The success rate of the proposed method was 98.8%. Furthermore, we tested the user usability of the Bump application and the proposed method and found that the proposed method is more useful than Bump. Therefore, the proposed method is an effective approach for sharing data practically among multi-smart devices at close range.

Design of wearable health monitoring device

Science.gov (United States)

Devara, Kresna; Ramadhanty, Savira; Abuzairi, Tomy

2018-02-01

Wearable smart health monitoring devices have attracted considerable attention in both research community and industry. Some of the causes are the increasing healthcare costs, along with the growing technology. To address this demand, in this paper, design and evaluation of wearable health monitoring device integrated with smartphone were presented. This device was designed for patients in need of constant health monitoring. The performance of the proposed design has been tested by conducting measurement once in 2 minutes for 10 minutes to obtain heart rate and body temperature data. The comparation between data measured by the proposed device and that measured by the reference device yields only an average error of 1.45% for heart rate and 1.04% for body temperature.

Assessing musculoskeletal disorders among municipal waste loaders of Mumbai, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Salve, Pradeep; Chokhandre, Praveen; Bansod, Dhananjay

2017-10-06

The study aims to assess the impact of municipal waste loading occupation upon developing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and thereby disabilities among waste loaders. Additionally, the study has identified the potential risk factors raising MSDs and disabilities. A cross-sectional case-control design survey was conducted in 6 out of 24 municipal wards of Mumbai during March-September 2015. The study population consisted of municipal waste loaders (N = 180) and a control group (N = 180). The Standardized Modified Nordic questionnaire was adopted to measures the MSDs and thereby disabilities in the past 12 months. A Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method was applied to assess the impact of waste loading occupation on developing MSDs and disabilities. Waste loaders had a significantly higher risk of developing MSDs as well as disabilities than the control group particularly for low back, hip/ thigh upper back and shoulder. Propensity Score Matching results revealed that the MSDs were significantly higher among waste loaders for hip/thigh (22%), low back (19%), shoulder (18%), and upper back (15%) than matched control group. Likewise, MSDs-related disabilities were found to be significantly higher among waste loaders for low back (20%), hip/ thigh (18%) upper back (13%) and shoulder (8%) than the control group. Duration of work, substance use and mental health were found to be the potential psychosocial factors for developing the risk of MSDs and disabilities. The municipal waste loading occupation raised the risk of MSDs and related disabilities among waste loaders compared to the control group. The preventive and curative measures are strongly recommended to minimize the burden of MSDs and disabilities. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017;30(6):875-886. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

Three-terminal superconducting devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gallagher, W.J.

1985-01-01

The transistor has a number of properties that make it so useful. The authors discuss these and the additional properties a transistor would need to have for high performance applications at temperatures where superconductivity could contribute advantages to system-level performance. These properties then serve as criteria by which to evaluate three-terminal devices that have been proposed for applications at superconducting temperatures. FETs can retain their transistor properties at low temperatures, but their power consumption is too large for high-speed, high-density cryogenic applications. They discuss in detail why demonstrated superconducting devices with three terminals -Josephson effect based devices, injection controlled weak links, and stacked tunnel junction devices such as the superconducting transistor proposed by K. Gray and the quiteron -- each fail to have true transistor-like properties. They conclude that the potentially very rewarding search for a transistor compatible with superconductivity in high performance applications must be in new directions

Secure-Network-Coding-Based File Sharing via Device-to-Device Communication

OpenAIRE

Wang, Lei; Wang, Qing

2017-01-01

In order to increase the efficiency and security of file sharing in the next-generation networks, this paper proposes a large scale file sharing scheme based on secure network coding via device-to-device (D2D) communication. In our scheme, when a user needs to share data with others in the same area, the source node and all the intermediate nodes need to perform secure network coding operation before forwarding the received data. This process continues until all the mobile devices in the netw...

Dynamic Circuit Model for Spintronic Devices

KAUST Repository

Alawein, Meshal

2017-01-09

In this work we propose a finite-difference scheme based circuit model of a general spintronic device and benchmark it with other models proposed for spintronic switching devices. Our model is based on the four-component spin circuit theory and utilizes the widely used coupled stochastic magnetization dynamics/spin transport framework. In addition to the steady-state analysis, this work offers a transient analysis of carrier transport. By discretizing the temporal and spatial derivatives to generate a linear system of equations, we derive new and simple finite-difference conductance matrices that can, to the first order, capture both static and dynamic behaviors of a spintronic device. We also discuss an extension of the spin modified nodal analysis (SMNA) for time-dependent situations based on the proposed scheme.

Dynamic Circuit Model for Spintronic Devices

KAUST Repository

Alawein, Meshal; Fariborzi, Hossein

2017-01-01

In this work we propose a finite-difference scheme based circuit model of a general spintronic device and benchmark it with other models proposed for spintronic switching devices. Our model is based on the four-component spin circuit theory and utilizes the widely used coupled stochastic magnetization dynamics/spin transport framework. In addition to the steady-state analysis, this work offers a transient analysis of carrier transport. By discretizing the temporal and spatial derivatives to generate a linear system of equations, we derive new and simple finite-difference conductance matrices that can, to the first order, capture both static and dynamic behaviors of a spintronic device. We also discuss an extension of the spin modified nodal analysis (SMNA) for time-dependent situations based on the proposed scheme.

Particle and impurity control in toroidal fusion devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wootton, A.J.

1986-01-01

A review of working particle and impurity control techniques used in and proposed for magnetic fusion devices is presented. The requirements of both present-day machines and envisaged fusion reactors are considered. The various techniques which have been proposed are characterized by whether they affect sources, sinks, or fluxes; in many cases a particular method or device can appear in more than one category. Examples are drawn from published results. The solutions proposed for the large devices which will be operating during the next 5 years are discussed

Associations between academic stressors, reaction to stress, coping strategies and musculoskeletal disorders among college students.

Science.gov (United States)

Ekpenyong, Christopher E; Daniel, Nyebuk E; Aribo, Ekpe O

2013-07-01

The adverse health effects of stress are enormous, and vary among people, probably because of differences in how stress is appraised and the strategies individuals use to cope with it. This study assessed the association between academic stress and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among 1365 undergraduates. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in a Nigerian university at the beginning of the 2010/2011 academic session with the same group of participants. The Life Stress Assessment Inventory, Coping Strategies Questionnaire, and Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment were administered as tools of data gathering. Students' stress level and associated MSDs were higher during the examination period than the pre-examination periods. Stressors were significantly associated with increased risk of MSDs in both sexes were those related to changes (odds ratio (OR) = 1.7, p = 0.002) and pressures (OR = 2.09, p = 0.001). Emotional and physiological reactions to stress were significantly associated with MSDs in both sexes, with higher odds for MSDs in females, whereas cognitive and behavioral reactions showed higher odds (though non-significant) in males. The risk of MSDs was higher in respondents who adopted avoidance and religious coping strategies compared with those who adopted active practical and distracting coping strategies. Stress among students could be significantly associated with MSDs depending on individuals' demographics, stressors, reactions to stress, and coping methods. Interventions to reduce stress-induced MSDs among students should consider these factors among others.

Channel Access and Power Control for Mobile Crowdsourcing in Device-to-Device Underlaid Cellular Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yue Ma

2018-01-01

Full Text Available With the access of a myriad of smart handheld devices in cellular networks, mobile crowdsourcing becomes increasingly popular, which can leverage omnipresent mobile devices to promote the complicated crowdsourcing tasks. Device-to-device (D2D communication is highly desired in mobile crowdsourcing when cellular communications are costly. The D2D cellular network is more preferable for mobile crowdsourcing than conventional cellular network. Therefore, this paper addresses the channel access and power control problem in the D2D underlaid cellular networks. We propose a novel semidistributed network-assisted power and a channel access control scheme for D2D user equipment (DUE pieces. It can control the interference from DUE pieces to the cellular user accurately and has low information feedback overhead. For the proposed scheme, the stochastic geometry tool is employed and analytic expressions are derived for the coverage probabilities of both the cellular link and D2D links. We analyze the impact of key system parameters on the proposed scheme. The Pareto optimal access threshold maximizing the total area spectral efficiency is obtained. Unlike the existing works, the performances of the cellular link and D2D links are both considered. Simulation results show that the proposed method can improve the total area spectral efficiency significantly compared to existing schemes.

Memory attacks on device-independent quantum cryptography.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett, Jonathan; Colbeck, Roger; Kent, Adrian

2013-01-04

Device-independent quantum cryptographic schemes aim to guarantee security to users based only on the output statistics of any components used, and without the need to verify their internal functionality. Since this would protect users against untrustworthy or incompetent manufacturers, sabotage, or device degradation, this idea has excited much interest, and many device-independent schemes have been proposed. Here we identify a critical weakness of device-independent protocols that rely on public communication between secure laboratories. Untrusted devices may record their inputs and outputs and reveal information about them via publicly discussed outputs during later runs. Reusing devices thus compromises the security of a protocol and risks leaking secret data. Possible defenses include securely destroying or isolating used devices. However, these are costly and often impractical. We propose other more practical partial defenses as well as a new protocol structure for device-independent quantum key distribution that aims to achieve composable security in the case of two parties using a small number of devices to repeatedly share keys with each other (and no other party).

Performance Tests for Bubble Blockage Device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ha, Kwang Soon; Wi, Kyung Jin; Park, Rae Joon; Wan, Han Seong

2014-01-01

Postulated severe core damage accidents have a high threat risk for the safety of human health and jeopardize the environment. Versatile measures have been suggested and applied to mitigate severe accidents in nuclear power plants. To improve the thermal margin for the severe accident measures in high-power reactors, engineered corium cooling systems involving boiling-induced two-phase natural circulation have been proposed for decay heat removal. A boiling-induced natural circulation flow is generated in a coolant path between a hot vessel wall and cold coolant reservoir. In general, it is possible for some bubbles to be entrained in the natural circulation loop. If some bubbles entrain in the liquid phase flow passage, flow instability may occur, that is, the natural circulation mass flow rate may be oscillated. A new device to block the entraining bubbles is proposed and verified using air-water test loop. To avoid bubbles entrained in the natural circulation flow loop, a new device was proposed and verified using an air-water test loop. The air injection and liquid circulation loop was prepared, and the tests for the bubble blockage devices were performed by varying the geometry and shape of the devices. The performance of the bubble blockage device was more effective as the area ratio of the inlet to the down-comer increased, and the device height decreased. If the device has a rim to generate a vortex zone, the bubbles will be most effectively blocked

A novel method of TVTS in the TS-3 device and the proposal of its application to a large device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tokimatsu, K.; Hayashi, N.; Ueda, Y.; Ono, Y.; Katsurai, M.

1997-01-01

A novel method of television Thomson scattering (TVTS) has been developed in the TS-3 device. In this system, a framing camera is located between a spectroscope and a close coupled device camera. This framing camera can take two successive frames from the exit of the spectroscope. The time interval is of 500 ns between those two frames. Because of the shortness of this time interval, the background light is negligible; moreover TVTS is applicable to the TS-3 device whose plasma lifetime is about 150 μs. This method indicates the possibility of not only high spatial resolution but also time repetition in a simple system. (orig.)

Three-dimensional illusion thermal device for location camouflage.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jing; Bi, Yanqiang; Hou, Quanwen

2017-08-08

Thermal metamaterials, proposed in recent years, provide a new method to manipulate the energy flux in heat transfer, and result in many novel thermal devices. In this paper, an illusion thermal device for location camouflage in 3-dimensional heat conduction regime is proposed based on the transformation thermodynamics. The heat source covered by the device produces a fake signal outside the device, which makes the source look like appearing at another position away from its real position. The parameters required by the device are deduced and the method is validated by simulations. The possible scheme to obtain the thermal conductivities required in the device by composing natural materials is supplied, and the influence of some problems in practical fabrication process of the device on the effect of the camouflage is also discussed.

Device-independent randomness amplification with a single device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plesch, Martin; Pivoluska, Matej

2014-01-01

Expansion and amplification of weak randomness with untrusted quantum devices has recently become a very fruitful topic of research. Here we contribute with a procedure for amplifying a single weak random source using tri-partite GHZ-type entangled states. If the quality of the source reaches a fixed threshold R=log 2 ⁡(10), perfect random bits can be produced. This technique can be used to extract randomness from sources that can't be extracted neither classically, nor by existing procedures developed for Santha–Vazirani sources. Our protocol works with a single fault-free device decomposable into three non-communicating parts, that is repeatedly reused throughout the amplification process. - Highlights: • We propose a protocol for device independent randomness amplification. • Our protocol repeatedly re-uses a single device decomposable into three parts. • Weak random sources with min-entropy rate greater than 1/4 log 2 ⁡(10) can be amplified. • Security against all-quantum adversaries is achieved

Reference Device-Assisted Adaptive Location Fingerprinting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dongjin Wu

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Location fingerprinting suffers in dynamic environments and needs recalibration from time to time to maintain system performance. This paper proposes an adaptive approach for location fingerprinting. Based on real-time received signal strength indicator (RSSI samples measured by a group of reference devices, the approach applies a modified Universal Kriging (UK interpolant to estimate adaptive temporal and environmental radio maps. The modified UK can take the spatial distribution characteristics of RSSI into account. In addition, the issue of device heterogeneity caused by multiple reference devices is further addressed. To compensate the measuring differences of heterogeneous reference devices, differential RSSI metric is employed. Extensive experiments were conducted in an indoor field and the results demonstrate that the proposed approach not only adapts to dynamic environments and the situation of changing APs’ positions, but it is also robust toward measuring differences of heterogeneous reference devices.

Metallic spintronic devices

CERN Document Server

Wang, Xiaobin

2014-01-01

Metallic Spintronic Devices provides a balanced view of the present state of the art of metallic spintronic devices, addressing both mainstream and emerging applications from magnetic tunneling junction sensors and spin torque oscillators to spin torque memory and logic. Featuring contributions from well-known and respected industrial and academic experts, this cutting-edge work not only presents the latest research and developments but also: Describes spintronic applications in current and future magnetic recording devicesDiscusses spin-transfer torque magnetoresistive random-access memory (STT-MRAM) device architectures and modelingExplores prospects of STT-MRAM scaling, such as detailed multilevel cell structure analysisInvestigates spintronic device write and read optimization in light of spintronic memristive effectsConsiders spintronic research directions based on yttrium iron garnet thin films, including spin pumping, magnetic proximity, spin hall, and spin Seebeck effectsProposes unique solutions for ...

Providing Device Independence to Mobile Services

OpenAIRE

Nylander, Stina; Bylund, Markus

2002-01-01

People want user interfaces to services that are functional and well suited to the device they choose for access. To provide this, services must be able to offer device specific user interfaces for the wide range of devices available today. We propose to combine the two dominant approaches to platform independence, "Write Once, Run Every-where™" and "different version for each device", to create multiple device specific user interfaces for mobile services. This gives possibilities to minimize...

76 FR 50230 - Center for Devices and Radiological Health 510(k) Clearance Process; Recommendations Proposed in...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-12

... develop and implement a program of continuous quality improvement to track regulatory decisions on medical devices, identify potential process improvements in the medical device regulatory framework, and address... software used in devices, software used as devices, and software used as a tool in producing devices. 8...

The relationship between the development of musculoskeletal disorders, body mass index, and academic stress in Bahraini University students.

Science.gov (United States)

Tantawy, Sayed A; Abdul Rahman, Asma; Abdul Ameer, Maryam

2017-04-01

There are many mechanisms in which stress can lead to weight gain thus high a BMI. The endocrine and inflammatory pathway can directly increase abdominal adiposity. Another way in which stress leads to weight gain is through changes in health behaviors. The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among healthy students of Ahlia University, and to determine the relationship between the development of MSDs and academic stressors and body mass index. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 94 students aged 18-26 years who were enrolled at various Ahlia University colleges and met other inclusion criteria. The students responded to the standardized Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire and the modified College Student Stress Inventory regarding musculoskeletal symptoms and academic stressors. Height and weight measurements were also obtained to determine body mass index. A total of 77.66% reported MSDs in one or more body part, with the prevalence being higher among women than among men. The 7-day prevalence of MSDs severe enough to interfere with activities of daily living was 60.64%, and 44.68% by female and male students, respectively. There was a significant relationship between academic stress and MSDs in the neck, shoulders, lower back, and hips, while the relationship between MSDs, and body mass index, academic stress, and grade point average was not significant. The prevalence of MSDs among Ahlia University students was found to be high. Apart from the positive correlation between academic stress and MSDs in certain body parts, other correlations were not significant.

Experience and Meaning in Qualitative Research: A Conceptual Review and a Methodological Device Proposal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marianne Daher

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The relevance of experience and meaning in qualitative research is mostly accepted and is common ground for qualitative studies. However, there is an increasing trend towards trivializing the use of these notions. As a consequence, a mechanistic use of these terms has emerged within qualitative analysis, which has resulted in the loss of the original richness derived from the theoretical roots of these concepts. In this article, we aim to recover these origins by reviewing theoretical postulates from phenomenological and hermeneutic traditions and to propose their convergence in a holistic perspective. The challenge is to find the local source of meanings that will enlighten on how to understand people's experiences. This discussion is the basis for the encounter context themes (ECT methodological device, which emphasizes the importance of studying experience and meaning as part of a larger whole: the participants' life-world. Hence, ECT seeks to complement the available methodological tools for qualitatively-oriented studies, recovering—rather than re-creating—a theoretical discussion useful for current qualitative research practices.

Aetiology and risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders in physically active conscripts: a follow-up study in the Finnish Defence Forces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pihlajamäki Harri

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs are the main reason for morbidity during military training. MSDs commonly result in functional impairment leading to premature discharge from military service and disabilities requiring long-term rehabilitation. The purpose of the study was to examine associations between various risk factors and MSDs with special attention to the physical fitness of the conscripts. Methods Two successive cohorts of 18 to 28-year-old male conscripts (N = 944, median age 19 were followed for six months. MSDs, including overuse and acute injuries, treated at the garrison clinic were identified and analysed. Associations between MSDs and risk factors were examined by multivariate Cox's proportional hazard models. Results During the six-month follow-up of two successive cohorts there were 1629 MSDs and 2879 health clinic visits due to MSDs in 944 persons. The event-based incidence rate for MSD was 10.5 (95% confidence interval (CI: 10.0-11.1 per 1000 person-days. Most MSDs were in the lower extremities (65% followed by the back (18%. The strongest baseline factors associated with MSDs were poor result in the combined outcome of a 12-minute running test and back lift test (hazard ratio (HR 2.9; 95% CI: 1.9-4.6, high waist circumference (HR 1.7; 95% CI: 1.3-2.2, high body mass index (HR 1.8; 95% CI: 1.3-2.4, poor result in a 12-minute running test (HR 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2-2.2, earlier musculoskeletal symptoms (HR 1.7; 95% CI: 1.3-2.1 and poor school success (educational level and grades combined; HR 2.0; 95% CI: 1.3-3.0. In addition, risk factors of long-term MSDs (≥10 service days lost due to one or several MSDs were analysed: poor result in a 12-minute running test, earlier musculoskeletal symptoms, high waist circumference, high body mass index, not belonging to a sports club and poor result in the combined outcome of the 12-minute running test and standing long jump test were strongly associated with long-term MSDs

Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders among Paramedics Working in a Large Hospital in Ahwaz, Southwestern Iran in 2010

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

KR Shafizadeh

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs are common among employees throughout the world, particularly in high risk groups such as nurses. Objective: To determine the prevalence of MSDs among nurses in a large hospital in Ahwaz, southwestern Iran, and to examine its correlation with gender, age, shift working, years at service and smoking. Methods: Using a self-reported questionnaire-based cross-sectional study, Nordic questionnaire for MSDs was disseminated to all inpatient hospital paramedics (n=195 in a large hospital in Ahwaz. Results: Questionnaires of 161 participants were completed and returned back for analysis (response rate of 83%. The reported prevalence of MSDs was very high in the studied paramedics so that more than 90% of them reported at least one MSD in last week. The most prevalent site affected was that of neck (64% followed by head (62.1%, knees (54.7% and wrists/hands (49.7%; the least frequent disorder was that of elbows (14.3%. MSD was more common in females and increased with age and years of service. Non-shift workers reported more neck and elbows MSDs than shift workers. Conclusion: Considering the very high prevalence of MSDs among paramedics, it is suggested that they engage in an exercise program at their work place to lower the risk of MSDs and promote working efficiency.

Investigation of the effective factors on musculoskeletal disorders and its consequents in Qazvin woman hairdressers in 2016

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Ansari

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Background: The hairdressers are exposed to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs due to repetitive movements in awkward postures. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effective factors on MSDS prevalence and its consequents in hairdressers. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study has done in 2016. One hundred fifty three subjects of female hairdressers were recruited for the census in Qazvin. Rapid entire body assessment (REBA method used to ergonomics risk assessment (by Nexgenergo software and two questionnaires Nordic and work ability index (WAI were used to investigate MSDS prevalence and work ability respectively. Data were analyzed using single and multivariate logistic regression. Findings: The prevalence of MSDs was reported 116 (75.8% among the study subjects. Weight is an individual factor that increases the prevalence of MSDs to 17 times alone and in combination with other risk factors, increases the absence from the work and refer to doctors to 3.6 and to 36 times respectively. Individuals with good ability have 4 times more exposed to MSDs compared to individuals with excellent ability. Individuals with weak ability have more absence from the work and refer to the doctor compared to people with excellent ability (18 and 8 times respectively. Conclusion: Weight loss, reducing work times, improve the work ability can cause decrease the MSDs, absence from the work and refer to doctor in female hairdressers.

VibeComm: Radio-Free Wireless Communication for Smart Devices Using Vibration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Inhwan Hwang

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes VibeComm, a novel communication method for smart devices using a built-in vibrator and accelerometer. The proposed approach is ideal for low-rate off-line communication, and its communication medium is an object on which smart devices are placed, such as tables and desks. When more than two smart devices are placed on an object and one device wants to transmit a message to the other devices, the transmitting device generates a sequence of vibrations. The vibrations are propagated through the object on which the devices are placed. The receiving devices analyze their accelerometer readings to decode incoming messages. The proposed method can be the alternative communication method when general types of radio communication methods are not available. VibeComm is implemented on Android smartphones, and a comprehensive set of experiments is conducted to show its feasibility.

Device-Free Indoor Activity Recognition System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed Abdulaziz Aide Al-qaness

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we explore the properties of the Channel State Information (CSI of WiFi signals and present a device-free indoor activity recognition system. Our proposed system uses only one ubiquitous router access point and a laptop as a detection point, while the user is free and neither needs to wear sensors nor carry devices. The proposed system recognizes six daily activities, such as walk, crawl, fall, stand, sit, and lie. We have built the prototype with an effective feature extraction method and a fast classification algorithm. The proposed system has been evaluated in a real and complex environment in both line-of-sight (LOS and none-line-of-sight (NLOS scenarios, and the results validate the performance of the proposed system.

Progress of Terahertz Devices Based on Graphene

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Mai-Xia Fu; Yan Zhang

2013-01-01

Graphene is a one-atom-thick planar sheet of sp2-hybridized orbital bonded honeycomb carbon crystal. Its gapless and linear energy spectra of electrons and holes lead to the unique carrier transport and optical properties, such as giant carrier mobility and broadband flat optical response. As a novel material, graphene has been regarded to be extremely suitable and competent for the development of terahertz (THz) optical devices. In this paper, the fundamental electronic and optic properties of graphene are described. Based on the energy band structure and light transmittance properties of graphene, many novel graphene based THz devices have been proposed, including modulator, generator, detector, and imaging device. This progress has been reviewed. Future research directions of the graphene devices for THz applications are also proposed.

FDA Proposes New Safety Measures for Indoor Tanning Devices: The Facts

Science.gov (United States)

... Related Consumer Updates Indoor Tanning: The Risks of Ultraviolet Rays 5 Tips for a Healthy Vacation More in Consumer Updates Animal & Veterinary Children's Health Cosmetics Dietary Supplements Drugs Food Medical Devices Nutrition Radiation-Emitting Products Tobacco Products ...

Comparative Evaluation of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Therapy and Conventional Therapy Use for Musculoskeletal Disorders Management and Its Association with Job Satisfaction among Dentists of West India.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Devanand; Batra, Renu; Mahajan, Shveta; Bhaskar, Dara John; Jain, Ankita; Shiju, Mohammed; Yadav, Ankit; Chaturvedi, Mudita; Gill, Shruti; Verma, Renuka; Dalai, Deepak Ranjan; Gupta, Rajendra Kumar

2014-10-01

Musculoskeletal problems have become a significant issue in the profession of dentistry. There are currently no recommended effective disease-preventing and modifying remedies. High prevalence rates for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among dentists have been reported in the literature. Complementary and alternative medicine can be helpful in managing and preventing the MSDs. The purpose of this study was to determine if dentists in the western part of India are using complementary and alternative medicine therapies for MSDs, and also to find if those who use complementary and alternative medicine therapies have greater job/career satisfaction compared to conventional therapy (CT) users. Dentists of western India registered under the Dental Council of India (N = 2166) were recruited for the study. Data were analyzed using univariate and bivariate analyses and logistic regression. A response rate of 73% (n = 1581) was obtained, of which 79% (n = 1249) was suffering from MSDs. The use of complementary and alternative medicine or CT was reported by 90% (n = 1124) of dentists with MSDs. Dentists using complementary and alternative medicine reported greater health (P alternative medicine therapies may improve the quality of life and enhance job satisfaction for a dentist who suffers from MSDs.

Musculoskeletal Disorders among Iranian Coal Miners at 2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mashallah Aghillinejad

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Some factors such as stooping posture and frequent kneeling in miners can increase prevalence of their musculoskeletal disorders Present study was performed for assessment of MSDs prevalence among Iranian coal miners and finds its relationships with some their characters including age, work experience and body mass index. Participants in the persent cross sectional study, were 505 coal miners which selected among Iranian coal miners by simple random method. Data of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs gathered by Standardized Nordic self-reporting questionnaire. Demographic and work related data were collected into the check list. Findings of persent study showed that 56.1% and 66.5% of study miners claimed one of the MSDs complaints during last week and in the last year respectively. Lumbar, Knee(s and Back had most common MSDs prevalence at last week and year. MSDs prevalence had significant association with age (P≤0.02 and non-significant association with BMI (P≥0.8 of workers. MSDs in Iranian coal miners were happened in high rate. Ergonomic interventions strategies in the workplaces must be focussed for elimination of environmental hazards such as apposition at the time of work, manual handling of heavy loads.

Design of wheel-type walking-assist device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Seung Ho; Kim, Seung Ho; Kim, Chang Hoi; Seo, Yong Chil; Jung, Kyung Min; Lee, Sung Uk

2006-03-01

In this research, a outdoor wheel-type walking-assist device is developed to help an elder having a poor muscular strength at legs for walking, sitting and standing up easily at outdoors, and also for going and downing stairs. In conceptually designing, the environments of an elder's activity, the size of an elder's body and a necessary function of helping an elder are considered. This device has 4 wheels for stability. When an elder walks in incline plane with the proposed device, a rear-wing is rotated to keep the supporting device horizontal, regardless of an angle of inclination. A height-controlling device, which can control the height of the supporting device for adjusting an elder's height, is varied vertically to help an elder to sit and stand-up easily. Moreover, a outdoor wheel-type walking-assist device is conceptually designed and is made. In order to design it, the preview research is investigated firstly. On the basis of the proposed walking-assist device, the outdoor walking-assist device is designed and made. The outdoor wheel-type walking-assist device can go and down stairs automatically. This device go up and down the stair of having maximum 20cm height and an angle of 25 degrees with maximum 4 sec/stairs speed, and move at flatland with 60cm/sec speed

Enhanced luminance for inorganic electroluminescent devices with a charged electret

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Fang-Hsing, E-mail: fansen@dragon.nchu.edu.tw [Department of Electrical Engineering and Graduate Institute of Optoelectronic Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan, ROC (China); Chen, Kuo-Feng [Department of Electrical Engineering and Graduate Institute of Optoelectronic Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan, ROC (China); Display Technology Center/Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu 310, Taiwan, ROC (China); Chien, Yu-Han; Chang, Chin-Chia; Chuang, Meng-Ying [Display Technology Center/Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu 310, Taiwan, ROC (China)

2013-09-15

This work proposes a novel inorganic electroluminescent (IEL) device with an electric field built-in (EFBI) technique to reduce its driving voltage and enhance its luminance. The EFBI technique was performed by charging an electret comprising a silicon dioxide film at different temperatures (25–150 °C) in powder electroluminescent (PDEL) devices. The driving voltage of the EFBI-PDEL device decreased by 61.4 V (or 20.5%) under the brightness of 269 cd/m{sup 2}, and its brightness increased by 128 cd/m{sup 2} (or 47%) at ac 300 V. The efficiency of the EFBI-PDEL device significantly increased by 0.827 lm/W (or 45.5%) at ac 300 V. The proposed EFBI-PDEL device has advantages of a low-temperature process and low cost, and potential for large-area display applications. -- Highlights: • An electric-field built-in powder electroluminescent (EFBI-PDEL) device is proposed. • The EFBI technique is performed by charging an electrets. • The driving voltage of the EFBI-PDEL device decreased by 20.5%. • The brightness of the EFBI-PDEL device increased by 47%. • The efficiency of the EFBI-PDEL device increased by 45.5%.

76 FR 15368 - Minimum Security Devices and Procedures

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-21

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision Minimum Security Devices and Procedures... concerning the following information collection. Title of Proposal: Minimum Security Devices and Procedures... security devices and procedures to discourage robberies, burglaries, and larcenies, and to assist in the...

Large displacement haptic stimulus actuator using piezoelectric pump for wearable devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Kodama, Taisuke; Izumi, Shintaro; Masaki, Kana; Kawaguchi, Hiroshi; Maenaka, Kazusuke; Yoshimoto, Masahiko

2015-08-01

Recently, given Japan's aging society background, wearable healthcare devices have increasingly attracted attention. Many devices have been developed, but most devices have only a sensing function. To expand the application area of wearable healthcare devices, an interactive communication function with the human body is required using an actuator. For example, a device must be useful for medication assistance, predictive alerts of a disease such as arrhythmia, and exercise. In this work, a haptic stimulus actuator using a piezoelectric pump is proposed to realize a large displacement in wearable devices. The proposed actuator drives tactile sensation of the human body. The measurement results obtained using a sensory examination demonstrate that the proposed actuator can generate sufficient stimuli even if adhered to the chest, which has fewer tactile receptors than either the fingertip or wrist.

Energy-Efficient Resource and Power Allocation for Underlay Multicast Device-to-Device Transmission

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fan Jiang

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present an energy-efficient resource allocation and power control scheme for D2D (Device-to-Device multicasting transmission. The objective is to maximize the overall energy-efficiency of D2D multicast clusters through effective resource allocation and power control schemes, while considering the quality of service (QoS requirements of both cellular users (CUs and D2D clusters. We first build the optimization model and a heuristic resource and power allocation algorithm is then proposed to solve the energy-efficiency problem with less computational complexity. Numerical results indicate that the proposed algorithm outperforms existing schemes in terms of throughput per energy consumption.

Usage monitoring of electrical devices in a smart home.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahimi, Saba; Chan, Adrian D C; Goubran, Rafik A

2011-01-01

Profiling the usage of electrical devices within a smart home can be used as a method for determining an occupant's activities of daily living. A nonintrusive load monitoring system monitors the electrical consumption at a single electrical source (e.g., main electric utility service entry) and the operating schedules of individual devices are determined by disaggregating the composite electrical consumption waveforms. An electrical device's load signature plays a key role in nonintrusive load monitoring systems. A load signature is the unique electrical behaviour of an individual device when it is in operation. This paper proposes a feature-based model, using the real power and reactive power as features for describing the load signatures of individual devices. Experimental results for single device recognition for 7 devices show that the proposed approach can achieve 100% classification accuracy with discriminant analysis using Mahalanobis distances.

76 FR 30243 - Minimum Security Devices and Procedures

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-24

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision Minimum Security Devices and Procedures.... Title of Proposal: Minimum Security Devices and Procedures. OMB Number: 1550-0062. Form Number: N/A... respect to the installation, maintenance, and operation of security devices and procedures to discourage...

Exploring a New Security Framework for Remote Patient Monitoring Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian Ondiege

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Security has been an issue of contention in healthcare. The lack of familiarity and poor implementation of security in healthcare leave the patients’ data vulnerable to attackers. The main issue is assessing how we can provide security in an RPM infrastructure. The findings in literature show there is little empirical evidence on proper implementation of security. Therefore, there is an urgent need in addressing cybersecurity issues in medical devices. Through the review of relevant literature in remote patient monitoring and use of a Microsoft threat modelling tool, we identify and explore current vulnerabilities and threats in IEEE 11073 standard devices to propose a new security framework for remote patient monitoring devices. Additionally, current RPM devices have a limitation on the number of people who can share a single device, therefore, we propose the use of NFC for identification in Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM devices for multi-user environments where we have multiple people sharing a single device to reduce errors associated with incorrect user identification. We finally show how several techniques have been used to build the proposed framework.

Musculoskeletal disorders among preschool teachers: analyzing the relationships among relational demands, work meaning, and intention to leave the job.

Science.gov (United States)

Converso, Daniela; Viotti, Sara; Sottimano, Ilaria; Cascio, Vincenza; Guidetti, Gloria

2018-05-22

Based on the conservation of resource (COR) theory by Hobfoll, the aim of the present study was to test whether the relationships among relational demands, work meaning, and intention to leave vary as a function of the presence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The study was cross-sectional and non-randomized. Analyses were carried out on a dataset consisting of 429 preschool teachers, who filled out a self-report questionnaire. Of them, 238 reported a MSD diagnosis and 191 were free form MSDs. As expected, among those who reported MSDs, relational demands were significantly associated to intention to leave, and this relationship was mediated by work meaning; moreover, among those free from MSDs, no significant paths among the three variables were found. In general, results showed that suffering from MSDs impairs workers' ability to face to relational demands, thus activating a spiral that encompasses diminished work meaning and intention to leave. Practical implications of results will be discussed in the paper.

Psychosocial and individual characteristics and musculoskeletal complaints among clinical laboratory workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadeghian, Farideh; Kasaeian, Amir; Noroozi, Pirasteh; Vatani, Javad; Taiebi, Seiyed Hassan

2014-01-01

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are an important health problem among healthcare workers, including clinical laboratory ones. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of MSDs and individual and psychosocial risk factors among clinical laboratory workers. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 156 workers of 30 clinical laboratories in 3 towns of Iran. The Nordic questionnaire with individual and psychosocial risk factors was used to collect data. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed. The prevalence of reported MSDs among the study population was 72.4% in the past 12 months. The most prevalent MSDs were pain in the lower back and neck; 42.7% and 33.3%, respectively. Significant relations were found between MSDs and age, gender, heavy work at home and job control (p workers were high and associated with age, gender, heavy work at home and job control. More research into measuring these factors and workplace physical demands is suggested.

Introduction to ergonomics for healthcare workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Waters, Thomas R

2010-01-01

Healthcare workers who handle and move patients as part of their jobs suffer a disproportionately high number of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The majority of reported work-related MSDs are back pain cases that result in significant numbers of lost work days. It is likely that these lost workdays have a substantial impact on the quality and cost of health care. Patient care ergonomics can reduce the risk of work-related MSDs by helping safety experts design the work so it can be safely performed by most workers. This article provides a general overview of ergonomics--what it is, how it can be used to help design safe work, and why all healthcare workers and administrators should know and understand how excessive work demands can lead to increased risk of work-related MSDs. The article will also explain technological solutions that can be implemented to reduce the risk of work-related MSDs for healthcare workers.

Knowledge on musculoskeletal diseases by the Spanish population.

Science.gov (United States)

Lázaro, Pablo; Alfaro, Noelia; Méndez, José Ignacio; Garcia-Vicuña, Rosario; Jover, Juan Ángel; Sevilla, Jordi; Gabriele, Giovanna

2013-01-01

To explore knowledge on musculoskeletal-diseases (MSDs) by the Spanish population. This was a cross-sectional study of the general population (> 18 years) using a telephone survey of 1,009 subjects stratified by habitat size, age, sex, and geographic area. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on the subjects, their general knowledge of MSDs (GK), their specific knowledge of particular MSDs (SK), and their knowledge of their social impact (KSI). Synthetic indicators of the level of knowledge were used to analyze, using univariate and multivariate models, variables associated to the level of knowledge. The KSI level ranges from medium-high (mean: 0.62 ± 0.16 out of 1), suggesting that most subjects recognize MSDs as disabling conditions which affect the ability to work and have a high personal and social cost. The GK level is intermediate (mean: 0.50 ± 0.17); 60% of subjects know something about MSDs, but 54% state that their information is poor/very poor. The SK level is low (mean: 0.18 ± 0.10), and there are some MSDs that are little known (lupus, spondylitis). Being male or retired or having a MSD is associated to a greater knowledge of MSDs. The Spanish population has a medium level of knowledge of the frequency and extent to which MSDs affect performance of activities by those who suffer them. They identify them adequately and have a GK of their symptoms, but have little information about them. The level of knowledge varies depending on social and demographic factors and on whether or not the subject has direct or indirect experience of what a MSD means. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Network-Assisted Device-to-Device (D2D) Direct Proximity Discovery with Underlay Communication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pratas, Nuno; Popovski, Petar

2015-01-01

) direct communication between proximate devices. While (ii) is treated extensively in the recent literature, (i) has received relatively little attention. In this paper we analyze a network-assisted underlay proximity discovery protocol, where a cellular device can take the role of: announcer (which......Device-to-Device communications are expected to play an important role in current and future cellular generations, by increasing the spatial reuse of spectrum resources and enabling lower latency communication links. This paradigm has two fundamental building blocks: (i) proximity discovery and (ii......, we consider the case where the announcers underlay their messages in the downlink transmissions that are directed towards the monitoring devices. We propose a power control scheme applied to the downlink transmission, which copes with the underlay transmission via additional power expenditure, while...

All-spin logic operations: Memory device and reconfigurable computing

Science.gov (United States)

Patra, Moumita; Maiti, Santanu K.

2018-02-01

Exploiting spin degree of freedom of electron a new proposal is given to characterize spin-based logical operations using a quantum interferometer that can be utilized as a programmable spin logic device (PSLD). The ON and OFF states of both inputs and outputs are described by spin state only, circumventing spin-to-charge conversion at every stage as often used in conventional devices with the inclusion of extra hardware that can eventually diminish the efficiency. All possible logic functions can be engineered from a single device without redesigning the circuit which certainly offers the opportunities of designing new generation spintronic devices. Moreover, we also discuss the utilization of the present model as a memory device and suitable computing operations with proposed experimental setups.

Secure-Network-Coding-Based File Sharing via Device-to-Device Communication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Wang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In order to increase the efficiency and security of file sharing in the next-generation networks, this paper proposes a large scale file sharing scheme based on secure network coding via device-to-device (D2D communication. In our scheme, when a user needs to share data with others in the same area, the source node and all the intermediate nodes need to perform secure network coding operation before forwarding the received data. This process continues until all the mobile devices in the networks successfully recover the original file. The experimental results show that secure network coding is very feasible and suitable for such file sharing. Moreover, the sharing efficiency and security outperform traditional replication-based sharing scheme.

Integrating local urban climate modelling and mobile sensor data for personal exposure assessments in the context of urban heat island effect

Science.gov (United States)

Ueberham, Maximilian; Hertel, Daniel; Schlink, Uwe

2017-04-01

Deeper knowledge about urban climate conditions is getting more important in the context of climate change, urban population growth, urban compaction and continued surface sealing. Especially the urban heat island effect (UHI) is one of the most significant human induced alterations of Earth's surface climate. According to this the appearance frequency of heat waves in cities will increase with deep impacts on personal thermal comfort, human health and local residential quality of citizens. UHI can be very heterogenic within a city and research needs to focus more on the neighborhood scale perspective to get further insights about the heat burden of individuals. However, up to now, few is known about local thermal environmental variances and personal exposure loads. To monitor these processes and the impact on individuals, improved monitoring approaches are crucial, complementing data recorded at conventional fixed stations. Therefore we emphasize the importance of micro-meteorological modelling and mobile measurements to shed new light on the nexus of urban human-climate interactions. Contributing to this research we jointly present the approaches of our two PhD-projects. Firstly we illustrate on the basis of an example site, how local thermal conditions in an urban district can be simulated and predicted by a micro-meteorological model. Secondly we highlight the potentials of personal exposure measurements based on an evaluation of mobile micro-sensing devices (MSDs) and analyze and explain differences between model predictions and mobile records. For the examination of local thermal conditions we calculated ENVI-met simulations within the "Bayerischer Bahnhof" quarter in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany; 51°20', 12°22'). To accomplish the maximum temperature contrasts within the diverse built-up structures we chose a hot summer day (25 Aug 2016) under autochthonous weather conditions. From these simulations we analyzed a UHI effect between the model core (urban area

A magnetorheological fluid-based multifunctional haptic device for vehicular instrument controls

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Young-Min; Kim, Chan-Jung; Choi, Seung-Bok

2009-01-01

This paper presents control performances of a magnetorheological (MR) fluid-based multifunctional haptic device which is applicable to vehicular instrument controls. By combining in-vehicle functions into a single device, the proposed haptic device can transmit various reflection forces for each comfort function to a driver without requiring the driver's visual attention. As a multifunctional haptic device, a MR knob is proposed in this work and then devised to be capable of both rotary and push motions with a single knob. Under consideration of the spatial limitations of vehicle dashboards, design parameters are optimally determined by finite element analysis, and the objective function is to maximize a relative control torque. The proposed haptic device is then manufactured, and in-vehicle comfort functions are constructed in a virtual environment which makes the functions to communicate with the haptic device. Subsequently, a feed-forward controller using torque/force maps is formulated for the force tracking control. Control performances such as reflection force of the haptic device are experimentally evaluated via the torque/force map-based feed-forward controller

Vibration analysis on automatic take-up device of belt conveyor

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Tailong; Wei, Jin

2008-10-01

Through introducing application condition of belt conveyor in the modern mining industry, the paper proposed, in the dynamic course of its starting, braking or loading, it would produce moving tension and elastic wave. And analyzed the factors cause the automatic take-up device of belt conveyor vibrating: the take-up device's structure and the elastic wave. Finally the paper proposed the measure to reduce vibration and carried on the modeling and simulation on the tension buffer device.

Design of Secure and Lightweight Authentication Protocol for Wearable Devices Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Das, Ashok Kumar; Wazid, Mohammad; Kumar, Neeraj; Khan, Muhammad Khurram; Choo, Kim-Kwang Raymond; Park, YoungHo

2017-09-18

Wearable devices are used in various applications to collect information including step information, sleeping cycles, workout statistics, and health related information. Due to the nature and richness of the data collected by such devices, it is important to ensure the security of the collected data. This paper presents a new lightweight authentication scheme suitable for wearable device deployment. The scheme allows a user to mutually authenticate his/her wearable device(s) and the mobile terminal (e.g., Android and iOS device) and establish a session key among these devices (worn and carried by the same user) for secure communication between the wearable device and the mobile terminal. The security of the proposed scheme is then demonstrated through the broadly-accepted Real-Or-Random model, as well as using the popular formal security verification tool, known as the Automated Validation of Internet Security Protocols and Applications (AVISPA). Finally, we present a comparative summary of the proposed scheme in terms of the overheads such as computation and communication costs, security and functionality features of the proposed scheme and related schemes, and also the evaluation findings from the NS2 simulation.

Characterization of Airborne Permethrin During the Manufacture of Army Combat Uniforms Using Pre-Treated Fabric

Science.gov (United States)

2016-08-01

COMPARE-N-SAVE® HOME PEST CONTROL RTU SPRAY 15. MSDS, NIX DERMAL CREAM 16. MSDS, Coleman Permethrin Aerosol 17. MSDS, PRELUDE 15  APPENDIX A...calibration procedures prior to analyses . C.2.2 Before samples or required blanks can be analyzed, the instrument must meet the initial calibration...Flush Volume 90% Purge 90 sec Cycles 2 F.1.3.2 Preparation for analyses . Dilute or concentrate each vial to 40mL and prepare a 1mL aliquot

Ergonomic assessment for the task of repairing computers in a manufacturing company: A case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Maldonado-Macías, Aidé; Realyvásquez, Arturo; Hernández, Juan Luis; García-Alcaraz, Jorge

2015-01-01

Manufacturing industry workers who repair computers may be exposed to ergonomic risk factors. This project analyzes the tasks involved in the computer repair process to (1) find the risk level for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and (2) propose ergonomic interventions to address any ergonomic issues. Work procedures and main body postures were video recorded and analyzed using task analysis, the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) postural method, and biomechanical analysis. High risk for MSDs was found on every subtask using REBA. Although biomechanical analysis found an acceptable mass center displacement during tasks, a hazardous level of compression on the lower back during computer's transportation was detected. This assessment found ergonomic risks mainly in the trunk, arm/forearm, and legs; the neck and hand/wrist were also compromised. Opportunities for ergonomic analyses and interventions in the design and execution of computer repair tasks are discussed.

Workplace Bullying as a Risk Factor for Musculoskeletal Disorders: The Mediating Role of Job-Related Psychological Strain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michela Vignoli

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Workplace bullying is considered by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work one of the emerging psychosocial risk factors that could negatively affect workers’ health. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the process that leads from bullying to negative health (such as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs, testing the mediating role of job-related strain. Data were collected on 512 workers (62.9% female; mean age = 43.6 years of a retail chain who filled in a self-report questionnaire after a one-hour training session on work-related stress. Data analyses were performed controlling for potentially confounding variables (i.e., gender, age, organizational role, type of contract, and perceived physical job demands. Preacher and Hayes analytical approach was used to test the indirect relationship between bullying and MSDs. Results showed that work-related strain mediates the relationship between bullying and MSDs considered (low back, upper back, and neck except for MSDs of the shoulders. Our study confirms the role played by bullying and job-related strain in determining workers’ MSDs.

Workplace Bullying as a Risk Factor for Musculoskeletal Disorders: The Mediating Role of Job-Related Psychological Strain.

Science.gov (United States)

Vignoli, Michela; Guglielmi, Dina; Balducci, Cristian; Bonfiglioli, Roberta

2015-01-01

Workplace bullying is considered by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work one of the emerging psychosocial risk factors that could negatively affect workers' health. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the process that leads from bullying to negative health (such as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)), testing the mediating role of job-related strain. Data were collected on 512 workers (62.9% female; mean age = 43.6 years) of a retail chain who filled in a self-report questionnaire after a one-hour training session on work-related stress. Data analyses were performed controlling for potentially confounding variables (i.e., gender, age, organizational role, type of contract, and perceived physical job demands). Preacher and Hayes analytical approach was used to test the indirect relationship between bullying and MSDs. Results showed that work-related strain mediates the relationship between bullying and MSDs considered (low back, upper back, and neck) except for MSDs of the shoulders. Our study confirms the role played by bullying and job-related strain in determining workers' MSDs.

77 FR 24764 - Visual-Manual NHTSA Driver Distraction Guidelines for In-Vehicle Electronic Devices

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-25

...-0053] Visual-Manual NHTSA Driver Distraction Guidelines for In-Vehicle Electronic Devices AGENCY... proposed voluntary NHTSA Driver Distraction Guidelines for in-vehicle electronic devices. The agency... Driver Distraction Guidelines for in-vehicle electronic devices (77 FR 11200). The proposed NHTSA...

Integrated Ultrasonic-Photonic Devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barretto, Elaine Cristina Saraiva

in channel waveguides and Mach-Zehnder interferometers. Numerical models are developed based on the finite element method, and applied to several scenarios, such as optimization of the geometrical parameters of waveguides, use of slow light in photonic crystal waveguides and use of Lamb waves in membranized......This thesis deals with the modeling, design, fabrication and characterization of integrated ultrasonic-photonic devices, with particular focus on the use of standard semiconductor materials such as GaAs and silicon. The devices are based on the use of guided acoustic waves to modulate the light...... investigated. Comparisons are made with the numerical and experimental results, and they validate the obtained response of the acoustic and photonic components of the device. Finally, a new design for an optical frequency shifter is proposed, posing several advantages over existing devices in terms of size...

Relationship between mental workload and musculoskeletal disorders among Alzahra Hospital nurses

Science.gov (United States)

Habibi, Ehsanollah; Taheri, Mohamad Reza; Hasanzadeh, Akbar

2015-01-01

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a serious problem among the nursing staff. Mental workload is the major cause of MSDs among nursing staff. The aim of this study was to investigate the mental workload dimensions and their association with MSDs among nurses of Alzahra Hospital, affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 247 randomly selected nurses who worked in the Alzahra Hospital in Isfahan, Iran in the summer of 2013. The Persian version of National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) (measuring mental load) specialized questionnaire and Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) was used for data collection. Data were collected and analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient and Spearman correlation coefficient tests in SPSS 20. Results: Pearson and Spearman correlation tests showed a significant association between the nurses’ MSDs and the dimensions of workload frustration, total workload, temporal demand, effort, and physical demand (r = 0.304, 0.277, 0.277, 0.216, and 0.211, respectively). However, there was no significant association between the nurses’ MSDs and the dimensions of workload performance and mental demand (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The nurses’ frustration had a direct correlation with MSDs. This shows that stress is an inseparable component in hospital workplace. Thus, reduction of stress in nursing workplace should be one of the main priorities of hospital managers. PMID:25709683

Evaluation of Related Risk Factors in Number of Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Carpet Weavers in Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Karimi, Nasim; Moghimbeigi, Abbas; Motamedzade, Majid; Roshanaei, Ghodratollah

2016-12-01

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a common problem among carpet weavers. This study was undertaken to introduce affecting personal and occupational factors in developing the number of MSDs among carpet weavers. A cross-sectional study was performed among 862 weavers in seven towns with regard to workhouse location in urban or rural regions. Data were collected by using questionnaires that contain personal, workplace, and information tools and the modified Nordic MSDs questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed by applying Poisson and negative binomial mixed models using a full Bayesian hierarchical approach. The deviance information criterion was used for comparison between models and model selection. The majority of weavers (72%) were female and carpet weaving was the main job of 85.2% of workers. The negative binomial mixed model with lowest deviance information criterion was selected as the best model. The criteria showed the convergence of chains. Based on 95% Bayesian credible interval, the main job and weaving type variables statistically affected the number of MSDs, but variables age, sex, weaving comb, work experience, and carpet weaving looms were not significant. According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that occupational factors are associated with the number of MSDs developing among carpet weavers. Thus, using standard tools and decreasing hours of work per day can reduce frequency of MSDs among carpet weavers.

Reliability analysis for thermal cutting method based non-explosive separation device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Jun Woo; Hwang, Kuk Ha; Kim, Byung Kyu

2016-01-01

In order to increase the reliability of a separation device for a small satellite, a new non-explosive separation device is invented. This device is activated using a thermal cutting method with a Ni-Cr wire. A reliability analysis is carried out for the proposed non-explosive separation device by applying the Fault tree analysis (FTA) method. In the FTA results for the separation device, only ten single-point failure modes are found. The reliability modeling and analysis for the device are performed considering failure of the power supply, the Ni-Cr wire burns failure and unwinds, the holder separation failure, the balls separation failure, and the pin release failure. Ultimately, the reliability of the proposed device is calculated as 0.999989 with five Ni-Cr wire coils

Reliability analysis for thermal cutting method based non-explosive separation device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Jun Woo; Hwang, Kuk Ha; Kim, Byung Kyu [Korea Aerospace University, Goyang (Korea, Republic of)

2016-12-15

In order to increase the reliability of a separation device for a small satellite, a new non-explosive separation device is invented. This device is activated using a thermal cutting method with a Ni-Cr wire. A reliability analysis is carried out for the proposed non-explosive separation device by applying the Fault tree analysis (FTA) method. In the FTA results for the separation device, only ten single-point failure modes are found. The reliability modeling and analysis for the device are performed considering failure of the power supply, the Ni-Cr wire burns failure and unwinds, the holder separation failure, the balls separation failure, and the pin release failure. Ultimately, the reliability of the proposed device is calculated as 0.999989 with five Ni-Cr wire coils.

Omnidirectional refractive devices for flexural waves based on graded phononic crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Torrent, Daniel, E-mail: daniel.torrent@iemn.univ-lille1.fr; Pennec, Yan; Djafari-Rouhani, Bahram [Institut d' Electronique, de Microléctronique et de Nanotechnologie, UMR CNRS 8520, Université de Lille 1, 59655 Villeneuve d' Ascq (France)

2014-12-14

Different omnidirectional refractive devices for flexural waves in thin plates are proposed and numerically analyzed. Their realization is explained by means phononic crystal plates, where a previously developed homogenization theory is employed for the design of graded index refractive devices. These devices consist of a circular cluster of inclusions with a properly designed gradient in their radius. With this approach, the Luneburg and Maxwell lenses and a family of beam splitters for flexural waves are proposed and analyzed. Results show that these devices work properly in a broadband frequency region, being therefore an efficient approach for the design of refractive devices specially interesting for nano-scale applications.

Si light-emitting device in integrated photonic CMOS ICs

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Kaikai; Snyman, Lukas W.; Aharoni, Herzl

2017-07-01

The motivation for integrated Si optoelectronics is the creation of low-cost photonics for mass-market applications. Especially, the growing demand for sensitive biochemical sensors in the environmental control or medicine leads to the development of integrated high resolution sensors. Here CMOS-compatible Si light-emitting device structures are presented for investigating the effect of various depletion layer profiles and defect engineering on the photonic transition in the 1.4-2.8 eV. A novel Si device is proposed to realize both a two-terminal Si-diode light-emitting device and a three-terminal Si gate-controlled diode light-emitting device in the same device structure. In addition to the spectral analysis, differences between two-terminal and three-terminal devices are discussed, showing the light emission efficiency change. The proposed Si optical source may find potential applications in micro-photonic systems and micro-optoelectro-mechanical systems (MOEMS) in CMOS integrated circuitry.

Compiling a Medical Device File and a Proposal for an International Standard for Rehabilitation Robots

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Römer, GertWillem R.B.E.; Stuyt, Harry J.A.

2007-01-01

Medical devices produced by manufacturers are subject to regulatory review by authorities. Usually, medical devices are developed at universities and other research institutes. This implies that regulatory activities are to be carried out by the designer at these organizations also. And as early as

High and specialty-related musculoskeletal disorders afflict dental professionals even since early training years

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianru YI

2013-07-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To determine how early musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs develop in dental professionals and to explore the potential differences among distinct dental specialties. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 271 dental postgraduates majoring in five dental specialties were recruited, i.e., orthodontics, prosthodontics, endodontics, periodontics and alveolar surgery. 254 age-matched non-dental postgraduates served as the control. The standardized Nordic questionnaire on MSDs and a self-report questionnaire regarding correlative factors (only for dental postgraduates were answered through emails. Reliability of responses was assessed applying test-retest method. RESULTS: The intraclass correlation coefficient of participants' answers ranged from 0.89 to 0.96. Dental postgraduates had significantly higher prevalence of MSDs than the control group, especially at neck, upper back and lower back. In all dental specialties included, high prevalence of MSDs was reported at neck (47.5%-69.8%, shoulders (50.8%-65.1%, lower back (27.1%-51.2% and upper back (25.6%-46.5%, with lower prevalence at elbows (5.1%-18.6%, hips (3.4%-16.3% and ankles (5.1%-11.6%. Periodontics students reported the worst MSDs in most body regions except wrists and knees, which were more prevalent for prosthodontic and alveolar surgery students, respectively. Furthermore, year of clinical work, clinical hours per week and desk hours per week were found as risk factors for MSDs, whereas physical exercise and rest between patients as protective factors. CONCLUSIONS: High and specialty-related MSDs afflict dental professionals even since very early stage of careers. Prevention aimed at the specialty-related characteristics and the risk/protective factors revealed in this study should be introduced to dental personnel as early as possible.

Development of an integrated pointing device driver for the disabled.

Science.gov (United States)

Shih, Ching-Hsiang; Shih, Ching-Tien

2010-01-01

To help people with disabilities such as those with spinal cord injury (SCI) to effectively utilise commercial pointing devices to operate computers. This study proposes a novel method to integrate the functions of commercial pointing devices. Utilising software technology to develop an integrated pointing device driver (IPDD) for a computer operating system. The proposed IPDD has the following benefits: (1) it does not require additional hardware cost or circuit preservations, (2) it supports all standard interfaces of commercial pointing devices, including PS/2, USB and wireless interfaces and (3) it can integrate any number of devices. The IPDD can be selected and combined according to their physical restriction. The IPDD is a novel method of integrating commercial pointing devices. Through IPDD, people with disabilities can choose a suitable combination of commercial pointing devices to achieve full cursor control and optimise operational performance. In contrast with previous studies, the software-based solution does not require additional hardware or circuit preservations, and it can support unlimited devices. In summary, the IPDD has the benefits of flexibility, low cost and high-device compatibility.

Musculoskeletal Injuries and Their Associated Risk Factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Jahangiri

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background and aims :Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs is high among office workers. Long time seated posture, working with computer, repetitive movements and inappropriate environmental conditions may have causal effects in these disorders. High prevalence rate of MSDs makes ergonomics assessment and working conditions improvement necessary. Designing an assessment checklist and calculating ergonomics indices can be useful in this evaluation. This study was conducted with the objectives of determination of prevalence rate, ergonomics assessment of working conditions and determination of factors associated with MSDs among office workers. Methods:In this study 400 randomly selected office workers participated. Nordic musculoskeletal disorders questionnaire was applied to determine prevalence rate of MSDs. Working conditions were assessed by the designed ergonomics checklist and ergonomic risk factors were identified. Data were analyzed using statistical tests including t-test, Chi-square and test of proportion by SPSS software (Version 12.0. Results:The highest prevalence rates of MSDs were reported in lower back and neck regions (49% and 47%, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed that there were significant association between occurrence of MSDs and calculated ergonomics indices (P<0.05. The mean of ergonomics index among those suffered from MSDs were less than other healthy workers indicating inappropriate ergonomics conditions. Calculation of OR also revealed that ergonomics conditions was associated with MSDs occurrence among workers (P<0.05. Totally, 53.3% of the office workers studied had poor working conditions. Awkward working posture and inappropriate workstation design were recognized as the main risk factors in the office workplace.  Conclusion:Most ergonomics problems were originated from bad postures and inappropriate design of workstation. Any interventional program for working conditions improvement should

Rotary combustion device

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2008-01-01

Rotary combustion device (1) with rotary combustion chamber (4). Specific measures are taken to provide ignition of a combustible mixture. It is proposed that a hollow tube be provided coaxially with the axis of rotation (6), so that a small part of the mixture is guided into the combustion chamber.

Working Posture Analysis Methods and the Effects of Working Posture on Musculoskeletal Disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hatice Esen

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs which cause great health problems and social resource consumption are common problems which commonly influence working population. MSDs which is at the top of the list in the sense of health problems, expenses made for these disorders and which has negative influences in the sense of employee labor efficiency, quality of life, physical and social functions results from poor working postures. Observation, analysis of working postures with scientific methods, and making necessary recoveries and arrangements bring important contributions for control of working performance and decrease of MSDs. In this study, risk factors which cause the emergence of MSDs, types and symptoms of disorders are summarized, basic principles to be used in preventing these disorders are presented and scientific methods used in determination of risk factors are classified and presented.

Organic 'Plastic' Optoelectronic Devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sariciftci, N.S.

2006-01-01

Recent developments on conjugated polymer based photovoltaic diodes and photoactive organic field effect transistors (photOFETs) are discussed. The photophysics of such devices is based on the photoinduced charge transfer from donor type semiconducting conjugated polymers onto acceptor type conjugated polymers or acceptor molecules such as Buckminsterfullerene, C 6 0. Potentially interesting applications include sensitization of the photoconductivity and photovoltaic phenomena as well as photoresponsive organic field effect transistors (photOFETs). Furthermore, organic polymeric/inorganic nanoparticle based 'hybrid' solar cells will be discussed. This talk gives an overview of materials' aspect, charge-transport, and device physics of organic diodes and field-effect transistors. Furthermore, due to the compatibility of carbon/hydrogen based organic semiconductors with organic biomolecules and living cells there can be a great opportunity to integrate such organic semiconductor devices (biOFETs) with the living organisms. In general the largely independent bio/lifesciences and information technology of today, can be thus bridged in an advanced cybernetic approach using organic semiconductor devices embedded in bio-lifesciences. This field of bio-organic electronic devices is proposed to be an important mission of organic semiconductor devices

Multi-objective optimal power flow with FACTS devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basu, M.

2011-01-01

This paper presents multi-objective differential evolution to optimize cost of generation, emission and active power transmission loss of flexible ac transmission systems (FACTS) device-equipped power systems. In the proposed approach, optimal power flow problem is formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem. FACTS devices considered include thyristor controlled series capacitor (TCSC) and thyristor controlled phase shifter (TCPS). The proposed approach has been examined and tested on the modified IEEE 30-bus and 57-bus test systems. The results obtained from the proposed approach have been compared with those obtained from nondominated sorting genetic algorithm-II, strength pareto evolutionary algorithm 2 and pareto differential evolution.

Integrated neuron circuit for implementing neuromorphic system with synaptic device

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jeong-Jun; Park, Jungjin; Kwon, Min-Woo; Hwang, Sungmin; Kim, Hyungjin; Park, Byung-Gook

2018-02-01

In this paper, we propose and fabricate Integrate & Fire neuron circuit for implementing neuromorphic system. Overall operation of the circuit is verified by measuring discrete devices and the output characteristics of the circuit. Since the neuron circuit shows asymmetric output characteristic that can drive synaptic device with Spike-Timing-Dependent-Plasticity (STDP) characteristic, the autonomous weight update process is also verified by connecting the synaptic device and the neuron circuit. The timing difference of the pre-neuron and the post-neuron induce autonomous weight change of the synaptic device. Unlike 2-terminal devices, which is frequently used to implement neuromorphic system, proposed scheme of the system enables autonomous weight update and simple configuration by using 4-terminal synapse device and appropriate neuron circuit. Weight update process in the multi-layer neuron-synapse connection ensures implementation of the hardware-based artificial intelligence, based on Spiking-Neural- Network (SNN).

Engineering prototypes for theta-pinch devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansborough, L.D.; Hammer, C.F.; Hanks, K.W.; McDonald, T.E.; Nunnally, W.C.

1975-01-01

Past, present, and future engineering prototypes for theta-pinch plasma-physics devices at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory are discussed. Engineering prototypes are designed to test and evaluate all components under system conditions expected on actual plasma-physics experimental devices. The importance of engineering prototype development increases as the size and complexity of the plasma-physics device increases. Past experiences with the Scyllac prototype and the Staged Theta-Pinch prototype are discussed and evaluated. The design of the proposed Staged Scyllac prototype and the Large Staged Scyllac implosion prototype assembly are discussed

A full-duplex working integrated optoelectronic device for optical interconnect

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Kai; Fan, Huize; Huang, Yongqing; Duan, Xiaofeng; Wang, Qi; Ren, Xiaomin; Wei, Qi; Cai, Shiwei

2018-05-01

In this paper, a full-duplex working integrated optoelectronic device is proposed. It is constructed by integrating a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) unit above a resonant cavity enhanced photodetector (RCE-PD) unit. Analysis shows that, the VCSEL unit has a threshold current of 1 mA and a slop efficiency of 0.66 W/A at 849.7 nm, the RCE-PD unit obtains its maximal absorption quantum efficiency of 90.24% at 811 nm with a FWHM of 4 nm. Moreover, the two units of the proposed integrated device can work independently from each other. So that the proposed integrated optoelectronic device can work full-duplex. It can be applied for single fiber bidirectional optical interconnects system.

Improvement of a device for region radiation survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poltinnikov, S.A.

1978-01-01

The electromechnanical device based on coding the turning angle of an automobile wheel by the number of electric pulses controlling the step motor of a film gate of gamma radiometer is proposed. The device is intended for automatizing recordings of gamma-radiation levels depending on a certain distance in a given terrain. The device has been tested at car speeds from 10 to 80 km/hr

The Status of Musculoskeletal Disorders and Its Influence on the Working Ability of Oil Workers in Xinjiang, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hua Ge

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs and its influence on the working ability of oil workers, and to provide a theoretical basis for helping lessen the burden of MSDs and improve the man-machine environment of oil workers. The cluster sampling method was used to study 2000 workers who had been employed for more than 1 year in this field. We investigated the prevalence rate and the work ability index (WAI. A total of 1935 valid questionnaires were collected, a response rate of 96.75%. There were 1639 people who had suffered from MSDs in the past year, a prevalence rate of 84.7%. The damage detection rate in female oil workers was higher than in males, and the damage detection rate in workers aged 30 to 45 years was higher than that in the other two age groups. The detection rate in less highly-educated oil workers was higher than that in more highly-educated workers. The detection rate in divorced workers was higher than that in other groups. The detection rate in workers between the number of working years of 18 to 25 years was higher than in the other two groups. The detection rate in workers with a high professional title was significantly higher than that in lower-titled workers (p < 0.05. The results showed that the WAI scores of the subjects with MSDs were significantly lower than for subjects without MSDs (p < 0.05. In a logistic regression analysis, sex, number of working years and WAI index all had an impact on MSDs. We concluded that due to the demands of their role, the oil workers had serious MSDs that influenced their working ability.

Prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal symptoms among Iranian workforce and job groups

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alireza Choobineh

2016-01-01

Conclusions: MSDs symptoms were common among the study population. Health-care provider and workers with dynamic activities had the highest rate of MSDs. These results merit attention in planning and implementing ergonomics interventional program in Iranian industrial settings.

Investigation of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among male kitchen workers in South India.

Science.gov (United States)

Subramaniam, Shankar; Murugesan, Shanmugam

2015-01-01

This study aims to quantify the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and risks among male kitchen workers in the catering industry. Data were collected with the help of the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire and by direct observations. In total, 114 male kitchen workers from various hostels of a college in South India were considered for this study. The average age and mean years of employment of the workers are 26.4 (SD 7.7) and 7.8 respectively. The statistical analysis carried out reveals that 67.5% of male kitchen workers reported MSDs during the past 12 months. The highest prevalence rate has been found in the lower back (65.8%) and shoulder region (62.3%). Among different categories of kitchen work analyzed, it is evident that chief cooks suffer more from MSDs (79.2%) than assistant cooks (74.3%) and kitchen aides (30.0%). Workers in the older group, i.e., ≥ 41 years, and workers with 6-10 years of experience suffer with higher risk of MSDs, i.e., 93.9% and 87.5%, respectively. The male kitchen workers who participated in this research were found to possess both MSDs and ergonomic hazards.

Association between psychosocial, organizational and personal factors and prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in office workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Piranveyseh, Peyman; Motamedzade, Majid; Osatuke, Katerine; Mohammadfam, Iraj; Moghimbeigi, Abbas; Soltanzadeh, Ahmad; Mohammadi, Heidar

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between organizational and personal (individual) factors with the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in office workers of the Iranian Gas Transmission Company. The participants rated two questionnaires - the standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire to measure the prevalence of MSDs, and the Veterans Healthcare Administration All Employee Survey questionnaire (2004 version) - to measure psychosocial, organizational and individual aspects of job satisfaction and workplace climate. The highest prevalence of MSDs was found in the lower back (49.7%) and neck (49.0%) regions. Results of the logistic regression models showed that some psychosocial and organizational factors and also some individual factors were associated with prevalence of MSDs (p < 0.05).These findings illustrate the need to consider all elements of the work system as a whole in future studies and in organizational planning.

[Work-related musculoskeletal disorders and their association with occupational nursing].

Science.gov (United States)

Barboza, Michele Cristiene Nachtigall; Milbrath, Viviane Marten; Bielemann, Valquíria Machado; de Siqueira, Hedi Crecencia Heckler

2008-12-01

Work-related musculoskeletal diseases (MSD) are disorders in the musculoskeletal structures caused by chronic occupational processes. The objective of this study was to get to know scientific papers on MSD related to the nursing profession. A bibliographic research of the last ten years was conducted at Health Virtual Library using the main data bases. Twenty-one summaries were found. Among them, thirteen were selected because they specifically focused on the subject. Three main areas were identified: occupational health nurses in relation to MSDs--their importance in health prevention and promotion; Ergonomics as MSDs prevention method: performed as changes on work consider risk factors; Vulnerability of Nursing staff to MSDs--predisposing factors to disease caused by inappropriate working conditions. The conclusion was that an occupational and ergonomic health service is important to prevent MSDs, especially among the nursing staff.

Design of a SIP device cooperation system on OSGi service platforms

Science.gov (United States)

Takayama, Youji; Koita, Takahiro; Sato, Kenya

2007-12-01

Home networks feature such various technologies as protocols, specifications, and middleware, including HTTP, UPnP, and Jini. A service platform is required to handle such technologies to enable them to cooperate with different devices. The OSGi service platform, which meets the requirements based on service-oriented architecture, is designed and standardized by OSGi Alliance and consists of two parts: one OSGi Framework and bundles. On the OSGi service platform, APIs are defined as services that can handle these technologies and are implemented in the bundle. By using the OSGi Framework with bundles, various technologies can cooperate with each other. On the other hand, in IP networks, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is often used in device cooperation services to resolve an IP address, control a session between two or more devices, and easily exchange the statuses of devices. However, since many existing devices do not correspond to SIP, it cannot be used for device cooperation services. A device that does not correspond to SIP is called an unSIP device. This paper proposes and implements a prototype system that enables unSIP devices to correspond to SIP. For unSIP devices, the proposed system provides device cooperation services with SIP.

Resource Management for Device-to-Device Communications in Heterogeneous Networks Using Stackelberg Game

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yinuo He

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Device-to-device (D2D communications and femtocell systems can bring significant benefits to users’ throughput. However, the complicated three-tier interference among macrocell, femtocell, and D2D systems is a challenging issue in heterogeneous networks. As D2D user equipment (UE can cause interference to cellular UE, scheduling and allocation of channel resources and power of D2D communication need elaborate coordination. In this paper, we propose a joint scheduling and resource allocation scheme to improve the performance of D2D communication. We take UE rate and UE fairness into account by performing interference management. First, we construct a Stackelberg game framework in which we group a macrocellular UE, a femtocellular UE, and a D2D UE to form a two-leader one-follower pair. The cellular UE are leaders, and D2D UE is the follower who buys channel resources from the leaders. We analyze the equilibrium of the game and obtain solutions to the equilibrium. Second, we propose an algorithm for joint scheduling of D2D pairs based on their utility. Finally, we perform computer simulations to study the performance of the proposed scheme.

Wearable Device Control Platform Technology for Network Application Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heejung Kim

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Application development platform is the most important environment in IT industry. There are a variety of platforms. Although the native development enables application to optimize, various languages and software development kits need to be acquired according to the device. The coexistence of smart devices and platforms has rendered the native development approach time and cost consuming. Cross-platform development emerged as a response to these issues. These platforms generate applications for multiple devices based on web languages. Nevertheless, development requires additional implementation based on a native language because of the coverage and functions of supported application programming interfaces (APIs. Wearable devices have recently attracted considerable attention. These devices only support Bluetooth-based interdevice communication, thereby making communication and device control impossible beyond a certain range. We propose Network Application Agent (NetApp-Agent in order to overcome issues. NetApp-Agent based on the Cordova is a wearable device control platform for the development of network applications, controls input/output functions of smartphones and wearable/IoT through the Cordova and Native API, and enables device control and information exchange by external users by offering a self-defined API. We confirmed the efficiency of the proposed platform through experiments and a qualitative assessment of its implementation.

The cross waveguide grating: proposal, theory and applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz, Pascual; Pastor, Daniel; Capmany, José

2005-04-18

In this paper a novel grating-like integrated optics device is proposed, the Cross Waveguide Grating (XWG). The device is based upon a modified configuration of a traditional Arrayed Waveguide Grating (AWG). The Arrayed Waveguides part is changed, as detailed along this document, giving the device both the ability of multi/demultiplexing and power splitting/coupling. Design examples and transfer function simulations show good agreement with the presented theory. Finally, some of the envisaged applications are outlined.

RFID and Memory Devices Fabricated Integrally on Substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Schramm, Harry F.

2004-01-01

Electronic identification devices containing radio-frequency identification (RFID) circuits and antennas would be fabricated integrally with the objects to be identified, according to a proposal. That is to say, the objects to be identified would serve as substrates for the deposition and patterning of the materials of the devices used to identify them, and each identification device would be bonded to the identified object at the molecular level. Vacuum arc vapor deposition (VAVD) is the NASA derived process for depositing layers of material on the substrate. This proposal stands in contrast to the current practice of fabricating RFID and/or memory devices as wafer-based, self-contained integrated-circuit chips that are subsequently embedded in or attached to plastic cards to make smart account-information cards and identification badges. If one relies on such a chip to store data on the history of an object to be tracked and the chip falls off or out of the object, then one loses both the historical data and the means to track the object and verify its identity electronically. Also, in contrast is the manufacturing philosophy in use today to make many memory devices. Today s methods involve many subtractive processes such as etching. This proposal only uses additive methods, building RFID and memory devices from the substrate up in thin layers. VAVD is capable of spraying silicon, copper, and other materials commonly used in electronic devices. The VAVD process sprays most metals and some ceramics. The material being sprayed has a very strong bond with the substrate, whether that substrate is metal, ceramic, or even wood, rock, glass, PVC, or paper. An object to be tagged with an identification device according to the proposal must be compatible with a vacuum deposition process. Temperature is seldom an issue as the substrate rarely reaches 150 F (66 C) during the deposition process. A portion of the surface of the object would be designated as a substrate for

Algorithm for Public Electric Transport Schedule Control for Intelligent Embedded Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Alps, Ivars; Potapov, Andrey; Gorobetz, Mikhail; Levchenkov, Anatoly

2010-01-01

In this paper authors present heuristics algorithm for precise schedule fulfilment in city traffic conditions taking in account traffic lights. The algorithm is proposed for programmable controller. PLC is proposed to be installed in electric vehicle to control its motion speed and signals of traffic lights. Algorithm is tested using real controller connected to virtual devices and real functional models of real tram devices. Results of experiments show high precision of public transport schedule fulfilment using proposed algorithm.

AmbiGaze : direct control of ambient devices by gaze

OpenAIRE

Velloso, Eduardo; Wirth, Markus; Weichel, Christian; Abreu Esteves, Augusto Emanuel; Gellersen, Hans-Werner Georg

2016-01-01

Eye tracking offers many opportunities for direct device control in smart environments, but issues such as the need for calibration and the Midas touch problem make it impractical. In this paper, we propose AmbiGaze, a smart environment that employs the animation of targets to provide users with direct control of devices by gaze only through smooth pursuit tracking. We propose a design space of means of exposing functionality through movement and illustrate the concept through four prototypes...

Trustworthy execution on mobile devices

CERN Document Server

Vasudevan, Amit; Newsome, James

2013-01-01

This brief considers the various stakeholders in today's mobile device ecosystem, and analyzes why widely-deployed hardware security primitives on mobile device platforms are inaccessible to application developers and end-users. Existing proposals are also evaluated for leveraging such primitives, and proves that they can indeed strengthen the security properties available to applications and users, without reducing the properties currently enjoyed by OEMs and network carriers. Finally, this brief makes recommendations for future research that may yield practical and deployable results.

Computer Independent Data Transfer Device

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darshana Rarath

2017-07-01

Full Text Available In today’s era, transferring data among distinct storage devices has become one of the tasks which are done most frequently. In order to make data and information omnipresent, it needs to be shared anywhere and anytime. However the reliance of user on a PC or laptop for the same is not efficient. This paper is about the innovative way to overcome this restriction. This paper discusses the development of a portable device with the use of wired and wireless communication applications to share data and information among distinct storage devices without relying on a PC or a laptop. The proposed device is compact, comprises of a touch screen, power source and is capable of transferring all types of files. Hence, it eliminates the dependence on a PC or a laptop for transferring data.

Photoelectric transfer device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shinomiya, Takuji; Murao, Fumihide

1987-12-07

Concerning the conventional photoelectric transfer device, a short-circuit current of photodiodes is switched over with MOS transistors. However, since the backgate voltage of the MOS transistor which is to be used as the switching element, is provided by the source voltage, the leakage current between the backgate and the source/drain/ channel is great and due to this leakage current, errors occur in the photoelectric transfer power output. Especially, when the leakage current of the photodiodes is small, the error becomes large. In order to solve the above problem, this invention aims at offering a photoelectric transfer device which can provide the high precision photoelectric transfer even the short-circuit current generated in the photodiodes is small and proposes a photoelectric transfer device in which the backgate voltage of the MOS transistor switching over the short-circuit current of the photodiodes is made equal to the electric potential of the mutually connected anodes (or cathodes) of the photodiodes. (3 figs)

Network-Assisted Distributed Fairness-Aware Interference Coordination for Device-to-Device Communication Underlaid Cellular Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francis Boabang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Device-to-device (D2D communication underlaid cellular network is considered a key integration feature in future cellular network. However, without properly designed interference management, the interference from D2D transmission tends to degrade the performance of cellular users and D2D pairs. In this work, we proposed a network-assisted distributed interference mitigation scheme to address this issue. Specifically, the base station (BS acts as a control agent that coordinates the cross-tier interference from D2D transmission through a taxation scheme. The cotier interference is controlled by noncooperative game amongst D2D pairs. In general, the outcome of noncooperative game is inefficient due to the selfishness of each player. In our game formulation, reference user who is the victim of cotier interference is factored into the payoff function of each player to obtain fair and efficient outcome. The existence, uniqueness of the Nash Equilibrium (NE, and the convergence of the proposed algorithm are characterized using Variational Inequality theory. Finally, we provide simulation results to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.

Left atrial appendage occlusion with the AMPLATZER Amulet device

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tzikas, Apostolos; Gafoor, Sameer; Meerkin, David

2016-01-01

is proposed. Device preparation and de-airing is briefly described, followed by sheath exchange, device deployment steps, evaluation of device stability and decision for final release. The way to recapture and change a device is then shown, together with some additional tips on how to deal with challenging...... and had personal clinical experience with the AMPLATZER Amulet device were asked to contribute in the preparation of this consensus document. Twenty-seven physicians (20 interventional cardiologists and 7 electrophysiologists) from 14 different countries reviewed the manuscript. A step-by-step approach...

77 FR 11401 - Marine Sanitation Devices (MSDs): No Discharge Zone (NDZ) for California State Marine Waters

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-27

..., recreational, conservation, research, educational, and aesthetic values, and are becoming increasingly more... sewage; and (2) it will improve California marine waters for commercial fisheries, tourism, aesthetics...-out facilities, educational outreach, and establishment of small NDZs under CWA Section 312(f)(3) in...

Gate Engineering in SOI LDMOS for Device Reliability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aanand

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A linearly graded doping drift region with step gate structure, used for improvement of reduced surface field (RESURF SOI LDMOS transistor performance has been simulated with 0.35µm technology in this paper. The proposed device has one poly gate and double metal gate arranged in a stepped manner, from channel to drift region. The first gate uses n+ poly (near source where as other two gates of aluminium. The first gate with thin gate oxide has good control over the channel charge. The third gate with thick gate oxide at drift region reduce gate to drain capacitance. The arrangement of second and third gates in a stepped manner in drift region spreads the electric field uniformly. Using two dimensional device simulations, the proposed SOI LDMOS is compared with conventional structure and the extended metal structure. We demonstrate that the proposed device exhibits significant enhancement in linearity, breakdown voltage, on-resistance and HCI. Double metal gate reduces the impact ionization area which helps to improve the Hot Carrier Injection effect..

Electric devices used in radioactive handling enclosures of the high activity laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaigeot, F.; Laurent, H.

1958-08-01

This report describes several electric, electronic and electromechanical assemblies which are used in radioactive handling enclosures. The authors propose an overview of existing or foreseen devices: a device to lift covers, a brightness comparator, a high voltage device to perform electrophoresis, a level sensor or regulator device, a regulation device to control under-pressure in an enclosure [fr

Somatic disorders and ergonomic considerations in computer use among the employees of a University

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aram Tirgar

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction & Purpose: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs and computer work are common in majority of the society and both show an increasing trend. This study was conducted to survey on Somatic disorders, MSDs frequency and ergonomic considerations awareness regarding computer use among the employees of Babol University of Medical Sciences (North of Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 128 administrative staff of medical, dental and paramedical faculties in 2012. The samples were collected by simple method the data were gathered by means of a tailor-made data collection sheet that consisted of 5 open and 13 closed-ended questions. The data were analyzed with descriptive and analytical statistical indexes. Results: According to our data, the mean age of employees was 38.16±7.78 years, 55.5% were females and 63.3% were in bachelor’s degree. More than fifty percent of the samples spend 2 hours or more on their computer a day. Seventy two percent of the staff reported experiencing one or more MSDs symptoms and less than 10% of them were aware of ergonomic considerations in this regard. Chi-square test result showed that a significant statistical difference between MSDs with duration of using computer. (p<0.05 Conclusion: Our results indicated that more than fifty percent of the administrative staff complains of MSDs, most of them were unaware of ergonomics considerations, and many of the employees were eager to learn about the related subject. So, ergonomic interventions and training courses to prevent MSDs are recommended.

Work Sectors with High Risk for Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Korean Men and Women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jungsun Park

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Background: To identify work sectors with high risk for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs in Korean men and women. Methods: We analyzed nationwide data to identify ergonomic risk factors in Korean employees. In particular, we analyzed data on exposure to five ergonomic risk factors (painful/tiring postures, lifting/moving heavy materials, standing/walking, repetitive hand/arm movements, and hand/arm vibration according to employment sector, sex, and age, using the 2014 Fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey. We also used workers' compensation data on work-related MSDs in 2010, which is available by sex. Results: The different work sectors had different gender distributions. “Manufacturing” (27.7% and “construction” (11.3% were dominated by males, whereas “human health and social work activities” (12.4%, “hotel and restaurants” (11.7%, and “education” (10.4% were dominated by females. However, “wholesale and retail trade” and “public administration and defense” employed large numbers of males and females. Furthermore, the work sectors with a greater proportion of work-related MSDs and with multiple ergonomic risk factors were different for men and women. For men, “construction” and “manufacturing” had the highest risk for work-related MSDs; for women, “hotel and restaurants” had the highest risk for work-related MSDs. Conclusion: Ergonomic interventions for workers should consider gender and should focus on work sectors with high risk for MSDs, with multiple ergonomic risk factors, and with the largest number of workers. Keywords: ergonomic, risk factor, Korean workers, musculoskeletal disorder

Nanoscale MOS devices: device parameter fluctuations and low-frequency noise (Invited Paper)

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Hei; Iwai, Hiroshi; Liou, J. J.

2005-05-01

It is well-known in conventional MOS transistors that the low-frequency noise or flicker noise is mainly contributed by the trapping-detrapping events in the gate oxide and the mobility fluctuation in the surface channel. In nanoscale MOS transistors, the number of trapping-detrapping events becomes less important because of the large direct tunneling current through the ultrathin gate dielectric which reduces the probability of trapping-detrapping and the level of leakage current fluctuation. Other noise sources become more significant in nanoscale devices. The source and drain resistance noises have greater impact on the drain current noise. Significant contribution of the parasitic bipolar transistor noise in ultra-short channel and channel mobility fluctuation to the channel noise are observed. The channel mobility fluctuation in nanoscale devices could be due to the local composition fluctuation of the gate dielectric material which gives rise to the permittivity fluctuation along the channel and results in gigantic channel potential fluctuation. On the other hand, the statistical variations of the device parameters across the wafer would cause the noise measurements less accurate which will be a challenge for the applicability of analytical flicker noise model as a process or device evaluation tool for nanoscale devices. Some measures for circumventing these difficulties are proposed.

Game-Theoretic Social-Aware Resource Allocation for Device-to-Device Communications Underlaying Cellular Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Wang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Device-to-Device communication underlaying cellular network can increase the spectrum efficiency due to direct proximity communication and frequency reuse. However, such performance improvement is influenced by the power interference caused by spectrum sharing and social characteristics in each social community jointly. In this investigation, we present a dynamic game theory with complete information based D2D resource allocation scheme for D2D communication underlaying cellular network. In this resource allocation method, we quantify both the rate influence from the power interference caused by the D2D transmitter to cellular users and rate enhancement brought by the social relationships between mobile users. Then, the utility function maximization game is formulated to optimize the overall transmission rate performance of the network, which synthetically measures the final influence from both power interference and sociality enhancement. Simultaneously, we discuss the Nash Equilibrium of the proposed utility function maximization game from a theoretical point of view and further put forward a utility priority searching algorithm based resource allocation scheme. Simulation results show that our proposed scheme attains better performance compared with the other two advanced proposals.

Evaluation of Related Risk Factors in Number of Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Carpet Weavers in Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nasim Karimi

2016-12-01

Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that occupational factors are associated with the number of MSDs developing among carpet weavers. Thus, using standard tools and decreasing hours of work per day can reduce frequency of MSDs among carpet weavers.

Proposition for sensorless self-excitation by a piezoelectric device

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Y.; Kokubun, Y.; Yabuno, H.

2018-04-01

In this paper, we propose a method to realize self-excitation in an oscillator actuated by a piezoelectric device without a sensor. In general, the positive feedback associated with the oscillator velocity causes the self-excitation. Instead of measuring the velocity with a sensor, we utilize the electro-mechanical coupling effect in the oscillator and piezoelectric device. We drive the piezoelectric device with a current proportional to the linear combination of the voltage across the terminals of the piezoelectric device and its differential voltage signal. Then, the oscillator with the piezoelectric device behaves like a third-order system, which has three eigenvalues. The self-excitation can be realized because appropriate feedback gains can set two of the eigenvalues to be conjugate complex roots with a positive real part and the other eigenvalue to be a negative real root. To confirm the validity of the proposed method, we experimentally demonstrated the sensorless self-excitation and, as an application example, carried out mass sensing in a sensorless self-excited macrocantilever.

Musculoskeletal disorders among workers in plastic manufacturing plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandes, Rita de Cássia Pereira; Assunção, Ada Avila; Silvany Neto, Annibal Muniz; Carvalho, Fernando Martins

2010-03-01

Epidemiological studies have indicated an association between musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and physical work demands. Psychosocial work demands have also been identified as possible risk factors, but findings have been inconsistent. To evaluate factors associated with upper back, neck and upper limb MSD among workers from 14 plastic manufacturing companies located in the city of Salvador, Brazil. A cross-sectional study design was used to survey a stratified proportional random sample of 577 workers. Data were collected by questionnaire interviews. Factor analysis was carried out on 11 physical demands variables. Psychosocial work demands were measured by demand, control and social support questions. The role of socio-demographic factors, lifestyle and household tasks was also examined. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify factors related to upper back, neck and upper limb MSDs. Results from multiple logistic regression showed that distal upper limb MSDs were related to manual handling, work repetitiveness, psychosocial demands, job dissatisfaction, and gender. Neck, shoulder or upper back MSDs were related to manual handling, work repetitiveness, psychosocial demands, job dissatisfaction, and physical unfitness. Reducing the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders requires: improving the work environment, reducing biomechanical risk factors, and replanning work organization. Programs must also be aware of gender specificities related to MSDs.

MEMS variable capacitance devices utilizing the substrate: I. Novel devices with a customizable tuning range

KAUST Repository

Elshurafa, Amro M.; El-Masry, Ezz I.

2010-01-01

, customizable, tuning ranges and/or ratios. The proposed structures can provide theoretical tuning ranges anywhere from 4.9 to 35 and from 3.4 to 26 respectively with a simple, yet effective, layout modification as opposed to the previously reported devices

Scalable Video Streaming Relay for Smart Mobile Devices in Wireless Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Dongwoo; Je, Huigwang; Kim, Hyeonwoo; Ju, Hongtaek; An, Donghyeok

2016-01-01

Recently, smart mobile devices and wireless communication technologies such as WiFi, third generation (3G), and long-term evolution (LTE) have been rapidly deployed. Many smart mobile device users can access the Internet wirelessly, which has increased mobile traffic. In 2014, more than half of the mobile traffic around the world was devoted to satisfying the increased demand for the video streaming. In this paper, we propose a scalable video streaming relay scheme. Because many collisions degrade the scalability of video streaming, we first separate networks to prevent excessive contention between devices. In addition, the member device controls the video download rate in order to adapt to video playback. If the data are sufficiently buffered, the member device stops the download. If not, it requests additional video data. We implemented apps to evaluate the proposed scheme and conducted experiments with smart mobile devices. The results showed that our scheme improves the scalability of video streaming in a wireless local area network (WLAN).

Scalable Video Streaming Relay for Smart Mobile Devices in Wireless Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Dongwoo; Je, Huigwang; Kim, Hyeonwoo; Ju, Hongtaek; An, Donghyeok

2016-01-01

Recently, smart mobile devices and wireless communication technologies such as WiFi, third generation (3G), and long-term evolution (LTE) have been rapidly deployed. Many smart mobile device users can access the Internet wirelessly, which has increased mobile traffic. In 2014, more than half of the mobile traffic around the world was devoted to satisfying the increased demand for the video streaming. In this paper, we propose a scalable video streaming relay scheme. Because many collisions degrade the scalability of video streaming, we first separate networks to prevent excessive contention between devices. In addition, the member device controls the video download rate in order to adapt to video playback. If the data are sufficiently buffered, the member device stops the download. If not, it requests additional video data. We implemented apps to evaluate the proposed scheme and conducted experiments with smart mobile devices. The results showed that our scheme improves the scalability of video streaming in a wireless local area network (WLAN). PMID:27907113

A novel electro-thermal model for wide bandgap semiconductor based devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sintamarean, Nicolae Christian; Blaabjerg, Frede; Wang, Huai

2013-01-01

This paper propose a novel Electro-Thermal Model for the new generation of power electronics WBG-devices (by considering the SiC MOSFET-CMF20120D from CREE), which is able to estimate the device junction and case temperature. The Device-Model estimates the voltage drop and the switching energies...... by considering the device current, the off-state blocking voltage and junction temperature variation. Moreover, the proposed Thermal-Model is able to consider the thermal coupling within the MOSFET and its freewheeling diode, integrated into the same package, and the influence of the ambient temperature...... variation. The importance of temperature loop feedback in the estimation accuracy of device junction and case temperature is studied. Furthermore, the Safe Operating Area (SOA) of the SiC MOSFET is determined for 2L-VSI applications which are using sinusoidal PWM. Thus, by considering the heatsink thermal...

Internal inspection devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-01-01

In order to evaluate the possibilities and limits of using specific endoscopes, the design and performance of rigid and flexible endoscopes are studied. The results show on the one hand the physical conditions setting a limit to the applicability of a certain device, and on the other indicate possible ways of improving and modifying given devices so as to adapt them to the special requirements of current testing standards. Based on theoretical and practical experience, proposals for improvements are made. For rigid endoscopes, e.g., additional equipment has been developed and is described in detail, allowing hitherto existing problems to be solved, thus enlarging the range of employment and enhancing and improving the information to be gained by testing using endoscopes. (orig./RW) [de

Conceptual design and simulation investigation of an electronic cooling device powered by hot electrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Su, Guozhen; Zhang, Yanchao; Cai, Ling; Su, Shanhe; Chen, Jincan

2015-01-01

Most electronic cooling devices are powered by an external bias applied between the cold and the hot reservoirs. Here we propose a new concept of electronic cooling, in which cooling is achieved by using a reservoir of hot electrons as the power source. The cooling device incorporates two energy filters with the Lorentzian transmission function to respectively select low- and high-energy electrons for transport. Based on the proposed model, we analyze the performances of the device varying with the resonant levels and half widths of two energy filters and establish the optimal configuration of the cooling device. It is believed that such a novel device may be practically used in some nano-energy fields. - Highlights: • A new electronic cooling device powered by hot electrons is proposed. • Two energy filters are employed to select the electrons for transport. • The effects of the resonant levels and half widths of two filters are discussed. • The maximum cooling power and coefficient of performance are calculated. • The optimal configuration of the cooling device is determined.

New thinking on modeling of thermoelectric devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, T.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • New model was developed for performance calculation of thermoelectric devices. • The model takes into account the temperature-dependent material properties. • It takes into account the spatial-dependent heat flow rate in thermoelement. • It can take into account the heat and electricity losses at the junctions. • It can probe a broad range of parameters for module performance optimization. - Abstract: The performance of a thermoelectric power generation (TEPG) module and a device designed to convert engine exhaust heat directly into electricity was studied under different operating conditions using a proposed thermoelectric (TE) model in this work. The proposed model was obtained from the first law of thermodynamics, Ohm’s law, nonlinear analytical solution of thermoelectric transport equation, and a control volume that represents a typical TEPG module or device such that the temperature-dependent material properties of, the spatial-dependent heat flow rate through the TE element, and the interfacial electrical and thermal losses can be taken into account in the performance calculation. The performance of a typical TEPG module under a broad range of cold-side temperatures and the temperature differences between its hot-side and cold-side was calculated by the proposed model and the results agree very well with the existing model predictions. Comparison between the model predictions and the experimental results confirmed that reducing the interfacial electric resistance can enhance the module performance. The inter-dependence of the key thermal and TEPG system design and optimization parameters was examined for a real TEPG device using the proposed model and an optimal module fill factor of 0.35 was found within the given mass flow rates between 0.0154 and 0.052 kg/s of exhaust stream.

A novel optic bistable device with very low threshold intensity using photorefractive films

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Sean X.; Sun, Yuankun; Trivedi, Sudhir B.; Li, Guifang

1994-08-01

Brimrose Corporation of America reports the successful completion of the SBIR Phase I research in low-threshold intensity optical bistable devices using photorefractive nonlinearity. A thin photorefractive film optical bistable device was proposed in the Phase I proposal. The feasibility of this device was theoretically investigated. The theoretical feasibility study formulates the materials requirements in such a kind of configuration for Phase II research. In addition, we have proposed and investigated another configuration of optical bistable devices that do not require advanced photorefractive materials, namely, the self-pumped phase conjugator. We have successfully demonstrated a low-threshold optical bistable operation in a KNSBN:CU crystal. To the best of our knowledge, the threshold of 650 mW/sq. cm is the lowest of its kind to be achieved so far.

Optical interconnection for a polymeric PLC device using simple positional alignment.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryu, Jin Hwa; Kim, Po Jin; Cho, Cheon Soo; Lee, El-Hang; Kim, Chang-Seok; Jeong, Myung Yung

2011-04-25

This study proposes a simple cost-effective method of optical interconnection between a planar lightwave circuit (PLC) device chip and an optical fiber. It was conducted to minimize and overcome the coupling loss caused by lateral offset which is due to the process tolerance and the dimensional limitation existing between PLC device chips and fiber array blocks with groove structures. A PLC device chip and a fiber array block were simultaneously fabricated in a series of polymer replication processes using the original master. The dimensions (i.e., width and thickness) of the under-clad of the PLC device chip were identical to those of the fiber array block. The PLC device chip and optical fiber were aligned by simple positional control for the vertical direction of the PLC device chip under a particular condition. The insertion loss of the proposed 1 x 2 multimode optical splitter device interconnection was 4.0 dB at 850 nm and the coupling loss was below 0.1 dB compared with single-fiber based active alignment.

Integrated biocircuits: engineering functional multicellular circuits and devices

Science.gov (United States)

Prox, Jordan; Smith, Tory; Holl, Chad; Chehade, Nick; Guo, Liang

2018-04-01

Objective. Implantable neurotechnologies have revolutionized neuromodulatory medicine for treating the dysfunction of diseased neural circuitry. However, challenges with biocompatibility and lack of full control over neural network communication and function limits the potential to create more stable and robust neuromodulation devices. Thus, we propose a platform technology of implantable and programmable cellular systems, namely Integrated Biocircuits, which use only cells as the functional components of the device. Approach. We envision the foundational principles for this concept begins with novel in vitro platforms used for the study and reconstruction of cellular circuitry. Additionally, recent advancements in organoid and 3D culture systems account for microenvironment factors of cytoarchitecture to construct multicellular circuits as they are normally formed in the brain. We explore the current state of the art of these platforms to provide knowledge of their advancements in circuit fabrication and identify the current biological principles that could be applied in designing integrated biocircuit devices. Main results. We have highlighted the exemplary methodologies and techniques of in vitro circuit fabrication and propose the integration of selected controllable parameters, which would be required in creating suitable biodevices. Significance. We provide our perspective and propose new insights into the future of neuromodulaion devices within the scope of living cellular systems that can be applied in designing more reliable and biocompatible stimulation-based neuroprosthetics.

Integrated Photonic Devices Incorporating Low-Loss Fluorinated Polymer Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyung-Jong Lee

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Low-loss polymer materials incorporating fluorinated compounds have been utilized for the investigation of various functional optical devices useful for optical communication and optical sensor systems. Since reliability issues concerning the polymer device have been resolved, polymeric waveguide devices have been gradually adopted for commercial application systems. The two most successfully commercialized polymeric integrated optic devices, variable optical attenuators and digital optical switches, are reviewed in this paper. Utilizing unique properties of optical polymers which are not available in other optical materials, novel polymeric optical devices are proposed including widely tunable external cavity lasers and integrated optical current sensors.

Diamond-shaped electromagnetic transparent devices with homogeneous material parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Tinghua; Huang Ming; Yang Jingjing; Yu Jiang; Lan Yaozhong

2011-01-01

Based on the linear coordinate transformation method, two-dimensional and three-dimensional electromagnetic transparent devices with diamond shape composed of homogeneous and non-singular materials are proposed in this paper. The permittivity and permeability tensors of the transparent devices are derived. The performance and scattering properties of the transparent devices are confirmed by a full-wave simulation. It can physically protect electric devices such as an antenna and a radar station inside, without sacrificing their performance. This work represents important progress towards the practical realization of metamaterial-assisted transparent devices and expands the application of transformation optics.

A device adaptive inflow boundary condition for Wigner equations of quantum transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Haiyan; Lu, Tiao; Cai, Wei

2014-01-01

In this paper, an improved inflow boundary condition is proposed for Wigner equations in simulating a resonant tunneling diode (RTD), which takes into consideration the band structure of the device. The original Frensley inflow boundary condition prescribes the Wigner distribution function at the device boundary to be the semi-classical Fermi–Dirac distribution for free electrons in the device contacts without considering the effect of the quantum interaction inside the quantum device. The proposed device adaptive inflow boundary condition includes this effect by assigning the Wigner distribution to the value obtained from the Wigner transform of wave functions inside the device at zero external bias voltage, thus including the dominant effect on the electron distribution in the contacts due to the device internal band energy profile. Numerical results on computing the electron density inside the RTD under various incident waves and non-zero bias conditions show much improvement by the new boundary condition over the traditional Frensley inflow boundary condition

Beyond-CMOS Device Benchmarking for Boolean and Non-Boolean Logic Applications

OpenAIRE

Pan, Chenyun; Naeemi, Azad

2017-01-01

The latest results of benchmarking research are presented for a variety of beyond-CMOS charge- and spin-based devices. In addition to improving the device-level models, several new device proposals and a few majorly modified devices are investigated. Deep pipelining circuits are employed to boost the throughput of low-power devices. Furthermore, the benchmarking methodology is extended to interconnect-centric analyses and non-Boolean logic applications. In contrast to Boolean circuits, non-Bo...

On the impact of medical device regulations on software architecture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Klaus Marius; Manikas, Konstantinos

2016-01-01

Compliance to regulations and regulatory approval are requirements for many medical device software systems. In this paper, we investigate the implications of medical device software regulations to the design of software systems. We do so by focusing on the American and European regulatory author...... of the device. Moreover, we review software modularity in the implementation of software medical device and propose a set of preliminary principles for architectural design of software medical device based on a set of constrains identified from the reviewed regulations....

Spiking neuron devices consisting of single-flux-quantum circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirose, Tetsuya; Asai, Tetsuya; Amemiya, Yoshihito

2006-01-01

Single-flux-quantum (SFQ) circuits can be used for making spiking neuron devices, which are useful elements for constructing intelligent, brain-like computers. The device we propose is based on the leaky integrate-and-fire neuron (IFN) model and uses a SFQ pulse as an action signal or a spike of neurons. The operation of the neuron device is confirmed by computer simulator. It can operate with a short delay of 100 ps or less and is the highest-speed neuron device ever reported

MedMon: securing medical devices through wireless monitoring and anomaly detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Meng; Raghunathan, Anand; Jha, Niraj K

2013-12-01

Rapid advances in personal healthcare systems based on implantable and wearable medical devices promise to greatly improve the quality of diagnosis and treatment for a range of medical conditions. However, the increasing programmability and wireless connectivity of medical devices also open up opportunities for malicious attackers. Unfortunately, implantable/wearable medical devices come with extreme size and power constraints, and unique usage models, making it infeasible to simply borrow conventional security solutions such as cryptography. We propose a general framework for securing medical devices based on wireless channel monitoring and anomaly detection. Our proposal is based on a medical security monitor (MedMon) that snoops on all the radio-frequency wireless communications to/from medical devices and uses multi-layered anomaly detection to identify potentially malicious transactions. Upon detection of a malicious transaction, MedMon takes appropriate response actions, which could range from passive (notifying the user) to active (jamming the packets so that they do not reach the medical device). A key benefit of MedMon is that it is applicable to existing medical devices that are in use by patients, with no hardware or software modifications to them. Consequently, it also leads to zero power overheads on these devices. We demonstrate the feasibility of our proposal by developing a prototype implementation for an insulin delivery system using off-the-shelf components (USRP software-defined radio). We evaluate its effectiveness under several attack scenarios. Our results show that MedMon can detect virtually all naive attacks and a large fraction of more sophisticated attacks, suggesting that it is an effective approach to enhancing the security of medical devices.

Device-to-Device Underlay Cellular Networks with Uncertain Channel State Information

KAUST Repository

Memmi, Amen

2016-01-06

Device-to-Device (D2D) communications underlying the cellular infrastructure is a technology that has recently been proposed as a promising solution to enhance cellular network capabilities: It improves spectrum utilization, overall throughput and energy efficiency while enabling new peer-to-peer and location-based applications and services. However, interference is the major challenge since the same resources are shared by both systems. Therefore, interference management techniques are required to keep the interference under control. In this work, in order to mitigate interference, we consider centralized and distributed power control algorithms in a one-cell random network model. Differently from previous works, we are assuming that the channel state information (CSI) may be imperfect and include estimation errors. We evaluate how this uncertainty impacts performances.

Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy Interventions for Lower-Extremity Musculoskeletal Disorders: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Dorsey, Julie; Bradshaw, Michelle

Lower-extremity (LE) musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) can have a major impact on the ability to carry out daily activities. The effectiveness of interventions must be examined to enable occupational therapy practitioners to deliver the most appropriate services. This systematic review examined the literature published between 1995 and July 2014 that investigated the effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions for LE MSDs. Forty-three articles met the criteria and were reviewed. Occupational therapy interventions varied on the basis of population subgroup: hip fracture, LE joint replacement, LE amputation or limb loss, and nonsurgical osteoarthritis and pain. The results indicate an overall strong role for occupational therapy in treating clients with LE MSDs. Activity pacing is an effective intervention for nonsurgical LE MSDs, and multidisciplinary rehabilitation is effective for LE joint replacement and amputation. Further research on specific occupational therapy interventions in this important area is needed. Copyright © 2017 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Novel secret key generation techniques using memristor devices

Science.gov (United States)

Abunahla, Heba; Shehada, Dina; Yeun, Chan Yeob; Mohammad, Baker; Jaoude, Maguy Abi

2016-02-01

This paper proposes novel secret key generation techniques using memristor devices. The approach depends on using the initial profile of a memristor as a master key. In addition, session keys are generated using the master key and other specified parameters. In contrast to existing memristor-based security approaches, the proposed development is cost effective and power efficient since the operation can be achieved with a single device rather than a crossbar structure. An algorithm is suggested and demonstrated using physics based Matlab model. It is shown that the generated keys can have dynamic size which provides perfect security. Moreover, the proposed encryption and decryption technique using the memristor based generated keys outperforms Triple Data Encryption Standard (3DES) and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) in terms of processing time. This paper is enriched by providing characterization results of a fabricated microscale Al/TiO2/Al memristor prototype in order to prove the concept of the proposed approach and study the impacts of process variations. The work proposed in this paper is a milestone towards System On Chip (SOC) memristor based security.

Mine Safety Detection System (MSDS)

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-01

as the sub-freezing arctic to equatorial values as high as 122 degrees Fahrenheit ( approximately 50°C).  water salinity ranging from fresh to...16 408 0.24 17 421 0.20 18 431 0.15 19 451 0.10 20 509 0.05 Table 13. SOH Search Time Summary 61 Since most mine to sensor ranges do not

Alcator C-MOD proposal addendum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonoli, P.; Greenwald, M.; Gwinn, D.

1986-04-01

Since the design concept and overall purpose of the Alcator C-MOD device are similar to that proposed in October 1985, we have chosen in this document only to highlight areas where changes or additions have been made. Chapters in the Addendum correspond to those in the Proposal, except Chapter 9 which describes a number of toroidal improvement concepts which are being considered for inclusion in the Alcator C-MOD experimental program. A description of the redesign and a discussion of the objectives of the experimental program are given

Prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among employees of Iranian petrochemical industries: October 2009 to December 2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Choobineh, A R; Daneshmandi, H; Aghabeigi, M; Haghayegh, A

2013-10-01

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are a common health problem throughout the world and a major cause of disability in the workplace. To determine the prevalence rate of MSDs, assessment of ergonomics working conditions and identification of major risk factors associated with MSDs symptoms among employees of Iranian petrochemical industries between October 2009 and December 2012. In this study, we studied 1184 randomly selected employees of 4 Iranian petrochemical companies with at least one year of work experience in office or operational units. For those with office jobs, data were collected using Nordic Musculoskeletal disorders Questionnaire (NMQ) and ergonomics checklist for the assessment of working conditions. For those with operational jobs, NMQ and Quick Exposure Check (QEC) method were used for data collection. The most prevalent MSD symptoms were reported in lower back (41.5%) and neck (36.5%). The prevalence of MSDs in all body regions but elbows and thighs of the office staff was significantly higher than that of operational workers. Assessment of working conditions in office staff revealed that the lowest index was attributed to workstation. QEC technique among operational workers showed that in 73.8% of the workers studied, the level of exposure to musculoskeletal risks was "high" or "very high." MSDs were associated with type of job, age, body mass index, work experience, gender, marital status, educational level and type of employment. The prevalence of MSDs in the office staff was higher than that of operational workers. Level of exposure to MSDs risk was high in operational workers. Corrective measures are thus necessary for improving working conditions for both office and operational units.

Relationship between musculoskeletal disorders, job demands, and burnout among emergency nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Sorour, Amany Sobhy; El-Maksoud, Mona M Abd

2012-01-01

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) represent one of the most common occupational problems in nursing. MSDs can negatively impact one's quality of life. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between MSDs, job demands, and burnout among emergency nurses. The researchers hypothesized that increased job demands were associated with more MSDs and consequently higher levels of burnout. The study was conducted on a convenience sample of 58 nurses working in the emergency departments of Zagazig University Hospital and Al-Ahrar, Hospital Egypt from October to December 2010, using a cross-sectional analytic design. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire that included the Standardized Nordic Questionnaire, the Job Content Questionnaire, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The results revealed that 32.8% of the nurses were overweight and 17.2% were obese. The most common sites of pain were the neck (67.2%), shoulder (65.5%), and lower back (63.8%). Lower back pain was the most common site affected (72.4%) with a mean 5.1 on a scale ranging from 0 to 13. A positive correlation existed between the scores of job demand and burnout (r = 0.340, p burnout whereas the job demand score was the independent predictor of the number of MSDs. This study documents an increased prevalence of MSDs among emergency nurses, as predicted by increased job demand and associated with a higher level of burnout. Hence, it is important for hospital and nursing administrators to address the factors contributing to job stress and burnout, with emphasis on job satisfaction and work organization to alleviate the burden of psychosocial factors in this setting.

Physical and psychosocial risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders in New Zealand nurses, postal workers and office workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Harcombe, Helen; McBride, David; Derrett, Sarah; Gray, Andrew

2010-04-01

To investigate the association of physical and psychosocial risk factors with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in New Zealand nurses, postal workers and office workers. A cross-sectional postal survey asking about demographic, physical and psychosocial factors and MSDs. A total of 911 participants was randomly selected; nurses from the Nursing Council of New Zealand database (n=280), postal workers from their employer's database (n=280) and office workers from the 2005 electoral roll (n=351). Self-reported pain in the low back, neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist/hand or knee lasting more than 1 day in the month before the survey. The response rate was 58%, 443 from 770 potential participants. 70% (n=310) reported at least one MSDs. Physical work tasks were associated with low back (odds ratio (OR) 1.35, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.6), shoulder (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.17 to 1.69), elbow (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.83) and wrist/hand pain (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.69). Job strain had the strongest association with neck pain (OR 3.46, 95% CI 1.30 to 9.21) and wrist/hand pain. Somatisation was weakly associated with MSDs at most sites. Better general and mental health status were weakly associated with lower odds of MSDs. In injury prevention and rehabilitation the physical nature of the work needs to be addressed for most MSDs, with modest decreases in risk seemingly possible. Addressing job strain could provide significant benefit for those with neck and wrist/hand pain, while the effects of somatisation and the promotion of good mental health may provide smaller but global benefits.

Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Symptoms among Employees of Iranian Petrochemical Industries: October 2009 to December 2012

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

AR Choobineh

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs are a common health problem throughout the world and a major cause of disability in the workplace. Objective: To determine the prevalence rate of MSDs, assessment of ergonomics working conditions and identification of major risk factors associated with MSDs symptoms among employees of Iranian petrochemical industries between October 2009 and December 2012. Methods: In this study, we studied 1184 randomly selected employees of 4 Iranian petrochemical companies with at least one year of work experience in office or operational units. For those with office jobs, data were collected using Nordic Musculoskeletal disorders Questionnaire (NMQ and ergonomics checklist for the assessment of working conditions. For those with operational jobs, NMQ and Quick Exposure Check (QEC method were used for data collection. Results: The most prevalent MSD symptoms were reported in lower back (41.5% and neck (36.5%. The prevalence of MSDs in all body regions but elbows and thighs of the office staff was significantly higher than that of operational workers. Assessment of working conditions in office staff revealed that the lowest index was attributed to workstation. QEC technique among operational workers showed that in 73.8% of the workers studied, the level of exposure to musculoskeletal risks was “high” or “very high.” MSDs were associated with type of job, age, body mass index, work experience, gender, marital status, educational level and type of employment. Conclusion: The prevalence of MSDs in the office staff was higher than that of operational workers. Level of exposure to MSDs risk was high in operational workers. Corrective measures are thus necessary for improving working conditions for both office and operational units.

Mixed states with predominant manic or depressive symptoms: baseline characteristics and 24-month outcomes of the EMBLEM cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Azorin, Jean-Michel; Baraille, Laurent; Gérard, Stéphanie; Bertsch, Jordan; Reed, Catherine; Lukasiewicz, Michael

2013-04-25

While factors associated with mixed states have been extensively studied, data are scant regarding the clinical heterogeneity of mixed states. The EMBLEM study was a prospective, observational study on patients with manic and mixed states. We describe and compare baseline characteristics and 24-month clinical course of mixed states with predominant depressive symptoms (MSDS) and mixed states with predominant manic symptoms (MSMS). Adult inpatients/outpatients with bipolar disorder were enrolled within the standard course of care if they initiated or changed oral medication for acute mania or mixed states. A logistic regression was used to identify the baseline factors associated with each polarity. Comparisons with mixed episode without symptom predominance (OMS) were performed for informational purpose only. About 573 mixed patients were analyzed (23.7% of the cohort): 59.5% (n=341) had MSMS, 11.9% (n=68) had MSDS, and 28.6% (n=164) had OMS. At baseline, hallucinations/delusions during the index episode, inpatient status, high CGI-BP overall score, and low education level were more often associated with MSMS versus MSDS. Alcohol abuse or dependence and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or benzodiazepine use at inclusion were significantly more frequent with MSDS. MSDS had a significantly lower 24-month recurrence rate than MSMS; MSMS experienced more switches to mania whereas MSDS switched more to depression. The post hoc dimensional definitions in the study require caution in the interpretation of the results. These results present evidence of clinical heterogeneity within mixed states. Predominant manic or depressive symptoms within mixed episode could influence clinicians' decisions in term of hospitalization, treatment, and perception of bipolar severity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Concept of the Remote Devices Content Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miroslav Behan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Modern mobile communication devices which are often used as remote access to information systems bring up many advantages for user. Unfortunately in some cases when user has several different mobile devices for the same remote access, a problem of multiplatform and multivendor environment fragments productivity by user knowledge in principals of approach to possible services, controlling or management of devices as well as features is available. The customizable interface of remote device management benefits by the control of all owned, authorized, or publically accessible devices from single point of user perspective. We propose a concept of such information system which takes into account mobile devices and their content. Concept is suitable not only for Apple iOS or Google Android, but also it covers all mobile platforms as well as the sensors capabilities of mobile devices which can turn such mobile Smart Device to Smart and mobile sensor concentrator.

New memory devices based on the proton transfer process

Science.gov (United States)

Wierzbowska, Małgorzata

2016-01-01

Memory devices operating due to the fast proton transfer (PT) process are proposed by the means of first-principles calculations. Writing information is performed using the electrostatic potential of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Reading information is based on the effect of the local magnetization induced at the zigzag graphene nanoribbon (Z-GNR) edge—saturated with oxygen or the hydroxy group—and can be realized with the use of giant magnetoresistance (GMR), a magnetic tunnel junction or spin-transfer torque devices. The energetic barriers for the hop forward and backward processes can be tuned by the distance and potential of the STM tip; this thus enables us to tailor the non-volatile logic states. The proposed system enables very dense packing of the logic cells and could be used in random access and flash memory devices.

Phloem-sap-dynamics sensor device for monitoring photosynthates transportation in plant shoots

Science.gov (United States)

Yano, Yuya; Ono, Akihito; Terao, Kyohei; Suzuki, Takaaki; Takao, Hidekuni; Kobayashi, Tsuyoshi; Kataoka, Ikuo; Shimokawa, Fusao

2018-06-01

We propose a microscale phloem-sap-dynamics sensor device to obtain the index of an internal plant condition regarding the transportation of primary photosynthates in phloem, which is an essential indicator of stable crop production under controlled-growth environments. In detail, we integrated a conventional Granier sensor with a thermal-flow sensor and devised an improved sensor device to quantify such index, including the information on velocity and direction of the phloem-sap flow using the microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. The experimental results showed that although the proposed sensor device was approximately only 1/10 the size of the conventional Granier sensor, it could generate an output nearly equal to that of the conventional sensor. Furthermore, experiments using mimicked plants demonstrated that the proposed device could measure minute flow velocities in the range of 0–200 µm/s, which are generally known as the phloem-sap flow velocity, and simultaneously detect the flow direction.

Monitoring system of hydraulic lifting device based on the fiber optic sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Fajkus, Marcel; Nedoma, Jan; Novak, Martin; Martinek, Radek; Vanus, Jan; Mec, Pavel; Vasinek, Vladimir

2017-10-01

This article deals with the description of the monitoring system of hydraulic lifting device based on the fiber-optic sensors. For minimize the financial costs of the proposed monitoring system, the power evaluation of measured signal has been chosen. The solution is based on an evaluation of the signal obtained using the single point optic fiber sensors with overlapping reflective spectra. For encapsulation of the sensors was used polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer. To obtain a information of loading is uses the action of deformation of the lifting device on the pair single point optic fiber sensors mounted on the lifting device of the tested car. According to the proposed algorithm is determined information of pressure with an accuracy of +/- 5 %. Verification of the proposed system was realized on the various types of the tested car with different loading. The original contribution of the paper is to verify the new low-cost system for monitoring the hydraulic lifting device based on the fiber-optic sensors.

An Interference Mitigation Scheme of Device-to-Device Communications for Sensor Networks Underlying LTE-A.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jeehyeong; Karim, Nzabanita Abdoul; Cho, Sunghyun

2017-05-10

Device-to-Device (D2D) communication technology has become a key factor in wireless sensor networks to form autonomous communication links among sensor nodes. Many research results for D2D have been presented to resolve different technical issues of D2D. Nevertheless, the previous works have not resolved the shortage of data rate and limited coverage of wireless sensor networks. Due to bandwidth shortages and limited communication coverage, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has introduced a new Device-to-Device (D2D) communication technique underlying cellular networks, which can improve spectral efficiencies by enabling the direct communication of devices in proximity without passing through enhanced-NodeB (eNB). However, to enable D2D communication in a cellular network presents a challenge with regard to radio resource management since D2D links reuse the uplink radio resources of cellular users and it can cause interference to the receiving channels of D2D user equipment (DUE). In this paper, a hybrid mechanism is proposed that uses Fractional Frequency Reuse (FFR) and Almost Blank Sub-frame (ABS) schemes to handle inter-cell interference caused by cellular user equipments (CUEs) to D2D receivers (DUE-Rxs), reusing the same resources at the cell edge area. In our case, DUE-Rxs are considered as victim nodes and CUEs as aggressor nodes, since our primary target is to minimize inter-cell interference in order to increase the signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) of the target DUE-Rx at the cell edge area. The numerical results show that the interference level of the target D2D receiver (DUE-Rx) decreases significantly compared to the conventional FFR at the cell edge. In addition, the system throughput of the proposed scheme can be increased up to 60% compared to the conventional FFR.

A Pneumatic Actuated Microfluidic Beads-Trapping Device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shao, Guocheng; Cai, Ziliang; Wang, Jun; Wang, Wanjun; Lin, Yuehe

2011-08-20

The development of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic microbeads trapping device is reported in this paper. Besides fluid channels, the proposed device includes a pneumatic control chamber and a beads-trapping chamber with a filter array structure. The pneumatic flow control chamber and the beads-trapping chamber are vertically stacked and separated by a thin membrane. By adjusting the pressure in the pneumatic control chamber, the membrane can either be pushed against the filter array to set the device in trapping mode or be released to set the device in releasing mode. In this paper, a computational fluid dynamics simulation was conducted to optimize the geometry design of the filter array structure; the device fabrication was also carried out. The prototype device was tested and the preliminary experimental results showed that it can be used as a beads-trapping unit for various biochemistry and analytical chemistry applications, especially for flow injection analysis systems.

The exemption from the requirement of registration and/or licensing of some sources. machines and devices emitting ionizing and /or on ionizing radiation: a proposed draft for Israeli regulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schlesinger, T; Margaliot, M [Israel Atomic Energy Commission, Yavne (Israel). Soreq Nuclear Research Center

1997-11-16

The licensing and authorization of the import, purchase, distribution, transportation and application of radioactive materials and devices emitting ionizing and/or non-ionizing radiation are carried out in Israel by the Ministries of the Environment and of Health. The legal basis for file authority of these Ministries in radiation protection matters is file {sup P}harmacists Regulation- Radioactive Elements and Products Thereof, 1981 (revision 1994) (PRREPT). Licenses are issued by the Chief Radiation Executive (CUE) appointed by the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Health. The Regulations include a clause which enables the CUE to exempt certain amounts of radioactive materials from file requirements laid down in the PRREPT. The exemption clause is general and does not indicate the types and amounts of radioactive material may be exempted. The proposed draft Israeli regulations are related to exemption of some sources, machines and devices emitting ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, wife a suggestion to extend file above mentioned exemption clause to include some machines and devices and to provide an explicit and detailed list of materials, sources and devices to be exempted. Among these are the following: (authors)

The exemption from the requirement of registration and/or licensing of some sources. machines and devices emitting ionizing and /or on ionizing radiation: a proposed draft for Israeli regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schlesinger, T.; Margaliot, M.

1997-01-01

The licensing and authorization of the import, purchase, distribution, transportation and application of radioactive materials and devices emitting ionizing and/or non-ionizing radiation are carried out in Israel by the Ministries of the Environment and of Health. The legal basis for file authority of these Ministries in radiation protection matters is file P harmacists Regulation- Radioactive Elements and Products Thereof, 1981 (revision 1994) (PRREPT). Licenses are issued by the Chief Radiation Executive (CUE) appointed by the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Health. The Regulations include a clause which enables the CUE to exempt certain amounts of radioactive materials from file requirements laid down in the PRREPT. The exemption clause is general and does not indicate the types and amounts of radioactive material may be exempted. The proposed draft Israeli regulations are related to exemption of some sources, machines and devices emitting ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, wife a suggestion to extend file above mentioned exemption clause to include some machines and devices and to provide an explicit and detailed list of materials, sources and devices to be exempted. Among these are the following: (authors)

Quality-Based Backlight Optimization for Video Playback on Handheld Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liang Cheng

2007-01-01

Full Text Available For a typical handheld device, the backlight accounts for a significant percentage of the total energy consumption (e.g., around 30% for a Compaq iPAQ 3650. Substantial energy savings can be achieved by dynamically adapting backlight intensity levels on such low-power portable devices. In this paper, we analyze the characteristics of video streaming services and propose a cross-layer optimization scheme called quality adapted backlight scaling (QABS to achieve backlight energy savings for video playback applications on handheld devices. Specifically, we present a fast algorithm to optimize backlight dimming while keeping the degradation in image quality to a minimum so that the overall service quality is close to a specified threshold. Additionally, we propose two effective techniques to prevent frequent backlight switching, which negatively affects user perception of video. Our initial experimental results indicate that the energy used for backlight is significantly reduced, while the desired quality is satisfied. The proposed algorithms can be realized in real time.

The Effect of Coaching on a Faith Community Volunteer's Use of Effective Teaching Behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

Baggerman, Melanie A.; Ault, Melinda Jones; Collins, Belva C.; Spriggs, Amy D.; Slocum, Victoria

2015-01-01

An important part of quality of life for people with moderate and severe disabilities (MSDs) is being involved in extracurricular and community activities. However, volunteers, who may not have experience with including people with MSDs, lead most community activities. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of teacher…

Digital Thickness Measurement of a Transparent Plastic Orthodontic Device

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yoon-Hwan; Rhim, Sung-Han

2018-05-01

A transparent orthodontic device is used to move the teeth to the final calibration position to form a proper set of teeth. Because the uniform thickness of the device plays an important role in tooth positioning, the accuracy of the device's thickness profile is important for effective orthodontic treatment. However, due to the complexity of the device's geometry and the transparency of the device's material, measuring the complete thickness profile has been difficult. In the present study, a new optical scanning method to measure the thickness profile of transparent plastic orthodontic devices is proposed and evaluated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The error of the new measurement method is less than ±18 μm. The new method can be used to measure the thickness of non-specific, multi-curved, transparent orthodontic devices.

Electromagnetic device of linear displacement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Savary, F.; Le Saulnier, G.

1986-01-01

The device moves a rod integral with a nuclear reactor control element. It has a grab for the rod operated by a mobil pole drive by a coil carried by a surrounding sealed casing, a second grab with fixed and mobile poles with facing surfaces shaped to limit the variation of magnetic force with distance between them, and a plunger driven by a coil to bear against another mobile pole moved by a coil. The invention proposes a device ensuring a displacement while the impact forces at the different level of the mechanism are reduced [fr

A point-based rendering approach for real-time interaction on mobile devices

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LIANG XiaoHui; ZHAO QinPing; HE ZhiYing; XIE Ke; LIU YuBo

2009-01-01

Mobile device is an Important interactive platform. Due to the limitation of computation, memory, display area and energy, how to realize the efficient and real-time interaction of 3D models based on mobile devices is an important research topic. Considering features of mobile devices, this paper adopts remote rendering mode and point models, and then, proposes a transmission and rendering approach that could interact in real time. First, improved simplification algorithm based on MLS and display resolution of mobile devices is proposed. Then, a hierarchy selection of point models and a QoS transmission control strategy are given based on interest area of operator, interest degree of object in the virtual environment and rendering error. They can save the energy consumption. Finally, the rendering and interaction of point models are completed on mobile devices. The experiments show that our method is efficient.

Bottom-up realization and electrical characterization of a graphene-based device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maffucci, A; Micciulla, F; Cataldo, A; Bellucci, S; Miano, G

2016-01-01

We propose a bottom-up procedure to fabricate an easy-to-engineer graphene-based device, consisting of a microstrip-like circuit where few-layer graphene nanoplatelets are used to contact two copper electrodes. The graphene nanoplatelets are obtained by the microwave irradiation of intercalated graphite, i.e., an environmentally friendly, fast and low-cost procedure. The contact is created by a bottom-up process, driven by the application of a DC electrical field in the gap between the electrodes, yielding the formation of a graphene carpet. The electrical resistance of the device has been measured as a function of the gap length and device temperature. The possible use of this device as a gas sensor is demonstrated by measuring the sensitivity of its electrical resistance to the presence of gas. The measured results demonstrate a good degree of reproducibility in the fabrication process, and the competitive performance of devices, thus making the proposed technique potentially attractive for industrial applications. (paper)

Musculoskeletal Disorders Assessment and Posture Analysis by LUBA among Female Hairdressers in Tehran, 2015

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Khandan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background & Aims of the Study: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs are part of the main occupational diseases in the workplace. Occupations such as hairdressers are exposed to multiple risk factors of these problems. The study was conducted to assess MSDs and posture analysis among female hairdressers in Tehran, 2015. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional research, 114 participants were studied. To collect data, demographic questionnaire, body map for assessment of MSDs and Postural Loading on the Upper Body Assessment (LUBA method to evaluate postures was used. Also, data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney, Kruskal Wallis and Spearman correlation tests through SPSS-V20. Results: The mean and standard deviation of age and experience of the participants were5.34±8.9 and 10±8 years, respectively. In addition, they worked 9.8 hours per day on average. One hundred and thirteen (99.12% persons have experienced the pain at least in one member of their musculoskeletal system. Most of hairdressers had reported leg, lower back, as well as neck and shoulder pain. According to the posture assessment, 94.2% of people experienced high risk of exposure to risk factors for MSDs. Conclusion: Findings showed MSDs are high among barbers. Also, the work situations require immediate correction. Correction of workstations and tools design, work rest cycle and reduction in repetitive motions can help to improve working conditions.

Occupational health and safety management practices and musculoskeletal disorders in aged care.

Science.gov (United States)

Oakman, Jodi; Bartram, Timothy

2017-05-15

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether occupational health and safety (OHS) management used to manage musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the aged care sector reflects contemporary research evidence of best practice to reduce the incidence of these disorders. Design/methodology/approach In total, 58 interviews were conducted with managers and supervisors in the aged care sector across four organisations in Australia. Policies and procedures relating to MSDs were reviewed for each organisation. Findings Policies and procedures for managing MSDs do not reflect contemporary evidence, which supports a complex aetiology, related to a range of physical and psychosocial workplace factors. Despite strong evidence that psychosocial factors contribute to MSD development, these were not included in the policies and procedures reviewed. Findings from the interviews management practices including leadership and various components of HRM were functioning well but fragmentation was evident due to the challenging nature of the aged care sector. Practical implications To address the significant burden of MSDs in the aged care sector, policies and procedures need to include coverage of psychosocial and physical workplace factors. The development of systematic and integrated OHS management at the workplace level may play an important role in the effective management of MSDs. Originality/value This study offers insights into the previously unexplored area of MSD risk management and the role of management practices such as HRM in the aged care sector.

EFFICIENCY OPTIMIZATION OF ATTENDANCE SYSTEM WITH GPS AND BIOMETRIC METHOD USING MOBILE DEVICES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benfano Soewito

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The existing attendance system still has drawbacks, namely the queue in front of the finger scanner, the attendance data are not integrated with Human Resources Systems, and also the employees who work outside the office cannot get in the attendance system to roll presence. In the other hand, everyone has the mobile devices and all the mobile devices will be embedded a finger scanner in the future. In this paper, it is proposed the absence system using one own device. The finger scanner and coordinate Global Position System (GPS are used as inputs for the attendance system that integrated with payroll system and human resource management tools. Application base on android platform is developed because the android is the most platforms that have been using in the most mobile devices. Using our proposed methodology, the employee can roll presence using their mobile devices and the do not need to be in queue and the employees who work outside the office also can roll presence. Research showed that proposed methodology can be used for the next generation attendance system.

Recent advances in flexible and wearable organic optoelectronic devices

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Hong; Shen, Yang; Li, Yanqing; Tang, Jianxin

2018-01-01

Flexible and wearable optoelectronic devices have been developing to a new stage due to their unique capacity for the possibility of a variety of wearable intelligent electronics, including bendable smartphones, foldable touch screens and antennas, paper-like displays, and curved and flexible solid-state lighting devices. Before extensive commercial applications, some issues still have to be solved for flexible and wearable optoelectronic devices. In this regard, this review concludes the newly emerging flexible substrate materials, transparent conductive electrodes, device architectures and light manipulation methods. Examples of these components applied for various kinds of devices are also summarized. Finally, perspectives about the bright future of flexible and wearable electronic devices are proposed. Project supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (No. 2016YFB0400700).

Description of a portable wireless device for high-frequency body temperature acquisition and analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Cuesta-Frau, David; Varela, Manuel; Aboy, Mateo; Miró-Martínez, Pau

2009-01-01

We describe a device for dual channel body temperature monitoring. The device can operate as a real time monitor or as a data logger, and has Bluetooth capabilities to enable for wireless data download to the computer used for data analysis. The proposed device is capable of sampling temperature at a rate of 1 sample per minute with a resolution of 0.01 °C . The internal memory allows for stand-alone data logging of up to 10 days. The device has a battery life of 50 hours in continuous real-time mode. In addition to describing the proposed device in detail, we report the results of a statistical analysis conducted to assess its accuracy and reproducibility.

INTERFACE DEVICE FOR NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING OF RESIDUAL SURFACE STRESSES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gennady A. Perepelkin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper considers the organization of connection of a personal computer with a device for nondestructive testing of residual surface stresses. The device works is based on the phenomenon of diffraction of ionizing radiation from the crystal lattice near the surface of the crystallites. Proposed software interface to the organization for each type of user: the device developers, administrators, users. Some aspects of the organization of communication microcontroller to a PC via USB-port

Novel AC Servo Rotating and Linear Composite Driving Device for Plastic Forming Equipment

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Jin-Tao; Zhao, Sheng-Dun; Li, Yong-Yi; Zhu, Mu-Zhi

2017-07-01

The existing plastic forming equipment are mostly driven by traditional AC motors with long transmission chains, low efficiency, large size, low precision and poor dynamic response are the common disadvantages. In order to realize high performance forming processes, the driving device should be improved, especially for complicated processing motions. Based on electric servo direct drive technology, a novel AC servo rotating and linear composite driving device is proposed, which features implementing both spindle rotation and feed motion without transmission, so that compact structure and precise control can be achieved. Flux switching topology is employed in the rotating drive component for strong robustness, and fractional slot is employed in the linear direct drive component for large force capability. Then the mechanical structure for compositing rotation and linear motion is designed. A device prototype is manufactured, machining of each component and the whole assembly are presented respectively. Commercial servo amplifiers are utilized to construct the control system of the proposed device. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed composite driving device, experimental study on the dynamic test benches are conducted. The results indicate that the output torque can attain to 420 N·m and the dynamic tracking errors are less than about 0.3 rad in the rotating drive. the dynamic tracking errors are less than about 1.6 mm in the linear feed. The proposed research provides a method to construct high efficiency and accuracy direct driving device in plastic forming equipment.

Continuous Context-Aware Device Comfort Evaluation Method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guo, Jingjing; Jensen, Christian D.; Ma, Jianfeng

2015-01-01

Mobile devices have become more powerful and are increasingly integrated in the everyday life of people; from playing games, taking pictures and interacting with social media to replacing credit cards in payment solutions. The security of a mobile device is therefore increasingly linked to its...... context, such as its location, surroundings (e.g. objects and people in the immediate environment) and so on, because some actions may only be appropriate in some situations; this is not captured by traditional security models. In this paper, we examine the notion of Device Comfort and propose a way...... to calculate the sensitivity of a specific action to the context. We present two different methods for a mobile device to dynamically evaluate its security status when an action is requested, either by the user or by another device. The first method uses the predefined ideal context as a standard to assess...

New memory devices based on the proton transfer process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wierzbowska, Małgorzata

2016-01-01

Memory devices operating due to the fast proton transfer (PT) process are proposed by the means of first-principles calculations. Writing  information is performed using the electrostatic potential of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Reading information is based on the effect of the local magnetization induced at the zigzag graphene nanoribbon (Z-GNR) edge—saturated with oxygen or the hydroxy group—and can be realized with the use of giant magnetoresistance (GMR), a magnetic tunnel junction or spin-transfer torque devices. The energetic barriers for the hop forward and backward processes can be tuned by the distance and potential of the STM tip; this thus enables us to tailor the non-volatile logic states. The proposed system enables very dense packing of the logic cells and could be used in random access and flash memory devices. (paper)

Tunable Optical True-Time Delay Devices Would Exploit EIT

Science.gov (United States)

Kulikov, Igor; DiDomenico, Leo; Lee, Hwang

2004-01-01

Tunable optical true-time delay devices that would exploit electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) have been proposed. Relative to prior true-time delay devices (for example, devices based on ferroelectric and ferromagnetic materials) and electronically controlled phase shifters, the proposed devices would offer much greater bandwidths. In a typical envisioned application, an optical pulse would be modulated with an ultra-wideband radio-frequency (RF) signal that would convey the information that one seeks to communicate, and it would be required to couple differently delayed replicas of the RF signal to the radiating elements of a phased-array antenna. One or more of the proposed devices would be used to impose the delays and/or generate the delayed replicas of the RF-modulated optical pulse. The beam radiated or received by the antenna would be steered by use of a microprocessor-based control system that would adjust operational parameters of the devices to tune the delays to the required values. EIT is a nonlinear quantum optical interference effect that enables the propagation of light through an initially opaque medium. A suitable medium must have, among other properties, three quantum states (see Figure 1): an excited state (state 3), an upper ground state (state 2), and a lower ground state (state 1). These three states must form a closed system that exhibits no decays to other states in the presence of either or both of two laser beams: (1) a probe beam having the wavelength corresponding to the photon energy equal to the energy difference between states 3 and 1; and (2) a coupling beam having the wavelength corresponding to the photon energy equal to the energy difference between states 3 and 2. The probe beam is the one that is pulsed and modulated with an RF signal.

Virtual Reality Interaction Using Mobile Devices

KAUST Repository

Aseeri, Sahar A.

2013-07-01

With the use of an immersive display system such as CAVE system, the user is able to realize a 3D immersive virtual environment realistically. However, interacting with virtual worlds in CAVE systems using traditional input devices to perform easy operations such as manipulation, object selection, and navigation is often difficult. This difficulty could diminish the immersion and sense of presence when it comes to 3D virtual environment tasks. Our research aims to implement and evaluate alternative approaches of interaction with immersive virtual environments on mobile devices for manipulation and object selection tasks. As many researchers have noted, using a mobile device as an interaction device has a number of advantages, including built-in display, built-in control, and touch screen facility. These advantages facilitate simple tasks within immersive virtual environments. This research proposes new methods using mobile devices like Smart-phones to perform di↵erent kinds of interactions both as an input device, (e.g. performing selection and manipulation of objects) and as an output device (e.g. utilizing the screen as an extra view for a virtual camera or information display). Moreover, we developed a prototype system to demonstrate and informally evaluate these methods. The research conclusion suggests using mobile devices as a 3D-controller. This will be a more intuitive approach to interact within the virtual environment.

Social-Aware Relay Selection for Cooperative Multicast Device-to-Device Communications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesco Chiti

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The increasing use of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to share photos, video streaming, and music among friends has generated a huge increase in the amount of data traffic over wireless networks. This social behavior has triggered new communication paradigms such as device-to-device (D2D and relaying communication schemes, which are both considered as strong drivers for the next fifth-generation (5G cellular systems. Recently, the social-aware layer and its relationship to and influence on the physical communications layer have gained great attention as emerging focus points. We focus here on the case of relaying communications to pursue the multicast data dissemination to a group of users forming a social community through a relay node, according to the extension of the D2D mode to the case of device-to-many devices. Moreover, in our case, the source selects the device to act as the relay among different users of the multicast group by taking into account both the propagation link conditions and the relay social-trust level with the constraint of minimizing the end-to-end content delivery delay. An optimization procedure is also proposed in order to achieve the best performance. Finally, numerical results are provided to highlight the advantages of considering the impact of social level on the end-to-end delivery delay in the integrated social–physical network in comparison with the classical relay-assisted multicast communications for which the relay social-trust level is not considered.

Novel secret key generation techniques using memristor devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heba Abunahla

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes novel secret key generation techniques using memristor devices. The approach depends on using the initial profile of a memristor as a master key. In addition, session keys are generated using the master key and other specified parameters. In contrast to existing memristor-based security approaches, the proposed development is cost effective and power efficient since the operation can be achieved with a single device rather than a crossbar structure. An algorithm is suggested and demonstrated using physics based Matlab model. It is shown that the generated keys can have dynamic size which provides perfect security. Moreover, the proposed encryption and decryption technique using the memristor based generated keys outperforms Triple Data Encryption Standard (3DES and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES in terms of processing time. This paper is enriched by providing characterization results of a fabricated microscale Al/TiO2/Al memristor prototype in order to prove the concept of the proposed approach and study the impacts of process variations. The work proposed in this paper is a milestone towards System On Chip (SOC memristor based security.

A new challenge for advertising on mobile devices: Social TV

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalia Quintas-Froufe

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Mobile device advertising is a rapidly growing market due to the penetration of mobile devices in Spanish society. Advertising communication in this digital ecosystem continually poses new challenges. One of these - the subject of this proposal - is the link-up between mobile advertising with social TV. It opens up new possibilities for the development of advertising strategies on mobile devices.The aim of this paper is to describe the challenges faced by the Spanish advertising industry with the recent introduction of Social TV. Spain has one of the most developed Social TV sectors in Europe. It will provide a global overview of this new reality and uncover the new possibilities and main challenges for the development of advertising strategies for mobile devices. To this end we propose an examination of the perception of two of Spain’s major broadcasting empires, Atresmedia and Mediaset España, of this phenomenon.

An oxide-based thermoelectric generator: Transversal thermoelectric strip-device

Science.gov (United States)

Teichert, S.; Bochmann, A.; Reimann, T.; Schulz, T.; Dreßler, C.; Töpfer, J.

2015-07-01

A special design of an oxide-based transversal thermoelectric device utilizing thermoelectric oxides in combination with a ceramic multilayer technology is proposed. Metal strips within the ceramic matrix replace the tilted stack of alternating layers used in artificial anisotropic transversal thermoelectric devices. Numerical three-dimensional simulations of both device types reveal better thermoelectric performance data for the device with metal stripes. A monolithic transversal strip-device based on the material combination La1.97Sr0.03CuO4/Ag6Pd1 was prepared and electrically characterized. A maximum power output of 4.0 mW was determined at ΔT = 225 K for the monolithic device. The observed results are in remarkable agreement with three-dimensional numerical simulations utilizing the transport parameters of the two materials and the geometry data of the device.

Flexible Exchange of Farming Device Data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iftikhar, Nadeem; Pedersen, Torben Bach

2011-01-01

A new trend in the farming business is to replace conventional farming devices with computerized farming devices. Accordingly, numerous computer-based farming devices for logging, processing and exchanging data have recently been installed on moving farm machinery such as tractors. The exchange o......-directional data exchange as well as efficient requirements change management through a graphical user interface. The paper also demonstrates the use of the proposed solution based on a farming case study and open source technologies....... and systems to exchange data based on a predefined set of rules. In consequence, many hand-coded data exchange solutions have been developed in the farming business. Although efforts regarding incorporating data exchange standards have been made, their actual usage so far has been limited, due to the fact...

Different Device Architectures for Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Getachew Adam

2016-08-01

Full Text Available We report different solar cell designs which allow a simple electrical connection of subsequent devices deposited on the same substrate. By arranging so-called standard and inverted solar-cell architectures next to each other, a serial connection of the two devices can easily be realized by a single compound electrode. In this work, we tested different interfacial layer materials like polyethylenimine (PEI and PEDOT:PSS, and silver as a non-transparent electrode material. We also built organic light emitting diodes applying the same device designs demonstrating the versatility of applied layer stacks. The proposed design should allow the preparation of organic bulk-heterojunction modules with minimized photovoltaically inactive regions at the interconnection of individual devices.

Inhalation drug delivery devices: technology update

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ibrahim M

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Mariam Ibrahim, Rahul Verma, Lucila Garcia-ContrerasDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USAAbstract: The pulmonary route of administration has proven to be effective in local and systemic delivery of miscellaneous drugs and biopharmaceuticals to treat pulmonary and non-pulmonary diseases. A successful pulmonary administration requires a harmonic interaction between the drug formulation, the inhaler device, and the patient. However, the biggest single problem that accounts for the lack of desired effect or adverse outcomes is the incorrect use of the device due to lack of training in how to use the device or how to coordinate actuation and aerosol inhalation. This review summarizes the structural and mechanical features of aerosol delivery devices with respect to mechanisms of aerosol generation, their use with different formulations, and their advantages and limitations. A technological update of the current state-of-the-art designs proposed to overcome current challenges of existing devices is also provided.Keywords: pulmonary delivery, asthma, nebulizers, metered dose inhaler, dry powder inhaler

Nonlinear dynamics of a rack-pinion-rack device powered by the Casimir force.

Science.gov (United States)

Miri, MirFaez; Nekouie, Vahid; Golestanian, Ramin

2010-01-01

Using the lateral Casimir force-a manifestation of the quantum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field between objects with corrugated surfaces-as the main force transduction mechanism, a nanomechanical device with rich dynamical behaviors is proposed. The device is made of two parallel racks that are moving in the same direction and a pinion in the middle that couples with both racks via the noncontact lateral Casimir force. The built-in frustration in the device causes it to be very sensitive and react dramatically to minute changes in the geometrical parameters and initial conditions of the system. The noncontact nature of the proposed device could help with the ubiquitous wear problem in nanoscale mechanical systems.

Sickness absence due to different musculoskeletal diagnoses by occupational class: a register-based study among 1.2 million Finnish employees.

Science.gov (United States)

Pekkala, Johanna; Rahkonen, Ossi; Pietiläinen, Olli; Lahelma, Eero; Blomgren, Jenni

2018-04-01

Those in lower occupational classes have an increased risk of sickness absence due to musculoskeletal diseases (MSDs), but studies examining the associations simultaneously across specified diagnostic groups within MSDs are lacking. We examined occupational class differences in the occurrence and length of long-term sickness absence due to different musculoskeletal diagnoses. A 70% random sample of employed Finns aged 25-64 years old at the end of 2013 was linked to data on sickness absence of over 10 working days obtained from The Social Insurance Institution of Finland and occupational class from Statistics Finland. Sickness absences due to MSDs initiated in 2014 were followed until the end of each episode for female (n=675 636) and male (n=604 715) upper non-manuals, lower non-manuals and manual workers. Negative binomial hurdle models were used to analyse the associations. Within the studied MSDs, the most common causes of absence were back disorders, particularly back pain, and shoulder disorders. Osteoarthritis, disc disorders and rheumatoid arthritis induced the longest episodes of absence. Clear hierarchical class differences were found throughout, but the magnitude of the differences varied across the diagnostic causes. The largest class differences in the occurrence were detected in shoulder disorders and back pain. The class differences in length were greatest in rheumatoid arthritis, disc disorders and, among men, also in hip osteoarthritis. Hierarchical occupational class differences were found across different MSDs, with large differences in back and shoulder disorders. Occupational class and diagnosis should be considered when attempting to reduce sickness absence due to MSDs. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Work with visual display units and musculoskeletal disorders: A cross-sectional study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matteo Riccò

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Epidemiological studies have shown that employees working with visual display units (VDU are more likely to complain about musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs. The aim of this study has been to evaluate associations among MSDs and individuals and work-related factors. Material and Methods: A total of 1032 VDU workers were assessed about their personal (i.e., age, working history, smoking history, physical activity and work-related factors (i.e., predominant job tasks performed, work posture. Work environment was evaluated regarding fulfillment of the standard ISO 9241-5:1998. The investigation required a direct observation of participants (in order to accurately assess the prevalence of MSDs and workstations. Adjusted odds ratios (ORa were calculated by means of the logistic regression model. Results: Prevalence of MSDs was relatively high (53%. In general, MSDs were significantly associated with female sex (OR = 2.832, 95% confidence interval (CI: 2.178–3.683, age ≥ 50 years old (OR = 2.231, 95% CI: 1.236–4.026, longer exposure to VDU, both as working history (10–14 years: OR = 1.934, 95% CI: 1.301–2.875; ≥ 15 years: OR = 2.223, 95% CI: 1.510–3.271 and working time (30–39 h/week: OR = 1.537, 95% CI: 1.087–2.273. Inappropriate workstation design was confirmed by the multivariate analysis as a risk factor for MSDs (ORa = 2.375, 95% CI: 1.124–5.018. Conclusions: Musculoskeletal disorders were significantly associated with individual factors as well as characteristics of work environment. An appropriate design of workstations may significantly reduce their prevalence amongst VDU workers. Med Pr 2016;67(6:707–719

Development of an innovative device for ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Ming; Hu, Linhua

2015-07-01

An innovative ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting (UEVC) device with 1st resonant mode of longitudinal vibration and 3rd resonant mode of bending vibration was proposed in this paper, which can deliver higher output power compared to previous UEVC devices. Using finite element method (FEM), resonance frequencies of the longitudinal and bending vibrations were tuned to be as close as possible in order to excite these two vibrations using two-phase driving voltages at a single frequency, while wave nodes of the longitudinal and bending vibrations were also adjusted to be as coincident as possible for mounting the device at a single fixed point. Based on the simulation analysis results a prototype device was fabricated, then its vibration characteristics were evaluated by an impedance analyzer and a laser displacement sensor. With two-phase sinusoidal driving voltages both of 480 V(p-p) at an ultrasonic frequency of 20.1 kHz, the developed prototype device achieved an elliptical vibration with a longitudinal amplitude of 8.9 μm and a bending amplitude of 11.3 μm. The performance of the developed UEVC device is assessed by the cutting tests of hardened steel using single crystal diamond tools. Experimental results indicate that compared to ordinary cutting process, the tool wear is reduced significantly by using the proposed device. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Experimental Device for Learning of Logical Circuit Design using Integrated Circuits

OpenAIRE

石橋, 孝昭

2012-01-01

This paper presents an experimental device for learning of logical circuit design using integrated circuits and breadboards. The experimental device can be made at a low cost and can be used for many subjects such as logical circuits, computer engineering, basic electricity, electrical circuits and electronic circuits. The proposed device is effective to learn the logical circuits than the usual lecture.

A New Radiometric Calibration Paradigm for the OMPS Nadir Total Column and Profile Instruments

Science.gov (United States)

Heath, Donald; Georgiew, Georgi

2011-01-01

A fused silica Mie Scattering Diffuser (MSD) has been developed at Ball Aerospace & Technology Corp. that has measured characteristics which could be used to increase the accuracy of the spectral albedo calibration of the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) Nadir ozone total column and profile instrument by almost an order of magnitude. Measurements have been made of the optical characteristics on both natural and synthetic forms of fused silica MSDs. Preliminary measurements suggest that MSDs are useable in the solar reflective wavelength region from 250 nm to 3.7 m. To date synthetic and natural MSDs have been irradiated for 60 hours of UV radiation from a solar simulator, and synthetic MSDs have been irradiated with increasing doses of Co-60 gamma rays at 30, 500 krads up to 1.5 Mrads, and 30 krads of 200 MeV protons. The principal effects have been small loses in transmittance at wavelengths < 350 nm. The high energy particle irradiation measurements were provided by Neal Nickles and Dean Spieth.

Toxic substances registry system: Index of material safety data sheets

Science.gov (United States)

1993-01-01

The Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS's) listed in this index reflect product inventories and associated MSDS's which were submitted to the Toxic Substances Registry database maintained by the Base Operations Contractor at the Kennedy Space Center. The purpose of this index is to provide KSC government, contractor, and tenant organizations a means to access information on the hazards associated with these chemicals. The Toxic Substance Registry Service (TSRS) was established to manage information dealing with the storage and use of toxic and otherwise hazardous materials at KSC. As a part of this service, the BOC Environmental Health Services maintains a central repository of MSDS's which were provided to TSRS. The data on the TSRS are obtained from NASA, contractor, and tenant organizations who use or store hazardous materials at KSC. It is the responsibility of these organizations to conduct inventories, obtain MSDS's, distribute Hazard Communication information to their employees, and otherwise implement compliance with appropriate Federal, State, and NASA Hazard Communication and Worker Right-to-Know regulations and policies.

Risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders among oil palm fruit harvesters during early harvesting stage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yee Guan Ng

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This cross-sectional study intends to investigate the associations of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs among foreign labourers on a socio-economic background, occupational exposure, social lifestyle, and postures adopted during harvesting tasks. A total of 446 male respondents (263 FFB cutters; 183 FFB collectors were studied using an interview-assisted questionnaire. OWAS was used to determine the severity of awkward posture based on videos of harvesting tasks recorded for each respondent. Analysis found that increasingly educated respondents had higher risk of developing MSDs. Shorter daily work duration and longer resting duration appear to increase the risk of neck and shoulder disorders among harvesters, which may be attributable to organizational work design. Awkward posture was a particularly significant risk factor of MSDs among FFB collectors. Among the results of the study, occupational exposure, postures and certain socio-demographic backgrounds explained some, but not all, the risk factor of MSDs among harvesters. An in-depth investigation, preferably a longitudinal study investigating the dynamic of work activities and other risk factors, such as psychosocial risk factors, are recommended.

Reduced Order Models for Dynamic Behavior of Elastomer Damping Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Morin, B.; Legay, A.; Deü, J.-F.

2016-09-01

In the context of passive damping, various mechanical systems from the space industry use elastomer components (shock absorbers, silent blocks, flexible joints...). The material of these devices has frequency, temperature and amplitude dependent characteristics. The associated numerical models, using viscoelastic and hyperelastic constitutive behaviour, may become computationally too expensive during a design process. The aim of this work is to propose efficient reduced viscoelastic models of rubber devices. The first step is to choose an accurate material model that represent the viscoelasticity. The second step is to reduce the rubber device finite element model to a super-element that keeps the frequency dependence. This reduced model is first built by taking into account the fact that the device's interfaces are much more rigid than the rubber core. To make use of this difference, kinematical constraints enforce the rigid body motion of these interfaces reducing the rubber device model to twelve dofs only on the interfaces (three rotations and three translations per face). Then, the superelement is built by using a component mode synthesis method. As an application, the dynamic behavior of a structure supported by four hourglass shaped rubber devices under harmonic loads is analysed to show the efficiency of the proposed approach.

Integrative Multi-Spectral Sensor Device for Far-Infrared and Visible Light Fusion

Science.gov (United States)

Qiao, Tiezhu; Chen, Lulu; Pang, Yusong; Yan, Gaowei

2018-06-01

Infrared and visible light image fusion technology is a hot spot in the research of multi-sensor fusion technology in recent years. Existing infrared and visible light fusion technologies need to register before fusion because of using two cameras. However, the application effect of the registration technology has yet to be improved. Hence, a novel integrative multi-spectral sensor device is proposed for infrared and visible light fusion, and by using the beam splitter prism, the coaxial light incident from the same lens is projected to the infrared charge coupled device (CCD) and visible light CCD, respectively. In this paper, the imaging mechanism of the proposed sensor device is studied with the process of the signals acquisition and fusion. The simulation experiment, which involves the entire process of the optic system, signal acquisition, and signal fusion, is constructed based on imaging effect model. Additionally, the quality evaluation index is adopted to analyze the simulation result. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed sensor device is effective and feasible.

Device for overlapping of a column of pump compressor pipes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sharafutdinov, I.G.; Akhmerov, M.N.; Asadullin, Kh.F.; Prokopov, O.I.

1980-02-16

A device is proposed for automatic overlapping of pump compressor pipes of gushing petroleum and gas wells when losses occur near the well. The objective of the invention is to increase efficiency of the overlapping of the pipe column by recharging the device directly at the hole without disassembling the head equipment. This objective is achieved as follows. The device is equipped with elastic spacers located in the channels of a ring. They are mounted with the possibility of interaction with ball catches. A drawing and description of the device are given.

SmartMal: a service-oriented behavioral malware detection framework for mobile devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chao; Wu, Zhizhong; Li, Xi; Zhou, Xuehai; Wang, Aili; Hung, Patrick C K

2014-01-01

This paper presents SmartMal--a novel service-oriented behavioral malware detection framework for vehicular and mobile devices. The highlight of SmartMal is to introduce service-oriented architecture (SOA) concepts and behavior analysis into the malware detection paradigms. The proposed framework relies on client-server architecture, the client continuously extracts various features and transfers them to the server, and the server's main task is to detect anomalies using state-of-art detection algorithms. Multiple distributed servers simultaneously analyze the feature vector using various detectors and information fusion is used to concatenate the results of detectors. We also propose a cycle-based statistical approach for mobile device anomaly detection. We accomplish this by analyzing the users' regular usage patterns. Empirical results suggest that the proposed framework and novel anomaly detection algorithm are highly effective in detecting malware on Android devices.

User and Device Adaptation in Summarizing Sports Videos

Science.gov (United States)

Nitta, Naoko; Babaguchi, Noboru

Video summarization is defined as creating a video summary which includes only important scenes in the original video streams. In order to realize automatic video summarization, the significance of each scene needs to be determined. When targeted especially on broadcast sports videos, a play scene, which corresponds to a play, can be considered as a scene unit. The significance of every play scene can generally be determined based on the importance of the play in the game. Furthermore, the following two issues should be considered: 1) what is important depends on each user's preferences, and 2) the summaries should be tailored for media devices that each user has. Considering the above issues, this paper proposes a unified framework for user and device adaptation in summarizing broadcast sports videos. The proposed framework summarizes sports videos by selecting play scenes based on not only the importance of each play itself but also the users' preferences by using the metadata, which describes the semantic content of videos with keywords, and user profiles, which describe users' preference degrees for the keywords. The selected scenes are then presented in a proper way using various types of media such as video, image, or text according to device profiles which describe the device type. We experimentally verified the effectiveness of user adaptation by examining how the generated summaries are changed by different preference degrees and by comparing our results with/without using user profiles. The validity of device adaptation is also evaluated by conducting questionnaires using PCs and mobile phones as the media devices.

Novel Opportunistic Network Routing Based on Social Rank for Device-to-Device Communication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tong Wang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, there has been dramatic proliferation of research concerned with fifth-generation (5G mobile communication networks, among which device-to-device (D2D communication is one of the key technologies. Due to the intermittent connection of nodes, the D2D network topology may be disconnected frequently, which will lead to failure in transmission of large data files. In opportunistic networks, in case of encountering nodes which never meet before a flood message blindly to cause tremendous network overhead, a novel opportunistic network routing protocol based on social rank and intermeeting time (SRIT is proposed in this paper. An improved utility approach applied in utility replication based on encounter durations and intermeeting time is put forward to enhance the routing efficiency. Meanwhile, in order to select better candidate nodes in the network, a social graph among people is established when they socially relate to each other in social rank replication. The results under the scenario show an advantage of the proposed opportunistic network routing based on social rank and intermeeting time (SRIT over the compared algorithms in terms of delivery ratio, average delivery latency, and overhead ratio.

Design of a Novel Servo-motorized Laser Device for Visual Pathways Diseases Therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Ignacio Sarmiento

2015-12-01

Full Text Available We discuss a novel servo-motorized laser device and a research protocol for visual pathways diseases therapies. The proposed servo-mechanized laser device can be used for potential rehabilitation of patients with hemianopia, quadrantanopia, scotoma, and some types of cortical damages. The device uses a semi spherical structure where the visual stimulus will be shown inside, according to a previous stimuli therapy designed by an ophthalmologist or neurologist. The device uses a pair of servomotors (with torque=1.5kg, which controls the laser stimuli position for the internal therapy and another pair for external therapy. Using electronic tools such as microcontrollers along with miscellaneous electronic materials, combined with LabVIEW based interface, a control mechanism is developed for the new device. The proposed device is well suited to run various visual stimuli therapies. We outline the major design principles including the physical dimensions, laser device’s kinematical analysis and the corresponding software development.

Wireless device connection problems and design solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Ji-Won; Norman, Donald; Nam, Tek-Jin; Qin, Shengfeng

2016-09-01

Users, especially the non-expert users, commonly experience problems when connecting multiple devices with interoperability. While studies on multiple device connections are mostly concentrated on spontaneous device association techniques with a focus on security aspects, the research on user interaction for device connection is still limited. More research into understanding people is needed for designers to devise usable techniques. This research applies the Research-through-Design method and studies the non-expert users' interactions in establishing wireless connections between devices. The "Learning from Examples" concept is adopted to develop a study focus line by learning from the expert users' interaction with devices. This focus line is then used for guiding researchers to explore the non-expert users' difficulties at each stage of the focus line. Finally, the Research-through-Design approach is used to understand the users' difficulties, gain insights to design problems and suggest usable solutions. When connecting a device, the user is required to manage not only the device's functionality but also the interaction between devices. Based on learning from failures, an important insight is found that the existing design approach to improve single-device interaction issues, such as improvements to graphical user interfaces or computer guidance, cannot help users to handle problems between multiple devices. This study finally proposes a desirable user-device interaction in which images of two devices function together with a system image to provide the user with feedback on the status of the connection, which allows them to infer any required actions.

Security and privacy issues in implantable medical devices: A comprehensive survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Camara, Carmen; Peris-Lopez, Pedro; Tapiador, Juan E

2015-06-01

Bioengineering is a field in expansion. New technologies are appearing to provide a more efficient treatment of diseases or human deficiencies. Implantable Medical Devices (IMDs) constitute one example, these being devices with more computing, decision making and communication capabilities. Several research works in the computer security field have identified serious security and privacy risks in IMDs that could compromise the implant and even the health of the patient who carries it. This article surveys the main security goals for the next generation of IMDs and analyzes the most relevant protection mechanisms proposed so far. On the one hand, the security proposals must have into consideration the inherent constraints of these small and implanted devices: energy, storage and computing power. On the other hand, proposed solutions must achieve an adequate balance between the safety of the patient and the security level offered, with the battery lifetime being another critical parameter in the design phase. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

FACTS device control strategy using PMU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohd Tauseef Khan

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The laying and commissioning of new transmission line is very difficult due to socio-economic problems, like environmental clearances, right of way, etc. Therefore, there is an emphasis on better utilization of available transmission infrastructure. FACTS devices can provide reactive power compensation, transmission capability enhancement, and voltage and stability improvement. FACTS devices operate under the command of system operator who analyses its demand by the data acquired through traditional SCADA system, state estimation algorithms and PMUs. SCADA together with PMU give accurate information about the operational state of power system. This paper proposes a scheme to automate the FACTS devices in collaboration with PMUs in a more efficient way. Highly precised data from PMUs can be fed to intelligent controllers for effective analyzing and automating the FACTS device through control command. Thus, this combination can provide real time control of reactive power, together with enhancement of power handling capability and stability improvement.

Modern Methods of Voice Authentication in Mobile Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir Leonovich Evseev

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Modern methods of voice authentication in mobile devices.The proposed evaluation of the probability errors of the first and second kind for multi-modal methods of voice authentication. The advantages of multimodal multivariate methods before, when authentication takes place in several stages – this is the one-stage, which means convenience for customers. Further development of multimodal methods of authentication will be based on the significantly increased computing power of mobile devices, the growing number and improved accuracy built-in mobile device sensors, as well as to improve the algorithms of signal processing.

Do New Mobile Devices in Enterprises Pose A Serious Security Threat?

OpenAIRE

Ali A Altalbe

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a research proposal designed to explore the network securityissues concerning mobile devices protection. Many threats exist and they harm not only computers but handheld devices as well. The mobility of phones and their excessive use make them more vulnerable. The findings suggest a list of protections that can provide high level of security for new mobile devices.

SeleCon: Scalable IoT Device Selection and Control Using Hand Gestures.

Science.gov (United States)

Alanwar, Amr; Alzantot, Moustafa; Ho, Bo-Jhang; Martin, Paul; Srivastava, Mani

2017-04-01

Although different interaction modalities have been proposed in the field of human-computer interface (HCI), only a few of these techniques could reach the end users because of scalability and usability issues. Given the popularity and the growing number of IoT devices, selecting one out of many devices becomes a hurdle in a typical smarthome environment. Therefore, an easy-to-learn, scalable, and non-intrusive interaction modality has to be explored. In this paper, we propose a pointing approach to interact with devices, as pointing is arguably a natural way for device selection. We introduce SeleCon for device selection and control which uses an ultra-wideband (UWB) equipped smartwatch. To interact with a device in our system, people can point to the device to select it then draw a hand gesture in the air to specify a control action. To this end, SeleCon employs inertial sensors for pointing gesture detection and a UWB transceiver for identifying the selected device from ranging measurements. Furthermore, SeleCon supports an alphabet of gestures that can be used for controlling the selected devices. We performed our experiment in a 9 m -by-10 m lab space with eight deployed devices. The results demonstrate that SeleCon can achieve 84.5% accuracy for device selection and 97% accuracy for hand gesture recognition. We also show that SeleCon is power efficient to sustain daily use by turning off the UWB transceiver, when a user's wrist is stationary.

Efficient Signature Based Malware Detection on Mobile Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deepak Venugopal

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The threat of malware on mobile devices is gaining attention recently. It is important to provide security solutions to these devices before these threats cause widespread damage. However, mobile devices have severe resource constraints in terms of memory and power. Hence, even though there are well developed techniques for malware detection on the PC domain, it requires considerable effort to adapt these techniques for mobile devices. In this paper, we outline the considerations for malware detection on mobile devices and propose a signature based malware detection method. Specifically, we detail a signature matching algorithm that is well suited for use in mobile device scanning due to its low memory requirements. Additionally, the matching algorithm is shown to have high scanning speed which makes it unobtrusive to users. Our evaluation and comparison study with the well known Clam-AV scanner shows that our solution consumes less than 50% of the memory used by Clam-AV while maintaining a fast scanning rate.

Proposal for a dual-gate spin field effect transistor: A device with very small switching voltage and a large ON to OFF conductance ratio

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, J.; Cahay, M.; Bandyopadhyay, S.

2008-06-01

We propose a new dual gate spin field effect transistor (SpinFET) consisting of a quasi one-dimensional semiconductor channel sandwiched between two half-metallic contacts. The gate voltage aligns and de-aligns the incident electron energy with Ramsauer resonance levels in the channel, thereby modulating the source-to-drain conductance. The device can be switched from ON to OFF with a few mV change in the gate voltage, resulting in exceedingly low dynamic power dissipation during switching. The conductance ON/OFF ratio stays fairly large ( ∼60) up to a temperature of 10 K. This conductance ratio is comparable to that achievable with carbon nanotube transistors.

Distances from the root apices of posterior teeth to the maxillary sinus and mandibular canal in patients with skeletal open bite: A cone-beam computed tomography study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kosumarl, Werinpimol [Dental Division, Suan Phueng Hospital, Ratchaburi (Thailand); Patanaporn, Virush; Jotikasthira, Dhirawat; Janhom, Apirum [Faculty of Dentistry, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai (Thailand)

2017-09-15

This study determined and compared the distances from the maxillary root apices of posterior teeth to the floor of the maxillary sinus, or maxillary sinus distances (MSDs), and the distances from the mandibular root apices of the posterior teeth to the mandibular canal, or mandibular canal distances (MCDs), in Thai subjects with skeletal open bite and skeletal normal bite. Pretreatment cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images were obtained from 30 Thai orthodontic patients (15 patients with skeletal normal bite and 15 with skeletal open bite) whose ages ranged from 14 to 28 years. The CBCT images of the patients were processed and measured using the Romexis Viewer program. The MSDs and MCDs from the root apices of the maxillary and mandibular second premolar, first molar, and second molar to the maxillary sinus floor or the mandibular canal were measured perpendicularly to the occlusal plane. The Student t test was used for comparisons between the 2 groups. The greatest mean MSDs were from the root apex of the second premolars in both groups, whereas the least mean MSDs were from the mesiobuccal root apex of the second molars. The greatest mean MCDs were from the mesial root apex of the first molars, whereas the least mean MCDs were from the distal root apex of the second molars. There were no differences in the mean MSDs or the mean MCDs between the skeletal normal bite group and the skeletal open bite group.

Distances from the root apices of posterior teeth to the maxillary sinus and mandibular canal in patients with skeletal open bite: A cone-beam computed tomography study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kosumarl, Werinpimol; Patanaporn, Virush; Jotikasthira, Dhirawat; Janhom, Apirum

2017-01-01

This study determined and compared the distances from the maxillary root apices of posterior teeth to the floor of the maxillary sinus, or maxillary sinus distances (MSDs), and the distances from the mandibular root apices of the posterior teeth to the mandibular canal, or mandibular canal distances (MCDs), in Thai subjects with skeletal open bite and skeletal normal bite. Pretreatment cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images were obtained from 30 Thai orthodontic patients (15 patients with skeletal normal bite and 15 with skeletal open bite) whose ages ranged from 14 to 28 years. The CBCT images of the patients were processed and measured using the Romexis Viewer program. The MSDs and MCDs from the root apices of the maxillary and mandibular second premolar, first molar, and second molar to the maxillary sinus floor or the mandibular canal were measured perpendicularly to the occlusal plane. The Student t test was used for comparisons between the 2 groups. The greatest mean MSDs were from the root apex of the second premolars in both groups, whereas the least mean MSDs were from the mesiobuccal root apex of the second molars. The greatest mean MCDs were from the mesial root apex of the first molars, whereas the least mean MCDs were from the distal root apex of the second molars. There were no differences in the mean MSDs or the mean MCDs between the skeletal normal bite group and the skeletal open bite group

Progress and Prospects in Stretchable Electroluminescent Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Jiangxin

2017-03-01

reviewed. Finally, we summarize with our perspectives on the approaches for the stretchable EL devices and our proposals on the future development in these devices.

Resource Allocation for Multicell Device-to-Device Communications in Cellular Network: A Game Theoretic Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Huang

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Device-to-Device (D2D communication has recently emerged as a promising technology to improve the capacity and coverage of cellular systems. To successfully implement D2D communications underlaying a cellular network, resource allocation for D2D links plays a critical role. While most of prior resource allocation mechanisms for D2D communications have focused on interference within a single-cell system, this paper investigates the resource allocation problem for a multicell cellular network in which a D2D link reuses available spectrum resources of multiple cells. A repeated game theoretic approach is proposed to address the problem. In this game, the base stations (BSs act as players that compete for resource supply of D2D, and the utility of each player is formulated as revenue collected from both cellular and D2D users using resources. Extensive simulations are conducted to verify the proposed approach and the results show that it can considerably enhance the system performance in terms of sum rate and sum rate gain.

Investigation of electro-optical properties for electrochemical luminescence device with a new electrode structure

Science.gov (United States)

Ok, Jung-Woo; Pooyodying, Pattarapon; Anuntahirunrat, Jirapat; Sung, Youl-Moon

2018-04-01

In this paper, we investigate electrochemical luminescent (ECL) device with a new structure and the ECL cell device with proposed electrode configuration works reliably at AC voltage. In particular, the conventional ECL cell has counter electrodes in which a cathode and an anode are opposed to each other, whereas the proposed structure has parallel electrodes in which a cathode and an anode are arranged on a single substrate. The proposed electrode configuration has a structural feature that electric short-circuiting is less likely to occur during bending than the conventional electrode configuration. The electro-optical characteristics of the new electrode configuration such as the current density, the light emission intensity, and the time evolution of the emission are investigated. The proposed ECL device exhibited higher light emitting efficiency than the conventional structure. Especially, at AC operation mode, the new structure showed the distinctive luminescence characteristic which is combined the first luminescence near the surface of electrode with the delayed second luminescence near the center of between electrodes. It was closely related to the behavior of luminescent particles. The proposed the ECL cell structure is expected to be utilized as a flexible display device by taking advantage of its characteristics and practicality.

A new challenge for advertising on mobile devices: Social TV

OpenAIRE

Natalia Quintas-Froufe; Ana González-Neira

2015-01-01

Mobile device advertising is a rapidly growing market due to the penetration of mobile devices in Spanish society. Advertising communication in this digital ecosystem continually poses new challenges. One of these - the subject of this proposal - is the link-up between mobile advertising with social TV. It opens up new possibilities for the development of advertising strategies on mobile devices.The aim of this paper is to describe the challenges faced by the Spanish advertising industry with...

Fiscal 1999 research report. Development of ultralow- loss power device technology (Survey on next-generation practical power semiconductor devices); 1999 nendo choteisonshitsu denryoku soshi gijutsu kaihatsu seika hokokusho. Jisedai power handotai device jitsuyoka chosa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

This research proposes the clear developmental policy and target for 'Development project of ultralow-loss power device technology' through the research on power electronics or advanced power semiconductor devices as key technology of conversion loss reduction for various power applications and power supply systems. Main research issues are as follows. A bidirectional current switch using P-MOS FETs is promising as an ace of power system interconnection control equipment. IEGT as MOS gate high-power device will be substituted for GTO gradually. SiC devices will play the leading part of low- loss power devices for inverters of power converters, power systems of electric vehicles, Shinkansen and maglev railways, power systems of information and communication systems, and DC power systems. Size and cost reduction of low-noise soft switching as application technology of power devices are possible by using active circuits. Development of high- efficiency low-noise compact inexpensive inverters is an important issue. Countermeasures against various losses of inverters are also described. (NEDO)

Real-time global illumination on mobile device

Science.gov (United States)

Ahn, Minsu; Ha, Inwoo; Lee, Hyong-Euk; Kim, James D. K.

2014-02-01

We propose a novel method for real-time global illumination on mobile devices. Our approach is based on instant radiosity, which uses a sequence of virtual point lights in order to represent the e ect of indirect illumination. Our rendering process consists of three stages. With the primary light, the rst stage generates a local illumination with the shadow map on GPU The second stage of the global illumination uses the re ective shadow map on GPU and generates the sequence of virtual point lights on CPU. Finally, we use the splatting method of Dachsbacher et al 1 and add the indirect illumination to the local illumination on GPU. With the limited computing resources in mobile devices, a small number of virtual point lights are allowed for real-time rendering. Our approach uses the multi-resolution sampling method with 3D geometry and attributes simultaneously and reduce the total number of virtual point lights. We also use the hybrid strategy, which collaboratively combines the CPUs and GPUs available in a mobile SoC due to the limited computing resources in mobile devices. Experimental results demonstrate the global illumination performance of the proposed method.

Sensor device for X-ray beam to evaluate the radiation focal spot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, Lara H.E. dos; Schiabel, Homero; Silva, Aderbal A.B. da; Marques, Paulo M.A.; Campos, Marcelo; Slaets, Annie F.F.

1996-01-01

A new electronic device to determine the position of the central ray of the radiation beam is proposed. The device aims to provide a perfect alignment of test objects used for evaluating focal spots with this reference axis

Innovating transformative medical devices and growing the local medical device manufacturing sector

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Bunn, Tony

2017-01-01

Full Text Available . The 4IR is marked by emerging technology breakthroughs in a number of fields, including robotics, genomics, biosensors and wearables, AI, the internet of things, quantum computing, big data predictive analytics, 3D printing/additive manufacturing... of personalized prosthetics and products • Personalized devices and technologies for precision medicine Secure Airway Clamp for safer Anaesthesia MANDIBULAR IMPLANTS PATIENT 2 PATIENT 1 PATIENT 3 PATIENT CT SCAN 3D PRINTED TITANIUM IMPLANT PROPOSED...

SmartMal: A Service-Oriented Behavioral Malware Detection Framework for Mobile Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chao Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents SmartMal—a novel service-oriented behavioral malware detection framework for vehicular and mobile devices. The highlight of SmartMal is to introduce service-oriented architecture (SOA concepts and behavior analysis into the malware detection paradigms. The proposed framework relies on client-server architecture, the client continuously extracts various features and transfers them to the server, and the server’s main task is to detect anomalies using state-of-art detection algorithms. Multiple distributed servers simultaneously analyze the feature vector using various detectors and information fusion is used to concatenate the results of detectors. We also propose a cycle-based statistical approach for mobile device anomaly detection. We accomplish this by analyzing the users’ regular usage patterns. Empirical results suggest that the proposed framework and novel anomaly detection algorithm are highly effective in detecting malware on Android devices.

Investigation of a double oscillating-fan cooling device using electromagnetic force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Su, Hsien-Chin; Xu, Han Yang

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The characteristics of a double oscillating-fan cooling device using electromagnetic force was investigated. • The driving current can be either DC PWM or AC within 3–12 V. • The comparison between a double blower pair, the model and a synjet were examined. • A 50 mm ∗ 50 mm ∗ 15 mm model can provide the flow rate of 154.89 l/min while consuming 0.65 W. • The flow rate, sound pressure, power consumption and two thermal tests have been done. - Abstract: This study proposes a double oscillating-fan cooling device using electromagnetic force. The device consists of two oscillating-fans. It requires only one electromagnet and two fan sheets with one magnet on each of them. The electromagnet and fan sheets are situated on a base and arranged accordingly. The electromagnetic force generated by the electromagnet can actuate the fan sheets. The main advantage of the device is its simple structure because there is no bearing and motor in the device. The driving current can be either DC PWM (Pulse width modulation) or AC (Alternating current) within 3–12 V so it is compatible with most electronic devices. The dimensions of the proposed model are 50 mm ∗ 50 mm ∗ 15 mm during operation. Concerning flow rate, sound pressure, power consumption and resonant frequency tests, a comparison between the proposed model and different type of cooling devices has been completed. The result shows that the model can provide cooling ability similar to a rotary fan while consuming 40% of the power of the rotary fan. It shows not only a good cooling ability but also a great potential for structural reliability and design flexibility.

Enabling Dynamic Security Management of Networked Systems via Device-Embedded Security

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Ganger, Gregory

2000-01-01

This report contains the technical content of a recent funding proposal. In it, we propose a new approach to network security in which each individual device erects its own security perimeter and defends its own critical resources...

The Total Deviation Index estimated by Tolerance Intervals to evaluate the concordance of measurement devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ascaso Carlos

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In an agreement assay, it is of interest to evaluate the degree of agreement between the different methods (devices, instruments or observers used to measure the same characteristic. We propose in this study a technical simplification for inference about the total deviation index (TDI estimate to assess agreement between two devices of normally-distributed measurements and describe its utility to evaluate inter- and intra-rater agreement if more than one reading per subject is available for each device. Methods We propose to estimate the TDI by constructing a probability interval of the difference in paired measurements between devices, and thereafter, we derive a tolerance interval (TI procedure as a natural way to make inferences about probability limit estimates. We also describe how the proposed method can be used to compute bounds of the coverage probability. Results The approach is illustrated in a real case example where the agreement between two instruments, a handle mercury sphygmomanometer device and an OMRON 711 automatic device, is assessed in a sample of 384 subjects where measures of systolic blood pressure were taken twice by each device. A simulation study procedure is implemented to evaluate and compare the accuracy of the approach to two already established methods, showing that the TI approximation produces accurate empirical confidence levels which are reasonably close to the nominal confidence level. Conclusions The method proposed is straightforward since the TDI estimate is derived directly from a probability interval of a normally-distributed variable in its original scale, without further transformations. Thereafter, a natural way of making inferences about this estimate is to derive the appropriate TI. Constructions of TI based on normal populations are implemented in most standard statistical packages, thus making it simpler for any practitioner to implement our proposal to assess agreement.

A Study of the Usability of Ergonomic Camera Vest Based on Spirometry Parameters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shirazeh Arghami

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Being a cameraman is one of those occupations that expose people to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs. Therefore, control measures should be taken to protect cameramen’s health. To solve the given problem, a vest was designed for cameramen to prevent MSDs by reducing the pressure and contact stress while carrying the camera on their shoulder. However, the usability of vest had to be considered. The aim of this study was to determine the usability of the proposed vest using the spirometry parameters indicator. Methods: In this experimental study, 120 spirometry experiments were conducted with 40 male volunteer subjects with and without designed vest. Data were analyzed using SPSS- 16 with dependent t-test, at 0.05 significance level. Results: Based on the spirometry results, there is a significant difference between Forced Vital Capacity (FVC, Forced Expiratory Volume (FEV1 and heart rate in activity with and without vest (p<0.001. Conclusion: The results suggest that the promising impact of this invention on the health of cameramen makes this domestically designed camera vest a good option for mass production.

Energy transport in cooling device by magnetic fluid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamaguchi, Hiroshi, E-mail: hyamaguc@mail.doshisha.ac.jp [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Doshisha University, Kyo-tanabe, Kyoto 610-0321 (Japan); Iwamoto, Yuhiro [Department of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8555 (Japan)

2017-06-01

Temperature sensitive magnetic fluid has a great potential with high performance heat transport ability as well as long distance energy (heat) transporting. In the present study experimental set-up was newly designed and constructed in order to measure basic heat transport characteristics under various magnetic field conditions. Angular dependence for the device (heat transfer section) was also taken into consideration for a sake of practical applications. The energy transfer characteristic (heat transport capability) in the magnetically-driven heat transport (cooling) device using the binary TSMF was fully investigated with the set-up. The obtained results indicate that boiling of the organic mixture (before the magnetic fluid itself reaching boiling point) effectively enhances the heat transfer as well as boosting the flow to circulate in the closed loop by itself. A long-distance heat transport of 5 m is experimentally confirmed, transferring the thermal energy of 35.8 W, even when the device (circulation loop) is horizontally placed. The highlighted results reveal that the proposed cooling device is innovative in a sense of transporting substantial amount of thermal energy (heat) as well as a long distance heat transport. The development of the magnetically-driven heat transport device has a great potential to be replaced for the conventional heat pipe in application of thermal engineering. - Highlights: • Temperature-sensitive magnetic fluid (TSMF) has a great heat transport ability. • Magnetically-driven heat transport device using binary TSMF is proposed. • The basic heat transport characteristics are investigated. • Boiling of the organic mixture effectively enhances the heat transfer. • A long-distance heat transport of 5 m is experimentally confirmed.

Energy transport in cooling device by magnetic fluid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamaguchi, Hiroshi; Iwamoto, Yuhiro

2017-01-01

Temperature sensitive magnetic fluid has a great potential with high performance heat transport ability as well as long distance energy (heat) transporting. In the present study experimental set-up was newly designed and constructed in order to measure basic heat transport characteristics under various magnetic field conditions. Angular dependence for the device (heat transfer section) was also taken into consideration for a sake of practical applications. The energy transfer characteristic (heat transport capability) in the magnetically-driven heat transport (cooling) device using the binary TSMF was fully investigated with the set-up. The obtained results indicate that boiling of the organic mixture (before the magnetic fluid itself reaching boiling point) effectively enhances the heat transfer as well as boosting the flow to circulate in the closed loop by itself. A long-distance heat transport of 5 m is experimentally confirmed, transferring the thermal energy of 35.8 W, even when the device (circulation loop) is horizontally placed. The highlighted results reveal that the proposed cooling device is innovative in a sense of transporting substantial amount of thermal energy (heat) as well as a long distance heat transport. The development of the magnetically-driven heat transport device has a great potential to be replaced for the conventional heat pipe in application of thermal engineering. - Highlights: • Temperature-sensitive magnetic fluid (TSMF) has a great heat transport ability. • Magnetically-driven heat transport device using binary TSMF is proposed. • The basic heat transport characteristics are investigated. • Boiling of the organic mixture effectively enhances the heat transfer. • A long-distance heat transport of 5 m is experimentally confirmed.

Physical characteristics modification of a SiGe-HBT semiconductor device for performance improvement in a terahertz detecting system

Science.gov (United States)

Ghodsi, Hamed; Kaatuzian, Hassan

2015-05-01

In order to improve the performance of a pre-designed direct conversion terahertz detector which is implemented in a 0.25 μm-SiGe-BiCMOS process, we propose some slight modifications in the bipolar section of the SiGe device physical design. Comparison of our new proposed device and the previously reported device is done by SILVACO TCAD software simulation and we have used previous experimentally reported data to confirm our software simulations. Our proposed modifications in device structural design show a present device responsivity improvement of about 10% from 1 to 1.1 A/W while the bandwidth improvement is about 218 GHz. The minimum noise equivalent power at detector output is increased by about 14.3% and finally power consumption per pixel at the maximum responsivity is decreased by about 5%.

Automatic disease diagnosis using optimised weightless neural networks for low-power wearable devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheruku, Ramalingaswamy; Edla, Damodar Reddy; Kuppili, Venkatanareshbabu; Dharavath, Ramesh; Beechu, Nareshkumar Reddy

2017-08-01

Low-power wearable devices for disease diagnosis are used at anytime and anywhere. These are non-invasive and pain-free for the better quality of life. However, these devices are resource constrained in terms of memory and processing capability. Memory constraint allows these devices to store a limited number of patterns and processing constraint provides delayed response. It is a challenging task to design a robust classification system under above constraints with high accuracy. In this Letter, to resolve this problem, a novel architecture for weightless neural networks (WNNs) has been proposed. It uses variable sized random access memories to optimise the memory usage and a modified binary TRIE data structure for reducing the test time. In addition, a bio-inspired-based genetic algorithm has been employed to improve the accuracy. The proposed architecture is experimented on various disease datasets using its software and hardware realisations. The experimental results prove that the proposed architecture achieves better performance in terms of accuracy, memory saving and test time as compared to standard WNNs. It also outperforms in terms of accuracy as compared to conventional neural network-based classifiers. The proposed architecture is a powerful part of most of the low-power wearable devices for the solution of memory, accuracy and time issues.

Power-Efficient Beacon Recognition Method Based on Periodic Wake-Up for Industrial Wireless Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Soonyong; Lee, Donghun; Jang, Ingook; Choi, Jinchul; Son, Youngsung

2018-04-17

Energy harvester-integrated wireless devices are attractive for generating semi-permanent power from wasted energy in industrial environments. The energy-harvesting wireless devices may have difficulty in their communication with access points due to insufficient power supply for beacon recognition during network initialization. In this manuscript, we propose a novel method of beacon recognition based on wake-up control to reduce instantaneous power consumption in the initialization procedure. The proposed method applies a moving window for the periodic wake-up of the wireless devices. For unsynchronized wireless devices, beacons are always located in the same positions within each beacon interval even though the starting offsets are unknown. Using these characteristics, the moving window checks the existence of the beacon associated withspecified resources in a beacon interval, checks again for neighboring resources at the next beacon interval, and so on. This method can reduce instantaneous power and generates a surplus of charging time. Thus, the proposed method alleviates the problems of power insufficiency in the network initialization. The feasibility of the proposed method is evaluated using computer simulations of power shortage in various energy-harvesting conditions.

SeleCon: Scalable IoT Device Selection and Control Using Hand Gestures

Science.gov (United States)

Alanwar, Amr; Alzantot, Moustafa; Ho, Bo-Jhang; Martin, Paul; Srivastava, Mani

2018-01-01

Although different interaction modalities have been proposed in the field of human-computer interface (HCI), only a few of these techniques could reach the end users because of scalability and usability issues. Given the popularity and the growing number of IoT devices, selecting one out of many devices becomes a hurdle in a typical smarthome environment. Therefore, an easy-to-learn, scalable, and non-intrusive interaction modality has to be explored. In this paper, we propose a pointing approach to interact with devices, as pointing is arguably a natural way for device selection. We introduce SeleCon for device selection and control which uses an ultra-wideband (UWB) equipped smartwatch. To interact with a device in our system, people can point to the device to select it then draw a hand gesture in the air to specify a control action. To this end, SeleCon employs inertial sensors for pointing gesture detection and a UWB transceiver for identifying the selected device from ranging measurements. Furthermore, SeleCon supports an alphabet of gestures that can be used for controlling the selected devices. We performed our experiment in a 9m-by-10m lab space with eight deployed devices. The results demonstrate that SeleCon can achieve 84.5% accuracy for device selection and 97% accuracy for hand gesture recognition. We also show that SeleCon is power efficient to sustain daily use by turning off the UWB transceiver, when a user’s wrist is stationary. PMID:29683151

Platelet-rich plasma: updating of extraction devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raquel Moreno

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Propose: To describe PRP extraction devices, through a review of kits available in Spain, taking into account AEMPS and SEFH working groups (GPS, Farmacotecnia, Hemoderivados groups contributions. Methods: Three independent searches about PRP extraction devices were carried out. Device suppliers were contacted and an individually meeting was called with each one. Characteristics of each device was reviewed by virtual demonstration. A kits comparison chart was made with all the information acquired. Kits were classified as Closed-Technique and Opened- Technique in accordance with the AEMPS technical committee report. Results: Ten devices were found: ACP®; Angel®, Cascade®, Endoret ®, GPS®, Magellan®, Minos®, Ortho-pras®, Smart-prepr® and Tricell®. However, we could found out the mechanism in detail of seven of them. Information about Cascade®, Magellan ® and Smart-prepr® kits was not enough. Conclusion: The review provided the main PRP extraction devices available with CE marking and its distinguishing characteristics, however, it is crucial to pay attention to PRP extraction procedure and administration, to guarantee the final product quality. Pharmacy Department must get involved in the device selections due to the close link with the manufactured drug quality. Working together with the AEMPS will contribute to defining extraction procedure specifically.

The PMIPv6-Based Group Binding Update for IoT Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianfeng Guan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Internet of Things (IoT has been booming with rapid increase of the various wearable devices, vehicle embedded devices, and so on, and providing the effective mobility management for these IoT devices becomes a challenge due to the different application scenarios as well as the limited energy and bandwidth. Recently, lots of researchers have focused on this topic and proposed several solutions based on the combination of IoT features and traditional mobility management protocols, in which most of these schemes take the IoT devices as mobile networks and adopt the NEtwork MObility (NEMO and its variants to provide the mobility support. However, these solutions are in face of the heavy signaling cost problem. Since IoT devices are generally combined to realize the complex functions, these devices may have similar movement behaviors. Clearly analyzing these characters and using them in the mobility management will reduce the signaling cost and improve the scalability. Motivated by this, we propose a PMIPv6-based group binding update method. In particular, we describe its group creation procedure, analyze its impact on the mobility management, and derive its reduction ratio in terms of signaling cost. The final results show that the introduction of group binding update can remarkably reduce the signaling cost.

Ubi-RKE: A Rhythm Key Based Encryption Scheme for Ubiquitous Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae Dong Lee

2014-01-01

Full Text Available As intelligent ubiquitous devices become more popular, security threats targeting them are increasing; security is seen as one of the major challenges of the ubiquitous computing. Now a days, applying ubiquitous computing in number of fields for human safety and convenience was immensely increased in recent years. The popularity of the technology is rising day by day, and hence the security is becoming the main focused point with the advent and rising popularity of the applications. In particular, the number of wireless networks based on ubiquitous devices has increased rapidly; these devices support transmission for many types of data traffic. The convenient portability of ubiquitous devices makes them vulnerable to security threats, such as loss, theft, data modification, and wiretapping. Developers and users should seriously consider employing data encryption to protect data from such vulnerabilities. In this paper, we propose a Rhythm Key based Encryption scheme for ubiquitous devices (Ubi-RKE. The concept of Rhythm Key based Encryption has been applied to numerous real world applications in different domains. It provides key memorability and secure encryption through user touching rhythm on ubiquitous devices. Our proposed scheme is more efficient for users than existing schemes, by providing a strong cipher.

Fabrication of paper-based analytical devices optimized by central composite design.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamedpour, Vahid; Leardi, Riccardo; Suzuki, Koji; Citterio, Daniel

2018-04-30

In this work, an application of a design of experiments approach for the optimization of an isoniazid assay on a single-area inkjet-printed paper-based analytical device (PAD) is described. For this purpose, a central composite design was used for evaluation of the effect of device geometry and amount of assay reagents on the efficiency of the proposed device. The factors of interest were printed length, width, and sampling volume as factors related to device geometry, and amounts of the assay reagents polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), NH4OH, and AgNO3. Deposition of the assay reagents was performed by a thermal inkjet printer. The colorimetric assay mechanism of this device is based on the chemical interaction of isoniazid, ammonium hydroxide, and PVA with silver ions to induce the formation of yellow silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The in situ-formed AgNPs can be easily detected by the naked eye or with a simple flat-bed scanner. Under optimal conditions, the calibration curve was linear in the isoniazid concentration range 0.03-10 mmol L-1 with a relative standard deviation of 3.4% (n = 5 for determination of 1.0 mmol L-1). Finally, the application of the proposed device for isoniazid determination in pharmaceutical preparations produced satisfactory results.

A simple proposal for Rayleigh's scaterring experiment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriano José Ortiz

2010-03-01

Full Text Available This work presents an alternative proposal for Rayleigh's scattering experiment presented and discussed in Krapas and Santos (2002 in this journal. Besides being simple and low-cost, the proposal suggested here is also proposing to demonstrate experimentally other physical phenomena such as polarization of light from the sky, the rainbow and reflection on non-conductive surfaces, as well as determine the direction of these biases. The polarization will be observed with the aid of Polaroid obtained from liquid crystal displays taken from damaged electronic devices and the Polaroid polarization direction will be established by the observation of Brewester's angle in reflection experiment.

Investigation of Unequal Planar Wireless Electricity Device for Efficient Wireless Power Transfer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. H. Mohd Salleh

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on the design and investigation of a pair of unequally sized wireless electricity (Witricity devices that are equipped with integrated planar coil strips. The proposed pair of devices consists of two different square-shaped resonator sizes of 120 mm × 120 mm and 80 mm × 80 mm, acting as a transmitter and receiver, respectively. The devices are designed, simulated and optimized using the CST Microwave Studio software prior to being fabricated and verified using a vector network analyzer (VNA. The surface current results of the coupled devices indicate a good current density at 10 mm to 30 mm distance range. This good current density demonstrates that the coupled devices’ surface has more electric current per unit area, which leads to a good performance up to 30 mm range. Hence, the results also reveal good coupling efficiency between the coupled devices, which is approximately 54.5% at up to a 30 mm distance, with both devices axially aligned. In addition, a coupling efficiency of 50% is achieved when a maximum lateral misalignment (LM of 10 mm, and a varied angular misalignment (AM from 0° to 40° are implemented to the proposed device.

Bio-sample detection on paper-based devices with inkjet printer-sprayed reagents.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Wun-Hong; Chu, Chien-Hung; Yang, Ruey-Jen

2015-12-01

The reagent required for bio-sample detection on paper-based analytical devices is generally introduced manually using a pipette. Such an approach is time-consuming; particularly if a large number of devices are required. Automated methods provide a far more convenient solution for large-scale production, but incur a substantial cost. Accordingly, the present study proposes a low-cost method for the paper-based analytical devices in which the biochemical reagents are sprayed onto the device directly using a modified commercial inkjet printer. The feasibility of the proposed method is demonstrated by performing aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) tests using simple two-dimensional (2D) paper-based devices. In both cases, the reaction process is analyzed using an image-processing-based colorimetric method. The experimental results show that for AST detection within the 0-105 U/l concentration range, the optimal observation time is around four minutes, while for ALT detection in the 0-125 U/l concentration range, the optimal observation time is approximately one minute. Finally, for both samples, the detection performance of the sprayed-reagent analytical devices is insensitive to the glucose concentration. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

77 FR 6028 - Taxable Medical Devices

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-07

... sold as part of an x-ray system. Commentators also requested information on the tax treatment of..., mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease; or intended to affect the structure or any function of the... subject to an IDE is not a ``taxable medical device'' under the proposed regulations. VI. Dental...

A new JPEG-based steganographic algorithm for mobile devices

Science.gov (United States)

Agaian, Sos S.; Cherukuri, Ravindranath C.; Schneider, Erik C.; White, Gregory B.

2006-05-01

Currently, cellular phones constitute a significant portion of the global telecommunications market. Modern cellular phones offer sophisticated features such as Internet access, on-board cameras, and expandable memory which provide these devices with excellent multimedia capabilities. Because of the high volume of cellular traffic, as well as the ability of these devices to transmit nearly all forms of data. The need for an increased level of security in wireless communications is becoming a growing concern. Steganography could provide a solution to this important problem. In this article, we present a new algorithm for JPEG-compressed images which is applicable to mobile platforms. This algorithm embeds sensitive information into quantized discrete cosine transform coefficients obtained from the cover JPEG. These coefficients are rearranged based on certain statistical properties and the inherent processing and memory constraints of mobile devices. Based on the energy variation and block characteristics of the cover image, the sensitive data is hidden by using a switching embedding technique proposed in this article. The proposed system offers high capacity while simultaneously withstanding visual and statistical attacks. Based on simulation results, the proposed method demonstrates an improved retention of first-order statistics when compared to existing JPEG-based steganographic algorithms, while maintaining a capacity which is comparable to F5 for certain cover images.

Neuron Stimulation Device Integrated with Silicon Nanowire-Based Photodetection Circuit on a Flexible Substrate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suk Won Jung

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a neural stimulation device integrated with a silicon nanowire (SiNW-based photodetection circuit for the activation of neurons with light. The proposed device is comprised of a voltage divider and a current driver in which SiNWs are used as photodetector and field-effect transistors; it has the functions of detecting light, generating a stimulation signal in proportion to the light intensity, and transmitting the signal to a micro electrode. To show the applicability of the proposed neural stimulation device as a high-resolution retinal prosthesis system, a high-density neural stimulation device with a unit cell size of 110 × 110 μ m and a resolution of 32 × 32 was fabricated on a flexible film with a thickness of approximately 50 μm. Its effectiveness as a retinal stimulation device was then evaluated using a unit cell in an in vitro animal experiment involving the retinal tissue of retinal Degeneration 1 (rd1 mice. Experiments wherein stimulation pulses were applied to the retinal tissues successfully demonstrate that the number of spikes in neural response signals increases in proportion to light intensity.

A manufacturable process integration approach for graphene devices

Science.gov (United States)

Vaziri, Sam; Lupina, Grzegorz; Paussa, Alan; Smith, Anderson D.; Henkel, Christoph; Lippert, Gunther; Dabrowski, Jarek; Mehr, Wolfgang; Östling, Mikael; Lemme, Max C.

2013-06-01

In this work, we propose an integration approach for double gate graphene field effect transistors. The approach includes a number of process steps that are key for future integration of graphene in microelectronics: bottom gates with ultra-thin (2 nm) high-quality thermally grown SiO2 dielectrics, shallow trench isolation between devices and atomic layer deposited Al2O3 top gate dielectrics. The complete process flow is demonstrated with fully functional GFET transistors and can be extended to wafer scale processing. We assess, through simulation, the effects of the quantum capacitance and band bending in the silicon substrate on the effective electric fields in the top and bottom gate oxide. The proposed process technology is suitable for other graphene-based devices such as graphene-based hot electron transistors and photodetectors.

Spin state determination using Stern-Gerlach device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shirokov, M.I.

1996-01-01

The well-known Stern-Gerlach device is proposed here for determination of a particle spin state instead of using it for measurement of spin observables. It is shown that measurement of particle momentum distributions (before and after the action of the device magnetic field) allows one to determine the particle initial spin state in the case of an arbitrary spin value. It is demonstrated that one cannot use for this purpose the usual treatment of the Stern-Gerlach experiment based on the entanglement of spin and spatial states. 11 refs

Power generating device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Onodera, Toshihiro

1989-05-02

The existing power generating device consisting of static components only lacks effective measures to utilize solar energy and maintain power generation, hence it is inevitable to make the device much larger and more complicated in order to utilize it as the primary power source for artificial satellites. In view of the above, in order to offer a power generating device useful for the primary power source for satellites which is simple and can keep power generation by solar energy, this invention proposes a power generating device composed of the following elements: (1) a rectangular parallelopiped No. II superconductor plate; (2) a measure to apply a magnetic field to one face of the above superconductor plate; (3) a measure to provide a temperature difference within the range between the starting temperature and the critical temperature of superconductivity to a pair of faces meeting at right angles with the face to which the magnetic field was applied by the above measure; (4) a measure to provide an electrode on each of the other pair of faces meeting at right angles with the face to which the magnetic field was applied by the above measure and form a closed circuit by connecting the each electrode above to each of a pair of electrodes of the load respectively; and (5) a switching measure which is installed in the closed circuit prepared by the above measure and shuts off the closed circuit when the direction of the electric current running the above closed circuit is reversed. 6 figs.

Malaria survey and malaria control detachments in the South-West Pacific Area in World War 2.

Science.gov (United States)

Crocker, Denton W

2009-01-01

Malaria among troops in the South-West Pacific Area (SWPA) in World War 2 affected the military effort to the degree that special units were formed to combat it. These malaria survey detachments (MSDs) and malaria control detachments (MCDs) were self-contained and so could move quickly to wherever their services were needed. In SWPA by 25 September 1944 there were 32 MSDs and 65 MCDs. Tables of organization called for 11 enlisted men in MSDs and MCDs, two officers in MSDs and one in MCDs. Detachments served throughout the SWPA. Detailed records of the 31st MSD show that in addition to antimalarial efforts it worked at control of scrub typhus, dengue and venereal disease, at reduction of rat populations and in experimental work involving DDT and schistosomiasis. Specific locations of the 31st MSD were New Guinea (3 sites), Morotai, Leyte, Mindoro, Okinawa and Japan. The detachment served overseas for 21 months. Experience in combating malaria in SWPA in World War 2 points to the need for better and continuous training of both medical and line officers in malaria prevention and control.

Preferred 11 different job rotation types in automotive company and their effects on productivity, quality and musculoskeletal disorders: comparison between subjective and actual scores by workers' age.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeon, In Sik; Jeong, Byung Yong; Jeong, Ji Hyun

2016-10-01

This study investigates workers' favoured rotation types by their age and compares means between subjective and actual scores on productivity, quality and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The subjects of research were 422 assembly line units in Hyundai Motor Company. The survey of 422 units focused on the workers' preference for 11 different rotation types and subjective scores for each type's perceived benefits, both by the workers' age. Then, actual scores on production-related indices were traced over a five-year period. The results suggest that different rotation types lead to different results in productivity, product quality and MSDs. Workers tend to perceive job rotation as a helpful method to enhance satisfaction, productivity and product quality more so than the actual production data suggests. Job rotation was especially effective in preventing MSDs for workers aged under 45, while its effects were not clear for the workers aged 45 years or older. Practitioner's Summary: This research presents appropriate rotation type for different age groups. Taking workers' age into account, administrators can use the paper's outcomes to select and implement the suitable rotation type to attain specific goals such as enhancing productivity, improving product quality or reducing MSDs.

Secure data exchange between intelligent devices and computing centers

Science.gov (United States)

Naqvi, Syed; Riguidel, Michel

2005-03-01

The advent of reliable spontaneous networking technologies (commonly known as wireless ad-hoc networks) has ostensibly raised stakes for the conception of computing intensive environments using intelligent devices as their interface with the external world. These smart devices are used as data gateways for the computing units. These devices are employed in highly volatile environments where the secure exchange of data between these devices and their computing centers is of paramount importance. Moreover, their mission critical applications require dependable measures against the attacks like denial of service (DoS), eavesdropping, masquerading, etc. In this paper, we propose a mechanism to assure reliable data exchange between an intelligent environment composed of smart devices and distributed computing units collectively called 'computational grid'. The notion of infosphere is used to define a digital space made up of a persistent and a volatile asset in an often indefinite geographical space. We study different infospheres and present general evolutions and issues in the security of such technology-rich and intelligent environments. It is beyond any doubt that these environments will likely face a proliferation of users, applications, networked devices, and their interactions on a scale never experienced before. It would be better to build in the ability to uniformly deal with these systems. As a solution, we propose a concept of virtualization of security services. We try to solve the difficult problems of implementation and maintenance of trust on the one hand, and those of security management in heterogeneous infrastructure on the other hand.

Protection device for a thermonuclear device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawashima, Shuichi.

1986-01-01

Purpose: To exactly detect the void coefficients of coolants even under high magnetic fields thereby detect the overheat of a thermonuclear device at an early stage. Constitution: The protecting device of this invention comprises a laser beam generation device, a laser beam detection device and an accident detection device. The laser generation device always generates laser beams, which are permeated through coolants and detected by the laser beam detection device, the optical amount of which is transmitted to the accident detection device. The accident detection device judges the excess or insufficiency of the detected optical amount with respect to the optical amount of the laser beams under the stationary state as a reference and issues an accident signal. Since only the optical cables that do not undergo the effect of the magnetic fields are exposed to high magnetic fields in the protection device of this invention, a high reliability can be maintained. (Kamimura, M.)

Physical characteristics modification of a SiGe-HBT semiconductor device for performance improvement in a terahertz detecting system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghodsi, Hamed; Kaatuzian, Hassan

2015-01-01

In order to improve the performance of a pre-designed direct conversion terahertz detector which is implemented in a 0.25 μm-SiGe-BiCMOS process, we propose some slight modifications in the bipolar section of the SiGe device physical design. Comparison of our new proposed device and the previously reported device is done by SILVACO TCAD software simulation and we have used previous experimentally reported data to confirm our software simulations. Our proposed modifications in device structural design show a present device responsivity improvement of about 10% from 1 to 1.1 A/W while the bandwidth improvement is about 218 GHz. The minimum noise equivalent power at detector output is increased by about 14.3% and finally power consumption per pixel at the maximum responsivity is decreased by about 5%. (paper)

Proposed on Device Capability based Authentication using AES-GCM for Internet of Things (IoT)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Babar, Sachin D.; Mahalle, Parikshit N.; Prasad, Neeli R.

2011-01-01

Economics of scale in Internet of Things (IoT) presents new security challenges for ubiquitous devices in terms of authentication, addressing and embedded security. Currently available cryptographic techniques require further analysis to determine applicability to IoT. We introduce...

Efficient Protection of Android Applications through User Authentication Using Peripheral Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinseong Kim

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Android applications store large amounts of sensitive information that may be exposed and exploited. To prevent this security risk, some applications such as Syrup and KakaoTalk use physical device values to authenticate or encrypt application data. However, by manipulating these physical device values, an attacker can circumvent the authentication by executing a Same Identifier Attack and obtain the same application privileges as the user. In our work, WhatsApp, KakaoTalk, Facebook, Amazon, and Syrup were subjected to the Same Identifier Attack, and it was found that an attacker could gain the same privileges as the user, in all five applications. To solve such a problem, we propose a technical scheme—User Authentication using Peripheral Devices. We applied the proposed scheme to a Nexus 5X smartphone running Android version 7.1 and confirmed that the average execution time was 0.005 s, which does not affect the other applications’ execution significantly. We also describe the security aspects of the proposed scheme and its compatibility with the Android platform and other applications. The proposed scheme is practical and efficient in terms of resource usage; therefore, it will be useful for Android users to improve Android application security.

Development of a flexible and bendable vibrotactile actuator based on wave-shaped poly(vinyl chloride)/acetyl tributyl citrate gels for wearable electronic devices

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Won-Hyeong; Bae, Jin Woo; Shin, Eun-Jae; Kim, Sang-Youn

2016-11-01

The paradigm of consumer electronic devices is being shifted from rigid hand-held devices to flexible/wearable devices in search of benefits such as enhanced usability and portability, excellent wear characteristics, and more functions in less space. However, the fundamental incompatibility of flexible/wearable devices and a rigid actuator brought forth a new issue obstructing commercialization of flexible/wearable devices. In this paper, we propose a new wave-shaped eco-friendly PVC gel, and a new flexible and bendable vibrotactile actuator that could easily be applied to wearable electronic devices. We explain the vibration mechanism of the proposed vibrotactile actuator and investigate its influence on the content of plasticizer for the performance of the proposed actuator. An experiment for measuring vibrational amplitude was conducted over a wide frequency range. The experiment clearly showed that the proposed vibrotactile actuator could create a variety of haptic sensations in wearable devices.

Broadband Wireless Data Acquisition and Control Device, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Mobitrum is proposing to develop a broadband wireless device for real-time data acquisition and monitoring applicable to the field instrumentation and control...

A Study on Musculoskeletal Disorders and Personal and Occupational Risk Factors among Surgeons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Tirgar

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Background and purpose: Surgery is a high risk profession owing to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs. Fine and precise operations cause surgeons to adopt prolonged fixed posture. As there is limited information in this region, the purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of MSDs and personal and occupational risk factors among surgeons in Babol (a northern city in Iran. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 45 surgeons during 2011 using a questionnaire in three parts including: Demographic and occupational data, Nordic standardized musculoskeletal disorders questionnaire (NMQ, and Body Discomfort Assessment technique. The working posture during operation was assessed by Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistical indexes and chi- square test, and a p<0.05 was considered as significant. Results: According to the data, the mean of work experience was 19.9±6 years, and the mean of work hours was 54.2±14 (ranged 20-80 hours per week. Ninety five percent of surgeons reported experiencing one or more MSDs symptoms during the previous year. Neck pain (66.7% and low back pain (LBP (51% was the more frequent reported complaint. The results showed a significant statistical difference between LBP with weekly regular exercise and work experience. Conclusion: The results indicate that MSDs are the common problems among the surgeons and they are at risk because of their personal and occupational conditions. So, ergonomics interventions in order to prevent MSDs are recommended.

Biometric authentication for a mobile personal device

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tao, Q.; Veldhuis, Raymond N.J.

2006-01-01

Secure access is prerequisite for a mobile personal device (MPD) in a personal network (PN). An authentication method using biometrics, specifically face, is proposed in this paper. A fast face detection and registration method based on a Viola-Jones detector is implemented, and a

Biometric Authentication System on Mobile Personal Devices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tao, Q.; Veldhuis, Raymond N.J.

We propose a secure, robust, and low-cost biometric authentication system on the mobile personal device for the personal network. The system consists of the following five key modules: 1) face detection; 2) face registration; 3) illumination normalization; 4) face verification; and 5) information

Musculoskeletal Injuries and Their Associated Risk Factors

OpenAIRE

M Jahangiri; H Rahimi Fard; A.R Choobineh; S Mahmood Khani

2012-01-01

Background and aims :Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) is high among office workers. Long time seated posture, working with computer, repetitive movements and inappropriate environmental conditions may have causal effects in these disorders. High prevalence rate of MSDs makes ergonomics assessment and working conditions improvement necessary. Designing an assessment checklist and calculating ergonomics indices can be useful in this evaluation. This study was conducted with the ob...

78 FR 36702 - Cardiovascular Devices; Reclassification of Intra-Aortic Balloon and Control Systems (IABP) for...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-19

.... FDA-2013-N-0581] Cardiovascular Devices; Reclassification of Intra-Aortic Balloon and Control Systems... Device In the preamble to the proposed rule (44 FR 13369; March 9, 1979), the Cardiovascular Device... Bypass Grafting: A Propensity Score Analysis,'' Interactive Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, vol. 9...

Proposal for multiple-valued logic in gated semiconducting carbon nanotubes

Science.gov (United States)

Dragoman, D.; Dragoman, M.

2006-06-01

The proposal for an implementation of multi-valued logical devices based on excited states of a single quantum well is analysed for various configurations of carbon nanotube quantum wells, which were already experimentally demonstrated at room temperature. The best configuration, which gathers all the advantages of multi-valued logic, is a gated carbon nanotube device where the quantum well is imprinted via DC voltages applied on gate electrodes.

Electron transport in nano-scaled piezoelectronic devices

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Zhengping; Kuroda, Marcelo A.; Tan, Yaohua; Newns, Dennis M.; Povolotskyi, Michael; Boykin, Timothy B.; Kubis, Tillmann; Klimeck, Gerhard; Martyna, Glenn J.

2013-05-01

The Piezoelectronic Transistor (PET) has been proposed as a post-CMOS device for fast, low-power switching. In this device, the piezoresistive channel is metalized via the expansion of a relaxor piezoelectric element to turn the device on. The mixed-valence compound SmSe is a good choice of PET channel material because of its isostructural pressure-induced continuous metal insulator transition, which is well characterized in bulk single crystals. Prediction and optimization of the performance of a realistic, nano-scaled PET based on SmSe requires the understanding of quantum confinement, tunneling, and the effect of metal interface. In this work, a computationally efficient empirical tight binding (ETB) model is developed for SmSe to study quantum transport in these systems and the scaling limit of PET channel lengths. Modulation of the SmSe band gap under pressure is successfully captured by ETB, and ballistic conductance shows orders of magnitude change under hydrostatic strain, supporting operability of the PET device at nanoscale.

Spin-wave logic devices based on isotropic forward volume magnetostatic waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klingler, S.; Pirro, P.; Brächer, T.; Leven, B.; Hillebrands, B.; Chumak, A. V.

2015-01-01

We propose the utilization of isotropic forward volume magnetostatic spin waves in modern wave-based logic devices and suggest a concrete design for a spin-wave majority gate operating with these waves. We demonstrate by numerical simulations that the proposed out-of-plane magnetized majority gate overcomes the limitations of anisotropic in-plane magnetized majority gates due to the high spin-wave transmission through the gate, which enables a reduced energy consumption of these devices. Moreover, the functionality of the out-of-plane majority gate is increased due to the lack of parasitic generation of short-wavelength exchange spin waves

Spin-wave logic devices based on isotropic forward volume magnetostatic waves

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klingler, S., E-mail: stefan.klingler@wmi.badw-muenchen.de; Pirro, P.; Brächer, T.; Leven, B.; Hillebrands, B.; Chumak, A. V. [Fachbereich Physik and Landesforschungszentrum OPTIMAS, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, 67663 Kaiserslautern (Germany)

2015-05-25

We propose the utilization of isotropic forward volume magnetostatic spin waves in modern wave-based logic devices and suggest a concrete design for a spin-wave majority gate operating with these waves. We demonstrate by numerical simulations that the proposed out-of-plane magnetized majority gate overcomes the limitations of anisotropic in-plane magnetized majority gates due to the high spin-wave transmission through the gate, which enables a reduced energy consumption of these devices. Moreover, the functionality of the out-of-plane majority gate is increased due to the lack of parasitic generation of short-wavelength exchange spin waves.

Basic design of the beam diagnostic device and proposal of a new electrostatic optical element

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hanashima, Susumu [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokyo (Japan)

2001-02-01

The basic design completed of a beam diagnostic device, which indicates, among others, the phase space regions acceptable by the beams, and density distributions in the phase space as well. The measurement is made using two deflectors and two apertures. (M. Tanaka)

76 FR 58301 - Proposed Extension of Existing Information Collection; Automatic Fire Sensor and Warning Device...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-20

... Information Collection; Automatic Fire Sensor and Warning Device Systems; Examination and Test Requirements ACTION: Notice of request for public comments. SUMMARY: The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA... public comment version of this information collection package. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roslyn B...

Integrated Microfibre Device for Refractive Index and Temperature Sensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sulaiman W. Harun

2012-08-01

Full Text Available A microfibre device integrating a microfibre knot resonator in a Sagnac loop reflector is proposed for refractive index and temperature sensing. The reflective configuration of this optical structure offers the advantages of simple fabrication and ease of sensing. To achieve a balance between responsiveness and robustness, the entire microfibre structure is embedded in low index Teflon, except for the 0.5–2 mm diameter microfibre knot resonator sensing region. The proposed sensor has exhibited a linear spectral response with temperature and refractive index. A small change in free spectral range is observed when the microfibre device experiences a large refractive index change in the surrounding medium. The change is found to be in agreement with calculated results based on dispersion relationships.

Single-Image Distance Measurement by a Smart Mobile Device.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shangwen; Fang, Xianyong; Shen, Jianbing; Wang, Linbo; Shao, Ling

2017-12-01

Existing distance measurement methods either require multiple images and special photographing poses or only measure the height with a special view configuration. We propose a novel image-based method that can measure various types of distance from single image captured by a smart mobile device. The embedded accelerometer is used to determine the view orientation of the device. Consequently, pixels can be back-projected to the ground, thanks to the efficient calibration method using two known distances. Then the distance in pixel is transformed to a real distance in centimeter with a linear model parameterized by the magnification ratio. Various types of distance specified in the image can be computed accordingly. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Proposed tokamak poloidal field system development program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rogers, J.D.; Vogel, H.F.; Warren, R.W.; Weldon, D.M.

1977-05-01

A program is proposed to develop poloidal field components for TNS and EPR size tokamak devices and to test these components in realistic circuits. Emphasis is placed upon the development of the most difficult component, the superconducting ohmic-heating coil. Switches must also be developed for testing the coils, and this switching technology is to be extended to meet the requirements for the large scale tokamaks. Test facilities are discussed; power supplies, including a homopolar to drive the coils, are considered; and poloidal field systems studies are proposed.

Mobile devices and computing cloud resources allocation for interactive applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krawczyk Henryk

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Using mobile devices such as smartphones or iPads for various interactive applications is currently very common. In the case of complex applications, e.g. chess games, the capabilities of these devices are insufficient to run the application in real time. One of the solutions is to use cloud computing. However, there is an optimization problem of mobile device and cloud resources allocation. An iterative heuristic algorithm for application distribution is proposed. The algorithm minimizes the energy cost of application execution with constrained execution time.

Simulations of backgate sandwich nanowire MOSFETs with improved device performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Hengliang; Zhu Huilong; Zhong Jian; Ma Xiaolong; Wei Xing; Zhao Chao; Chen Dapeng; Ye Tianchun

2014-01-01

We propose a novel backgate sandwich nanowire MOSFET (SNFET), which offers the advantages of ETSOI (dynamic backgate voltage controllability) and nanowire FETs (good short channel effect). A backgate is used for threshold voltage (V t ) control of the SNFET. Compared with a backgate FinFET with a punch-through stop layer (PTSL), the SNFET possesses improved device performance. 3D device simulations indicate that the SNFET has a three times larger overdrive current, a ∼75% smaller off leakage current, and reduced subthreshold swing (SS) and DIBL than those of a backgate FinFET when the nanowire (NW) and the fin are of equal width. A new process flow to fabricate the backgate SNFET is also proposed in this work. Our analytical model suggests that V t control by the backgate can be attributed to the capacitances formed by the frontgate, NW, and backgate. The SNFET devices are compatible with the latest state-of-the-art high-k/metal gate CMOS technology with the unique capability of independent backgate control for nFETs and pFETs, which is promising for sub-22 nm scaling down. (semiconductor devices)

Non-binary Colour Modulation for Display Device Based on Phase Change Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Hong-Kai; Tong, Hao; Qian, Hang; Hui, Ya-Juan; Liu, Nian; Yan, Peng; Miao, Xiang-Shui

2016-12-01

A reflective-type display device based on phase change materials is attractive because of its ultrafast response time and high resolution compared with a conventional display device. This paper proposes and demonstrates a unique display device in which multicolour changing can be achieved on a single device by the selective crystallization of double layer phase change materials. The optical contrast is optimized by the availability of a variety of film thicknesses of two phase change layers. The device exhibits a low sensitivity to the angle of incidence, which is important for display and colour consistency. The non-binary colour rendering on a single device is demonstrated for the first time using optical excitation. The device shows the potential for ultrafast display applications.

Non-binary Colour Modulation for Display Device Based on Phase Change Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Hong-Kai; Tong, Hao; Qian, Hang; Hui, Ya-Juan; Liu, Nian; Yan, Peng; Miao, Xiang-Shui

2016-12-19

A reflective-type display device based on phase change materials is attractive because of its ultrafast response time and high resolution compared with a conventional display device. This paper proposes and demonstrates a unique display device in which multicolour changing can be achieved on a single device by the selective crystallization of double layer phase change materials. The optical contrast is optimized by the availability of a variety of film thicknesses of two phase change layers. The device exhibits a low sensitivity to the angle of incidence, which is important for display and colour consistency. The non-binary colour rendering on a single device is demonstrated for the first time using optical excitation. The device shows the potential for ultrafast display applications.

Robust Control of Wide Bandgap Power Electronics Device Enabled Smart Grid

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Tong

In recent years, wide bandgap (WBG) devices enable power converters with higher power density and higher efficiency. On the other hand, smart grid technologies are getting mature due to new battery technology and computer technology. In the near future, the two technologies will form the next generation of smart grid enabled by WBG devices. This dissertation deals with two applications: silicon carbide (SiC) device used for medium voltage level interface (7.2 kV to 240 V) and gallium nitride (GaN) device used for low voltage level interface (240 V/120 V). A 20 kW solid state transformer (SST) is designed with 6 kHz switching frequency SiC rectifier. Then three robust control design methods are proposed for each of its smart grid operation modes. In grid connected mode, a new LCL filter design method is proposed considering grid voltage THD, grid current THD and current regulation loop robust stability with respect to the grid impedance change. In grid islanded mode, micro synthesis method combined with variable structure control is used to design a robust controller for grid voltage regulation. For grid emergency mode, multivariable controller designed using Hinfinity synthesis method is proposed for accurate power sharing. Controller-hardware-in-the-loop (CHIL) testbed considering 7-SST system is setup with Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS). The real TMS320F28335 DSP and Spartan 6 FPGA control board is used to interface a switching model SST in RTDS. And the proposed control methods are tested. For low voltage level application, a 3.3 kW smart grid hardware is built with 3 GaN inverters. The inverters are designed with the GaN device characterized using the proposed multi-function double pulse tester. The inverter is controlled by onboard TMS320F28379D dual core DSP with 200 kHz sampling frequency. Each inverter is tested to process 2.2 kW power with overall efficiency of 96.5 % at room temperature. The smart grid monitor system and fault interrupt devices (FID

Comparative performance of passive devices for piping system under seismic excitation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, Praveen, E-mail: pra_veen74@rediffmail.com [Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, 400085 (India); Jangid, R.S. [Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076 (India); Reddy, G.R. [Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, 400085 (India)

2016-03-15

Highlights: • Correlated the analytical results obtained from the proposed analytical procedures with experimental results in the case of XPD. • Substantial reduction of the seismic response of piping system with passive devices is observed. • Significant increase in the modal damping of the piping system is noted. • There exist an optimum parameters of the passive devices. • Good amount of energy dissipation is observed by using passive devices. - Abstract: Among several passive control devices, X-plate damper, viscous damper, visco-elastic damper, tuned mass damper and multiple tuned mass dampers are popular and used to mitigate the seismic response in the 3-D piping system. In the present paper detailed studies are made to see the effectiveness of the dampers when used in 3-D piping system subjected to artificial earthquake with increasing amplitudes. The analytical results obtained using Wen's model are compared with the corresponding experimental results available which indicated a good match with the proposed analytical procedure for the X-plate dampers. It is observed that there is significant reduction in the seismic response of interest like relative displacement, acceleration and the support reaction of the piping system with passive devices. In general, the passive devices under particular optimum parameters such as stiffness and damping are very effective and practically implementable for the seismic response mitigation, vibration control and seismic requalification of piping system.

Device-Relaying in Cellular D2D Networks: A Fairness Perspective

KAUST Repository

Chaaban, Anas

2015-10-24

Device-to-Device (D2D) communication is envisioned to play a key role in 5G networks as a technique for meeting the demand for high data rates. In a cellular network, D2D allows not only direct communication between users, but also device relaying. In this paper, a simple instance of device-relaying is investigated, and its impact on fairness among users is studied. Namely, a cellular network consisting of two D2D-enabled users and a base-station (BS) is considered. Thus, the users who want to establish communication with the BS can act as relays for each other’s signals. While this problem is traditionally considered in the literature as a multiple-access channel with cooperation in the uplink, and a broadcast channel with cooperation in the downlink, we propose a different treatment of the problem as a multi-way channel. A simple communication scheme is proposed, and is shown to achieve significant gain in terms of fairness (measured by the symmetric rate supported) in comparison to the aforementioned traditional treatment.

Device-Relaying in Cellular D2D Networks: A Fairness Perspective

KAUST Repository

Chaaban, Anas; Sezgin, Aydin

2015-01-01

Device-to-Device (D2D) communication is envisioned to play a key role in 5G networks as a technique for meeting the demand for high data rates. In a cellular network, D2D allows not only direct communication between users, but also device relaying. In this paper, a simple instance of device-relaying is investigated, and its impact on fairness among users is studied. Namely, a cellular network consisting of two D2D-enabled users and a base-station (BS) is considered. Thus, the users who want to establish communication with the BS can act as relays for each other’s signals. While this problem is traditionally considered in the literature as a multiple-access channel with cooperation in the uplink, and a broadcast channel with cooperation in the downlink, we propose a different treatment of the problem as a multi-way channel. A simple communication scheme is proposed, and is shown to achieve significant gain in terms of fairness (measured by the symmetric rate supported) in comparison to the aforementioned traditional treatment.

Electric-field-controlled interface dipole modulation for Si-based memory devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Miyata, Noriyuki

2018-05-31

Various nonvolatile memory devices have been investigated to replace Si-based flash memories or emulate synaptic plasticity for next-generation neuromorphic computing. A crucial criterion to achieve low-cost high-density memory chips is material compatibility with conventional Si technologies. In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a new memory concept, interface dipole modulation (IDM) memory. IDM can be integrated as a Si field-effect transistor (FET) based memory device. The first demonstration of this concept employed a HfO 2 /Si MOS capacitor where the interface monolayer (ML) TiO 2 functions as a dipole modulator. However, this configuration is unsuitable for Si-FET-based devices due to its large interface state density (D it ). Consequently, we propose, a multi-stacked amorphous HfO 2 /1-ML TiO 2 /SiO 2 IDM structure to realize a low D it and a wide memory window. Herein we describe the quasi-static and pulse response characteristics of multi-stacked IDM MOS capacitors and demonstrate flash-type and analog memory operations of an IDM FET device.

Controlling Access to Input/Output Peripheral Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Y. Rodionov

2010-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper the author proposes a system that manages information security policy on enterprise. Problems related to managing information security policy on enterprise and access to peripheral devices in computer systems functioning under control of Microsoft Windows NT operating systems are considered.

Review of Wearable Device Technology and Its Applications to the Mining Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mokhinabonu Mardonova

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews current trends in wearable device technology, and provides an overview of its prevalent and potential deployments in the mining industry. This review includes the classification of wearable devices with some examples of their utilization in various industrial fields as well as the features of sensors used in wearable devices. Existing applications of wearable device technology to the mining industry are reviewed. In addition, a wearable safety management system for miners and other possible applications are proposed. The findings of this review show that by introducing wearable device technology to mining sites, the safety of mining operations can be enhanced. Therefore, wearable devices should be further used in the mining industry.

Efficient Implementation of Solvers for Linear Model Predictive Control on Embedded Devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frison, Gianluca; Kwame Minde Kufoalor, D.; Imsland, Lars

2014-01-01

This paper proposes a novel approach for the efficient implementation of solvers for linear MPC on embedded devices. The main focus is to explain in detail the approach used to optimize the linear algebra for selected low-power embedded devices, and to show how the high-performance implementation...

Improving light harvesting in polymer photodetector devices through nanoindented metal mask films

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Macedo, A. G.; Zanetti, F.; Mikowski, A.; Hummelen, J. C.; Lepienski, C. M.; da Luz, M. G. E.; Roman, L. S.

2008-01-01

To enhance light harvesting in organic photovoltaic devices, we propose the incorporation of a metal (aluminum) mask film in the system's usual layout. We fabricate devices in a sandwich geometry, where the mask (nanoindented with a periodic array of holes of sizes d and spacing s) is added between

Plug-and-Design: Bringing a Design Environment to a Mobile Device

OpenAIRE

MESKENS, Jan; LUYTEN, Kris; CONINX, Karin

2009-01-01

Due to the large amount of mobile devices that continue to appear on the consumer market, mobile user interface design becomes increasingly important. The major issue with many existing mobile user interface design approaches is the time and effort that is needed to deploy a user interface design to the target device. In order to address this issue, we propose the plug-and-design tool that relies on a continuous multi-device mouse pointer to design user interfaces directly on the mobile targe...

A Remote User Authentication Scheme with Anonymity for Mobile Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soobok Shin

2012-04-01

Full Text Available With the rapid growth of information technologies, mobile devices have been utilized in a variety of services such as e-commerce. When a remote server provides such e-commerce services to a user, it must verify the legitimacy of the user over an insecure communication channel. Therefore, remote user authentication has been widely deployed to verify the legitimacy of remote user login requests using mobile devices like smart cards. In this paper we propose a smart card-based authentication scheme that provides both user anonymity and mutual authentication between a remote server and a user. The proposed authentication scheme is a simple and efficient system applicable to the limited resource and low computing performance of the smart card. The proposed scheme provides not only resilience to potential attacks in the smart card-based authentication scheme, but also secure authentication functions. A smart card performs a simple one-way hash function, the operations of exclusive-or and concatenation in the authentication phase of the proposed scheme. The proposed scheme also provides user anonymity using a dynamic identity and key agreement, and secure password change.

Scattering measurements in Tokamak type devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matoba, Tohru

1975-03-01

Theories, experiments and proposals for light scattering in Tokamak type devices are reviewed. Thomson scattering, measuring method of the current density distribution by scattering and resonance fluorescence are summarily described. These methods may be useful for diagnosis of the fusion plasmas. The report may help planning of the measuring apparatus for the fusion plasmas in future. (auth.)

Cognitive Inference Device for Activity Supervision in the Elderly

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nilamadhab Mishra

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Human activity, life span, and quality of life are enhanced by innovations in science and technology. Aging individual needs to take advantage of these developments to lead a self-regulated life. However, maintaining a self-regulated life at old age involves a high degree of risk, and the elderly often fail at this goal. Thus, the objective of our study is to investigate the feasibility of implementing a cognitive inference device (CI-device for effective activity supervision in the elderly. To frame the CI-device, we propose a device design framework along with an inference algorithm and implement the designs through an artificial neural model with different configurations, mapping the CI-device’s functions to minimise the device’s prediction error. An analysis and discussion are then provided to validate the feasibility of CI-device implementation for activity supervision in the elderly.

Device-Centric Monitoring for Mobile Device Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luke Chircop

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The ubiquity of computing devices has led to an increased need to ensure not only that the applications deployed on them are correct with respect to their specifications, but also that the devices are used in an appropriate manner, especially in situations where the device is provided by a party other than the actual user. Much work which has been done on runtime verification for mobile devices and operating systems is mostly application-centric, resulting in global, device-centric properties (e.g. the user may not send more than 100 messages per day across all applications being difficult or impossible to verify. In this paper we present a device-centric approach to runtime verify the device behaviour against a device policy with the different applications acting as independent components contributing to the overall behaviour of the device. We also present an implementation for Android devices, and evaluate it on a number of device-centric policies, reporting the empirical results obtained.

Proposed TFTR electrical system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bronner, G.; Murray, J.

1975-01-01

The development of controlled thermonuclear fusion has progressed to the stage where the present facilities and energy available for future devices are not sufficient and must be increased by about a factor of ten. This report describes the proposed TFTR ac utility power distribution system, an energy storage motor generator flywheel facility, and the rectifier conversion equipment for the Toroidal Field Confining System (TF), Ohmic Heating System (OH), Equilibrium Field System (EF) and the Neutral Beam Heating System (NB). The general requirements are described and the special design considerations identified

[Wireless device for monitoring the patients with chronic disease].

Science.gov (United States)

Ciorap, R; Zaharia, D; Corciovă, C; Ungureanu, Monica; Lupu, R; Stan, A

2008-01-01

Remote monitoring of chronic diseases can improve health outcomes and potentially lower health care costs. The high number of the patients, suffering of chronically diseases, who wish to stay at home rather then in a hospital increasing the need of homecare monitoring and have lead to a high demand of wearable medical devices. Also, extended patient monitoring during normal activity has become a very important target. In this paper are presented the design of the wireless monitoring devices based on ultra low power circuits, high storage memory flash, bluetooth communication and the firmware for the management of the monitoring device. The monitoring device is built using an ultra low power microcontroller (MSP430 from Texas Instruments) that offers the advantage of high integration of some circuits. The custom made electronic boards used for biosignal acquisition are also included modules for storage device (SD/MMC card) with FAT32 file system and Bluetooth device for short-range communication used for data transmission between monitoring device and PC or PDA. The work was focused on design and implementation of an ultra low power wearable device able to acquire patient vital parameters, causing minimal discomfort and allowing high mobility. The proposed wireless device could be used as a warning system for monitoring during normal activity.

Bio-inspired device: a novel smart MR spring featuring tendril structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaluvan, Suresh; Park, Chun-Yong; Choi, Seung-Bok

2016-01-01

Smart materials such as piezoelectric patches, shape memory alloy, electro and magneto rheological fluid, magnetostrictive materials, etc are involved by far to design intelligent and high performance smart devices like injectors, dental braces, dampers, actuators and sensors. In this paper, an interesting smart device is proposed by inspiring on the structure of the bio climber plant. The key enabling concept of this proposed work is to design the smart spring damper as a helical shaped tendril structure using magneto-rheological (MR) fluid. The proposed smart spring consists of a hollow helical structure filled with MR fluid. The viscosity of the MR fluid decides the damping force of helical shaped smart spring, while the fluid intensity in the vine decides the strength of the tendril in the climber plant. Thus, the proposed smart spring can provide a new concept design of the damper which can be applicable to various damping system industries with tuneable damping force. The proposed smart spring damper has several advantageous such as cost effective, easy implementation compared with the conventional damper. In addition, the proposed spring damper can be easily designed to adapt different damping force levels without any alteration. (letter)

Bio-inspired device: a novel smart MR spring featuring tendril structure

Science.gov (United States)

Kaluvan, Suresh; Park, Chun-Yong; Choi, Seung-Bok

2016-01-01

Smart materials such as piezoelectric patches, shape memory alloy, electro and magneto rheological fluid, magnetostrictive materials, etc are involved by far to design intelligent and high performance smart devices like injectors, dental braces, dampers, actuators and sensors. In this paper, an interesting smart device is proposed by inspiring on the structure of the bio climber plant. The key enabling concept of this proposed work is to design the smart spring damper as a helical shaped tendril structure using magneto-rheological (MR) fluid. The proposed smart spring consists of a hollow helical structure filled with MR fluid. The viscosity of the MR fluid decides the damping force of helical shaped smart spring, while the fluid intensity in the vine decides the strength of the tendril in the climber plant. Thus, the proposed smart spring can provide a new concept design of the damper which can be applicable to various damping system industries with tuneable damping force. The proposed smart spring damper has several advantageous such as cost effective, easy implementation compared with the conventional damper. In addition, the proposed spring damper can be easily designed to adapt different damping force levels without any alteration.

Non-destructive Reliability Evaluation of Electronic Device by ESPI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoon, Sung Un; Kim, Koung Suk; Kang, Ki Soo; Jo, Seon Hyung

2001-01-01

This paper propose electronic speckle pattern interferometry(ESPI) for reliability evaluation of electronic device. Especially, vibration problem in a fan of air conditioner, motor of washing machine and etc. is important factor to design the devices. But, it is difficult to apply previous method, accelerometer to the devices with complex geometry. ESPI, non-contact measurement technique applies a commercial fan of air conditioner to vibration analysis. Vibration mode shapes, natural frequency and the range of the frequency are decided and compared with that of FEM analysis. In mechanical deign of new product, ESPI adds weak point of previous method to supply effective design information

FAST and SAFE Passive Safety Devices for Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hartanto, Donny; Kim, Chihyung; Kim, In-Hyung; Kim, Yonghee [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-15

The major factor is the impact of the neutron spectral hardening. The second factor that affects the CVR is reduced capture by the coolant when the coolant voiding occurs. To improve the CVR, many ideas and concepts have been proposed, which include introduction of an internal blanket, spectrum softening, or increasing the neutron leakage. These ideas may reduce the CVR, but they deteriorate the neutron economy. Another potential solution is to adopt a passive safety injection device such as the ARC (autonomous reactivity control) system, which is still under development. In this paper, two new concepts of passive safety devices are proposed. The devices are called FAST (Floating Absorber for Safety at Transient) and SAFE (Static Absorber Feedback Equipment). Their purpose is to enhance the negative reactivity feedback originating from the coolant in fast reactors. SAFE is derived to balance the positive reactivity feedback due to sodium coolant temperature increases. It has been demonstrated that SAFE allows a low-leakage SFR to achieve a self-shutdown and self-controllability even though the generic coolant temperature coefficient is quite positive and the coolant void reactivity can be largely managed by the new FAST device. It is concluded that both FAST and SAFE devices will improve substantially the fast reactor safety and they deserve more detailed investigations.

Ambulance Work : Relationships between occupational demands, individual characteristics and health-related outcomes

OpenAIRE

Aasa, Ulrika

2005-01-01

Although musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and other health complaints are an occupational problem for ambulance personnel, there is a lack of knowledge regarding work-related factors associated with MSDs and other health complaints. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate the relationships between occupational demands, individual characteristics and health-related outcomes among ambulance personnel. A random sample of 234 female and 953 male ambulance personnel participated in a nat...

A Clustering K-Anonymity Privacy-Preserving Method for Wearable IoT Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fang Liu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Wearable technology is one of the greatest applications of the Internet of Things. The popularity of wearable devices has led to a massive scale of personal (user-specific data. Generally, data holders (manufacturers of wearable devices are willing to share these data with others to get benefits. However, significant privacy concerns would arise when sharing the data with the third party in an improper manner. In this paper, we first propose a specific threat model about the data sharing process of wearable devices’ data. Then we propose a K-anonymity method based on clustering to preserve privacy of wearable IoT devices’ data and guarantee the usability of the collected data. Experiment results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Towards Flexibility Detection in Device-Level Energy Consumption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Neupane, Bijay; Pedersen, Torben Bach; Thiesson, Bo

2014-01-01

The increasing drive towards green energy has boosted the installation of Renewable Energy Sources (RES). Increasing the share of RES in the power grid requires demand management by flexibility in the consumption. In this paper, we perform a state-of-the-art analysis on the flexibility and operat......The increasing drive towards green energy has boosted the installation of Renewable Energy Sources (RES). Increasing the share of RES in the power grid requires demand management by flexibility in the consumption. In this paper, we perform a state-of-the-art analysis on the flexibility...... and operation patterns of the devices in a set of real households. We propose a number of specific pre-processing steps such as operation stage segmentation, and aberrant operation duration removal to clean device level data. Further, we demonstrate various device operation properties such as hourly and daily...... regularities and patterns and the correlation between operating different devices. Subsequently, we show the existence of detectable time and energy flexibility in device operations. Finally, we provide various results providing a foundation for load- and flexibility-detection and -prediction at the device...

Promoting interdisciplinary project-based learning to build the skill sets for research and development of medical devices in academia.

Science.gov (United States)

Krishnan, Shankar

2013-01-01

The worldwide need for rapid expansion and diversification of medical devices and the corresponding requirements in industry pose arduous challenges for educators to train undergraduate biomedical engineering (BME) students. Preparing BME students for working in the research and development (R&D) in medical device industry is not easily accomplished by adopting traditional pedagogical methods. Even with the inclusion of the design and development elements in capstone projects, medical device industry may be still experience a gap in fulfilling their needs in R&D. This paper proposes a new model based on interdisciplinary project-based learning (IDPBL) to address the requirements of building the necessary skill sets in academia for carrying out R&D in medical device industry. The proposed model incorporates IDPBL modules distributed in a stepwise fashion through the four years of a typical BME program. The proposed model involves buy-in and collaboration from faculty as well as students. The implementation of the proposed design in an undergraduate BME program is still in process. However, a variant of the proposed IDPBL method has been attempted at a limited scale at the postgraduate level and has shown some success. Extrapolating the previous results, the adoption of the IDPBL to BME training seems to suggest promising outcomes. Despite numerous implementation challenges, with continued efforts, the proposed IDPBL will be valuable n academia for skill sets building for medical device R&D.

Symplectic models for general insertion devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Y.; Forest, E.; Robin, D. S.; Nishimura, H.; Wolski, A.; Litvinenko, V. N.

2001-01-01

A variety of insertion devices (IDs), wigglers and undulators, linearly or elliptically polarized,are widely used as high brightness radiation sources at the modern light source rings. Long and high-field wigglers have also been proposed as the main source of radiation damping at next generation damping rings. As a result, it becomes increasingly important to understand the impact of IDs on the charged particle dynamics in the storage ring. In this paper, we report our recent development of a general explicit symplectic model for IDs with the paraxial ray approximation. High-order explicit symplectic integrators are developed to study real-world insertion devices with a number of wiggler harmonics and arbitrary polarizations

Bi-directional magnetic resonance based wireless power transfer for electronic devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kar, Durga P.; Nayak, Praveen P.; Bhuyan, Satyanarayan; Mishra, Debasish

2015-01-01

In order to power or charge electronic devices wirelessly, a bi-directional wireless power transfer method has been proposed and experimentally investigated. In the proposed design, two receiving coils are used on both sides of a transmitting coil along its central axis to receive the power wirelessly from the generated magnetic fields through strongly coupled magnetic resonance. It has been observed experimentally that the maximum power transfer occurs at the operating resonant frequency for optimum electric load connected across the receiving coils on both side. The optimum wireless power transfer efficiency is 88% for the bi-directional power transfer technique compared 84% in the one side receiver system. By adopting the developed bi-directional power transfer method, two electronic devices can be powered up or charged simultaneously instead of a single device through usual one side receiver system without affecting the optimum power transfer efficiency

Bi-directional magnetic resonance based wireless power transfer for electronic devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kar, Durga P.; Nayak, Praveen P.; Bhuyan, Satyanarayan; Mishra, Debasish [Department of Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering, Institute of Technical Education and Research, Siksha ‘O’ Anushandhan University, Bhubaneswar 751030 (India)

2015-09-28

In order to power or charge electronic devices wirelessly, a bi-directional wireless power transfer method has been proposed and experimentally investigated. In the proposed design, two receiving coils are used on both sides of a transmitting coil along its central axis to receive the power wirelessly from the generated magnetic fields through strongly coupled magnetic resonance. It has been observed experimentally that the maximum power transfer occurs at the operating resonant frequency for optimum electric load connected across the receiving coils on both side. The optimum wireless power transfer efficiency is 88% for the bi-directional power transfer technique compared 84% in the one side receiver system. By adopting the developed bi-directional power transfer method, two electronic devices can be powered up or charged simultaneously instead of a single device through usual one side receiver system without affecting the optimum power transfer efficiency.

Design of Passive Acoustic Wave Shaping Devices and Their Experimental Validation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, Rasmus Ellebæk; Sigmund, Ole; Fernandez Grande, Efren

We discuss a topology optimization based approach for designing passive acoustic wave shaping devices and demonstrate its application to; directional sound emission [1], sound focusing and wave splitting. Optimized devices, numerical and experimental results are presented and benchmarked against...... other designs proposed in the literature. We focus on design problems where the size of the device is on the order of the wavelength, a problematic region for traditional design methods, such as ray tracing.The acoustic optimization problem is formulated in the frequency domain and modeled...

Asymmetric devices based on carbon nanotubes for terahertz-range radiation detection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fedorov, G. E., E-mail: gefedorov@mail.ru; Stepanova, T. S.; Gazaliev, A. Sh.; Gaiduchenko, I. A.; Kaurova, N. S.; Voronov, B. M.; Goltzman, G. N. [Moscow State Pedagogical University (Russian Federation)

2016-12-15

Various asymmetric detecting devices based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are studied. The asymmetry is understood as inhomogeneous properties along the conducting channel. In the first type of devices, an inhomogeneous morphology of the CNT grid is used. In the second type of devices, metals with highly varying work functions are used as the contact material. The relation between the sensitivity and detector configuration is analyzed. Based on the data obtained, approaches to the development of an efficient detector of terahertz radiation, based on carbon nanotubes are proposed.

78 FR 2647 - Dental Devices; Reclassification of Blade-Form Endosseous Dental Implant

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-14

.... FDA-2012-N-0677] Dental Devices; Reclassification of Blade-Form Endosseous Dental Implant AGENCY: Food...) is proposing to reclassify the blade- form endosseous dental implant, a preamendments class III... proposing to revise the classification of blade-form endosseous dental implants. DATES: Submit either...

A quantum computer based on recombination processes in microelectronic devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Theodoropoulos, K; Ntalaperas, D; Petras, I; Konofaos, N

2005-01-01

In this paper a quantum computer based on the recombination processes happening in semiconductor devices is presented. A 'data element' and a 'computational element' are derived based on Schokley-Read-Hall statistics and they can later be used to manifest a simple and known quantum computing process. Such a paradigm is shown by the application of the proposed computer onto a well known physical system involving traps in semiconductor devices

The clinical use of the device for flowing blood irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arutyunov, A.S.; Karasev, A.B.; Kovalev, O.I.; Pisarevskij, A.A.; Skobennikov, A.K.; Trofimov, V.I.; Khaskel'berg, N.G.

1988-01-01

The indications and possibilities of using the device for flowing extracorporeal ultraviolet radiation of blood are considered. The uniformity of the radiation of blood in the proposed device provides an annular gap of the quartz dish with the partition in the shape of a spiral. It makes it possible to expose a larger part of the blood content of an organism simultaneously making use of various perfused methods of its detoxication

Optical fiber end-facet polymer suspended-mirror devices

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Mian; Wu, Jushuai; Zhang, A. Ping; Tam, Hwa-Yaw; Wai, P. K. A.

2017-04-01

This paper presents a novel optical fiber device based on a polymer suspended mirror on the end facet of an optical fiber. With an own-developed optical 3D micro-printing technology, SU-8 suspended-mirror devices (SMDs) were successfully fabricated on the top of a standard single-mode optical fiber. Optical reflection spectra of the fabricated SU- 8 SMDs were measured and compared with theoretical analysis. The proposed technology paves a way towards 3D microengineering of the small end-facet of optical fibers to develop novel fiber-optic sensors.

Authenticated Encryption for Low-Power Reconfigurable Wireless Devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khajuria, Samant; Andersen, Birger

2013-01-01

this enabling technology, these radios have to propose cryptographic services such as con- fidentiality, integrity and authentication. Therefore, integration of security services to these low-power devices is very challenging and crucial as they have limited resources and computational capabilities....... In this paper, we present a crypto solution for reconfigurable devices. The solution is a single pass Authenticated Encryption (AE) scheme that is designed for protecting both message confidentiality and its authenticity. This makes AE very attractive for low-cost low-power hardware implementation. For test...

Research on a new wave energy absorption device

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Zhongyue; Shang, Jianzhong; Luo, Zirong; Sun, Chongfei; Zhu, Yiming

2018-01-01

To reduce impact of global warming and the energy crisis problems caused by pollution of energy combustion, the research on renewable and clean energies becomes more and more important. This paper designed a new wave absorption device, and also gave an introduction on its mechanical structure. The flow tube model is analyzed, and presented the formulation of the proposed method. To verify the principle of wave absorbing device, an experiment was carried out in a laboratory environment, and the results of the experiment can be applied for optimizing the structure design of output power.

Flexible energy-storage devices: design consideration and recent progress.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xianfu; Lu, Xihong; Liu, Bin; Chen, Di; Tong, Yexiang; Shen, Guozhen

2014-07-23

Flexible energy-storage devices are attracting increasing attention as they show unique promising advantages, such as flexibility, shape diversity, light weight, and so on; these properties enable applications in portable, flexible, and even wearable electronic devices, including soft electronic products, roll-up displays, and wearable devices. Consequently, considerable effort has been made in recent years to fulfill the requirements of future flexible energy-storage devices, and much progress has been witnessed. This review describes the most recent advances in flexible energy-storage devices, including flexible lithium-ion batteries and flexible supercapacitors. The latest successful examples in flexible lithium-ion batteries and their technological innovations and challenges are reviewed first. This is followed by a detailed overview of the recent progress in flexible supercapacitors based on carbon materials and a number of composites and flexible micro-supercapacitors. Some of the latest achievements regarding interesting integrated energy-storage systems are also reviewed. Further research direction is also proposed to surpass existing technological bottle-necks and realize idealized flexible energy-storage devices. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Use of Ergonomic Measures Related to Musculoskeletal Complaints among Construction Workers: A 2-year Follow-up Study

Science.gov (United States)

Boschman, Julitta S.; Frings-Dresen, Monique H.W.; van der Molen, Henk F.

2015-01-01

Background The physical work demands of construction work can be reduced using ergonomic measures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of ergonomic measures related to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among construction workers. Methods A questionnaire was sent at baseline and 2 years later to 1,130 construction workers. We established (1) the proportion of workers reporting an increase in their use of ergonomic measures, (2) the proportion of workers reporting a decrease in MSDs, (3) the relative risk for an increase in the use of ergonomic measures and a decrease in MSDs, and (4) workers' knowledge and opinions about the use of ergonomic measures. Results At follow-up, response rate was 63% (713/1,130). The proportion of workers using ergonomic measures for vertical transport increased (34%, 144/419, p < 0.01); for measures regarding horizontal transport and the positioning of materials, no change was reported. The proportion of workers reporting shoulder complaints decreased (28%, 176/638, p = 0.02). A relationship between the use of ergonomic measures and MSDs was not found; 83% (581/704) of the workers indicated having sufficient knowledge about ergonomic measures. Lightening the physical load was reported to be the main reason for using them. Conclusion Only the use of ergonomic measures for vertical transport increased over a 2-year period. No relationship between the use of ergonomic measures and MSDs was found. Strategies aimed at improving the availability of ergonomic equipment complemented with individualized advice and training in using them might be the required next steps to increase the use of ergonomic measures. PMID:26106507

Cellular responses to the expression of unstable secretory proteins in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus oryzae.

Science.gov (United States)

Yokota, Jun-Ichi; Shiro, Daisuke; Tanaka, Mizuki; Onozaki, Yasumichi; Mizutani, Osamu; Kakizono, Dararat; Ichinose, Sakurako; Shintani, Tomoko; Gomi, Katsuya; Shintani, Takahiro

2017-03-01

Filamentous fungi are often used as cell factories for recombinant protein production because of their ability to secrete large quantities of hydrolytic enzymes. However, even using strong transcriptional promoters, yields of nonfungal proteins are generally much lower than those of fungal proteins. Recent analyses revealed that expression of certain nonfungal secretory proteins induced the unfolded protein response (UPR), suggesting that they are recognized as proteins with folding defects in filamentous fungi. More recently, however, even highly expressed endogenous secretory proteins were found to evoke the UPR. These findings raise the question of whether the unfolded or misfolded state of proteins is selectively recognized by quality control mechanisms in filamentous fungi. In this study, a fungal secretory protein (1,2-α-D-mannosidase; MsdS) with a mutation that decreases its thermostability was expressed at different levels in Aspergillus oryzae. We found that, at moderate expression levels, wild-type MsdS was secreted to the medium, while the mutant was not. In the strain with a deletion for the hrdA gene, which is involved in the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation pathway, mutant MsdS had specifically increased levels in the intracellular fraction but was not secreted. When overexpressed, the mutant protein was secreted to the medium to a similar extent as the wild-type protein; however, the mutant underwent hyperglycosylation and induced the UPR. Deletion of α-amylase (the most abundant secretory protein in A. oryzae) alleviated the UPR induction by mutant MsdS overexpression. These findings suggest that misfolded MsdS and unfolded species of α-amylase might act synergistically for UPR induction.

A Proposal for an Integrated TDC for the ALICE TOF System

CERN Document Server

Earle, W E; CERN. Geneva; Hazen, E; Miller, J P

1994-01-01

An architecture for an integrated Time-to-Digital (TDC) converter is proposed in this note for a Time-of-Flight (TOF) system, used as the Particle Identification Device (PID) of the ALICE experiment. The proposed 16-channel, 25 ps resolution ASIC chip-set is described, suitable for high-density, on-detector mounting of the required Å 169 k channels.

Simulation of synaptic coupling of neuron-like generators via a memristive device

Science.gov (United States)

Gerasimova, S. A.; Mikhaylov, A. N.; Belov, A. I.; Korolev, D. S.; Gorshkov, O. N.; Kazantsev, V. B.

2017-08-01

A physical model of synaptically coupled neuron-like generators interacting via a memristive device has been presented. The model simulates the synaptic transmission of pulsed signals between brain neurons. The action on the receiving generator has been performed via a memristive device that demonstrates adaptive behavior. It has been established that the proposed coupling channel provides the forced synchronization with the parameters depending on the memristive device sensitivity. Synchronization modes 1: 1 and 2: 1 have been experimentally observed.

Individual, physical, and organizational risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders among municipality solid waste collectors in Shiraz, Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Ziaei, Mansour; Choobineh, Alireza; Abdoli-Eramaki, Mohammad; Ghaem, Haleh

2018-03-03

In Iran-Shiraz, municipal solid waste is collected manually requiring strenuous physical activities. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence rate of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and its associated risk factors. Two hundred male waste collectors participated in this cross-sectional study, in which task analysis followed by motion and timeline analysis were performed. The data were collected using demographic, occupation-specific physical and organizational demands, and Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaires. Logistic regression analysis was used for identifying independent risk factors for MSDs. Ten motions observed during waste collection, and the most physical and organizational demands were related to the running along with bag carriage, and the time pressure, respectively. About 39% and 36.5% of the workers reported very high physical and psychological workloads, respectively. Totally, 92.5% of waste collectors reported MSDs symptom at least in one body region during the last 12 months. Lower back and knee injuries were more prevalent and more severe. Some individual factors (age, body weight, and waste collecting duration), physical demands (lifting bag/bucket, pulling/pushing waste container, walking along with bag/bucket carriage, and jumping up/down on the garbage truck), and organizational demands (low vacation and high decision) were the most important risk factors for developing MSDs.

Neck-upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders among workers in the telecommunications company at Mansoura City.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Bestar, Sohair Fouad; El-Mitwalli, Ashraf Abdel-Moniem; Khashaba, Eman Omar

2011-01-01

This study was to determine the prevalence and work-related risk factors of neck-upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among video display terminal (VDT) users. A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted; there were 60 VDT users and 35 controls. The participants filled in a structured questionnaire, had electrophysiological tests and an X-ray of the neck. The prevalence of MSDs was higher (28.3%) among VDTs users compared to controls (14.3%) with no statistically significant difference. The prevalence of cervical disorders with or without radiculopathy (18.3%) was the most common disorder followed by carpal tunnel syndrome (6.6%). The mean (SD) age of MSD cases (51 ± 7.2 years) was statistically significantly higher than of the controls (42.8 ± 9). Physical exposure to prolonged static posture (OR: 6.9; 95% CI: 0.83-57.9), awkward posture (OR: 5.5; 95% CI: 0.6-46.4) and repetitive movements (OR: 5.5; 95% CI: 0.65-46.4) increased risk of MSDs with a statistically significant difference for static posture only (p < .05). VDT users experienced more job dissatisfaction, work-overload and limited social support from supervisors and colleagues. VDT use did not increase the risk of neck-upper extremity MSDs. The risk increased with older age and static posture.

The effects of physical and psychosocial factors and ergonomic conditions on the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among dentists in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Taib, Mohd Firdaus Mohd; Bahn, Sangwoo; Yun, Myung Hwan; Taib, Mohd Syukri Mohd

2017-01-01

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) have been recognized as one of the main occupational health problems for dentists. Many studies have suggested that dentists experience work-related pain or discomfort in the neck, shoulder, and back, as well as in other parts of the body. This study aimed to examine the relationship between specific physical and psychosocial factors and/or ergonomic conditions on MSD symptoms among dentists in Malaysia. A group of 85 dentists was asked to complete a questionnaire to determine whether their complaints were related to physical and psychosocial factors and/or ergonomic conditions in their practices. Among the nine reviewed body areas, the shoulders were most often affected by symptoms of MSDs (92.7%). Moreover, MSDs of the neck and upper back were most likely to prevent these practitioners from engaging in normal activities (32.9%). In general, no significant differences were found in the prevalence of MSD symptoms in relation to gender, age, body mass index, years in practice, number of patients, and frequency of breaks. Our results were consistent with those reported in other studies that focused on MSD problems among dentists in other countries. To reduce the prevalence of MSDs, more attention should be paid to instituting ergonomically sensible approaches in the dental practice setting.

An ergonomic intervention to reduce musculoskeletal discomfort among semiconductor assembly workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Aghilinejad, Mashallah; Azar, Neda Soleimanvandy; Ghasemi, Mohammad Sadegh; Dehghan, Naser; Mokamelkhah, Elahe Kabir

2016-06-14

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and ergonomics-related injuries are the single largest category of workplace injuries and are responsible for almost 30% of all worker's compensation costs. Awkward working posture refers to positions of the body that deviate significantly from the neutral position while job tasks are being performed and it is the primary ergonomic risk factor for developing musculoskeletal discomfort. This study was conducted among assembly workers of a semiconductor in Tehran province with the objective of implementing an interventional ergonomic program to minimize musculoskeletal discomfort. This study that was conducted on 105 male assembly workers of a semiconductor industry based on a census method. The standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used to determine the prevalence of MSDs. Corlett and Bishop's body part discomfort scale (BPD) was applied to evaluate body discomfort before and after the intervention (using a magnifying loupes to improve visibility of the parts). The results of NMQ showed the highest rate of MSDs were in neck, shoulder, upper arm and lower back regions (more than 75%). After ergonomic intervention, significant decrements of discomfort was observed in neck, shoulder, upper arm, elbows, lower arm, lower back and whole body discomfort (p ergonomic interventions can decrease MSDs of at risk body regions in the long term.

Multi-spark discharge system for preparation of nutritious water

Science.gov (United States)

Nakaso, Tetsushi; Harigai, Toru; Kusumawan, Sholihatta Aziz; Shimomura, Tomoya; Tanimoto, Tsuyoshi; Suda, Yoshiyuki; Takikawa, Hirofumi

2018-01-01

The nitrogen compound concentration in water is increased by atmospheric-pressure plasma discharge treatment. A rod-to-water electrode discharge treatment system using plasma discharge has been developed by our group to obtain water with a high concentration of nitrogen compounds, and this plasma-treated water improves the growth of chrysanthemum roots. However, it is difficult to apply the system to the agriculture because the amount of treated water obtained by using the system too small. In this study, a multi-spark discharge system (MSDS) equipped multiple spark plugs is presented to obtain a large amount of plasma-treated water. The MSDS consisted of inexpensive parts in order to reduce the system introduction cost for agriculture. To suppress the temperature increase of the spark plugs, the 9 spark plugs were divided into 3 groups, which were discharged in order. The plasma-treated water with a NO3- concentration of 50 mg/L was prepared using the MSDS for 90 min, and the treatment efficiency was about 6 times higher than that of our previous system. It was confirmed that the NO2-, O3, and H2O2 concentrations in the water were also increased by treating the water using the MSDS.

Cost-effectiveness of hydrotherapy versus land-based therapy in patients with musculoskeletal disorders in Singapore.

Science.gov (United States)

Teng, Monica; Zhou, Hui Jun; Lin, Liang; Lim, Pang Hung; Yeo, Doreen; Goh, Suzanne; Tjan, Soon Yin; Lim, Boon Peng

2018-03-09

The study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of hydrotherapy versus land-based therapy in patients with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in Singapore. A decision-analytic model was constructed to compare the cost-effectiveness of hydrotherapy to land-based therapy over 3 months from societal perspective. Target population comprised patients with low back pain (LBP), osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), total hip replacement (THR) and total knee replacement (TKR). Subgroup analyses were carried out to determine the cost-effectiveness of hydrotherapy in individual MSDs. Relative treatment effects were obtained through a systematic review of published data. Compared to land-based therapy, hydrotherapy was associated with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of SGD 27 471 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained, which was below the willingness-to-pay threshold of SGD 70 000 per QALY (one gross domestic product per capita in Singapore in 2015). For the respective MSDs, hydrotherapy were dominant (more effective and less costly) in THR and TKR, cost-effective for LBP and RA, and not cost-effective for OA. Treatment adherence and cost of hydrotherapy were key drivers to the ICER values. Hydrotherapy was a cost-effective rehabilitation compared to land-based therapy for a population with MSDs in Singapore. However, the benefit of hydrotherapy was not observed in patients with OA.

An Authentication and Key Management Mechanism for Resource Constrained Devices in IEEE 802.11-based IoT Access Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ki-Wook Kim

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Many Internet of Things (IoT services utilize an IoT access network to connect small devices with remote servers. They can share an access network with standard communication technology, such as IEEE 802.11ah. However, an authentication and key management (AKM mechanism for resource constrained IoT devices using IEEE 802.11ah has not been proposed as yet. We therefore propose a new AKM mechanism for an IoT access network, which is based on IEEE 802.11 key management with the IEEE 802.1X authentication mechanism. The proposed AKM mechanism does not require any pre-configured security information between the access network domain and the IoT service domain. It considers the resource constraints of IoT devices, allowing IoT devices to delegate the burden of AKM processes to a powerful agent. The agent has sufficient power to support various authentication methods for the access point, and it performs cryptographic functions for the IoT devices. Performance analysis shows that the proposed mechanism greatly reduces computation costs, network costs, and memory usage of the resource-constrained IoT device as compared to the existing IEEE 802.11 Key Management with the IEEE 802.1X authentication mechanism.

An Authentication and Key Management Mechanism for Resource Constrained Devices in IEEE 802.11-based IoT Access Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Ki-Wook; Han, Youn-Hee; Min, Sung-Gi

2017-09-21

Many Internet of Things (IoT) services utilize an IoT access network to connect small devices with remote servers. They can share an access network with standard communication technology, such as IEEE 802.11ah. However, an authentication and key management (AKM) mechanism for resource constrained IoT devices using IEEE 802.11ah has not been proposed as yet. We therefore propose a new AKM mechanism for an IoT access network, which is based on IEEE 802.11 key management with the IEEE 802.1X authentication mechanism. The proposed AKM mechanism does not require any pre-configured security information between the access network domain and the IoT service domain. It considers the resource constraints of IoT devices, allowing IoT devices to delegate the burden of AKM processes to a powerful agent. The agent has sufficient power to support various authentication methods for the access point, and it performs cryptographic functions for the IoT devices. Performance analysis shows that the proposed mechanism greatly reduces computation costs, network costs, and memory usage of the resource-constrained IoT device as compared to the existing IEEE 802.11 Key Management with the IEEE 802.1X authentication mechanism.

Topological Magnonics: A Paradigm for Spin-Wave Manipulation and Device Design

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, X. S.; Zhang, H. W.; Wang, X. R.

2018-02-01

Conventional magnonic devices use magnetostatic waves whose properties are sensitive to device geometry and the details of magnetization structure, so the design and the scalability of the device or circuitry are difficult. We propose topological magnonics, in which topological exchange spin waves are used as information carriers, that do not suffer from conventional problems of magnonic devices with additional nice features of nanoscale wavelength and high frequency. We show that a perpendicularly magnetized ferromagnet on a honeycomb lattice is generically a topological magnetic material in the sense that topologically protected chiral edge spin waves exist in the band gap as long as a spin-orbit-induced nearest-neighbor pseudodipolar interaction (and/or a next-nearest-neighbor Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction) is present. The edge spin waves propagate unidirectionally along sample edges and domain walls regardless of the system geometry and defects. As a proof of concept, spin-wave diodes, spin-wave beam splitters, and spin-wave interferometers are designed by using sample edges and domain walls to manipulate the propagation of topologically protected chiral spin waves. Since magnetic domain walls can be controlled by magnetic fields or electric current or fields, one can essentially draw, erase, and redraw different spin-wave devices and circuitry on the same magnetic plate so that the proposed devices are reconfigurable and tunable. The topological magnonics opens up an alternative direction towards a robust, reconfigurable and scalable spin-wave circuitry.

Measurement-Device Independency Analysis of Continuous-Variable Quantum Digital Signature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tao Shang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available With the practical implementation of continuous-variable quantum cryptographic protocols, security problems resulting from measurement-device loopholes are being given increasing attention. At present, research on measurement-device independency analysis is limited in quantum key distribution protocols, while there exist different security problems for different protocols. Considering the importance of quantum digital signature in quantum cryptography, in this paper, we attempt to analyze the measurement-device independency of continuous-variable quantum digital signature, especially continuous-variable quantum homomorphic signature. Firstly, we calculate the upper bound of the error rate of a protocol. If it is negligible on condition that all measurement devices are untrusted, the protocol is deemed to be measurement-device-independent. Then, we simplify the calculation by using the characteristics of continuous variables and prove the measurement-device independency of the protocol according to the calculation result. In addition, the proposed analysis method can be extended to other quantum cryptographic protocols besides continuous-variable quantum homomorphic signature.

Power source device for thermonuclear device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ozaki, Akira.

1992-01-01

The present invention provides a small sized and economical power source device for a thermonuclear device. That is, the device comprises a conversion device having a rated power determined by a power required during a plasma current excitation period and a conversion device having a rated power determined by a power required during a plasma current maintaining period, connected in series to each other. Then, for the former conversion device, power is supplied from an electric power generator and, for the latter, power is supplied from a power system. With such a constitution, during the plasma electric current maintaining period for substantially continuous operation, it is possible to conduct bypassing paired operation for the former conversion device while the electric power generator is put under no load. Further, since a short period rated power may be suffice for the former conversion device and the electric power generator having the great rated power required for the plasma electric current excitation period, they can be reduced in the size and made economical. On the other hand, since the power required for the plasma current maintaining period is relatively small, the capacity of the continuous rated conversion device may be small, and the power can be received from the power system. (I.S.)

Left ventricular assist device as destination therapy: application of the payment-by-results approach for the device reimbursement.

Science.gov (United States)

Messori, Andrea; Trippoli, Sabrina; Bonacchi, Massimo; Sani, Guido

2009-08-01

Value-based methods are increasingly used to reimburse therapeutic innovation, and the payment-by-results approach has been proposed for handling interventions with limited therapeutic evidence. Because most left ventricular assist devices are supported by preliminary efficacy data, we examined the effectiveness data of the HeartMate (Thoratec Corp, Pleasanton, CA) device to explore the application of the payment-by-results approach to these devices and to develop a model for handling reimbursements. According to our model, after establishing the societal economic countervalue for each month of life saved, each patient treated with one such device is associated to the payment of this countervalue for every month of survival lived beyond the final date of estimated life expectancy without left ventricular assist devices. Our base-case analysis, which used the published data of 68 patients who received the HeartMate device, was run with a monthly countervalue of euro 5000, no adjustment for quality of life, and a baseline life expectancy of 150 days without left ventricular assist devices. Sensitivity analysis was aimed at testing the effect of quality of life adjustments and changes in life expectancy without device. In our base-case analysis, the mean total reimbursement per patient was euro 82,426 (range, euro 0 to euro 250,000; N = 68) generated as the sum of monthly payments. This average value was close to the current price of the HeartMate device (euro 75,000). Sensitivity testing showed that the base-case reimbursement of euro 82,426 was little influenced by variations in life expectancy, whereas variations in utility had a more pronounced impact. Our report delineates an innovative procedure for appropriately allocating economic resources in this area of invasive cardiology.

Reactor scram device for FBR type reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumasaka, Katsuyuki; Arashida, Genji; Itooka, Satoshi.

1991-01-01

In a control rod attaching structure in a reactor scram device of an FBR type reactor, an anti-rising mechanism proposed so far against external upward force upon occurrence of earthquakes relies on the engagement of a mechanical structure but temperature condition is not taken into consideration. Then, in the present invention, a material having curie temperature characteristics and which exhibits ferromagnetism only under low temperature condition and a magnet device are disposed to one of a movable control rod and a portion secured to the reactor. Alternatively, a bimetal member or a shape memory alloy which actuates to fix to the mating member only under low temperature condition is secured. The fixing device is adapted to operate so as to secure the control rods when the low temperature state is caused depending on the temperature condition. With such a constitution, when the control rods are separated from a driving device, they are prevented from rising even if they undergo external upward force due to earthquakes and so on, which can improve the reactor safety. (N.H.)

2-D tiles declustering method based on virtual devices

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhongmin; Gao, Lu

2009-10-01

Generally, 2-D spatial data are divided as a series of tiles according to the plane grid. To satisfy the effect of vision, the tiles in the query window including the view point would be displayed quickly at the screen. Aiming at the performance difference of real storage devices, we propose a 2-D tiles declustering method based on virtual device. Firstly, we construct a group of virtual devices which have same storage performance and non-limited capacity, then distribute the tiles into M virtual devices according to the query window of 2-D tiles. Secondly, we equably map the tiles in M virtual devices into M equidistant intervals in [0, 1) using pseudo-random number generator. Finally, we devide [0, 1) into M intervals according to the tiles distribution percentage of every real storage device, and distribute the tiles in each interval in the corresponding real storage device. We have designed and realized a prototype GlobeSIGht, and give some related test results. The results show that the average response time of each tile in the query window including the view point using 2-D tiles declustering method based on virtual device is more efficient than using other methods.

75 FR 14510 - Implementation of Device Registration and Listing Requirements Enacted in the Public Health...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-26

.... FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theresa McDonald, Center for Devices and Radiological Health (HFZ-307... assigned HDE number for a device approved for marketing under section 520(m) of the FD&C Act. This proposal...

Design optimization and analysis of selected thermal devices using self-adaptive Jaya algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao, R.V.; More, K.C.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Self-adaptive Jaya algorithm is proposed for optimal design of thermal devices. • Optimization of heat pipe, cooling tower, heat sink and thermo-acoustic prime mover is presented. • Results of the proposed algorithm are better than the other optimization techniques. • The proposed algorithm may be conveniently used for the optimization of other devices. - Abstract: The present study explores the use of an improved Jaya algorithm called self-adaptive Jaya algorithm for optimal design of selected thermal devices viz; heat pipe, cooling tower, honeycomb heat sink and thermo-acoustic prime mover. Four different optimization case studies of the selected thermal devices are presented. The researchers had attempted the same design problems in the past using niched pareto genetic algorithm (NPGA), response surface method (RSM), leap-frog optimization program with constraints (LFOPC) algorithm, teaching-learning based optimization (TLBO) algorithm, grenade explosion method (GEM) and multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA). The results achieved by using self-adaptive Jaya algorithm are compared with those achieved by using the NPGA, RSM, LFOPC, TLBO, GEM and MOGA algorithms. The self-adaptive Jaya algorithm is proved superior as compared to the other optimization methods in terms of the results, computational effort and function evalutions.

A Framework for Learning Analytics Using Commodity Wearable Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yu; Zhang, Sen; Zhang, Zhiqiang; Xiao, Wendong; Yu, Shengquan

2017-06-14

We advocate for and introduce LEARNSense, a framework for learning analytics using commodity wearable devices to capture learner's physical actions and accordingly infer learner context (e.g., student activities and engagement status in class). Our work is motivated by the observations that: (a) the fine-grained individual-specific learner actions are crucial to understand learners and their context information; (b) sensor data available on the latest wearable devices (e.g., wrist-worn and eye wear devices) can effectively recognize learner actions and help to infer learner context information; (c) the commodity wearable devices that are widely available on the market can provide a hassle-free and non-intrusive solution. Following the above observations and under the proposed framework, we design and implement a sensor-based learner context collector running on the wearable devices. The latest data mining and sensor data processing techniques are employed to detect different types of learner actions and context information. Furthermore, we detail all of the above efforts by offering a novel and exemplary use case: it successfully provides the accurate detection of student actions and infers the student engagement states in class. The specifically designed learner context collector has been implemented on the commodity wrist-worn device. Based on the collected and inferred learner information, the novel intervention and incentivizing feedback are introduced into the system service. Finally, a comprehensive evaluation with the real-world experiments, surveys and interviews demonstrates the effectiveness and impact of the proposed framework and this use case. The F1 score for the student action classification tasks achieve 0.9, and the system can effectively differentiate the defined three learner states. Finally, the survey results show that the learners are satisfied with the use of our system (mean score of 3.7 with a standard deviation of 0.55).

Asymmetric power device rating selection for even temperature distribution in NPC inverter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Choi, Uimin; Blaabjerg, Frede

2017-01-01

the power rating and lifetime of the NPC inverter are limited by the most stressed devices. In this paper, an asymmetric power device rating selection method for the NPC inverter is proposed in order to balance the lifetimes of the power devices. The thermal distribution of the power devices is analyzed......A major drawback of the NPC inverter is an unequal power loss distribution among the power devices which leads to unequal temperature stress among them. Therefore, certain power devices experience higher temperature stress, which is the main cause of power device module failure and thus both...... based on 30 kW NPC inverter as a case study. Analytical power loss and thermal impedance models depending on the chip size are derived. Finally, using these models, the junction temperatures of the power devices depending on the chip size is discussed and a proper chip size for an even temperature...

Device for rearranging control rods of experimental reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Louda, J.

1975-01-01

The invention claims a means for the adjustment of control rods in experimental reactors with a continuously variable pitch of the fuel element spacer. The proposed device permits obtaining maximum variability in the physical modelling of nuclear power reactor cores in experimental reactors. (F.M.)

Mobile Augmented Note-taking to Support Operating Physical Devices

OpenAIRE

Liu , Can; Diehl , Jonathan; Huot , Stéphane; Borchers , Jan

2011-01-01

Mobile Augmented Reality: Design Issues and Opportunities - 1st Workshop on Mobile Augmented Reality, MobileHCI 2011; In this paper we propose an approach to assist operating physical devices with mobile augmented reality techniques. We propose ideas of interaction techniques, which allow users to put self-authored information as notes onto physical objects. We present the design of two example applications aiming at solving problems from different aspects of physical operations.

Assessment of ergonomics risk factors influencing incidence of musculoskeletal disorders among office workers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. I. Samaei

2015-12-01

  Conclution: According to results, ROSA assessment method is an efficient tool in the classification and identification of factors affecting the incidence of MSDs among office workers. Performing corrective measures in the dangerous work stations (the second level identified by ROSA technique, reducing the duration of computer use per day, and doing regular sport activities can be noted in order to decrease the prevalence of MSDs in the study group (office workers.

A Novel Wireless Wearable Volatile Organic Compound (VOC Monitoring Device with Disposable Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yue Deng

2016-12-01

Full Text Available A novel portable wireless volatile organic compound (VOC monitoring device with disposable sensors is presented. The device is miniaturized, light, easy-to-use, and cost-effective. Different field tests have been carried out to identify the operational, analytical, and functional performance of the device and its sensors. The device was compared to a commercial photo-ionization detector, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and carbon monoxide detector. In addition, environmental operational conditions, such as barometric change, temperature change and wind conditions were also tested to evaluate the device performance. The multiple comparisons and tests indicate that the proposed VOC device is adequate to characterize personal exposure in many real-world scenarios and is applicable for personal daily use.

Magnetic manipulation device for the optimization of cell processing conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ito, Hiroshi; Kato, Ryuji; Ino, Kosuke; Honda, Hiroyuki

2010-02-01

Variability in human cell phenotypes make it's advancements in optimized cell processing necessary for personalized cell therapy. Here we propose a strategy of palm-top sized device to assist physically manipulating cells for optimizing cell preparations. For the design of such a device, we combined two conventional approaches: multi-well plate formatting and magnetic cell handling using magnetite cationic liposomes (MCLs). From our previous works, we showed the labeling applications of MCL on adhesive cells for various tissue engineering approaches. To feasibly transfer cells in multi-well plate, we here evaluated the magnetic response of MCL-labeled suspension type cells. The cell handling performance of Jurkat cells proved to be faster and more robust compared to MACS (Magnetic Cell Sorting) bead methods. To further confirm our strategy, prototype palm-top sized device "magnetic manipulation device (MMD)" was designed. In the device, the actual cell transportation efficacy of Jurkat cells was satisfying. Moreover, as a model of the most distributed clinical cell processing, primary peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from different volunteers were evaluated. By MMD, individual PBMCs indicated to have optimum Interleukin-2 (IL-2) concentrations for the expansion. Such huge differences of individual cells indicated that MMD, our proposing efficient and self-contained support tool, could assist the feasible and cost-effective optimization of cell processing in clinical facilities. Copyright (c) 2009 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A semiconductor laser device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takaro, K.; Naoki, T.; Satosi, K.; Yasutosi, K.

1984-03-17

A device is proposed which makes it possible to obtain single vertical mode emission in the absence of noise. Noise suppression is achieved by a method which determines the relationship between the donor densities in the second and third layers of an n type semiconductor laser, and the total output optical emission of layers with respect to the emission from the entire laser. The device consists of a photoresist film with a window applied to a 100 GaAs n type conductivity substrate using a standard method. Chemical etching through this window in the substrate is used to generate a slot approximately 1 micrometer in size. After the photoresist film is removed, the following layers are deposited from the liquid phase onto the substrate in the sequence indicated: a telurium doped protective layer of n type AlxGa(1-x) As; 2) an undoped active p type AlyGa(1-6) As layer and a tellurium doped upper protective n type conductivity GaAs layer.

Device-dependent and device-independent quantum key distribution without a shared reference frame

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slater, Joshua A; Tittel, Wolfgang; Branciard, Cyril; Brunner, Nicolas

2014-01-01

Standard quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols typically assume that the distant parties share a common reference frame. In practice, however, establishing and maintaining a good alignment between distant observers is rarely a trivial issue, which may significantly restrain the implementation of long-distance quantum communication protocols. Here we propose simple QKD protocols that do not require the parties to share any reference frame, and study their security and feasibility in both the usual device-dependent (DD) case—in which the two parties use well characterized measurement devices—as well as in the device-independent (DI) case—in which the measurement devices can be untrusted, and the security relies on the violation of a Bell inequality. To illustrate the practical relevance of these ideas, we present a proof-of-principle demonstration of our protocols using polarization entangled photons distributed over a coiled 10-km long optical fiber. We consider two situations, in which either the fiber spool's polarization transformation freely drifts, or randomly chosen polarization transformations are applied. The correlations obtained from measurements allow, with high probability, to generate positive asymptotic secret key rates in both the DD and DI scenarios (under the fair-sampling assumption for the latter case). (paper)

Power mos devices: structures and modelling procedures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rossel, P.; Charitat, G.; Tranduc, H.; Morancho, F.; Moncoqut

1997-05-01

In this survey, the historical evolution of power MOS transistor structures is presented and currently used devices are described. General considerations on current and voltage capabilities are discussed and configurations of popular structures are given. A synthesis of different modelling approaches proposed last three years is then presented, including analytical solutions, for basic electrical parameters such as threshold voltage, on-resistance, saturation and quasi-saturation effects, temperature influence and voltage handling capability. The numerical solutions of basic semiconductor devices is then briefly reviewed along with some typical problems which can be solved this way. A compact circuit modelling method is finally explained with emphasis on dynamic behavior modelling

An extended protocol for usability validation of medical devices : Research design and reference model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schmettow, M.; Schnittker, R.; Schraagen, J.M.

2017-01-01

This paper proposes and demonstrates an extended protocol for usability validation testing of medical devices. A review of currently used methods for the usability evaluation of medical devices revealed two main shortcomings. Firstly, the lack of methods to closely trace the interaction sequences

Plug-and-Design: Embracing Mobile Devices as Part of the Design Environment

OpenAIRE

MESKENS, Jan; LUYTEN, Kris; CONINX, Karin

2009-01-01

Due to the large amount of mobile devices that continue to appear on the consumer market, mobile user interface design becomes increasingly important. The major issue with many existing mobile user interface design approaches is the time and effort that is needed to deploy a user interface design to the target device. In order to address this issue, we propose the plug-and-design tool that relies on a continuous multi-device mouse pointer to design user interfaces directly on the mobile targe...

Degradation of light emitting diodes: a proposed methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koh, Sau; Vam Driel, Willem; Zhang, G.Q.

2011-01-01

Due to their long lifetime and high efficacy, light emitting diodes have the potential to revolutionize the illumination industry. However, self heat and high environmental temperature which will lead to increased junction temperature and degradation due to electrical overstress can shorten the life of the light emitting diode. In this research, a methodology to investigate the degradation of the LED emitter has been proposed. The epoxy lens of the emitter can be modelled using simplified Eyring methods whereas an equation has been proposed for describing the degradation of the LED emitters. (semiconductor devices)

Opto-mechanical design of small infrared cloud measuring device

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jiao; Yu, Xun; Tao, Yu; Jiang, Xu

2018-01-01

In order to make small infrared cloud measuring device can be well in a wide temperature range and day-night environment, a design idea using catadioptric infrared panoramic imaging optical system and simple mechanical structure for realizing observation clode under all-weather conditions was proposed. Firstly, the optical system of cloud measuring device was designed. An easy-to-use numerical method was proposed to acquire the profile of a catadioptric mirror, which brought the property of equidistance projection and played the most important role in a catadioptric panoramic lens. Secondly, the mechanical structure was studied in detail. Overcoming the limitations of traditional primary mirror support structure, integrative design was used for refractor and mirror support structure. Lastly, temperature adaptability and modes of the mirror support structure were analyzed. Results show that the observation range of the cloud measuring device is wide and the structure is simple, the fundamental frequency of the structure is greater than 100 Hz, the surface precision of the system reflector reaches PV of λ/10 and RMS of λ/40under the load of temperature range - 40 60°C, it can meet the needs of existing meteorological observation.

Multi-scale calculation of the electric properties of organic-based devices from the molecular structure

KAUST Repository

Li, Haoyuan; Qiu, Yong; Duan, Lian

2016-01-01

A method is proposed to calculate the electric properties of organic-based devices from the molecular structure. The charge transfer rate is obtained using non-adiabatic molecular dynamics. The organic film in the device is modeled using

Electricity usage scheduling in smart building environments using smart devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Eunji; Bahn, Hyokyung

2013-01-01

With the recent advances in smart grid technologies as well as the increasing dissemination of smart meters, the electricity usage of every moment can be detected in modern smart building environments. Thus, the utility company adopts different price of electricity at each time slot considering the peak time. This paper presents a new electricity usage scheduling algorithm for smart buildings that adopts real-time pricing of electricity. The proposed algorithm detects the change of electricity prices by making use of a smart device and changes the power mode of each electric device dynamically. Specifically, we formulate the electricity usage scheduling problem as a real-time task scheduling problem and show that it is a complex search problem that has an exponential time complexity. An efficient heuristic based on genetic algorithms is performed on a smart device to cut down the huge searching space and find a reasonable schedule within a feasible time budget. Experimental results with various building conditions show that the proposed algorithm reduces the electricity charge of a smart building by 25.6% on average and up to 33.4%.

The optimal number, type and location of devices in automation of electrical distribution networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Popović Željko N.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the mixed integer linear programming based model for determining optimal number, type and location of remotely controlled and supervised devices in distribution networks in the presence of distributed generators. The proposed model takes into consideration a number of different devices simultaneously (remotely controlled circuit breakers/reclosers, sectionalizing switches, remotely supervised and local fault passage indicators along with the following: expected outage cost to consumers and producers due to momentary and long-term interruptions, automated device expenses (capital investment, installation, and annual operation and maintenance costs, number and expenses of crews involved in the isolation and restoration process. Furthermore, the other possible benefits of each of automated device are also taken into account (e.g., benefits due to decreasing the cost of switching operations in normal conditions. The obtained numerical results emphasize the importance of consideration of different types of automation devices simultaneously. They also show that the proposed approach have a potential to improve the process of determining of the best automation strategy in real life distribution networks.

Measuring ionizing radiation with a mobile device

Science.gov (United States)

Michelsburg, Matthias; Fehrenbach, Thomas; Puente León, Fernando

2012-02-01

In cases of nuclear disasters it is desirable to know one's personal exposure to radioactivity and the related health risk. Usually, Geiger-Mueller tubes are used to assess the situation. Equipping everyone with such a device in a short period of time is very expensive. We propose a method to detect ionizing radiation using the integrated camera of a mobile consumer device, e.g., a cell phone. In emergency cases, millions of existing mobile devices could then be used to monitor the exposure of its owners. In combination with internet access and GPS, measured data can be collected by a central server to get an overview of the situation. During a measurement, the CMOS sensor of a mobile device is shielded from surrounding light by an attachment in front of the lens or an internal shutter. The high-energy radiation produces free electrons on the sensor chip resulting in an image signal. By image analysis by means of the mobile device, signal components due to incident ionizing radiation are separated from the sensor noise. With radioactive sources present significant increases in detected pixels can be seen. Furthermore, the cell phone application can make a preliminary estimate on the collected dose of an individual and the associated health risks.

A semiconductor device thermal model taking into account non-linearity and multhipathing of the cooling system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Górecki, K; Zarȩbski, J

2014-01-01

The paper is devoted to modelling thermal properties of semiconductor devices at the steady state. The dc thermal model of a semiconductor device taking into account the multipath heat flow is proposed. Some results of calculations and measurements of thermal resistance of a power MOSFET operating at different cooling conditions are presented. The obtained results of calculations fit the results of measurements, which proves the correctness of the proposed model.

Ejector device for returning incomplete combustion products

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Szule, T.; Minas, E.; Pietrowski, K.

1977-12-19

A device is proposed for separating the fine fraction of incompletely burned clinker and delivering it to the firebox for combustion. The clinker is fed into the two-chambered device from the top through an open gate. The inside chamber of the device consists of a side enclosure with an inspection hole and a hatch, and a gate with a screen on top. An ejector is located in the chamber. The case of the outside chamber, also with an inspection hole and hatch, forms a bypass channel with the enclosure of the inside chamber. Fine clinker is poured through the screen into the inside chamber, and some of it is removed by the ejector for combustion; the coarser fraction builds up on top of the gate, and is periodically passed through it. Large pieces of clinker which do not fit through the screen pass down through the bypass channel.

An efficient contents-adaptive backlight control method for mobile devices

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Qiao Song; Yan, Ya Xing; Zhang, Xiao Mou; Cai, Hua; Deng, Xin; Wang, Jin

2015-03-01

For most of mobile devices with a large screen, image quality and power consumption are both of the major factors affecting the consumers' preference. Contents-adaptive backlight control (CABC) method can be utilized to adjust the backlight and promote the performance of mobile devices. Unlike the previous works mostly focusing on the reduction of power consumption, both of image quality and power consumption are taken into account in the proposed method. Firstly, region of interest (ROI) is detected to divide image into two parts: ROI and non-ROI. Then, three attributes including entropy, luminance, and saturation information in ROI are calculated. To achieve high perceived image quality in mobile devices, optimal value of backlight can be calculated by a linear combination of the aforementioned attributes. Coefficients of the linear combination are determined by applying the linear regression to the subjective scores of human visual experiments and objective values of the attributes. Based on the optimal value of backlight, displayed image data are processed brightly and backlight is darkened to reduce the power consumption of backlight later. Here, the ratios of increasing image data and decreasing backlight functionally depend on the luminance information of displayed image. Also, the proposed method is hardware implemented. Experimental results indicate that the proposed technique exhibits better performance compared to the conventional methods.

Recommendations for blood pressure measuring devices for office/clinic use in low resource settings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Parati, G.; Mendis, S.; Abegunde, D.; Asmar, R.; Mieke, S.; Murray, A.; Shengelia, B.; Steenvoorden, G.; Montfrans, G. van; O'Brien, E.

2005-01-01

This paper, which summarizes the conclusions of a WHO Expert meeting, is aimed at proposing indications to develop technical specifications for an accurate and affordable blood pressure measuring device for office/ clinic use in low resource settings. Blood pressure measuring devices to be used in

Ferromagnetic Swimmers - Devices and Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Joshua; Petrov, Peter; Winlove, C. Peter; Gilbert, Andrew; Bryan, Matthew; Ogrin, Feodor

2017-11-01

Microscopic swimming devices hold promise for radically new applications in lab-on-a-chip and microfluidic technology, diagnostics and drug delivery etc. We propose a new class of autonomous ferromagnetic swimming devices, actuated and controlled solely by an oscillating magnetic field. Experimentally, these devices (3.6 mm) are based on a pair of interacting ferromagnetic particles of different size and different anisotropic properties joined by an elastic link and actuated by an external time-dependent magnetic field. The net motion is generated through a combination of dipolar interparticle gradient forces, time-dependent torque and hydrodynamic coupling. We investigate the dynamic performance of a prototype (3.6 mm) of the ferromagnetic swimmer in fluids of different viscosity as a function of the external field parameters and demonstrate stable propulsion over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. Manipulation of the external magnetic field resulted in robust control over the speed and direction of propulsion. We also demonstrate our ferromagnetic swimmer working as a macroscopic prototype of a microfluidic pump. By physically tethering the swimmer, instead of swimming, the swimmer generates a directional flow of liquid around itself.

Security Mechanism Based on Hospital Authentication Server for Secure Application of Implantable Medical Devices

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

After two recent security attacks against implantable medical devices (IMDs) have been reported, the privacy and security risks of IMDs have been widely recognized in the medical device market and research community, since the malfunctioning of IMDs might endanger the patient's life. During the last few years, a lot of researches have been carried out to address the security-related issues of IMDs, including privacy, safety, and accessibility issues. A physician accesses IMD through an external device called a programmer, for diagnosis and treatment. Hence, cryptographic key management between IMD and programmer is important to enforce a strict access control. In this paper, a new security architecture for the security of IMDs is proposed, based on a 3-Tier security model, where the programmer interacts with a Hospital Authentication Server, to get permissions to access IMDs. The proposed security architecture greatly simplifies the key management between IMDs and programmers. Also proposed is a security mechanism to guarantee the authenticity of the patient data collected from IMD and the nonrepudiation of the physician's treatment based on it. The proposed architecture and mechanism are analyzed and compared with several previous works, in terms of security and performance. PMID:25276797

Security mechanism based on Hospital Authentication Server for secure application of implantable medical devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Chang-Seop

2014-01-01

After two recent security attacks against implantable medical devices (IMDs) have been reported, the privacy and security risks of IMDs have been widely recognized in the medical device market and research community, since the malfunctioning of IMDs might endanger the patient's life. During the last few years, a lot of researches have been carried out to address the security-related issues of IMDs, including privacy, safety, and accessibility issues. A physician accesses IMD through an external device called a programmer, for diagnosis and treatment. Hence, cryptographic key management between IMD and programmer is important to enforce a strict access control. In this paper, a new security architecture for the security of IMDs is proposed, based on a 3-Tier security model, where the programmer interacts with a Hospital Authentication Server, to get permissions to access IMDs. The proposed security architecture greatly simplifies the key management between IMDs and programmers. Also proposed is a security mechanism to guarantee the authenticity of the patient data collected from IMD and the nonrepudiation of the physician's treatment based on it. The proposed architecture and mechanism are analyzed and compared with several previous works, in terms of security and performance.

Proposal for a new Thomson scattering technique for large fusion devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salzmann, H.; Hirsch, K.

1982-11-01

The application of 180 0 scattering using ultrashort laser pulses is proposed. Spatial resolution along the laser beam is achieved by high-speed detection allowing time-of-flight measurements. This LIDAR technique uses a minimum number of window ports, reduces drastically the number of optical components in the vicinity of the discharge vessel and makes remote control unnecessary. As an example the performance of such a system is discussed on the basis of available laser and detection technology for the JET geometry. (orig.)

Open active cloaking and illusion devices for the Laplace equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Qian; Yang, Fan; Jin, Tian Yu; Mei, Zhong Lei; Cui, Tie Jun

2016-01-01

We propose open active cloaking and illusion devices for the Laplace equation. Compared with the closed configurations of active cloaking and illusion devices, we focus on improving the distribution schemes for the controlled sources, which do not have to surround the protected object strictly. Instead, the controlled sources can be placed in several small discrete clusters, and produce the desired voltages along the controlled boundary, to actively hide or disguise the protected object. Numerical simulations are performed with satisfactory results, which are further validated by experimental measurements. The open cloaking and illusion devices have many advantages over the closed configurations in various potential applications. (paper)

User centered integration of Internet of Things devices

Science.gov (United States)

Manione, Roberto

2017-06-01

This paper discusses an IoT framework which allows rapid and easy setup and customization of end-to-end solutions for field data collection and presentation; it is effective in the development of both informative and transactional applications for a wide range of application fields, such as home, industry and environment. On the "far-end" of the chain are the IoT devices gathering the signals; they are developed used a full Model Based approach, where programming is not required: the TaskScript technology is used to this purpose, which supports a choice of physical boards and boxes equipped with a range of Input and Output interfaces, and with a Tcp/Ip interface. The development of the needed specific IoT devices takes advantage of the available "standard" hardware; the software development of the algorithms for sampling, conditioning and uploading signals to the Cloud is supported by a graphical-only IDE. On the "near-end" of the chain is the presentation Interface, through which users can browse through the information provided by their IoT devices; it is implemented in a Conversational way, using the Bot paradigm: Bots are conversational automatons, to whom users can "chat". They are accessed via mainstream Messenger programs, such as Telegram(C), Skype(C) or others, available on smartphones, tablets or desktops; unlike apps, bots do not need installation on the user device. A message Broker has been implemented, to mediate among the far-end and the near-end of the chain, providing the needed services; its behavior is driven by a set of rules provided on a per-device basis, at configuration level; the Broker is able to store messages received from the devices, process and forward them to the specified recipient(s) according to the provided rules; finally, finally is it is able to send transactional commands, from users back to the requested device, to implement not only field observation but also field control. IoT solutions implemented with the proposed

Public safety around dams : proposed technical bulletins

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raska, C [BC Hydro, Burnaby, BC (Canada); Rowat, L [Ontario Power Generation Inc., Niagara Falls, ON (Canada)

2009-07-01

This presentation provided an introduction to the Canadian Dam Association (CDA) public safety guideline and proposed technical bulletins for exterior danger and warning signs; waterway booms and buoys; and audible and visual alerts for water conveyance structures. The presentation outlined the hierarchy of documents for principles, guidelines and technical bulletins. Effective signage includes signs in which the text is sized according to the viewing distance; the message identifies the hazard and the actions to take; and the wording is understood by the public. The criteria for effective booms and buoys were discussed in terms of visibility of booms; types of buoys to use; distance between booms floats; design issues for headpond application versus tailrace application; angling to facilitate self-rescue; and distance from structure. Proposed criteria for audible and visual alerts were also discussed. The audible and visual danger signal should have a designated signal reception area where people can recognize and react to the signal. If a visual signalling device is used, it should be red to indicate danger. Maintenance and inspection tests should be performed regularly on audible and visual signalling devices. 1 ref., 2 figs.

Semi-device-independent random-number expansion without entanglement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Hongwei; Yin Zhenqiang; Wu Yuchun; Zou Xubo; Wang Shuang; Chen Wei; Guo Guangcan; Han Zhengfu

2011-01-01

By testing the classical correlation violation between two systems, true random numbers can be generated and certified without applying classical statistical method. In this work, we propose a true random-number expansion protocol without entanglement, where the randomness can be guaranteed only by the two-dimensional quantum witness violation. Furthermore, we only assume that the dimensionality of the system used in the protocol has a tight bound, and the whole protocol can be regarded as a semi-device-independent black-box scenario. Compared with the device-independent random-number expansion protocol based on entanglement, our protocol is much easier to implement and test.

EnTracked: Energy-Efficient Robust Position Tracking for Mobile Devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærgaard, Mikkel Baun; Jensen, Jakob Langdal; Godsk, Torben

2009-01-01

conditions and mobility, schedules position updates to both minimize energy consumption and optimize robustness. The realized system tracks pedestrian targets equipped with GPS-enabled devices. The system is configurable to realize different trade-offs between energy consumption and robustness. We provide...... of the mobile device. Furthermore, tracking has to robustly deliver position updates when faced with changing conditions such as delays due to positioning and communication, and changing positioning accuracy. This work proposes EnTracked --- a system that, based on the estimation and prediction of system...... extensive experimental results by profiling how devices consume power, by emulation on collected data and by validation in several real-world deployments. Results from this profiling show how a device consumes power while tracking its position. Results from the emulation indicate that the system can...

Bias-Flip Technique for Frequency Tuning of Piezo-Electric Energy Harvesting Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianguo Ma

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Devices that harvest electrical energy from mechanical vibrations have the problem that the frequency of the source vibration is often not matched to the resonant frequency of the energy harvesting device. Manufacturing tolerances make it difficult to match the Energy Harvesting Device (EHD resonant frequency to the source vibration frequency, and the source vibration frequency may vary with time. Previous work has recognized that it is possible to tune the resonant frequency of an EHD using a tunable, reactive impedance at the output of the device. The present paper develops the theory of electrical tuning, and proposes the Bias-Flip (BF technique, to implement this tunable, reactive impedance.

Efficiency of a gyroscopic device for conversion of mechanical wave energy to electrical energy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carlsen, Martin; Darula, Radoslav; Gravesen, Jens

2011-01-01

We consider a recently proposed gyroscopic device for conversion of mechanical ocean wave energy to electrical energy. Two models of the device derived from standard engineering mechanics from the literature are analysed, and a model is derived from analytical mechanics considerations. From...... these models, estimates of the power production, eciency, forces and moments are made. We nd that it is possible to extract a signicant amount of energy from an ocean wave using the described device. Further studies are required for a full treatment of the device....

Press touch code: A finger press based screen size independent authentication scheme for smart devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Ranak, M S A Noman; Azad, Saiful; Nor, Nur Nadiah Hanim Binti Mohd; Zamli, Kamal Z

2017-01-01

Due to recent advancements and appealing applications, the purchase rate of smart devices is increasing at a higher rate. Parallely, the security related threats and attacks are also increasing at a greater ratio on these devices. As a result, a considerable number of attacks have been noted in the recent past. To resist these attacks, many password-based authentication schemes are proposed. However, most of these schemes are not screen size independent; whereas, smart devices come in different sizes. Specifically, they are not suitable for miniature smart devices due to the small screen size and/or lack of full sized keyboards. In this paper, we propose a new screen size independent password-based authentication scheme, which also offers an affordable defense against shoulder surfing, brute force, and smudge attacks. In the proposed scheme, the Press Touch (PT)-a.k.a., Force Touch in Apple's MacBook, Apple Watch, ZTE's Axon 7 phone; 3D Touch in iPhone 6 and 7; and so on-is transformed into a new type of code, named Press Touch Code (PTC). We design and implement three variants of it, namely mono-PTC, multi-PTC, and multi-PTC with Grid, on the Android Operating System. An in-lab experiment and a comprehensive survey have been conducted on 105 participants to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Press touch code: A finger press based screen size independent authentication scheme for smart devices

Science.gov (United States)

Ranak, M. S. A. Noman; Nor, Nur Nadiah Hanim Binti Mohd; Zamli, Kamal Z.

2017-01-01

Due to recent advancements and appealing applications, the purchase rate of smart devices is increasing at a higher rate. Parallely, the security related threats and attacks are also increasing at a greater ratio on these devices. As a result, a considerable number of attacks have been noted in the recent past. To resist these attacks, many password-based authentication schemes are proposed. However, most of these schemes are not screen size independent; whereas, smart devices come in different sizes. Specifically, they are not suitable for miniature smart devices due to the small screen size and/or lack of full sized keyboards. In this paper, we propose a new screen size independent password-based authentication scheme, which also offers an affordable defense against shoulder surfing, brute force, and smudge attacks. In the proposed scheme, the Press Touch (PT)—a.k.a., Force Touch in Apple’s MacBook, Apple Watch, ZTE’s Axon 7 phone; 3D Touch in iPhone 6 and 7; and so on—is transformed into a new type of code, named Press Touch Code (PTC). We design and implement three variants of it, namely mono-PTC, multi-PTC, and multi-PTC with Grid, on the Android Operating System. An in-lab experiment and a comprehensive survey have been conducted on 105 participants to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. PMID:29084262

Press touch code: A finger press based screen size independent authentication scheme for smart devices.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M S A Noman Ranak

Full Text Available Due to recent advancements and appealing applications, the purchase rate of smart devices is increasing at a higher rate. Parallely, the security related threats and attacks are also increasing at a greater ratio on these devices. As a result, a considerable number of attacks have been noted in the recent past. To resist these attacks, many password-based authentication schemes are proposed. However, most of these schemes are not screen size independent; whereas, smart devices come in different sizes. Specifically, they are not suitable for miniature smart devices due to the small screen size and/or lack of full sized keyboards. In this paper, we propose a new screen size independent password-based authentication scheme, which also offers an affordable defense against shoulder surfing, brute force, and smudge attacks. In the proposed scheme, the Press Touch (PT-a.k.a., Force Touch in Apple's MacBook, Apple Watch, ZTE's Axon 7 phone; 3D Touch in iPhone 6 and 7; and so on-is transformed into a new type of code, named Press Touch Code (PTC. We design and implement three variants of it, namely mono-PTC, multi-PTC, and multi-PTC with Grid, on the Android Operating System. An in-lab experiment and a comprehensive survey have been conducted on 105 participants to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Stability and the proximity theorem in Casimir actuated nano devices

Science.gov (United States)

Esquivel-Sirvent, R.; Reyes, L.; Bárcenas, J.

2006-10-01

A brief description of the stability problem in micro and nano electromechanical devices (MEMS/NEMS) actuated by Casimir forces is given. To enhance the stability, we propose the use of curved surfaces and recalculate the stability conditions by means of the proximity force approximation. The use of curved surfaces changes the bifurcation point, and the radius of curvature becomes a control parameter, allowing a rescaling of the elastic restitution constant and/or of the typical dimensions of the device.

Broadband illusion optical devices based on conformal mappings

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Zhan; Xu, Lin; Xu, Ya-Dong; Chen, Huan-Yang

2017-10-01

In this paper, we propose a simple method of illusion optics based on conformal mappings. By carefully developing designs with specific conformal mappings, one can make an object look like another with a significantly different shape. In addition, the illusion optical devices can work in a broadband of frequencies.

Device-Centric Monitoring for Mobile Device Management

OpenAIRE

Chircop, Luke; Colombo, Christian; Pace, Gordon J.

2016-01-01

The ubiquity of computing devices has led to an increased need to ensure not only that the applications deployed on them are correct with respect to their specifications, but also that the devices are used in an appropriate manner, especially in situations where the device is provided by a party other than the actual user. Much work which has been done on runtime verification for mobile devices and operating systems is mostly application-centric, resulting in global, device-centri...

A rhythm-based authentication scheme for smart media devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jae Dong; Jeong, Young-Sik; Park, Jong Hyuk

2014-01-01

In recent years, ubiquitous computing has been rapidly emerged in our lives and extensive studies have been conducted in a variety of areas related to smart devices, such as tablets, smartphones, smart TVs, smart refrigerators, and smart media devices, as a measure for realizing the ubiquitous computing. In particular, smartphones have significantly evolved from the traditional feature phones. Increasingly higher-end smartphone models that can perform a range of functions are now available. Smart devices have become widely popular since they provide high efficiency and great convenience for not only private daily activities but also business endeavors. Rapid advancements have been achieved in smart device technologies to improve the end users' convenience. Consequently, many people increasingly rely on smart devices to store their valuable and important data. With this increasing dependence, an important aspect that must be addressed is security issues. Leaking of private information or sensitive business data due to loss or theft of smart devices could result in exorbitant damage. To mitigate these security threats, basic embedded locking features are provided in smart devices. However, these locking features are vulnerable. In this paper, an original security-locking scheme using a rhythm-based locking system (RLS) is proposed to overcome the existing security problems of smart devices. RLS is a user-authenticated system that addresses vulnerability issues in the existing locking features and provides secure confidentiality in addition to convenience.

A Game-theoretic Framework for Network Coding Based Device-to-Device Communications

KAUST Repository

Douik, Ahmed S.; Sorour, Sameh; Tembine, Hamidou; Al-Naffouri, Tareq Y.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2016-01-01

This paper investigates the delay minimization problem for instantly decodable network coding (IDNC) based deviceto- device (D2D) communications. In D2D enabled systems, users cooperate to recover all their missing packets. The paper proposes a game theoretic framework as a tool for improving the distributed solution by overcoming the need for a central controller or additional signaling in the system. The session is modeled by self-interested players in a non-cooperative potential game. The utility functions are designed so as increasing individual payoff results in a collective behavior achieving both a desirable system performance in a shared network environment and the Nash equilibrium. Three games are developed whose first reduces the completion time, the second the maximum decoding delay and the third the sum decoding delay. The paper, further, improves the formulations by including a punishment policy upon collision occurrence so as to achieve the Nash bargaining solution. Learning algorithms are proposed for systems with complete and incomplete information, and for the imperfect feedback scenario. Numerical results suggest that the proposed game-theoretical formulation provides appreciable performance gain against the conventional point-to-multipoint (PMP), especially for reliable user-to-user channels.

A Game-theoretic Framework for Network Coding Based Device-to-Device Communications

KAUST Repository

Douik, Ahmed

2016-06-29

This paper investigates the delay minimization problem for instantly decodable network coding (IDNC) based deviceto- device (D2D) communications. In D2D enabled systems, users cooperate to recover all their missing packets. The paper proposes a game theoretic framework as a tool for improving the distributed solution by overcoming the need for a central controller or additional signaling in the system. The session is modeled by self-interested players in a non-cooperative potential game. The utility functions are designed so as increasing individual payoff results in a collective behavior achieving both a desirable system performance in a shared network environment and the Nash equilibrium. Three games are developed whose first reduces the completion time, the second the maximum decoding delay and the third the sum decoding delay. The paper, further, improves the formulations by including a punishment policy upon collision occurrence so as to achieve the Nash bargaining solution. Learning algorithms are proposed for systems with complete and incomplete information, and for the imperfect feedback scenario. Numerical results suggest that the proposed game-theoretical formulation provides appreciable performance gain against the conventional point-to-multipoint (PMP), especially for reliable user-to-user channels.

Microcontroller based system for electrical breakdown time delay measurement in gas-filled devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Pejović, Milić M; Denić, Dragan B; Pejović, Momčilo M; Nešić, Nikola T; Vasović, Nikola

2010-10-01

This paper presents realization of a digital embedded system for measuring electrical breakdown time delay. The proposed system consists of three major parts: dc voltage supply, analog subsystem, and a digital subsystem. Any dc power source with the range from 100 to 1000 V can be used in this application. The analog subsystem should provide fast and accurate voltage switching on the testing device as well as transform the signals that represent the voltage pulse on the device and the device breakdown into the form suitable for detection by a digital subsystem. The insulated gate bipolar transistor IRG4PH40KD driven by TC429 MOSFET driver is used for high voltage switching on the device. The aim of a digital subsystem is to detect the signals from the analog subsystem and to measure the elapsed time between their occurrences. Moreover, the digital subsystem controls various parameters that influence time delay and provides fast data storage for a large number of measured data. For this propose, we used the PIC18F4550 microcontroller with a full-speed compatible universal serial bus (USB) engine. Operation of this system is verified on different commercial and custom made gas devices with different structure and breakdown mechanisms. The electrical breakdown time delay measurements have been carried out as a function of several parameters, which dominantly influence electrical breakdown time delay. The obtained results have been verified using statistical methods, and they show good agreement with the theory. The proposed system shows good repeatability, sensitivity, and stability for measuring the electrical breakdown time delay.

Microcontroller based system for electrical breakdown time delay measurement in gas-filled devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pejovic, Milic M.; Denic, Dragan B.; Pejovic, Momcilo M.; Nesic, Nikola T.; Vasovic, Nikola [Faculty of Electronic Engineering, University of Nis, Aleksandra Medvedeva 14, 18000 Nis (Serbia)

2010-10-15

This paper presents realization of a digital embedded system for measuring electrical breakdown time delay. The proposed system consists of three major parts: dc voltage supply, analog subsystem, and a digital subsystem. Any dc power source with the range from 100 to 1000 V can be used in this application. The analog subsystem should provide fast and accurate voltage switching on the testing device as well as transform the signals that represent the voltage pulse on the device and the device breakdown into the form suitable for detection by a digital subsystem. The insulated gate bipolar transistor IRG4PH40KD driven by TC429 MOSFET driver is used for high voltage switching on the device. The aim of a digital subsystem is to detect the signals from the analog subsystem and to measure the elapsed time between their occurrences. Moreover, the digital subsystem controls various parameters that influence time delay and provides fast data storage for a large number of measured data. For this propose, we used the PIC18F4550 microcontroller with a full-speed compatible universal serial bus (USB) engine. Operation of this system is verified on different commercial and custom made gas devices with different structure and breakdown mechanisms. The electrical breakdown time delay measurements have been carried out as a function of several parameters, which dominantly influence electrical breakdown time delay. The obtained results have been verified using statistical methods, and they show good agreement with the theory. The proposed system shows good repeatability, sensitivity, and stability for measuring the electrical breakdown time delay.

Microcontroller based system for electrical breakdown time delay measurement in gas-filled devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pejovic, Milic M.; Denic, Dragan B.; Pejovic, Momcilo M.; Nesic, Nikola T.; Vasovic, Nikola

2010-01-01

This paper presents realization of a digital embedded system for measuring electrical breakdown time delay. The proposed system consists of three major parts: dc voltage supply, analog subsystem, and a digital subsystem. Any dc power source with the range from 100 to 1000 V can be used in this application. The analog subsystem should provide fast and accurate voltage switching on the testing device as well as transform the signals that represent the voltage pulse on the device and the device breakdown into the form suitable for detection by a digital subsystem. The insulated gate bipolar transistor IRG4PH40KD driven by TC429 MOSFET driver is used for high voltage switching on the device. The aim of a digital subsystem is to detect the signals from the analog subsystem and to measure the elapsed time between their occurrences. Moreover, the digital subsystem controls various parameters that influence time delay and provides fast data storage for a large number of measured data. For this propose, we used the PIC18F4550 microcontroller with a full-speed compatible universal serial bus (USB) engine. Operation of this system is verified on different commercial and custom made gas devices with different structure and breakdown mechanisms. The electrical breakdown time delay measurements have been carried out as a function of several parameters, which dominantly influence electrical breakdown time delay. The obtained results have been verified using statistical methods, and they show good agreement with the theory. The proposed system shows good repeatability, sensitivity, and stability for measuring the electrical breakdown time delay.

Study to Improve Security for IoT Smart Device Controller: Drawbacks and Countermeasures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin Su

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Including mobile environment, conventional security mechanisms have been adapted to satisfy the needs of users. However, the device environment-IoT-based number of connected devices is quite different to the previous traditional desktop PC- or mobile-based environment. Based on the IoT, different kinds of smart and mobile devices are fully connected automatically via device controller, such as smartphone. Therefore, controller must be secure compared to conventional security mechanism. According to the existing security threats, these are quite different from the previous ones. Thus, the countermeasures applied should be changed. However, the smart device-based authentication techniques that have been proposed to date are not adequate in terms of usability and security. From the viewpoint of usability, the environment is based on mobility, and thus devices are designed and developed to enhance their owners’ efficiency. Thus, in all applications, there is a need to consider usability, even when the application is a security mechanism. Typically, mobility is emphasized over security. However, considering that the major characteristic of a device controller is deeply related to its owner’s private information, a security technique that is robust to all kinds of attacks is mandatory. In this paper, we focus on security. First, in terms of security achievement, we investigate and categorize conventional attacks and emerging issues and then analyze conventional and existing countermeasures, respectively. Finally, as countermeasure concepts, we propose several representative methods.

Speech Enhancement of Mobile Devices Based on the Integration of a Dual Microphone Array and a Background Noise Elimination Algorithm.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yung-Yue

2018-05-08

Mobile devices are often used in our daily lives for the purposes of speech and communication. The speech quality of mobile devices is always degraded due to the environmental noises surrounding mobile device users. Regretfully, an effective background noise reduction solution cannot easily be developed for this speech enhancement problem. Due to these depicted reasons, a methodology is systematically proposed to eliminate the effects of background noises for the speech communication of mobile devices. This methodology integrates a dual microphone array with a background noise elimination algorithm. The proposed background noise elimination algorithm includes a whitening process, a speech modelling method and an H ₂ estimator. Due to the adoption of the dual microphone array, a low-cost design can be obtained for the speech enhancement of mobile devices. Practical tests have proven that this proposed method is immune to random background noises, and noiseless speech can be obtained after executing this denoise process.

Speech Enhancement of Mobile Devices Based on the Integration of a Dual Microphone Array and a Background Noise Elimination Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yung-Yue Chen

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Mobile devices are often used in our daily lives for the purposes of speech and communication. The speech quality of mobile devices is always degraded due to the environmental noises surrounding mobile device users. Regretfully, an effective background noise reduction solution cannot easily be developed for this speech enhancement problem. Due to these depicted reasons, a methodology is systematically proposed to eliminate the effects of background noises for the speech communication of mobile devices. This methodology integrates a dual microphone array with a background noise elimination algorithm. The proposed background noise elimination algorithm includes a whitening process, a speech modelling method and an H2 estimator. Due to the adoption of the dual microphone array, a low-cost design can be obtained for the speech enhancement of mobile devices. Practical tests have proven that this proposed method is immune to random background noises, and noiseless speech can be obtained after executing this denoise process.

A Robust and Device-Free System for the Recognition and Classification of Elderly Activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Fangmin; Al-Qaness, Mohammed Abdulaziz Aide; Zhang, Yong; Zhao, Bihai; Luan, Xidao

2016-12-01

Human activity recognition, tracking and classification is an essential trend in assisted living systems that can help support elderly people with their daily activities. Traditional activity recognition approaches depend on vision-based or sensor-based techniques. Nowadays, a novel promising technique has obtained more attention, namely device-free human activity recognition that neither requires the target object to wear or carry a device nor install cameras in a perceived area. The device-free technique for activity recognition uses only the signals of common wireless local area network (WLAN) devices available everywhere. In this paper, we present a novel elderly activities recognition system by leveraging the fluctuation of the wireless signals caused by human motion. We present an efficient method to select the correct data from the Channel State Information (CSI) streams that were neglected in previous approaches. We apply a Principle Component Analysis method that exposes the useful information from raw CSI. Thereafter, Forest Decision (FD) is adopted to classify the proposed activities and has gained a high accuracy rate. Extensive experiments have been conducted in an indoor environment to test the feasibility of the proposed system with a total of five volunteer users. The evaluation shows that the proposed system is applicable and robust to electromagnetic noise.

Bulk heterojunction polymer memory devices with reduced graphene oxide as electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Juqing; Yin, Zongyou; Cao, Xiehong; Zhao, Fei; Lin, Anping; Xie, Linghai; Fan, Quli; Boey, Freddy; Zhang, Hua; Huang, Wei

2010-07-27

A unique device structure with a configuration of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) /P3HT:PCBM/Al has been designed for the polymer nonvolatile memory device. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the fabricated device showed the electrical bistability with a write-once-read-many-times (WORM) memory effect. The memory device exhibits a high ON/OFF ratio (10(4)-10(5)) and low switching threshold voltage (0.5-1.2 V), which are dependent on the sheet resistance of rGO electrode. Our experimental results confirm that the carrier transport mechanisms in the OFF and ON states are dominated by the thermionic emission current and ohmic current, respectively. The polarization of PCBM domains and the localized internal electrical field formed among the adjacent domains are proposed to explain the electrical transition of the memory device.

Health care professionals’ perception of security of personal health devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ondiege B

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Brian Ondiege, Malcolm Clarke Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences, Brunel University London, UK Abstract: With the rapid advances in the capabilities of telehealth devices and their increasing connection to the Internet, security is becoming an issue of major concern. Therefore, the perceptions of the health care professionals regarding security are of interest, as the patients trust them to make informed decisions on issues concerning their privacy, data, and health. Eight health care professionals were interviewed to determine their perceptions and knowledge of security in health care. The research further examines one specific aspect of security which is considered of significant concern: the authenticity of a device being from the actual manufacturer and not a counterfeit. This research proposes device registration together with digital signatures and one-time passwords to address the issue of counterfeit remote patient-monitoring devices and identify and authenticate the user of the device. Keywords: telehealth security, health care professionals’ perception, personal health device, authentication

Medical Device Integrated Vital Signs Monitoring Application with Real-Time Clinical Decision Support.

Science.gov (United States)

Moqeem, Aasia; Baig, Mirza; Gholamhosseini, Hamid; Mirza, Farhaan; Lindén, Maria

2018-01-01

This research involves the design and development of a novel Android smartphone application for real-time vital signs monitoring and decision support. The proposed application integrates market available, wireless and Bluetooth connected medical devices for collecting vital signs. The medical device data collected by the app includes heart rate, oxygen saturation and electrocardiograph (ECG). The collated data is streamed/displayed on the smartphone in real-time. This application was designed by adopting six screens approach (6S) mobile development framework and focused on user-centered approach and considered clinicians-as-a-user. The clinical engagement, consultations, feedback and usability of the application in the everyday practices were considered critical from the initial phase of the design and development. Furthermore, the proposed application is capable to deliver rich clinical decision support in real-time using the integrated medical device data.

Commentary: Europe needs a central, transparent, and evidence based regulation process for devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eikermaan, Michaela; Gluud, Christian; Perleth, Matthias

2013-01-01

Last September, the European Commission published proposals to update regulations for medical devices in order to improve patient safety.1 The proposals are being discussed by the European parliament where critical debate is being led by the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety...

Advanced Materials for Health Monitoring with Skin-Based Wearable Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Han; Abu-Raya, Yasmin Shibli; Haick, Hossam

2017-06-01

Skin-based wearable devices have a great potential that could result in a revolutionary approach to health monitoring and diagnosing disease. With continued innovation and intensive attention to the materials and fabrication technologies, development of these healthcare devices is progressively encouraged. This article gives a concise, although admittedly non-exhaustive, didactic review of some of the main concepts and approaches related to recent advances and developments in the scope of skin-based wearable devices (e.g. temperature, strain, biomarker-analysis werable devices, etc.), with an emphasis on emerging materials and fabrication techniques in the relevant fields. To give a comprehensive statement, part of the review presents and discusses different aspects of these advanced materials, such as the sensitivity, biocompatibility and durability as well as the major approaches proposed for enhancing their chemical and physical properties. A complementary section of the review linking these advanced materials with wearable device technologies is particularly specified. Some of the strong and weak points in development of each wearable material/device are highlighted and criticized. Several ideas regarding further improvement of skin-based wearable devices are also discussed. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Active Microwave Metamaterials Incorporating Ideal Gain Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hao Xin

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Incorporation of active devices/media such as transistors for microwave and gain media for optics may be very attractive for enabling desired low loss and broadband metamaterials. Such metamaterials can even have gain which may very well lead to new and exciting physical phenomena. We investigate microwave composite right/left-handed transmission lines (CRLH-TL incorporating ideal gain devices such as constant negative resistance. With realistic lumped element values, we have shown that the negative phase constant of this kind of transmission lines is maintained (i.e., left-handedness kept while gain can be obtained (negative attenuation constant of transmission line simultaneously. Possible implementation and challenging issues of the proposed active CRLH-TL are also discussed.

Adaptive Conflict-Free Optimization of Rule Sets for Network Security Packet Filtering Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Baiocchi

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Packet filtering and processing rules management in firewalls and security gateways has become commonplace in increasingly complex networks. On one side there is a need to maintain the logic of high level policies, which requires administrators to implement and update a large amount of filtering rules while keeping them conflict-free, that is, avoiding security inconsistencies. On the other side, traffic adaptive optimization of large rule lists is useful for general purpose computers used as filtering devices, without specific designed hardware, to face growing link speeds and to harden filtering devices against DoS and DDoS attacks. Our work joins the two issues in an innovative way and defines a traffic adaptive algorithm to find conflict-free optimized rule sets, by relying on information gathered with traffic logs. The proposed approach suits current technology architectures and exploits available features, like traffic log databases, to minimize the impact of ACO development on the packet filtering devices. We demonstrate the benefit entailed by the proposed algorithm through measurements on a test bed made up of real-life, commercial packet filtering devices.

Novel Biomedical Device Utilizing Light-Emitting Nanostructures Developed

Science.gov (United States)

Scardelletti, Maximilian C.; Goldman, Rachel

2004-01-01

Sketches and chemical diagrams of state-of-the-art device and novel proposed device are presented. Current device uses a diode laser that emits into a fluorescent fluid only one wavelength and a photodetector diode that detects only one wavelength. Only one type of bacteria can be detected. The proposed device uses a quantum dot array that emits into a fluorescent fluid multiple wavelengths and an NIR 512 spectrometer that scans 0.8- to 1.7-mm wavelengths. Hundreds of different bacteria and viruses can be detected. A novel biomedical device is being developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center in cooperation with the University of Michigan. This device uses nano-structured quantum dots that emit light in the near-infrared (IR) region. The nanostructured quantum dots are used as a source and excite fluorochrome polymers coupled with antibodies that seek out and attach to specific bacteria and viruses. The fluorochrome polymers/antibodies fluoresce at specific wavelengths in the near-IR spectrum, but these wavelengths are offset from the excitation wavelength and can be detected with a tunable spectrometer. The device will be used to detect the presence of viruses and bacteria in simple fluids and eventually in more complex fluids, such as blood. Current state-of-the-art devices are limited to single bacteria or virus detection and a considerable amount of time and effort is required to prepare samples for analysis. Most importantly, the devices are quite large and cumbersome, which prohibits them from being used on the International Space Station and the space shuttles. This novel device uses nanostructured quantum dots which, through molecular beam epitaxy and highly selective annealing processes, can be developed into an illumination source that could potentially generate hundreds of specific wavelengths. As a result, this device will be able to excite hundreds of antibody/fluorochrome polymer combinations, which in turn could be used to detect hundreds of bacteria

75 FR 59670 - Immunology and Microbiology Devices; Reclassification of the Herpes Simplex Virus Serological...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-28

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration 21 CFR Part 866 [Docket No. FDA-2010-N-0429] Immunology and Microbiology Devices; Reclassification of the Herpes Simplex Virus... proposed that 21 CFR part 866 be amended as follows: PART 866--IMMUNOLOGY AND MICROBIOLOGY DEVICES 1. The...

Portable EMG devices, Biofeedback and Contingent Electrical Stimulation applications in Bruxism

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Castrillon, Eduardo

Portable EMG devices, Biofeedback and Contingent Electrical Stimulation applications in Bruxism Eduardo Enrique, Castrillon Watanabe, DDS, MSc, PhD Section of Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function, Department of Dentistry, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; Scandinavian Center for Orofacial Neuroscience...... Summary: Bruxism is a parafunctional activity, which involves the masticatory muscles and probably it is as old as human mankind. Different methods such as portable EMG devices have been proposed to diagnose and understand the pathophysiology of bruxism. Biofeedback / contingent electrical stimulation...... characteristics make it complicated to assess bruxism using portable EMG devices. The possibility to assess bruxism like EMG activity on a portable device made it possible to use biofeedback and CES approaches in order to treat / manage bruxism. The available scientific information about CES effects on bruxism...

Smart Device for the Determination of Heart Rate Variability in Real Time

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Naranjo-Hernández

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This work presents a first approach to the design, development, and implementation of a smart device for the real-time measurement and detection of alterations in heart rate variability (HRV. The smart device follows a modular design scheme, which consists of an electrocardiogram (ECG signal acquisition module, a processing module and a wireless communications module. From five-minute ECG signals, the processing module algorithms perform a spectral estimation of the HRV. The experimental results demonstrate the viability of the smart device and the proposed processing algorithms.

SOA-BD: Service Oriented Architecture for Biomedical Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João Marcos Teixeira Lacerda

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The communication of information systems with biomedical devices has become complex not only due to the existence of several private communication protocols, but also to the immutable way that software is embedded into these devices. In this sense, this paper proposes a service-oriented architecture to access biomedical devices as a way to abstract the mechanisms of writing and reading data from these devices, thus contributing to enable the focus of the development team of biomedical software to be intended for its functional requirements, i.e. business rules relevant to the problem domain. Methods The SOA-BD architecture consists of five main components: A Web Service for transport and conversion of the device data, Communication Protocols to access the devices, Data Parsers to preprocess data, a Device Repository to store data and transmitted information and Error handling, for error handling of these information. For the development of SOA-BD, technologies such as the XML language and the Java programming language were used. Besides, Software Engineering concepts such as Design Patterns were also used. For the validation of this work, data has been collected from vital sign monitors in an Intensive Care Unit using HL7 standards. Results The tests obtained a difference of about only 1 second in terms of response time with the use of SOA-BD. Conclusion SOA-BD achieves important results such as the reduction on the access protocol complexity, the opportunity for treating patients over long distances, allowing easier development of monitoring applications and interoperability with biomedical devices from diverse manufacturers.

New device architecture of a thermoelectric energy conversion for recovering low-quality heat

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hoon; Park, Sung-Geun; Jung, Buyoung; Hwang, Junphil; Kim, Woochul

2014-03-01

Low-quality heat is generally discarded for economic reasons; a low-cost energy conversion device considering price per watt, /W, is required to recover this waste heat. Thin-film based thermoelectric devices could be a superior alternative for this purpose, based on their low material consumption; however, power generated in conventional thermoelectric device architecture is negligible due to the small temperature drop across the thin film. To overcome this challenge, we propose new device architecture, and demonstrate approximately 60 Kelvin temperature differences using a thick polymer nanocomposite. The temperature differences were achieved by separating the thermal path from the electrical path; whereas in conventional device architecture, both electrical charges and thermal energy share same path. We also applied this device to harvest body heat and confirmed its usability as an energy conversion device for recovering low-quality heat.

Robust sleep quality quantification method for a personal handheld device.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Hangsik; Choi, Byunghun; Kim, Doyoon; Cho, Jaegeol

2014-06-01

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a novel method for sleep quality quantification using personal handheld devices. The proposed method used 3- or 6-axes signals, including acceleration and angular velocity, obtained from built-in sensors in a smartphone and applied a real-time wavelet denoising technique to minimize the nonstationary noise. Sleep or wake status was decided on each axis, and the totals were finally summed to calculate sleep efficiency (SE), regarded as sleep quality in general. The sleep experiment was carried out for performance evaluation of the proposed method, and 14 subjects participated. An experimental protocol was designed for comparative analysis. The activity during sleep was recorded not only by the proposed method but also by well-known commercial applications simultaneously; moreover, activity was recorded on different mattresses and locations to verify the reliability in practical use. Every calculated SE was compared with the SE of a clinically certified medical device, the Philips (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) Actiwatch. In these experiments, the proposed method proved its reliability in quantifying sleep quality. Compared with the Actiwatch, accuracy and average bias error of SE calculated by the proposed method were 96.50% and -1.91%, respectively. The proposed method was vastly superior to other comparative applications with at least 11.41% in average accuracy and at least 6.10% in average bias; average accuracy and average absolute bias error of comparative applications were 76.33% and 17.52%, respectively.

TongueToSpeech (TTS): Wearable wireless assistive device for augmented speech.

Science.gov (United States)

Marjanovic, Nicholas; Piccinini, Giacomo; Kerr, Kevin; Esmailbeigi, Hananeh

2017-07-01

Speech is an important aspect of human communication; individuals with speech impairment are unable to communicate vocally in real time. Our team has developed the TongueToSpeech (TTS) device with the goal of augmenting speech communication for the vocally impaired. The proposed device is a wearable wireless assistive device that incorporates a capacitive touch keyboard interface embedded inside a discrete retainer. This device connects to a computer, tablet or a smartphone via Bluetooth connection. The developed TTS application converts text typed by the tongue into audible speech. Our studies have concluded that an 8-contact point configuration between the tongue and the TTS device would yield the best user precision and speed performance. On average using the TTS device inside the oral cavity takes 2.5 times longer than the pointer finger using a T9 (Text on 9 keys) keyboard configuration to type the same phrase. In conclusion, we have developed a discrete noninvasive wearable device that allows the vocally impaired individuals to communicate in real time.

A simple nonlinear dynamical computing device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miliotis, Abraham; Murali, K.; Sinha, Sudeshna; Ditto, William L.; Spano, Mark L.

2009-01-01

We propose and characterize an iterated map whose nonlinearity has a simple (i.e., minimal) electronic implementation. We then demonstrate explicitly how all the different fundamental logic gates can be implemented and morphed using this nonlinearity. These gates provide the full set of gates necessary to construct a general-purpose, reconfigurable computing device. As an example of how such chaotic computing devices can be exploited, we use an array of these maps to encode data and to process information. Each map can store one of M items, where M is variable and can be large. This nonlinear hardware stores data naturally in different bases or alphabets. We also show how this method of storing information can serve as a preprocessing tool for exact or inexact pattern-matching searches.

Conceptual design report for the UNI-CAT beam line proposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budai, J.D.; Ice, G.E.; Sparks, C.J.; Zschack, P.; Chen, H.; Chiang, T.C.; Nelson, M.C.; Salamon, M.B.; Simmons, R.O.; Robota, H.

1992-08-01

The overall thrusts of UNI-CAT (University-National Laboratory- Industry Collaborative Access Team) are research at the cutting edge of physics, chemistry, biology, materials science, chemical engineering, polymer science, and geology; and education of a new generation of scientists in the use of synchrotron radiation to probe the structure, chemistry, and dynamic behavior of materials. The UNI-CAT proposal is to develop an APS sector that includes a bending magnet beam line and an insertion device beam line. The APS type-A undulator is the preferred choice for the insertion device. 8 figs, 6 refs

Design Strategies for Efficient Access to Mobile Device Users via Amazon Mechanical Turk

OpenAIRE

Jacques, Jason; Kristensson, Per Ola

2017-01-01

It is often challenging to access a pool of mobile device users and instruct them to perform an interactive task. Yet such data is often vital to provide design insight at various stages of the design process of a mobile application, service or system. We propose accessing a pool of mobile device users via the microtask market Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). While mobile device users are still a minority on MTurk, they provide unique opportunities for requesters. Not only does catering to mob...

Application of plasma focus device to compression of toroidal plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikuta, Kazunari

1980-01-01

A new concept of compressing a toroidal plasma using a plasma focus device is considered. Maximum compression ratio of toroidal plasma is determined merely by the initial density ratio of the toroidal plasma to a sheet plasma in a focus device because of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. An initiation senario of plasma-linear is also proposed with a possible application of this concepts to the creation of a burning plasma in reversed field configurations, i.e., burning plasma vortex. (author)

Post-stratification based on a choice of a randomization device

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarjinder Singh

2014-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we use the idea of post-stratification based on the respondents’ choice of a particular randomization device in order to estimate the population proportion of a sensitive characteristic. The proposed idea gives full freedom to the respondents and is expected to result in greater cooperation from them as well as to provide some increase in the relative efficiency of the newly proposed estimator.

Real-time solution of the forward kinematics for a parallel haptic device using a numerical approach based on neural networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Guan Yang; Zhang, Yuru; Wang, Yan; Xie, Zheng

2015-01-01

This paper proposes a neural network (NN)-based approach to solve the forward kinematics of a 3-RRR spherical parallel mechanism designed for a haptic device. The proposed algorithm aims to remarkably speed up computation to meet the requirement of high frequency rendering for haptic display. To achieve high accuracy, the workspace of the haptic device is divided into smaller subspaces. The proposed algorithm contains NNs of two different precision levels: a rough estimation NN to identify the index of the subspace and several precise estimation networks with expected accuracy to calculate the forward kinematics. For continuous motion, the algorithm structure is further simplified to save internal memory and increase computing speed, which are critical for a haptic device control system running on an embedded platform. Compared with the mostly used Newton-Raphson method, the proposed algorithm and its simplified version greatly increase the calculation speed by about four times and 10 times, respectively, while achieving the same accuracy level. The proposed approach is of great significance for solving the forward kinematics of parallel mechanism used as haptic devices when high update frequency is needed but hardware resources are limited.

Re-centering variable friction device for vibration control of structures subjected to near-field earthquakes

Science.gov (United States)

Ozbulut, Osman E.; Hurlebaus, Stefan

2011-11-01

This paper proposes a re-centering variable friction device (RVFD) for control of civil structures subjected to near-field earthquakes. The proposed hybrid device has two sub-components. The first sub-component of this hybrid device consists of shape memory alloy (SMA) wires that exhibit a unique hysteretic behavior and full recovery following post-transformation deformations. The second sub-component of the hybrid device consists of variable friction damper (VFD) that can be intelligently controlled for adaptive semi-active behavior via modulation of its voltage level. In general, installed SMA devices have the ability to re-center structures at the end of the motion and VFDs can increase the energy dissipation capacity of structures. The full realization of these devices into a singular, hybrid form which complements the performance of each device is investigated in this study. A neuro-fuzzy model is used to capture rate- and temperature-dependent nonlinear behavior of the SMA components of the hybrid device. An optimal fuzzy logic controller (FLC) is developed to modulate voltage level of VFDs for favorable performance in a RVFD hybrid application. To obtain optimal controllers for concurrent mitigation of displacement and acceleration responses, tuning of governing fuzzy rules is conducted by a multi-objective heuristic optimization. Then, numerical simulation of a multi-story building is conducted to evaluate the performance of the hybrid device. Results show that a re-centering variable friction device modulated with a fuzzy logic control strategy can effectively reduce structural deformations without increasing acceleration response during near-field earthquakes.

Paper Capillary Enables Effective Sampling for Microfluidic Paper Analytical Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Shangguan, Jin-Wen; Liu, Yu; Wang, Sha; Hou, Yun-Xuan; Xu, Bi-Yi; Xu, Jing-Juan; Chen, Hong-Yuan

2018-06-06

Paper capillary is introduced to enable effective sampling on microfluidic paper analytical devices. By coupling mac-roscale capillary force of paper capillary and microscale capillary forces of native paper, fluid transport can be flexibly tailored with proper design. Subsequently, a hybrid-fluid-mode paper capillary device was proposed, which enables fast and reliable sampling in an arrayed form, with less surface adsorption and bias for different components. The resulting device thus well supports high throughput, quantitative, and repeatable assays all by hands operation. With all these merits, multiplex analysis of ions, proteins, and microbe have all been realized on this platform, which has paved the way to level-up analysis on μPADs.

Generic MIDI devices as new input for specialized software

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcin Badurowicz

2016-12-01

Full Text Available There are plenty of sublime devices, including input devices, for all kinds of specialists working with computers available on the market. Furthermore, the more specific solutions are needed, the more expensive and complicated they are. At the time when many people prefer to try as many things as possible before selecting the specific learning paths, both high price and high entry threshold, can appear as blockers. In the paper, there are selected some hardware and software solutions for facilitating the work of the professionals , who expect more analog-like interfaces and more natural ways to control computers presented. Additionally, the authors describe original software and hardware solution that allows the use of wide range MIDI devices as custom input devices. The concept of the software made is being presented, as well as some results of initial interaction of different kind of professionals and the proposed solution software and hardware.

Voltage-Controlled Reconfigurable Spin-Wave Nanochannels and Logic Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Rana, Bivas; Otani, YoshiChika

2018-01-01

Propagating spin waves (SWs) promise to be a potential information carrier in future spintronics devices with lower power consumption. Here, we propose reconfigurable nanochannels (NCs) generated by voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) in an ultrathin ferromagnetic waveguide for SW propagation. Numerical micromagnetic simulations are performed to demonstrate the confinement of magnetostatic forward volumelike spin waves in NCs by VCMA. We demonstrate that the NCs, with a width down to a few tens of a nanometer, can be configured either into a straight or curved structure on an extended SW waveguide. The key advantage is that either a single NC or any combination of a number of NCs can be easily configured by VCMA for simultaneous propagation of SWs either with the same or different wave vectors according to our needs. Furthermore, we demonstrate the logic operation of a voltage-controlled magnonic xnor and universal nand gate and propose a voltage-controlled reconfigurable SW switch for the development of a multiplexer and demultiplexer. We find that the NCs and logic devices can even be functioning in the absence of the external-bias magnetic field. These results are a step towards the development of all-voltage-controlled magnonic devices with an ultralow power consumption.

Analysis of Android Device-Based Solutions for Fall Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo Casilari

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Falls are a major cause of health and psychological problems as well as hospitalization costs among older adults. Thus, the investigation on automatic Fall Detection Systems (FDSs has received special attention from the research community during the last decade. In this area, the widespread popularity, decreasing price, computing capabilities, built-in sensors and multiplicity of wireless interfaces of Android-based devices (especially smartphones have fostered the adoption of this technology to deploy wearable and inexpensive architectures for fall detection. This paper presents a critical and thorough analysis of those existing fall detection systems that are based on Android devices. The review systematically classifies and compares the proposals of the literature taking into account different criteria such as the system architecture, the employed sensors, the detection algorithm or the response in case of a fall alarms. The study emphasizes the analysis of the evaluation methods that are employed to assess the effectiveness of the detection process. The review reveals the complete lack of a reference framework to validate and compare the proposals. In addition, the study also shows that most research works do not evaluate the actual applicability of the Android devices (with limited battery and computing resources to fall detection solutions.

Analysis of Android Device-Based Solutions for Fall Detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Casilari, Eduardo; Luque, Rafael; Morón, María-José

2015-07-23

Falls are a major cause of health and psychological problems as well as hospitalization costs among older adults. Thus, the investigation on automatic Fall Detection Systems (FDSs) has received special attention from the research community during the last decade. In this area, the widespread popularity, decreasing price, computing capabilities, built-in sensors and multiplicity of wireless interfaces of Android-based devices (especially smartphones) have fostered the adoption of this technology to deploy wearable and inexpensive architectures for fall detection. This paper presents a critical and thorough analysis of those existing fall detection systems that are based on Android devices. The review systematically classifies and compares the proposals of the literature taking into account different criteria such as the system architecture, the employed sensors, the detection algorithm or the response in case of a fall alarms. The study emphasizes the analysis of the evaluation methods that are employed to assess the effectiveness of the detection process. The review reveals the complete lack of a reference framework to validate and compare the proposals. In addition, the study also shows that most research works do not evaluate the actual applicability of the Android devices (with limited battery and computing resources) to fall detection solutions.

Analysis of Android Device-Based Solutions for Fall Detection

Science.gov (United States)

Casilari, Eduardo; Luque, Rafael; Morón, María-José

2015-01-01

Falls are a major cause of health and psychological problems as well as hospitalization costs among older adults. Thus, the investigation on automatic Fall Detection Systems (FDSs) has received special attention from the research community during the last decade. In this area, the widespread popularity, decreasing price, computing capabilities, built-in sensors and multiplicity of wireless interfaces of Android-based devices (especially smartphones) have fostered the adoption of this technology to deploy wearable and inexpensive architectures for fall detection. This paper presents a critical and thorough analysis of those existing fall detection systems that are based on Android devices. The review systematically classifies and compares the proposals of the literature taking into account different criteria such as the system architecture, the employed sensors, the detection algorithm or the response in case of a fall alarms. The study emphasizes the analysis of the evaluation methods that are employed to assess the effectiveness of the detection process. The review reveals the complete lack of a reference framework to validate and compare the proposals. In addition, the study also shows that most research works do not evaluate the actual applicability of the Android devices (with limited battery and computing resources) to fall detection solutions. PMID:26213928

A Pareto-based multi-objective optimization algorithm to design energy-efficient shading devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khoroshiltseva, Marina; Slanzi, Debora; Poli, Irene

2016-01-01

Highlights: • We present a multi-objective optimization algorithm for shading design. • We combine Harmony search and Pareto-based procedures. • Thermal and daylighting performances of external shading were considered. • We applied the optimization process to a residential social housing in Madrid. - Abstract: In this paper we address the problem of designing new energy-efficient static daylight devices that will surround the external windows of a residential building in Madrid. Shading devices can in fact largely influence solar gains in a building and improve thermal and lighting comforts by selectively intercepting the solar radiation and by reducing the undesirable glare. A proper shading device can therefore significantly increase the thermal performance of a building by reducing its energy demand in different climate conditions. In order to identify the set of optimal shading devices that allow a low energy consumption of the dwelling while maintaining high levels of thermal and lighting comfort for the inhabitants we derive a multi-objective optimization methodology based on Harmony Search and Pareto front approaches. The results show that the multi-objective approach here proposed is an effective procedure in designing energy efficient shading devices when a large set of conflicting objectives characterizes the performance of the proposed solutions.

Design and development of a device management platform for EAST cryogenic system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Zhiwei, E-mail: zzw@ipp.ac.cn; Lu, Xiaofei, E-mail: xiaofeilu@ipp.ac.cn; Zhuang, Ming, E-mail: zhm@ipp.ac.cn; Hu, Liangbing, E-mail: huliangbing@ipp.ac.cn; Xia, Genhai, E-mail: xgh@ipp.ac.cn

2014-05-15

Highlights: • A device management platform for EAST cryogenic system based on DCS is designed. • This platform enhances the integrity and continuity of system device information. • It can help predictive maintenance and device management decision. - Abstract: EAST cryogenic system is one of the critical sub-systems of the EAST tokamak device. It is a large scale helium cryoplant, which adopts distributed control system to realize monitoring and control of the cryogenic process and devices. However, the maintenance and management of most field devices are still in the corrective maintenance or traditional preventive maintenance stage. Under maintained or over maintained problems widely exist, which could cause devices fault and increase operation costs. Therefore, a device management platform is proposed for a safe and steady operation as well as fault diagnosis and predictive maintenance of EAST cryogenic system. This paper presents the function design and architecture design of the cryogenic device management platform. This platform is developed based on DeltaV DCS and acquires monitoring data through OPC protocol. It consists of three pillars, namely device information management, device condition management, and device performance monitoring. The development and implementation of every pillar are illustrated in detail in this paper. Test results and discussions are presented in the end.

Dynamical phase separation using a microfluidic device: experiments and modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Aymard, Benjamin; Vaes, Urbain; Radhakrishnan, Anand; Pradas, Marc; Gavriilidis, Asterios; Kalliadasis, Serafim; Complex Multiscale Systems Team

2017-11-01

We study the dynamical phase separation of a binary fluid by a microfluidic device both from the experimental and from the modeling points of view. The experimental device consists of a main channel (600 μm wide) leading into an array of 276 trapezoidal capillaries of 5 μm width arranged on both sides and separating the lateral channels from the main channel. Due to geometrical effects as well as wetting properties of the substrate, and under well chosen pressure boundary conditions, a multiphase flow introduced into the main channel gets separated at the capillaries. Understanding this dynamics via modeling and numerical simulation is a crucial step in designing future efficient micro-separators. We propose a diffuse-interface model, based on the classical Cahn-Hilliard-Navier-Stokes system, with a new nonlinear mobility and new wetting boundary conditions. We also propose a novel numerical method using a finite-element approach, together with an adaptive mesh refinement strategy. The complex geometry is captured using the same computer-aided design files as the ones adopted in the fabrication of the actual device. Numerical simulations reveal a very good qualitative agreement between model and experiments, demonstrating also a clear separation of phases.

Suture fixation of migrated septal occluder device to prevent further migration: a simple surgical technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohite Prashant N

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract As the use of percutaneous intervention is increasing for the closure of the atrial septal defect, the procedure related complications are also on rise, migration of the device being most common. The migrated devices with failed percutaneous retrieval must be removed surgically under cardiopulmonary bypass. During establishment of cardiopulmonary bypass, the handling of heart may cause further migration of the device into other chambers of heart which leads to difficulty in finding and retrieval of the device. The authors propose a simple and unique technique to prevent further migration of the septal occluder device.

Security Mechanism Based on Hospital Authentication Server for Secure Application of Implantable Medical Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang-Seop Park

2014-01-01

Full Text Available After two recent security attacks against implantable medical devices (IMDs have been reported, the privacy and security risks of IMDs have been widely recognized in the medical device market and research community, since the malfunctioning of IMDs might endanger the patient’s life. During the last few years, a lot of researches have been carried out to address the security-related issues of IMDs, including privacy, safety, and accessibility issues. A physician accesses IMD through an external device called a programmer, for diagnosis and treatment. Hence, cryptographic key management between IMD and programmer is important to enforce a strict access control. In this paper, a new security architecture for the security of IMDs is proposed, based on a 3-Tier security model, where the programmer interacts with a Hospital Authentication Server, to get permissions to access IMDs. The proposed security architecture greatly simplifies the key management between IMDs and programmers. Also proposed is a security mechanism to guarantee the authenticity of the patient data collected from IMD and the nonrepudiation of the physician’s treatment based on it. The proposed architecture and mechanism are analyzed and compared with several previous works, in terms of security and performance.

UAuth: A Strong Authentication Method from Personal Devices to Multi-accounts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yazhe Wang

2015-10-01

Full Text Available In this paper we present UAuth, a two-layer authentication framework that provides more security assurances than two-factor authentication while offering a simpler authentication experience. When authenticating, users first verified their static credentials (such as password, fingerprint, etc. on their devices to achieve the local-layer authentication, then submit the OTP-signed response generated by their device to the server to complete the server-layer authentication. We also propose the three-level account association mechanism, which establishes the association among devices, users and services, and then creates a mapping from user’s devices to user’s accounts. Users can gain access to different service via any device in the association easily. Our goal is to provide a quick and convenient SSO-like login process on the basis of security authentication. To meet the goal, we implement our UAuth, and evaluate our designs.

GeckoFTL: Scalable Flash Translation Techniques For Very Large Flash Devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dayan, Niv; Bonnet, Philippe; Idreos, Stratos

2016-01-01

The volume of metadata needed by a flash translation layer (FTL) is proportional to the storage capacity of a flash device. Ideally, this metadata should reside in the device's integrated RAM to enable fast access. However, as flash devices scale to terabytes, the necessary volume of metadata...... thereby harming performance and device lifetime. In this paper, we identify a key component of the metadata called the Page Validity Bitmap (PVB) as the bottleneck. PVB is used by the garbage-collectors of state-of-the-art FTLs to keep track of which physical pages in the device are invalid. PVB...... constitutes 95% of the FTL's RAM-resident metadata, and recovering PVB after power fails takes a significant proportion of the overall recovery time. To solve this problem, we propose a page-associative FTL called GeckoFTL, whose central innovation is replacing PVB with a new data structure called Logarithmic...

Design and prototyping of a wristband-type wireless photoplethysmographic device for heart rate variability signal analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghamari, M; Soltanpur, C; Cabrera, S; Romero, R; Martinek, R; Nazeran, H

2016-08-01

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) signal analysis provides a quantitative marker of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) function. A wristband-type wireless photoplethysmographic (PPG) device was custom-designed to collect and analyze the arterial pulse in the wrist. The proposed device is comprised of an optical sensor to monitor arterial pulse, a signal conditioning unit to filter and amplify the analog PPG signal, a microcontroller to digitize the analog PPG signal, and a Bluetooth module to transfer the data to a smart device. This paper proposes a novel model to represent the PPG signal as the summation of two Gaussian functions. The paper concludes with a verification procedure for HRV signal analysis during sedentary activities.

Novel Crosstalk Measurement Method for Multi-Core Fiber Fan-In/Fan-Out Devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ye, Feihong; Ono, Hirotaka; Abe, Yoshiteru

2016-01-01

We propose a new crosstalk measurement method for multi-core fiber fan-in/fan-out devices utilizing the Fresnel reflection. Compared with the traditional method using core-to-core coupling between a multi-core fiber and a single-mode fiber, the proposed method has the advantages of high reliability...

Shortening User Interface Design Iterations through Realtime Visualisation of Design Actions on the Target Device

OpenAIRE

MESKENS, Jan; LUYTEN, Kris; CONINX, Karin

2009-01-01

In current mobile user interface design tools, it is time consuming to export a design to the target device. This makes it hard for designers to iterate over the user interfaces they are creating. We propose Gummy-live, a GUI builder for mobile devices allowing designers to test and observe immediately on the target device each step they take in the GUI builder. This way, designers are stimulated to iteratively test and refine user interface prototypes in order to take the target device charac...

A Rhythm-Based Authentication Scheme for Smart Media Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae Dong Lee

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, ubiquitous computing has been rapidly emerged in our lives and extensive studies have been conducted in a variety of areas related to smart devices, such as tablets, smartphones, smart TVs, smart refrigerators, and smart media devices, as a measure for realizing the ubiquitous computing. In particular, smartphones have significantly evolved from the traditional feature phones. Increasingly higher-end smartphone models that can perform a range of functions are now available. Smart devices have become widely popular since they provide high efficiency and great convenience for not only private daily activities but also business endeavors. Rapid advancements have been achieved in smart device technologies to improve the end users’ convenience. Consequently, many people increasingly rely on smart devices to store their valuable and important data. With this increasing dependence, an important aspect that must be addressed is security issues. Leaking of private information or sensitive business data due to loss or theft of smart devices could result in exorbitant damage. To mitigate these security threats, basic embedded locking features are provided in smart devices. However, these locking features are vulnerable. In this paper, an original security-locking scheme using a rhythm-based locking system (RLS is proposed to overcome the existing security problems of smart devices. RLS is a user-authenticated system that addresses vulnerability issues in the existing locking features and provides secure confidentiality in addition to convenience.

Efficiency Optimization Of Attendance System With GPS And Biometric Method Using Mobile Devices

OpenAIRE

Soewito, Benfano; Simanjuntak, Echo Wahana Marciano

2014-01-01

The existing attendance system still has drawbacks, namely the queue in front of the finger scanner, the attendance data are not integrated with Human Resources Systems, and also the employees who work outside the office cannot get in the attendance system to roll presence. In the other hand, everyone has the mobile devices and all the mobile devices will be embedded a finger scanner in the future. In this paper, it is proposed the absence system using one own device. The finger scanner and c...

Instantly Decodable Network Coding: From Centralized to Device-to-Device Communications

KAUST Repository

Douik, Ahmed S.

2015-05-01

From its introduction to its quindecennial, network coding have built a strong reputation in enhancing packet recovery process and achieving maximum information flow in both wires and wireless networks. Traditional studies focused on optimizing the throughput of the network by proposing complex schemes that achieve optimal delay. With the shift toward distributed computing at mobile devices, throughput and complexity become both critical factors that affect the efficiency of a coding scheme. Instantly decodable network coding imposed itself as a new paradigm in network coding that trades off this two aspects. This paper presents a survey of instantly decodable network coding schemes that are proposed in the literature. The various schemes are identified, categorized and evaluated. Two categories can be distinguished namely the conventional centralized schemes and the distributed or cooperative schemes. For each scheme, the comparison is carried out in terms of reliability, performance, complexity and packet selection methodology. Although the performance is generally inversely proportional to the computation complexity, numerous successful schemes from both the performance and complexity viewpoint are identified.

Instantly Decodable Network Coding: From Centralized to Device-to-Device Communications

KAUST Repository

Douik, Ahmed S.

2015-01-01

From its introduction to its quindecennial, network coding have built a strong reputation in enhancing packet recovery process and achieving maximum information flow in both wires and wireless networks. Traditional studies focused on optimizing the throughput of the network by proposing complex schemes that achieve optimal delay. With the shift toward distributed computing at mobile devices, throughput and complexity become both critical factors that affect the efficiency of a coding scheme. Instantly decodable network coding imposed itself as a new paradigm in network coding that trades off this two aspects. This paper presents a survey of instantly decodable network coding schemes that are proposed in the literature. The various schemes are identified, categorized and evaluated. Two categories can be distinguished namely the conventional centralized schemes and the distributed or cooperative schemes. For each scheme, the comparison is carried out in terms of reliability, performance, complexity and packet selection methodology. Although the performance is generally inversely proportional to the computation complexity, numerous successful schemes from both the performance and complexity viewpoint are identified.

CHEMICALS

CERN Multimedia

Medical Service

2002-01-01

It is reminded that all persons who use chemicals must inform CERN's Chemistry Service (TIS-GS-GC) and the CERN Medical Service (TIS-ME). Information concerning their toxicity or other hazards as well as the necessary individual and collective protection measures will be provided by these two services. Users must be in possession of a material safety data sheet (MSDS) for each chemical used. These can be obtained by one of several means : the manufacturer of the chemical (legally obliged to supply an MSDS for each chemical delivered) ; CERN's Chemistry Service of the General Safety Group of TIS ; for chemicals and gases available in the CERN Stores the MSDS has been made available via EDH either in pdf format or else via a link to the supplier's web site. Training courses in chemical safety are available for registration via HR-TD. CERN Medical Service : TIS-ME :73186 or service.medical@cern.ch Chemistry Service : TIS-GS-GC : 78546

Costs by industry and diagnosis among musculoskeletal claims in a state workers compensation system: 1999-2004.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunning, Kari K; Davis, Kermit G; Cook, Chad; Kotowski, Susan E; Hamrick, Chris; Jewell, Gregory; Lockey, James

2010-03-01

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a tremendous burden on industry in the United States. However, there is limited understanding of the unique issues relating to specific industry sectors, specifically the frequency and costs of different MSDs. Claim data from 1999 to 2004 from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation were analyzed as a function of industry sector (NAICS industry-sector categories) and anatomical region (ICD-9 codes). Almost 50% of the claims were lumbar spine (26.9%) or hand/wrist (21.7%). The majority of claims were from manufacturing (25.1%) and service (32.8%) industries. The industries with the highest average costs per claim were transportation, warehouse, and utilities and construction. Across industries, the highest costs per claim were consistently for the lumbar spine, shoulder, and cervical spine body regions. This study provides insight into the severity (i.e., medical and indemnity costs) of MSDs across multiple industries, providing data for prioritizing of resources for research and interventions. 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Postural loading assessment in assembly workers of an Iranian telecommunication manufacturing company.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamalinia, Mojtaba; Nasl Saraji, Gebreal; Kee, Dohyung; Hosseini, Mostafa; Choobineh, Alireza

2013-01-01

Changes in industries and work practices have coincided with work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of MSDs and to assess postural loading in assembly workers of an Iranian telecommunication manufacturing company. Data were collected from 193 randomly selected workers in 4 units of the company. The Nordic musculoskeletal disorders questionnaire and the UBC ergonomic checklist were used as data collection tools. Loading on the upper body assessment (LUBA) was used to assess postural loading. Lower back symptoms were the most prevalent problems among the workers (67.9%). LUBA showed that most assembly workers (94.3%) had experienced considerable and high postural loading (postural load index, PLI > 5). Regression analyses revealed that lighting, rotation, contact stress, repetition, gender and age were factors associated with symptoms. Work-related MSDs occurred at a high rate among workers. Postural loading requires consideration. Any ergonomic intervention should focus on eliminating ergonomic factors associated with symptoms.

Energy transport in cooling device by magnetic fluid

Science.gov (United States)

Yamaguchi, Hiroshi; Iwamoto, Yuhiro

2017-06-01

Temperature sensitive magnetic fluid has a great potential with high performance heat transport ability as well as long distance energy (heat) transporting. In the present study experimental set-up was newly designed and constructed in order to measure basic heat transport characteristics under various magnetic field conditions. Angular dependence for the device (heat transfer section) was also taken into consideration for a sake of practical applications. The energy transfer characteristic (heat transport capability) in the magnetically-driven heat transport (cooling) device using the binary TSMF was fully investigated with the set-up. The obtained results indicate that boiling of the organic mixture (before the magnetic fluid itself reaching boiling point) effectively enhances the heat transfer as well as boosting the flow to circulate in the closed loop by itself. A long-distance heat transport of 5 m is experimentally confirmed, transferring the thermal energy of 35.8 W, even when the device (circulation loop) is horizontally placed. The highlighted results reveal that the proposed cooling device is innovative in a sense of transporting substantial amount of thermal energy (heat) as well as a long distance heat transport. The development of the magnetically-driven heat transport device has a great potential to be replaced for the conventional heat pipe in application of thermal engineering.

Parasitic phenomena in the dynamics of industrial devices

CERN Document Server

Borboni, Alberto

2011-01-01

In the real world the dynamic behavior of a real machine presents either unforeseen or limiting phenomena: both are undesired, and can be therefore be classified as parasitic phenomena - unwanted, unforeseen, or limiting behaviors. Parasitic Phenomena in the Dynamics of Industrial Devices describes the potential causes and effects of these behaviors and provides indications that could minimize their influence on the mechanical system in question. The authors introduce the phenomena and explore them through real cases, avoiding academic introductions, but inserting the entire academic and experimental knowledge that is useful to understand and solve real-world problems. They then examine these parasitic phenomena in the machine dynamics, using two cases that cover the classical cultural division between cam devices and mechanisms. They also present concrete cases with an amount of experimental data higher than the proposed ones and with a modern approach that can be applied to various mechanical devices, acqui...

Bogotá experience in government: device and educational strategies to expressions, scenarios and breaks on a proposal for citizen culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gloria Clemencia VALENCIA GONZÁLEZ

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The Bogotá currently known, rebuilt from the ashes of 9 April got used for decades to live labors, fear and mistrust, but particularly in exclusion. With the arrival of Antanas Mockus to Mayor broke various paradigms: he and his cabinet not came from the traditional political caste, came from the Academy and claimed other relationships with citizenship. In addition, became the city learning space because their Government project drew on the political but evidenced in the pedagogical and found its deployment in the communicative. Six priorities proposed for government experience are articulated around one: civic culture. Culture that should be disseminated, learned and implementation from train in town, then so is generate sense of belonging, would facilitate urban coexistence and would lead to the respect of the common heritage and recognition of the rights and duties of citizens. In the Mayor Mockus’s «great classroom» citizenship would of apathy to the habitancia. Far pedagogy and communication, as not nominated devices, managed to go beyond the labelling and the indication and approached the civic culture to political socialization? This reflection article links to research «higher education and training citizen, case Bogotá» and consists of five sections.

Ontology-Based Device Descriptions and Device Repository for Building Automation Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dibowski Henrik

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Device descriptions play an important role in the design and commissioning of modern building automation systems and help reducing the design time and costs. However, all established device descriptions are specialized for certain purposes and suffer from several weaknesses. This hinders a further design automation, which is strongly needed for the more and more complex building automation systems. To overcome these problems, this paper presents novel Ontology-based Device Descriptions (ODDs along with a layered ontology architecture, a specific ontology view approach with virtual properties, a generic access interface, a triple store-based database backend, and a generic search mask GUI with underlying query generation algorithm. It enables a formal, unified, and extensible specification of building automation devices, ensures their comparability, and facilitates a computer-enabled retrieval, selection, and interoperability evaluation, which is essential for an automated design. The scalability of the approach to several ten thousand devices is demonstrated.

Energy efficient hybrid computing systems using spin devices

Science.gov (United States)

Sharad, Mrigank

Emerging spin-devices like magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ's), spin-valves and domain wall magnets (DWM) have opened new avenues for spin-based logic design. This work explored potential computing applications which can exploit such devices for higher energy-efficiency and performance. The proposed applications involve hybrid design schemes, where charge-based devices supplement the spin-devices, to gain large benefits at the system level. As an example, lateral spin valves (LSV) involve switching of nanomagnets using spin-polarized current injection through a metallic channel such as Cu. Such spin-torque based devices possess several interesting properties that can be exploited for ultra-low power computation. Analog characteristic of spin current facilitate non-Boolean computation like majority evaluation that can be used to model a neuron. The magneto-metallic neurons can operate at ultra-low terminal voltage of ˜20mV, thereby resulting in small computation power. Moreover, since nano-magnets inherently act as memory elements, these devices can facilitate integration of logic and memory in interesting ways. The spin based neurons can be integrated with CMOS and other emerging devices leading to different classes of neuromorphic/non-Von-Neumann architectures. The spin-based designs involve `mixed-mode' processing and hence can provide very compact and ultra-low energy solutions for complex computation blocks, both digital as well as analog. Such low-power, hybrid designs can be suitable for various data processing applications like cognitive computing, associative memory, and currentmode on-chip global interconnects. Simulation results for these applications based on device-circuit co-simulation framework predict more than ˜100x improvement in computation energy as compared to state of the art CMOS design, for optimal spin-device parameters.

Memristive device based learning for navigation in robots.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarim, Mohammad; Kumar, Manish; Jha, Rashmi; Minai, Ali A

2017-11-08

Biomimetic robots have gained attention recently for various applications ranging from resource hunting to search and rescue operations during disasters. Biological species are known to intuitively learn from the environment, gather and process data, and make appropriate decisions. Such sophisticated computing capabilities in robots are difficult to achieve, especially if done in real-time with ultra-low energy consumption. Here, we present a novel memristive device based learning architecture for robots. Two terminal memristive devices with resistive switching of oxide layer are modeled in a crossbar array to develop a neuromorphic platform that can impart active real-time learning capabilities in a robot. This approach is validated by navigating a robot vehicle in an unknown environment with randomly placed obstacles. Further, the proposed scheme is compared with reinforcement learning based algorithms using local and global knowledge of the environment. The simulation as well as experimental results corroborate the validity and potential of the proposed learning scheme for robots. The results also show that our learning scheme approaches an optimal solution for some environment layouts in robot navigation.

Field-Programmable Logic Devices with Optical Input Output

Science.gov (United States)

Szymanski, Ted H.; Saint-Laurent, Martin; Tyan, Victor; Au, Albert; Supmonchai, Boonchuay

2000-02-01

A field-programmable logic device (FPLD) with optical I O is described. FPLD s with optical I O can have their functionality specified in the field by means of downloading a control-bit stream and can be used in a wide range of applications, such as optical signal processing, optical image processing, and optical interconnects. Our device implements six state-of-the-art dynamically programmable logic arrays (PLA s) on a 2 mm 2 mm die. The devices were fabricated through the Lucent Technologies Advanced Research Projects Agency Consortium for Optical and Optoelectronic Technologies in Computing (Lucent ARPA COOP) workshop by use of 0.5- m complementary metal-oxide semiconductor self-electro-optic device technology and were delivered in 1998. All devices are fully functional: The electronic data paths have been verified at 200 MHz, and optical tests are pending. The device has been programmed to implement a two-stage optical switching network with six 4 4 crossbar switches, which can realize more than 190 10 6 unique programmable input output permutations. The same device scaled to a 2 cm 2 cm substrate could support as many as 4000 optical I O and 1 Tbit s of optical I O bandwidth and offer fully programmable digital functionality with approximately 110,000 programmable logic gates. The proposed optoelectronic FPLD is also ideally suited to realizing dense, statically reconfigurable crossbar switches. We describe an attractive application area for such devices: a rearrangeable three-stage optical switch for a wide-area-network backbone, switching 1000 traffic streams at the OC-48 data rate and supporting several terabits of traffic.

Use of activity theory-based need finding for biomedical device development.

Science.gov (United States)

Rismani, Shalaleh; Ratto, Matt; Machiel Van der Loos, H F

2016-08-01

Identifying the appropriate needs for biomedical device design is challenging, especially for less structured environments. The paper proposes an alternate need-finding method based on Cultural Historical Activity Theory and expanded to explicitly examine the role of devices within a socioeconomic system. This is compared to a conventional need-finding technique in a preliminary study with engineering student teams. The initial results show that the Activity Theory-based technique allows teams to gain deeper insights into their needs space.

Intra-building People Localisation Using Personal Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)