WorldWideScience

Sample records for hierarchical sampling design

  1. Hierarchical Network Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomadsen, Tommy

    2005-01-01

    Communication networks are immensely important today, since both companies and individuals use numerous services that rely on them. This thesis considers the design of hierarchical (communication) networks. Hierarchical networks consist of layers of networks and are well-suited for coping...... with changing and increasing demands. Two-layer networks consist of one backbone network, which interconnects cluster networks. The clusters consist of nodes and links, which connect the nodes. One node in each cluster is a hub node, and the backbone interconnects the hub nodes of each cluster and thus...... the clusters. The design of hierarchical networks involves clustering of nodes, hub selection, and network design, i.e. selection of links and routing of ows. Hierarchical networks have been in use for decades, but integrated design of these networks has only been considered for very special types of networks...

  2. An adaptive sampling method for variable-fidelity surrogate models using improved hierarchical kriging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Jiexiang; Zhou, Qi; Jiang, Ping; Shao, Xinyu; Xie, Tingli

    2018-01-01

    Variable-fidelity (VF) modelling methods have been widely used in complex engineering system design to mitigate the computational burden. Building a VF model generally includes two parts: design of experiments and metamodel construction. In this article, an adaptive sampling method based on improved hierarchical kriging (ASM-IHK) is proposed to refine the improved VF model. First, an improved hierarchical kriging model is developed as the metamodel, in which the low-fidelity model is varied through a polynomial response surface function to capture the characteristics of a high-fidelity model. Secondly, to reduce local approximation errors, an active learning strategy based on a sequential sampling method is introduced to make full use of the already required information on the current sampling points and to guide the sampling process of the high-fidelity model. Finally, two numerical examples and the modelling of the aerodynamic coefficient for an aircraft are provided to demonstrate the approximation capability of the proposed approach, as well as three other metamodelling methods and two sequential sampling methods. The results show that ASM-IHK provides a more accurate metamodel at the same simulation cost, which is very important in metamodel-based engineering design problems.

  3. Hierarchical adaptive experimental design for Gaussian process emulators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Busby, Daniel

    2009-01-01

    Large computer simulators have usually complex and nonlinear input output functions. This complicated input output relation can be analyzed by global sensitivity analysis; however, this usually requires massive Monte Carlo simulations. To effectively reduce the number of simulations, statistical techniques such as Gaussian process emulators can be adopted. The accuracy and reliability of these emulators strongly depend on the experimental design where suitable evaluation points are selected. In this paper a new sequential design strategy called hierarchical adaptive design is proposed to obtain an accurate emulator using the least possible number of simulations. The hierarchical design proposed in this paper is tested on various standard analytic functions and on a challenging reservoir forecasting application. Comparisons with standard one-stage designs such as maximin latin hypercube designs show that the hierarchical adaptive design produces a more accurate emulator with the same number of computer experiments. Moreover a stopping criterion is proposed that enables to perform the number of simulations necessary to obtain required approximation accuracy.

  4. Hierarchical cellular designs for load-bearing biocomposite beams and plates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burgueno, Rigoberto; Quagliata, Mario J.; Mohanty, Amar K.; Mehta, Geeta; Drzal, Lawrence T.; Misra, Manjusri

    2005-01-01

    Scrutiny into the composition of natural, or biological materials convincingly reveals that high material and structural efficiency can be attained, even with moderate-quality constituents, by hierarchical topologies, i.e., successively organized material levels or layers. The present study demonstrates that biologically inspired hierarchical designs can help improve the moderate properties of natural fiber polymer composites or biocomposites and allow them to compete with conventional materials for load-bearing applications. An overview of the mechanics concepts that allow hierarchical designs to achieve higher performance is presented, followed by observation and results from flexural tests on periodic and hierarchical cellular beams and plates made from industrial hemp fibers and unsaturated polyester resin biocomposites. The experimental data is shown to agree well with performance indices predicted by mechanics models. A procedure for the multi-scale integrated material/structural analysis of hierarchical cellular biocomposite components is presented and its advantages and limitations are discussed

  5. Parameter-Invariant Hierarchical Exclusive Alphabet Design for 2-WRC with HDF Strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Uřičář

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Hierarchical eXclusive Code (HXC for the Hierarchical Decode and Forward (HDF strategy in the Wireless 2-Way Relay Channel (2-WRC has the achievable rate region extended beyond the classical MAC region. Although direct HXC design is in general highly complex, a layered approach to HXC design is a feasible solution. While the outer layer code of the layered HXC can be any state-of-the-art capacity approaching code, the inner layer must be designed in such a way that the exclusive property of hierarchical symbols (received at the relay will be provided. The simplest case of the inner HXC layer is a simple signal space channel symbol memoryless mapper called Hierarchical eXclusive Alphabet (HXA. The proper design of HXA is important, especially in the case of parametric channels, where channel parametrization (e.g. phase rotation can violate the exclusive property of hierarchical symbols (as seen by the relay, resulting in significant capacity degradation. In this paper we introduce an example of a geometrical approach to Parameter-Invariant HXA design, and we show that the corresponding hierarchical MAC capacity region extends beyond the classical MAC region, irrespective of the channel pametrization.

  6. Urban pattern: Layout design by hierarchical domain splitting

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Yongliang; Wang, Jun; Vouga, Etienne; Wonka, Peter

    2013-01-01

    We present a framework for generating street networks and parcel layouts. Our goal is the generation of high-quality layouts that can be used for urban planning and virtual environments. We propose a solution based on hierarchical domain splitting using two splitting types: streamline-based splitting, which splits a region along one or multiple streamlines of a cross field, and template-based splitting, which warps pre-designed templates to a region and uses the interior geometry of the template as the splitting lines. We combine these two splitting approaches into a hierarchical framework, providing automatic and interactive tools to explore the design space.

  7. Urban pattern: Layout design by hierarchical domain splitting

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Yongliang

    2013-11-06

    We present a framework for generating street networks and parcel layouts. Our goal is the generation of high-quality layouts that can be used for urban planning and virtual environments. We propose a solution based on hierarchical domain splitting using two splitting types: streamline-based splitting, which splits a region along one or multiple streamlines of a cross field, and template-based splitting, which warps pre-designed templates to a region and uses the interior geometry of the template as the splitting lines. We combine these two splitting approaches into a hierarchical framework, providing automatic and interactive tools to explore the design space.

  8. Synchronization of Hierarchical Time-Varying Neural Networks Based on Asynchronous and Intermittent Sampled-Data Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiong, Wenjun; Patel, Ragini; Cao, Jinde; Zheng, Wei Xing

    In this brief, our purpose is to apply asynchronous and intermittent sampled-data control methods to achieve the synchronization of hierarchical time-varying neural networks. The asynchronous and intermittent sampled-data controllers are proposed for two reasons: 1) the controllers may not transmit the control information simultaneously and 2) the controllers cannot always exist at any time . The synchronization is then discussed for a kind of hierarchical time-varying neural networks based on the asynchronous and intermittent sampled-data controllers. Finally, the simulation results are given to illustrate the usefulness of the developed criteria.In this brief, our purpose is to apply asynchronous and intermittent sampled-data control methods to achieve the synchronization of hierarchical time-varying neural networks. The asynchronous and intermittent sampled-data controllers are proposed for two reasons: 1) the controllers may not transmit the control information simultaneously and 2) the controllers cannot always exist at any time . The synchronization is then discussed for a kind of hierarchical time-varying neural networks based on the asynchronous and intermittent sampled-data controllers. Finally, the simulation results are given to illustrate the usefulness of the developed criteria.

  9. Hierarchical Coupling of First-Principles Molecular Dynamics with Advanced Sampling Methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sevgen, Emre; Giberti, Federico; Sidky, Hythem; Whitmer, Jonathan K; Galli, Giulia; Gygi, Francois; de Pablo, Juan J

    2018-05-14

    We present a seamless coupling of a suite of codes designed to perform advanced sampling simulations, with a first-principles molecular dynamics (MD) engine. As an illustrative example, we discuss results for the free energy and potential surfaces of the alanine dipeptide obtained using both local and hybrid density functionals (DFT), and we compare them with those of a widely used classical force field, Amber99sb. In our calculations, the efficiency of first-principles MD using hybrid functionals is augmented by hierarchical sampling, where hybrid free energy calculations are initiated using estimates obtained with local functionals. We find that the free energy surfaces obtained from classical and first-principles calculations differ. Compared to DFT results, the classical force field overestimates the internal energy contribution of high free energy states, and it underestimates the entropic contribution along the entire free energy profile. Using the string method, we illustrate how these differences lead to different transition pathways connecting the metastable minima of the alanine dipeptide. In larger peptides, those differences would lead to qualitatively different results for the equilibrium structure and conformation of these molecules.

  10. Immunophenotype Discovery, Hierarchical Organization, and Template-based Classification of Flow Cytometry Samples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ariful Azad

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available We describe algorithms for discovering immunophenotypes from large collections of flow cytometry (FC samples, and using them to organize the samples into a hierarchy based on phenotypic similarity. The hierarchical organization is helpful for effective and robust cytometry data mining, including the creation of collections of cell populations characteristic of different classes of samples, robust classification, and anomaly detection. We summarize a set of samples belonging to a biological class or category with a statistically derived template for the class. Whereas individual samples are represented in terms of their cell populations (clusters, a template consists of generic meta-populations (a group of homogeneous cell populations obtained from the samples in a class that describe key phenotypes shared among all those samples. We organize an FC data collection in a hierarchical data structure that supports the identification of immunophenotypes relevant to clinical diagnosis. A robust template-based classification scheme is also developed, but our primary focus is in the discovery of phenotypic signatures and inter-sample relationships in an FC data collection. This collective analysis approach is more efficient and robust since templates describe phenotypic signatures common to cell populations in several samples, while ignoring noise and small sample-specific variations.We have applied the template-base scheme to analyze several data setsincluding one representing a healthy immune system, and one of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AMLsamples. The last task is challenging due to the phenotypic heterogeneity of the severalsubtypes of AML. However, we identified thirteen immunophenotypes corresponding to subtypes of AML, and were able to distinguish Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia from other subtypes of AML.

  11. Hierarchical sliding mode control for under-actuated cranes design, analysis and simulation

    CERN Document Server

    Qian, Dianwei

    2015-01-01

    This book reports on the latest developments in sliding mode overhead crane control, presenting novel research ideas and findings on sliding mode control (SMC), hierarchical SMC and compensator design-based hierarchical sliding mode. The results, which were previously scattered across various journals and conference proceedings, are now presented in a systematic and unified form. The book will be of interest to researchers, engineers and graduate students in control engineering and mechanical engineering who want to learn the methods and applications of SMC.

  12. Estimating the spatial scale of herbicide and soil interactions by nested sampling, hierarchical analysis of variance and residual maximum likelihood

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Price, Oliver R., E-mail: oliver.price@unilever.co [Warwick-HRI, University of Warwick, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV32 6EF (United Kingdom); University of Reading, Soil Science Department, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6UR (United Kingdom); Oliver, Margaret A. [University of Reading, Soil Science Department, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6UR (United Kingdom); Walker, Allan [Warwick-HRI, University of Warwick, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV32 6EF (United Kingdom); Wood, Martin [University of Reading, Soil Science Department, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6UR (United Kingdom)

    2009-05-15

    An unbalanced nested sampling design was used to investigate the spatial scale of soil and herbicide interactions at the field scale. A hierarchical analysis of variance based on residual maximum likelihood (REML) was used to analyse the data and provide a first estimate of the variogram. Soil samples were taken at 108 locations at a range of separating distances in a 9 ha field to explore small and medium scale spatial variation. Soil organic matter content, pH, particle size distribution, microbial biomass and the degradation and sorption of the herbicide, isoproturon, were determined for each soil sample. A large proportion of the spatial variation in isoproturon degradation and sorption occurred at sampling intervals less than 60 m, however, the sampling design did not resolve the variation present at scales greater than this. A sampling interval of 20-25 m should ensure that the main spatial structures are identified for isoproturon degradation rate and sorption without too great a loss of information in this field. - Estimating the spatial scale of herbicide and soil interactions by nested sampling.

  13. Estimating the spatial scale of herbicide and soil interactions by nested sampling, hierarchical analysis of variance and residual maximum likelihood

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Price, Oliver R.; Oliver, Margaret A.; Walker, Allan; Wood, Martin

    2009-01-01

    An unbalanced nested sampling design was used to investigate the spatial scale of soil and herbicide interactions at the field scale. A hierarchical analysis of variance based on residual maximum likelihood (REML) was used to analyse the data and provide a first estimate of the variogram. Soil samples were taken at 108 locations at a range of separating distances in a 9 ha field to explore small and medium scale spatial variation. Soil organic matter content, pH, particle size distribution, microbial biomass and the degradation and sorption of the herbicide, isoproturon, were determined for each soil sample. A large proportion of the spatial variation in isoproturon degradation and sorption occurred at sampling intervals less than 60 m, however, the sampling design did not resolve the variation present at scales greater than this. A sampling interval of 20-25 m should ensure that the main spatial structures are identified for isoproturon degradation rate and sorption without too great a loss of information in this field. - Estimating the spatial scale of herbicide and soil interactions by nested sampling.

  14. A statistically rigorous sampling design to integrate avian monitoring and management within Bird Conservation Regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavlacky, David C; Lukacs, Paul M; Blakesley, Jennifer A; Skorkowsky, Robert C; Klute, David S; Hahn, Beth A; Dreitz, Victoria J; George, T Luke; Hanni, David J

    2017-01-01

    Monitoring is an essential component of wildlife management and conservation. However, the usefulness of monitoring data is often undermined by the lack of 1) coordination across organizations and regions, 2) meaningful management and conservation objectives, and 3) rigorous sampling designs. Although many improvements to avian monitoring have been discussed, the recommendations have been slow to emerge in large-scale programs. We introduce the Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions (IMBCR) program designed to overcome the above limitations. Our objectives are to outline the development of a statistically defensible sampling design to increase the value of large-scale monitoring data and provide example applications to demonstrate the ability of the design to meet multiple conservation and management objectives. We outline the sampling process for the IMBCR program with a focus on the Badlands and Prairies Bird Conservation Region (BCR 17). We provide two examples for the Brewer's sparrow (Spizella breweri) in BCR 17 demonstrating the ability of the design to 1) determine hierarchical population responses to landscape change and 2) estimate hierarchical habitat relationships to predict the response of the Brewer's sparrow to conservation efforts at multiple spatial scales. The collaboration across organizations and regions provided economy of scale by leveraging a common data platform over large spatial scales to promote the efficient use of monitoring resources. We designed the IMBCR program to address the information needs and core conservation and management objectives of the participating partner organizations. Although it has been argued that probabilistic sampling designs are not practical for large-scale monitoring, the IMBCR program provides a precedent for implementing a statistically defensible sampling design from local to bioregional scales. We demonstrate that integrating conservation and management objectives with rigorous statistical

  15. A statistically rigorous sampling design to integrate avian monitoring and management within Bird Conservation Regions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David C Pavlacky

    Full Text Available Monitoring is an essential component of wildlife management and conservation. However, the usefulness of monitoring data is often undermined by the lack of 1 coordination across organizations and regions, 2 meaningful management and conservation objectives, and 3 rigorous sampling designs. Although many improvements to avian monitoring have been discussed, the recommendations have been slow to emerge in large-scale programs. We introduce the Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions (IMBCR program designed to overcome the above limitations. Our objectives are to outline the development of a statistically defensible sampling design to increase the value of large-scale monitoring data and provide example applications to demonstrate the ability of the design to meet multiple conservation and management objectives. We outline the sampling process for the IMBCR program with a focus on the Badlands and Prairies Bird Conservation Region (BCR 17. We provide two examples for the Brewer's sparrow (Spizella breweri in BCR 17 demonstrating the ability of the design to 1 determine hierarchical population responses to landscape change and 2 estimate hierarchical habitat relationships to predict the response of the Brewer's sparrow to conservation efforts at multiple spatial scales. The collaboration across organizations and regions provided economy of scale by leveraging a common data platform over large spatial scales to promote the efficient use of monitoring resources. We designed the IMBCR program to address the information needs and core conservation and management objectives of the participating partner organizations. Although it has been argued that probabilistic sampling designs are not practical for large-scale monitoring, the IMBCR program provides a precedent for implementing a statistically defensible sampling design from local to bioregional scales. We demonstrate that integrating conservation and management objectives with rigorous

  16. A hierarchical method for structural topology design problems with local stress and displacement constraints

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stolpe, Mathias; Stidsen, Thomas K.

    2005-01-01

    In this paper we present a hierarchical optimization method for finding feasible true 0-1 solutions to finite element based topology design problems. The topology design problems are initially modeled as non-convex mixed 0-1 programs. The hierarchical optimization method is applied to the problem...... and then successively refined as needed. At each level of design mesh refinement, a neighborhood optimization method is used to solve the problem considered. The non-convex topology design problems are equivalently reformulated as convex all-quadratic mixed 0-1 programs. This reformulation enables the use of methods...... of minimizing the weight of a structure subject to displacement and local design-dependent stress constraints. The method iteratively solves a sequence of problems of increasing size of the same type as the original problem. The problems are defined on a design mesh which is initially coarse...

  17. Reliability and Hierarchical Structure of DSM-5 Pathological Traits in a Danish Mixed Sample

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bo, Sune; Bach, Bo; Mortensen, Erik Lykke

    2016-01-01

    In this study we assessed the DSM-5 trait model in a large Danish sample (n = 1,119) with respect to reliability of the applied Danish version of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) self-report form by means of internal consistency and item discrimination. In addition, we tested whether...... the five-factor structure of the DSM-5 trait model can be replicated in a Danish independent sample using the PID-5 self-report form. Finally, we examined the hierarchical structure of DSM-5 traits. In terms of internal consistency and item discrimination, the applied PID-5 scales were generally found...... reliable and functional; our data resembled the five-factor structure of previous findings, and we identified a hierarchical structure from one to five factors that was conceptually reasonable and corresponded with existing findings. These results support the new DSM-5 trait model and suggest that it can...

  18. Hierarchical modeling for rare event detection and cell subset alignment across flow cytometry samples.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Cron

    Full Text Available Flow cytometry is the prototypical assay for multi-parameter single cell analysis, and is essential in vaccine and biomarker research for the enumeration of antigen-specific lymphocytes that are often found in extremely low frequencies (0.1% or less. Standard analysis of flow cytometry data relies on visual identification of cell subsets by experts, a process that is subjective and often difficult to reproduce. An alternative and more objective approach is the use of statistical models to identify cell subsets of interest in an automated fashion. Two specific challenges for automated analysis are to detect extremely low frequency event subsets without biasing the estimate by pre-processing enrichment, and the ability to align cell subsets across multiple data samples for comparative analysis. In this manuscript, we develop hierarchical modeling extensions to the Dirichlet Process Gaussian Mixture Model (DPGMM approach we have previously described for cell subset identification, and show that the hierarchical DPGMM (HDPGMM naturally generates an aligned data model that captures both commonalities and variations across multiple samples. HDPGMM also increases the sensitivity to extremely low frequency events by sharing information across multiple samples analyzed simultaneously. We validate the accuracy and reproducibility of HDPGMM estimates of antigen-specific T cells on clinically relevant reference peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC samples with known frequencies of antigen-specific T cells. These cell samples take advantage of retrovirally TCR-transduced T cells spiked into autologous PBMC samples to give a defined number of antigen-specific T cells detectable by HLA-peptide multimer binding. We provide open source software that can take advantage of both multiple processors and GPU-acceleration to perform the numerically-demanding computations. We show that hierarchical modeling is a useful probabilistic approach that can provide a

  19. Hierarchical sampling of multiple strata: an innovative technique in exposure characterization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ericson, J.E.; Gonzalez, Elisabeth J.

    2003-01-01

    Sampling of multiple strata, or hierarchical sampling of various exposure sources and activity areas, has been tested and is suggested as a method to sample (or to locate) areas with a high prevalence of elevated blood lead in children. Hierarchical sampling was devised to supplement traditional soil lead sampling of a single stratum, either residential or fixed point source, using a multistep strategy. Blood lead (n=1141) and soil lead (n=378) data collected under the USEPA/UCI Tijuana Lead Project (1996-1999) were analyzed to evaluate the usefulness of sampling soil lead from background sites, schools and parks, point sources, and residences. Results revealed that industrial emissions have been a contributing factor to soil lead contamination in Tijuana. At the regional level, point source soil lead was associated with mean blood lead levels and concurrent high background, and point source soil lead levels were predictive of a high percentage of subjects with blood lead equal to or greater than 10 μg/dL (pe 10). Significant relationships were observed between mean blood lead level and fixed point source soil lead (r=0.93; P 2 =0.72 using a quadratic model) and between residential soil lead and fixed point source soil lead (r=0.90; P 2 =0.86 using a cubic model). This study suggests that point sources alone are not sufficient for predicting the relative risk of exposure to lead in the urban environment. These findings will be useful in defining regions for targeted or universal soil lead sampling by site type. Point sources have been observed to be predictive of mean blood lead at the regional level; however, this relationship alone was not sufficient to predict pe 10. It is concluded that when apparently undisturbed sites reveal high soil lead levels in addition to local point sources, dispersion of lead is widespread and will be associated with a high prevalence of elevated blood lead in children. Multiple strata sampling was shown to be useful in

  20. Fuzzy compromise: An effective way to solve hierarchical design problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, J. K.; Krishnamachari, R. S.; Masetta, J.; Pearce, D.; Rigby, D.; Mistree, F.

    1990-01-01

    In this paper, we present a method for modeling design problems using a compromise decision support problem (DSP) incorporating the principles embodied in fuzzy set theory. Specifically, the fuzzy compromise decision support problem is used to study hierarchical design problems. This approach has the advantage that although the system modeled has an element of uncertainty associated with it, the solution obtained is crisp and precise. The efficacy of incorporating fuzzy sets into the solution process is discussed in the context of results obtained for a portal frame.

  1. Intraclass Correlation Coefficients in Hierarchical Designs: Evaluation Using Latent Variable Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raykov, Tenko

    2011-01-01

    Interval estimation of intraclass correlation coefficients in hierarchical designs is discussed within a latent variable modeling framework. A method accomplishing this aim is outlined, which is applicable in two-level studies where participants (or generally lower-order units) are clustered within higher-order units. The procedure can also be…

  2. A hierarchical method for discrete structural topology design problems with local stress and displacement constraints

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stolpe, Mathias; Stidsen, Thomas K.

    2007-01-01

    In this paper, we present a hierarchical optimization method for finding feasible true 0-1 solutions to finite-element-based topology design problems. The topology design problems are initially modelled as non-convex mixed 0-1 programs. The hierarchical optimization method is applied to the problem...... and then successively refined as needed. At each level of design mesh refinement, a neighbourhood optimization method is used to treat the problem considered. The non-convex topology design problems are equivalently reformulated as convex all-quadratic mixed 0-1 programs. This reformulation enables the use of methods...... of minimizing the weight of a structure subject to displacement and local design-dependent stress constraints. The method iteratively treats a sequence of problems of increasing size of the same type as the original problem. The problems are defined on a design mesh which is initially coarse...

  3. On the design of a hierarchical SS7 network: A graph theoretical approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krauss, Lutz; Rufa, Gerhard

    1994-04-01

    This contribution is concerned with the design of Signaling System No. 7 networks based on graph theoretical methods. A hierarchical network topology is derived by combining the advantage of the hierarchical network structure with the realization of node disjoint routes between nodes of the network. By using specific features of this topology, we develop an algorithm to construct circle-free routing data and to assure bidirectionality also in case of failure situations. The methods described are based on the requirements that the network topology, as well as the routing data, may be easily changed.

  4. Design of hierarchical CuS/graphene architectures with enhanced lithium storage capability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ding, Caihua; Su, Dezhi [Beijing Key Laboratory of Construction Tailorable Advanced Functional Materials and Green Applications, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081 (China); Ma, Wenxian [State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083 (China); Zhao, Yongjie, E-mail: zhaoyjpeace@gmail.com [Beijing Key Laboratory of Construction Tailorable Advanced Functional Materials and Green Applications, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081 (China); Yan, Dong [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 (China); State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 (China); Li, Jingbo; Jin, Haibo [Beijing Key Laboratory of Construction Tailorable Advanced Functional Materials and Green Applications, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081 (China)

    2017-05-01

    Highlights: • A delicate route was proposed for rational design of CuS/graphene composite. • Hierarchical CuS was composed of large amounts of well-arranged nanosheets. • The rationally designed structure of composite offered stable-hosts for Li{sup +} insertion. • The graphene constructed conductive paths and a network for fast transport of Li{sup +}. • The presence of the graphene in the composite reduced the dissolution of polysulfides. - Abstract: Metal-sulfides electrode materials usually suffer from poor cyclability and low rate capability in rechargeable batteries as a result of the pulverization of active materials and the loss of sulfur material induced by polysulfide dissolution. Herein, we reported a delicate and scalable route for rational design of CuS/graphene composites. Hierarchical CuS microparticles comprising of large amounts of self-assembled and well-arranged nanosheets uniformly mixed with flexible graphene layers. The obtained CuS/graphene electrodes exhibited high specific capacities, excellent cycling stability and desirable rate capability when being evaluated as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. The high specific capacities of 568 mA h g{sup −1} after 100 cycles at 50 mA g{sup −1} and 143 mA h g{sup −1} at 1000 mA g{sup −1} (in rate testing) were achieved, suggesting a very promising candidate for high-performance lithium-ion batteries. The rationally designed structures of the CuS/graphene composites offered stable-hosts for Li{sup +} insertion and alleviated the volume changes upon cycling. The presence of the graphene in composite not only constructed conductive paths and a network for fast transport of Li{sup +}, but also effectively reduced the dissolution of polysulfides into electrolyte. This graphene-based composite with hierarchical structure could be used as a safe, low-cost, and versatile material for extensively potential applications.

  5. Design of hierarchical CuS/graphene architectures with enhanced lithium storage capability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ding, Caihua; Su, Dezhi; Ma, Wenxian; Zhao, Yongjie; Yan, Dong; Li, Jingbo; Jin, Haibo

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • A delicate route was proposed for rational design of CuS/graphene composite. • Hierarchical CuS was composed of large amounts of well-arranged nanosheets. • The rationally designed structure of composite offered stable-hosts for Li + insertion. • The graphene constructed conductive paths and a network for fast transport of Li + . • The presence of the graphene in the composite reduced the dissolution of polysulfides. - Abstract: Metal-sulfides electrode materials usually suffer from poor cyclability and low rate capability in rechargeable batteries as a result of the pulverization of active materials and the loss of sulfur material induced by polysulfide dissolution. Herein, we reported a delicate and scalable route for rational design of CuS/graphene composites. Hierarchical CuS microparticles comprising of large amounts of self-assembled and well-arranged nanosheets uniformly mixed with flexible graphene layers. The obtained CuS/graphene electrodes exhibited high specific capacities, excellent cycling stability and desirable rate capability when being evaluated as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. The high specific capacities of 568 mA h g −1 after 100 cycles at 50 mA g −1 and 143 mA h g −1 at 1000 mA g −1 (in rate testing) were achieved, suggesting a very promising candidate for high-performance lithium-ion batteries. The rationally designed structures of the CuS/graphene composites offered stable-hosts for Li + insertion and alleviated the volume changes upon cycling. The presence of the graphene in composite not only constructed conductive paths and a network for fast transport of Li + , but also effectively reduced the dissolution of polysulfides into electrolyte. This graphene-based composite with hierarchical structure could be used as a safe, low-cost, and versatile material for extensively potential applications.

  6. Compromise decision support problems for hierarchical design involving uncertainty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vadde, S.; Allen, J. K.; Mistree, F.

    1994-08-01

    In this paper an extension to the traditional compromise Decision Support Problem (DSP) formulation is presented. Bayesian statistics is used in the formulation to model uncertainties associated with the information being used. In an earlier paper a compromise DSP that accounts for uncertainty using fuzzy set theory was introduced. The Bayesian Decision Support Problem is described in this paper. The method for hierarchical design is demonstrated by using this formulation to design a portal frame. The results are discussed and comparisons are made with those obtained using the fuzzy DSP. Finally, the efficacy of incorporating Bayesian statistics into the traditional compromise DSP formulation is discussed and some pending research issues are described. Our emphasis in this paper is on the method rather than the results per se.

  7. Hierarchical species distribution models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hefley, Trevor J.; Hooten, Mevin B.

    2016-01-01

    Determining the distribution pattern of a species is important to increase scientific knowledge, inform management decisions, and conserve biodiversity. To infer spatial and temporal patterns, species distribution models have been developed for use with many sampling designs and types of data. Recently, it has been shown that count, presence-absence, and presence-only data can be conceptualized as arising from a point process distribution. Therefore, it is important to understand properties of the point process distribution. We examine how the hierarchical species distribution modeling framework has been used to incorporate a wide array of regression and theory-based components while accounting for the data collection process and making use of auxiliary information. The hierarchical modeling framework allows us to demonstrate how several commonly used species distribution models can be derived from the point process distribution, highlight areas of potential overlap between different models, and suggest areas where further research is needed.

  8. Constructing hierarchical porous nanospheres for versatile microwave response approaches: the effect of architectural design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quan, Bin; Liang, Xiaohui; Yi, Heng; Gong, He; Ji, Guangbin; Chen, Jiabin; Xu, Guoyue; Du, Youwei

    2017-10-24

    Owing to their immense potential in functionalized applications, tremendous interest has been devoted to the design and synthesis of nanostructures. The introduction of sufficient amount of microwaves into the absorbers on the premise that the dissipation capacity is strong enough remains a key challenge. Pursuing a general methodology to overcome the incompatibility is of great importance. There is widespread interest in designing the materials with specific architectures. Herein, the common absorber candidates were chosen to feature the hierarchical porous Fe 3 O 4 @C@Fe 3 O 4 nanospheres. Due to the reduced skin effect (induced by low-conductivity Fe 3 O 4 outer layer), multiple interfacial polarizations and scattering (due to the ternary hierarchical structures and nanoporous inner core) as well as the improved magnetic dissipation ability (because of multiple magnetic components), the material design enabled a promising microwave absorption performance. This study not only illustrates the primary mechanisms for the improved microwave absorption performance but also underscores the potential in designing the particular architectures as a strategy for achieving the compatibility characteristics.

  9. Sampling-free Bayesian inversion with adaptive hierarchical tensor representations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eigel, Martin; Marschall, Manuel; Schneider, Reinhold

    2018-03-01

    A sampling-free approach to Bayesian inversion with an explicit polynomial representation of the parameter densities is developed, based on an affine-parametric representation of a linear forward model. This becomes feasible due to the complete treatment in function spaces, which requires an efficient model reduction technique for numerical computations. The advocated perspective yields the crucial benefit that error bounds can be derived for all occuring approximations, leading to provable convergence subject to the discretization parameters. Moreover, it enables a fully adaptive a posteriori control with automatic problem-dependent adjustments of the employed discretizations. The method is discussed in the context of modern hierarchical tensor representations, which are used for the evaluation of a random PDE (the forward model) and the subsequent high-dimensional quadrature of the log-likelihood, alleviating the ‘curse of dimensionality’. Numerical experiments demonstrate the performance and confirm the theoretical results.

  10. Within-otolith variability in chemical fingerprints: implications for sampling designs and possible environmental interpretation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Di Franco

    Full Text Available Largely used as a natural biological tag in studies of dispersal/connectivity of fish, otolith elemental fingerprinting is usually analyzed by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS. LA-ICP-MS produces an elemental fingerprint at a discrete time-point in the life of a fish and can generate data on within-otolith variability of that fingerprint. The presence of within-otolith variability has been previously acknowledged but not incorporated into experimental designs on the presumed, but untested, grounds of both its negligibility compared to among-otolith variability and of spatial autocorrelation among multiple ablations within an otolith. Here, using a hierarchical sampling design of spatial variation at multiple scales in otolith chemical fingerprints for two Mediterranean coastal fishes, we explore: 1 whether multiple ablations within an otolith can be used as independent replicates for significance tests among otoliths, and 2 the implications of incorporating within-otolith variability when assessing spatial variability in otolith chemistry at a hierarchy of spatial scales (different fish, from different sites, at different locations on the Apulian Adriatic coast. We find that multiple ablations along the same daily rings do not necessarily exhibit spatial dependency within the otolith and can be used to estimate residual variability in a hierarchical sampling design. Inclusion of within-otolith measurements reveals that individuals at the same site can show significant variability in elemental uptake. Within-otolith variability examined across the spatial hierarchy identifies differences between the two fish species investigated, and this finding leads to discussion of the potential for within-otolith variability to be used as a marker for fish exposure to stressful conditions. We also demonstrate that a 'cost'-optimal allocation of sampling effort should typically include some level of within

  11. Within-otolith variability in chemical fingerprints: implications for sampling designs and possible environmental interpretation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Franco, Antonio; Bulleri, Fabio; Pennetta, Antonio; De Benedetto, Giuseppe; Clarke, K Robert; Guidetti, Paolo

    2014-01-01

    Largely used as a natural biological tag in studies of dispersal/connectivity of fish, otolith elemental fingerprinting is usually analyzed by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). LA-ICP-MS produces an elemental fingerprint at a discrete time-point in the life of a fish and can generate data on within-otolith variability of that fingerprint. The presence of within-otolith variability has been previously acknowledged but not incorporated into experimental designs on the presumed, but untested, grounds of both its negligibility compared to among-otolith variability and of spatial autocorrelation among multiple ablations within an otolith. Here, using a hierarchical sampling design of spatial variation at multiple scales in otolith chemical fingerprints for two Mediterranean coastal fishes, we explore: 1) whether multiple ablations within an otolith can be used as independent replicates for significance tests among otoliths, and 2) the implications of incorporating within-otolith variability when assessing spatial variability in otolith chemistry at a hierarchy of spatial scales (different fish, from different sites, at different locations on the Apulian Adriatic coast). We find that multiple ablations along the same daily rings do not necessarily exhibit spatial dependency within the otolith and can be used to estimate residual variability in a hierarchical sampling design. Inclusion of within-otolith measurements reveals that individuals at the same site can show significant variability in elemental uptake. Within-otolith variability examined across the spatial hierarchy identifies differences between the two fish species investigated, and this finding leads to discussion of the potential for within-otolith variability to be used as a marker for fish exposure to stressful conditions. We also demonstrate that a 'cost'-optimal allocation of sampling effort should typically include some level of within-otolith replication in the

  12. The use of hierarchical clustering for the design of optimized monitoring networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soares, Joana; Makar, Paul Andrew; Aklilu, Yayne; Akingunola, Ayodeji

    2018-05-01

    Associativity analysis is a powerful tool to deal with large-scale datasets by clustering the data on the basis of (dis)similarity and can be used to assess the efficacy and design of air quality monitoring networks. We describe here our use of Kolmogorov-Zurbenko filtering and hierarchical clustering of NO2 and SO2 passive and continuous monitoring data to analyse and optimize air quality networks for these species in the province of Alberta, Canada. The methodology applied in this study assesses dissimilarity between monitoring station time series based on two metrics: 1 - R, R being the Pearson correlation coefficient, and the Euclidean distance; we find that both should be used in evaluating monitoring site similarity. We have combined the analytic power of hierarchical clustering with the spatial information provided by deterministic air quality model results, using the gridded time series of model output as potential station locations, as a proxy for assessing monitoring network design and for network optimization. We demonstrate that clustering results depend on the air contaminant analysed, reflecting the difference in the respective emission sources of SO2 and NO2 in the region under study. Our work shows that much of the signal identifying the sources of NO2 and SO2 emissions resides in shorter timescales (hourly to daily) due to short-term variation of concentrations and that longer-term averages in data collection may lose the information needed to identify local sources. However, the methodology identifies stations mainly influenced by seasonality, if larger timescales (weekly to monthly) are considered. We have performed the first dissimilarity analysis based on gridded air quality model output and have shown that the methodology is capable of generating maps of subregions within which a single station will represent the entire subregion, to a given level of dissimilarity. We have also shown that our approach is capable of identifying different

  13. Hierarchical modeling and robust synthesis for the preliminary design of large scale complex systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koch, Patrick Nathan

    Large-scale complex systems are characterized by multiple interacting subsystems and the analysis of multiple disciplines. The design and development of such systems inevitably requires the resolution of multiple conflicting objectives. The size of complex systems, however, prohibits the development of comprehensive system models, and thus these systems must be partitioned into their constituent parts. Because simultaneous solution of individual subsystem models is often not manageable iteration is inevitable and often excessive. In this dissertation these issues are addressed through the development of a method for hierarchical robust preliminary design exploration to facilitate concurrent system and subsystem design exploration, for the concurrent generation of robust system and subsystem specifications for the preliminary design of multi-level, multi-objective, large-scale complex systems. This method is developed through the integration and expansion of current design techniques: (1) Hierarchical partitioning and modeling techniques for partitioning large-scale complex systems into more tractable parts, and allowing integration of subproblems for system synthesis, (2) Statistical experimentation and approximation techniques for increasing both the efficiency and the comprehensiveness of preliminary design exploration, and (3) Noise modeling techniques for implementing robust preliminary design when approximate models are employed. The method developed and associated approaches are illustrated through their application to the preliminary design of a commercial turbofan turbine propulsion system; the turbofan system-level problem is partitioned into engine cycle and configuration design and a compressor module is integrated for more detailed subsystem-level design exploration, improving system evaluation.

  14. Hierarchical Bayesian modelling of gene expression time series across irregularly sampled replicates and clusters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hensman, James; Lawrence, Neil D; Rattray, Magnus

    2013-08-20

    Time course data from microarrays and high-throughput sequencing experiments require simple, computationally efficient and powerful statistical models to extract meaningful biological signal, and for tasks such as data fusion and clustering. Existing methodologies fail to capture either the temporal or replicated nature of the experiments, and often impose constraints on the data collection process, such as regularly spaced samples, or similar sampling schema across replications. We propose hierarchical Gaussian processes as a general model of gene expression time-series, with application to a variety of problems. In particular, we illustrate the method's capacity for missing data imputation, data fusion and clustering.The method can impute data which is missing both systematically and at random: in a hold-out test on real data, performance is significantly better than commonly used imputation methods. The method's ability to model inter- and intra-cluster variance leads to more biologically meaningful clusters. The approach removes the necessity for evenly spaced samples, an advantage illustrated on a developmental Drosophila dataset with irregular replications. The hierarchical Gaussian process model provides an excellent statistical basis for several gene-expression time-series tasks. It has only a few additional parameters over a regular GP, has negligible additional complexity, is easily implemented and can be integrated into several existing algorithms. Our experiments were implemented in python, and are available from the authors' website: http://staffwww.dcs.shef.ac.uk/people/J.Hensman/.

  15. Simple and cost-effective fabrication of highly flexible, transparent superhydrophobic films with hierarchical surface design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Tae-Hyun; Ha, Sung-Hun; Jang, Nam-Su; Kim, Jeonghyo; Kim, Ji Hoon; Park, Jong-Kweon; Lee, Deug-Woo; Lee, Jaebeom; Kim, Soo-Hyung; Kim, Jong-Man

    2015-03-11

    Optical transparency and mechanical flexibility are both of great importance for significantly expanding the applicability of superhydrophobic surfaces. Such features make it possible for functional surfaces to be applied to various glass-based products with different curvatures. In this work, we report on the simple and potentially cost-effective fabrication of highly flexible and transparent superhydrophobic films based on hierarchical surface design. The hierarchical surface morphology was easily fabricated by the simple transfer of a porous alumina membrane to the top surface of UV-imprinted polymeric micropillar arrays and subsequent chemical treatments. Through optimization of the hierarchical surface design, the resultant superhydrophobic films showed superior surface wetting properties (with a static contact angle of >170° and contact angle hysteresis of 82% at 550 nm wavelength). The superhydrophobic films were also experimentally found to be robust without significant degradation in the superhydrophobicity, even under repetitive bending and pressing for up to 2000 cycles. Finally, the practical usability of the proposed superhydorphobic films was clearly demonstrated by examining the antiwetting performance in real time while pouring water on the film and submerging the film in water.

  16. Detecting Hierarchical Structure in Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Herlau, Tue; Mørup, Morten; Schmidt, Mikkel Nørgaard

    2012-01-01

    Many real-world networks exhibit hierarchical organization. Previous models of hierarchies within relational data has focused on binary trees; however, for many networks it is unknown whether there is hierarchical structure, and if there is, a binary tree might not account well for it. We propose...... a generative Bayesian model that is able to infer whether hierarchies are present or not from a hypothesis space encompassing all types of hierarchical tree structures. For efficient inference we propose a collapsed Gibbs sampling procedure that jointly infers a partition and its hierarchical structure....... On synthetic and real data we demonstrate that our model can detect hierarchical structure leading to better link-prediction than competing models. Our model can be used to detect if a network exhibits hierarchical structure, thereby leading to a better comprehension and statistical account the network....

  17. Adaptive hierarchical multi-agent organizations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ghijsen, M.; Jansweijer, W.N.H.; Wielinga, B.J.; Babuška, R.; Groen, F.C.A.

    2010-01-01

    In this chapter, we discuss the design of adaptive hierarchical organizations for multi-agent systems (MAS). Hierarchical organizations have a number of advantages such as their ability to handle complex problems and their scalability to large organizations. By introducing adaptivity in the

  18. Hierarchically Nanostructured Materials for Sustainable Environmental Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zheng eRen

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available This article presents a comprehensive overview of the hierarchical nanostructured materials with either geometry or composition complexity in environmental applications. The hierarchical nanostructures offer advantages of high surface area, synergistic interactions and multiple functionalities towards water remediation, environmental gas sensing and monitoring as well as catalytic gas treatment. Recent advances in synthetic strategies for various hierarchical morphologies such as hollow spheres and urchin-shaped architectures have been reviewed. In addition to the chemical synthesis, the physical mechanisms associated with the materials design and device fabrication have been discussed for each specific application. The development and application of hierarchical complex perovskite oxide nanostructures have also been introduced in photocatalytic water remediation, gas sensing and catalytic converter. Hierarchical nanostructures will open up many possibilities for materials design and device fabrication in environmental chemistry and technology.

  19. Decentralized Hierarchical Controller Design for Selective Damping of Inter Area Oscillations Using PMU Signals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashfaque Ahmed Hashmani

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with the decentralized hierarchical PSS (Power System Stabilizer controller design to achieve a better damping of specific inter-area oscillations. The two-level decentralized hierarchical structure consists of two PSS controllers. The first level controller is a local PSS controller for each generator to damp local mode in the area where controller is located. This controller uses only local signals as input signals. The local signal comes from the generator at which the controller is located. The secondary level controller is a multivariable decentralized global PSS controller to damp inter-area modes. This controller uses selected suitable wide area PMU (Phasor Measurement Units signals as inputs. The PMU or global signals are taken from network locations where the oscillations are well observable. The global controller uses only those global input signals in which the assigned single inter-area mode is most observable and is located at a generator that is most effective in controlling the assigned mode. The global controller works mainly in a frequency band given by the natural frequency of the assigned mode. The effectiveness of the resulting hierarchical controller is demonstrated through simulation studies conducted on a test power system.

  20. Hierarchical Surface Architecture of Plants as an Inspiration for Biomimetic Fog Collectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azad, M A K; Barthlott, W; Koch, K

    2015-12-08

    Fog collectors can enable us to alleviate the water crisis in certain arid regions of the world. A continuous fog-collection cycle consisting of a persistent capture of fog droplets and their fast transport to the target is a prerequisite for developing an efficient fog collector. In regard to this topic, a biological superior design has been found in the hierarchical surface architecture of barley (Hordeum vulgare) awns. We demonstrate here the highly wettable (advancing contact angle 16° ± 2.7 and receding contact angle 9° ± 2.6) barbed (barb = conical structure) awn as a model to develop optimized fog collectors with a high fog-capturing capability, an effective water transport, and above all an efficient fog collection. We compare the fog-collection efficiency of the model sample with other plant samples naturally grown in foggy habitats that are supposed to be very efficient fog collectors. The model sample, consisting of dry hydrophilized awns (DH awns), is found to be about twice as efficient (fog-collection rate 563.7 ± 23.2 μg/cm(2) over 10 min) as any other samples investigated under controlled experimental conditions. Finally, a design based on the hierarchical surface architecture of the model sample is proposed for the development of optimized biomimetic fog collectors.

  1. Leadership styles across hierarchical levels in nursing departments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stordeur, S; Vandenberghe, C; D'hoore, W

    2000-01-01

    Some researchers have reported on the cascading effect of transformational leadership across hierarchical levels. One study examined this effect in nursing, but it was limited to a single hospital. To examine the cascading effect of leadership styles across hierarchical levels in a sample of nursing departments and to investigate the effect of hierarchical level on the relationships between leadership styles and various work outcomes. Based on a sample of eight hospitals, the cascading effect was tested using correlation analysis. The main sources of variation among leadership scores were determined with analyses of variance (ANOVA), and the interaction effect of hierarchical level and leadership styles on criterion variables was tested with moderated regression analysis. No support was found for a cascading effect of leadership across hierarchical levels. Rather, the variation of leadership scores was explained primarily by the organizational context. Transformational leadership had a stronger impact on criterion variables than transactional leadership. Interaction effects between leadership styles and hierarchical level were observed only for perceived unit effectiveness. The hospital's structure and culture are major determinants of leadership styles.

  2. Hierarchical screening for multiple mental disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batterham, Philip J; Calear, Alison L; Sunderland, Matthew; Carragher, Natacha; Christensen, Helen; Mackinnon, Andrew J

    2013-10-01

    There is a need for brief, accurate screening when assessing multiple mental disorders. Two-stage hierarchical screening, consisting of brief pre-screening followed by a battery of disorder-specific scales for those who meet diagnostic criteria, may increase the efficiency of screening without sacrificing precision. This study tested whether more efficient screening could be gained using two-stage hierarchical screening than by administering multiple separate tests. Two Australian adult samples (N=1990) with high rates of psychopathology were recruited using Facebook advertising to examine four methods of hierarchical screening for four mental disorders: major depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder and social phobia. Using K6 scores to determine whether full screening was required did not increase screening efficiency. However, pre-screening based on two decision tree approaches or item gating led to considerable reductions in the mean number of items presented per disorder screened, with estimated item reductions of up to 54%. The sensitivity of these hierarchical methods approached 100% relative to the full screening battery. Further testing of the hierarchical screening approach based on clinical criteria and in other samples is warranted. The results demonstrate that a two-phase hierarchical approach to screening multiple mental disorders leads to considerable increases efficiency gains without reducing accuracy. Screening programs should take advantage of prescreeners based on gating items or decision trees to reduce the burden on respondents. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Functional annotation of hierarchical modularity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kanchana Padmanabhan

    Full Text Available In biological networks of molecular interactions in a cell, network motifs that are biologically relevant are also functionally coherent, or form functional modules. These functionally coherent modules combine in a hierarchical manner into larger, less cohesive subsystems, thus revealing one of the essential design principles of system-level cellular organization and function-hierarchical modularity. Arguably, hierarchical modularity has not been explicitly taken into consideration by most, if not all, functional annotation systems. As a result, the existing methods would often fail to assign a statistically significant functional coherence score to biologically relevant molecular machines. We developed a methodology for hierarchical functional annotation. Given the hierarchical taxonomy of functional concepts (e.g., Gene Ontology and the association of individual genes or proteins with these concepts (e.g., GO terms, our method will assign a Hierarchical Modularity Score (HMS to each node in the hierarchy of functional modules; the HMS score and its p-value measure functional coherence of each module in the hierarchy. While existing methods annotate each module with a set of "enriched" functional terms in a bag of genes, our complementary method provides the hierarchical functional annotation of the modules and their hierarchically organized components. A hierarchical organization of functional modules often comes as a bi-product of cluster analysis of gene expression data or protein interaction data. Otherwise, our method will automatically build such a hierarchy by directly incorporating the functional taxonomy information into the hierarchy search process and by allowing multi-functional genes to be part of more than one component in the hierarchy. In addition, its underlying HMS scoring metric ensures that functional specificity of the terms across different levels of the hierarchical taxonomy is properly treated. We have evaluated our

  4. Nearly Cyclic Pursuit and its Hierarchical variant for Multi-agent Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Iqbal, Muhammad; Leth, John-Josef; Ngo, Trung Dung

    2015-01-01

    The rendezvous problem for multiple agents under nearly cyclic pursuit and hierarchical nearly cyclic pursuit is discussed in this paper. The control law designed under nearly cyclic pursuit strategy enables the agents to converge at a point dictated by a beacon. A hierarchical version of the nea......The rendezvous problem for multiple agents under nearly cyclic pursuit and hierarchical nearly cyclic pursuit is discussed in this paper. The control law designed under nearly cyclic pursuit strategy enables the agents to converge at a point dictated by a beacon. A hierarchical version...

  5. Hierarchical Protein Free Energy Landscapes from Variationally Enhanced Sampling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaffer, Patrick; Valsson, Omar; Parrinello, Michele

    2016-12-13

    In recent work, we demonstrated that it is possible to obtain approximate representations of high-dimensional free energy surfaces with variationally enhanced sampling ( Shaffer, P.; Valsson, O.; Parrinello, M. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. , 2016 , 113 , 17 ). The high-dimensional spaces considered in that work were the set of backbone dihedral angles of a small peptide, Chignolin, and the high-dimensional free energy surface was approximated as the sum of many two-dimensional terms plus an additional term which represents an initial estimate. In this paper, we build on that work and demonstrate that we can calculate high-dimensional free energy surfaces of very high accuracy by incorporating additional terms. The additional terms apply to a set of collective variables which are more coarse than the base set of collective variables. In this way, it is possible to build hierarchical free energy surfaces, which are composed of terms that act on different length scales. We test the accuracy of these free energy landscapes for the proteins Chignolin and Trp-cage by constructing simple coarse-grained models and comparing results from the coarse-grained model to results from atomistic simulations. The approach described in this paper is ideally suited for problems in which the free energy surface has important features on different length scales or in which there is some natural hierarchy.

  6. Hierarchical Network Design Using Simulated Annealing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomadsen, Tommy; Clausen, Jens

    2002-01-01

    networks are described and a mathematical model is proposed for a two level version of the hierarchical network problem. The problem is to determine which edges should connect nodes, and how demand is routed in the network. The problem is solved heuristically using simulated annealing which as a sub......-algorithm uses a construction algorithm to determine edges and route the demand. Performance for different versions of the algorithm are reported in terms of runtime and quality of the solutions. The algorithm is able to find solutions of reasonable quality in approximately 1 hour for networks with 100 nodes....

  7. Topographic design and application of hierarchical polymer surfaces replicated by microinjection compression molding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guan, Wei-Sheng; Huang, Han-Xiong; Wang, Bin

    2013-10-01

    In recent years, the fast growing demand for biomimetic surfaces featuring unique wettability and functionality in various fields highlights the necessity of developing a reliable technique for mass production. In this work, hierarchical topography designs of templates were applied to prepare superhydrophobic surfaces via microinjection compression molding, comprehensively considering the feasibility of mechanical demolding and the superhydrophobicity and mechanical robustness of the molded polypropylene parts. Mimicking the wettability of a lotus leaf or rose petal, superhydrophobic surfaces were replicated. An unstable wetting state formed on the surface exhibiting the petal effect. On such a surface, the increased water pressure could cause water penetration into the micro gaps between the hierarchical asperities featuring low-roughness sidewalls and bottom surface; the resultant water membrane led to drastically increased water adhesion of the surface. Moreover, the low-adhesion superhydrophobicity of the molded surface was changed into superhydrophilicity, by means of introducing carbonyl groups via ultraviolet/ozone treatment and the subsequent water membrane preserved in microstructures via the pre-wetting process. Patterning the superhydrophilic micro channel on the superhydrophobic surface developed the surface microfluidic devices for micro-liter fluid pumping and mixing processes driven by surface tension.

  8. Value-based decision making via sequential sampling with hierarchical competition and attentional modulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colas, Jaron T

    2017-01-01

    In principle, formal dynamical models of decision making hold the potential to represent fundamental computations underpinning value-based (i.e., preferential) decisions in addition to perceptual decisions. Sequential-sampling models such as the race model and the drift-diffusion model that are grounded in simplicity, analytical tractability, and optimality remain popular, but some of their more recent counterparts have instead been designed with an aim for more feasibility as architectures to be implemented by actual neural systems. Connectionist models are proposed herein at an intermediate level of analysis that bridges mental phenomena and underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. Several such models drawing elements from the established race, drift-diffusion, feedforward-inhibition, divisive-normalization, and competing-accumulator models were tested with respect to fitting empirical data from human participants making choices between foods on the basis of hedonic value rather than a traditional perceptual attribute. Even when considering performance at emulating behavior alone, more neurally plausible models were set apart from more normative race or drift-diffusion models both quantitatively and qualitatively despite remaining parsimonious. To best capture the paradigm, a novel six-parameter computational model was formulated with features including hierarchical levels of competition via mutual inhibition as well as a static approximation of attentional modulation, which promotes "winner-take-all" processing. Moreover, a meta-analysis encompassing several related experiments validated the robustness of model-predicted trends in humans' value-based choices and concomitant reaction times. These findings have yet further implications for analysis of neurophysiological data in accordance with computational modeling, which is also discussed in this new light.

  9. Value-based decision making via sequential sampling with hierarchical competition and attentional modulation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaron T Colas

    Full Text Available In principle, formal dynamical models of decision making hold the potential to represent fundamental computations underpinning value-based (i.e., preferential decisions in addition to perceptual decisions. Sequential-sampling models such as the race model and the drift-diffusion model that are grounded in simplicity, analytical tractability, and optimality remain popular, but some of their more recent counterparts have instead been designed with an aim for more feasibility as architectures to be implemented by actual neural systems. Connectionist models are proposed herein at an intermediate level of analysis that bridges mental phenomena and underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. Several such models drawing elements from the established race, drift-diffusion, feedforward-inhibition, divisive-normalization, and competing-accumulator models were tested with respect to fitting empirical data from human participants making choices between foods on the basis of hedonic value rather than a traditional perceptual attribute. Even when considering performance at emulating behavior alone, more neurally plausible models were set apart from more normative race or drift-diffusion models both quantitatively and qualitatively despite remaining parsimonious. To best capture the paradigm, a novel six-parameter computational model was formulated with features including hierarchical levels of competition via mutual inhibition as well as a static approximation of attentional modulation, which promotes "winner-take-all" processing. Moreover, a meta-analysis encompassing several related experiments validated the robustness of model-predicted trends in humans' value-based choices and concomitant reaction times. These findings have yet further implications for analysis of neurophysiological data in accordance with computational modeling, which is also discussed in this new light.

  10. Value-based decision making via sequential sampling with hierarchical competition and attentional modulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    In principle, formal dynamical models of decision making hold the potential to represent fundamental computations underpinning value-based (i.e., preferential) decisions in addition to perceptual decisions. Sequential-sampling models such as the race model and the drift-diffusion model that are grounded in simplicity, analytical tractability, and optimality remain popular, but some of their more recent counterparts have instead been designed with an aim for more feasibility as architectures to be implemented by actual neural systems. Connectionist models are proposed herein at an intermediate level of analysis that bridges mental phenomena and underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. Several such models drawing elements from the established race, drift-diffusion, feedforward-inhibition, divisive-normalization, and competing-accumulator models were tested with respect to fitting empirical data from human participants making choices between foods on the basis of hedonic value rather than a traditional perceptual attribute. Even when considering performance at emulating behavior alone, more neurally plausible models were set apart from more normative race or drift-diffusion models both quantitatively and qualitatively despite remaining parsimonious. To best capture the paradigm, a novel six-parameter computational model was formulated with features including hierarchical levels of competition via mutual inhibition as well as a static approximation of attentional modulation, which promotes “winner-take-all” processing. Moreover, a meta-analysis encompassing several related experiments validated the robustness of model-predicted trends in humans’ value-based choices and concomitant reaction times. These findings have yet further implications for analysis of neurophysiological data in accordance with computational modeling, which is also discussed in this new light. PMID:29077746

  11. Directed Hierarchical Patterning of Polycarbonate Bisphenol A Glass Surface along Predictable Sites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mazen Khaled

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports a new approach in designing textured and hierarchical surfaces on polycarbonate bisphenol A type glass to improve hydrophobicity and dust repellent application for solar panels. Solvent- and vapor-induced crystallization of thermoplastic glass polycarbonate bisphenol A (PC is carried out to create hierarchically structured surfaces. In this approach dichloromethane (DCM and acetone are used in sequence. Samples are initially immersed in DCM liquid to generate nanopores, followed by exposing to acetone vapor resulting in the generation of hierarchical structure along the interporous sites. The effects of exposure time on the size, density, and distance of the generated spherules and gaps are studied and correlated with the optical transmittance and contact angle measurements at the surface. At optimized exposure time a contact angle of 98° was achieved with 80% optical transmittance. To further increase the hydrophobicity while maintaining optical properties, the hierarchical surfaces were coated with a transparent composite of tetraethyl orthosilicate as precursor and hexamethyldisilazane as silylation agent resulting in an average contact angle of 135.8° and transmittance of around 70%. FTIR and AFM characterization techniques are employed to study the composition and morphology of the generated surfaces.

  12. Hierarchical DSE for multi-ASIP platforms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Micconi, Laura; Corvino, Rosilde; Gangadharan, Deepak

    2013-01-01

    This work proposes a hierarchical Design Space Exploration (DSE) for the design of multi-processor platforms targeted to specific applications with strict timing and area constraints. In particular, it considers platforms integrating multiple Application Specific Instruction Set Processors (ASIPs...

  13. An open-population hierarchical distance sampling model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sollmann, Rachel; Beth Gardner,; Richard B Chandler,; Royle, J. Andrew; T Scott Sillett,

    2015-01-01

    Modeling population dynamics while accounting for imperfect detection is essential to monitoring programs. Distance sampling allows estimating population size while accounting for imperfect detection, but existing methods do not allow for direct estimation of demographic parameters. We develop a model that uses temporal correlation in abundance arising from underlying population dynamics to estimate demographic parameters from repeated distance sampling surveys. Using a simulation study motivated by designing a monitoring program for island scrub-jays (Aphelocoma insularis), we investigated the power of this model to detect population trends. We generated temporally autocorrelated abundance and distance sampling data over six surveys, using population rates of change of 0.95 and 0.90. We fit the data generating Markovian model and a mis-specified model with a log-linear time effect on abundance, and derived post hoc trend estimates from a model estimating abundance for each survey separately. We performed these analyses for varying number of survey points. Power to detect population changes was consistently greater under the Markov model than under the alternatives, particularly for reduced numbers of survey points. The model can readily be extended to more complex demographic processes than considered in our simulations. This novel framework can be widely adopted for wildlife population monitoring.

  14. An open-population hierarchical distance sampling model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sollmann, Rahel; Gardner, Beth; Chandler, Richard B; Royle, J Andrew; Sillett, T Scott

    2015-02-01

    Modeling population dynamics while accounting for imperfect detection is essential to monitoring programs. Distance sampling allows estimating population size while accounting for imperfect detection, but existing methods do not allow for estimation of demographic parameters. We develop a model that uses temporal correlation in abundance arising from underlying population dynamics to estimate demographic parameters from repeated distance sampling surveys. Using a simulation study motivated by designing a monitoring program for Island Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma insularis), we investigated the power of this model to detect population trends. We generated temporally autocorrelated abundance and distance sampling data over six surveys, using population rates of change of 0.95 and 0.90. We fit the data generating Markovian model and a mis-specified model with a log-linear time effect on abundance, and derived post hoc trend estimates from a model estimating abundance for each survey separately. We performed these analyses for varying numbers of survey points. Power to detect population changes was consistently greater under the Markov model than under the alternatives, particularly for reduced numbers of survey points. The model can readily be extended to more complex demographic processes than considered in our simulations. This novel framework can be widely adopted for wildlife population monitoring.

  15. Hierarchically Nanoporous Bioactive Glasses for High Efficiency Immobilization of Enzymes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    He, W.; Min, D.D.; Zhang, X.D.

    2014-01-01

    Bioactive glasses with hierarchical nanoporosity and structures have been heavily involved in immobilization of enzymes. Because of meticulous design and ingenious hierarchical nanostructuration of porosities from yeast cell biotemplates, hierarchically nanostructured porous bioactive glasses can...... and products of catalytic reactions can freely diffuse through open mesopores (2–40 nm). The formation mechanism of hierarchically structured porous bioactive glasses, the immobilization mechanism of enzyme and the catalysis mechanism of immobilized enzyme are then discussed. The novel nanostructure...

  16. Hierarchical Porous Structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grote, Christopher John [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2016-06-07

    Materials Design is often at the forefront of technological innovation. While there has always been a push to generate increasingly low density materials, such as aero or hydrogels, more recently the idea of bicontinuous structures has gone more into play. This review will cover some of the methods and applications for generating both porous, and hierarchically porous structures.

  17. Hierarchical Bayesian sparse image reconstruction with application to MRFM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dobigeon, Nicolas; Hero, Alfred O; Tourneret, Jean-Yves

    2009-09-01

    This paper presents a hierarchical Bayesian model to reconstruct sparse images when the observations are obtained from linear transformations and corrupted by an additive white Gaussian noise. Our hierarchical Bayes model is well suited to such naturally sparse image applications as it seamlessly accounts for properties such as sparsity and positivity of the image via appropriate Bayes priors. We propose a prior that is based on a weighted mixture of a positive exponential distribution and a mass at zero. The prior has hyperparameters that are tuned automatically by marginalization over the hierarchical Bayesian model. To overcome the complexity of the posterior distribution, a Gibbs sampling strategy is proposed. The Gibbs samples can be used to estimate the image to be recovered, e.g., by maximizing the estimated posterior distribution. In our fully Bayesian approach, the posteriors of all the parameters are available. Thus, our algorithm provides more information than other previously proposed sparse reconstruction methods that only give a point estimate. The performance of the proposed hierarchical Bayesian sparse reconstruction method is illustrated on synthetic data and real data collected from a tobacco virus sample using a prototype MRFM instrument.

  18. Planetary Sample Caching System Design Options

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, Curtis; Younse, Paulo; Backes, Paul

    2009-01-01

    Potential Mars Sample Return missions would aspire to collect small core and regolith samples using a rover with a sample acquisition tool and sample caching system. Samples would need to be stored in individual sealed tubes in a canister that could be transfered to a Mars ascent vehicle and returned to Earth. A sample handling, encapsulation and containerization system (SHEC) has been developed as part of an integrated system for acquiring and storing core samples for application to future potential MSR and other potential sample return missions. Requirements and design options for the SHEC system were studied and a recommended design concept developed. Two families of solutions were explored: 1)transfer of a raw sample from the tool to the SHEC subsystem and 2)transfer of a tube containing the sample to the SHEC subsystem. The recommended design utilizes sample tool bit change out as the mechanism for transferring tubes to and samples in tubes from the tool. The SHEC subsystem design, called the Bit Changeout Caching(BiCC) design, is intended for operations on a MER class rover.

  19. Effect of Job Autonomy Upon Organizational Commitment of Employees at Different Hierarchical Level

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shalini Sisodia

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available The main aim of the present study was to examine the effect of job autonomy upon organizational commitment of employees at different hierarchical level. A study was made on randomly selected 100 male employees who work in different organizations in Agra, who were administered Organizational Commitment Scale (by Allen & Meyer, 1990 and Job Autonomy Scale (by Das, Arora, & Singhal, 2000. On the basis of median of the job autonomy scores, the sample was divided into two groups (1 high job autonomy group and (2 low job autonomy group and on the basis of hierarchical level, the employees were divided into two groups (1 50 high hierarchical level employees’ including managers, etc. and (2 50 low hierarchical level employees, e.g. clerical staff, etc. The 2x2 factorial design was formed for this purpose and four groups of employees were formed (1 high hierarchy, high autonomy group (2 high hierarchy, low autonomy group(3 low hierarchy, high autonomy group and (4 low hierarchy, low autonomy group. A two-way analysis of variance was employed to compare the level of organizational commitment of each of the four groups. There is a significant difference found between job commitment of employees with high and low job autonomy (F = 4.670, p < .05. There is a significant difference found between job commitment of employees of high hierarchical group and those of low hierarchical group (F = 40.691, p < .01 and significant interaction effect found between job autonomy and hierarchical level upon organizational commitment of employees (F = 6.114, p < .05.

  20. Hierarchical Recurrent Neural Hashing for Image Retrieval With Hierarchical Convolutional Features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Xiaoqiang; Chen, Yaxiong; Li, Xuelong

    Hashing has been an important and effective technology in image retrieval due to its computational efficiency and fast search speed. The traditional hashing methods usually learn hash functions to obtain binary codes by exploiting hand-crafted features, which cannot optimally represent the information of the sample. Recently, deep learning methods can achieve better performance, since deep learning architectures can learn more effective image representation features. However, these methods only use semantic features to generate hash codes by shallow projection but ignore texture details. In this paper, we proposed a novel hashing method, namely hierarchical recurrent neural hashing (HRNH), to exploit hierarchical recurrent neural network to generate effective hash codes. There are three contributions of this paper. First, a deep hashing method is proposed to extensively exploit both spatial details and semantic information, in which, we leverage hierarchical convolutional features to construct image pyramid representation. Second, our proposed deep network can exploit directly convolutional feature maps as input to preserve the spatial structure of convolutional feature maps. Finally, we propose a new loss function that considers the quantization error of binarizing the continuous embeddings into the discrete binary codes, and simultaneously maintains the semantic similarity and balanceable property of hash codes. Experimental results on four widely used data sets demonstrate that the proposed HRNH can achieve superior performance over other state-of-the-art hashing methods.Hashing has been an important and effective technology in image retrieval due to its computational efficiency and fast search speed. The traditional hashing methods usually learn hash functions to obtain binary codes by exploiting hand-crafted features, which cannot optimally represent the information of the sample. Recently, deep learning methods can achieve better performance, since deep

  1. Hierarchical materials: Background and perspectives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2016-01-01

    Hierarchical design draws inspiration from analysis of biological materials and has opened new possibilities for enhancing performance and enabling new functionalities and extraordinary properties. With the development of nanotechnology, the necessary technological requirements for the manufactur...

  2. The reflection of hierarchical cluster analysis of co-occurrence matrices in SPSS

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zhou, Q.; Leng, F.; Leydesdorff, L.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To discuss the problems arising from hierarchical cluster analysis of co-occurrence matrices in SPSS, and the corresponding solutions. Design/methodology/approach: We design different methods of using the SPSS hierarchical clustering module for co-occurrence matrices in order to compare

  3. Multi-objective hierarchical genetic algorithms for multilevel redundancy allocation optimization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, Ranjan [Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan)], E-mail: ranjan.k@ks3.ecs.kyoto-u.ac.jp; Izui, Kazuhiro [Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan)], E-mail: izui@prec.kyoto-u.ac.jp; Yoshimura, Masataka [Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan)], E-mail: yoshimura@prec.kyoto-u.ac.jp; Nishiwaki, Shinji [Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan)], E-mail: shinji@prec.kyoto-u.ac.jp

    2009-04-15

    Multilevel redundancy allocation optimization problems (MRAOPs) occur frequently when attempting to maximize the system reliability of a hierarchical system, and almost all complex engineering systems are hierarchical. Despite their practical significance, limited research has been done concerning the solving of simple MRAOPs. These problems are not only NP hard but also involve hierarchical design variables. Genetic algorithms (GAs) have been applied in solving MRAOPs, since they are computationally efficient in solving such problems, unlike exact methods, but their applications has been confined to single-objective formulation of MRAOPs. This paper proposes a multi-objective formulation of MRAOPs and a methodology for solving such problems. In this methodology, a hierarchical GA framework for multi-objective optimization is proposed by introducing hierarchical genotype encoding for design variables. In addition, we implement the proposed approach by integrating the hierarchical genotype encoding scheme with two popular multi-objective genetic algorithms (MOGAs)-the strength Pareto evolutionary genetic algorithm (SPEA2) and the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II). In the provided numerical examples, the proposed multi-objective hierarchical approach is applied to solve two hierarchical MRAOPs, a 4- and a 3-level problems. The proposed method is compared with a single-objective optimization method that uses a hierarchical genetic algorithm (HGA), also applied to solve the 3- and 4-level problems. The results show that a multi-objective hierarchical GA (MOHGA) that includes elitism and mechanism for diversity preserving performed better than a single-objective GA that only uses elitism, when solving large-scale MRAOPs. Additionally, the experimental results show that the proposed method with NSGA-II outperformed the proposed method with SPEA2 in finding useful Pareto optimal solution sets.

  4. Multi-objective hierarchical genetic algorithms for multilevel redundancy allocation optimization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Ranjan; Izui, Kazuhiro; Yoshimura, Masataka; Nishiwaki, Shinji

    2009-01-01

    Multilevel redundancy allocation optimization problems (MRAOPs) occur frequently when attempting to maximize the system reliability of a hierarchical system, and almost all complex engineering systems are hierarchical. Despite their practical significance, limited research has been done concerning the solving of simple MRAOPs. These problems are not only NP hard but also involve hierarchical design variables. Genetic algorithms (GAs) have been applied in solving MRAOPs, since they are computationally efficient in solving such problems, unlike exact methods, but their applications has been confined to single-objective formulation of MRAOPs. This paper proposes a multi-objective formulation of MRAOPs and a methodology for solving such problems. In this methodology, a hierarchical GA framework for multi-objective optimization is proposed by introducing hierarchical genotype encoding for design variables. In addition, we implement the proposed approach by integrating the hierarchical genotype encoding scheme with two popular multi-objective genetic algorithms (MOGAs)-the strength Pareto evolutionary genetic algorithm (SPEA2) and the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II). In the provided numerical examples, the proposed multi-objective hierarchical approach is applied to solve two hierarchical MRAOPs, a 4- and a 3-level problems. The proposed method is compared with a single-objective optimization method that uses a hierarchical genetic algorithm (HGA), also applied to solve the 3- and 4-level problems. The results show that a multi-objective hierarchical GA (MOHGA) that includes elitism and mechanism for diversity preserving performed better than a single-objective GA that only uses elitism, when solving large-scale MRAOPs. Additionally, the experimental results show that the proposed method with NSGA-II outperformed the proposed method with SPEA2 in finding useful Pareto optimal solution sets

  5. On Energy-Efficient Hierarchical Cross-Layer Design: Joint Power Control and Routing for Ad Hoc Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Poor HVincent

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available A hierarchical cross-layer design approach is proposed to increase energy efficiency in ad hoc networks through joint adaptation of nodes' transmitting powers and route selection. The design maintains the advantages of the classic OSI model, while accounting for the cross-coupling between layers, through information sharing. The proposed joint power control and routing algorithm is shown to increase significantly the overall energy efficiency of the network, at the expense of a moderate increase in complexity. Performance enhancement of the joint design using multiuser detection is also investigated, and it is shown that the use of multiuser detection can increase the capacity of the ad hoc network significantly for a given level of energy consumption.

  6. On Energy-Efficient Hierarchical Cross-Layer Design: Joint Power Control and Routing for Ad Hoc Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina Comaniciu

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available A hierarchical cross-layer design approach is proposed to increase energy efficiency in ad hoc networks through joint adaptation of nodes' transmitting powers and route selection. The design maintains the advantages of the classic OSI model, while accounting for the cross-coupling between layers, through information sharing. The proposed joint power control and routing algorithm is shown to increase significantly the overall energy efficiency of the network, at the expense of a moderate increase in complexity. Performance enhancement of the joint design using multiuser detection is also investigated, and it is shown that the use of multiuser detection can increase the capacity of the ad hoc network significantly for a given level of energy consumption.

  7. Hierarchical Control Design for Shipboard Power System with DC Distribution and Energy Storage aboard Future More-Electric Ships

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jin, Zheming; Meng, Lexuan; Guerrero, Josep M.

    2018-01-01

    power system (SPS) with DC distribution and energy storage system (ESS) is picked as study case. To meet the requirement of control and management of such a large-scale mobile power system, a hierarchical control design is proposed in this paper. In order to fully exploit the benefit of ESS, as well...

  8. Evaluating Hierarchical Structure in Music Annotations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFee, Brian; Nieto, Oriol; Farbood, Morwaread M; Bello, Juan Pablo

    2017-01-01

    Music exhibits structure at multiple scales, ranging from motifs to large-scale functional components. When inferring the structure of a piece, different listeners may attend to different temporal scales, which can result in disagreements when they describe the same piece. In the field of music informatics research (MIR), it is common to use corpora annotated with structural boundaries at different levels. By quantifying disagreements between multiple annotators, previous research has yielded several insights relevant to the study of music cognition. First, annotators tend to agree when structural boundaries are ambiguous. Second, this ambiguity seems to depend on musical features, time scale, and genre. Furthermore, it is possible to tune current annotation evaluation metrics to better align with these perceptual differences. However, previous work has not directly analyzed the effects of hierarchical structure because the existing methods for comparing structural annotations are designed for "flat" descriptions, and do not readily generalize to hierarchical annotations. In this paper, we extend and generalize previous work on the evaluation of hierarchical descriptions of musical structure. We derive an evaluation metric which can compare hierarchical annotations holistically across multiple levels. sing this metric, we investigate inter-annotator agreement on the multilevel annotations of two different music corpora, investigate the influence of acoustic properties on hierarchical annotations, and evaluate existing hierarchical segmentation algorithms against the distribution of inter-annotator agreement.

  9. Evaluating Hierarchical Structure in Music Annotations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brian McFee

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Music exhibits structure at multiple scales, ranging from motifs to large-scale functional components. When inferring the structure of a piece, different listeners may attend to different temporal scales, which can result in disagreements when they describe the same piece. In the field of music informatics research (MIR, it is common to use corpora annotated with structural boundaries at different levels. By quantifying disagreements between multiple annotators, previous research has yielded several insights relevant to the study of music cognition. First, annotators tend to agree when structural boundaries are ambiguous. Second, this ambiguity seems to depend on musical features, time scale, and genre. Furthermore, it is possible to tune current annotation evaluation metrics to better align with these perceptual differences. However, previous work has not directly analyzed the effects of hierarchical structure because the existing methods for comparing structural annotations are designed for “flat” descriptions, and do not readily generalize to hierarchical annotations. In this paper, we extend and generalize previous work on the evaluation of hierarchical descriptions of musical structure. We derive an evaluation metric which can compare hierarchical annotations holistically across multiple levels. sing this metric, we investigate inter-annotator agreement on the multilevel annotations of two different music corpora, investigate the influence of acoustic properties on hierarchical annotations, and evaluate existing hierarchical segmentation algorithms against the distribution of inter-annotator agreement.

  10. Optimizing Blocking and Nonblocking Reduction Operations for Multicore Systems: Hierarchical Design and Implementation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gorentla Venkata, Manjunath [ORNL; Shamis, Pavel [ORNL; Graham, Richard L [ORNL; Ladd, Joshua S [ORNL; Sampath, Rahul S [ORNL

    2013-01-01

    Many scientific simulations, using the Message Passing Interface (MPI) programming model, are sensitive to the performance and scalability of reduction collective operations such as MPI Allreduce and MPI Reduce. These operations are the most widely used abstractions to perform mathematical operations over all processes that are part of the simulation. In this work, we propose a hierarchical design to implement the reduction operations on multicore systems. This design aims to improve the efficiency of reductions by 1) tailoring the algorithms and customizing the implementations for various communication mechanisms in the system 2) providing the ability to configure the depth of hierarchy to match the system architecture, and 3) providing the ability to independently progress each of this hierarchy. Using this design, we implement MPI Allreduce and MPI Reduce operations (and its nonblocking variants MPI Iallreduce and MPI Ireduce) for all message sizes, and evaluate on multiple architectures including InfiniBand and Cray XT5. We leverage and enhance our existing infrastructure, Cheetah, which is a framework for implementing hierarchical collective operations to implement these reductions. The experimental results show that the Cheetah reduction operations outperform the production-grade MPI implementations such as Open MPI default, Cray MPI, and MVAPICH2, demonstrating its efficiency, flexibility and portability. On Infini- Band systems, with a microbenchmark, a 512-process Cheetah nonblocking Allreduce and Reduce achieves a speedup of 23x and 10x, respectively, compared to the default Open MPI reductions. The blocking variants of the reduction operations also show similar performance benefits. A 512-process nonblocking Cheetah Allreduce achieves a speedup of 3x, compared to the default MVAPICH2 Allreduce implementation. On a Cray XT5 system, a 6144-process Cheetah Allreduce outperforms the Cray MPI by 145%. The evaluation with an application kernel, Conjugate

  11. Hierarchical surfaces for enhanced self-cleaning applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández, Ariadna; Francone, Achille; Thamdrup, Lasse H.; Johansson, Alicia; Bilenberg, Brian; Nielsen, Theodor; Guttmann, Markus; Sotomayor Torres, Clivia M.; Kehagias, Nikolaos

    2017-04-01

    In this study we present a flexible and adaptable fabrication method to create complex hierarchical structures over inherently hydrophobic resist materials. We have tested these surfaces for their superhydrophobic behaviour and successfully verified their self-cleaning properties. The followed approach allow us to design and produce superhydrophobic surfaces in a reproducible manner. We have analysed different combination of hierarchical micro-nanostructures for their application to self-cleaning surfaces. A static contact angle value of 170° with a hysteresis of 4° was achieved without the need of any additional chemical treatment on the fabricated hierarchical structures. Dynamic effects were analysed on these surfaces, obtaining a remarkable self-cleaning effect as well as a good robustness over impacting droplets.

  12. Analyzing security protocols in hierarchical networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Ye; Nielson, Hanne Riis

    2006-01-01

    Validating security protocols is a well-known hard problem even in a simple setting of a single global network. But a real network often consists of, besides the public-accessed part, several sub-networks and thereby forms a hierarchical structure. In this paper we first present a process calculus...... capturing the characteristics of hierarchical networks and describe the behavior of protocols on such networks. We then develop a static analysis to automate the validation. Finally we demonstrate how the technique can benefit the protocol development and the design of network systems by presenting a series...

  13. Facile fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces with hierarchical structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Eunyoung; Lee, Kun-Hong

    2018-03-06

    Hierarchical structures were fabricated on the surfaces of SUS304 plates using a one-step process of direct microwave irradiation under a carbon dioxide atmosphere. The surface nanostructures were composed of chrome-doped hematite single crystals. Superhydrophobic surfaces with a water contact angle up to 169° were obtained by chemical modification of the hierarchical structures. The samples maintained superhydrophobicity under NaCl solution up to 2 weeks.

  14. Exploring the hierarchical structure of the MMPI-2-RF Personality Psychopathology Five in psychiatric patient and university student samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagby, R Michael; Sellbom, Martin; Ayearst, Lindsay E; Chmielewski, Michael S; Anderson, Jaime L; Quilty, Lena C

    2014-01-01

    In this study our goal was to examine the hierarchical structure of personality pathology as conceptualized by Harkness and McNulty's (1994) Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) model, as recently operationalized by the MMPI-2-RF (Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2011) PSY-5r scales. We used Goldberg's (2006) "bass-ackwards" method to obtain factor structure using PSY-5r item data, successively extracting from 1 to 5 factors in a sample of psychiatric patients (n = 1,000) and a sample of university undergraduate students (n = 1,331). Participants from these samples had completed either the MMPI-2 or the MMPI-2-RF. The results were mostly consistent across the 2 samples, with some differences at the 3-factor level. In the patient sample a factor structure representing 3 broad psychopathology domains (internalizing, externalizing, and psychoticism) emerged; in the student sample the 3-factor level represented what is more commonly observed in "normal-range" personality models (negative emotionality, introversion, and disconstraint). At the 5-factor level the basic structure was similar across the 2 samples and represented well the PSY-5r domains.

  15. Hierarchical surfaces for enhanced self-cleaning applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernández, Ariadna; Francone, Achille; Sotomayor Torres, Clivia M; Kehagias, Nikolaos; Thamdrup, Lasse H; Johansson, Alicia; Bilenberg, Brian; Nielsen, Theodor; Guttmann, Markus

    2017-01-01

    In this study we present a flexible and adaptable fabrication method to create complex hierarchical structures over inherently hydrophobic resist materials. We have tested these surfaces for their superhydrophobic behaviour and successfully verified their self-cleaning properties. The followed approach allow us to design and produce superhydrophobic surfaces in a reproducible manner. We have analysed different combination of hierarchical micro-nanostructures for their application to self-cleaning surfaces. A static contact angle value of 170° with a hysteresis of 4° was achieved without the need of any additional chemical treatment on the fabricated hierarchical structures. Dynamic effects were analysed on these surfaces, obtaining a remarkable self-cleaning effect as well as a good robustness over impacting droplets. (paper)

  16. Hierarchical Micro-Nano Coatings by Painting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirveslahti, Anna; Korhonen, Tuulia; Suvanto, Mika; Pakkanen, Tapani A.

    2016-03-01

    In this paper, the wettability properties of coatings with hierarchical surface structures and low surface energy were studied. Hierarchically structured coatings were produced by using hydrophobic fumed silica nanoparticles and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) microparticles as additives in polyester (PES) and polyvinyldifluoride (PVDF). These particles created hierarchical micro-nano structures on the paint surfaces and lowered or supported the already low surface energy of the paint. Two standard application techniques for paint application were employed and the presented coatings are suitable for mass production and use in large surface areas. By regulating the particle concentrations, it was possible to modify wettability properties gradually. Highly hydrophobic surfaces were achieved with the highest contact angle of 165∘. Dynamic contact angle measurements were carried out for a set of selected samples and low hysteresis was obtained. Produced coatings possessed long lasting durability in the air and in underwater conditions.

  17. Statistical Significance for Hierarchical Clustering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimes, Patrick K.; Liu, Yufeng; Hayes, D. Neil; Marron, J. S.

    2017-01-01

    Summary Cluster analysis has proved to be an invaluable tool for the exploratory and unsupervised analysis of high dimensional datasets. Among methods for clustering, hierarchical approaches have enjoyed substantial popularity in genomics and other fields for their ability to simultaneously uncover multiple layers of clustering structure. A critical and challenging question in cluster analysis is whether the identified clusters represent important underlying structure or are artifacts of natural sampling variation. Few approaches have been proposed for addressing this problem in the context of hierarchical clustering, for which the problem is further complicated by the natural tree structure of the partition, and the multiplicity of tests required to parse the layers of nested clusters. In this paper, we propose a Monte Carlo based approach for testing statistical significance in hierarchical clustering which addresses these issues. The approach is implemented as a sequential testing procedure guaranteeing control of the family-wise error rate. Theoretical justification is provided for our approach, and its power to detect true clustering structure is illustrated through several simulation studies and applications to two cancer gene expression datasets. PMID:28099990

  18. Modeling low-thrust transfers between periodic orbits about five libration points: Manifolds and hierarchical design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeng, Hao; Zhang, Jingrui

    2018-04-01

    The low-thrust version of the fuel-optimal transfers between periodic orbits with different energies in the vicinity of five libration points is exploited deeply in the Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem. Indirect optimization technique incorporated with constraint gradients is employed to further improve the computational efficiency and accuracy of the algorithm. The required optimal thrust magnitude and direction can be determined to create the bridging trajectory that connects the invariant manifolds. A hierarchical design strategy dividing the constraint set is proposed to seek the optimal solution when the problem cannot be solved directly. Meanwhile, the solution procedure and the value ranges of used variables are summarized. To highlight the effectivity of the transfer scheme and aim at different types of libration point orbits, transfer trajectories between some sample orbits, including Lyapunov orbits, planar orbits, halo orbits, axial orbits, vertical orbits and butterfly orbits for collinear and triangular libration points, are investigated with various time of flight. Numerical results show that the fuel consumption varies from a few kilograms to tens of kilograms, related to the locations and the types of mission orbits as well as the corresponding invariant manifold structures, and indicates that the low-thrust transfers may be a beneficial option for the extended science missions around different libration points.

  19. Hierarchical carbon nanostructure design: ultra-long carbon nanofibers decorated with carbon nanotubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El Mel, A A; Achour, A; Gautron, E; Angleraud, B; Granier, A; Le Brizoual, L; Djouadi, M A; Tessier, P Y; Xu, W; Choi, C H

    2011-01-01

    Hierarchical carbon nanostructures based on ultra-long carbon nanofibers (CNF) decorated with carbon nanotubes (CNT) have been prepared using plasma processes. The nickel/carbon composite nanofibers, used as a support for the growth of CNT, were deposited on nanopatterned silicon substrate by a hybrid plasma process, combining magnetron sputtering and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Transmission electron microscopy revealed the presence of spherical nanoparticles randomly dispersed within the carbon nanofibers. The nickel nanoparticles have been used as a catalyst to initiate the growth of CNT by PECVD at 600 deg. C. After the growth of CNT onto the ultra-long CNF, SEM imaging revealed the formation of hierarchical carbon nanostructures which consist of CNF sheathed with CNTs. Furthermore, we demonstrate that reducing the growth temperature of CNT to less than 500 deg. C leads to the formation of carbon nanowalls on the CNF instead of CNT. This simple fabrication method allows an easy preparation of hierarchical carbon nanostructures over a large surface area, as well as a simple manipulation of such material in order to integrate it into nanodevices.

  20. Hierarchical ordering with partial pairwise hierarchical relationships on the macaque brain data sets.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Woosang Lim

    Full Text Available Hierarchical organizations of information processing in the brain networks have been known to exist and widely studied. To find proper hierarchical structures in the macaque brain, the traditional methods need the entire pairwise hierarchical relationships between cortical areas. In this paper, we present a new method that discovers hierarchical structures of macaque brain networks by using partial information of pairwise hierarchical relationships. Our method uses a graph-based manifold learning to exploit inherent relationship, and computes pseudo distances of hierarchical levels for every pair of cortical areas. Then, we compute hierarchy levels of all cortical areas by minimizing the sum of squared hierarchical distance errors with the hierarchical information of few cortical areas. We evaluate our method on the macaque brain data sets whose true hierarchical levels are known as the FV91 model. The experimental results show that hierarchy levels computed by our method are similar to the FV91 model, and its errors are much smaller than the errors of hierarchical clustering approaches.

  1. Technique for fast and efficient hierarchical clustering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stork, Christopher

    2013-10-08

    A fast and efficient technique for hierarchical clustering of samples in a dataset includes compressing the dataset to reduce a number of variables within each of the samples of the dataset. A nearest neighbor matrix is generated to identify nearest neighbor pairs between the samples based on differences between the variables of the samples. The samples are arranged into a hierarchy that groups the samples based on the nearest neighbor matrix. The hierarchy is rendered to a display to graphically illustrate similarities or differences between the samples.

  2. Formic Acid Oxidation over Hierarchical Porous Carbon Containing PtPd Catalysts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Pastor

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available The use of high surface monolithic carbon as support for catalysts offers important advantage, such as elimination of the ohmic drop originated in the interparticle contact and improved mass transport by ad-hoc pore design. Moreover, the approach discussed here has the advantage that it allows the synthesis of materials having a multimodal porous size distribution, with each pore size contributing to the desired properties. On the other hand, the monolithic nature of the porous support also imposes new challenges for metal loading. In this work, the use of Hierarchical Porous Carbon (HPC as support for PtPd nanoparticles was explored. Three hierarchical porous carbon samples (denoted as HPC-300, HPC-400 and HPC-500 with main pore size around 300, 400 and 500 nm respectively, are used as porous support. PtPd nanoparticles were loaded by impregnation and subsequent chemical reduction with NaBH4. The resulting material was characterized by EDX, XRD and conventional electrochemical techniques. The catalytic activity toward formic acid and methanol electrooxidation was evaluated by electrochemical methods, and the results compared with commercial carbon supported PtPd. The Hierarchical Porous Carbon support discussed here seems to be promising for use in DFAFC anodes.

  3. Hierarchical LiFePO4 with a controllable growth of the (010) facet for lithium-ion batteries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Binbin; Ruan, Hongcheng; Zheng, Cheng; Fei, Hailong; Wei, Mingdeng

    2013-09-27

    Hierarchically structured LiFePO4 was successfully synthesized by ionic liquid solvothermal method. These hierarchically structured LiFePO4 samples were constructed from nanostructured platelets with their (010) facets mainly exposed. To the best of our knowledge, facet control of a hierarchical LiFePO4 crystal has not been reported yet. Based on a series of experimental results, a tentative mechanism for the formation of these hierarchical structures was proposed. After these hierarchically structured LiFePO4 samples were coated with a thin carbon layer and used as cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, they exhibited excellent high-rate discharge capability and cycling stability. For instance, a capacity of 95% can be maintained for the LiFePO4 sample at a rate as high as 20 C, even after 1000 cycles.

  4. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis of Three-Dimensional Reconstructions of Unbiased Sampled Microglia Shows not Continuous Morphological Changes from Stage 1 to 2 after Multiple Dengue Infections in Callithrix penicillata

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diniz, Daniel G.; Silva, Geane O.; Naves, Thaís B.; Fernandes, Taiany N.; Araújo, Sanderson C.; Diniz, José A. P.; de Farias, Luis H. S.; Sosthenes, Marcia C. K.; Diniz, Cristovam G.; Anthony, Daniel C.; da Costa Vasconcelos, Pedro F.; Picanço Diniz, Cristovam W.

    2016-01-01

    It is known that microglial morphology and function are related, but few studies have explored the subtleties of microglial morphological changes in response to specific pathogens. In the present report we quantitated microglia morphological changes in a monkey model of dengue disease with virus CNS invasion. To mimic multiple infections that usually occur in endemic areas, where higher dengue infection incidence and abundant mosquito vectors carrying different serotypes coexist, subjects received once a week subcutaneous injections of DENV3 (genotype III)-infected culture supernatant followed 24 h later by an injection of anti-DENV2 antibody. Control animals received either weekly anti-DENV2 antibodies, or no injections. Brain sections were immunolabeled for DENV3 antigens and IBA-1. Random and systematic microglial samples were taken from the polymorphic layer of dentate gyrus for 3-D reconstructions, where we found intense immunostaining for TNFα and DENV3 virus antigens. We submitted all bi- or multimodal morphological parameters of microglia to hierarchical cluster analysis and found two major morphological phenotypes designated types I and II. Compared to type I (stage 1), type II microglia were more complex; displaying higher number of nodes, processes and trees and larger surface area and volumes (stage 2). Type II microglia were found only in infected monkeys, whereas type I microglia was found in both control and infected subjects. Hierarchical cluster analysis of morphological parameters of 3-D reconstructions of random and systematic selected samples in control and ADE dengue infected monkeys suggests that microglia morphological changes from stage 1 to stage 2 may not be continuous. PMID:27047345

  5. Hierarchical Discrete Event Supervisory Control of Aircraft Propulsion Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yasar, Murat; Tolani, Devendra; Ray, Asok; Shah, Neerav; Litt, Jonathan S.

    2004-01-01

    This paper presents a hierarchical application of Discrete Event Supervisory (DES) control theory for intelligent decision and control of a twin-engine aircraft propulsion system. A dual layer hierarchical DES controller is designed to supervise and coordinate the operation of two engines of the propulsion system. The two engines are individually controlled to achieve enhanced performance and reliability, necessary for fulfilling the mission objectives. Each engine is operated under a continuously varying control system that maintains the specified performance and a local discrete-event supervisor for condition monitoring and life extending control. A global upper level DES controller is designed for load balancing and overall health management of the propulsion system.

  6. Broadband locally resonant metamaterials with graded hierarchical architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chenchen; Reina, Celia

    2018-03-01

    We investigate the effect of hierarchical designs on the bandgap structure of periodic lattice systems with inner resonators. A detailed parameter study reveals various interesting features of structures with two levels of hierarchy as compared with one level systems with identical static mass. In particular: (i) their overall bandwidth is approximately equal, yet bounded above by the bandwidth of the single-resonator system; (ii) the number of bandgaps increases with the level of hierarchy; and (iii) the spectrum of bandgap frequencies is also enlarged. Taking advantage of these features, we propose graded hierarchical structures with ultra-broadband properties. These designs are validated over analogous continuum models via finite element simulations, demonstrating their capability to overcome the bandwidth narrowness that is typical of resonant metamaterials.

  7. Static and dynamic friction of hierarchical surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costagliola, Gianluca; Bosia, Federico; Pugno, Nicola M

    2016-12-01

    Hierarchical structures are very common in nature, but only recently have they been systematically studied in materials science, in order to understand the specific effects they can have on the mechanical properties of various systems. Structural hierarchy provides a way to tune and optimize macroscopic mechanical properties starting from simple base constituents and new materials are nowadays designed exploiting this possibility. This can be true also in the field of tribology. In this paper we study the effect of hierarchical patterned surfaces on the static and dynamic friction coefficients of an elastic material. Our results are obtained by means of numerical simulations using a one-dimensional spring-block model, which has previously been used to investigate various aspects of friction. Despite the simplicity of the model, we highlight some possible mechanisms that explain how hierarchical structures can significantly modify the friction coefficients of a material, providing a means to achieve tunability.

  8. Oxygen-rich hierarchical porous carbon derived from artemia cyst shells with superior electrochemical performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yufeng; Ran, Wei; He, Jing; Song, Yanfang; Zhang, Chunming; Xiong, Ding-Bang; Gao, Faming; Wu, Jinsong; Xia, Yongyao

    2015-01-21

    In this study, three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical porous carbon with abundant functional groups is produced through a very simple low-cost carbonization of Artemia cyst shells. The unique hierarchical porous structure of this material, combining large numbers of micropores and macropores, as well as reasonable amount of mesopores, is proven favorable to capacitive behavior. The abundant oxygen functional groups from the natural carbon precursor contribute stable pseudocapacitance. As-prepared sample exhibits high specific capacitance (369 F g(-1) in 1 M H2SO4 and 349 F g(-1) in 6 M KOH), excellent cycling stability with capacitance retention of 100% over 10 000 cycles, and promising rate performance. This work not only describes a simple way to produce high-performance carbon electrode materials for practical application, but also inspires an idea for future structure design of porous carbon.

  9. Programming Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Patchy Particles into Colloidal Crystals via Colloidal Molecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morphew, Daniel; Shaw, James; Avins, Christopher; Chakrabarti, Dwaipayan

    2018-03-27

    Colloidal self-assembly is a promising bottom-up route to a wide variety of three-dimensional structures, from clusters to crystals. Programming hierarchical self-assembly of colloidal building blocks, which can give rise to structures ordered at multiple levels to rival biological complexity, poses a multiscale design problem. Here we explore a generic design principle that exploits a hierarchy of interaction strengths and employ this design principle in computer simulations to demonstrate the hierarchical self-assembly of triblock patchy colloidal particles into two distinct colloidal crystals. We obtain cubic diamond and body-centered cubic crystals via distinct clusters of uniform size and shape, namely, tetrahedra and octahedra, respectively. Such a conceptual design framework has the potential to reliably encode hierarchical self-assembly of colloidal particles into a high level of sophistication. Moreover, the design framework underpins a bottom-up route to cubic diamond colloidal crystals, which have remained elusive despite being much sought after for their attractive photonic applications.

  10. A Hierarchical Biology Concept Framework: A Tool for Course Design

    OpenAIRE

    Khodor, Julia; Halme, Dina Gould; Walker, Graham C.

    2004-01-01

    A typical undergraduate biology curriculum covers a very large number of concepts and details. We describe the development of a Biology Concept Framework (BCF) as a possible way to organize this material to enhance teaching and learning. Our BCF is hierarchical, places details in context, nests related concepts, and articulates concepts that are inherently obvious to experts but often difficult ...

  11. Comparing hierarchical models via the marginalized deviance information criterion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quintero, Adrian; Lesaffre, Emmanuel

    2018-07-20

    Hierarchical models are extensively used in pharmacokinetics and longitudinal studies. When the estimation is performed from a Bayesian approach, model comparison is often based on the deviance information criterion (DIC). In hierarchical models with latent variables, there are several versions of this statistic: the conditional DIC (cDIC) that incorporates the latent variables in the focus of the analysis and the marginalized DIC (mDIC) that integrates them out. Regardless of the asymptotic and coherency difficulties of cDIC, this alternative is usually used in Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods for hierarchical models because of practical convenience. The mDIC criterion is more appropriate in most cases but requires integration of the likelihood, which is computationally demanding and not implemented in Bayesian software. Therefore, we consider a method to compute mDIC by generating replicate samples of the latent variables that need to be integrated out. This alternative can be easily conducted from the MCMC output of Bayesian packages and is widely applicable to hierarchical models in general. Additionally, we propose some approximations in order to reduce the computational complexity for large-sample situations. The method is illustrated with simulated data sets and 2 medical studies, evidencing that cDIC may be misleading whilst mDIC appears pertinent. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  12. Simultaneous hierarchical segmentation and vectorization of satellite images through combined data sampling and anisotropic triangulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grazzini, Jacopo [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Prasad, Lakshman [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Dillard, Scott [PNNL

    2010-10-21

    The automatic detection, recognition , and segmentation of object classes in remote sensed images is of crucial importance for scene interpretation and understanding. However, it is a difficult task because of the high variability of satellite data. Indeed, the observed scenes usually exhibit a high degree of complexity, where complexity refers to the large variety of pictorial representations of objects with the same semantic meaning and also to the extensive amount of available det.ails. Therefore, there is still a strong demand for robust techniques for automatic information extraction and interpretation of satellite images. In parallel, there is a growing interest in techniques that can extract vector features directly from such imagery. In this paper, we investigate the problem of automatic hierarchical segmentation and vectorization of multispectral satellite images. We propose a new algorithm composed of the following steps: (i) a non-uniform sampling scheme extracting most salient pixels in the image, (ii) an anisotropic triangulation constrained by the sampled pixels taking into account both strength and directionality of local structures present in the image, (iii) a polygonal grouping scheme merging, through techniques based on perceptual information , the obtained segments to a smaller quantity of superior vectorial objects. Besides its computational efficiency, this approach provides a meaningful polygonal representation for subsequent image analysis and/or interpretation.

  13. The well-designed hierarchical structure of Musa basjoo for supercapacitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Kaiwen; Fan, Xiaorong; Mao, Yingzhu; Lin, Jingkai; Dai, Wenxuan; Zhang, Junying; Cheng, Jue

    2016-01-01

    Application of biological structure is one of the hottest topics in the field of science and technology. The unimaginable and excellent architectures of living beings supporting their vital activities have attracted the interests of worldwide researchers. An intriguing example is Musa basjoo which belongs to the herb, while appears like a tree. The profound mystery of structure and potential application of Musa basjoo have not been probed. Here we show the finding of the hierarchical structure of Musa basjoo and the outstanding electrochemical performance of the super-capacitors fabricated through the simple carbonization of Musa basjoo followed by KOH activation. Musa basjoo has three layers of structure: nanometer-level, micrometer-level and millimeter-level. The nanometer-level structure constructs the micrometer-level structure, while the micrometer-level structure constructs the millimeter-level structure. Based on this hierarchical structure, Musa basjoo reduces the unnecessary weight and therefore supports its huge body. The super-capacitors derived from Musa basjoo display a high specific capacitance and a good cycling stability. This enlightening work opens a window for the applications of the natural structure and we hope that more and more people could pay attention to the bio-inspired materials. PMID:26842714

  14. The well-designed hierarchical structure of Musa basjoo for supercapacitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Kaiwen; Fan, Xiaorong; Mao, Yingzhu; Lin, Jingkai; Dai, Wenxuan; Zhang, Junying; Cheng, Jue

    2016-02-01

    Application of biological structure is one of the hottest topics in the field of science and technology. The unimaginable and excellent architectures of living beings supporting their vital activities have attracted the interests of worldwide researchers. An intriguing example is Musa basjoo which belongs to the herb, while appears like a tree. The profound mystery of structure and potential application of Musa basjoo have not been probed. Here we show the finding of the hierarchical structure of Musa basjoo and the outstanding electrochemical performance of the super-capacitors fabricated through the simple carbonization of Musa basjoo followed by KOH activation. Musa basjoo has three layers of structure: nanometer-level, micrometer-level and millimeter-level. The nanometer-level structure constructs the micrometer-level structure, while the micrometer-level structure constructs the millimeter-level structure. Based on this hierarchical structure, Musa basjoo reduces the unnecessary weight and therefore supports its huge body. The super-capacitors derived from Musa basjoo display a high specific capacitance and a good cycling stability. This enlightening work opens a window for the applications of the natural structure and we hope that more and more people could pay attention to the bio-inspired materials.

  15. Sample design effects in landscape genetics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oyler-McCance, Sara J.; Fedy, Bradley C.; Landguth, Erin L.

    2012-01-01

    An important research gap in landscape genetics is the impact of different field sampling designs on the ability to detect the effects of landscape pattern on gene flow. We evaluated how five different sampling regimes (random, linear, systematic, cluster, and single study site) affected the probability of correctly identifying the generating landscape process of population structure. Sampling regimes were chosen to represent a suite of designs common in field studies. We used genetic data generated from a spatially-explicit, individual-based program and simulated gene flow in a continuous population across a landscape with gradual spatial changes in resistance to movement. Additionally, we evaluated the sampling regimes using realistic and obtainable number of loci (10 and 20), number of alleles per locus (5 and 10), number of individuals sampled (10-300), and generational time after the landscape was introduced (20 and 400). For a simulated continuously distributed species, we found that random, linear, and systematic sampling regimes performed well with high sample sizes (>200), levels of polymorphism (10 alleles per locus), and number of molecular markers (20). The cluster and single study site sampling regimes were not able to correctly identify the generating process under any conditions and thus, are not advisable strategies for scenarios similar to our simulations. Our research emphasizes the importance of sampling data at ecologically appropriate spatial and temporal scales and suggests careful consideration for sampling near landscape components that are likely to most influence the genetic structure of the species. In addition, simulating sampling designs a priori could help guide filed data collection efforts.

  16. Experimental and Sampling Design for the INL-2 Sample Collection Operational Test

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Piepel, Gregory F.; Amidan, Brett G.; Matzke, Brett D.

    2009-02-16

    This report describes the experimental and sampling design developed to assess sampling approaches and methods for detecting contamination in a building and clearing the building for use after decontamination. An Idaho National Laboratory (INL) building will be contaminated with BG (Bacillus globigii, renamed Bacillus atrophaeus), a simulant for Bacillus anthracis (BA). The contamination, sampling, decontamination, and re-sampling will occur per the experimental and sampling design. This INL-2 Sample Collection Operational Test is being planned by the Validated Sampling Plan Working Group (VSPWG). The primary objectives are: 1) Evaluate judgmental and probabilistic sampling for characterization as well as probabilistic and combined (judgment and probabilistic) sampling approaches for clearance, 2) Conduct these evaluations for gradient contamination (from low or moderate down to absent or undetectable) for different initial concentrations of the contaminant, 3) Explore judgment composite sampling approaches to reduce sample numbers, 4) Collect baseline data to serve as an indication of the actual levels of contamination in the tests. A combined judgmental and random (CJR) approach uses Bayesian methodology to combine judgmental and probabilistic samples to make clearance statements of the form "X% confidence that at least Y% of an area does not contain detectable contamination” (X%/Y% clearance statements). The INL-2 experimental design has five test events, which 1) vary the floor of the INL building on which the contaminant will be released, 2) provide for varying the amount of contaminant released to obtain desired concentration gradients, and 3) investigate overt as well as covert release of contaminants. Desirable contaminant gradients would have moderate to low concentrations of contaminant in rooms near the release point, with concentrations down to zero in other rooms. Such gradients would provide a range of contamination levels to challenge the sampling

  17. Final Report of Optimization Algorithms for Hierarchical Problems, with Applications to Nanoporous Materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nash, Stephen G.

    2013-11-11

    The research focuses on the modeling and optimization of nanoporous materials. In systems with hierarchical structure that we consider, the physics changes as the scale of the problem is reduced and it can be important to account for physics at the fine level to obtain accurate approximations at coarser levels. For example, nanoporous materials hold promise for energy production and storage. A significant issue is the fabrication of channels within these materials to allow rapid diffusion through the material. One goal of our research is to apply optimization methods to the design of nanoporous materials. Such problems are large and challenging, with hierarchical structure that we believe can be exploited, and with a large range of important scales, down to atomistic. This requires research on large-scale optimization for systems that exhibit different physics at different scales, and the development of algorithms applicable to designing nanoporous materials for many important applications in energy production, storage, distribution, and use. Our research has two major research thrusts. The first is hierarchical modeling. We plan to develop and study hierarchical optimization models for nanoporous materials. The models have hierarchical structure, and attempt to balance the conflicting aims of model fidelity and computational tractability. In addition, we analyze the general hierarchical model, as well as the specific application models, to determine their properties, particularly those properties that are relevant to the hierarchical optimization algorithms. The second thrust was to develop, analyze, and implement a class of hierarchical optimization algorithms, and apply them to the hierarchical models we have developed. We adapted and extended the optimization-based multigrid algorithms of Lewis and Nash to the optimization models exemplified by the hierarchical optimization model. This class of multigrid algorithms has been shown to be a powerful tool for

  18. Unsupervised active learning based on hierarchical graph-theoretic clustering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Weiming; Hu, Wei; Xie, Nianhua; Maybank, Steve

    2009-10-01

    Most existing active learning approaches are supervised. Supervised active learning has the following problems: inefficiency in dealing with the semantic gap between the distribution of samples in the feature space and their labels, lack of ability in selecting new samples that belong to new categories that have not yet appeared in the training samples, and lack of adaptability to changes in the semantic interpretation of sample categories. To tackle these problems, we propose an unsupervised active learning framework based on hierarchical graph-theoretic clustering. In the framework, two promising graph-theoretic clustering algorithms, namely, dominant-set clustering and spectral clustering, are combined in a hierarchical fashion. Our framework has some advantages, such as ease of implementation, flexibility in architecture, and adaptability to changes in the labeling. Evaluations on data sets for network intrusion detection, image classification, and video classification have demonstrated that our active learning framework can effectively reduce the workload of manual classification while maintaining a high accuracy of automatic classification. It is shown that, overall, our framework outperforms the support-vector-machine-based supervised active learning, particularly in terms of dealing much more efficiently with new samples whose categories have not yet appeared in the training samples.

  19. Wetting and Dewetting Transitions on Submerged Superhydrophobic Surfaces with Hierarchical Structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Huaping; Yang, Zhe; Cao, Binbin; Zhang, Zheng; Zhu, Kai; Wu, Bingbing; Jiang, Shaofei; Chai, Guozhong

    2017-01-10

    The wetting transition on submersed superhydrophobic surfaces with hierarchical structures and the influence of trapped air on superhydrophobic stability are predicted based on the thermodynamics and mechanical analyses. The dewetting transition on the hierarchically structured surfaces is investigated, and two necessary thermodynamic conditions and a mechanical balance condition for dewetting transition are proposed. The corresponding thermodynamic phase diagram of reversible transition and the critical reversed pressure well explain the experimental results reported previously. Our theory provides a useful guideline for precise controlling of breaking down and recovering of superhydrophobicity by designing superhydrophobic surfaces with hierarchical structures under water.

  20. An Evolutionary Approach for Optimizing Hierarchical Multi-Agent System Organization

    OpenAIRE

    Shen, Zhiqi; Yu, Ling; Yu, Han

    2014-01-01

    It has been widely recognized that the performance of a multi-agent system is highly affected by its organization. A large scale system may have billions of possible ways of organization, which makes it impractical to find an optimal choice of organization using exhaustive search methods. In this paper, we propose a genetic algorithm aided optimization scheme for designing hierarchical structures of multi-agent systems. We introduce a novel algorithm, called the hierarchical genetic algorithm...

  1. Energy-efficient hierarchical processing in the network of wireless intelligent sensors (WISE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raskovic, Dejan

    Sensor network nodes have benefited from technological advances in the field of wireless communication, processing, and power sources. However, the processing power of microcontrollers is often not sufficient to perform sophisticated processing, while the power requirements of digital signal processing boards or handheld computers are usually too demanding for prolonged system use. We are matching the intrinsic hierarchical nature of many digital signal-processing applications with the natural hierarchy in distributed wireless networks, and building the hierarchical system of wireless intelligent sensors. Our goal is to build a system that will exploit the hierarchical organization to optimize the power consumption and extend battery life for the given time and memory constraints, while providing real-time processing of sensor signals. In addition, we are designing our system to be able to adapt to the current state of the environment, by dynamically changing the algorithm through procedure replacement. This dissertation presents the analysis of hierarchical environment and methods for energy profiling used to evaluate different system design strategies, and to optimize time-effective and energy-efficient processing.

  2. Hierarchically structured distributed microprocessor network for control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Greenwood, J.R.; Holloway, F.W.; Rupert, P.R.; Ozarski, R.G.; Suski, G.J.

    1979-01-01

    To satisfy a broad range of control-analysis and data-acquisition requirements for Shiva, a hierarchical, computer-based, modular-distributed control system was designed. This system handles the more than 3000 control elements and 1000 data acquisition units in a severe high-voltage, high-current environment. The control system design gives one a flexible and reliable configuration to meet the development milestones for Shiva within critical time limits

  3. Probabilistic Inference: Task Dependency and Individual Differences of Probability Weighting Revealed by Hierarchical Bayesian Modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boos, Moritz; Seer, Caroline; Lange, Florian; Kopp, Bruno

    2016-01-01

    Cognitive determinants of probabilistic inference were examined using hierarchical Bayesian modeling techniques. A classic urn-ball paradigm served as experimental strategy, involving a factorial two (prior probabilities) by two (likelihoods) design. Five computational models of cognitive processes were compared with the observed behavior. Parameter-free Bayesian posterior probabilities and parameter-free base rate neglect provided inadequate models of probabilistic inference. The introduction of distorted subjective probabilities yielded more robust and generalizable results. A general class of (inverted) S-shaped probability weighting functions had been proposed; however, the possibility of large differences in probability distortions not only across experimental conditions, but also across individuals, seems critical for the model's success. It also seems advantageous to consider individual differences in parameters of probability weighting as being sampled from weakly informative prior distributions of individual parameter values. Thus, the results from hierarchical Bayesian modeling converge with previous results in revealing that probability weighting parameters show considerable task dependency and individual differences. Methodologically, this work exemplifies the usefulness of hierarchical Bayesian modeling techniques for cognitive psychology. Theoretically, human probabilistic inference might be best described as the application of individualized strategic policies for Bayesian belief revision.

  4. Probabilistic inference: Task dependency and individual differences of probability weighting revealed by hierarchical Bayesian modelling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moritz eBoos

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Cognitive determinants of probabilistic inference were examined using hierarchical Bayesian modelling techniques. A classic urn-ball paradigm served as experimental strategy, involving a factorial two (prior probabilities by two (likelihoods design. Five computational models of cognitive processes were compared with the observed behaviour. Parameter-free Bayesian posterior probabilities and parameter-free base rate neglect provided inadequate models of probabilistic inference. The introduction of distorted subjective probabilities yielded more robust and generalizable results. A general class of (inverted S-shaped probability weighting functions had been proposed; however, the possibility of large differences in probability distortions not only across experimental conditions, but also across individuals, seems critical for the model’s success. It also seems advantageous to consider individual differences in parameters of probability weighting as being sampled from weakly informative prior distributions of individual parameter values. Thus, the results from hierarchical Bayesian modelling converge with previous results in revealing that probability weighting parameters show considerable task dependency and individual differences. Methodologically, this work exemplifies the usefulness of hierarchical Bayesian modelling techniques for cognitive psychology. Theoretically, human probabilistic inference might be best described as the application of individualized strategic policies for Bayesian belief revision.

  5. Nonlinear robust hierarchical control for nonlinear uncertain systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonessa Alexander

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available A nonlinear robust control-system design framework predicated on a hierarchical switching controller architecture parameterized over a set of moving nominal system equilibria is developed. Specifically, using equilibria-dependent Lyapunov functions, a hierarchical nonlinear robust control strategy is developed that robustly stabilizes a given nonlinear system over a prescribed range of system uncertainty by robustly stabilizing a collection of nonlinear controlled uncertain subsystems. The robust switching nonlinear controller architecture is designed based on a generalized (lower semicontinuous Lyapunov function obtained by minimizing a potential function over a given switching set induced by the parameterized nominal system equilibria. The proposed framework robustly stabilizes a compact positively invariant set of a given nonlinear uncertain dynamical system with structured parametric uncertainty. Finally, the efficacy of the proposed approach is demonstrated on a jet engine propulsion control problem with uncertain pressure-flow map data.

  6. Dielectric study on hierarchical water structures restricted in cement and wood materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abe, Fumiya; Nishi, Akihiro; Saito, Hironobu; Asano, Megumi; Watanabe, Seiei; Kita, Rio; Shinyashiki, Naoki; Yagihara, Shin; Fukuzaki, Minoru; Sudo, Seiichi; Suzuki, Youki

    2017-01-01

    Dielectric relaxation processes for mortar observed by broadband dielectric spectroscopy were analyzed in the drying and hydration processes for an aging sample in the frequency region from 1 MHz up to 2 MHz. At least two processes for structured water in the kHz frequency region and another mHz relaxation process affected by ionic behaviors were observed. Comparison of the relaxation parameters obtained for the drying and hydration processes suggests an existence of hierarchical water structures in the exchange of water molecules, which are originally exchanged from free water observed at around 20 GHz. The water molecules reflected in the lower frequency process of the two kHz relaxation processes are more restricted and take more homogeneous structures than the higher kHz relaxation process. These structured water usually hidden in large ionic behaviors for wood samples was observed by electrodes covered by a thin Teflon film, and hierarchical water structures were also suggested for wood samples. Dielectric spectroscopy technique is an effective tool to analyze the new concept of hierarchical water structures in complex materials. (paper)

  7. Choosing a Cluster Sampling Design for Lot Quality Assurance Sampling Surveys.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lauren Hund

    Full Text Available Lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS surveys are commonly used for monitoring and evaluation in resource-limited settings. Recently several methods have been proposed to combine LQAS with cluster sampling for more timely and cost-effective data collection. For some of these methods, the standard binomial model can be used for constructing decision rules as the clustering can be ignored. For other designs, considered here, clustering is accommodated in the design phase. In this paper, we compare these latter cluster LQAS methodologies and provide recommendations for choosing a cluster LQAS design. We compare technical differences in the three methods and determine situations in which the choice of method results in a substantively different design. We consider two different aspects of the methods: the distributional assumptions and the clustering parameterization. Further, we provide software tools for implementing each method and clarify misconceptions about these designs in the literature. We illustrate the differences in these methods using vaccination and nutrition cluster LQAS surveys as example designs. The cluster methods are not sensitive to the distributional assumptions but can result in substantially different designs (sample sizes depending on the clustering parameterization. However, none of the clustering parameterizations used in the existing methods appears to be consistent with the observed data, and, consequently, choice between the cluster LQAS methods is not straightforward. Further research should attempt to characterize clustering patterns in specific applications and provide suggestions for best-practice cluster LQAS designs on a setting-specific basis.

  8. Choosing a Cluster Sampling Design for Lot Quality Assurance Sampling Surveys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hund, Lauren; Bedrick, Edward J; Pagano, Marcello

    2015-01-01

    Lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) surveys are commonly used for monitoring and evaluation in resource-limited settings. Recently several methods have been proposed to combine LQAS with cluster sampling for more timely and cost-effective data collection. For some of these methods, the standard binomial model can be used for constructing decision rules as the clustering can be ignored. For other designs, considered here, clustering is accommodated in the design phase. In this paper, we compare these latter cluster LQAS methodologies and provide recommendations for choosing a cluster LQAS design. We compare technical differences in the three methods and determine situations in which the choice of method results in a substantively different design. We consider two different aspects of the methods: the distributional assumptions and the clustering parameterization. Further, we provide software tools for implementing each method and clarify misconceptions about these designs in the literature. We illustrate the differences in these methods using vaccination and nutrition cluster LQAS surveys as example designs. The cluster methods are not sensitive to the distributional assumptions but can result in substantially different designs (sample sizes) depending on the clustering parameterization. However, none of the clustering parameterizations used in the existing methods appears to be consistent with the observed data, and, consequently, choice between the cluster LQAS methods is not straightforward. Further research should attempt to characterize clustering patterns in specific applications and provide suggestions for best-practice cluster LQAS designs on a setting-specific basis.

  9. 30 CFR 71.208 - Bimonthly sampling; designated work positions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Bimonthly sampling; designated work positions... UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Sampling Procedures § 71.208 Bimonthly sampling; designated work positions. (a) Each... standard when quartz is present), respirable dust sampling of designated work positions shall begin on the...

  10. Carbon fiber reinforced hierarchical orthogrid stiffened cylinder: Fabrication and testing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Hao; Lai, Changlian; Sun, Fangfang; Li, Ming; Ji, Bin; Wei, Weiyi; Liu, Debo; Zhang, Xi; Fan, Hualin

    2018-04-01

    To get strong, stiff and light cylindrical shell, carbon fiber reinforced hierarchical orthogrid stiffened cylinders are designed and fabricated. The cylinder is stiffened by two-scale orthogrid. The primary orthogrid has thick and high ribs and contains several sub-orthogrid cells whose rib is much thinner and lower. The primary orthogrid stiffens the bending rigidity of the cylinder to resist the global instability while the sub-orthogrid stiffens the bending rigidity of the skin enclosed by the primary orthogrid to resist local buckling. The cylinder is fabricated by filament winding method based on a silicone rubber mandrel with hierarchical grooves. Axial compression tests are performed to reveal the failure modes. With hierarchical stiffeners, the cylinder fails at skin fracture and has high specific strength. The cylinder will fail at end crushing if the end of the cylinder is not thickened. Global instability and local buckling are well restricted by the hierarchical stiffeners.

  11. Hierarchical organisation of causal graphs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dziopa, P.

    1993-01-01

    This paper deals with the design of a supervision system using a hierarchy of models formed by graphs, in which the variables are the nodes and the causal relations between the variables of the arcs. To obtain a representation of the variables evolutions which contains only the relevant features of their real evolutions, the causal relations are completed with qualitative transfer functions (QTFs) which produce roughly the behaviour of the classical transfer functions. Major improvements have been made in the building of the hierarchical organization. First, the basic variables of the uppermost level and the causal relations between them are chosen. The next graph is built by adding intermediary variables to the upper graph. When the undermost graph has been built, the transfer functions parameters corresponding to its causal relations are identified. The second task consists in the upwelling of the information from the undermost graph to the uppermost one. A fusion procedure of the causal relations has been designed to compute the QFTs relevant for each level. This procedure aims to reduce the number of parameters needed to represent an evolution at a high level of abstraction. These techniques have been applied to the hierarchical modelling of nuclear process. (authors). 8 refs., 12 figs

  12. Hierarchical sinuous-antenna phased array for millimeter wavelengths

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cukierman, Ari; Lee, Adrian T.; Raum, Christopher; Suzuki, Aritoki; Westbrook, Benjamin

    2018-03-01

    We present the design, fabrication, and measured performance of a hierarchical sinuous-antenna phased array coupled to superconducting transition-edge-sensor (TES) bolometers for millimeter wavelengths. The architecture allows for dual-polarization wideband sensitivity with a beam width that is approximately frequency-independent. We report on measurements of a prototype device, which uses three levels of triangular phased arrays to synthesize beams that are approximately constant in width across three frequency bands covering a 3:1 bandwidth. The array element is a lens-coupled sinuous antenna. The device consists of an array of hemispherical lenses coupled to a lithographed wafer, which integrates TESs, planar sinuous antennas, and microwave circuitry including band-defining filters. The approximately frequency-independent beam widths improve coupling to telescope optics and keep the sensitivity of an experiment close to optimal across a broad frequency range. The design can be straightforwardly modified for use with non-TES lithographed cryogenic detectors such as kinetic inductance detectors. Additionally, we report on the design and measurements of a broadband 180° hybrid that can simplify the design of future multichroic focal planes including but not limited to hierarchical phased arrays.

  13. Choosing a Cluster Sampling Design for Lot Quality Assurance Sampling Surveys

    OpenAIRE

    Hund, Lauren; Bedrick, Edward J.; Pagano, Marcello

    2015-01-01

    Lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) surveys are commonly used for monitoring and evaluation in resource-limited settings. Recently several methods have been proposed to combine LQAS with cluster sampling for more timely and cost-effective data collection. For some of these methods, the standard binomial model can be used for constructing decision rules as the clustering can be ignored. For other designs, considered here, clustering is accommodated in the design phase. In this paper, we comp...

  14. Hierarchical Semantic Model of Geovideo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    XIE Xiao

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The public security incidents were getting increasingly challenging with regard to their new features, including multi-scale mobility, multistage dynamic evolution, as well as spatiotemporal concurrency and uncertainty in the complex urban environment. However, the existing video models, which were used/designed for independent archive or local analysis of surveillance video, have seriously inhibited emergency response to the urgent requirements.Aiming at the explicit representation of change mechanism in video, the paper proposed a novel hierarchical geovideo semantic model using UML. This model was characterized by the hierarchical representation of both data structure and semantics based on the change-oriented three domains (feature domain, process domain and event domain instead of overall semantic description of video streaming; combining both geographical semantics and video content semantics, in support of global semantic association between multiple geovideo data. The public security incidents by video surveillance are inspected as an example to illustrate the validity of this model.

  15. Preferential sampling in veterinary parasitological surveillance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lorenzo Cecconi

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available In parasitological surveillance of livestock, prevalence surveys are conducted on a sample of farms using several sampling designs. For example, opportunistic surveys or informative sampling designs are very common. Preferential sampling refers to any situation in which the spatial process and the sampling locations are not independent. Most examples of preferential sampling in the spatial statistics literature are in environmental statistics with focus on pollutant monitors, and it has been shown that, if preferential sampling is present and is not accounted for in the statistical modelling and data analysis, statistical inference can be misleading. In this paper, working in the context of veterinary parasitology, we propose and use geostatistical models to predict the continuous and spatially-varying risk of a parasite infection. Specifically, breaking with the common practice in veterinary parasitological surveillance to ignore preferential sampling even though informative or opportunistic samples are very common, we specify a two-stage hierarchical Bayesian model that adjusts for preferential sampling and we apply it to data on Fasciola hepatica infection in sheep farms in Campania region (Southern Italy in the years 2013-2014.

  16. Hybrid and hierarchical composite materials

    CERN Document Server

    Kim, Chang-Soo; Sano, Tomoko

    2015-01-01

    This book addresses a broad spectrum of areas in both hybrid materials and hierarchical composites, including recent development of processing technologies, structural designs, modern computer simulation techniques, and the relationships between the processing-structure-property-performance. Each topic is introduced at length with numerous  and detailed examples and over 150 illustrations.   In addition, the authors present a method of categorizing these materials, so that representative examples of all material classes are discussed.

  17. Bayesian hierarchical models for smoothing in two-phase studies, with application to small area estimation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Michelle; Wakefield, Jon

    2015-10-01

    Two-phase study designs are appealing since they allow for the oversampling of rare sub-populations which improves efficiency. In this paper we describe a Bayesian hierarchical model for the analysis of two-phase data. Such a model is particularly appealing in a spatial setting in which random effects are introduced to model between-area variability. In such a situation, one may be interested in estimating regression coefficients or, in the context of small area estimation, in reconstructing the population totals by strata. The efficiency gains of the two-phase sampling scheme are compared to standard approaches using 2011 birth data from the research triangle area of North Carolina. We show that the proposed method can overcome small sample difficulties and improve on existing techniques. We conclude that the two-phase design is an attractive approach for small area estimation.

  18. [Hierarchical structure of authors collaboration. An analysis of papers on imaging diagnosis published by hospital radiology departments in Comunidad Valenciana (1994-2001)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miguel-Dasit, A; Martí-Bonmatí, L; Sanfeliu, P; Aleixandre, R; Valderrama, J C

    2005-06-01

    Analyze the different contribution of hierarchical categories in the papers published by radiologists of hospitals belonging to Comunidad Valenciana along the period 1994-2001, as well as their distribution in the different journals. For the recovery of the papers sample we have designed specific search profiles for EMI and Medline databases. Hierarchical category of the authors was identified through personal interviews. We have analyzed 417 works, with 1,321 authors distributed in the following form: chief of service, 8.8%; chief of section, 12.4%; assistant physician, 50.7%, and resident, 28%. Hierarchical groupings with participation of residents were more consistent for publishing papers along all the study period (1994-2001). Higher percentage of papers (21%) corresponded to grouping. Radiología was the most productive journal (42% papers). All results were statistically significant (p Comunidad Valenciana hospitals showed an active participation in research papers published along the period 1994-2001, in collaboration with the rest of the hierarchical categories, basically with the assistant physician. Assistant physicians contributed most of papers. Chief of section and chief of department contributed fifth of papers.

  19. Hierarchical modularity in human brain functional networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Meunier

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available The idea that complex systems have a hierarchical modular organization originates in the early 1960s and has recently attracted fresh support from quantitative studies of large scale, real-life networks. Here we investigate the hierarchical modular (or “modules-within-modules” decomposition of human brain functional networks, measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI in 18 healthy volunteers under no-task or resting conditions. We used a customized template to extract networks with more than 1800 regional nodes, and we applied a fast algorithm to identify nested modular structure at several hierarchical levels. We used mutual information, 0 < I < 1, to estimate the similarity of community structure of networks in different subjects, and to identify the individual network that is most representative of the group. Results show that human brain functional networks have a hierarchical modular organization with a fair degree of similarity between subjects, I=0.63. The largest 5 modules at the highest level of the hierarchy were medial occipital, lateral occipital, central, parieto-frontal and fronto-temporal systems; occipital modules demonstrated less sub-modular organization than modules comprising regions of multimodal association cortex. Connector nodes and hubs, with a key role in inter-modular connectivity, were also concentrated in association cortical areas. We conclude that methods are available for hierarchical modular decomposition of large numbers of high resolution brain functional networks using computationally expedient algorithms. This could enable future investigations of Simon's original hypothesis that hierarchy or near-decomposability of physical symbol systems is a critical design feature for their fast adaptivity to changing environmental conditions.

  20. Rational Design of a Hierarchical Tin Dendrite Electrode for Efficient Electrochemical Reduction of CO2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Won, Da Hye; Choi, Chang Hyuck; Chung, Jaehoon; Chung, Min Wook; Kim, Eun-Hee; Woo, Seong Ihl

    2015-09-21

    Catalysis is a key technology for the synthesis of renewable fuels through electrochemical reduction of CO2 . However, successful CO2 reduction still suffers from the lack of affordable catalyst design and understanding the factors governing catalysis. Herein, we demonstrate that the CO2 conversion selectivity on Sn (or SnOx /Sn) electrodes is correlated to the native oxygen content at the subsurface. Electrochemical analyses show that the reduced Sn electrode with abundant oxygen species effectively stabilizes a CO2 (.-) intermediate rather than the clean Sn surface, and consequently results in enhanced formate production in the CO2 reduction. Based on this design strategy, a hierarchical Sn dendrite electrode with high oxygen content, consisting of a multi-branched conifer-like structure with an enlarged surface area, was synthesized. The electrode exhibits a superior formate production rate (228.6 μmol h(-1)  cm(-2) ) at -1.36 VRHE without any considerable catalytic degradation over 18 h of operation. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. Photoelectrochemical properties of the TiO2-ZnO nanorod hierarchical structure prepared by hydrothermal process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bao SUN

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available In order to increase the transport channels of the photogenerated electrons and enhance the photosensitizer loading ability of the electrode, a new TiO2-ZnO nanorod hierarchical structure is prepared through two-step hydrothermal process. First, TiO2 nanorod array is grown on the FTO conductive glass substrate by hydrothermal proess. Then, ZnO sol is coated onto the TiO2 nanorods through dip-coating method and inverted to ZnO seed layer by sintering. Finally, the secondary ZnO nanorods are grown onto the TiO2 nanorods by the sencond hydrothermal method to form the designed TiO2-ZnO nanorod hierarchical structure. A spin-coating assisted successive ionic layer reaction method (SC-SILR is used to deposit the CdS nanocrystals into the TiO2 nanorod array and the TiO2-ZnO nanorod hierarchical structure is used to form the CdS/TiO2 and CdS/TiO2-ZnO nanocomposite films. Different methods, such as SEM, TEM, XRD, UV-Vis and transient photocurrent, are employed to characterize and measure the morphologies, structures, light absorption and photoelectric conversion performance of all the samples, respectively. The results indicate that, compared with the pure TiO2 nanorod array, the TiO2-ZnO nanorod hierarchical structure can load more CdS photosensitizer. The light absorption properties and transient photocurrent performance of the CdS/TiO2-ZnO nanorod hierarchical structure composite film are evidently superior to that of the CdS/TiO2 nanocomposite films. The excellent photoelctrochemical performance of theTiO2-ZnO hierarchical structure reveales its application prospect in photoanode material of the solar cells.

  2. Hierarchical Design of Tissue Regenerative Constructs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Jonas C; De Laporte, Laura

    2018-03-01

    The worldwide shortage of organs fosters significant advancements in regenerative therapies. Tissue engineering and regeneration aim to supply or repair organs or tissues by combining material scaffolds, biochemical signals, and cells. The greatest challenge entails the creation of a suitable implantable or injectable 3D macroenvironment and microenvironment to allow for ex vivo or in vivo cell-induced tissue formation. This review gives an overview of the essential components of tissue regenerating scaffolds, ranging from the molecular to the macroscopic scale in a hierarchical manner. Further, this review elaborates about recent pivotal technologies, such as photopatterning, electrospinning, 3D bioprinting, or the assembly of micrometer-scale building blocks, which enable the incorporation of local heterogeneities, similar to most native extracellular matrices. These methods are applied to mimic a vast number of different tissues, including cartilage, bone, nerves, muscle, heart, and blood vessels. Despite the tremendous progress that has been made in the last decade, it remains a hurdle to build biomaterial constructs in vitro or in vivo with a native-like structure and architecture, including spatiotemporal control of biofunctional domains and mechanical properties. New chemistries and assembly methods in water will be crucial to develop therapies that are clinically translatable and can evolve into organized and functional tissues. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  3. A note on hierarchical hubbing for a generalization of the VPN problem

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    N.K. Olver (Neil)

    2014-01-01

    htmlabstractRobust network design refers to a class of optimization problems that occur when designing networks to efficiently handle variable demands. The notion of "hierarchical hubbing" was introduced (in the narrow context of a specific robust network design question), by Olver and Shepherd

  4. A note on hierarchical hubbing for a generalization of the VPN problem

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Olver, N.K.

    2014-01-01

    Robust network design refers to a class of optimization problems that occur when designing networks to efficiently handle variable demands. The notion of "hierarchical hubbing" was introduced (in the narrow context of a specific robust network design question), by Olver and Shepherd [2010].

  5. Hierarchical modeling of cluster size in wildlife surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Royle, J. Andrew

    2008-01-01

    Clusters or groups of individuals are the fundamental unit of observation in many wildlife sampling problems, including aerial surveys of waterfowl, marine mammals, and ungulates. Explicit accounting of cluster size in models for estimating abundance is necessary because detection of individuals within clusters is not independent and detectability of clusters is likely to increase with cluster size. This induces a cluster size bias in which the average cluster size in the sample is larger than in the population at large. Thus, failure to account for the relationship between delectability and cluster size will tend to yield a positive bias in estimates of abundance or density. I describe a hierarchical modeling framework for accounting for cluster-size bias in animal sampling. The hierarchical model consists of models for the observation process conditional on the cluster size distribution and the cluster size distribution conditional on the total number of clusters. Optionally, a spatial model can be specified that describes variation in the total number of clusters per sample unit. Parameter estimation, model selection, and criticism may be carried out using conventional likelihood-based methods. An extension of the model is described for the situation where measurable covariates at the level of the sample unit are available. Several candidate models within the proposed class are evaluated for aerial survey data on mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos).

  6. Hierarchically structured materials for lithium batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiao, Jie; Zheng, Jianming; Li, Xiaolin; Shao, Yuyan; Zhang, Ji-Guang

    2013-01-01

    The lithium-ion battery (LIB) is one of the most promising power sources to be deployed in electric vehicles, including solely battery powered vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and hybrid electric vehicles. With the increasing demand for devices of high-energy densities (>500 Wh kg −1 ), new energy storage systems, such as lithium–oxygen (Li–O 2 ) batteries and other emerging systems beyond the conventional LIB, have attracted worldwide interest for both transportation and grid energy storage applications in recent years. It is well known that the electrochemical performance of these energy storage systems depends not only on the composition of the materials, but also on the structure of the electrode materials used in the batteries. Although the desired performance characteristics of batteries often have conflicting requirements with the micro/nano-structure of electrodes, hierarchically designed electrodes can be tailored to satisfy these conflicting requirements. This work will review hierarchically structured materials that have been successfully used in LIB and Li–O 2 batteries. Our goal is to elucidate (1) how to realize the full potential of energy materials through the manipulation of morphologies, and (2) how the hierarchical structure benefits the charge transport, promotes the interfacial properties and prolongs the electrode stability and battery lifetime. (paper)

  7. Clinical time series prediction: Toward a hierarchical dynamical system framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zitao; Hauskrecht, Milos

    2015-09-01

    Developing machine learning and data mining algorithms for building temporal models of clinical time series is important for understanding of the patient condition, the dynamics of a disease, effect of various patient management interventions and clinical decision making. In this work, we propose and develop a novel hierarchical framework for modeling clinical time series data of varied length and with irregularly sampled observations. Our hierarchical dynamical system framework for modeling clinical time series combines advantages of the two temporal modeling approaches: the linear dynamical system and the Gaussian process. We model the irregularly sampled clinical time series by using multiple Gaussian process sequences in the lower level of our hierarchical framework and capture the transitions between Gaussian processes by utilizing the linear dynamical system. The experiments are conducted on the complete blood count (CBC) panel data of 1000 post-surgical cardiac patients during their hospitalization. Our framework is evaluated and compared to multiple baseline approaches in terms of the mean absolute prediction error and the absolute percentage error. We tested our framework by first learning the time series model from data for the patients in the training set, and then using it to predict future time series values for the patients in the test set. We show that our model outperforms multiple existing models in terms of its predictive accuracy. Our method achieved a 3.13% average prediction accuracy improvement on ten CBC lab time series when it was compared against the best performing baseline. A 5.25% average accuracy improvement was observed when only short-term predictions were considered. A new hierarchical dynamical system framework that lets us model irregularly sampled time series data is a promising new direction for modeling clinical time series and for improving their predictive performance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Clinical time series prediction: towards a hierarchical dynamical system framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zitao; Hauskrecht, Milos

    2014-01-01

    Objective Developing machine learning and data mining algorithms for building temporal models of clinical time series is important for understanding of the patient condition, the dynamics of a disease, effect of various patient management interventions and clinical decision making. In this work, we propose and develop a novel hierarchical framework for modeling clinical time series data of varied length and with irregularly sampled observations. Materials and methods Our hierarchical dynamical system framework for modeling clinical time series combines advantages of the two temporal modeling approaches: the linear dynamical system and the Gaussian process. We model the irregularly sampled clinical time series by using multiple Gaussian process sequences in the lower level of our hierarchical framework and capture the transitions between Gaussian processes by utilizing the linear dynamical system. The experiments are conducted on the complete blood count (CBC) panel data of 1000 post-surgical cardiac patients during their hospitalization. Our framework is evaluated and compared to multiple baseline approaches in terms of the mean absolute prediction error and the absolute percentage error. Results We tested our framework by first learning the time series model from data for the patient in the training set, and then applying the model in order to predict future time series values on the patients in the test set. We show that our model outperforms multiple existing models in terms of its predictive accuracy. Our method achieved a 3.13% average prediction accuracy improvement on ten CBC lab time series when it was compared against the best performing baseline. A 5.25% average accuracy improvement was observed when only short-term predictions were considered. Conclusion A new hierarchical dynamical system framework that lets us model irregularly sampled time series data is a promising new direction for modeling clinical time series and for improving their predictive

  9. Rational design of hierarchical ZnO@Carbon nanoflower for high performance lithium ion battery anodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    liu, Huichao; Shi, Ludi; Li, Dongzhi; Yu, Jiali; Zhang, Han-Ming; Ullah, Shahid; Yang, Bo; Li, Cuihua; Zhu, Caizhen; Xu, Jian

    2018-05-01

    The rational structure design and strong interfacial bonding are crucially desired for high performance zinc oxide (ZnO)/carbon composite electrodes. In this context, micro-nano secondary structure design and strong dopamine coating strategies are adopted for the fabrication of flower-like ZnO/carbon (ZnO@C nanoflowers) composite electrodes. The results show the ZnO@C nanoflowers (2-6 μm) are assembled by hierarchical ZnO nanosheets (∼27 nm) and continuous carbon framework. The micro-nano secondary architecture can facilitate the penetration of electrolyte, shorten lithium ions diffusion length, and hinder the aggregation of the nanosheets. Moreover, the strong chemical interaction between ZnO and coating carbon layer via C-Zn bond improves structure stability as well as the electronic conductivity. As a synergistic result, when evaluated as lithium ion batteries (LIBs) anode, the ZnO@C nanoflower electrodes show high reversible capacity of ca. 1200 mA h g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 after 80 cycles. As well as good long-cycling stability (638 and 420 mA h g-1 at 1 and 5 A g-1 after 500 cycles, respectively) and excellent rate capability. Therefore, this rational design of ZnO@C nanoflowers electrode is a promising anode for high-performance LIBs.

  10. Electrochemical design of ZnO hierarchical structures for dye-sensitized solar cells

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Guerin, V. M.; Rathouský, Jiří; Pauporté, T.

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 102, JUL 2012 (2012), s. 8-14 ISSN 0927-0248 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KAN100400702 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40400503 Keywords : ZnO hierarchical structures * epitaxy * dye-sensitized solar cell Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 4.630, year: 2012

  11. Catalysis with hierarchical zeolites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Martin Spangsberg; Taarning, Esben; Egeblad, Kresten

    2011-01-01

    Hierarchical (or mesoporous) zeolites have attracted significant attention during the first decade of the 21st century, and so far this interest continues to increase. There have already been several reviews giving detailed accounts of the developments emphasizing different aspects of this research...... topic. Until now, the main reason for developing hierarchical zeolites has been to achieve heterogeneous catalysts with improved performance but this particular facet has not yet been reviewed in detail. Thus, the present paper summaries and categorizes the catalytic studies utilizing hierarchical...... zeolites that have been reported hitherto. Prototypical examples from some of the different categories of catalytic reactions that have been studied using hierarchical zeolite catalysts are highlighted. This clearly illustrates the different ways that improved performance can be achieved with this family...

  12. Hierarchical Self Assembly of Patterns from the Robinson Tilings: DNA Tile Design in an Enhanced Tile Assembly Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padilla, Jennifer E; Liu, Wenyan; Seeman, Nadrian C

    2012-06-01

    We introduce a hierarchical self assembly algorithm that produces the quasiperiodic patterns found in the Robinson tilings and suggest a practical implementation of this algorithm using DNA origami tiles. We modify the abstract Tile Assembly Model, (aTAM), to include active signaling and glue activation in response to signals to coordinate the hierarchical assembly of Robinson patterns of arbitrary size from a small set of tiles according to the tile substitution algorithm that generates them. Enabling coordinated hierarchical assembly in the aTAM makes possible the efficient encoding of the recursive process of tile substitution.

  13. Parallel hierarchical radiosity rendering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carter, Michael [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

    1993-07-01

    In this dissertation, the step-by-step development of a scalable parallel hierarchical radiosity renderer is documented. First, a new look is taken at the traditional radiosity equation, and a new form is presented in which the matrix of linear system coefficients is transformed into a symmetric matrix, thereby simplifying the problem and enabling a new solution technique to be applied. Next, the state-of-the-art hierarchical radiosity methods are examined for their suitability to parallel implementation, and scalability. Significant enhancements are also discovered which both improve their theoretical foundations and improve the images they generate. The resultant hierarchical radiosity algorithm is then examined for sources of parallelism, and for an architectural mapping. Several architectural mappings are discussed. A few key algorithmic changes are suggested during the process of making the algorithm parallel. Next, the performance, efficiency, and scalability of the algorithm are analyzed. The dissertation closes with a discussion of several ideas which have the potential to further enhance the hierarchical radiosity method, or provide an entirely new forum for the application of hierarchical methods.

  14. Hierarchical prisoner’s dilemma in hierarchical game for resource competition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujimoto, Yuma; Sagawa, Takahiro; Kaneko, Kunihiko

    2017-07-01

    Dilemmas in cooperation are one of the major concerns in game theory. In a public goods game, each individual cooperates by paying a cost or defecting without paying it, and receives a reward from the group out of the collected cost. Thus, defecting is beneficial for each individual, while cooperation is beneficial for the group. Now, groups (say, countries) consisting of individuals also play games. To study such a multi-level game, we introduce a hierarchical game in which multiple groups compete for limited resources by utilizing the collected cost in each group, where the power to appropriate resources increases with the population of the group. Analyzing this hierarchical game, we found a hierarchical prisoner’s dilemma, in which groups choose the defecting policy (say, armament) as a Nash strategy to optimize each group’s benefit, while cooperation optimizes the total benefit. On the other hand, for each individual, refusing to pay the cost (say, tax) is a Nash strategy, which turns out to be a cooperation policy for the group, thus leading to a hierarchical dilemma. Here the group reward increases with the group size. However, we find that there exists an optimal group size that maximizes the individual payoff. Furthermore, when the population asymmetry between two groups is large, the smaller group will choose a cooperation policy (say, disarmament) to avoid excessive response from the larger group, and the prisoner’s dilemma between the groups is resolved. Accordingly, the relevance of this hierarchical game on policy selection in society and the optimal size of human or animal groups are discussed.

  15. Micromechanics of hierarchical materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mishnaevsky, Leon, Jr.

    2012-01-01

    A short overview of micromechanical models of hierarchical materials (hybrid composites, biomaterials, fractal materials, etc.) is given. Several examples of the modeling of strength and damage in hierarchical materials are summarized, among them, 3D FE model of hybrid composites...... with nanoengineered matrix, fiber bundle model of UD composites with hierarchically clustered fibers and 3D multilevel model of wood considered as a gradient, cellular material with layered composite cell walls. The main areas of research in micromechanics of hierarchical materials are identified, among them......, the investigations of the effects of load redistribution between reinforcing elements at different scale levels, of the possibilities to control different material properties and to ensure synergy of strengthening effects at different scale levels and using the nanoreinforcement effects. The main future directions...

  16. Design and optimization of reverse-transcription quantitative PCR experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tichopad, Ales; Kitchen, Rob; Riedmaier, Irmgard; Becker, Christiane; Ståhlberg, Anders; Kubista, Mikael

    2009-10-01

    Quantitative PCR (qPCR) is a valuable technique for accurately and reliably profiling and quantifying gene expression. Typically, samples obtained from the organism of study have to be processed via several preparative steps before qPCR. We estimated the errors of sample withdrawal and extraction, reverse transcription (RT), and qPCR that are introduced into measurements of mRNA concentrations. We performed hierarchically arranged experiments with 3 animals, 3 samples, 3 RT reactions, and 3 qPCRs and quantified the expression of several genes in solid tissue, blood, cell culture, and single cells. A nested ANOVA design was used to model the experiments, and relative and absolute errors were calculated with this model for each processing level in the hierarchical design. We found that intersubject differences became easily confounded by sample heterogeneity for single cells and solid tissue. In cell cultures and blood, the noise from the RT and qPCR steps contributed substantially to the overall error because the sampling noise was less pronounced. We recommend the use of sample replicates preferentially to any other replicates when working with solid tissue, cell cultures, and single cells, and we recommend the use of RT replicates when working with blood. We show how an optimal sampling plan can be calculated for a limited budget. .

  17. Aerial surveillance based on hierarchical object classification for ground target detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vázquez-Cervantes, Alberto; García-Huerta, Juan-Manuel; Hernández-Díaz, Teresa; Soto-Cajiga, J. A.; Jiménez-Hernández, Hugo

    2015-03-01

    Unmanned aerial vehicles have turned important in surveillance application due to the flexibility and ability to inspect and displace in different regions of interest. The instrumentation and autonomy of these vehicles have been increased; i.e. the camera sensor is now integrated. Mounted cameras allow flexibility to monitor several regions of interest, displacing and changing the camera view. A well common task performed by this kind of vehicles correspond to object localization and tracking. This work presents a hierarchical novel algorithm to detect and locate objects. The algorithm is based on a detection-by-example approach; this is, the target evidence is provided at the beginning of the vehicle's route. Afterwards, the vehicle inspects the scenario, detecting all similar objects through UTM-GPS coordinate references. Detection process consists on a sampling information process of the target object. Sampling process encode in a hierarchical tree with different sampling's densities. Coding space correspond to a huge binary space dimension. Properties such as independence and associative operators are defined in this space to construct a relation between the target object and a set of selected features. Different densities of sampling are used to discriminate from general to particular features that correspond to the target. The hierarchy is used as a way to adapt the complexity of the algorithm due to optimized battery duty cycle of the aerial device. Finally, this approach is tested in several outdoors scenarios, proving that the hierarchical algorithm works efficiently under several conditions.

  18. A hierarchical modeling methodology for the definition and selection of requirements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dufresne, Stephane

    This dissertation describes the development of a requirements analysis methodology that takes into account the concept of operations and the hierarchical decomposition of aerospace systems. At the core of the methodology, the Analytic Network Process (ANP) is used to ensure the traceability between the qualitative and quantitative information present in the hierarchical model. The proposed methodology is implemented to the requirements definition of a hurricane tracker Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Three research objectives are identified in this work; (1) improve the requirements mapping process by matching the stakeholder expectations with the concept of operations, systems and available resources; (2) reduce the epistemic uncertainty surrounding the requirements and requirements mapping; and (3) improve the requirements down-selection process by taking into account the level of importance of the criteria and the available resources. Several challenges are associated with the identification and definition of requirements. The complexity of the system implies that a large number of requirements are needed to define the systems. These requirements are defined early in the conceptual design, where the level of knowledge is relatively low and the level of uncertainty is large. The proposed methodology intends to increase the level of knowledge and reduce the level of uncertainty by guiding the design team through a structured process. To address these challenges, a new methodology is created to flow-down the requirements from the stakeholder expectations to the systems alternatives. A taxonomy of requirements is created to classify the information gathered during the problem definition. Subsequently, the operational and systems functions and measures of effectiveness are integrated to a hierarchical model to allow the traceability of the information. Monte Carlo methods are used to evaluate the variations of the hierarchical model elements and consequently reduce the

  19. On efficiency of some ratio estimators in double sampling design ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In this paper, three sampling ratio estimators in double sampling design were proposed with the intention of finding an alternative double sampling design estimator to the conventional ratio estimator in double sampling design discussed by Cochran (1997), Okafor (2002) , Raj (1972) and Raj and Chandhok (1999).

  20. Hierarchical model-based predictive control of a power plant portfolio

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Edlund, Kristian; Bendtsen, Jan Dimon; Jørgensen, John Bagterp

    2011-01-01

    One of the main difficulties in large-scale implementation of renewable energy in existing power systems is that the production from renewable sources is difficult to predict and control. For this reason, fast and efficient control of controllable power producing units – so-called “portfolio...... design for power system portfolio control, which aims specifically at meeting these demands.The design involves a two-layer hierarchical structure with clearly defined interfaces that facilitate an object-oriented implementation approach. The same hierarchical structure is reflected in the underlying...... optimisation problem, which is solved using Dantzig–Wolfe decomposition. This decomposition yields improved computational efficiency and better scalability compared to centralised methods.The proposed control scheme is compared to an existing, state-of-the-art portfolio control system (operated by DONG Energy...

  1. Accounting for uncertainty in ecological analysis: the strengths and limitations of hierarchical statistical modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cressie, Noel; Calder, Catherine A; Clark, James S; Ver Hoef, Jay M; Wikle, Christopher K

    2009-04-01

    Analyses of ecological data should account for the uncertainty in the process(es) that generated the data. However, accounting for these uncertainties is a difficult task, since ecology is known for its complexity. Measurement and/or process errors are often the only sources of uncertainty modeled when addressing complex ecological problems, yet analyses should also account for uncertainty in sampling design, in model specification, in parameters governing the specified model, and in initial and boundary conditions. Only then can we be confident in the scientific inferences and forecasts made from an analysis. Probability and statistics provide a framework that accounts for multiple sources of uncertainty. Given the complexities of ecological studies, the hierarchical statistical model is an invaluable tool. This approach is not new in ecology, and there are many examples (both Bayesian and non-Bayesian) in the literature illustrating the benefits of this approach. In this article, we provide a baseline for concepts, notation, and methods, from which discussion on hierarchical statistical modeling in ecology can proceed. We have also planted some seeds for discussion and tried to show where the practical difficulties lie. Our thesis is that hierarchical statistical modeling is a powerful way of approaching ecological analysis in the presence of inevitable but quantifiable uncertainties, even if practical issues sometimes require pragmatic compromises.

  2. How hierarchical is language use?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frank, Stefan L.; Bod, Rens; Christiansen, Morten H.

    2012-01-01

    It is generally assumed that hierarchical phrase structure plays a central role in human language. However, considerations of simplicity and evolutionary continuity suggest that hierarchical structure should not be invoked too hastily. Indeed, recent neurophysiological, behavioural and computational studies show that sequential sentence structure has considerable explanatory power and that hierarchical processing is often not involved. In this paper, we review evidence from the recent literature supporting the hypothesis that sequential structure may be fundamental to the comprehension, production and acquisition of human language. Moreover, we provide a preliminary sketch outlining a non-hierarchical model of language use and discuss its implications and testable predictions. If linguistic phenomena can be explained by sequential rather than hierarchical structure, this will have considerable impact in a wide range of fields, such as linguistics, ethology, cognitive neuroscience, psychology and computer science. PMID:22977157

  3. Preparation of disk-like particles with micro/nano hierarchical structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Zhen; Yang, Wenbo; Chen, Pengpeng; Wang, Weina; Jia, Xudong; Xi, Kai

    2013-10-15

    A facile, reproductive method has been successfully developed to produce disk-like microparticles self-assembled from monodispersed hybrid silica nanoparticles under certain circumstance. The disk-like microparticles with micro/nano hierarchical structures could be obtained in large amount under a mild condition and further used to biomimetic design of the superhydrophobic surface of lotus leaf. After traditional surface modification with dodecyltrichlorosiliane, the static contact angle of water on the surface with micro/nano hierarchical structure could reach 168.8°. The method of surface modification could be further simplified by click reaction with the introduction of thiol groups under mild condition. The present strategy for constructing the surface with micro/nano hierarchical structures offers the advantage of simple and large area fabrication, which enables a variety of superhydrophobic applications. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Hierarchical Decompositions for the Computation of High-Dimensional Multivariate Normal Probabilities

    KAUST Repository

    Genton, Marc G.

    2017-09-07

    We present a hierarchical decomposition scheme for computing the n-dimensional integral of multivariate normal probabilities that appear frequently in statistics. The scheme exploits the fact that the formally dense covariance matrix can be approximated by a matrix with a hierarchical low rank structure. It allows the reduction of the computational complexity per Monte Carlo sample from O(n2) to O(mn+knlog(n/m)), where k is the numerical rank of off-diagonal matrix blocks and m is the size of small diagonal blocks in the matrix that are not well-approximated by low rank factorizations and treated as dense submatrices. This hierarchical decomposition leads to substantial efficiencies in multivariate normal probability computations and allows integrations in thousands of dimensions to be practical on modern workstations.

  5. Hierarchical Decompositions for the Computation of High-Dimensional Multivariate Normal Probabilities

    KAUST Repository

    Genton, Marc G.; Keyes, David E.; Turkiyyah, George

    2017-01-01

    We present a hierarchical decomposition scheme for computing the n-dimensional integral of multivariate normal probabilities that appear frequently in statistics. The scheme exploits the fact that the formally dense covariance matrix can be approximated by a matrix with a hierarchical low rank structure. It allows the reduction of the computational complexity per Monte Carlo sample from O(n2) to O(mn+knlog(n/m)), where k is the numerical rank of off-diagonal matrix blocks and m is the size of small diagonal blocks in the matrix that are not well-approximated by low rank factorizations and treated as dense submatrices. This hierarchical decomposition leads to substantial efficiencies in multivariate normal probability computations and allows integrations in thousands of dimensions to be practical on modern workstations.

  6. Convenient and large-scale synthesis of nitrogen-rich hierarchical porous carbon spheres for supercapacitors and CO_2 capture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Binbin; Zhang, Shouren; Yin, Hang; Yang, Baocheng

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Convenient and large-scale synthesis route for N-doped hierarchical porous carbon sphere. • The resultant own spherical morphology, tunable hierarchical porosity, high surface area. • The optimal material exhibits a high CO_2 capture capacity of 4.23 mmol g"−"1. • It shows a large voltage window of 1.8 V for symmetric cell in 0.5 M Na_2SO_4. - Abstract: Herein, considering the great potential of nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbons in energy storage and CO_2 capture, we designed a convenient and easily large-scale production strategy for preparing nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon sphere (NHPCS) materials. In this synthesis route, spherical resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) resins were selected as carbon precursor, and then the ZnCl_2-impregnated RF resin spheres were carbonized in a NH_3 atmosphere at a temperature range of 600–800 °C. During the one-step heat-treatment process, nitrogen atom could be efficiently incorporated into the carbon skeleton, and the interconnected and hierarchical pore structure with different micro/mesopore proportion could be generated and tuned by adjusting the activating agent ZnCl_2 dosage and carbonization temperature. The resultant nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon sphere materials exhibited a satisfactory charge storage capacity, and the optimal sample of NHPCS-2-8 with a high mesopore proportion obtained at 800 °C with a ZnCl_2/RF mass ratio of 2:1 presented a specific capacitance of 273.8 F g"−"1 at a current density of 0.5 A g"−"1. More importantly, the assembled NHPCS-2-8-based symmetric capacitor displayed a high energy density of 17.2 Wh kg"−"1 at a power density of 178.9 W kg"−"1 within a voltage window of 0 ∼ 1.8 V in 0.5 M Na_2SO_4 aqueous electrolyte. In addition, the CO_2 capture application of these NHPCS materials was also explored, and the optimal sample of NHPCS-0-8 with a large micropore proportion prepared at 800 °C exhibited an exceptional CO_2 uptake

  7. Hierarchical modeling and inference in ecology: The analysis of data from populations, metapopulations and communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Royle, J. Andrew; Dorazio, Robert M.

    2008-01-01

    A guide to data collection, modeling and inference strategies for biological survey data using Bayesian and classical statistical methods. This book describes a general and flexible framework for modeling and inference in ecological systems based on hierarchical models, with a strict focus on the use of probability models and parametric inference. Hierarchical models represent a paradigm shift in the application of statistics to ecological inference problems because they combine explicit models of ecological system structure or dynamics with models of how ecological systems are observed. The principles of hierarchical modeling are developed and applied to problems in population, metapopulation, community, and metacommunity systems. The book provides the first synthetic treatment of many recent methodological advances in ecological modeling and unifies disparate methods and procedures. The authors apply principles of hierarchical modeling to ecological problems, including * occurrence or occupancy models for estimating species distribution * abundance models based on many sampling protocols, including distance sampling * capture-recapture models with individual effects * spatial capture-recapture models based on camera trapping and related methods * population and metapopulation dynamic models * models of biodiversity, community structure and dynamics.

  8. Hierarchical architecture of active knits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abel, Julianna; Luntz, Jonathan; Brei, Diann

    2013-01-01

    Nature eloquently utilizes hierarchical structures to form the world around us. Applying the hierarchical architecture paradigm to smart materials can provide a basis for a new genre of actuators which produce complex actuation motions. One promising example of cellular architecture—active knits—provides complex three-dimensional distributed actuation motions with expanded operational performance through a hierarchically organized structure. The hierarchical structure arranges a single fiber of active material, such as shape memory alloys (SMAs), into a cellular network of interlacing adjacent loops according to a knitting grid. This paper defines a four-level hierarchical classification of knit structures: the basic knit loop, knit patterns, grid patterns, and restructured grids. Each level of the hierarchy provides increased architectural complexity, resulting in expanded kinematic actuation motions of active knits. The range of kinematic actuation motions are displayed through experimental examples of different SMA active knits. The results from this paper illustrate and classify the ways in which each level of the hierarchical knit architecture leverages the performance of the base smart material to generate unique actuation motions, providing necessary insight to best exploit this new actuation paradigm. (paper)

  9. Nested and Hierarchical Archimax copulas

    KAUST Repository

    Hofert, Marius

    2017-07-03

    The class of Archimax copulas is generalized to nested and hierarchical Archimax copulas in several ways. First, nested extreme-value copulas or nested stable tail dependence functions are introduced to construct nested Archimax copulas based on a single frailty variable. Second, a hierarchical construction of d-norm generators is presented to construct hierarchical stable tail dependence functions and thus hierarchical extreme-value copulas. Moreover, one can, by itself or additionally, introduce nested frailties to extend Archimax copulas to nested Archimax copulas in a similar way as nested Archimedean copulas extend Archimedean copulas. Further results include a general formula for the density of Archimax copulas.

  10. Nested and Hierarchical Archimax copulas

    KAUST Repository

    Hofert, Marius; Huser, Raphaë l; Prasad, Avinash

    2017-01-01

    The class of Archimax copulas is generalized to nested and hierarchical Archimax copulas in several ways. First, nested extreme-value copulas or nested stable tail dependence functions are introduced to construct nested Archimax copulas based on a single frailty variable. Second, a hierarchical construction of d-norm generators is presented to construct hierarchical stable tail dependence functions and thus hierarchical extreme-value copulas. Moreover, one can, by itself or additionally, introduce nested frailties to extend Archimax copulas to nested Archimax copulas in a similar way as nested Archimedean copulas extend Archimedean copulas. Further results include a general formula for the density of Archimax copulas.

  11. Superb adsorption capacity of hierarchical calcined Ni/Mg/Al layered double hydroxides for Congo red and Cr(VI) ions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lei, Chunsheng [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070 (China); College of Environmental & Safety Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164 (China); Zhu, Xiaofeng [College of Environmental & Safety Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164 (China); Zhu, Bicheng; Jiang, Chuanjia; Le, Yao [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070 (China); Yu, Jiaguo, E-mail: jiaguoyu@yahoo.com [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070 (China); Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589 (Saudi Arabia)

    2017-01-05

    Highlights: • Ni/Mg/Al layered double hydroxides (NMA-LDHs) synthesized. • NMA-LDHs with hierarchically hollow microsphere structure. • Calcined NMA-LDHs have large adsorption capacities for CR and Cr(VI) ions. - Abstract: The preparation of hierarchical porous materials as catalysts and sorbents has attracted much attention in the field of environmental pollution control. Herein, Ni/Mg/Al layered double hydroxides (NMA-LDHs) hierarchical flower-like hollow microspheres were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. After the NMA-LDHs was calcined at 600 °C, NMA-LDHs transformed into Ni/Mg/Al layered double oxides (NMA-LDOs), which maintained the hierarchical flower-like hollow structure. The crystal phase, morphology, and microstructure of the as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy elemental mapping, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and nitrogen adsorption−desorption methods. Both the calcined and non-calcined NMA-LDHs were examined for their performance to remove Congo red (CR) and hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) ions in aqueous solution. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacities of CR and Cr(VI) ions over the NMA-LDOs sample were 1250 and 103.4 mg/g at 30 °C, respectively. Thermodynamic studies indicated that the adsorption process was endothermic in nature. In addition, the addition of coexisting anions negatively influenced the adsorption capacity of Cr(VI) ions, in the following order: CO{sub 3}{sup 2−} > SO{sub 4}{sup 2−} > H{sub 2}PO{sub 4}{sup −} > Cl{sup −}. This work will provide new insight into the design and fabrication of advanced adsorption materials for water pollutant removal.

  12. Enhanced water desalination performance through hierarchically-structured ceramic membranes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Liu, Tong; Lei, Libin; Gu, Jianqiang; Wang, Yao; Winnubst, Louis; Chen, Chusheng; Ye, Chunsong; Chen, Fanglin

    2017-01-01

    Developments of membrane water desalination are impeded by low water vapor flux across the membrane. We present an innovative membrane design to significantly enhance the water vapor flux. A bilayer zirconia-based membrane with a thick hierarchically-structured support and a thin functional layer is

  13. Efficient Actor-Critic Algorithm with Hierarchical Model Learning and Planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, QiMing

    2016-01-01

    To improve the convergence rate and the sample efficiency, two efficient learning methods AC-HMLP and RAC-HMLP (AC-HMLP with ℓ 2-regularization) are proposed by combining actor-critic algorithm with hierarchical model learning and planning. The hierarchical models consisting of the local and the global models, which are learned at the same time during learning of the value function and the policy, are approximated by local linear regression (LLR) and linear function approximation (LFA), respectively. Both the local model and the global model are applied to generate samples for planning; the former is used only if the state-prediction error does not surpass the threshold at each time step, while the latter is utilized at the end of each episode. The purpose of taking both models is to improve the sample efficiency and accelerate the convergence rate of the whole algorithm through fully utilizing the local and global information. Experimentally, AC-HMLP and RAC-HMLP are compared with three representative algorithms on two Reinforcement Learning (RL) benchmark problems. The results demonstrate that they perform best in terms of convergence rate and sample efficiency. PMID:27795704

  14. Biominerals- hierarchical nanocomposites: the example of bone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beniash, Elia

    2010-01-01

    Many organisms incorporate inorganic solids in their tissues to enhance their functional, primarily mechanical, properties. These mineralized tissues, also called biominerals, are unique organo-mineral nanocomposites, organized at several hierarchical levels, from nano- to macroscale. Unlike man made composite materials, which often are simple physical blends of their components, the organic and inorganic phases in biominerals interface at the molecular level. Although these tissues are made of relatively weak components at ambient conditions, their hierarchical structural organization and intimate interactions between different elements lead to superior mechanical properties. Understanding basic principles of formation, structure and functional properties of these tissues might lead to novel bioinspired strategies for material design and better treatments for diseases of the mineralized tissues. This review focuses on general principles of structural organization, formation and functional properties of biominerals on the example the bone tissues. PMID:20827739

  15. Fuzzy hierarchical model for risk assessment principles, concepts, and practical applications

    CERN Document Server

    Chan, Hing Kai

    2013-01-01

    Risk management is often complicated by situational uncertainties and the subjective preferences of decision makers. Fuzzy Hierarchical Model for Risk Assessment introduces a fuzzy-based hierarchical approach to solve risk management problems considering both qualitative and quantitative criteria to tackle imprecise information.   This approach is illustrated through number of case studies using examples from the food, fashion and electronics sectors to cover a range of applications including supply chain management, green product design and green initiatives. These practical examples explore how this method can be adapted and fine tuned to fit other industries as well.   Supported by an extensive literature review, Fuzzy Hierarchical Model for Risk Assessment  comprehensively introduces a new method for project managers across all industries as well as researchers in risk management.

  16. TiO2 nanowire-templated hierarchical nanowire network as water-repelling coating

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hang, Tian; Chen, Hui-Jiuan; Xiao, Shuai; Yang, Chengduan; Chen, Meiwan; Tao, Jun; Shieh, Han-ping; Yang, Bo-ru; Liu, Chuan; Xie, Xi

    2017-12-01

    Extraordinary water-repelling properties of superhydrophobic surfaces make them novel candidates for a great variety of potential applications. A general approach to achieve superhydrophobicity requires low-energy coating on the surface and roughness on nano- and micrometre scale. However, typical construction of superhydrophobic surfaces with micro-nano structure through top-down fabrication is restricted by sophisticated fabrication techniques and limited choices of substrate materials. Micro-nanoscale topographies templated by conventional microparticles through surface coating may produce large variations in roughness and uncontrollable defects, resulting in poorly controlled surface morphology and wettability. In this work, micro-nanoscale hierarchical nanowire network was fabricated to construct self-cleaning coating using one-dimensional TiO2 nanowires as microscale templates. Hierarchical structure with homogeneous morphology was achieved by branching ZnO nanowires on the TiO2 nanowire backbones through hydrothermal reaction. The hierarchical nanowire network displayed homogeneous micro/nano-topography, in contrast to hierarchical structure templated by traditional microparticles. This hierarchical nanowire network film exhibited high repellency to both water and cell culture medium after functionalization with fluorinated organic molecules. The hierarchical structure templated by TiO2 nanowire coating significantly increased the surface superhydrophobicity compared to vertical ZnO nanowires with nanotopography alone. Our results demonstrated a promising strategy of using nanowires as microscale templates for the rational design of hierarchical coatings with desired superhydrophobicity that can also be applied to various substrate materials.

  17. Design compliance matrix waste sample container filling system for nested, fixed-depth sampling system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    BOGER, R.M.

    1999-01-01

    This design compliance matrix document provides specific design related functional characteristics, constraints, and requirements for the container filling system that is part of the nested, fixed-depth sampling system. This document addresses performance, external interfaces, ALARA, Authorization Basis, environmental and design code requirements for the container filling system. The container filling system will interface with the waste stream from the fluidic pumping channels of the nested, fixed-depth sampling system and will fill containers with waste that meet the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) criteria for waste that contains volatile and semi-volatile organic materials. The specifications for the nested, fixed-depth sampling system are described in a Level 2 Specification document (HNF-3483, Rev. 1). The basis for this design compliance matrix document is the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) desk instructions for design Compliance matrix documents (PI-CP-008-00, Rev. 0)

  18. Community turnover of wood-inhabiting fungi across hierarchical spatial scales.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nerea Abrego

    Full Text Available For efficient use of conservation resources it is important to determine how species diversity changes across spatial scales. In many poorly known species groups little is known about at which spatial scales the conservation efforts should be focused. Here we examined how the community turnover of wood-inhabiting fungi is realised at three hierarchical levels, and how much of community variation is explained by variation in resource composition and spatial proximity. The hierarchical study design consisted of management type (fixed factor, forest site (random factor, nested within management type and study plots (randomly placed plots within each study site. To examine how species richness varied across the three hierarchical scales, randomized species accumulation curves and additive partitioning of species richness were applied. To analyse variation in wood-inhabiting species and dead wood composition at each scale, linear and Permanova modelling approaches were used. Wood-inhabiting fungal communities were dominated by rare and infrequent species. The similarity of fungal communities was higher within sites and within management categories than among sites or between the two management categories, and it decreased with increasing distance among the sampling plots and with decreasing similarity of dead wood resources. However, only a small part of community variation could be explained by these factors. The species present in managed forests were in a large extent a subset of those species present in natural forests. Our results suggest that in particular the protection of rare species requires a large total area. As managed forests have only little additional value complementing the diversity of natural forests, the conservation of natural forests is the key to ecologically effective conservation. As the dissimilarity of fungal communities increases with distance, the conserved natural forest sites should be broadly distributed in space, yet

  19. Experimental design matters for statistical analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Signe Marie; Schaarschmidt, Frank; Onofri, Andrea

    2018-01-01

    , the experimental design is often more or less neglected when analyzing data. Two data examples were analyzed using different modelling strategies: Firstly, in a randomized complete block design, mean heights of maize treated with a herbicide and one of several adjuvants were compared. Secondly, translocation...... of an insecticide applied to maize as a seed treatment was evaluated using incomplete data from an unbalanced design with several layers of hierarchical sampling. Extensive simulations were carried out to further substantiate the effects of different modelling strategies. RESULTS: It was shown that results from sub...

  20. Hierarchical drivers of reef-fish metacommunity structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacNeil, M Aaron; Graham, Nicholas A J; Polunin, Nicholas V C; Kulbicki, Michel; Galzin, René; Harmelin-Vivien, Mireille; Rushton, Steven P

    2009-01-01

    Coral reefs are highly complex ecological systems, where multiple processes interact across scales in space and time to create assemblages of exceptionally high biodiversity. Despite the increasing frequency of hierarchically structured sampling programs used in coral-reef science, little progress has been made in quantifying the relative importance of processes operating across multiple scales. The vast majority of reef studies are conducted, or at least analyzed, at a single spatial scale, ignoring the implicitly hierarchical structure of the overall system in favor of small-scale experiments or large-scale observations. Here we demonstrate how alpha (mean local number of species), beta diversity (degree of species dissimilarity among local sites), and gamma diversity (overall species richness) vary with spatial scale, and using a hierarchical, information-theoretic approach, we evaluate the relative importance of site-, reef-, and atoll-level processes driving the fish metacommunity structure among 10 atolls in French Polynesia. Process-based models, representing well-established hypotheses about drivers of reef-fish community structure, were assembled into a candidate set of 12 hierarchical linear models. Variation in fish abundance, biomass, and species richness were unevenly distributed among transect, reef, and atoll levels, establishing the relative contribution of variation at these spatial scales to the structure of the metacommunity. Reef-fish biomass, species richness, and the abundance of most functional-groups corresponded primarily with transect-level habitat diversity and atoll-lagoon size, whereas detritivore and grazer abundances were largely correlated with potential covariates of larval dispersal. Our findings show that (1) within-transect and among-atoll factors primarily drive the relationship between alpha and gamma diversity in this reef-fish metacommunity; (2) habitat is the primary correlate with reef-fish metacommunity structure at

  1. Convenient and large-scale synthesis of nitrogen-rich hierarchical porous carbon spheres for supercapacitors and CO2 capture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Binbin; Zhang, Shouren; Yin, Hang; Yang, Baocheng

    2017-08-01

    Herein, considering the great potential of nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbons in energy storage and CO2 capture, we designed a convenient and easily large-scale production strategy for preparing nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon sphere (NHPCS) materials. In this synthesis route, spherical resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) resins were selected as carbon precursor, and then the ZnCl2-impregnated RF resin spheres were carbonized in a NH3 atmosphere at a temperature range of 600-800 °C. During the one-step heat-treatment process, nitrogen atom could be efficiently incorporated into the carbon skeleton, and the interconnected and hierarchical pore structure with different micro/mesopore proportion could be generated and tuned by adjusting the activating agent ZnCl2 dosage and carbonization temperature. The resultant nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon sphere materials exhibited a satisfactory charge storage capacity, and the optimal sample of NHPCS-2-8 with a high mesopore proportion obtained at 800 °C with a ZnCl2/RF mass ratio of 2:1 presented a specific capacitance of 273.8 F g-1 at a current density of 0.5 A g-1. More importantly, the assembled NHPCS-2-8-based symmetric capacitor displayed a high energy density of 17.2 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 178.9 W kg-1 within a voltage window of 0 ∼ 1.8 V in 0.5 M Na2SO4 aqueous electrolyte. In addition, the CO2 capture application of these NHPCS materials was also explored, and the optimal sample of NHPCS-0-8 with a large micropore proportion prepared at 800 °C exhibited an exceptional CO2 uptake capacity at ambient pressures of up to 4.23 mmol g-1 at 0 °C.

  2. A note on hierarchical hubbing for a generalization of the VPN problem

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    N.K. Olver (Neil)

    2016-01-01

    textabstractRobust network design refers to a class of optimization problems that occur when designing networks to efficiently handle variable demands. In this context, Fréchette et al. (2013) recently explored hierarchical hubbing: a routing strategy involving a multiplicity of "hubs" connected to

  3. A note on hierarchical hubbing for a generalization of the VPN problem

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Olver, Neil

    2016-01-01

    Robust network design refers to a class of optimization problems that occur when designing networks to efficiently handle variable demands. In this context, Fréchette et al. (2013) recently explored hierarchical hubbing: a routing strategy involving a multiplicity of "hubs" connected to terminals

  4. Hierarchical Control of Parallel AC-DC Converter Interfaces for Hybrid Microgrids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lu, Xiaonan; Guerrero, Josep M.; Sun, Kai

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, a hierarchical control system for parallel power electronics interfaces between ac bus and dc bus in a hybrid microgrid is presented. Both standalone and grid-connected operation modes in the dc side of the microgrid are analyzed. Concretely, a three-level hierarchical control system...... equal or proportional dc load current sharing. The common secondary control level is designed to eliminate the dc bus voltage deviation produced by the droop control, with dc bus voltage in the hybrid microgrid boosted to an acceptable range. After guaranteeing the performance of the dc side standalone...

  5. TU-FG-209-12: Treatment Site and View Recognition in X-Ray Images with Hierarchical Multiclass Recognition Models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, X; Mazur, T; Yang, D [Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: To investigate an approach of automatically recognizing anatomical sites and imaging views (the orientation of the image acquisition) in 2D X-ray images. Methods: A hierarchical (binary tree) multiclass recognition model was developed to recognize the treatment sites and views in x-ray images. From top to bottom of the tree, the treatment sites are grouped hierarchically from more general to more specific. Each node in the hierarchical model was designed to assign images to one of two categories of anatomical sites. The binary image classification function of each node in the hierarchical model is implemented by using a PCA transformation and a support vector machine (SVM) model. The optimal PCA transformation matrices and SVM models are obtained by learning from a set of sample images. Alternatives of the hierarchical model were developed to support three scenarios of site recognition that may happen in radiotherapy clinics, including two or one X-ray images with or without view information. The performance of the approach was tested with images of 120 patients from six treatment sites – brain, head-neck, breast, lung, abdomen and pelvis – with 20 patients per site and two views (AP and RT) per patient. Results: Given two images in known orthogonal views (AP and RT), the hierarchical model achieved a 99% average F1 score to recognize the six sites. Site specific view recognition models have 100 percent accuracy. The computation time to process a new patient case (preprocessing, site and view recognition) is 0.02 seconds. Conclusion: The proposed hierarchical model of site and view recognition is effective and computationally efficient. It could be useful to automatically and independently confirm the treatment sites and views in daily setup x-ray 2D images. It could also be applied to guide subsequent image processing tasks, e.g. site and view dependent contrast enhancement and image registration. The senior author received research grants from View

  6. TU-FG-209-12: Treatment Site and View Recognition in X-Ray Images with Hierarchical Multiclass Recognition Models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, X; Mazur, T; Yang, D

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: To investigate an approach of automatically recognizing anatomical sites and imaging views (the orientation of the image acquisition) in 2D X-ray images. Methods: A hierarchical (binary tree) multiclass recognition model was developed to recognize the treatment sites and views in x-ray images. From top to bottom of the tree, the treatment sites are grouped hierarchically from more general to more specific. Each node in the hierarchical model was designed to assign images to one of two categories of anatomical sites. The binary image classification function of each node in the hierarchical model is implemented by using a PCA transformation and a support vector machine (SVM) model. The optimal PCA transformation matrices and SVM models are obtained by learning from a set of sample images. Alternatives of the hierarchical model were developed to support three scenarios of site recognition that may happen in radiotherapy clinics, including two or one X-ray images with or without view information. The performance of the approach was tested with images of 120 patients from six treatment sites – brain, head-neck, breast, lung, abdomen and pelvis – with 20 patients per site and two views (AP and RT) per patient. Results: Given two images in known orthogonal views (AP and RT), the hierarchical model achieved a 99% average F1 score to recognize the six sites. Site specific view recognition models have 100 percent accuracy. The computation time to process a new patient case (preprocessing, site and view recognition) is 0.02 seconds. Conclusion: The proposed hierarchical model of site and view recognition is effective and computationally efficient. It could be useful to automatically and independently confirm the treatment sites and views in daily setup x-ray 2D images. It could also be applied to guide subsequent image processing tasks, e.g. site and view dependent contrast enhancement and image registration. The senior author received research grants from View

  7. Sample design for the residential energy consumption survey

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1994-08-01

    The purpose of this report is to provide detailed information about the multistage area-probability sample design used for the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS). It is intended as a technical report, for use by statisticians, to better understand the theory and procedures followed in the creation of the RECS sample frame. For a more cursory overview of the RECS sample design, refer to the appendix entitled ``How the Survey was Conducted,`` which is included in the statistical reports produced for each RECS survey year.

  8. Validity of the t-plot method to assess microporosity in hierarchical micro/mesoporous materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galarneau, Anne; Villemot, François; Rodriguez, Jeremy; Fajula, François; Coasne, Benoit

    2014-11-11

    The t-plot method is a well-known technique which allows determining the micro- and/or mesoporous volumes and the specific surface area of a sample by comparison with a reference adsorption isotherm of a nonporous material having the same surface chemistry. In this paper, the validity of the t-plot method is discussed in the case of hierarchical porous materials exhibiting both micro- and mesoporosities. Different hierarchical zeolites with MCM-41 type ordered mesoporosity are prepared using pseudomorphic transformation. For comparison, we also consider simple mechanical mixtures of microporous and mesoporous materials. We first show an intrinsic failure of the t-plot method; this method does not describe the fact that, for a given surface chemistry and pressure, the thickness of the film adsorbed in micropores or small mesopores (plot method to estimate the micro- and mesoporous volumes of hierarchical samples is then discussed, and an abacus is given to correct the underestimated microporous volume by the t-plot method.

  9. System design description for sampling fuel in K basins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, R.B.

    1996-01-01

    This System Design Description provides: (1) statements of the Spent Nuclear Fuel Projects (SNFP) needs requiring sampling of fuel in the K East and K West Basins, (2) the sampling equipment functions and requirements, (3) a general work plan and the design logic being followed to develop the equipment, and (4) a summary description of the design for the sampling equipment. The report summarizes the integrated application of both the subject equipment and the canister sludge sampler in near-term characterization campaigns at K Basins

  10. Sampling design for use by the soil decontamination project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rutherford, D.W.; Stevens, J.R.

    1981-01-01

    This report proposes a general approach to the problem and discusses sampling of soil to map the contaminated area and to provide samples for characterizaton of soil components and contamination. Basic concepts in sample design are reviewed with reference to environmental transuranic studies. Common designs are reviewed and evaluated for use with specific objectives that might be required by the soil decontamination project. Examples of a hierarchial design pilot study and a combined hierarchial and grid study are proposed for the Rocky Flats 903 pad area

  11. Hierarchical prediction errors in midbrain and septum during social learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diaconescu, Andreea O; Mathys, Christoph; Weber, Lilian A E; Kasper, Lars; Mauer, Jan; Stephan, Klaas E

    2017-04-01

    Social learning is fundamental to human interactions, yet its computational and physiological mechanisms are not well understood. One prominent open question concerns the role of neuromodulatory transmitters. We combined fMRI, computational modelling and genetics to address this question in two separate samples (N = 35, N = 47). Participants played a game requiring inference on an adviser's intentions whose motivation to help or mislead changed over time. Our analyses suggest that hierarchically structured belief updates about current advice validity and the adviser's trustworthiness, respectively, depend on different neuromodulatory systems. Low-level prediction errors (PEs) about advice accuracy not only activated regions known to support 'theory of mind', but also the dopaminergic midbrain. Furthermore, PE responses in ventral striatum were influenced by the Met/Val polymorphism of the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) gene. By contrast, high-level PEs ('expected uncertainty') about the adviser's fidelity activated the cholinergic septum. These findings, replicated in both samples, have important implications: They suggest that social learning rests on hierarchically related PEs encoded by midbrain and septum activity, respectively, in the same manner as other forms of learning under volatility. Furthermore, these hierarchical PEs may be broadcast by dopaminergic and cholinergic projections to induce plasticity specifically in cortical areas known to represent beliefs about others. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

  12. [Saarland Growth Study: sampling design].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danker-Hopfe, H; Zabransky, S

    2000-01-01

    The use of reference data to evaluate the physical development of children and adolescents is part of the daily routine in the paediatric ambulance. The construction of such reference data is based on the collection of extensive reference data. There are different kinds of reference data: cross sectional references, which are based on data collected from a big representative cross-sectional sample of the population, longitudinal references, which are based on follow-up surveys of usually smaller samples of individuals from birth to maturity, and mixed longitudinal references, which are a combination of longitudinal and cross-sectional reference data. The advantages and disadvantages of the different methods of data collection and the resulting reference data are discussed. The Saarland Growth Study was conducted for several reasons: growth processes are subject to secular changes, there are no specific reference data for children and adolescents from this part of the country and the growth charts in use in the paediatric praxis are possibly not appropriate any more. Therefore, the Saarland Growth Study served two purposes a) to create actual regional reference data and b) to create a database for future studies on secular trends in growth processes of children and adolescents from Saarland. The present contribution focusses on general remarks on the sampling design of (cross-sectional) growth surveys and its inferences for the design of the present study.

  13. Automatic thoracic anatomy segmentation on CT images using hierarchical fuzzy models and registration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Kaioqiong; Udupa, Jayaram K.; Odhner, Dewey; Tong, Yubing; Torigian, Drew A.

    2014-03-01

    This paper proposes a thoracic anatomy segmentation method based on hierarchical recognition and delineation guided by a built fuzzy model. Labeled binary samples for each organ are registered and aligned into a 3D fuzzy set representing the fuzzy shape model for the organ. The gray intensity distributions of the corresponding regions of the organ in the original image are recorded in the model. The hierarchical relation and mean location relation between different organs are also captured in the model. Following the hierarchical structure and location relation, the fuzzy shape model of different organs is registered to the given target image to achieve object recognition. A fuzzy connected delineation method is then used to obtain the final segmentation result of organs with seed points provided by recognition. The hierarchical structure and location relation integrated in the model provide the initial parameters for registration and make the recognition efficient and robust. The 3D fuzzy model combined with hierarchical affine registration ensures that accurate recognition can be obtained for both non-sparse and sparse organs. The results on real images are presented and shown to be better than a recently reported fuzzy model-based anatomy recognition strategy.

  14. Design and development of multiple sample counting setup

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rath, D.P.; Murali, S.; Babu, D.A.R.

    2010-01-01

    Full text: The analysis of active samples on regular basis for ambient air activity and floor contamination from radio chemical lab accounts for major chunk of the operational activity in Health Physicist's responsibility. The requirement for daily air sample analysis on immediate counting and delayed counting from various labs in addition to samples of smear swipe check of lab led to the urge for development of system that could cater multiple sample analysis in a time programmed manner on a single sample loading. A multiple alpha/beta counting system for counting was designed and fabricated. It has arrangements for loading 10 samples in slots in order, get counted in a time programmed manner with results displayed and records maintained in PC. The paper describes the design and development of multiple sample counting setup presently in use at the facility has resulted in reduction of man-hour consumption in counting and recording of the results

  15. The identification of credit card encoders by hierarchical cluster analysis of the jitters of magnetic stripes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, S C; Fung, W K; Wong, K H

    1999-01-01

    The relative bit density variation graphs of 207 specimen credit cards processed by 12 encoding machines were examined first visually, and then classified by means of hierarchical cluster analysis. Twenty-nine credit cards being treated as 'questioned' samples were tested by way of cluster analysis against 'controls' derived from known encoders. It was found that hierarchical cluster analysis provided a high accuracy of identification with all 29 'questioned' samples classified correctly. On the other hand, although visual comparison of jitter graphs was less discriminating, it was nevertheless capable of giving a reasonably accurate result.

  16. Probability sampling design in ethnobotanical surveys of medicinal plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariano Martinez Espinosa

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Non-probability sampling design can be used in ethnobotanical surveys of medicinal plants. However, this method does not allow statistical inferences to be made from the data generated. The aim of this paper is to present a probability sampling design that is applicable in ethnobotanical studies of medicinal plants. The sampling design employed in the research titled "Ethnobotanical knowledge of medicinal plants used by traditional communities of Nossa Senhora Aparecida do Chumbo district (NSACD, Poconé, Mato Grosso, Brazil" was used as a case study. Probability sampling methods (simple random and stratified sampling were used in this study. In order to determine the sample size, the following data were considered: population size (N of 1179 families; confidence coefficient, 95%; sample error (d, 0.05; and a proportion (p, 0.5. The application of this sampling method resulted in a sample size (n of at least 290 families in the district. The present study concludes that probability sampling methods necessarily have to be employed in ethnobotanical studies of medicinal plants, particularly where statistical inferences have to be made using data obtained. This can be achieved by applying different existing probability sampling methods, or better still, a combination of such methods.

  17. Ferritic Alloys with Extreme Creep Resistance via Coherent Hierarchical Precipitates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Gian; Sun, Zhiqian; Li, Lin; Xu, Xiandong; Rawlings, Michael; Liebscher, Christian H; Clausen, Bjørn; Poplawsky, Jonathan; Leonard, Donovan N; Huang, Shenyan; Teng, Zhenke; Liu, Chain T; Asta, Mark D; Gao, Yanfei; Dunand, David C; Ghosh, Gautam; Chen, Mingwei; Fine, Morris E; Liaw, Peter K

    2015-11-09

    There have been numerous efforts to develop creep-resistant materials strengthened by incoherent particles at high temperatures and stresses in response to future energy needs for steam turbines in thermal-power plants. However, the microstructural instability of the incoherent-particle-strengthened ferritic steels limits their application to temperatures below 900 K. Here, we report a novel ferritic alloy with the excellent creep resistance enhanced by coherent hierarchical precipitates, using the integrated experimental (transmission-electron microscopy/scanning-transmission-electron microscopy, in-situ neutron diffraction, and atom-probe tomography) and theoretical (crystal-plasticity finite-element modeling) approaches. This alloy is strengthened by nano-scaled L21-Ni2TiAl (Heusler phase)-based precipitates, which themselves contain coherent nano-scaled B2 zones. These coherent hierarchical precipitates are uniformly distributed within the Fe matrix. Our hierarchical structure material exhibits the superior creep resistance at 973 K in terms of the minimal creep rate, which is four orders of magnitude lower than that of conventional ferritic steels. These results provide a new alloy-design strategy using the novel concept of hierarchical precipitates and the fundamental science for developing creep-resistant ferritic alloys. The present research will broaden the applications of ferritic alloys to higher temperatures.

  18. Development of ultralight, super-elastic, hierarchical metallic meta-structures with i3DP technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Dongxing; Xiao, Junfeng; Moorlag, Carolyn; Guo, Qiuquan; Yang, Jun

    2017-11-01

    Lightweight and mechanically robust materials show promising applications in thermal insulation, energy absorption, and battery catalyst supports. This study demonstrates an effective method for creation of ultralight metallic structures based on initiator-integrated 3D printing technology (i3DP), which provides a possible platform to design the materials with the best geometric parameters and desired mechanical performance. In this study, ultralight Ni foams with 3D interconnected hollow tubes were fabricated, consisting of hierarchical features spanning three scale orders ranging from submicron to centimeter. The resultant materials can achieve an ultralight density of as low as 5.1 mg cm-3 and nearly recover after significant compression up to 50%. Due to a high compression ratio, the hierarchical structure exhibits superior properties in terms of energy absorption and mechanical efficiency. The relationship of structural parameters and mechanical response was established. The ability of achieving ultralight density printing approach provides metallic structures with substantial benefits from the hierarchical design and fabrication flexibility to ultralight applications.

  19. Designing an enhanced groundwater sample collection system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schalla, R.

    1994-10-01

    As part of an ongoing technical support mission to achieve excellence and efficiency in environmental restoration activities at the Laboratory for Energy and Health-Related Research (LEHR), Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) provided guidance on the design and construction of monitoring wells and identified the most suitable type of groundwater sampling pump and accessories for monitoring wells. The goal was to utilize a monitoring well design that would allow for hydrologic testing and reduce turbidity to minimize the impact of sampling. The sampling results of the newly designed monitoring wells were clearly superior to those of the previously installed monitoring wells. The new wells exhibited reduced turbidity, in addition to improved access for instrumentation and hydrologic testing. The variable frequency submersible pump was selected as the best choice for obtaining groundwater samples. The literature references are listed at the end of this report. Despite some initial difficulties, the actual performance of the variable frequency, submersible pump and its accessories was effective in reducing sampling time and labor costs, and its ease of use was preferred over the previously used bladder pumps. The surface seals system, called the Dedicator, proved to be useful accessory to prevent surface contamination while providing easy access for water-level measurements and for connecting the pump. Cost savings resulted from the use of the pre-production pumps (beta units) donated by the manufacturer for the demonstration. However, larger savings resulted from shortened field time due to the ease in using the submersible pumps and the surface seal access system. Proper deployment of the monitoring wells also resulted in cost savings and ensured representative samples

  20. Hierarchical Velocity Control Based on Differential Flatness for a DC/DC Buck Converter-DC Motor System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Silva-Ortigoza

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a hierarchical controller that carries out the angular velocity trajectory tracking task for a DC motor driven by a DC/DC Buck converter. The high level control is related to the DC motor and the low level control is dedicated to the DC/DC Buck converter; both controls are designed via differential flatness. The high level control provides a desired voltage profile for the DC motor to achieve the tracking of a desired angular velocity trajectory. Then, a low level control is designed to ensure that the output voltage of the DC/DC Buck converter tracks the voltage profile imposed by the high level control. In order to experimentally verify the hierarchical controller performance, a DS1104 electronic board from dSPACE and Matlab-Simulink are used. The switched implementation of the hierarchical average controller is accomplished by means of pulse width modulation. Experimental results of the hierarchical controller for the velocity trajectory tracking task show good performance and robustness against the uncertainties associated with different system parameters.

  1. Hierarchical Modelling of Flood Risk for Engineering Decision Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Custer, Rocco

    protection structures in the hierarchical flood protection system - is identified. To optimise the design of protection structures, fragility and vulnerability models must allow for consideration of decision alternatives. While such vulnerability models are available for large protection structures (e...... systems, as well as the implementation of the flood risk analysis methodology and the vulnerability modelling approach are illustrated with an example application. In summary, the present thesis provides a characterisation of hierarchical flood protection systems as well as several methodologies to model...... and robust. Traditional risk management solutions, e.g. dike construction, are not particularly flexible, as they are difficult to adapt to changing risk. Conversely, the recent concept of integrated flood risk management, entailing a combination of several structural and non-structural risk management...

  2. Rod-like hierarchical Sn/SnOx@C nanostructures with enhanced lithium storage properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Juan; Chen, Sanmei; Tang, Jingjing; Tian, Hangyu; Bai, Tao; Zhou, Xiangyang

    2018-03-01

    Rod-like hierarchical Sn/SnOx@C nanostructures have been designed and synthesized via calcining resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) resin coated Sn-based metal-organic frameworks. The rod-like hierarchical Sn/SnOx@C nanostructures are made of a great number of carbon-wrapped primary Sn/SnOx nanospheres of 100-200 nm in diameter. The as-prepared hierarchical Sn/SnOx@C nanocomposite manifests a high initial reversible capacity of 1177 mAh g-1 and remains 1001 mAh g-1 after 240 cycles at a current density of 200 mA g-1. It delivers outstanding high-rate performance with a reversible capacity of 823 mAh g-1 even at a high current density of 1000 mA g-1. The enhanced electrochemical performances of the Sn/SnOx@C electrode are mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of the unique hierarchical micro/nanostructures and the protective carbon layer.

  3. Extending cluster lot quality assurance sampling designs for surveillance programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hund, Lauren; Pagano, Marcello

    2014-07-20

    Lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) has a long history of applications in industrial quality control. LQAS is frequently used for rapid surveillance in global health settings, with areas classified as poor or acceptable performance on the basis of the binary classification of an indicator. Historically, LQAS surveys have relied on simple random samples from the population; however, implementing two-stage cluster designs for surveillance sampling is often more cost-effective than simple random sampling. By applying survey sampling results to the binary classification procedure, we develop a simple and flexible nonparametric procedure to incorporate clustering effects into the LQAS sample design to appropriately inflate the sample size, accommodating finite numbers of clusters in the population when relevant. We use this framework to then discuss principled selection of survey design parameters in longitudinal surveillance programs. We apply this framework to design surveys to detect rises in malnutrition prevalence in nutrition surveillance programs in Kenya and South Sudan, accounting for clustering within villages. By combining historical information with data from previous surveys, we design surveys to detect spikes in the childhood malnutrition rate. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. Combustion synthesized hierarchically porous WO{sub 3} for selective acetone sensing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dong, Chengjun; Liu, Xu; Guan, Hongtao; Chen, Gang; Xiao, Xuechun [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yunnan University, 650091, Kunming (China); Djerdj, Igor [Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička 54, 10000, Zagreb (Croatia); Wang, Yude, E-mail: ydwang@ynu.edu.cn [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yunnan University, 650091, Kunming (China); Yunnan Province Key Lab of Mico-Nano Materials and Technology, Yunnan University, 650091, Kunming (China)

    2016-12-01

    An easy, inexpensive combustion route was designed to synthesize hierarchically porous WO{sub 3}. The tungsten source was fresh peroxiotungstic acid by dissolving tungsten powder into hydrogen peroxide. To promote the combustion reaction, a combined fuel of both glycine and hydrazine hydrate was used. The microstructure was well-connected pores comprised of subunit nanoparticles. Upon exposing towards acetone gas, the porous WO{sub 3} based sensor exhibits high gas response, rapid response and recovery, and good selectivity in the range of 5–1000 ppm under working temperature of 300 °C. This excellent sensing performance was plausibly attributed to the porous morphology, which hence provides more active sites for the gas molecules' reaction. - Graphical abstract: Hierarchically porous WO{sub 3} synthesized by combustion process exhibits high gas response, rapid response and recovery, and excellent selectivity for acetone, making it to be promising candidates for practical detectors for acetone. - Highlights: • Hierarchically porous WO{sub 3} synthesized by combustion process. • Hierarchically porous WO{sub 3} exhibits high gas response and excellent selectivity for acetone. • The excellent sensing property was plausibly attributed to the porous morphology.

  5. Neutrosophic Hierarchical Clustering Algoritms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rıdvan Şahin

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Interval neutrosophic set (INS is a generalization of interval valued intuitionistic fuzzy set (IVIFS, whose the membership and non-membership values of elements consist of fuzzy range, while single valued neutrosophic set (SVNS is regarded as extension of intuitionistic fuzzy set (IFS. In this paper, we extend the hierarchical clustering techniques proposed for IFSs and IVIFSs to SVNSs and INSs respectively. Based on the traditional hierarchical clustering procedure, the single valued neutrosophic aggregation operator, and the basic distance measures between SVNSs, we define a single valued neutrosophic hierarchical clustering algorithm for clustering SVNSs. Then we extend the algorithm to classify an interval neutrosophic data. Finally, we present some numerical examples in order to show the effectiveness and availability of the developed clustering algorithms.

  6. Merging K-means with hierarchical clustering for identifying general-shaped groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Anna D; Ghosh, Arka P; Maitra, Ranjan

    2018-01-01

    Clustering partitions a dataset such that observations placed together in a group are similar but different from those in other groups. Hierarchical and K -means clustering are two approaches but have different strengths and weaknesses. For instance, hierarchical clustering identifies groups in a tree-like structure but suffers from computational complexity in large datasets while K -means clustering is efficient but designed to identify homogeneous spherically-shaped clusters. We present a hybrid non-parametric clustering approach that amalgamates the two methods to identify general-shaped clusters and that can be applied to larger datasets. Specifically, we first partition the dataset into spherical groups using K -means. We next merge these groups using hierarchical methods with a data-driven distance measure as a stopping criterion. Our proposal has the potential to reveal groups with general shapes and structure in a dataset. We demonstrate good performance on several simulated and real datasets.

  7. Thermal probe design for Europa sample acquisition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horne, Mera F.

    2018-01-01

    The planned lander missions to the surface of Europa will access samples from the subsurface of the ice in a search for signs of life. A small thermal drill (probe) is proposed to meet the sample requirement of the Science Definition Team's (SDT) report for the Europa mission. The probe is 2 cm in diameter and 16 cm in length and is designed to access the subsurface to 10 cm deep and to collect five ice samples of 7 cm3 each, approximately. The energy required to penetrate the top 10 cm of ice in a vacuum is 26 Wh, approximately, and to melt 7 cm3 of ice is 1.2 Wh, approximately. The requirement stated in the SDT report of collecting samples from five different sites can be accommodated with repeated use of the same thermal drill. For smaller sample sizes, a smaller probe of 1.0 cm in diameter with the same length of 16 cm could be utilized that would require approximately 6.4 Wh to penetrate the top 10 cm of ice, and 0.02 Wh to collect 0.1 g of sample. The thermal drill has the advantage of simplicity of design and operations and the ability to penetrate ice over a range of densities and hardness while maintaining sample integrity.

  8. The Hierarchical Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Sofron

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper is focused on the hierarchical perspective, one of the methods for representing space that was used before the discovery of the Renaissance linear perspective. The hierarchical perspective has a more or less pronounced scientific character and its study offers us a clear image of the way the representatives of the cultures that developed it used to perceive the sensitive reality. This type of perspective is an original method of representing three-dimensional space on a flat surface, which characterises the art of Ancient Egypt and much of the art of the Middle Ages, being identified in the Eastern European Byzantine art, as well as in the Western European Pre-Romanesque and Romanesque art. At the same time, the hierarchical perspective is also present in naive painting and infantile drawing. Reminiscences of this method can be recognised also in the works of some precursors of the Italian Renaissance. The hierarchical perspective can be viewed as a subjective ranking criterion, according to which the elements are visually represented by taking into account their relevance within the image while perception is ignored. This paper aims to show how the main objective of the artists of those times was not to faithfully represent the objective reality, but rather to emphasize the essence of the world and its perennial aspects. This may represent a possible explanation for the refusal of perspective in the Egyptian, Romanesque and Byzantine painting, characterised by a marked two-dimensionality.

  9. Comparisons of Flow Patterns over a Hierarchical and a Non-hierarchical Surface in Relation to Biofouling Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bin Ahmad Fawzan Mohammed Ridha

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Biofouling can be defined as unwanted deposition and development of organisms on submerged surfaces. It is a major problem as it causes water contamination, infrastructures damage and increase in maintenance and operational cost especially in the shipping industry. There are a few methods that can prevent this problem. One of the most effective methods which is using chemicals particularly Tributyltin has been banned due to adverse effects on the environment. One of the non-toxic methods found to be effective is surface modification which involves altering the surface topography so that it becomes a low-fouling or a non-stick surface to biofouling organisms. Current literature suggested that non-hierarchical topographies has lower antifouling performance compared to hierarchical topographies. It is still unclear if the effects of the flow on these topographies could have aided in their antifouling properties. This research will use Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD simulations to study the flow on these two topographies which also involves comparison study of the topographies used. According to the results obtained, it is shown that hierarchical topography has higher antifouling performance compared to non-hierarchical topography. This is because the fluid characteristics at the hierarchical topography is more favorable in controlling biofouling. In addition, hierarchical topography has higher wall shear stress distribution compared to non-hierarchical topography

  10. Hierarchical Fiber Structures Made by Electrospinning Polymers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reneker, Darrell H.

    2009-03-01

    A filter for water purification that is very thin, with small interstices and high surface area per unit mass, can be made with nanofibers. The mechanical strength of a very thin sheet of nanofibers is not great enough to withstand the pressure drop of the fluid flowing through. If the sheet of nanofibers is made thicker, the strength will increase, but the flow will be reduced to an impractical level. An optimized filter can be made with nanometer scale structures supported on micron scale structures, which are in turn supported on millimeter scale structures. This leads to a durable hierarchical structure to optimize the filtration efficiency with a minimum amount of material. Buckling coils,ootnotetextTao Han, Darrell H Reneker, Alexander L. Yarin, Polymer, Volume 48, issue 20 (September 21, 2007), p. 6064-6076. electrical bending coilsootnotetextDarrell H. Reneker and Alexander L. Yarin, Polymer, Volume 49, Issue 10 (2008) Pages 2387-2425, DOI:10.1016/j.polymer.2008.02.002. Feature Article. and pendulum coilsootnotetextT. Han, D.H. Reneker, A.L. Yarin, Polymer, Volume 49, (2008) Pages 2160-2169, doi:10.1016/jpolymer.2008.01.0487878. spanning dimensions from a few microns to a few centimeters can be collected from a single jet by controlling the position and motion of a collector. Attractive routes to the design and construction of hierarchical structures for filtration are based on nanofibers supported on small coils that are in turn supported on larger coils, which are supported on even larger overlapping coils. ``Such top-down'' hierarchical structures are easy to make by electrospinning. In one example, a thin hierarchical structure was made, with a high surface area and small interstices, having an open area of over 50%, with the thinnest fibers supported at least every 15 microns.

  11. Extending an open-source real-time operating system with hierarchical scheduling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Holenderski, M.J.; Cools, W.A.; Bril, R.J.; Lukkien, J.J.

    2010-01-01

    Hierarchical scheduling frameworks (HSFs) have been devised to support the integration of independently developed and analyzed subsystems. This paper presents an efficient, modular and extendible design for enhancing a real-time operating system with periodic tasks, two-level fixed-priority HSF

  12. Triangulation based inclusion probabilities: a design-unbiased sampling approach

    OpenAIRE

    Fehrmann, Lutz; Gregoire, Timothy; Kleinn, Christoph

    2011-01-01

    A probabilistic sampling approach for design-unbiased estimation of area-related quantitative characteristics of spatially dispersed population units is proposed. The developed field protocol includes a fixed number of 3 units per sampling location and is based on partial triangulations over their natural neighbors to derive the individual inclusion probabilities. The performance of the proposed design is tested in comparison to fixed area sample plots in a simulation with two forest stands. ...

  13. Hierarchical ZnO with twinned structure: Morphology evolution, formation mechanism and properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shi, Ruixia; Song, Xueling; Li, Jia; Yang, Ping

    2015-01-01

    Various hierarchical ZnO architectures constructed by twinned structures have been synthesized via a trisodium citrate assisted hydrothermal method on a large scale. The probable formation mechanisms of hierarchical ZnO structures with twinned structure were proposed and discussed. The hierarchical ZnO with twinned structures are composed of two hemispheres with a center concave junction to join them together at their waists. The ZnO microspheres with rough surfaces were obtained when the concentration of trisodium citrate is 0.1 M. However, the football-like microspheres consisted of hexagonal nanosheets were formed when adding glycerol into the water, which should be attributed to the slower nucleation and growth rate of nanocrystals. The hamburger-like ZnO with different aspect ratio and nonuniform ZnO microspheres were generated due to the different quantity of initial nuclei and growth units when simply modulating the concentration of trisodium citrate. The surface area of football-like ZnO is about 3.51 times of microspheres composed of irregular particles. However their photocatalytic performances are similar under UV light irradiation, which indicates that pore sizes of the sample have more important influences on the photocatalytic activity. - Highlights: • Hierarchical ZnO constructed by twinned structures have been synthesized. • The formation mechanisms of ZnO with twinned structure were discussed. • Football-like microspheres were obtained due to the slower nucleation and growth. • Hamburger-like ZnO was formed due to the amount of initial nuclei and growth units. • Pore sizes have important effects on the photocatalytic activity of sample

  14. Hierarchical ZnO with twinned structure: Morphology evolution, formation mechanism and properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shi, Ruixia; Song, Xueling; Li, Jia; Yang, Ping, E-mail: mse_yangp@ujn.edu.cn

    2015-04-15

    Various hierarchical ZnO architectures constructed by twinned structures have been synthesized via a trisodium citrate assisted hydrothermal method on a large scale. The probable formation mechanisms of hierarchical ZnO structures with twinned structure were proposed and discussed. The hierarchical ZnO with twinned structures are composed of two hemispheres with a center concave junction to join them together at their waists. The ZnO microspheres with rough surfaces were obtained when the concentration of trisodium citrate is 0.1 M. However, the football-like microspheres consisted of hexagonal nanosheets were formed when adding glycerol into the water, which should be attributed to the slower nucleation and growth rate of nanocrystals. The hamburger-like ZnO with different aspect ratio and nonuniform ZnO microspheres were generated due to the different quantity of initial nuclei and growth units when simply modulating the concentration of trisodium citrate. The surface area of football-like ZnO is about 3.51 times of microspheres composed of irregular particles. However their photocatalytic performances are similar under UV light irradiation, which indicates that pore sizes of the sample have more important influences on the photocatalytic activity. - Highlights: • Hierarchical ZnO constructed by twinned structures have been synthesized. • The formation mechanisms of ZnO with twinned structure were discussed. • Football-like microspheres were obtained due to the slower nucleation and growth. • Hamburger-like ZnO was formed due to the amount of initial nuclei and growth units. • Pore sizes have important effects on the photocatalytic activity of sample.

  15. Microfluidic Droplet-Facilitated Hierarchical Assembly for Dual Cargo Loading and Synergistic Delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Ziyi; Zheng, Yu; Parker, Richard M; Lan, Yang; Wu, Yuchao; Coulston, Roger J; Zhang, Jing; Scherman, Oren A; Abell, Chris

    2016-04-06

    Bottom-up hierarchical assembly has emerged as an elaborate and energy-efficient strategy for the fabrication of smart materials. Herein, we present a hierarchical assembly process, whereby linear amphiphilic block copolymers are self-assembled into micelles, which in turn are accommodated at the interface of microfluidic droplets via cucurbit[8]uril-mediated host-guest chemistry to form supramolecular microcapsules. The monodisperse microcapsules can be used for simultaneous carriage of both organic (Nile Red) and aqueous-soluble (fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran) cargo. Furthermore, the well-defined compartmentalized structure benefits from the dynamic nature of the supramolecular interaction and offers synergistic delivery of cargos with triggered release or through photocontrolled porosity. This demonstration of premeditated hierarchical assembly, where interactions from the molecular to microscale are designed, illustrates the power of this route toward accessing the next generation of functional materials and encapsulation strategies.

  16. Catalytically active and hierarchically porous SAPO-11 zeolite synthesized in the presence of polyhexamethylene biguanidine

    KAUST Repository

    Liu, Yan

    2014-03-01

    Hierarchically porous SAPO-11 zeolite (H-SAPO-11) is rationally synthesized from a starting silicoaluminophosphate gel in the presence of polyhexamethylene biguanidine as a mesoscale template. The sample is well characterized by XRD, N2 sorption, SEM, TEM, NMR, XPS, NH3-TPD, and TG techniques. The results show that the sample obtained has good crystallinity, hierarchical porosity (mesopores at ca. 10nm and macropores at ca. 50-200nm), high BET surface area (226m2/g), large pore volume (0.25cm3/g), and abundant medium and strong acidic sites (0.36mmol/g). After loading Pt (0.5wt.%) on H-SAPO-11 by using wet impregnation method, catalytic hydroisomerization tests of n-dodecane show that the hierarchical Pt/SAPO-11 zeolite exhibits high conversion of n-dodecane and enhanced selectivity for branched products as well as reduced selectivity for cracking products, compared with conventional Pt/SAPO-11 zeolite. This phenomenon is reasonably attributed to the presence of hierarchical porosity, which is favorable for access of reactants on catalytically active sites. The improvement in catalytic performance in long-chain paraffin hydroisomerization over Pt/SAPO-11-based catalyst is of great importance for its industrial applications in the future. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.

  17. Hierarchical video summarization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ratakonda, Krishna; Sezan, M. Ibrahim; Crinon, Regis J.

    1998-12-01

    We address the problem of key-frame summarization of vide in the absence of any a priori information about its content. This is a common problem that is encountered in home videos. We propose a hierarchical key-frame summarization algorithm where a coarse-to-fine key-frame summary is generated. A hierarchical key-frame summary facilitates multi-level browsing where the user can quickly discover the content of the video by accessing its coarsest but most compact summary and then view a desired segment of the video with increasingly more detail. At the finest level, the summary is generated on the basis of color features of video frames, using an extension of a recently proposed key-frame extraction algorithm. The finest level key-frames are recursively clustered using a novel pairwise K-means clustering approach with temporal consecutiveness constraint. We also address summarization of MPEG-2 compressed video without fully decoding the bitstream. We also propose efficient mechanisms that facilitate decoding the video when the hierarchical summary is utilized in browsing and playback of video segments starting at selected key-frames.

  18. A Hierarchical Poisson Log-Normal Model for Network Inference from RNA Sequencing Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallopin, Mélina; Rau, Andrea; Jaffrézic, Florence

    2013-01-01

    Gene network inference from transcriptomic data is an important methodological challenge and a key aspect of systems biology. Although several methods have been proposed to infer networks from microarray data, there is a need for inference methods able to model RNA-seq data, which are count-based and highly variable. In this work we propose a hierarchical Poisson log-normal model with a Lasso penalty to infer gene networks from RNA-seq data; this model has the advantage of directly modelling discrete data and accounting for inter-sample variance larger than the sample mean. Using real microRNA-seq data from breast cancer tumors and simulations, we compare this method to a regularized Gaussian graphical model on log-transformed data, and a Poisson log-linear graphical model with a Lasso penalty on power-transformed data. For data simulated with large inter-sample dispersion, the proposed model performs better than the other methods in terms of sensitivity, specificity and area under the ROC curve. These results show the necessity of methods specifically designed for gene network inference from RNA-seq data. PMID:24147011

  19. Hierarchical modeling of active materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taya, Minoru

    2003-01-01

    Intelligent (or smart) materials are increasingly becoming key materials for use in actuators and sensors. If an intelligent material is used as a sensor, it can be embedded in a variety of structure functioning as a health monitoring system to make their life longer with high reliability. If an intelligent material is used as an active material in an actuator, it plays a key role of making dynamic movement of the actuator under a set of stimuli. This talk intends to cover two different active materials in actuators, (1) piezoelectric laminate with FGM microstructure, (2) ferromagnetic shape memory alloy (FSMA). The advantage of using the FGM piezo laminate is to enhance its fatigue life while maintaining large bending displacement, while that of use in FSMA is its fast actuation while providing a large force and stroke capability. Use of hierarchical modeling of the above active materials is a key design step in optimizing its microstructure for enhancement of their performance. I will discuss briefly hierarchical modeling of the above two active materials. For FGM piezo laminate, we will use both micromechanical model and laminate theory, while for FSMA, the modeling interfacing nano-structure, microstructure and macro-behavior is discussed. (author)

  20. Convenient and large-scale synthesis of nitrogen-rich hierarchical porous carbon spheres for supercapacitors and CO{sub 2} capture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Binbin, E-mail: binbinchang@infm.hhstu.edu.cn [Institute of Nanostructured Functional Materials, Huanghe Science and Technology College, Zhengzhou, Henan 450006 (China); Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Nano-composite and Application, Zhengzhou, Henan 450006 (China); Zhang, Shouren; Yin, Hang [Institute of Nanostructured Functional Materials, Huanghe Science and Technology College, Zhengzhou, Henan 450006 (China); Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Nano-composite and Application, Zhengzhou, Henan 450006 (China); Yang, Baocheng, E-mail: baochengyang@yahoo.com [Institute of Nanostructured Functional Materials, Huanghe Science and Technology College, Zhengzhou, Henan 450006 (China); Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Nano-composite and Application, Zhengzhou, Henan 450006 (China)

    2017-08-01

    Highlights: • Convenient and large-scale synthesis route for N-doped hierarchical porous carbon sphere. • The resultant own spherical morphology, tunable hierarchical porosity, high surface area. • The optimal material exhibits a high CO{sub 2} capture capacity of 4.23 mmol g{sup −1}. • It shows a large voltage window of 1.8 V for symmetric cell in 0.5 M Na{sub 2}SO{sub 4}. - Abstract: Herein, considering the great potential of nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbons in energy storage and CO{sub 2} capture, we designed a convenient and easily large-scale production strategy for preparing nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon sphere (NHPCS) materials. In this synthesis route, spherical resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) resins were selected as carbon precursor, and then the ZnCl{sub 2}-impregnated RF resin spheres were carbonized in a NH{sub 3} atmosphere at a temperature range of 600–800 °C. During the one-step heat-treatment process, nitrogen atom could be efficiently incorporated into the carbon skeleton, and the interconnected and hierarchical pore structure with different micro/mesopore proportion could be generated and tuned by adjusting the activating agent ZnCl{sub 2} dosage and carbonization temperature. The resultant nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon sphere materials exhibited a satisfactory charge storage capacity, and the optimal sample of NHPCS-2-8 with a high mesopore proportion obtained at 800 °C with a ZnCl{sub 2}/RF mass ratio of 2:1 presented a specific capacitance of 273.8 F g{sup −1} at a current density of 0.5 A g{sup −1}. More importantly, the assembled NHPCS-2-8-based symmetric capacitor displayed a high energy density of 17.2 Wh kg{sup −1} at a power density of 178.9 W kg{sup −1} within a voltage window of 0 ∼ 1.8 V in 0.5 M Na{sub 2}SO{sub 4} aqueous electrolyte. In addition, the CO{sub 2} capture application of these NHPCS materials was also explored, and the optimal sample of NHPCS-0-8 with a large

  1. Analysis and Optimisation of Hierarchically Scheduled Multiprocessor Embedded Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pop, Traian; Pop, Paul; Eles, Petru

    2008-01-01

    We present an approach to the analysis and optimisation of heterogeneous multiprocessor embedded systems. The systems are heterogeneous not only in terms of hardware components, but also in terms of communication protocols and scheduling policies. When several scheduling policies share a resource......, they are organised in a hierarchy. In this paper, we first develop a holistic scheduling and schedulability analysis that determines the timing properties of a hierarchically scheduled system. Second, we address design problems that are characteristic to such hierarchically scheduled systems: assignment...... of scheduling policies to tasks, mapping of tasks to hardware components, and the scheduling of the activities. We also present several algorithms for solving these problems. Our heuristics are able to find schedulable implementations under limited resources, achieving an efficient utilisation of the system...

  2. ACS sampling system: design, implementation, and performance evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Marcantonio, Paolo; Cirami, Roberto; Chiozzi, Gianluca

    2004-09-01

    By means of ACS (ALMA Common Software) framework we designed and implemented a sampling system which allows sampling of every Characteristic Component Property with a specific, user-defined, sustained frequency limited only by the hardware. Collected data are sent to various clients (one or more Java plotting widgets, a dedicated GUI or a COTS application) using the ACS/CORBA Notification Channel. The data transport is optimized: samples are cached locally and sent in packets with a lower and user-defined frequency to keep network load under control. Simultaneous sampling of the Properties of different Components is also possible. Together with the design and implementation issues we present the performance of the sampling system evaluated on two different platforms: on a VME based system using VxWorks RTOS (currently adopted by ALMA) and on a PC/104+ embedded platform using Red Hat 9 Linux operating system. The PC/104+ solution offers, as an alternative, a low cost PC compatible hardware environment with free and open operating system.

  3. Hierarchically Ordered Nanopatterns for Spatial Control of Biomolecules

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-01-01

    The development and study of a benchtop, high-throughput, and inexpensive fabrication strategy to obtain hierarchical patterns of biomolecules with sub-50 nm resolution is presented. A diblock copolymer of polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene oxide), PS-b-PEO, is synthesized with biotin capping the PEO block and 4-bromostyrene copolymerized within the polystyrene block at 5 wt %. These two handles allow thin films of the block copolymer to be postfunctionalized with biotinylated biomolecules of interest and to obtain micropatterns of nanoscale-ordered films via photolithography. The design of this single polymer further allows access to two distinct superficial nanopatterns (lines and dots), where the PEO cylinders are oriented parallel or perpendicular to the substrate. Moreover, we present a strategy to obtain hierarchical mixed morphologies: a thin-film coating of cylinders both parallel and perpendicular to the substrate can be obtained by tuning the solvent annealing and irradiation conditions. PMID:25363506

  4. Mobile Variable Depth Sampling System Design Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    BOGER, R.M.

    2000-01-01

    A design study is presented for a mobile, variable depth sampling system (MVDSS) that will support the treatment and immobilization of Hanford LAW and HLW. The sampler can be deployed in a 4-inch tank riser and has a design that is based on requirements identified in the Level 2 Specification (latest revision). The waste feed sequence for the MVDSS is based on Phase 1, Case 3S6 waste feed sequence. Technical information is also presented that supports the design study

  5. Mobile Variable Depth Sampling System Design Study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    BOGER, R.M.

    2000-08-25

    A design study is presented for a mobile, variable depth sampling system (MVDSS) that will support the treatment and immobilization of Hanford LAW and HLW. The sampler can be deployed in a 4-inch tank riser and has a design that is based on requirements identified in the Level 2 Specification (latest revision). The waste feed sequence for the MVDSS is based on Phase 1, Case 3S6 waste feed sequence. Technical information is also presented that supports the design study.

  6. Titanium-Phosphonate-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks with Hierarchical Porosity for Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

    KAUST Repository

    Li, Hui

    2018-02-01

    Photocatalytic hydrogen production is crucial for solar-to-chemical conversion process, wherein high-efficiency photocatalysts lie in the heart of this area. Herein a new photocatalyst of hierarchically mesoporous titanium-phosphonate-based metal-organic frameworks, featuring well-structured spheres, periodic mesostructure and large secondary mesoporosity, are rationally designed with the complex of polyelectrolyte and cathodic surfactant serving as the template. The well-structured hierarchical porosity and homogeneously incorporated phosphonate groups can favor the mass transfer and strong optical absorption during the photocatalytic reactions. Correspondingly, the titanium phosphonates exhibit significantly improved photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate along with impressive stability. This work can provide more insights into designing advanced photocatalysts for energy conversion and render a tunable platform in photoelectrochemical field.

  7. Titanium-Phosphonate-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks with Hierarchical Porosity for Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

    KAUST Repository

    Li, Hui; Sun, Ying; Yuan, Zhong-Yong; Zhu, Yun-Pei; Ma, Tianyi

    2018-01-01

    Photocatalytic hydrogen production is crucial for solar-to-chemical conversion process, wherein high-efficiency photocatalysts lie in the heart of this area. Herein a new photocatalyst of hierarchically mesoporous titanium-phosphonate-based metal-organic frameworks, featuring well-structured spheres, periodic mesostructure and large secondary mesoporosity, are rationally designed with the complex of polyelectrolyte and cathodic surfactant serving as the template. The well-structured hierarchical porosity and homogeneously incorporated phosphonate groups can favor the mass transfer and strong optical absorption during the photocatalytic reactions. Correspondingly, the titanium phosphonates exhibit significantly improved photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate along with impressive stability. This work can provide more insights into designing advanced photocatalysts for energy conversion and render a tunable platform in photoelectrochemical field.

  8. Design of Fuzzy Enhanced Hierarchical Motion Stabilizing Controller of Unmanned Ground Vehicle in Three DimensionalSpace

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yue Ma

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, stabilizing control of tracked unmanned ground vehicle in 3-D space was presented. Firstly, models of major modules of tracked UGV were established. Next, to reveal the mechanism of disturbances applied on the UGV, two kinds of representative disturbances (slope and general disturbances in yaw motion were discussed in depth. Consequently, an attempting PID method was employed to compensate the impacts of disturbances andsimulation results proved the validity for disturbance incited by slope force, but revealed the lack for general disturbance on yaw motion. Finally, a hierarchical fuzzy controller combined with PID controller was proposed. In lower level, there were two PID controllers to compensate the disturbance of slope force, and on top level, the fuzzy logic controller was employed to correct the yaw motion error based on the differences between the model and the real UGV, which was able to guide the UGV maintain on the stable state. Simulation results demonstrated the excellent effectiveness of the newly designed controller.

  9. Implementation of Hierarchical Task Analysis for User Interface Design in Drawing Application for Early Childhood Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mira Kania Sabariah

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Draw learning in early childhood is an important lesson and full of stimulation of the process of growth and development of children which could help to train the fine motor skills. We have had a lot of applications that can be used to perform learning, including interactive learning applications. Referring to the observations that have been conducted showed that the experiences given by the applications that exist today are very diverse and have not been able to represent the model of learning and characteristics of early childhood (4-6 years. Based on the results, Hierarchical Task Analysis method generated a list of tasks that must be done in designing an user interface that represents the user experience in draw learning. Then by using the Heuristic Evaluation method the usability of the model has fulfilled a very good level of understanding and also it can be enhanced and produce a better model.

  10. Hierarchical pulmonary target nanoparticles via inhaled administration for anticancer drug delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Rui; Xu, Liu; Fan, Qin; Li, Man; Wang, Jingjing; Wu, Li; Li, Weidong; Duan, Jinao; Chen, Zhipeng

    2017-11-01

    Inhalation administration, compared with intravenous administration, significantly enhances chemotherapeutic drug exposure to the lung tissue and may increase the therapeutic effect for pulmonary anticancer. However, further identification of cancer cells after lung deposition of inhaled drugs is necessary to avoid side effects on normal lung tissue and to maximize drug efficacy. Moreover, as the action site of the major drug was intracellular organelles, drug target to the specific organelle is the final key for accurate drug delivery. Here, we designed a novel multifunctional nanoparticles (MNPs) for pulmonary antitumor and the material was well-designed for hierarchical target involved lung tissue target, cancer cell target, and mitochondrial target. The biodistribution in vivo determined by UHPLC-MS/MS method was employed to verify the drug concentration overwhelmingly increasing in lung tissue through inhaled administration compared with intravenous administration. Cellular uptake assay using A549 cells proved the efficient receptor-mediated cell endocytosis. Confocal laser scanning microscopy observation showed the location of MNPs in cells was mitochondria. All results confirmed the intelligent material can progressively play hierarchical target functions, which could induce more cell apoptosis related to mitochondrial damage. It provides a smart and efficient nanocarrier platform for hierarchical targeting of pulmonary anticancer drug. So far, this kind of material for pulmonary mitochondrial-target has not been seen in other reports.

  11. Reliability of impingement sampling designs: An example from the Indian Point station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mattson, M.T.; Waxman, J.B.; Watson, D.A.

    1988-01-01

    A 4-year data base (1976-1979) of daily fish impingement counts at the Indian Point electric power station on the Hudson River was used to compare the precision and reliability of three random-sampling designs: (1) simple random, (2) seasonally stratified, and (3) empirically stratified. The precision of daily impingement estimates improved logarithmically for each design as more days in the year were sampled. Simple random sampling was the least, and empirically stratified sampling was the most precise design, and the difference in precision between the two stratified designs was small. Computer-simulated sampling was used to estimate the reliability of the two stratified-random-sampling designs. A seasonally stratified sampling design was selected as the most appropriate reduced-sampling program for Indian Point station because: (1) reasonably precise and reliable impingement estimates were obtained using this design for all species combined and for eight common Hudson River fish by sampling only 30% of the days in a year (110 d); and (2) seasonal strata may be more precise and reliable than empirical strata if future changes in annual impingement patterns occur. The seasonally stratified design applied to the 1976-1983 Indian Point impingement data showed that selection of sampling dates based on daily species-specific impingement variability gave results that were more precise, but not more consistently reliable, than sampling allocations based on the variability of all fish species combined. 14 refs., 1 fig., 6 tabs

  12. Conditional estimation of exponential random graph models from snowball sampling designs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pattison, Philippa E.; Robins, Garry L.; Snijders, Tom A. B.; Wang, Peng

    2013-01-01

    A complete survey of a network in a large population may be prohibitively difficult and costly. So it is important to estimate models for networks using data from various network sampling designs, such as link-tracing designs. We focus here on snowball sampling designs, designs in which the members

  13. Au functionalized ZnO rose-like hierarchical structures and their enhanced NO2 sensing performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shingange, K.; Swart, H. C.; Mhlongo, G. H.

    2018-04-01

    Herein, we present ZnO rose-like hierarchical nanostructures employed as support to Au nanoparticles to produce Au functionalized three dimensional (3D) ZnO hierarchical nanostructures (Au/ZnO) for NO2 detection using a microwave-assisted method. Comparative analysis of NO2 sensing performance between the pristine ZnO and Au/ZnO rose-like structures at 300 °C revealed improved NO2 response and rapid response-recovery times with Au incorporation owing to a combination of high surface accessibility induced by hierarchical nanostructure design and catalytic activity of the small Au nanoparticles. Structural and optical analyses acquired from X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscope and photoluminescence spectroscopy were also performed.

  14. Hierarchically structured, nitrogen-doped carbon membranes

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Hong; Wu, Tao

    2017-01-01

    The present invention is a structure, method of making and method of use for a novel macroscopic hierarchically structured, nitrogen-doped, nano-porous carbon membrane (HNDCMs) with asymmetric and hierarchical pore architecture that can be produced

  15. Multiscale Inorganic Hierarchically Materials: Towards an Improved Orthopaedic Regenerative Medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruso, Juan M; Sartuqui, Javier; Messina, Paula V

    2015-01-01

    Bone is a biologically and structurally sophisticated multifunctional tissue. It dynamically responds to biochemical, mechanical and electrical clues by remodelling itself and accordingly the maximum strength and toughness are along the lines of the greatest applied stress. The challenge is to develop an orthopaedic biomaterial that imitates the micro- and nano-structural elements and compositions of bone to locally match the properties of the host tissue resulting in a biologically fixed implant. Looking for the ideal implant, the convergence of life and materials sciences occurs. Researchers in many different fields apply their expertise to improve implantable devices and regenerative medicine. Materials of all kinds, but especially hierarchical nano-materials, are being exploited. The application of nano-materials with hierarchical design to calcified tissue reconstructive medicine involve intricate systems including scaffolds with multifaceted shapes that provides temporary mechanical function; materials with nano-topography modifications that guarantee their integration to tissues and that possesses functionalized surfaces to transport biologic factors to stimulate tissue growth in a controlled, safe, and rapid manner. Furthermore materials that should degrade on a timeline coordinated to the time that takes the tissues regrow, are prepared. These implantable devices are multifunctional and for its construction they involve the use of precise strategically techniques together with specific material manufacturing processes that can be integrated to achieve in the design, the required multifunctionality. For such reasons, even though the idea of displacement from synthetic implants and tissue grafts to regenerative-medicine-based tissue reconstruction has been guaranteed for well over a decade, the reality has yet to emerge. In this paper, we examine the recent approaches to create enhanced bioactive materials. Their design and manufacturing procedures as well

  16. ANL small-sample calorimeter system design and operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roche, C.T.; Perry, R.B.; Lewis, R.N.; Jung, E.A.; Haumann, J.R.

    1978-07-01

    The Small-Sample Calorimetric System is a portable instrument designed to measure the thermal power produced by radioactive decay of plutonium-containing fuels. The small-sample calorimeter is capable of measuring samples producing power up to 32 milliwatts at a rate of one sample every 20 min. The instrument is contained in two packages: a data-acquisition module consisting of a microprocessor with an 8K-byte nonvolatile memory, and a measurement module consisting of the calorimeter and a sample preheater. The total weight of the system is 18 kg

  17. Hierarchical macroscopic fibrillar adhesives: in situ study of buckling and adhesion mechanisms on wavy substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauer, Christina T; Kroner, Elmar; Fleck, Norman A; Arzt, Eduard

    2015-10-23

    Nature uses hierarchical fibrillar structures to mediate temporary adhesion to arbitrary substrates. Such structures provide high compliance such that the flat fibril tips can be better positioned with respect to asperities of a wavy rough substrate. We investigated the buckling and adhesion of hierarchically structured adhesives in contact with flat smooth, flat rough and wavy rough substrates. A macroscopic model for the structural adhesive was fabricated by molding polydimethylsiloxane into pillars of diameter in the range of 0.3-4.8 mm, with up to three different hierarchy levels. Both flat-ended and mushroom-shaped hierarchical samples buckled at preloads one quarter that of the single level structures. We explain this behavior by a change in the buckling mode; buckling leads to a loss of contact and diminishes adhesion. Our results indicate that hierarchical structures can have a strong influence on the degree of adhesion on both flat and wavy substrates. Strategies are discussed that achieve highly compliant substrates which adhere to rough substrates.

  18. Synthesis and Visible-Light Photocatalytic Property of Bi2WO6Hierarchical Octahedron-Like Structures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Yuanyuan

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract A novel octahedron-like hierarchical structure of Bi2WO6has been fabricated by a facile hydrothermal method in high quantity. XRD, SEM, TEM, and HRTEM were used to characterize the product. The results indicated that this kind of Bi2WO6crystals had an average size of ~4 μm, constructed by quasi-square single-crystal nanosheets assembled in a special fashion. The formation of octahedron-like hierarchical structure of Bi2WO6depended crucially on the pH value of the precursor suspensions. The photocatalytic activity of the hierarchical Bi2WO6structures toward RhB degradation under visible light was investigated, and it was found to be significantly better than that of the sample fabricated by SSR. The better photocatalytic property should be strongly associated with the high specific surface area and the abundant pore structure of the hierarchical octahedron-like Bi2WO6.

  19. Hierarchically organized layout for visualization of biochemical pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsay, Jyh-Jong; Wu, Bo-Liang; Jeng, Yu-Sen

    2010-01-01

    Many complex pathways are described as hierarchical structures in which a pathway is recursively partitioned into several sub-pathways, and organized hierarchically as a tree. The hierarchical structure provides a natural way to visualize the global structure of a complex pathway. However, none of the previous research on pathway visualization explores the hierarchical structures provided by many complex pathways. In this paper, we aim to develop algorithms that can take advantages of hierarchical structures, and give layouts that explore the global structures as well as local structures of pathways. We present a new hierarchically organized layout algorithm to produce layouts for hierarchically organized pathways. Our algorithm first decomposes a complex pathway into sub-pathway groups along the hierarchical organization, and then partition each sub-pathway group into basic components. It then applies conventional layout algorithms, such as hierarchical layout and force-directed layout, to compute the layout of each basic component. Finally, component layouts are joined to form a final layout of the pathway. Our main contribution is the development of algorithms for decomposing pathways and joining layouts. Experiment shows that our algorithm is able to give comprehensible visualization for pathways with hierarchies, cycles as well as complex structures. It clearly renders the global component structures as well as the local structure in each component. In addition, it runs very fast, and gives better visualization for many examples from previous related research. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Adaptive designs for the one-sample log-rank test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Rene; Faldum, Andreas; Kwiecien, Robert

    2017-09-22

    Traditional designs in phase IIa cancer trials are single-arm designs with a binary outcome, for example, tumor response. In some settings, however, a time-to-event endpoint might appear more appropriate, particularly in the presence of loss to follow-up. Then the one-sample log-rank test might be the method of choice. It allows to compare the survival curve of the patients under treatment to a prespecified reference survival curve. The reference curve usually represents the expected survival under standard of the care. In this work, convergence of the one-sample log-rank statistic to Brownian motion is proven using Rebolledo's martingale central limit theorem while accounting for staggered entry times of the patients. On this basis, a confirmatory adaptive one-sample log-rank test is proposed where provision is made for data dependent sample size reassessment. The focus is to apply the inverse normal method. This is done in two different directions. The first strategy exploits the independent increments property of the one-sample log-rank statistic. The second strategy is based on the patient-wise separation principle. It is shown by simulation that the proposed adaptive test might help to rescue an underpowered trial and at the same time lowers the average sample number (ASN) under the null hypothesis as compared to a single-stage fixed sample design. © 2017, The International Biometric Society.

  1. Baseline Design Compliance Matrix for the Rotary Mode Core Sampling System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    LECHELT, J.A.

    2000-01-01

    The purpose of the design compliance matrix (DCM) is to provide a single-source document of all design requirements associated with the fifteen subsystems that make up the rotary mode core sampling (RMCS) system. It is intended to be the baseline requirement document for the RMCS system and to be used in governing all future design and design verification activities associated with it. This document is the DCM for the RMCS system used on Hanford single-shell radioactive waste storage tanks. This includes the Exhauster System, Rotary Mode Core Sample Trucks, Universal Sampling System, Diesel Generator System, Distribution Trailer, X-Ray Cart System, Breathing Air Compressor, Nitrogen Supply Trailer, Casks and Cask Truck, Service Trailer, Core Sampling Riser Equipment, Core Sampling Support Trucks, Foot Clamp, Ramps and Platforms and Purged Camera System. Excluded items are tools such as light plants and light stands. Other items such as the breather inlet filter are covered by a different design baseline. In this case, the inlet breather filter is covered by the Tank Farms Design Compliance Matrix

  2. Synthesis and properties of ZnFe2O4 replica with biological hierarchical structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Hongyan; Guo, Yiping; Zhang, Yangyang; Wu, Fen; Liu, Yun; Zhang, Di

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • ZFO replica with hierarchical structure was synthesized from butterfly wings. • Biotemplate has a significant impact on the properties of ZFO material. • Our method opens up new avenues for the synthesis of spinel ferrites. -- Abstract: ZnFe 2 O 4 replica with biological hierarchical structure was synthesized from Papilio paris by a sol–gel method followed by calcination. The crystallographic structure and morphology of the obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscope, and transmittance electron microscope. The results showed that the hierarchical structures were retained in the ZFO replica of spinel structure. The magnetic behavior of such novel products was measured by a vibrating sample magnetometer. A superparamagnetism-like behavior was observed due to nanostructuration size effects. In addition, the ZFO replica with “quasi-honeycomb-like structure” showed a much higher specific capacitance of 279.4 F g −1 at 10 mV s −1 in comparison with ZFO powder of 137.3 F g −1 , attributing to the significantly increased surface area. These results demonstrated that ZFO replica is a promising candidate for novel magnetic devices and supercapacitors

  3. Self-assembled biomimetic superhydrophobic hierarchical arrays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Hongta; Dou, Xuan; Fang, Yin; Jiang, Peng

    2013-09-01

    Here, we report a simple and inexpensive bottom-up technology for fabricating superhydrophobic coatings with hierarchical micro-/nano-structures, which are inspired by the binary periodic structure found on the superhydrophobic compound eyes of some insects (e.g., mosquitoes and moths). Binary colloidal arrays consisting of exemplary large (4 and 30 μm) and small (300 nm) silica spheres are first assembled by a scalable Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technology in a layer-by-layer manner. After surface modification with fluorosilanes, the self-assembled hierarchical particle arrays become superhydrophobic with an apparent water contact angle (CA) larger than 150°. The throughput of the resulting superhydrophobic coatings with hierarchical structures can be significantly improved by templating the binary periodic structures of the LB-assembled colloidal arrays into UV-curable fluoropolymers by a soft lithography approach. Superhydrophobic perfluoroether acrylate hierarchical arrays with large CAs and small CA hysteresis can be faithfully replicated onto various substrates. Both experiments and theoretical calculations based on the Cassie's dewetting model demonstrate the importance of the hierarchical structure in achieving the final superhydrophobic surface states. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Outcome-Dependent Sampling Design and Inference for Cox's Proportional Hazards Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Jichang; Liu, Yanyan; Cai, Jianwen; Sandler, Dale P; Zhou, Haibo

    2016-11-01

    We propose a cost-effective outcome-dependent sampling design for the failure time data and develop an efficient inference procedure for data collected with this design. To account for the biased sampling scheme, we derive estimators from a weighted partial likelihood estimating equation. The proposed estimators for regression parameters are shown to be consistent and asymptotically normally distributed. A criteria that can be used to optimally implement the ODS design in practice is proposed and studied. The small sample performance of the proposed method is evaluated by simulation studies. The proposed design and inference procedure is shown to be statistically more powerful than existing alternative designs with the same sample sizes. We illustrate the proposed method with an existing real data from the Cancer Incidence and Mortality of Uranium Miners Study.

  5. Applying macromolecular crowding to 3D bioprinting: fabrication of 3D hierarchical porous collagen-based hydrogel constructs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Wei Long; Goh, Min Hao; Yeong, Wai Yee; Naing, May Win

    2018-02-27

    Native tissues and/or organs possess complex hierarchical porous structures that confer highly-specific cellular functions. Despite advances in fabrication processes, it is still very challenging to emulate the hierarchical porous collagen architecture found in most native tissues. Hence, the ability to recreate such hierarchical porous structures would result in biomimetic tissue-engineered constructs. Here, a single-step drop-on-demand (DOD) bioprinting strategy is proposed to fabricate hierarchical porous collagen-based hydrogels. Printable macromolecule-based bio-inks (polyvinylpyrrolidone, PVP) have been developed and printed in a DOD manner to manipulate the porosity within the multi-layered collagen-based hydrogels by altering the collagen fibrillogenesis process. The experimental results have indicated that hierarchical porous collagen structures could be achieved by controlling the number of macromolecule-based bio-ink droplets printed on each printed collagen layer. This facile single-step bioprinting process could be useful for the structural design of collagen-based hydrogels for various tissue engineering applications.

  6. Hierarchically structured, nitrogen-doped carbon membranes

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Hong

    2017-08-03

    The present invention is a structure, method of making and method of use for a novel macroscopic hierarchically structured, nitrogen-doped, nano-porous carbon membrane (HNDCMs) with asymmetric and hierarchical pore architecture that can be produced on a large-scale approach. The unique HNDCM holds great promise as components in separation and advanced carbon devices because they could offer unconventional fluidic transport phenomena on the nanoscale. Overall, the invention set forth herein covers a hierarchically structured, nitrogen-doped carbon membranes and methods of making and using such a membranes.

  7. Hierarchical Rhetorical Sentence Categorization for Scientific Papers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rachman, G. H.; Khodra, M. L.; Widyantoro, D. H.

    2018-03-01

    Important information in scientific papers can be composed of rhetorical sentences that is structured from certain categories. To get this information, text categorization should be conducted. Actually, some works in this task have been completed by employing word frequency, semantic similarity words, hierarchical classification, and the others. Therefore, this paper aims to present the rhetorical sentence categorization from scientific paper by employing TF-IDF and Word2Vec to capture word frequency and semantic similarity words and employing hierarchical classification. Every experiment is tested in two classifiers, namely Naïve Bayes and SVM Linear. This paper shows that hierarchical classifier is better than flat classifier employing either TF-IDF or Word2Vec, although it increases only almost 2% from 27.82% when using flat classifier until 29.61% when using hierarchical classifier. It shows also different learning model for child-category can be built by hierarchical classifier.

  8. Applications of hierarchically structured porous materials from energy storage and conversion, catalysis, photocatalysis, adsorption, separation, and sensing to biomedicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Ming-Hui; Huang, Shao-Zhuan; Chen, Li-Hua; Li, Yu; Yang, Xiao-Yu; Yuan, Zhong-Yong; Su, Bao-Lian

    2016-06-13

    Over the last decade, significant effort has been devoted to the applications of hierarchically structured porous materials owing to their outstanding properties such as high surface area, excellent accessibility to active sites, and enhanced mass transport and diffusion. The hierarchy of porosity, structural, morphological and component levels in these materials is key for their high performance in all kinds of applications. The introduction of hierarchical porosity into materials has led to a significant improvement in the performance of materials. Herein, recent progress in the applications of hierarchically structured porous materials from energy conversion and storage, catalysis, photocatalysis, adsorption, separation, and sensing to biomedicine is reviewed. Their potential future applications are also highlighted. We particularly dwell on the relationship between hierarchically porous structures and properties, with examples of each type of hierarchically structured porous material according to its chemical composition and physical characteristics. The present review aims to open up a new avenue to guide the readers to quickly obtain in-depth knowledge of applications of hierarchically porous materials and to have a good idea about selecting and designing suitable hierarchically porous materials for a specific application. In addition to focusing on the applications of hierarchically porous materials, this comprehensive review could stimulate researchers to synthesize new advanced hierarchically porous solids.

  9. Expert hierarchical selection of oil and gas distribution systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frankel, E.G.

    1991-01-01

    Selection and design of oil and gas distribution systems involves a large number of decision makers and interest groups, as well as many alternative technical, financial, network, operating, management and regulatory options. Their objectives and measures of performance are different. Decision models can be effectively represented by hierarchical structures. A simple deterministic analytic hierarchy process is presented with application to oil and gas distribution systems

  10. Hierarchical Targeting Strategy for Enhanced Tumor Tissue Accumulation/Retention and Cellular Internalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Sheng; Huang, Peng; Chen, Xiaoyuan

    2016-09-01

    Targeted delivery of therapeutic agents is an important way to improve the therapeutic index and reduce side effects. To design nanoparticles for targeted delivery, both enhanced tumor tissue accumulation/retention and enhanced cellular internalization should be considered simultaneously. So far, there have been very few nanoparticles with immutable structures that can achieve this goal efficiently. Hierarchical targeting, a novel targeting strategy based on stimuli responsiveness, shows good potential to enhance both tumor tissue accumulation/retention and cellular internalization. Here, the recent design and development of hierarchical targeting nanoplatforms, based on changeable particle sizes, switchable surface charges and activatable surface ligands, will be introduced. In general, the targeting moieties in these nanoplatforms are not activated during blood circulation for efficient tumor tissue accumulation, but re-activated by certain internal or external stimuli in the tumor microenvironment for enhanced cellular internalization. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. A top-down approach for the prediction of hardness and toughness of hierarchical materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carpinteri, Alberto; Paggi, Marco

    2009-01-01

    Many natural and man-made materials exhibit structure over more than one length scale. In this paper, we deal with hierarchical grained composite materials that have recently been designed to achieve superior hardness and toughness as compared to their traditional counterparts. Their nested structure, where meso-grains are recursively composed of smaller and smaller micro-grains at the different scales with a fractal-like topology, is herein studied from a hierarchical perspective. Considering a top-down approach, i.e. from the largest to the smallest scale, we propose a recursive micromechanical model coupled with a generalized fractal mixture rule for the prediction of hardness and toughness of a grained material with n hierarchical levels. A relationship between hardness and toughness is also derived and the analytical predictions are compared with experimental data.

  12. Hierarchical capitalism in Latin America: Comparative analysis with other economies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edgar J. Saucedo A.

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the three largest economies in Latin America (Brazil, Mexico and Argentina with other economies that have another type of capitalism, in that way we can extract some effects of the hierarchical capitalism in Latin America Design/methodology/approach – The data were taken from World Economic Outlook (IMF, The Global Innovation Index (INSEADand the Democracy Index (The Economist. The selected countries are: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, Spain and Croatia. We establish a comparison among countries in the following dimensions: economic growth, innovation and democracy. Findings – The comparison shows that Argentina, Brazil and Mexico have lower level of economic growth, innovation performance and democracy level than South Korea, Spain and Croatia. The variety of capitalism in Latin America (hierarchical has lower performance than others kinds of capitalism in other regions of the world. Research limitations/implications – We have compared Latin American countries with countries from other regions of the world. However, a comparison may include more countries and results could vary. Originality/value – The results tend to support the idea that hierarchical capitalism has poor results in comparison with other varieties of capitalism.

  13. Co3O4 based non-enzymatic glucose sensor with high sensitivity and reliable stability derived from hollow hierarchical architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Liangliang; He, Gege; Cai, Yanhua; Wu, Shenping; Su, Yongyao; Yan, Hengqing; Yang, Cong; Chen, Yanling; Li, Lu

    2018-02-01

    Inspired by kinetics, the design of hollow hierarchical electrocatalysts through large-scale integration of building blocks is recognized as an effective approach to the achievement of superior electrocatalytic performance. In this work, a hollow, hierarchical Co3O4 architecture (Co3O4 HHA) was constructed using a coordinated etching and precipitation (CEP) method followed by calcination. The resulting Co3O4 HHA electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity in terms of high sensitivity (839.3 μA mM-1 cm-2) and reliable stability in glucose detection. The high sensitivity could be attributed to the large specific surface area (SSA), ample unimpeded penetration diffusion paths and high electron transfer rate originating from the unique two-dimensional (2D) sheet-like character and hollow porous architecture. The hollow hierarchical structure also affords sufficient interspace for accommodation of volume change and structural strain, resulting in enhanced stability. The results indicate that Co3O4 HHA could have potential for application in the design of non-enzymatic glucose sensors, and that the construction of hollow hierarchical architecture provides an efficient way to design highly active, stable electrocatalysts.

  14. A Frequency Domain Design Method For Sampled-Data Compensators

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Niemann, Hans Henrik; Jannerup, Ole Erik

    1990-01-01

    A new approach to the design of a sampled-data compensator in the frequency domain is investigated. The starting point is a continuous-time compensator for the continuous-time system which satisfy specific design criteria. The new design method will graphically show how the discrete...

  15. Hierarchical zeolites from class F coal fly ash

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chitta, Pallavi

    Fly ash, a coal combustion byproduct is classified as types class C and class F. Class C fly ash is traditionally recycled for concrete applications and Class F fly ash often disposed in landfills. Class F poses an environmental hazard due to disposal and leaching of heavy metals into ground water and is important to be recycled in order to mitigate the environmental challenges. A major recycling option is to reuse the fly ash as a low-cost raw material for the production of crystalline zeolites, which serve as catalysts, detergents and adsorbents in the chemical industry. Most of the prior literature of fly ash conversion to zeolites does not focus on creating high zeolite surface area zeolites specifically with hierarchical pore structure, which are very important properties in developing a heterogeneous catalyst for catalysis applications. This research work aids in the development of an economical process for the synthesis of high surface area hierarchical zeolites from class F coal fly ash. In this work, synthesis of zeolites from fly ash using classic hydrothermal treatment approach and fusion pretreatment approach were examined. The fusion pretreatment method led to higher extent of dissolution of silica from quartz and mullite phases, which in turn led to higher surface area and pore size of the zeolite. A qualitative kinetic model developed here attributes the difference in silica content to Si/Al ratio of the beginning fraction of fly ash. At near ambient crystallization temperatures and longer crystallization times, the zeolite formed is a hierarchical faujasite with high surface area of at least 360 m2/g. This work enables the large scale recycling of class F coal fly ash to produce zeolites and mitigate environmental concerns. Design of experiments was used to predict surface area and pore sizes of zeolites - thus obviating the need for intense experimentation. The hierarchical zeolite catalyst supports tested for CO2 conversion, yielded hydrocarbons

  16. Hierarchically structured transparent hybrid membranes by in situ growth of mesostructured organosilica in host polymer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vallé, Karine; Belleville, Philippe; Pereira, Franck; Sanchez, Clément

    2006-02-01

    The elaborate performances characterizing natural materials result from functional hierarchical constructions at scales ranging from nanometres to millimetres, each construction allowing the material to fit the physical or chemical demands occurring at these different levels. Hierarchically structured materials start to demonstrate a high input in numerous promising applied domains such as sensors, catalysis, optics, fuel cells, smart biologic and cosmetic vectors. In particular, hierarchical hybrid materials permit the accommodation of a maximum of elementary functions in a small volume, thereby optimizing complementary possibilities and properties between inorganic and organic components. The reported strategies combine sol-gel chemistry, self-assembly routes using templates that tune the material's architecture and texture with the use of larger inorganic, organic or biological templates such as latex, organogelator-derived fibres, nanolithographic techniques or controlled phase separation. We propose an approach to forming transparent hierarchical hybrid functionalized membranes using in situ generation of mesostructured hybrid phases inside a non-porogenic hydrophobic polymeric host matrix. We demonstrate that the control of the multiple affinities existing between organic and inorganic components allows us to design the length-scale partitioning of hybrid nanomaterials with tuned functionalities and desirable size organization from ångström to centimetre. After functionalization of the mesoporous hybrid silica component, the resulting membranes have good ionic conductivity offering interesting perspectives for the design of solid electrolytes, fuel cells and other ion-transport microdevices.

  17. Zeolitic materials with hierarchical porous structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopez-Orozco, Sofia; Inayat, Amer; Schwab, Andreas; Selvam, Thangaraj; Schwieger, Wilhelm

    2011-06-17

    During the past several years, different kinds of hierarchical structured zeolitic materials have been synthesized due to their highly attractive properties, such as superior mass/heat transfer characteristics, lower restriction of the diffusion of reactants in the mesopores, and low pressure drop. Our contribution provides general information regarding types and preparation methods of hierarchical zeolitic materials and their relative advantages and disadvantages. Thereafter, recent advances in the preparation and characterization of hierarchical zeolitic structures within the crystallites by post-synthetic treatment methods, such as dealumination or desilication; and structured devices by in situ and ex situ zeolite coatings on open-cellular ceramic foams as (non-reactive as well as reactive) supports are highlighted. Specific advantages of using hierarchical zeolitic catalysts/structures in selected catalytic reactions, such as benzene to phenol (BTOP) and methanol to olefins (MTO) are presented. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Processing of hierarchical syntactic structure in music.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koelsch, Stefan; Rohrmeier, Martin; Torrecuso, Renzo; Jentschke, Sebastian

    2013-09-17

    Hierarchical structure with nested nonlocal dependencies is a key feature of human language and can be identified theoretically in most pieces of tonal music. However, previous studies have argued against the perception of such structures in music. Here, we show processing of nonlocal dependencies in music. We presented chorales by J. S. Bach and modified versions in which the hierarchical structure was rendered irregular whereas the local structure was kept intact. Brain electric responses differed between regular and irregular hierarchical structures, in both musicians and nonmusicians. This finding indicates that, when listening to music, humans apply cognitive processes that are capable of dealing with long-distance dependencies resulting from hierarchically organized syntactic structures. Our results reveal that a brain mechanism fundamental for syntactic processing is engaged during the perception of music, indicating that processing of hierarchical structure with nested nonlocal dependencies is not just a key component of human language, but a multidomain capacity of human cognition.

  19. Enhancing sampling design in mist-net bat surveys by accounting for sample size optimization

    OpenAIRE

    Trevelin, Leonardo Carreira; Novaes, Roberto Leonan Morim; Colas-Rosas, Paul François; Benathar, Thayse Cristhina Melo; Peres, Carlos A.

    2017-01-01

    The advantages of mist-netting, the main technique used in Neotropical bat community studies to date, include logistical implementation, standardization and sampling representativeness. Nonetheless, study designs still have to deal with issues of detectability related to how different species behave and use the environment. Yet there is considerable sampling heterogeneity across available studies in the literature. Here, we approach the problem of sample size optimization. We evaluated the co...

  20. Hierarchical Nanoceramics for Industrial Process Sensors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ruud, James, A.; Brosnan, Kristen, H.; Striker, Todd; Ramaswamy, Vidya; Aceto, Steven, C.; Gao, Yan; Willson, Patrick, D.; Manoharan, Mohan; Armstrong, Eric, N., Wachsman, Eric, D.; Kao, Chi-Chang

    2011-07-15

    This project developed a robust, tunable, hierarchical nanoceramics materials platform for industrial process sensors in harsh-environments. Control of material structure at multiple length scales from nano to macro increased the sensing response of the materials to combustion gases. These materials operated at relatively high temperatures, enabling detection close to the source of combustion. It is anticipated that these materials can form the basis for a new class of sensors enabling widespread use of efficient combustion processes with closed loop feedback control in the energy-intensive industries. The first phase of the project focused on materials selection and process development, leading to hierarchical nanoceramics that were evaluated for sensing performance. The second phase focused on optimizing the materials processes and microstructures, followed by validation of performance of a prototype sensor in a laboratory combustion environment. The objectives of this project were achieved by: (1) synthesizing and optimizing hierarchical nanostructures; (2) synthesizing and optimizing sensing nanomaterials; (3) integrating sensing functionality into hierarchical nanostructures; (4) demonstrating material performance in a sensing element; and (5) validating material performance in a simulated service environment. The project developed hierarchical nanoceramic electrodes for mixed potential zirconia gas sensors with increased surface area and demonstrated tailored electrocatalytic activity operable at high temperatures enabling detection of products of combustion such as NOx close to the source of combustion. Methods were developed for synthesis of hierarchical nanostructures with high, stable surface area, integrated catalytic functionality within the structures for gas sensing, and demonstrated materials performance in harsh lab and combustion gas environments.

  1. Hierarchical control of a photovoltaic/battery based DC microgrid including electric vehicle wireless charging station

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xiao, Zhao xia; Fan, Haodong; Guerrero, Josep M.

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, the hierarchical control strategy of a photovoltaic/battery based dc microgrid is presented for electric vehicle (EV) wireless charging. Considering irradiance variations, battery charging/discharging requirements, wireless power transmission characteristics, and onboard battery...... coils, receiving coils and compensation capacitors, the wireless power transmission system is designed to be resonant when it is operating at the rated power, with the aim to achieve the optimum transmission system efficiency. Simulation and experimental results of the hierarchical control...... charging power change and other factors, the possible operation states are obtained. A hierarchical control strategy is established, which includes central and local controllers. The central controller is responsible for the selection and transfer of operation states and the management of the local...

  2. The Case for a Hierarchical Cosmology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaucouleurs, G. de

    1970-01-01

    The development of modern theoretical cosmology is presented and some questionable assumptions of orthodox cosmology are pointed out. Suggests that recent observations indicate that hierarchical clustering is a basic factor in cosmology. The implications of hierarchical models of the universe are considered. Bibliography. (LC)

  3. Classification using Hierarchical Naive Bayes models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Langseth, Helge; Dyhre Nielsen, Thomas

    2006-01-01

    Classification problems have a long history in the machine learning literature. One of the simplest, and yet most consistently well-performing set of classifiers is the Naïve Bayes models. However, an inherent problem with these classifiers is the assumption that all attributes used to describe......, termed Hierarchical Naïve Bayes models. Hierarchical Naïve Bayes models extend the modeling flexibility of Naïve Bayes models by introducing latent variables to relax some of the independence statements in these models. We propose a simple algorithm for learning Hierarchical Naïve Bayes models...

  4. Automated reasoning applications to design analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stratton, R.C.

    1984-01-01

    Given the necessary relationships and definitions of design functions and components, validation of system incarnation (the physical product of design) and sneak function analysis can be achieved via automated reasoners. The relationships and definitions must define the design specification and incarnation functionally. For the design specification, the hierarchical functional representation is based on physics and engineering principles and bounded by design objectives and constraints. The relationships and definitions of the design incarnation are manifested as element functional definitions, state relationship to functions, functional relationship to direction, element connectivity, and functional hierarchical configuration

  5. Estimates and sampling schemes for the instrumentation of accountability systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jewell, W.S.; Kwiatkowski, J.W.

    1976-10-01

    The problem of estimation of a physical quantity from a set of measurements is considered, where the measurements are made on samples with a hierarchical error structure, and where within-groups error variances may vary from group to group at each level of the structure; minimum mean squared-error estimators are developed, and the case where the physical quantity is a random variable with known prior mean and variance is included. Estimators for the error variances are also given, and optimization of experimental design is considered

  6. Improved Adhesion and Compliancy of Hierarchical Fibrillar Adhesives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yasong; Gates, Byron D; Menon, Carlo

    2015-08-05

    The gecko relies on van der Waals forces to cling onto surfaces with a variety of topography and composition. The hierarchical fibrillar structures on their climbing feet, ranging from mesoscale to nanoscale, are hypothesized to be key elements for the animal to conquer both smooth and rough surfaces. An epoxy-based artificial hierarchical fibrillar adhesive was prepared to study the influence of the hierarchical structures on the properties of a dry adhesive. The presented experiments highlight the advantages of a hierarchical structure despite a reduction of overall density and aspect ratio of nanofibrils. In contrast to an adhesive containing only nanometer-size fibrils, the hierarchical fibrillar adhesives exhibited a higher adhesion force and better compliancy when tested on an identical substrate.

  7. Delineating the structure of normal and abnormal personality: an integrative hierarchical approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markon, Kristian E; Krueger, Robert F; Watson, David

    2005-01-01

    Increasing evidence indicates that normal and abnormal personality can be treated within a single structural framework. However, identification of a single integrated structure of normal and abnormal personality has remained elusive. Here, a constructive replication approach was used to delineate an integrative hierarchical account of the structure of normal and abnormal personality. This hierarchical structure, which integrates many Big Trait models proposed in the literature, replicated across a meta-analysis as well as an empirical study, and across samples of participants as well as measures. The proposed structure resembles previously suggested accounts of personality hierarchy and provides insight into the nature of personality hierarchy more generally. Potential directions for future research on personality and psychopathology are discussed.

  8. Delineating the Structure of Normal and Abnormal Personality: An Integrative Hierarchical Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markon, Kristian E.; Krueger, Robert F.; Watson, David

    2008-01-01

    Increasing evidence indicates that normal and abnormal personality can be treated within a single structural framework. However, identification of a single integrated structure of normal and abnormal personality has remained elusive. Here, a constructive replication approach was used to delineate an integrative hierarchical account of the structure of normal and abnormal personality. This hierarchical structure, which integrates many Big Trait models proposed in the literature, replicated across a meta-analysis as well as an empirical study, and across samples of participants as well as measures. The proposed structure resembles previously suggested accounts of personality hierarchy and provides insight into the nature of personality hierarchy more generally. Potential directions for future research on personality and psychopathology are discussed. PMID:15631580

  9. Sample design considerations of indoor air exposure surveys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cox, B.G.; Mage, D.T.; Immerman, F.W.

    1988-01-01

    Concern about the potential for indoor air pollution has prompted recent surveys of radon and NO 2 concentrations in homes and personal exposure studies of volatile organics, carbon monoxide and pesticides, to name a few. The statistical problems in designing sample surveys that measure the physical environment are diverse and more complicated than those encountered in traditional surveys of human attitudes and attributes. This paper addresses issues encountered when designing indoor air quality (IAQ) studies. General statistical concepts related to target population definition, frame creation, and sample selection for area household surveys and telephone surveys are presented. The implications of different measurement approaches are discussed, and response rate considerations are described

  10. Hierarchical CuO hollow microspheres: Controlled synthesis for enhanced lithium storage performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guan Xiangfeng; Li Liping; Li Guangshe; Fu Zhengwei; Zheng Jing; Yan Tingjiang

    2011-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Hierarchical CuO microspheres with hollow interiors were formed through self-wrapping of a single layer of radically oriented CuO nanorods, and these microspheres showed excellent cycle performance and enhanced lithium storage capacity. Display Omitted Research highlights: → Hierarchical CuO hollow microspheres were prepared by a hydrothermal method. → The CuO hollow microspheres were assembled from radically oriented nanorods. → The growth mechanism was proposed to proceed via self-assembly and Ostwald's ripening. → The microspheres showed good cycle performance and enhanced lithium storage capacity. → Hierarchical microstructures with hollow interiors promote electrochemical property. - Abstract: In this work, hierarchical CuO hollow microspheres were hydrothermally prepared without use of any surfactants or templates. By controlling the formation reaction conditions and monitoring the relevant reaction processes using time-dependent experiments, it is demonstrated that hierarchical CuO microspheres with hollow interiors were formed through self-wrapping of a single layer of radically oriented CuO nanorods, and that hierarchical spheres could be tuned to show different morphologies and microstructures. As a consequence, the formation mechanism was proposed to proceed via a combined process of self-assembly and Ostwald's ripening. Further, these hollow microspheres were initiated as the anode material in lithium ion batteries, which showed excellent cycle performance and enhanced lithium storage capacity, most likely because of the synergetic effect of small diffusion lengths in building blocks of nanorods and proper void space that buffers the volume expansion. The strategy reported in this work is reproducible, which may help to significantly improve the electrochemical performance of transition metal oxide-based anode materials via designing the hollow structures necessary for developing lithium ion batteries and the relevant

  11. Electrodeposition of hierarchical ZnO nanorod arrays on flexible stainless steel mesh for dye-sensitized solar cell

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lu, Hui; Zhai, Xiangyang; Liu, Wenwu; Zhang, Mei; Guo, Min, E-mail: guomin@ustb.edu.cn

    2015-07-01

    Hierarchical ZnO nanorod arrays (ZNRAs) were synthesized on flexible stainless steel mesh (SSM) in large scale by a two-step facile electrodeposition method. The structure and morphology of the as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The growth mechanism of the ZnO hierarchical nanostructures was also discussed. Moreover, the effect of ZnO morphology on the photovoltaic performance of the flexible DSSCs based on SSM supported ZnO nanostructures was investigated in detail. It is shown that the flexible DSSCs exhibited a relatively higher power conversion efficiency of 1.11% compared with that based on primary ZNRAs. - Highlights: • Hierarchical ZnO nanorod arrays (ZNRAs) were prepared by electrodeposition method. • Flexible stainless steel mesh (SSM) supported with hierarchical ZNRAs was first used for DSSCs. • The effect of ZnO morphology on the photovoltaic performance of flexible DSSCs was investigated. • The DSSC based on 3-Hierarchical ZNRAs/ZNPs showed a relatively efficiency of 1.11%.

  12. Microfabrication of hierarchical structures for engineered mechanical materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vera Canudas, Marc

    Materials found in nature present, in some cases, unique properties from their constituents that are of great interest in engineered materials for applications ranging from structural materials for the construction of bridges, canals and buildings to the fabrication of new lightweight composites for airplane and automotive bodies, to protective thin film coatings, amongst other fields. Research in the growing field of biomimetic materials indicates that the micro-architectures present in natural materials are critical to their macroscopic mechanical properties. A better understanding of the effect that structure and hierarchy across scales have on the material properties will enable engineered materials with enhanced properties. At the moment, very few theoretical models predict mechanical properties of simple materials based on their microstructures. Moreover these models are based on observations from complex biological systems. One way to overcome this challenge is through the use of microfabrication techniques to design and fabricate simple materials, more appropriate for the study of hierarchical organizations and microstructured materials. Arrays of structures with controlled geometry and dimension can be designed and fabricated at different length scales, ranging from a few hundred nanometers to centimeters, in order to mimic similar systems found in nature. In this thesis, materials have been fabricated in order to gain fundamental insight into the complex hierarchical materials found in nature and to engineer novel materials with enhanced mechanical properties. The materials fabricated here were mechanically characterized and compared to simple mechanics models to describe their behavior with the goal of applying the knowledge acquired to the design and synthesis of future engineered materials with novel properties.

  13. Hierarchical Kinematic Modelling and Optimal Design of a Novel Hexapod Robot with Integrated Limb Mechanism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guiyang Xin

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a novel hexapod robot, hereafter named PH-Robot, with three degrees of freedom (3-DOF parallel leg mechanisms based on the concept of an integrated limb mechanism (ILM for the integration of legged locomotion and arm manipulation. The kinematic model plays an important role in the parametric optimal design and motion planning of robots. However, models of parallel mechanisms are often difficult to obtain because of the implicit relationship between the motions of actuated joints and the motion of a moving platform. In order to derive the kinematic equations of the proposed hexapod robot, an extended hierarchical kinematic modelling method is proposed. According to the kinematic model, the geometrical parameters of the leg are optimized utilizing a comprehensive objective function that considers both dexterity and payload. PH-Robot has distinct advantages in accuracy and load ability over a robot with serial leg mechanisms through the former's comparison of performance indices. The reachable workspace of the leg verifies its ability to walk and manipulate. The results of the trajectory tracking experiment demonstrate the correctness of the kinematic model of the hexapod robot.

  14. Packaging Glass with a Hierarchically Nanostructured Surface: A Universal Method to Achieve Self-Cleaning Omnidirectional Solar Cells

    KAUST Repository

    Lin, Chin An

    2015-12-01

    Fused-silica packaging glass fabricated with a hierarchical structure by integrating small (ultrathin nanorods) and large (honeycomb nanowalls) structures was demonstrated with exceptional light-harvesting solar performance, which is attributed to the subwavelength feature of the nanorods and an efficient scattering ability of the honeycomb nanowalls. Si solar cells covered with the hierarchically structured packaging glass exhibit enhanced conversion efficiency by 5.2% at normal incidence, and the enhancement went up to 46% at the incident angle of 60°. The hierarchical structured packaging glass shows excellent self-cleaning characteristics: 98.8% of the efficiency is maintained after 6 weeks of outdoor exposure, indicating that the nanostructured surface effectively repels polluting dust/particles. The presented self-cleaning omnidirectional light-harvesting design using the hierarchical structured packaging glass is a potential universal scheme for practical solar applications.

  15. Hierarchically structured identification and classification method for vibrational monitoring of reactor components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saedtler, E.

    1981-01-01

    The dissertation discusses: 1. Approximative filter algorithms for identification of systems and hierarchical structures. 2. Adaptive statistical pattern recognition and classification. 3. Parameter selection, extraction, and modelling for an automatic control system. 4. Design of a decision tree and an adaptive diagnostic system. (orig./RW) [de

  16. Estimating HIES Data through Ratio and Regression Methods for Different Sampling Designs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Faqir Muhammad

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available In this study, comparison has been made for different sampling designs, using the HIES data of North West Frontier Province (NWFP for 2001-02 and 1998-99 collected from the Federal Bureau of Statistics, Statistical Division, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad. The performance of the estimators has also been considered using bootstrap and Jacknife. A two-stage stratified random sample design is adopted by HIES. In the first stage, enumeration blocks and villages are treated as the first stage Primary Sampling Units (PSU. The sample PSU’s are selected with probability proportional to size. Secondary Sampling Units (SSU i.e., households are selected by systematic sampling with a random start. They have used a single study variable. We have compared the HIES technique with some other designs, which are: Stratified Simple Random Sampling. Stratified Systematic Sampling. Stratified Ranked Set Sampling. Stratified Two Phase Sampling. Ratio and Regression methods were applied with two study variables, which are: Income (y and Household sizes (x. Jacknife and Bootstrap are used for variance replication. Simple Random Sampling with sample size (462 to 561 gave moderate variances both by Jacknife and Bootstrap. By applying Systematic Sampling, we received moderate variance with sample size (467. In Jacknife with Systematic Sampling, we obtained variance of regression estimator greater than that of ratio estimator for a sample size (467 to 631. At a sample size (952 variance of ratio estimator gets greater than that of regression estimator. The most efficient design comes out to be Ranked set sampling compared with other designs. The Ranked set sampling with jackknife and bootstrap, gives minimum variance even with the smallest sample size (467. Two Phase sampling gave poor performance. Multi-stage sampling applied by HIES gave large variances especially if used with a single study variable.

  17. Determinants of falls in community-dwelling elderly: hierarchical analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brito, Thais Alves; Coqueiro, Raildo da Silva; Fernandes, Marcos Henrique; de Jesus, Cleber Souza

    2014-01-01

    To analyze the fall-related factors in community-dwelling elderly. Epidemiologic cross-sectional population-based household study with hierarchical interrelationships among the potential risk factors. The sample was made up of noninstitutionalized individuals over age 60, who were resident of a city in Brazil's Northeast Region. The dependent variable was fall occurrence in the last 12 months; independent variables were sociodemographic, behavioral, health, and functional status factors. Multivariate hierarchical Poisson regression analysis was used based on a proposed theoretic model. Three hundred and sixteen (89.0%) elderly participated of the survey, average age 74.2 years; the majority was female, with limited literacy and had low-medium family income. The fall prevalence was of 25.8%; occurrence was related to depression symptoms (PR = 1.55) and balance limitation (PR = 1.56). The high fall prevalence among elderly necessitates the identification of fall-related factors for action planning prevention programs with this group. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  18. Creel survey sampling designs for estimating effort in short-duration Chinook salmon fisheries

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCormick, Joshua L.; Quist, Michael C.; Schill, Daniel J.

    2013-01-01

    Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha sport fisheries in the Columbia River basin are commonly monitored using roving creel survey designs and require precise, unbiased catch estimates. The objective of this study was to examine the relative bias and precision of total catch estimates using various sampling designs to estimate angling effort under the assumption that mean catch rate was known. We obtained information on angling populations based on direct visual observations of portions of Chinook Salmon fisheries in three Idaho river systems over a 23-d period. Based on the angling population, Monte Carlo simulations were used to evaluate the properties of effort and catch estimates for each sampling design. All sampling designs evaluated were relatively unbiased. Systematic random sampling (SYS) resulted in the most precise estimates. The SYS and simple random sampling designs had mean square error (MSE) estimates that were generally half of those observed with cluster sampling designs. The SYS design was more efficient (i.e., higher accuracy per unit cost) than a two-cluster design. Increasing the number of clusters available for sampling within a day decreased the MSE of estimates of daily angling effort, but the MSE of total catch estimates was variable depending on the fishery. The results of our simulations provide guidelines on the relative influence of sample sizes and sampling designs on parameters of interest in short-duration Chinook Salmon fisheries.

  19. Design and synthesis of three-dimensional hierarchical ordered porous carbons for supercapacitors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Qinglan; Wang, Xianyou; Liu, Jing; Wang, Hao; Zhang, Youwei; Gao, Jiao; Lu, Qun; Zhou, Heye

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The 3D HOPCs are prepared by a facile templating method. • The pore structure of the 3D HOPCs can be effectively controllable. • The 3D HOPCs show exellent supercapacitive performances. • The high specific capacitance of 247 F g −1 is achieved. - Abstract: Three-dimensional hierarchical ordered porous carbons (3D HOPCs) have been successfully prepared through templating method using silica sphere nano-array as a hard template, triblock copolymer P123 as a soft template and sucrose as a carbon source, and used as the electrode materials for supercapacitors. The structure, morphology and physicochemical properties of the as-prepared 3D HOPCs are characterized by nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherm, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge–discharge (GCD) tests, and cycle life measurements. The results show that the 3D HOPCs possess well-interconnected 3D hierarchical ordered porous structure. Especially, the 3D HOPC-80, of which the pore size is 4.01 nm, shows the specific surface area of 1182 m 2 g −1 and a specific capacitance of 247 F g −1 at the current density of 1 A g −1 . Besides, the supercapacitors based on 3D HOPCs exhibit excellent rate performance, high energy densities of 7.5 W h kg −1 and 5.8 W h kg −1 at the power densities of 500 W kg −1 and 10000 W kg −1 , respectively. Moreover, the supercapacitors using 3D HOPCs as electrode materials hold high capacitance retentions over 91% even after 10000 cycles

  20. Sampling designs matching species biology produce accurate and affordable abundance indices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grant Harris

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Wildlife biologists often use grid-based designs to sample animals and generate abundance estimates. Although sampling in grids is theoretically sound, in application, the method can be logistically difficult and expensive when sampling elusive species inhabiting extensive areas. These factors make it challenging to sample animals and meet the statistical assumption of all individuals having an equal probability of capture. Violating this assumption biases results. Does an alternative exist? Perhaps by sampling only where resources attract animals (i.e., targeted sampling, it would provide accurate abundance estimates more efficiently and affordably. However, biases from this approach would also arise if individuals have an unequal probability of capture, especially if some failed to visit the sampling area. Since most biological programs are resource limited, and acquiring abundance data drives many conservation and management applications, it becomes imperative to identify economical and informative sampling designs. Therefore, we evaluated abundance estimates generated from grid and targeted sampling designs using simulations based on geographic positioning system (GPS data from 42 Alaskan brown bears (Ursus arctos. Migratory salmon drew brown bears from the wider landscape, concentrating them at anadromous streams. This provided a scenario for testing the targeted approach. Grid and targeted sampling varied by trap amount, location (traps placed randomly, systematically or by expert opinion, and traps stationary or moved between capture sessions. We began by identifying when to sample, and if bears had equal probability of capture. We compared abundance estimates against seven criteria: bias, precision, accuracy, effort, plus encounter rates, and probabilities of capture and recapture. One grid (49 km2 cells and one targeted configuration provided the most accurate results. Both placed traps by expert opinion and moved traps between capture

  1. Sampling designs matching species biology produce accurate and affordable abundance indices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Grant; Farley, Sean; Russell, Gareth J; Butler, Matthew J; Selinger, Jeff

    2013-01-01

    Wildlife biologists often use grid-based designs to sample animals and generate abundance estimates. Although sampling in grids is theoretically sound, in application, the method can be logistically difficult and expensive when sampling elusive species inhabiting extensive areas. These factors make it challenging to sample animals and meet the statistical assumption of all individuals having an equal probability of capture. Violating this assumption biases results. Does an alternative exist? Perhaps by sampling only where resources attract animals (i.e., targeted sampling), it would provide accurate abundance estimates more efficiently and affordably. However, biases from this approach would also arise if individuals have an unequal probability of capture, especially if some failed to visit the sampling area. Since most biological programs are resource limited, and acquiring abundance data drives many conservation and management applications, it becomes imperative to identify economical and informative sampling designs. Therefore, we evaluated abundance estimates generated from grid and targeted sampling designs using simulations based on geographic positioning system (GPS) data from 42 Alaskan brown bears (Ursus arctos). Migratory salmon drew brown bears from the wider landscape, concentrating them at anadromous streams. This provided a scenario for testing the targeted approach. Grid and targeted sampling varied by trap amount, location (traps placed randomly, systematically or by expert opinion), and traps stationary or moved between capture sessions. We began by identifying when to sample, and if bears had equal probability of capture. We compared abundance estimates against seven criteria: bias, precision, accuracy, effort, plus encounter rates, and probabilities of capture and recapture. One grid (49 km(2) cells) and one targeted configuration provided the most accurate results. Both placed traps by expert opinion and moved traps between capture sessions

  2. Sampling designs matching species biology produce accurate and affordable abundance indices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farley, Sean; Russell, Gareth J.; Butler, Matthew J.; Selinger, Jeff

    2013-01-01

    Wildlife biologists often use grid-based designs to sample animals and generate abundance estimates. Although sampling in grids is theoretically sound, in application, the method can be logistically difficult and expensive when sampling elusive species inhabiting extensive areas. These factors make it challenging to sample animals and meet the statistical assumption of all individuals having an equal probability of capture. Violating this assumption biases results. Does an alternative exist? Perhaps by sampling only where resources attract animals (i.e., targeted sampling), it would provide accurate abundance estimates more efficiently and affordably. However, biases from this approach would also arise if individuals have an unequal probability of capture, especially if some failed to visit the sampling area. Since most biological programs are resource limited, and acquiring abundance data drives many conservation and management applications, it becomes imperative to identify economical and informative sampling designs. Therefore, we evaluated abundance estimates generated from grid and targeted sampling designs using simulations based on geographic positioning system (GPS) data from 42 Alaskan brown bears (Ursus arctos). Migratory salmon drew brown bears from the wider landscape, concentrating them at anadromous streams. This provided a scenario for testing the targeted approach. Grid and targeted sampling varied by trap amount, location (traps placed randomly, systematically or by expert opinion), and traps stationary or moved between capture sessions. We began by identifying when to sample, and if bears had equal probability of capture. We compared abundance estimates against seven criteria: bias, precision, accuracy, effort, plus encounter rates, and probabilities of capture and recapture. One grid (49 km2 cells) and one targeted configuration provided the most accurate results. Both placed traps by expert opinion and moved traps between capture sessions, which

  3. Lagoa Real design. Description and evaluation of sampling system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hashizume, B.K.

    1982-10-01

    This report describes the samples preparation system of drilling from Lagoa Real Design, aiming obtainment representative fraction of the half from drilling outlier. The error of sampling + analysis and analytical accuracy was obtainment by delayed neutron analysis. (author)

  4. Effects of different hierarchical hybrid micro/nanostructure surfaces on implant osseointegration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Bingkun; Niu, Qiang; Cui, Yajun; Jiang, Wei; Zhao, Yunzhuan; Kong, Liang

    2017-06-01

    Hierarchical hybrid micro/nanostructure implant surfaces are considered to better mimic the hierarchical structure of bone and the nanostructures substantively influence osseointegration through managing cell behaviors. To enhance implant osseointegration for further clinical application, we evaluated the material properties and osseointegration effects of hierarchical surfaces with different nano-morphologies, using a rat model. Two representative surface fabrication methods, hydrofluoric (HF) acid etching combined with anodization (HF + AN) or magnetron sputtering (HF + MS), were selected. Sample material properties were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, and epoxy resin docking tensile test. Implants with different surfaces were inserted into the distal femurs of rats. After 12 weeks, osseointegration was examined by microcomputed tomography (micro-CT), histological, and biomechanical tests. Tensile testing demonstrated high bonding strength at coating/implant in the HF + MS group. Micro-CT revealed increased bone volume/total volume and significantly reduced trabecular separation in HF + MS versus other groups. Histological analysis showed significantly higher HF + MS bone-to-implant contact (74.78 ± 4.40%) versus HF + AN (65.11 ± 5.10%) and machined samples (56.03 ± 3.23%). The maximal HF + MS pull-out force increased by 33.7% versus HF + AN. These results indicated that HF + MS surfaces exhibited superior material property in terms of bonding strength and favorable implant osseointegration compared to other groups. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Statistical modelling of railway track geometry degradation using Hierarchical Bayesian models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andrade, A.R.; Teixeira, P.F.

    2015-01-01

    Railway maintenance planners require a predictive model that can assess the railway track geometry degradation. The present paper uses a Hierarchical Bayesian model as a tool to model the main two quality indicators related to railway track geometry degradation: the standard deviation of longitudinal level defects and the standard deviation of horizontal alignment defects. Hierarchical Bayesian Models (HBM) are flexible statistical models that allow specifying different spatially correlated components between consecutive track sections, namely for the deterioration rates and the initial qualities parameters. HBM are developed for both quality indicators, conducting an extensive comparison between candidate models and a sensitivity analysis on prior distributions. HBM is applied to provide an overall assessment of the degradation of railway track geometry, for the main Portuguese railway line Lisbon–Oporto. - Highlights: • Rail track geometry degradation is analysed using Hierarchical Bayesian models. • A Gibbs sampling strategy is put forward to estimate the HBM. • Model comparison and sensitivity analysis find the most suitable model. • We applied the most suitable model to all the segments of the main Portuguese line. • Tackling spatial correlations using CAR structures lead to a better model fit

  6. Preparation of hierarchical porous Zn-salt particles and their superhydrophobic performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gao, Dahai; Jia, Mengqiu, E-mail: jiamq@mail.buct.edu.cn

    2015-12-30

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Hierarchical particles with high roughness were prepared by modified hydrothermal route. • The high roughness is provided by extremely low thickness of sheet crystals. • FEVE polymer derivative was used for surface treatment of hierarchical surface. • The novel particles via surface treatment were firstly used as superhydrophobic materials. • The product properties were compared with multi-scale ZnO particles via conventional route. - Abstract: Superhydrophobic surfaces arranged by hierarchical porous particles were prepared using modified hydrothermal routes under the effect of sodium citrate. Two particle samples were generated in the medium of hexamethylenetetramine (P1) and urea (P2), respectively. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope were adopted for the investigation, and results revealed that the P1 and P2 particles are porous microspheres with crosslinked extremely thin (10–30 nm) sheet crystals composed of Zn{sub 5}(OH){sub 8}Ac{sub 2}·2H{sub 2}O and Zn{sub 5}(CO{sub 3}){sub 2}(OH){sub 6}, respectively. The prepared particles were treated with a fluoroethylene vinyl ether derivative and studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer. Results showed that the hierarchical surfaces of these particles were combined with low-wettable fluorocarbon layers. Moreover, the fabricated surface composed of the prepared hierarchical particles displayed considerably high contact angles, indicating great superhydrophobicity for the products. The wetting behavior of the particles was analyzed with a theoretical wetting model in comparison with that of chestnut-like ZnO products obtained through a conventional hydrothermal route. Correspondingly, this study provided evidence that high roughness surface plays a great role in superhydrophobic behavior.

  7. Design and synthesis of hierarchical mesoporous WO3-MnO2 composite nanostructures on carbon cloth for high-performance supercapacitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shinde, Pragati A.; Lokhande, Vaibhav C.; Patil, Amar M.; Ji, Taeksoo; Lokhande, Chandrakant D.

    2017-12-01

    To enhance the energy density and power performance of supercapacitors, the rational design and synthesis of active electrode materials with hierarchical mesoporous structure is highly desired. In the present work, fabrication of high-performance hierarchical mesoporous WO3-MnO2 composite nanostructures on carbon cloth substrate via a facile hydrothermal method is reported. By varying the content of MnO2 in the composite, different WO3-MnO2 composite thin films are obtained. The formation of composite is confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis reveals maximum specific surface area of 153 m2 g-1. The optimized WO3-MnO2 composite electrode demonstrates remarkable electrochemical performance with high specific capacitance of 657 F g-1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s-1 and superior longterm cycling stability (92% capacity retention over 2000 CV cycles). Furthermore, symmetric flexible solid-state supercapacitor based on WO3-MnO2 electrodes has been fabricated. The device exhibits good electrochemical performance with maximum specific capacitance of 78 F g-1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s-1 and specific energy of 10.8 Wh kg-1 at a specific power of 0.65 kW kg-1. The improved electrochemical performance could be ascribed to the unique combination of multivalence WO3 and MnO2 nanostructures and synergistic effect between them

  8. Hierarchically structured superhydrophobic flowers with low hysteresis of the wild pansy (Viola tricolor – new design principles for biomimetic materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna J. Schulte

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Hierarchically structured flower leaves (petals of many plants are superhydrophobic, but water droplets do not roll-off when the surfaces are tilted. On such surfaces water droplets are in the “Cassie impregnating wetting state”, which is also known as the “petal effect”. By analyzing the petal surfaces of different species, we discovered interesting new wetting characteristics of the surface of the flower of the wild pansy (Viola tricolor. This surface is superhydrophobic with a static contact angle of 169° and very low hysteresis, i.e., the petal effect does not exist and water droplets roll-off as from a lotus (Nelumbo nucifera leaf. However, the surface of the wild pansy petal does not possess the wax crystals of the lotus leaf. Its petals exhibit high cone-shaped cells (average size 40 µm with a high aspect ratio (2.1 and a very fine cuticular folding (width 260 nm on top. The applied water droplets are in the Cassie–Baxter wetting state and roll-off at inclination angles below 5°. Fabricated hydrophobic polymer replicas of the wild pansy were prepared in an easy two-step moulding process and possess the same wetting characteristics as the original flowers. In this work we present a technical surface with a new superhydrophobic, low adhesive surface design, which combines the hierarchical structuring of petals with a wetting behavior similar to that of the lotus leaf.

  9. Learning with hierarchical-deep models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salakhutdinov, Ruslan; Tenenbaum, Joshua B; Torralba, Antonio

    2013-08-01

    We introduce HD (or “Hierarchical-Deep”) models, a new compositional learning architecture that integrates deep learning models with structured hierarchical Bayesian (HB) models. Specifically, we show how we can learn a hierarchical Dirichlet process (HDP) prior over the activities of the top-level features in a deep Boltzmann machine (DBM). This compound HDP-DBM model learns to learn novel concepts from very few training example by learning low-level generic features, high-level features that capture correlations among low-level features, and a category hierarchy for sharing priors over the high-level features that are typical of different kinds of concepts. We present efficient learning and inference algorithms for the HDP-DBM model and show that it is able to learn new concepts from very few examples on CIFAR-100 object recognition, handwritten character recognition, and human motion capture datasets.

  10. Hierarchical model generation for architecture reconstruction using laser-scanned point clouds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ning, Xiaojuan; Wang, Yinghui; Zhang, Xiaopeng

    2014-06-01

    Architecture reconstruction using terrestrial laser scanner is a prevalent and challenging research topic. We introduce an automatic, hierarchical architecture generation framework to produce full geometry of architecture based on a novel combination of facade structures detection, detailed windows propagation, and hierarchical model consolidation. Our method highlights the generation of geometric models automatically fitting the design information of the architecture from sparse, incomplete, and noisy point clouds. First, the planar regions detected in raw point clouds are interpreted as three-dimensional clusters. Then, the boundary of each region extracted by projecting the points into its corresponding two-dimensional plane is classified to obtain detailed shape structure elements (e.g., windows and doors). Finally, a polyhedron model is generated by calculating the proposed local structure model, consolidated structure model, and detailed window model. Experiments on modeling the scanned real-life buildings demonstrate the advantages of our method, in which the reconstructed models not only correspond to the information of architectural design accurately, but also satisfy the requirements for visualization and analysis.

  11. Optical hierarchical control of the nuclear power plant using the PPA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamagishi, Yasuaki; Tsuji, Masashi; Ogawa, Yuichi

    1986-01-01

    Optimization of a large-scale system is a very difficult task due to the requirement of an extremely large amount of calculation. One effective way to avoid the difficulty is to divide the system into a number of subsystems and carry out the optimization calculation with each subsystem allowing mutual cooperation among the subsystems to meet the need to optimize the whole system. When an algorithm based on the dividing method is realized in the parallel multi-processor system instead of the conventional computor of series type operation, the efficiency of calculation will be largely improved. In this paper, using the PPA (Parallel Processor Array) located in the ''General Purpose Simulator Facility'' of this school, and utilizing the hierarchical structure which is furnished within the PPA system, we prepare a software for the multilevel optimization system, and confirm the effectiveness of the hierarchical algorithm. We then, using the prepared algorithm, design the optimal control of the primary system of two loop PWR power plant, and confirmed the effectiveness of the designed optimal control. (author)

  12. Hierarchical Bayesian nonparametric mixture models for clustering with variable relevance determination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yau, Christopher; Holmes, Chris

    2011-07-01

    We propose a hierarchical Bayesian nonparametric mixture model for clustering when some of the covariates are assumed to be of varying relevance to the clustering problem. This can be thought of as an issue in variable selection for unsupervised learning. We demonstrate that by defining a hierarchical population based nonparametric prior on the cluster locations scaled by the inverse covariance matrices of the likelihood we arrive at a 'sparsity prior' representation which admits a conditionally conjugate prior. This allows us to perform full Gibbs sampling to obtain posterior distributions over parameters of interest including an explicit measure of each covariate's relevance and a distribution over the number of potential clusters present in the data. This also allows for individual cluster specific variable selection. We demonstrate improved inference on a number of canonical problems.

  13. Facile synthesis of Zn doped CuO hierarchical nanostructures: Structural, optical and antibacterial properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javed Iqbal

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available ZnxCu1−xO (where x= 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07 and 0.1 mol% hierarchical nanostructures have been prepared via soft chemical route. X-ray diffraction (XRD results of the synthesized samples reveal the monoclinic structure of CuO without any impurity related phases. The micro-structural parameters such as crystallite size and microstrain have been strongly influenced by Zn doping. Scanning electron microscope (SEM analyses depict the formation of hierarchical nanostructures having average particle size in the range of 26-43 nm. The surface area of CuO nanostructures has been reduced systematically with the increase in Zn content which is linked with the variations in particle size. An obvious decrease in the optical band gap energy of the synthesized CuO hierarchical nanostructures has been observed with Zn doping which is assigned to the formation of shallow levels in the band gap of CuO and combined transition from oxygen 2p states to d sates of Cu and Zn ions. The bactericidal potency of the CuO hierarchical nanostructures have been found to be enhanced remarkably with Zn doping.

  14. Facile synthesis of Zn doped CuO hierarchical nanostructures: Structural, optical and antibacterial properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iqbal, Javed, E-mail: tariqjan84@gmail.com, E-mail: javed.suggau@iiu.edu.pk; Jan, Tariq, E-mail: tariqjan84@gmail.com, E-mail: javed.suggau@iiu.edu.pk; Ul-Hassan, Sibt; Umair Ali, M.; Abbas, Fazal [Laboratory of Nanoscience and Technology, Department of Physics, International Islamic University, H-10, Islamabad (Pakistan); Ahmed, Ishaq [Experimental Physics Labs, National Center for Physics, Islamabad (Pakistan); Mansoor, Qaisar; Ismail, Muhammad [Institute of Biomedical and Genetic Engineering (IBGE), Islamabad (Pakistan)

    2015-12-15

    Zn{sub x}Cu{sub 1−x}O (where x= 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07 and 0.1 mol%) hierarchical nanostructures have been prepared via soft chemical route. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results of the synthesized samples reveal the monoclinic structure of CuO without any impurity related phases. The micro-structural parameters such as crystallite size and microstrain have been strongly influenced by Zn doping. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses depict the formation of hierarchical nanostructures having average particle size in the range of 26-43 nm. The surface area of CuO nanostructures has been reduced systematically with the increase in Zn content which is linked with the variations in particle size. An obvious decrease in the optical band gap energy of the synthesized CuO hierarchical nanostructures has been observed with Zn doping which is assigned to the formation of shallow levels in the band gap of CuO and combined transition from oxygen 2p states to d sates of Cu and Zn ions. The bactericidal potency of the CuO hierarchical nanostructures have been found to be enhanced remarkably with Zn doping.

  15. Hierarchical feature selection for erythema severity estimation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Li; Shi, Chenbo; Shu, Chang

    2014-10-01

    At present PASI system of scoring is used for evaluating erythema severity, which can help doctors to diagnose psoriasis [1-3]. The system relies on the subjective judge of doctors, where the accuracy and stability cannot be guaranteed [4]. This paper proposes a stable and precise algorithm for erythema severity estimation. Our contributions are twofold. On one hand, in order to extract the multi-scale redness of erythema, we design the hierarchical feature. Different from traditional methods, we not only utilize the color statistical features, but also divide the detect window into small window and extract hierarchical features. Further, a feature re-ranking step is introduced, which can guarantee that extracted features are irrelevant to each other. On the other hand, an adaptive boosting classifier is applied for further feature selection. During the step of training, the classifier will seek out the most valuable feature for evaluating erythema severity, due to its strong learning ability. Experimental results demonstrate the high precision and robustness of our algorithm. The accuracy is 80.1% on the dataset which comprise 116 patients' images with various kinds of erythema. Now our system has been applied for erythema medical efficacy evaluation in Union Hosp, China.

  16. Band-gap analysis of a novel lattice with a hierarchical periodicity using the spectral element method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Zhijing; Li, Fengming; Zhang, Chuanzeng

    2018-05-01

    Inspired by the hierarchical structures of butterfly wing surfaces, a new kind of lattice structures with a two-order hierarchical periodicity is proposed and designed, and the band-gap properties are investigated by the spectral element method (SEM). The equations of motion of the whole structure are established considering the macro and micro periodicities of the system. The efficiency of the SEM is exploited in the modeling process and validated by comparing the results with that of the finite element method (FEM). Based on the highly accurate results in the frequency domain, the dynamic behaviors of the proposed two-order hierarchical structures are analyzed. An original and interesting finding is the existence of the distinct macro and micro stop-bands in the given frequency domain. The mechanisms for these two types of band-gaps are also explored. Finally, the relations between the hierarchical periodicities and the different types of the stop-bands are investigated by analyzing the parametrical influences.

  17. Hierarchical self-organization of non-cooperating individuals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tamás Nepusz

    Full Text Available Hierarchy is one of the most conspicuous features of numerous natural, technological and social systems. The underlying structures are typically complex and their most relevant organizational principle is the ordering of the ties among the units they are made of according to a network displaying hierarchical features. In spite of the abundant presence of hierarchy no quantitative theoretical interpretation of the origins of a multi-level, knowledge-based social network exists. Here we introduce an approach which is capable of reproducing the emergence of a multi-levelled network structure based on the plausible assumption that the individuals (representing the nodes of the network can make the right estimate about the state of their changing environment to a varying degree. Our model accounts for a fundamental feature of knowledge-based organizations: the less capable individuals tend to follow those who are better at solving the problems they all face. We find that relatively simple rules lead to hierarchical self-organization and the specific structures we obtain possess the two, perhaps most important features of complex systems: a simultaneous presence of adaptability and stability. In addition, the performance (success score of the emerging networks is significantly higher than the average expected score of the individuals without letting them copy the decisions of the others. The results of our calculations are in agreement with a related experiment and can be useful from the point of designing the optimal conditions for constructing a given complex social structure as well as understanding the hierarchical organization of such biological structures of major importance as the regulatory pathways or the dynamics of neural networks.

  18. The Hierarchical Factor Model of ADHD: Invariant across Age and National Groupings?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toplak, Maggie E.; Sorge, Geoff B.; Flora, David B.; Chen, Wai; Banaschewski, Tobias; Buitelaar, Jan; Ebstein, Richard; Eisenberg, Jacques; Franke, Barbara; Gill, Michael; Miranda, Ana; Oades, Robert D.; Roeyers, Herbert; Rothenberger, Aribert; Sergeant, Joseph; Sonuga-Barke, Edmund; Steinhausen, Hans-Christoph; Thompson, Margaret; Tannock, Rosemary; Asherson, Philip; Faraone, Stephen V.

    2012-01-01

    Objective: To examine the factor structure of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a clinical sample of 1,373 children and adolescents with ADHD and their 1,772 unselected siblings recruited from different countries across a large age range. Hierarchical and correlated factor analytic models were compared separately in the ADHD and…

  19. Hierarchical optimal control of large-scale nonlinear chemical processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramezani, Mohammad Hossein; Sadati, Nasser

    2009-01-01

    In this paper, a new approach is presented for optimal control of large-scale chemical processes. In this approach, the chemical process is decomposed into smaller sub-systems at the first level, and a coordinator at the second level, for which a two-level hierarchical control strategy is designed. For this purpose, each sub-system in the first level can be solved separately, by using any conventional optimization algorithm. In the second level, the solutions obtained from the first level are coordinated using a new gradient-type strategy, which is updated by the error of the coordination vector. The proposed algorithm is used to solve the optimal control problem of a complex nonlinear chemical stirred tank reactor (CSTR), where its solution is also compared with the ones obtained using the centralized approach. The simulation results show the efficiency and the capability of the proposed hierarchical approach, in finding the optimal solution, over the centralized method.

  20. Design review report for rotary mode core sample truck (RMCST) modifications for flammable gas tanks, preliminary design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Corbett, J.E.

    1996-02-01

    This report documents the completion of a preliminary design review for the Rotary Mode Core Sample Truck (RMCST) modifications for flammable gas tanks. The RMCST modifications are intended to support core sampling operations in waste tanks requiring flammable gas controls. The objective of this review was to validate basic design assumptions and concepts to support a path forward leading to a final design. The conclusion reached by the review committee was that the design was acceptable and efforts should continue toward a final design review

  1. A Hierarchical Visualization Analysis Model of Power Big Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yongjie; Wang, Zheng; Hao, Yang

    2018-01-01

    Based on the conception of integrating VR scene and power big data analysis, a hierarchical visualization analysis model of power big data is proposed, in which levels are designed, targeting at different abstract modules like transaction, engine, computation, control and store. The regularly departed modules of power data storing, data mining and analysis, data visualization are integrated into one platform by this model. It provides a visual analysis solution for the power big data.

  2. Hierarchically ordered mesoporous carbon/graphene composites as supercapacitor electrode materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Yanjie; Li, Zhu; Guo, Kunkun; Shao, Ting

    2016-08-25

    Hierarchically ordered mesoporous carbon/graphene (OMC/G) composites have been fabricated by means of a solvent-evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) method. The structures of these composites are characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and nitrogen adsorption-desorption at 77 K. These results indicate that OMC/G composites possess the hierarchically ordered hexagonal p6mm mesostructure with the lattice unit parameter and pore diameter close to 10 nm and 3 nm, respectively. The specific surface area of OMC/G composites after KOH activation is high up to 2109.2 m(2) g(-1), which is significantly greater than OMC after activation (1474.6 m(2) g(-1)). Subsequently, the resulting OMC/G composites as supercapacitor electrode materials exhibit an outstanding capacitance as high as 329.5 F g(-1) in 6 M KOH electrolyte at a current density of 0.5 A g(-1), which is much higher than both OMC (234.2 F g(-1)) and a sample made by mechanical mixing of OMC with graphene (217.7 F g(-1)). In addition, the obtained OMC/G composites display good cyclic stability, and the final capacitance retention is approximately 96% after 5000 cycles. These ordered mesopores in the OMC/G composites are beneficial to the accessibility and rapid diffusion of the electrolyte, while graphene in OMC/G composites can also facilitate the transport of electrons during the processes of charging and discharging owing to its high conductivity, thereby leading to an excellent energy storage performance. The method demonstrated in this work would open up a new route to design and develop graphene-based architectures for supercapacitor applications.

  3. Creating Hierarchical Pores by Controlled Linker Thermolysis in Multivariate Metal-Organic Frameworks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Liang; Yuan, Shuai; Zhang, Liang-Liang; Tan, Kui; Li, Jia-Luo; Kirchon, Angelo; Liu, Ling-Mei; Zhang, Peng; Han, Yu; Chabal, Yves J; Zhou, Hong-Cai

    2018-02-14

    Sufficient pore size, appropriate stability, and hierarchical porosity are three prerequisites for open frameworks designed for drug delivery, enzyme immobilization, and catalysis involving large molecules. Herein, we report a powerful and general strategy, linker thermolysis, to construct ultrastable hierarchically porous metal-organic frameworks (HP-MOFs) with tunable pore size distribution. Linker instability, usually an undesirable trait of MOFs, was exploited to create mesopores by generating crystal defects throughout a microporous MOF crystal via thermolysis. The crystallinity and stability of HP-MOFs remain after thermolabile linkers are selectively removed from multivariate metal-organic frameworks (MTV-MOFs) through a decarboxylation process. A domain-based linker spatial distribution was found to be critical for creating hierarchical pores inside MTV-MOFs. Furthermore, linker thermolysis promotes the formation of ultrasmall metal oxide nanoparticles immobilized in an open framework that exhibits high catalytic activity for Lewis acid-catalyzed reactions. Most importantly, this work provides fresh insights into the connection between linker apportionment and vacancy distribution, which may shed light on probing the disordered linker apportionment in multivariate systems, a long-standing challenge in the study of MTV-MOFs.

  4. Synthesis of hierarchical mesoporous lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide spheres with high rate capability for lithium-ion batteries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tong, Wei; Huang, Yudai; Cai, Yanjun; Guo, Yong; Wang, Xingchao; Jia, Dianzeng; Sun, Zhipeng; Pang, Weikong; Guo, Zaiping; Zong, Jun

    2018-01-01

    Hierarchical mesoporous LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 spheres have been synthesized by urea-assisted solvothermal method with adding Triton X-100. The structure and morphology of the as-prepared materials were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and electron microscope. The results show that the as-prepared samples can be indexed as hexagonal layered structure with hierarchical architecture, and the possible formation mechanism is speculated. When evaluated as cathode material, the hierarchical mesoporous LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 spheres show good electrochemical properties with high initial discharge capacity of 129.9 mAh g-1, and remain the discharge capacity of 95.5 mAh g-1 after 160 cycles at 10C. The excellent electrochemical performance of the as-prepared sample can be attributed to its stable hierarchical mesoporous framework in conjunction with large specific surface, low cation mixing and small particle size. They not only provide a large number of reaction sites for surface or interface reaction, but also shorten the diffusion length of Li+ ions. Meanwhile, the mesoporous spheres composed of nanoparticles can contribute to high rate ability and buffer volume changes during charge/discharge process.

  5. Hierarchically porous MgCo2O4 nanochain networks: template-free synthesis and catalytic application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guan, Xiangfeng; Yu, Yunlong; Li, Xiaoyan; Chen, Dagui; Luo, Peihui; Zhang, Yu; Guo, Shanxin

    2018-01-01

    In this work, hierarchically porous MgCo2O4 nanochain networks were successfully synthesized by a novel template-free method realized via a facile solvothermal synthesis followed by a heat treatment. The morphologies of MgCo2O4 precursor could be adjusted from nanosheets to nanobelts and finally to interwoven nanowires, depending on the volume ratio of diethylene glycol to deionized water in the solution. After calcination, the interwoven precursor nanowires were transformed to hierarchical MgCo2O4 nanochain networks with marco-/meso-porosity, which are composed of 10-20 nm nanoparticles connected one by one. Moreover, the relative formation mechanism of the MgCo2O4 nanochain networks was discussed. More importantly, when evaluated as catalytic additive for AP thermal decomposition, the MgCo2O4 nanochain networks show excellent accelerating effect. It is benefited from the unique hierarchically porous network structure and multicomponent effect, which effectively accelerates ammonia oxidation and {{{{ClO}}}4}- species dissociation. This approach opens the way to design other hierarchically porous multicomponent metal oxides.

  6. An Isogeometric Design-through-analysis Methodology based on Adaptive Hierarchical Refinement of NURBS, Immersed Boundary Methods, and T-spline CAD Surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-22

    Bungartz HJ, Rank E, Niggl A, Romberg R. Extending the p-Version of Finite Elements by an Octree-Based Hierarchy. In: Widlund OB, Keyes DE (eds...generalization to higher dimensions. We test hierarchical refinement of NURBS for some elementary fluid and structural analysis problems in two and three...with straightforward implementation in tree data structures and simple generalization to higher dimensions. We test hierarchical refinement of NURBS

  7. Mechanical design and simulation of an automatized sample exchanger

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lopez, Yon; Gora, Jimmy; Bedregal, Patricia; Hernandez, Yuri; Baltuano, Oscar; Gago, Javier

    2013-01-01

    The design of a turntable type sample exchanger for irradiation and with a capacity for up to 20 capsules was performed. Its function is the automatic sending of samples contained in polyethylene capsules, for irradiation in the grid position of the reactor core, using a pneumatic system and further analysis by neutron activation. This study shows the structural design analysis and calculations in selecting motors and actuators. This development will improve efficiency in the analysis, reducing the contribution of the workers and also the radiation exposure time. (authors).

  8. Energy Efficient Hierarchical Clustering Approaches in Wireless Sensor Networks: A Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bilal Jan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Wireless sensor networks (WSN are one of the significant technologies due to their diverse applications such as health care monitoring, smart phones, military, disaster management, and other surveillance systems. Sensor nodes are usually deployed in large number that work independently in unattended harsh environments. Due to constraint resources, typically the scarce battery power, these wireless nodes are grouped into clusters for energy efficient communication. In clustering hierarchical schemes have achieved great interest for minimizing energy consumption. Hierarchical schemes are generally categorized as cluster-based and grid-based approaches. In cluster-based approaches, nodes are grouped into clusters, where a resourceful sensor node is nominated as a cluster head (CH while in grid-based approach the network is divided into confined virtual grids usually performed by the base station. This paper highlights and discusses the design challenges for cluster-based schemes, the important cluster formation parameters, and classification of hierarchical clustering protocols. Moreover, existing cluster-based and grid-based techniques are evaluated by considering certain parameters to help users in selecting appropriate technique. Furthermore, a detailed summary of these protocols is presented with their advantages, disadvantages, and applicability in particular cases.

  9. Catalytically active and hierarchically porous SAPO-11 zeolite synthesized in the presence of polyhexamethylene biguanidine

    KAUST Repository

    Liu, Yan; Qu, Wei; Chang, Weiwei; Pan, Shuxiang; Tian, Zhijian; Meng, Xiangju; Rigutto, Marcello; Made, Alexander van der; Zhao, Lan; Zheng, Xiaoming; Xiao, Feng Shou

    2014-01-01

    Hierarchically porous SAPO-11 zeolite (H-SAPO-11) is rationally synthesized from a starting silicoaluminophosphate gel in the presence of polyhexamethylene biguanidine as a mesoscale template. The sample is well characterized by XRD, N2 sorption

  10. Facile synthesis of Zn-doped SnO{sub 2} dendrite-built hierarchical cube-like architectures and their application in lithium storage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jia, Tiekun, E-mail: tiekunjia@126.com [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Luoyang Institute of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023 (China); Chen, Jian [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Luoyang Institute of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023 (China); Deng, Zhao [State Key Lab of Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070 (China); Fu, Fang; Zhao, Junwei; Wang, Xiaofeng [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Luoyang Institute of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023 (China); Long, Fei [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004 (China)

    2014-11-15

    Highlights: • Novel Zn-doped SnO{sub 2} dendrite-built hierarchical cube-like architectures were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal approach without surfactant. • The Zn-doped SnO{sub 2} dendrite-built hierarchical cube-like architectures were assembled by pronounced needle-like nanorod truncks with highly ordered needle-like nanorod branches. • The as-obtained Zn-doped SnO{sub 2} sample exhibited good electrochemical property. - Abstract: Zn-doped SnO{sub 2} dendrite-built hierarchical cube-like architectures were successfully synthesized by a facile hydrothermal approach without the use of any surfactants or templates. The as-prepared samples were characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and Raman spectroscopy. The observation of FESEM and HRTEM showed that Zn-doped SnO{sub 2} hierarchical cube-like architectures were composed of numerous oriented dendrites. Each dendrite is assembled by a pronounced trunk with highly ordered branches distributing on the both sides. The as-prepared Zn-doped SnO{sub 2} dendrite-built hierarchical cube-like architectures were used as anode materials for Li-ion battery, and a stable capacity of 488.3 mA h g{sup −1} was achieved after 50 cycles. The results of electrochemical measurements indicated that the as-prepared Zn-doped SnO{sub 2} dendrite-built hierarchical cube-like architectures have potential application in Li-ion battery.

  11. Hierarchical analysis of acceptable use policies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. A. Laughton

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Acceptable use policies (AUPs are vital tools for organizations to protect themselves and their employees from misuse of computer facilities provided. A well structured, thorough AUP is essential for any organization. It is impossible for an effective AUP to deal with every clause and remain readable. For this reason, some sections of an AUP carry more weight than others, denoting importance. The methodology used to develop the hierarchical analysis is a literature review, where various sources were consulted. This hierarchical approach to AUP analysis attempts to highlight important sections and clauses dealt with in an AUP. The emphasis of the hierarchal analysis is to prioritize the objectives of an AUP.

  12. Studies on the formation of hierarchical zeolite T aggregates with well-defined morphology in different template systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Xiaoyan; Chu, Naibo; Lu, Xuewei; Li, Zhongfang; Guo, Hong

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, the disk-like and pumpkin-like hierarchical zeolite T aggregates consisted of primary nano-grains have been hydrothermally synthesized with and without the aid of the second template. The first template is used with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH) and the second template is used with triethanolamine (TEA) or polyving akohol (PVA). A combination of characterization techniques, including XRD, SEM, TEM and N2 adsorption-desorption to examine the crystal crystallinity, morphology and surface properties of hierarchical zeolite T aggregates. In the single-template preparation process, the two-step varying-temperature treatment has been used to improve the meso-porosity of zeolite T aggregates. In the double-template preparation process, the amounts of PVA or TEA on the crystallinity, morphology and meso-porosity of zeolite T aggregates have been studied. It has been proved that the interstitial voids between the primary grains of aggregates are the origin of additional mesopores of samples. The micro- and meso-porosities of samples prepared with and without the second template have been contrasted in detail at last. In particular, the sample synthesized with the addition of PVA presents a hierarchical pore structure with the highest Sext value of 122 m2/g and Vmeso value of 0.255 cm3/g.

  13. Outcome-Dependent Sampling Design and Inference for Cox’s Proportional Hazards Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Jichang; Liu, Yanyan; Cai, Jianwen; Sandler, Dale P.; Zhou, Haibo

    2016-01-01

    We propose a cost-effective outcome-dependent sampling design for the failure time data and develop an efficient inference procedure for data collected with this design. To account for the biased sampling scheme, we derive estimators from a weighted partial likelihood estimating equation. The proposed estimators for regression parameters are shown to be consistent and asymptotically normally distributed. A criteria that can be used to optimally implement the ODS design in practice is proposed and studied. The small sample performance of the proposed method is evaluated by simulation studies. The proposed design and inference procedure is shown to be statistically more powerful than existing alternative designs with the same sample sizes. We illustrate the proposed method with an existing real data from the Cancer Incidence and Mortality of Uranium Miners Study. PMID:28090134

  14. Measuring Service Quality in Higher Education: Development of a Hierarchical Model (HESQUAL)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teeroovengadum, Viraiyan; Kamalanabhan, T. J.; Seebaluck, Ashley Keshwar

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: This paper aims to develop and empirically test a hierarchical model for measuring service quality in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: The first phase of the study consisted of qualitative research methods and a comprehensive literature review, which allowed the development of a conceptual model comprising 53 service quality…

  15. Hierarchical porous photoanode based on acid boric catalyzed sol for dye sensitized solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maleki, Khatereh [School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, P.O. Box: 14395-553, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Abdizadeh, Hossein [School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, P.O. Box: 14395-553, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Center of Excellence for High Performance Materials, University of Tehran, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Golobostanfard, Mohammad Reza, E-mail: Mohammadreza.Golbostanfard@gmail.com [School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, P.O. Box: 14395-553, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Adelfar, Razieh [School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, P.O. Box: 14395-553, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2017-02-01

    Highlights: • Acid boric can thoroughly leads to the hierarchical porous titania structure. • Boron is introduced into titania lattice which causes slight blueshift of bandgap. • The optimized sol parameters are H{sub 3}BO{sub 3}/TTiP = 0.45, DI/TTiP = 4.5, and 0.17 M. • Optimized paste parameters is not changed compared to conventional pastes. • The DSSC based on H{sub 3}BO{sub 3} catalyzed sol shows promising efficiency of 2.91%. - Abstract: The hierarchical porous photoanode of the dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is synthesized through non-aqueous sol-gel method based on H{sub 3}BO{sub 3} as an acid catalyst and the efficiencies of the fabricated DSSC based on these photoanodes are compared. The sol parameters of 0.17 M, water mole ratio of 4.5, acid mole ratio of 0.45, and solvent type of ethanol are introduced as optimum parameters for photoanode formation without any detectable cracks. The optimized hierarchical photoanode mainly contains anatase phase with slight shift toward higher angles, confirming the doping of boron into titania structure. Moreover, the porous structure involves two ranges of average pore sizes of 20 and 635 nm. The diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) shows the proper scattering and blueshift in band gap. The paste parameters of solid:liquid, TiO{sub 2}:ethyl cellulose, and terpineol:ethanol equal to 11:89, 3.5:7.5, and 25:64, respectively, are assigned as optimized parameters for this novel paste. The photovoltaic properties of short circuit current density, open circuit voltage, fill factor, and efficiency of 5.89 mA/cm{sup 2}, 703 mV, 0.7, and 2.91% are obtained for the optimized sample, respectively. The relatively higher short circuit current of the main sample compared to other samples is mainly due to higher dye adsorption in this sample corresponding to its higher surface area and presumably higher charge transfer confirmed by low R{sub S} and R{sub ct} in electrochemical impedance spectroscopy data. Boric acid as

  16. Virtual timers in hierarchical real-time systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heuvel, van den M.M.H.P.; Holenderski, M.J.; Cools, W.A.; Bril, R.J.; Lukkien, J.J.; Zhu, D.

    2009-01-01

    Hierarchical scheduling frameworks (HSFs) provide means for composing complex real-time systems from welldefined subsystems. This paper describes an approach to provide hierarchically scheduled real-time applications with virtual event timers, motivated by the need for integrating priority

  17. Hierarchical modeling and analysis for spatial data

    CERN Document Server

    Banerjee, Sudipto; Gelfand, Alan E

    2003-01-01

    Among the many uses of hierarchical modeling, their application to the statistical analysis of spatial and spatio-temporal data from areas such as epidemiology And environmental science has proven particularly fruitful. Yet to date, the few books that address the subject have been either too narrowly focused on specific aspects of spatial analysis, or written at a level often inaccessible to those lacking a strong background in mathematical statistics.Hierarchical Modeling and Analysis for Spatial Data is the first accessible, self-contained treatment of hierarchical methods, modeling, and dat

  18. The efficiency of average linkage hierarchical clustering algorithm associated multi-scale bootstrap resampling in identifying homogeneous precipitation catchments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chuan, Zun Liang; Ismail, Noriszura; Shinyie, Wendy Ling; Lit Ken, Tan; Fam, Soo-Fen; Senawi, Azlyna; Yusoff, Wan Nur Syahidah Wan

    2018-04-01

    Due to the limited of historical precipitation records, agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithms widely used to extrapolate information from gauged to ungauged precipitation catchments in yielding a more reliable projection of extreme hydro-meteorological events such as extreme precipitation events. However, identifying the optimum number of homogeneous precipitation catchments accurately based on the dendrogram resulted using agglomerative hierarchical algorithms are very subjective. The main objective of this study is to propose an efficient regionalized algorithm to identify the homogeneous precipitation catchments for non-stationary precipitation time series. The homogeneous precipitation catchments are identified using average linkage hierarchical clustering algorithm associated multi-scale bootstrap resampling, while uncentered correlation coefficient as the similarity measure. The regionalized homogeneous precipitation is consolidated using K-sample Anderson Darling non-parametric test. The analysis result shows the proposed regionalized algorithm performed more better compared to the proposed agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithm in previous studies.

  19. Hierarchical organization versus self-organization

    OpenAIRE

    Busseniers, Evo

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we try to define the difference between hierarchical organization and self-organization. Organization is defined as a structure with a function. So we can define the difference between hierarchical organization and self-organization both on the structure as on the function. In the next two chapters these two definitions are given. For the structure we will use some existing definitions in graph theory, for the function we will use existing theory on (self-)organization. In the t...

  20. Performance Estimation for Hardware/Software codesign using Hierarchical Colored Petri Nets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grode, Jesper Nicolai Riis; Madsen, Jan; Jerraya, Ahmed-Amine

    1998-01-01

    This paper presents an approach for abstract modeling of the functional behavior of hardware architectures using Hierarchical Colored Petri Nets (HCPNs). Using HCPNs as architectural models has several advantages such as higher estimation accuracy, higher flexibility, and the need for only one...... estimation tool. This makes the approach very useful for designing component models used for performance estimation in Hardware/Software Codesign frameworks such as the LYCOS system. The paper presents the methodology and rules for designing component models using HCPNs. Two examples of architectural models...

  1. Synthesis and properties of ZnFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} replica with biological hierarchical structure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Hongyan; Guo, Yiping, E-mail: ypguo@sjtu.edu.cn; Zhang, Yangyang; Wu, Fen; Liu, Yun; Zhang, Di, E-mail: zhangdi@sjtu.edu.cn

    2013-09-20

    Highlights: • ZFO replica with hierarchical structure was synthesized from butterfly wings. • Biotemplate has a significant impact on the properties of ZFO material. • Our method opens up new avenues for the synthesis of spinel ferrites. -- Abstract: ZnFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} replica with biological hierarchical structure was synthesized from Papilio paris by a sol–gel method followed by calcination. The crystallographic structure and morphology of the obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscope, and transmittance electron microscope. The results showed that the hierarchical structures were retained in the ZFO replica of spinel structure. The magnetic behavior of such novel products was measured by a vibrating sample magnetometer. A superparamagnetism-like behavior was observed due to nanostructuration size effects. In addition, the ZFO replica with “quasi-honeycomb-like structure” showed a much higher specific capacitance of 279.4 F g{sup −1} at 10 mV s{sup −1} in comparison with ZFO powder of 137.3 F g{sup −1}, attributing to the significantly increased surface area. These results demonstrated that ZFO replica is a promising candidate for novel magnetic devices and supercapacitors.

  2. Hierarchically structured photonic crystals for integrated chemical separation and colorimetric detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Qianqian; Zhu, Biting; Ge, Jianping

    2017-02-16

    A SiO 2 colloidal photonic crystal film with a hierarchical porous structure is fabricated to demonstrate an integrated separation and colorimetric detection of chemical species for the first time. This new photonic crystal based thin layer chromatography process requires no dyeing, developing and UV irradiation compared to the traditional TLC. The assembling of mesoporous SiO 2 particles via a supersaturation-induced-precipitation process forms uniform and hierarchical photonic crystals with micron-scale cracks and mesopores, which accelerate the diffusion of developers and intensify the adsorption/desorption between the analytes and silica for efficient separation. Meanwhile, the chemical substances infiltrated to the voids of photonic crystals cause an increase of the refractive index and a large contrast of structural colors towards the unloaded part, so that the sample spots can be directly recognized with the naked eye before and after separation.

  3. MOF-5 decorated hierarchical ZnO nanorod arrays and its photoluminescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yinmin; Lan, Ding; Wang, Yuren; Cao, He; Jiang, Heng

    2011-04-01

    The strategy to manipulate nanoscale materials into well-organized hierarchical architectures is very important to both material synthesis and nanodevice applications. Here, nanoscale MOF-5 crystallites were successfully fabricated onto ordered hierarchical ZnO arrays based on aqueous chemical synthesis and molecule self-assembly technology guided room temperature diffusion method, which has the advantages of energy saving and simple operation. The structures and morphologies of the samples were performed by X-ray powder diffraction and field emission scanning electronic microscopy. The MOF-5 crystallites have good quality and bind well to the hexagonal-patterned ZnO arrays. The photoluminescence spectrum shows that the emission of hybrid MOF-5-ZnO films displays a blue shift in green emission and intensity reduction in UV emission. This ordered hybrid semiconductor material is expected to exploit the great potentiality in sensors, micro/nanodevices, and screen displays.

  4. Twin boundary spacing effects on shock response and spall behaviors of hierarchically nanotwinned fcc metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuan, Fuping; Chen, Liu; Jiang, Ping; Wu, Xiaolei

    2014-01-01

    Atomistic deformation mechanisms of hierarchically nano-twinned (NT) Ag under shock conditions have been investigated using a series of large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. For the same grain size d and the same spacing of primary twins λ 1 , the average flow stress behind the shock front in hierarchically NT Ag first increases with decreasing spacing of secondary twins λ 2 , achieving a maximum at a critical λ 2 , and then drops as λ 2 decreases further. Above the critical λ 2 , the deformation mechanisms are dominated by three type strengthening mechanisms: (a) partial dislocations emitted from grain boundaries (GBs) travel across other boundaries; (b) partial dislocations emitted from twin boundaries (TBs) travel across other TBs; (c) formation of tertiary twins. Below the critical λ 2 , the deformation mechanism are dominated by two softening mechanisms: (a) detwinning of secondary twins; (b) formation of new grains by cross slip of partial dislocations. Moreover, the twin-free nanocrystalline (NC) Ag is found to have lower average flow stress behind the shock front than those of all hierarchically NT Ag samples except the one with the smallest λ 2 of 0.71 nm. No apparent correlation between the spall strength and λ 2 is observed in hierarchically NT Ag, since voids always nucleate at both GBs and boundaries of the primary twins. However, twin-free NC Ag is found to have higher spall strength than hierarchically NT Ag. Voids can only nucleate from GBs for twin-free NC Ag, therefore, twin-free NC Ag has less nucleation sources along the shock direction when compared to hierarchically NT Ag, which requiring higher tensile stress to create spallation. These findings should contribute to the understandings of deformation mechanisms of hierarchically NT fcc metals under extreme deformation conditions

  5. Hierarchical nanostructures assembled from ultrathin Bi2WO6 nanoflakes and their visible-light induced photocatalytic property

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Xiong; Tian, Peng; Lin, Ying; Li, Li

    2015-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Hierarchical Bi 2 WO 6 nanostructures assembled from nanoflakes were successfully synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The excellent photocatalytic activity and recycling performance might be mainly ascribed to the unique hierarchical nanostructures and are expected to offer the nanostructures promising applications in the field of wastewater treatment. - Highlights: • Hierarchical Bi 2 WO 6 nanostructures assembled from nanoflakes were successfully synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. • Visible-light-induced photocatalytic efficiency of the obtained nanoarchitectures was enhanced about 6 times. • A possible mechanism was proposed. - Abstract: With the aid of ethylene glycol and sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, the hierarchical Bi 2 WO 6 nanoarchitectures assembled from nanoflakes could be attained by a facile solvothermal method. The synthetic strategy is versatile and environmentally friendly and a plausible growth-assembly process was proposed for the formation of the hierarchical nanostructures. The visible-light-irradiated photocatalytic activity was estimated by the degradation of rhodamine B. Compared with the sample prepared by a solid-state reaction, the visible-light-induced photocatalytic efficiency of the nanostructures was enhanced about 6 times. The photocatalysis tests show that the nanostructures exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity and recycling performance, which were mainly ascribed to the unique hierarchical nanostructures and are expected to offer promising applications in the field of wastewater treatment

  6. Biomimetic "Cactus Spine" with Hierarchical Groove Structure for Efficient Fog Collection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Fan; Wu, Juntao; Gong, Guangming; Guo, Lin

    2015-07-01

    A biomimetic "cactus spine" with hierarchical groove structure is designed and fabricated using simple electrospinning. This novel artificial cactus spine possesses excellent fog collection and water transportation ability. A model cactus equipped with artificial spines also shows a great water storage capacity. The results can be helpful in the development of water collectors and may make a contribution to the world water crisis.

  7. The porous carbon derived from water hyacinth with well-designed hierarchical structure for supercapacitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Kaiwen; Li, Yuanyuan; Zhu, Ming; Yu, Xi; Zhang, Mengyan; Shi, Ling; Cheng, Jue

    2017-10-01

    A hierarchical porous water hyacinth-derived carbon (WHC) is fabricated by pre-carbonization and KOH activation for supercapacitors. The physicochemical properties of WHC are researched by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), N2 adsorption-desorption measurements, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicate that WHC exhibits hierarchical porous structure and high specific surface area of 2276 m2/g. And the electrochemical properties of WHC are studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests. In a three-electrode test system, WHC shows considerable specific capacitance of 344.9 F/g at a current density of 0.5 A/g, good rate performance with 225.8 F/g even at a current density of 30 A/g, and good cycle stability with 95% of the capacitance retention after 10000 cycles of charge-discharge at a current density of 5 A/g. Moreover, WHC cell delivers an energy density of 23.8 Wh/kg at 0.5 A/g and a power density of 15.7 kW/kg at 10 A/g. Thus, using water hyacinth as carbon source to fabricate supercapacitors electrodes is a promising approach for developing inexpensive, sustainable and high-performance carbon materials. Additionally, this study supports the sustainable development and the control of biological invasion.

  8. Deliberate change without hierarchical influence?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nørskov, Sladjana; Kesting, Peter; Ulhøi, John Parm

    2017-01-01

    reveals that deliberate change is indeed achievable in a non-hierarchical collaborative OSS community context. However, it presupposes the presence and active involvement of informal change agents. The paper identifies and specifies four key drivers for change agents’ influence. Originality....../value The findings contribute to organisational analysis by providing a deeper understanding of the importance of leadership in making deliberate change possible in non-hierarchical settings. It points to the importance of “change-by-conviction”, essentially based on voluntary behaviour. This can open the door...

  9. Multiparty hierarchical quantum-information splitting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xinwen; Zhang Dengyu; Tang Shiqing; Xie Lijun

    2011-01-01

    We propose a scheme for multiparty hierarchical quantum-information splitting (QIS) with a multipartite entangled state, where a boss distributes a secret quantum state to two grades of agents asymmetrically. The agents who belong to different grades have different authorities for recovering the boss's secret. Except for the boss's Bell-state measurement, no nonlocal operation is involved. The presented scheme is also shown to be secure against eavesdropping. Such a hierarchical QIS is expected to find useful applications in the field of modern multipartite quantum cryptography.

  10. Biased trapping issue on weighted hierarchical networks

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    archical networks which are based on the classic scale-free hierarchical networks. ... Weighted hierarchical networks; weight-dependent walks; mean first passage ..... The weighted networks can mimic some real-world natural and social systems to ... the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education ...

  11. Category theoretic analysis of hierarchical protein materials and social networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David I Spivak

    Full Text Available Materials in biology span all the scales from Angstroms to meters and typically consist of complex hierarchical assemblies of simple building blocks. Here we describe an application of category theory to describe structural and resulting functional properties of biological protein materials by developing so-called ologs. An olog is like a "concept web" or "semantic network" except that it follows a rigorous mathematical formulation based on category theory. This key difference ensures that an olog is unambiguous, highly adaptable to evolution and change, and suitable for sharing concepts with other olog. We consider simple cases of beta-helical and amyloid-like protein filaments subjected to axial extension and develop an olog representation of their structural and resulting mechanical properties. We also construct a representation of a social network in which people send text-messages to their nearest neighbors and act as a team to perform a task. We show that the olog for the protein and the olog for the social network feature identical category-theoretic representations, and we proceed to precisely explicate the analogy or isomorphism between them. The examples presented here demonstrate that the intrinsic nature of a complex system, which in particular includes a precise relationship between structure and function at different hierarchical levels, can be effectively represented by an olog. This, in turn, allows for comparative studies between disparate materials or fields of application, and results in novel approaches to derive functionality in the design of de novo hierarchical systems. We discuss opportunities and challenges associated with the description of complex biological materials by using ologs as a powerful tool for analysis and design in the context of materiomics, and we present the potential impact of this approach for engineering, life sciences, and medicine.

  12. A Hybrid P2P Overlay Network for Non-strictly Hierarchically Categorized Content

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Yi; Asaka, Takuya; Takahashi, Tatsuro

    In P2P content distribution systems, there are many cases in which the content can be classified into hierarchically organized categories. In this paper, we propose a hybrid overlay network design suitable for such content called Pastry/NSHCC (Pastry for Non-Strictly Hierarchically Categorized Content). The semantic information of classification hierarchies of the content can be utilized regardless of whether they are in a strict tree structure or not. By doing so, the search scope can be restrained to any granularity, and the number of query messages also decreases while maintaining keyword searching availability. Through simulation, we showed that the proposed method provides better performance and lower overhead than unstructured overlays exploiting the same semantic information.

  13. Design development of robotic system for on line sampling in fuel reprocessing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balasubramanian, G.R.; Venugopal, P.R.; Padmashali, G.K.

    1990-01-01

    This presentation describes the design and developmental work that is being carried out for the design of an automated sampling system for fast reactor fuel reprocessing plants. The plant proposes to use integrated sampling system. The sample is taken across regular process streams from any intermediate hold up pot. A robot system is planned to take the sample from the sample pot, transfer it to the sample bottle, cap the bottle and transfer the bottle to a pneumatic conveying station. The system covers a large number of sample pots. Alternate automated systems are also examined (1). (author). 4 refs., 2 figs

  14. Anti-hierarchical evolution of the active galactic nucleus space density in a hierarchical universe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Enoki, Motohiro; Ishiyama, Tomoaki; Kobayashi, Masakazu A. R.; Nagashima, Masahiro

    2014-01-01

    Recent observations show that the space density of luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs) peaks at higher redshifts than that of faint AGNs. This downsizing trend in the AGN evolution seems to be contradictory to the hierarchical structure formation scenario. In this study, we present the AGN space density evolution predicted by a semi-analytic model of galaxy and AGN formation based on the hierarchical structure formation scenario. We demonstrate that our model can reproduce the downsizing trend of the AGN space density evolution. The reason for the downsizing trend in our model is a combination of the cold gas depletion as a consequence of star formation, the gas cooling suppression in massive halos, and the AGN lifetime scaling with the dynamical timescale. We assume that a major merger of galaxies causes a starburst, spheroid formation, and cold gas accretion onto a supermassive black hole (SMBH). We also assume that this cold gas accretion triggers AGN activity. Since the cold gas is mainly depleted by star formation and gas cooling is suppressed in massive dark halos, the amount of cold gas accreted onto SMBHs decreases with cosmic time. Moreover, AGN lifetime increases with cosmic time. Thus, at low redshifts, major mergers do not always lead to luminous AGNs. Because the luminosity of AGNs is correlated with the mass of accreted gas onto SMBHs, the space density of luminous AGNs decreases more quickly than that of faint AGNs. We conclude that the anti-hierarchical evolution of the AGN space density is not contradictory to the hierarchical structure formation scenario.

  15. Anti-hierarchical evolution of the active galactic nucleus space density in a hierarchical universe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Enoki, Motohiro [Faculty of Business Administration, Tokyo Keizai University, Kokubunji, Tokyo 185-8502 (Japan); Ishiyama, Tomoaki [Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577 (Japan); Kobayashi, Masakazu A. R. [Research Center for Space and Cosmic Evolution, Ehime University, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-8577 (Japan); Nagashima, Masahiro, E-mail: enokimt@tku.ac.jp [Faculty of Education, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki 852-8521 (Japan)

    2014-10-10

    Recent observations show that the space density of luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs) peaks at higher redshifts than that of faint AGNs. This downsizing trend in the AGN evolution seems to be contradictory to the hierarchical structure formation scenario. In this study, we present the AGN space density evolution predicted by a semi-analytic model of galaxy and AGN formation based on the hierarchical structure formation scenario. We demonstrate that our model can reproduce the downsizing trend of the AGN space density evolution. The reason for the downsizing trend in our model is a combination of the cold gas depletion as a consequence of star formation, the gas cooling suppression in massive halos, and the AGN lifetime scaling with the dynamical timescale. We assume that a major merger of galaxies causes a starburst, spheroid formation, and cold gas accretion onto a supermassive black hole (SMBH). We also assume that this cold gas accretion triggers AGN activity. Since the cold gas is mainly depleted by star formation and gas cooling is suppressed in massive dark halos, the amount of cold gas accreted onto SMBHs decreases with cosmic time. Moreover, AGN lifetime increases with cosmic time. Thus, at low redshifts, major mergers do not always lead to luminous AGNs. Because the luminosity of AGNs is correlated with the mass of accreted gas onto SMBHs, the space density of luminous AGNs decreases more quickly than that of faint AGNs. We conclude that the anti-hierarchical evolution of the AGN space density is not contradictory to the hierarchical structure formation scenario.

  16. Preparing electrochemical active hierarchically porous carbons for detecting nitrite in drinkable water

    KAUST Repository

    Ding, Baojun

    2016-01-13

    A class of hierarchically porous carbons were prepared by a facile dual-templating approach. The obtained samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Brunaner-Emmett-Teller measurement and electrochemical work station, respectively. The porous carbons could possess large specific surface area, interconnected pore structures, high conductivity and graphitizing degree. The resulting materials were used to prepare integrated modified electrodes. Based on the experimental results, the as-prepared hierarchically porous graphite (HPG) modified electrode showed the best electroactive performances toward the detection of nitrite with a detection limit of 8.1 × 10-3 mM. This HPG electrode was also repeatable and stable for 6 weeks. Moreover, this electrode was used for the determination of nitrite in drinkable water, and had acceptable recoveries. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2016.

  17. Discovering hierarchical structure in normal relational data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Mikkel Nørgaard; Herlau, Tue; Mørup, Morten

    2014-01-01

    -parametric generative model for hierarchical clustering of similarity based on multifurcating Gibbs fragmentation trees. This allows us to infer and display the posterior distribution of hierarchical structures that comply with the data. We demonstrate the utility of our method on synthetic data and data of functional...

  18. Road Network Selection Based on Road Hierarchical Structure Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    HE Haiwei

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available A new road network selection method based on hierarchical structure is studied. Firstly, road network is built as strokes which are then classified into hierarchical collections according to the criteria of betweenness centrality value (BC value. Secondly, the hierarchical structure of the strokes is enhanced using structural characteristic identification technique. Thirdly, the importance calculation model was established according to the relationships among the hierarchical structure of the strokes. Finally, the importance values of strokes are got supported with the model's hierarchical calculation, and with which the road network is selected. Tests are done to verify the advantage of this method by comparing it with other common stroke-oriented methods using three kinds of typical road network data. Comparision of the results show that this method had few need to semantic data, and could eliminate the negative influence of edge strokes caused by the criteria of BC value well. So, it is better to maintain the global hierarchical structure of road network, and suitable to meet with the selection of various kinds of road network at the same time.

  19. Hierarchically Structured Electrospun Fibers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicole E. Zander

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Traditional electrospun nanofibers have a myriad of applications ranging from scaffolds for tissue engineering to components of biosensors and energy harvesting devices. The generally smooth one-dimensional structure of the fibers has stood as a limitation to several interesting novel applications. Control of fiber diameter, porosity and collector geometry will be briefly discussed, as will more traditional methods for controlling fiber morphology and fiber mat architecture. The remainder of the review will focus on new techniques to prepare hierarchically structured fibers. Fibers with hierarchical primary structures—including helical, buckled, and beads-on-a-string fibers, as well as fibers with secondary structures, such as nanopores, nanopillars, nanorods, and internally structured fibers and their applications—will be discussed. These new materials with helical/buckled morphology are expected to possess unique optical and mechanical properties with possible applications for negative refractive index materials, highly stretchable/high-tensile-strength materials, and components in microelectromechanical devices. Core-shell type fibers enable a much wider variety of materials to be electrospun and are expected to be widely applied in the sensing, drug delivery/controlled release fields, and in the encapsulation of live cells for biological applications. Materials with a hierarchical secondary structure are expected to provide new superhydrophobic and self-cleaning materials.

  20. Hierarchical control of electron-transfer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Westerhoff, Hans V.; Jensen, Peter Ruhdal; Egger, Louis

    1997-01-01

    In this chapter the role of electron transfer in determining the behaviour of the ATP synthesising enzyme in E. coli is analysed. It is concluded that the latter enzyme lacks control because of special properties of the electron transfer components. These properties range from absence of a strong...... back pressure by the protonmotive force on the rate of electron transfer to hierarchical regulation of the expression of the gens that encode the electron transfer proteins as a response to changes in the bioenergetic properties of the cell.The discussion uses Hierarchical Control Analysis...

  1. Stratified sampling design based on data mining.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Yeonkook J; Oh, Yoonhwan; Park, Sunghoon; Cho, Sungzoon; Park, Hayoung

    2013-09-01

    To explore classification rules based on data mining methodologies which are to be used in defining strata in stratified sampling of healthcare providers with improved sampling efficiency. We performed k-means clustering to group providers with similar characteristics, then, constructed decision trees on cluster labels to generate stratification rules. We assessed the variance explained by the stratification proposed in this study and by conventional stratification to evaluate the performance of the sampling design. We constructed a study database from health insurance claims data and providers' profile data made available to this study by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service of South Korea, and population data from Statistics Korea. From our database, we used the data for single specialty clinics or hospitals in two specialties, general surgery and ophthalmology, for the year 2011 in this study. Data mining resulted in five strata in general surgery with two stratification variables, the number of inpatients per specialist and population density of provider location, and five strata in ophthalmology with two stratification variables, the number of inpatients per specialist and number of beds. The percentages of variance in annual changes in the productivity of specialists explained by the stratification in general surgery and ophthalmology were 22% and 8%, respectively, whereas conventional stratification by the type of provider location and number of beds explained 2% and 0.2% of variance, respectively. This study demonstrated that data mining methods can be used in designing efficient stratified sampling with variables readily available to the insurer and government; it offers an alternative to the existing stratification method that is widely used in healthcare provider surveys in South Korea.

  2. Latent spatial models and sampling design for landscape genetics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanks, Ephraim M.; Hooten, Mevin B.; Knick, Steven T.; Oyler-McCance, Sara J.; Fike, Jennifer A.; Cross, Todd B.; Schwartz, Michael K.

    2016-01-01

    We propose a spatially-explicit approach for modeling genetic variation across space and illustrate how this approach can be used to optimize spatial prediction and sampling design for landscape genetic data. We propose a multinomial data model for categorical microsatellite allele data commonly used in landscape genetic studies, and introduce a latent spatial random effect to allow for spatial correlation between genetic observations. We illustrate how modern dimension reduction approaches to spatial statistics can allow for efficient computation in landscape genetic statistical models covering large spatial domains. We apply our approach to propose a retrospective spatial sampling design for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) population genetics in the western United States.

  3. An Efficient, Hierarchical Viewpoint Planning Strategy for Terrestrial Laser Scanner Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, F.; Lichti, D. D.

    2018-05-01

    Terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) techniques have been widely adopted in a variety of applications. However, unlike in geodesy or photogrammetry, insufficient attention has been paid to the optimal TLS network design. It is valuable to develop a complete design system that can automatically provide an optimal plan, especially for high-accuracy, large-volume scanning networks. To achieve this goal, one should look at the "optimality" of the solution as well as the computational complexity in reaching it. In this paper, a hierarchical TLS viewpoint planning strategy is developed to solve the optimal scanner placement problems. If one targeted object to be scanned is simplified as discretized wall segments, any possible viewpoint can be evaluated by a score table representing its visible segments under certain scanning geometry constraints. Thus, the design goal is to find a minimum number of viewpoints that achieves complete coverage of all wall segments. The efficiency is improved by densifying viewpoints hierarchically, instead of a "brute force" search within the entire workspace. The experiment environments in this paper were simulated from two buildings located on University of Calgary campus. Compared with the "brute force" strategy in terms of the quality of the solutions and the runtime, it is shown that the proposed strategy can provide a scanning network with a compatible quality but with more than a 70 % time saving.

  4. Synthesis of a hierarchically structured zeolite-templated carbon starting from fly ash-derived zeolite X

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Musyoka, Nicholas M

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available A hierarchically structured zeolite derived from coal fly ash was used as a hard templating agent for the synthesis of a templated carbonaceous material. The samples were characterized using XRD, SEM, TEM, TGA, EDS and BET. The resulting carbon had...

  5. Hierarchical Neural Regression Models for Customer Churn Prediction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Golshan Mohammadi

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available As customers are the main assets of each industry, customer churn prediction is becoming a major task for companies to remain in competition with competitors. In the literature, the better applicability and efficiency of hierarchical data mining techniques has been reported. This paper considers three hierarchical models by combining four different data mining techniques for churn prediction, which are backpropagation artificial neural networks (ANN, self-organizing maps (SOM, alpha-cut fuzzy c-means (α-FCM, and Cox proportional hazards regression model. The hierarchical models are ANN + ANN + Cox, SOM + ANN + Cox, and α-FCM + ANN + Cox. In particular, the first component of the models aims to cluster data in two churner and nonchurner groups and also filter out unrepresentative data or outliers. Then, the clustered data as the outputs are used to assign customers to churner and nonchurner groups by the second technique. Finally, the correctly classified data are used to create Cox proportional hazards model. To evaluate the performance of the hierarchical models, an Iranian mobile dataset is considered. The experimental results show that the hierarchical models outperform the single Cox regression baseline model in terms of prediction accuracy, Types I and II errors, RMSE, and MAD metrics. In addition, the α-FCM + ANN + Cox model significantly performs better than the two other hierarchical models.

  6. Creating Hierarchical Pores by Controlled Linker Thermolysis in Multivariate Metal-Organic Frameworks

    KAUST Repository

    Feng, Liang

    2018-01-18

    Sufficient pore size, appropriate stability and hierarchical porosity are three prerequisites for open frameworks designed for drug delivery, enzyme immobilization and catalysis involving large molecules. Herein, we report a powerful and general strate-gy, linker thermolysis, to construct ultra-stable hierarchically porous metal−organic frameworks (HP-MOFs) with tunable pore size distribution. Linker instability, usually an undesirable trait of MOFs, was exploited to create mesopores by generating crystal defects throughout a microporous MOF crystal via thermolysis. The crystallinity and stability of HP-MOFs remain after thermolabile linkers are selectively removed from multivariate metal-organic frameworks (MTV-MOFs) through a decarboxyla-tion process. A domain-based linker spatial distribution was found to be critical for creating hierarchical pores inside MTV-MOFs. Furthermore, linker thermolysis promotes the formation of ultra-small metal oxide (MO) nanoparticles immobilized in an open framework that exhibits high catalytic activity for Lewis acid catalyzed reactions. Most importantly, this work pro-vides fresh insights into the connection between linker apportionment and vacancy distribution, which may shed light on prob-ing the disordered linker apportionment in multivariate systems, a long-standing challenge in the study of MTV-MOFs.

  7. Managing the systems approach to training using a flexible Hierarchical data base

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Housman, E.; Bush, E.R.

    1993-01-01

    Task analysis/curriculum design for a nuclear power station results in a massive amount of data, which must be sequenced and ordered to create an effective program design. This is an almost impossible task without the use of computerized data base. Beginning in 1989, San Onofre nuclear generating station (SONGS) undertook a task analysis/program design project to verify the structure and sequence (design) of all accredited training program. A flex hierarchical data-base management system was designed to store and manage the data collected during the project. For the Operations Training Programm alone ∼8000 tasks, 90,000 knowledges and abilities, and 10,000 learning objectives were entered into this data base

  8. Hierarchical zeolites: Enhanced utilisation of microporous crystals in catalysis by advances in materials design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Perez-Ramirez, Javier; Christensen, Claus H.; Egeblad, Kresten

    2008-01-01

    The introduction of synthetic zeolites has led to a paradigm shift in catalysis, separations, and adsorption processes, due to their unique properties such as crystallinity, high-surface area, acidity, ion-exchange capacity, and shape-selective character. However, the sole presence of micropores...... the properties of the resulting materials and the catalytic function. We particularly dwell on the exciting field of hierarchical zeolites, which couple in a single material the catalytic power of micropores and the facilitated access and improved transport consequence of a complementary mesopore network...

  9. An interference cancellation strategy for broadcast in hierarchical cell structure

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Yuli; Aï ssa, Sonia; Eltawil, Ahmed M.; Salama, Khaled N.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, a hierarchical cell structure is considered, where public safety broadcasting is fulfilled in a femtocell located within a macrocell. In the femtocell, also known as local cell, an access point broadcasts to each local node (LN) over an orthogonal frequency sub-band independently. Since the local cell shares the spectrum licensed to the macrocell, a given LN is interfered by transmissions of the macrocell user (MU) in the same sub-band. To improve the broadcast performance in the local cell, a novel scheme is proposed to mitigate the interference from the MU to the LN while achieving diversity gain. For the sake of performance evaluation, ergodic capacity of the proposed scheme is quantified and a corresponding closed-form expression is obtained. By comparing with the traditional scheme that suffers from the MU's interference, numerical results substantiate the advantage of the proposed scheme and provide a useful tool for the broadcast design in hierarchical cell systems.

  10. An interference cancellation strategy for broadcast in hierarchical cell structure

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Yuli

    2014-12-01

    In this paper, a hierarchical cell structure is considered, where public safety broadcasting is fulfilled in a femtocell located within a macrocell. In the femtocell, also known as local cell, an access point broadcasts to each local node (LN) over an orthogonal frequency sub-band independently. Since the local cell shares the spectrum licensed to the macrocell, a given LN is interfered by transmissions of the macrocell user (MU) in the same sub-band. To improve the broadcast performance in the local cell, a novel scheme is proposed to mitigate the interference from the MU to the LN while achieving diversity gain. For the sake of performance evaluation, ergodic capacity of the proposed scheme is quantified and a corresponding closed-form expression is obtained. By comparing with the traditional scheme that suffers from the MU\\'s interference, numerical results substantiate the advantage of the proposed scheme and provide a useful tool for the broadcast design in hierarchical cell systems.

  11. Visual Sample Plan (VSP) Software: Designs and Data Analyses for Sampling Contaminated Buildings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pulsipher, Brent A.; Wilson, John E.; Gilbert, Richard O.; Nuffer, Lisa L.; Hassig, Nancy L.

    2005-01-01

    A new module of the Visual Sample Plan (VSP) software has been developed to provide sampling designs and data analyses for potentially contaminated buildings. An important application is assessing levels of contamination in buildings after a terrorist attack. This new module, funded by DHS through the Combating Terrorism Technology Support Office, Technical Support Working Group, was developed to provide a tailored, user-friendly and visually-orientated buildings module within the existing VSP software toolkit, the latest version of which can be downloaded from http://dqo.pnl.gov/vsp. In case of, or when planning against, a chemical, biological, or radionuclide release within a building, the VSP module can be used to quickly and easily develop and visualize technically defensible sampling schemes for walls, floors, ceilings, and other surfaces to statistically determine if contamination is present, its magnitude and extent throughout the building and if decontamination has been effective. This paper demonstrates the features of this new VSP buildings module, which include: the ability to import building floor plans or to easily draw, manipulate, and view rooms in several ways; being able to insert doors, windows and annotations into a room; 3-D graphic room views with surfaces labeled and floor plans that show building zones that have separate air handing units. The paper will also discuss the statistical design and data analysis options available in the buildings module. Design objectives supported include comparing an average to a threshold when the data distribution is normal or unknown, and comparing measurements to a threshold to detect hotspots or to insure most of the area is uncontaminated when the data distribution is normal or unknown

  12. Hierarchical Traces for Reduced NSM Memory Requirements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahl, Torbjørn S.

    This paper presents work on using hierarchical long term memory to reduce the memory requirements of nearest sequence memory (NSM) learning, a previously published, instance-based reinforcement learning algorithm. A hierarchical memory representation reduces the memory requirements by allowing traces to share common sub-sequences. We present moderated mechanisms for estimating discounted future rewards and for dealing with hidden state using hierarchical memory. We also present an experimental analysis of how the sub-sequence length affects the memory compression achieved and show that the reduced memory requirements do not effect the speed of learning. Finally, we analyse and discuss the persistence of the sub-sequences independent of specific trace instances.

  13. Multiscale experimental mechanics of hierarchical carbon-based materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espinosa, Horacio D; Filleter, Tobin; Naraghi, Mohammad

    2012-06-05

    Investigation of the mechanics of natural materials, such as spider silk, abalone shells, and bone, has provided great insight into the design of materials that can simultaneously achieve high specific strength and toughness. Research has shown that their emergent mechanical properties are owed in part to their specific self-organization in hierarchical molecular structures, from nanoscale to macroscale, as well as their mixing and bonding. To apply these findings to manmade materials, researchers have devoted significant efforts in developing a fundamental understanding of multiscale mechanics of materials and its application to the design of novel materials with superior mechanical performance. These efforts included the utilization of some of the most promising carbon-based nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, and graphene, together with a variety of matrix materials. At the core of these efforts lies the need to characterize material mechanical behavior across multiple length scales starting from nanoscale characterization of constituents and their interactions to emerging micro- and macroscale properties. In this report, progress made in experimental tools and methods currently used for material characterization across multiple length scales is reviewed, as well as a discussion of how they have impacted our current understanding of the mechanics of hierarchical carbon-based materials. In addition, insight is provided into strategies for bridging experiments across length scales, which are essential in establishing a multiscale characterization approach. While the focus of this progress report is in experimental methods, their concerted use with theoretical-computational approaches towards the establishment of a robust material by design methodology is also discussed, which can pave the way for the development of novel materials possessing unprecedented mechanical properties. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. Hierarchical statistical modeling of xylem vulnerability to cavitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogle, Kiona; Barber, Jarrett J; Willson, Cynthia; Thompson, Brenda

    2009-01-01

    Cavitation of xylem elements diminishes the water transport capacity of plants, and quantifying xylem vulnerability to cavitation is important to understanding plant function. Current approaches to analyzing hydraulic conductivity (K) data to infer vulnerability to cavitation suffer from problems such as the use of potentially unrealistic vulnerability curves, difficulty interpreting parameters in these curves, a statistical framework that ignores sampling design, and an overly simplistic view of uncertainty. This study illustrates how two common curves (exponential-sigmoid and Weibull) can be reparameterized in terms of meaningful parameters: maximum conductivity (k(sat)), water potential (-P) at which percentage loss of conductivity (PLC) =X% (P(X)), and the slope of the PLC curve at P(X) (S(X)), a 'sensitivity' index. We provide a hierarchical Bayesian method for fitting the reparameterized curves to K(H) data. We illustrate the method using data for roots and stems of two populations of Juniperus scopulorum and test for differences in k(sat), P(X), and S(X) between different groups. Two important results emerge from this study. First, the Weibull model is preferred because it produces biologically realistic estimates of PLC near P = 0 MPa. Second, stochastic embolisms contribute an important source of uncertainty that should be included in such analyses.

  15. Hierarchical imaging: a new concept for targeted imaging of large volumes from cells to tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wacker, Irene; Spomer, Waldemar; Hofmann, Andreas; Thaler, Marlene; Hillmer, Stefan; Gengenbach, Ulrich; Schröder, Rasmus R

    2016-12-12

    Imaging large volumes such as entire cells or small model organisms at nanoscale resolution seemed an unrealistic, rather tedious task so far. Now, technical advances have lead to several electron microscopy (EM) large volume imaging techniques. One is array tomography, where ribbons of ultrathin serial sections are deposited on solid substrates like silicon wafers or glass coverslips. To ensure reliable retrieval of multiple ribbons from the boat of a diamond knife we introduce a substrate holder with 7 axes of translation or rotation specifically designed for that purpose. With this device we are able to deposit hundreds of sections in an ordered way in an area of 22 × 22 mm, the size of a coverslip. Imaging such arrays in a standard wide field fluorescence microscope produces reconstructions with 200 nm lateral resolution and 100 nm (the section thickness) resolution in z. By hierarchical imaging cascades in the scanning electron microscope (SEM), using a new software platform, we can address volumes from single cells to complete organs. In our first example, a cell population isolated from zebrafish spleen, we characterize different cell types according to their organelle inventory by segmenting 3D reconstructions of complete cells imaged with nanoscale resolution. In addition, by screening large numbers of cells at decreased resolution we can define the percentage at which different cell types are present in our preparation. With the second example, the root tip of cress, we illustrate how combining information from intermediate resolution data with high resolution data from selected regions of interest can drastically reduce the amount of data that has to be recorded. By imaging only the interesting parts of a sample considerably less data need to be stored, handled and eventually analysed. Our custom-designed substrate holder allows reproducible generation of section libraries, which can then be imaged in a hierarchical way. We demonstrate, that EM

  16. Hierarchical layered and semantic-based image segmentation using ergodicity map

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yadegar, Jacob; Liu, Xiaoqing

    2010-04-01

    Image segmentation plays a foundational role in image understanding and computer vision. Although great strides have been made and progress achieved on automatic/semi-automatic image segmentation algorithms, designing a generic, robust, and efficient image segmentation algorithm is still challenging. Human vision is still far superior compared to computer vision, especially in interpreting semantic meanings/objects in images. We present a hierarchical/layered semantic image segmentation algorithm that can automatically and efficiently segment images into hierarchical layered/multi-scaled semantic regions/objects with contextual topological relationships. The proposed algorithm bridges the gap between high-level semantics and low-level visual features/cues (such as color, intensity, edge, etc.) through utilizing a layered/hierarchical ergodicity map, where ergodicity is computed based on a space filling fractal concept and used as a region dissimilarity measurement. The algorithm applies a highly scalable, efficient, and adaptive Peano- Cesaro triangulation/tiling technique to decompose the given image into a set of similar/homogenous regions based on low-level visual cues in a top-down manner. The layered/hierarchical ergodicity map is built through a bottom-up region dissimilarity analysis. The recursive fractal sweep associated with the Peano-Cesaro triangulation provides efficient local multi-resolution refinement to any level of detail. The generated binary decomposition tree also provides efficient neighbor retrieval mechanisms for contextual topological object/region relationship generation. Experiments have been conducted within the maritime image environment where the segmented layered semantic objects include the basic level objects (i.e. sky/land/water) and deeper level objects in the sky/land/water surfaces. Experimental results demonstrate the proposed algorithm has the capability to robustly and efficiently segment images into layered semantic objects

  17. Hierarchical subtask discovery with non-negative matrix factorization

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Earle, AC

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Hierarchical reinforcement learning methods offer a powerful means of planning flexible behavior in complicated domains. However, learning an appropriate hierarchical decomposition of a domain into subtasks remains a substantial challenge. We...

  18. Hierarchical subtask discovery with non-negative matrix factorization

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Earle, AC

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Hierarchical reinforcement learning methods offer a powerful means of planning flexible behavior in complicated domains. However, learning an appropriate hierarchical decomposition of a domain into subtasks remains a substantial challenge. We...

  19. Rapid Sampling of Hydrogen Bond Networks for Computational Protein Design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maguire, Jack B; Boyken, Scott E; Baker, David; Kuhlman, Brian

    2018-05-08

    Hydrogen bond networks play a critical role in determining the stability and specificity of biomolecular complexes, and the ability to design such networks is important for engineering novel structures, interactions, and enzymes. One key feature of hydrogen bond networks that makes them difficult to rationally engineer is that they are highly cooperative and are not energetically favorable until the hydrogen bonding potential has been satisfied for all buried polar groups in the network. Existing computational methods for protein design are ill-equipped for creating these highly cooperative networks because they rely on energy functions and sampling strategies that are focused on pairwise interactions. To enable the design of complex hydrogen bond networks, we have developed a new sampling protocol in the molecular modeling program Rosetta that explicitly searches for sets of amino acid mutations that can form self-contained hydrogen bond networks. For a given set of designable residues, the protocol often identifies many alternative sets of mutations/networks, and we show that it can readily be applied to large sets of residues at protein-protein interfaces or in the interior of proteins. The protocol builds on a recently developed method in Rosetta for designing hydrogen bond networks that has been experimentally validated for small symmetric systems but was not extensible to many larger protein structures and complexes. The sampling protocol we describe here not only recapitulates previously validated designs with performance improvements but also yields viable hydrogen bond networks for cases where the previous method fails, such as the design of large, asymmetric interfaces relevant to engineering protein-based therapeutics.

  20. Flower-like hierarchical structures consisting of porous single-crystalline ZnO nanosheets and their gas sensing properties to volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meng, Fanli, E-mail: flmeng@iim.ac.cn [Research Center for Biomimetic Functional Materials and Sensing Devices, Institute of Intelligent Machines, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031 (China); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Hou, Nannan [Research Center for Biomimetic Functional Materials and Sensing Devices, Institute of Intelligent Machines, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031 (China); Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (China); Ge, Sheng [Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu 241000 (China); Sun, Bai [Research Center for Biomimetic Functional Materials and Sensing Devices, Institute of Intelligent Machines, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031 (China); Jin, Zhen, E-mail: zjin@iim.ac.cn [Research Center for Biomimetic Functional Materials and Sensing Devices, Institute of Intelligent Machines, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031 (China); Shen, Wei; Kong, Lingtao; Guo, Zheng [Research Center for Biomimetic Functional Materials and Sensing Devices, Institute of Intelligent Machines, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031 (China); Sun, Yufeng, E-mail: sunyufeng118@126.com [Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu 241000 (China); Wu, Hao; Wang, Chen [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Li, Minqiang [Research Center for Biomimetic Functional Materials and Sensing Devices, Institute of Intelligent Machines, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031 (China)

    2015-03-25

    Highlights: • Flower-like hierarchical structures consisting of porous single-crystalline ZnO nanosheets were synthesized. • The flower-like hierarchical structured ZnO exhibited higher response and shorter response and recovery times. • The sensing mechanism of the flower-like hierarchical has been systematically analyzed. - Abstract: Flower-like hierarchical structures consisting of porous single-crystalline ZnO nanosheets (FHPSCZNs) were synthesized by a one-pot wet-chemical method followed by an annealing treatment, which combined the advantages between flower-like hierarchical structure and porous single-crystalline structure. XRD, SEM and HRTEM were used to characterize the synthesized FHPSCZN samples. The sensing properties of the FHPSCZN sensor were also investigated by comparing with ZnO powder sensor, which exhibited higher response and shorter response and recovery times. The sensing mechanism of the FHPSCZN sensor has been further analyzed from the aspects of electronic transport and gas diffusion.

  1. Flower-like hierarchical structures consisting of porous single-crystalline ZnO nanosheets and their gas sensing properties to volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meng, Fanli; Hou, Nannan; Ge, Sheng; Sun, Bai; Jin, Zhen; Shen, Wei; Kong, Lingtao; Guo, Zheng; Sun, Yufeng; Wu, Hao; Wang, Chen; Li, Minqiang

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Flower-like hierarchical structures consisting of porous single-crystalline ZnO nanosheets were synthesized. • The flower-like hierarchical structured ZnO exhibited higher response and shorter response and recovery times. • The sensing mechanism of the flower-like hierarchical has been systematically analyzed. - Abstract: Flower-like hierarchical structures consisting of porous single-crystalline ZnO nanosheets (FHPSCZNs) were synthesized by a one-pot wet-chemical method followed by an annealing treatment, which combined the advantages between flower-like hierarchical structure and porous single-crystalline structure. XRD, SEM and HRTEM were used to characterize the synthesized FHPSCZN samples. The sensing properties of the FHPSCZN sensor were also investigated by comparing with ZnO powder sensor, which exhibited higher response and shorter response and recovery times. The sensing mechanism of the FHPSCZN sensor has been further analyzed from the aspects of electronic transport and gas diffusion

  2. Selective Template Wetting Routes to Hierarchical Polymer Films: Polymer Nanotubes from Phase-Separated Films via Solvent Annealing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ko, Hao-Wen; Cheng, Ming-Hsiang; Chi, Mu-Huan; Chang, Chun-Wei; Chen, Jiun-Tai

    2016-03-01

    We demonstrate a novel wetting method to prepare hierarchical polymer films with polymer nanotubes on selective regions. This strategy is based on the selective wetting abilities of polymer chains, annealed in different solvent vapors, into the nanopores of porous templates. Phase-separated films of polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), two commonly used polymers, are prepared as a model system. After anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates are placed on the films, the samples are annealed in vapors of acetic acid, in which the PMMA chains are swollen and wet the nanopores of the AAO templates selectively. As a result, hierarchical polymer films containing PMMA nanotubes can be obtained after the AAO templates are removed. The distribution of the PMMA nanotubes of the hierarchical polymer films can also be controlled by changing the compositions of the polymer blends. This work not only presents a novel method to fabricate hierarchical polymer films with polymer nanotubes on selective regions, but also gives a deeper understanding in the selective wetting ability of polymer chains in solvent vapors.

  3. The construction of hierarchical structure on Ti substrate with superior osteogenic activity and intrinsic antibacterial capability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Ying; Zha, Guangyu; Luo, Qiaojie; Zhang, Jianxiang; Zhang, Feng; Li, Xiaohui; Zhao, Shifang; Zhu, Weipu; Li, Xiaodong

    2014-01-01

    The deficient osseointegration and implant-associated infections are pivotal issues for the long-term clinical success of endosteal Ti implants, while development of functional surfaces that can simultaneously overcome these problems remains highly challenging. This study aimed to fabricate sophisticated Ti implant surface with both osteogenic inducing activity and inherent antibacterial ability simply via tailoring surface topographical features. Micro/submciro/nano-scale structure was constructed on Ti by three cumulative subtractive methods, including sequentially conducted sandblasting as well as primary and secondary acid etching treatment. Topographical features of this hierarchical structure can be well tuned by the time of the secondary acid treatment. Ti substrate with mere micro/submicro-scale structure (MS0-Ti) served as a control to examine the influence of hierarchical structures on surface properties and biological activities. Surface analysis indicated that all hierarchically structured surfaces possessed exactly the same surface chemistry as that of MS0-Ti, and all of them showed super-amphiphilicity, high surface free energy, and high protein adsorption capability. Biological evaluations revealed surprisingly antibacterial ability and excellent osteogenic activity for samples with optimized hierarchical structure (MS30-Ti) when compared with MS0-Ti. Consequently, for the first time, a hierarchically structured Ti surface with topography-induced inherent antibacterial capability and excellent osteogenic activity was constructed. PMID:25146099

  4. Random sampling or geostatistical modelling? Choosing between design-based and model-based sampling strategies for soil (with discussion)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brus, D.J.; Gruijter, de J.J.

    1997-01-01

    Classical sampling theory has been repeatedly identified with classical statistics which assumes that data are identically and independently distributed. This explains the switch of many soil scientists from design-based sampling strategies, based on classical sampling theory, to the model-based

  5. A hierarchical model for structure learning based on the physiological characteristics of neurons

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    WEI Hui

    2007-01-01

    Almost all applications of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) depend mainly on their memory ability.The characteristics of typical ANN models are fixed connections,with evolved weights,globalized representations,and globalized optimizations,all based on a mathematical approach.This makes those models to be deficient in robustness,efficiency of learning,capacity,anti-jamming between training sets,and correlativity of samples,etc.In this paper,we attempt to address these problems by adopting the characteristics of biological neurons in morphology and signal processing.A hierarchical neural network was designed and realized to implement structure learning and representations based on connected structures.The basic characteristics of this model are localized and random connections,field limitations of neuron fan-in and fan-out,dynamic behavior of neurons,and samples represented through different sub-circuits of neurons specialized into different response patterns.At the end of this paper,some important aspects of error correction,capacity,learning efficiency,and soundness of structural representation are analyzed theoretically.This paper has demonstrated the feasibility and advantages of structure learning and representation.This model can serve as a fundamental element of cognitive systems such as perception and associative memory.Key-words structure learning,representation,associative memory,computational neuroscience

  6. Three Ways to Link Merge with Hierarchical Concept-Combination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris Thornton

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available In the Minimalist Program, language competence is seen to stem from a fundamental ability to construct hierarchical structure, an operation dubbed ‘Merge’. This raises the problem of how to view hierarchical concept-combination. This is a conceptual operation which also builds hierarchical structure. We can conceive of a garden that consists of a lawn and a flower-bed, for example, or a salad consisting of lettuce, fennel and rocket, or a crew consisting of a pilot and engineer. In such cases, concepts are put together in a way that makes one the accommodating element with respect to the others taken in combination. The accommodating element becomes the root of a hierarchical unit. Since this unit is itself a concept, the operation is inherently recursive. Does this mean the mind has two independent systems of hierarchical construction? Or is some form of integration more likely? Following a detailed examination of the operations involved, this paper shows there are three main ways in which Merge might be linked to hierarchical concept-combination. Also examined are the architectural implications that arise in each case.

  7. Hierarchical modeling and its numerical implementation for layered thin elastic structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, Jin-Rae [Hongik University, Sejong (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-05-15

    Thin elastic structures such as beam- and plate-like structures and laminates are characterized by the small thickness, which lead to classical plate and laminate theories in which the displacement fields through the thickness are assumed linear or higher-order polynomials. These classical theories are either insufficient to represent the complex stress variation through the thickness or may encounter the accuracy-computational cost dilemma. In order to overcome the inherent problem of classical theories, the concept of hierarchical modeling has been emerged. In the hierarchical modeling, the hierarchical models with different model levels are selected and combined within a structure domain, in order to make the modeling error be distributed as uniformly as possible throughout the problem domain. The purpose of current study is to explore the potential of hierarchical modeling for the effective numerical analysis of layered structures such as laminated composite. For this goal, the hierarchical models are constructed and the hierarchical modeling is implemented by selectively adjusting the level of hierarchical models. As well, the major characteristics of hierarchical models are investigated through the numerical experiments.

  8. Enhancing product robustness in reliability-based design optimization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhuang, Xiaotian; Pan, Rong; Du, Xiaoping

    2015-01-01

    Different types of uncertainties need to be addressed in a product design optimization process. In this paper, the uncertainties in both product design variables and environmental noise variables are considered. The reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) is integrated with robust product design (RPD) to concurrently reduce the production cost and the long-term operation cost, including quality loss, in the process of product design. This problem leads to a multi-objective optimization with probabilistic constraints. In addition, the model uncertainties associated with a surrogate model that is derived from numerical computation methods, such as finite element analysis, is addressed. A hierarchical experimental design approach, augmented by a sequential sampling strategy, is proposed to construct the response surface of product performance function for finding optimal design solutions. The proposed method is demonstrated through an engineering example. - Highlights: • A unifying framework for integrating RBDO and RPD is proposed. • Implicit product performance function is considered. • The design problem is solved by sequential optimization and reliability assessment. • A sequential sampling technique is developed for improving design optimization. • The comparison with traditional RBDO is provided

  9. A proposal of optimal sampling design using a modularity strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simone, A.; Giustolisi, O.; Laucelli, D. B.

    2016-08-01

    In real water distribution networks (WDNs) are present thousands nodes and optimal placement of pressure and flow observations is a relevant issue for different management tasks. The planning of pressure observations in terms of spatial distribution and number is named sampling design and it was faced considering model calibration. Nowadays, the design of system monitoring is a relevant issue for water utilities e.g., in order to manage background leakages, to detect anomalies and bursts, to guarantee service quality, etc. In recent years, the optimal location of flow observations related to design of optimal district metering areas (DMAs) and leakage management purposes has been faced considering optimal network segmentation and the modularity index using a multiobjective strategy. Optimal network segmentation is the basis to identify network modules by means of optimal conceptual cuts, which are the candidate locations of closed gates or flow meters creating the DMAs. Starting from the WDN-oriented modularity index, as a metric for WDN segmentation, this paper proposes a new way to perform the sampling design, i.e., the optimal location of pressure meters, using newly developed sampling-oriented modularity index. The strategy optimizes the pressure monitoring system mainly based on network topology and weights assigned to pipes according to the specific technical tasks. A multiobjective optimization minimizes the cost of pressure meters while maximizing the sampling-oriented modularity index. The methodology is presented and discussed using the Apulian and Exnet networks.

  10. Micro-Raman spectroscopy of natural and synthetic indigo samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandenabeele, Peter; Moens, Luc

    2003-02-01

    In this work indigo samples from three different sources are studied by using Raman spectroscopy: the synthetic pigment and pigments from the woad (Isatis tinctoria) and the indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria). 21 samples were obtained from 8 suppliers; for each sample 5 Raman spectra were recorded and used for further chemometrical analysis. Principal components analysis (PCA) was performed as data reduction method before applying hierarchical cluster analysis. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was implemented as a non-hierarchical supervised pattern recognition method to build a classification model. In order to avoid broad-shaped interferences from the fluorescence background, the influence of 1st and 2nd derivatives on the classification was studied by using cross-validation. Although chemically identical, it is shown that Raman spectroscopy in combination with suitable chemometric methods has the potential to discriminate between synthetic and natural indigo samples.

  11. Parameterization of aquatic ecosystem functioning and its natural variation: Hierarchical Bayesian modelling of plankton food web dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norros, Veera; Laine, Marko; Lignell, Risto; Thingstad, Frede

    2017-10-01

    Methods for extracting empirically and theoretically sound parameter values are urgently needed in aquatic ecosystem modelling to describe key flows and their variation in the system. Here, we compare three Bayesian formulations for mechanistic model parameterization that differ in their assumptions about the variation in parameter values between various datasets: 1) global analysis - no variation, 2) separate analysis - independent variation and 3) hierarchical analysis - variation arising from a shared distribution defined by hyperparameters. We tested these methods, using computer-generated and empirical data, coupled with simplified and reasonably realistic plankton food web models, respectively. While all methods were adequate, the simulated example demonstrated that a well-designed hierarchical analysis can result in the most accurate and precise parameter estimates and predictions, due to its ability to combine information across datasets. However, our results also highlighted sensitivity to hyperparameter prior distributions as an important caveat of hierarchical analysis. In the more complex empirical example, hierarchical analysis was able to combine precise identification of parameter values with reasonably good predictive performance, although the ranking of the methods was less straightforward. We conclude that hierarchical Bayesian analysis is a promising tool for identifying key ecosystem-functioning parameters and their variation from empirical datasets.

  12. Fabrication of hierarchical porous ZnO-Al2O3 microspheres with enhanced adsorption performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Chunsheng; Pi, Meng; Xu, Difa; Jiang, Chuanjia; Cheng, Bei

    2017-12-01

    Hierarchical porous ZnO-Al2O3 microspheres were fabricated through a simple hydrothermal route. The as-prepared hierarchical porous ZnO-Al2O3 composites were utilized as adsorbents to remove organic dye Congo red (CR) from water. The ZnO-Al2O3 composites had morphology of microspheres with diameters in the range of 12-16 μm, which were assembled by nanosheets with thicknesses of approximately 60 nm. The adsorption kinetics of CR onto the ZnO-Al2O3 composites was properly fitted by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The equilibrium adsorption data were perfectly described by the Langmuir isotherm and had a maximum adsorption capacity that reached 397 mg/g, which was significantly higher than the value of the pure alumina (Al2O3) and zinc oxide (ZnO) samples. The superior CR removal efficiency of the ZnO-Al2O3 composites was attributed to its well-developed hierarchical porous structures and larger specific surface area (201 m2/g), which were conducive to the diffusion and adsorption of CR molecules. Moreover, the regeneration study reveals that the ZnO-Al2O3 composites have suitable stability and reusability. The results also indicate that the as-prepared sample can act as a highly effective adsorbent in anionic dye removal from wastewater.

  13. Secondary Analysis under Cohort Sampling Designs Using Conditional Likelihood

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olli Saarela

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Under cohort sampling designs, additional covariate data are collected on cases of a specific type and a randomly selected subset of noncases, primarily for the purpose of studying associations with a time-to-event response of interest. With such data available, an interest may arise to reuse them for studying associations between the additional covariate data and a secondary non-time-to-event response variable, usually collected for the whole study cohort at the outset of the study. Following earlier literature, we refer to such a situation as secondary analysis. We outline a general conditional likelihood approach for secondary analysis under cohort sampling designs and discuss the specific situations of case-cohort and nested case-control designs. We also review alternative methods based on full likelihood and inverse probability weighting. We compare the alternative methods for secondary analysis in two simulated settings and apply them in a real-data example.

  14. Detecting spatial structures in throughfall data: The effect of extent, sample size, sampling design, and variogram estimation method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voss, Sebastian; Zimmermann, Beate; Zimmermann, Alexander

    2016-09-01

    In the last decades, an increasing number of studies analyzed spatial patterns in throughfall by means of variograms. The estimation of the variogram from sample data requires an appropriate sampling scheme: most importantly, a large sample and a layout of sampling locations that often has to serve both variogram estimation and geostatistical prediction. While some recommendations on these aspects exist, they focus on Gaussian data and high ratios of the variogram range to the extent of the study area. However, many hydrological data, and throughfall data in particular, do not follow a Gaussian distribution. In this study, we examined the effect of extent, sample size, sampling design, and calculation method on variogram estimation of throughfall data. For our investigation, we first generated non-Gaussian random fields based on throughfall data with large outliers. Subsequently, we sampled the fields with three extents (plots with edge lengths of 25 m, 50 m, and 100 m), four common sampling designs (two grid-based layouts, transect and random sampling) and five sample sizes (50, 100, 150, 200, 400). We then estimated the variogram parameters by method-of-moments (non-robust and robust estimators) and residual maximum likelihood. Our key findings are threefold. First, the choice of the extent has a substantial influence on the estimation of the variogram. A comparatively small ratio of the extent to the correlation length is beneficial for variogram estimation. Second, a combination of a minimum sample size of 150, a design that ensures the sampling of small distances and variogram estimation by residual maximum likelihood offers a good compromise between accuracy and efficiency. Third, studies relying on method-of-moments based variogram estimation may have to employ at least 200 sampling points for reliable variogram estimates. These suggested sample sizes exceed the number recommended by studies dealing with Gaussian data by up to 100 %. Given that most previous

  15. Hierarchical cultural values predict success and mortality in high-stakes teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anicich, Eric M.; Swaab, Roderick I.; Galinsky, Adam D.

    2015-01-01

    Functional accounts of hierarchy propose that hierarchy increases group coordination and reduces conflict. In contrast, dysfunctional accounts claim that hierarchy impairs performance by preventing low-ranking team members from voicing their potentially valuable perspectives and insights. The current research presents evidence for both the functional and dysfunctional accounts of hierarchy within the same dataset. Specifically, we offer empirical evidence that hierarchical cultural values affect the outcomes of teams in high-stakes environments through group processes. Experimental data from a sample of expert mountain climbers from 27 countries confirmed that climbers expect that a hierarchical culture leads to improved team coordination among climbing teams, but impaired psychological safety and information sharing compared with an egalitarian culture. An archival analysis of 30,625 Himalayan mountain climbers from 56 countries on 5,104 expeditions found that hierarchy both elevated and killed in the Himalayas: Expeditions from more hierarchical countries had more climbers reach the summit, but also more climbers die along the way. Importantly, we established the role of group processes by showing that these effects occurred only for group, but not solo, expeditions. These findings were robust to controlling for environmental factors, risk preferences, expedition-level characteristics, country-level characteristics, and other cultural values. Overall, this research demonstrates that endorsing cultural values related to hierarchy can simultaneously improve and undermine group performance. PMID:25605883

  16. Hierarchical virtual screening approaches in small molecule drug discovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Ashutosh; Zhang, Kam Y J

    2015-01-01

    Virtual screening has played a significant role in the discovery of small molecule inhibitors of therapeutic targets in last two decades. Various ligand and structure-based virtual screening approaches are employed to identify small molecule ligands for proteins of interest. These approaches are often combined in either hierarchical or parallel manner to take advantage of the strength and avoid the limitations associated with individual methods. Hierarchical combination of ligand and structure-based virtual screening approaches has received noteworthy success in numerous drug discovery campaigns. In hierarchical virtual screening, several filters using ligand and structure-based approaches are sequentially applied to reduce a large screening library to a number small enough for experimental testing. In this review, we focus on different hierarchical virtual screening strategies and their application in the discovery of small molecule modulators of important drug targets. Several virtual screening studies are discussed to demonstrate the successful application of hierarchical virtual screening in small molecule drug discovery. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Hierarchical tailoring of strut architecture to control permeability of additive manufactured titanium implants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Z. [Department of Materials, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Jones, D. [School of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, L69 3GH (United Kingdom); Yue, S. [Manchester X-ray Imaging Facility, School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Lee, P.D., E-mail: peter.lee@manchester.ac.uk [Manchester X-ray Imaging Facility, School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Jones, J.R. [Department of Materials, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Sutcliffe, C.J. [School of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, L69 3GH (United Kingdom); Jones, E. [Department of Advanced Technology, Stryker Orthopaedics, Raheen Business Park, Limerick (Ireland)

    2013-10-15

    Porous titanium implants are a common choice for bone augmentation. Implants for spinal fusion and repair of non-union fractures must encourage blood flow after implantation so that there is sufficient cell migration, nutrient and growth factor transport to stimulate bone ingrowth. Additive manufacturing techniques allow a large number of pore network designs. This study investigates how the design factors offered by selective laser melting technique can be used to alter the implant architecture on multiple length scales to control and even tailor the flow. Permeability is a convenient parameter that characterises flow, correlating to structure openness (interconnectivity and pore window size), tortuosity and hence flow shear rates. Using experimentally validated computational simulations, we demonstrate how additive manufacturing can be used to tailor implant properties by controlling surface roughness at a microstructual level (microns), and by altering the strut ordering and density at a mesoscopic level (millimetre). Highlights: • Experimentally validated permeability prediction tools for hierarchical implants. • Randomised structures form preferential flow channels with stronger shear flows. • Hierarchical strut structures allow independent tailoring of flow and pore size.

  18. Hierarchical tailoring of strut architecture to control permeability of additive manufactured titanium implants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Z.; Jones, D.; Yue, S.; Lee, P.D.; Jones, J.R.; Sutcliffe, C.J.; Jones, E.

    2013-01-01

    Porous titanium implants are a common choice for bone augmentation. Implants for spinal fusion and repair of non-union fractures must encourage blood flow after implantation so that there is sufficient cell migration, nutrient and growth factor transport to stimulate bone ingrowth. Additive manufacturing techniques allow a large number of pore network designs. This study investigates how the design factors offered by selective laser melting technique can be used to alter the implant architecture on multiple length scales to control and even tailor the flow. Permeability is a convenient parameter that characterises flow, correlating to structure openness (interconnectivity and pore window size), tortuosity and hence flow shear rates. Using experimentally validated computational simulations, we demonstrate how additive manufacturing can be used to tailor implant properties by controlling surface roughness at a microstructual level (microns), and by altering the strut ordering and density at a mesoscopic level (millimetre). Highlights: • Experimentally validated permeability prediction tools for hierarchical implants. • Randomised structures form preferential flow channels with stronger shear flows. • Hierarchical strut structures allow independent tailoring of flow and pore size

  19. Introduction into Hierarchical Matrices

    KAUST Repository

    Litvinenko, Alexander

    2013-01-01

    Hierarchical matrices allow us to reduce computational storage and cost from cubic to almost linear. This technique can be applied for solving PDEs, integral equations, matrix equations and approximation of large covariance and precision matrices.

  20. Introduction into Hierarchical Matrices

    KAUST Repository

    Litvinenko, Alexander

    2013-12-05

    Hierarchical matrices allow us to reduce computational storage and cost from cubic to almost linear. This technique can be applied for solving PDEs, integral equations, matrix equations and approximation of large covariance and precision matrices.

  1. The hierarchical expert tuning of PID controllers using tools of soft computing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karray, F; Gueaieb, W; Al-Sharhan, S

    2002-01-01

    We present soft computing-based results pertaining to the hierarchical tuning process of PID controllers located within the control loop of a class of nonlinear systems. The results are compared with PID controllers implemented either in a stand alone scheme or as a part of conventional gain scheduling structure. This work is motivated by the increasing need in the industry to design highly reliable and efficient controllers for dealing with regulation and tracking capabilities of complex processes characterized by nonlinearities and possibly time varying parameters. The soft computing-based controllers proposed are hybrid in nature in that they integrate within a well-defined hierarchical structure the benefits of hard algorithmic controllers with those having supervisory capabilities. The controllers proposed also have the distinct features of learning and auto-tuning without the need for tedious and computationally extensive online systems identification schemes.

  2. Quantifying the Hierarchical Order in Self-Aligned Carbon Nanotubes from Atomic to Micrometer Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meshot, Eric R; Zwissler, Darwin W; Bui, Ngoc; Kuykendall, Tevye R; Wang, Cheng; Hexemer, Alexander; Wu, Kuang Jen J; Fornasiero, Francesco

    2017-06-27

    Fundamental understanding of structure-property relationships in hierarchically organized nanostructures is crucial for the development of new functionality, yet quantifying structure across multiple length scales is challenging. In this work, we used nondestructive X-ray scattering to quantitatively map the multiscale structure of hierarchically self-organized carbon nanotube (CNT) "forests" across 4 orders of magnitude in length scale, from 2.0 Å to 1.5 μm. Fully resolved structural features include the graphitic honeycomb lattice and interlayer walls (atomic), CNT diameter (nano), as well as the greater CNT ensemble (meso) and large corrugations (micro). Correlating orientational order across hierarchical levels revealed a cascading decrease as we probed finer structural feature sizes with enhanced sensitivity to small-scale disorder. Furthermore, we established qualitative relationships for single-, few-, and multiwall CNT forest characteristics, showing that multiscale orientational order is directly correlated with number density spanning 10 9 -10 12 cm -2 , yet order is inversely proportional to CNT diameter, number of walls, and atomic defects. Lastly, we captured and quantified ultralow-q meridional scattering features and built a phenomenological model of the large-scale CNT forest morphology, which predicted and confirmed that these features arise due to microscale corrugations along the vertical forest direction. Providing detailed structural information at multiple length scales is important for design and synthesis of CNT materials as well as other hierarchically organized nanostructures.

  3. Hierarchically organized architecture of potassium hydrogen phthalate and poly(acrylic acid): toward a general strategy for biomimetic crystal design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oaki, Yuya; Imai, Hiroaki

    2005-12-28

    A hierarchically organized architecture in multiple scales was generated from potassium hydrogen phthalate crystals and poly(acrylic acid) based on our novel biomimetic approach with an exquisite association of polymers on crystallization.

  4. Hierarchical processing in the prefrontal cortex in a variety of cognitive domains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyeon-Ae eJeon

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available This review scrutinizes several findings on human hierarchical processing within the prefrontal cortex (PFC in diverse cognitive domains. Converging evidence from previous studies has shown that the PFC, specifically Brodmann area (BA 44, may function as the essential region for hierarchical processing across the domains. In language fMRI studies, BA 44 was significantly activated for the hierarchical processing of center-embedded sentences and this pattern of activations was also observed in artificial grammar. The same pattern was observed in the visuo-spatial domain where BA44 was actively involved in the processing of hierarchy for the visual symbol. Musical syntax, which is the rule-based arrangement of musical sets, has also been construed as hierarchical processing as in the language domain such that the activation in BA44 was observed in a chord sequence paradigm. P600 ERP was also engendered during the processing of musical hierarchy. Along with a longstanding idea that a human’s number faculty is developed as a by-product of language faculty, BA44 was closely involved in hierarchical processing in mental arithmetic. This review extended its discussion of hierarchical processing to hierarchical behavior, that is, human action which has been referred to as being hierarchically composed. Several lesion and TMS studies supported the involvement of BA44 for hierarchical processing in the action domain. Lastly, the hierarchical organization of cognitive controls was discussed within the PFC, forming a cascade of top-down hierarchical processes operating along a posterior-to-anterior axis of the lateral PFC including BA44 within the network. It is proposed that PFC is actively involved in different forms of hierarchical processing and specifically BA44 may play an integral role in the process. Taking levels of proficiency and subcortical areas into consideration may provide further insight into the functional role of BA44 for hierarchical

  5. On the location, strength and accessibility of Brønsted acid sites in hierarchical ZSM-5 particles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tzoulaki, Despina; Jentys, Andreas; Pérez-Ramírez, Javier

    2012-01-01

    Microporous and mesoporous (hierarchical) ZSM-5 samples, prepared by desilication, dealumination and templating with carbon nanoparticles have been characterized by adsorbing benzene, cyclohexane and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (mesitylene) to probe the location, the strength and the accessibility...

  6. Sampling designs and methods for estimating fish-impingement losses at cooling-water intakes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murarka, I.P.; Bodeau, D.J.

    1977-01-01

    Several systems for estimating fish impingement at power plant cooling-water intakes are compared to determine the most statistically efficient sampling designs and methods. Compared to a simple random sampling scheme the stratified systematic random sampling scheme, the systematic random sampling scheme, and the stratified random sampling scheme yield higher efficiencies and better estimators for the parameters in two models of fish impingement as a time-series process. Mathematical results and illustrative examples of the applications of the sampling schemes to simulated and real data are given. Some sampling designs applicable to fish-impingement studies are presented in appendixes

  7. Extending cluster Lot Quality Assurance Sampling designs for surveillance programs

    OpenAIRE

    Hund, Lauren; Pagano, Marcello

    2014-01-01

    Lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) has a long history of applications in industrial quality control. LQAS is frequently used for rapid surveillance in global health settings, with areas classified as poor or acceptable performance based on the binary classification of an indicator. Historically, LQAS surveys have relied on simple random samples from the population; however, implementing two-stage cluster designs for surveillance sampling is often more cost-effective than ...

  8. Hierarchical Ag mesostructures for single particle SERS substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Minwei, E-mail: xuminwei@xjtu.edu.cn; Zhang, Yin

    2017-01-30

    Highlights: • Hierarchical Ag mesostructures with the size of 250, 360 and 500 nm are synthesized via a seed-mediated approach. • The Ag mesostructures present the tailorable size and highly roughened surfaces. • The average enhancement factors for individual Ag mesostructures were estimated to be as high as 10{sup 6}. - Abstract: Hierarchical Ag mesostructures with highly rough surface morphology have been synthesized at room temperature through a simple seed-mediated approach. Electron microscopy characterizations indicate that the obtained Ag mesostructures exhibit a textured surface morphology with the flower-like architecture. Moreover, the particle size can be tailored easily in the range of 250–500 nm. For the growth process of the hierarchical Ag mesostructures, it is believed that the self-assembly mechanism is more reasonable rather than the epitaxial overgrowth of Ag seed. The oriented attachment of nanoparticles is revealed during the formation of Ag mesostructures. Single particle surface enhanced Raman spectra (sp-SERS) of crystal violet adsorbed on the hierarchical Ag mesostructures were measured. Results reveal that the hierarchical Ag mesostructures can be highly sensitive sp-SERS substrates with good reproducibility. The average enhancement factors for individual Ag mesostructures are estimated to be about 10{sup 6}.

  9. Optimization of Hierarchically Scheduled Heterogeneous Embedded Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pop, Traian; Pop, Paul; Eles, Petru

    2005-01-01

    We present an approach to the analysis and optimization of heterogeneous distributed embedded systems. The systems are heterogeneous not only in terms of hardware components, but also in terms of communication protocols and scheduling policies. When several scheduling policies share a resource......, they are organized in a hierarchy. In this paper, we address design problems that are characteristic to such hierarchically scheduled systems: assignment of scheduling policies to tasks, mapping of tasks to hardware components, and the scheduling of the activities. We present algorithms for solving these problems....... Our heuristics are able to find schedulable implementations under limited resources, achieving an efficient utilization of the system. The developed algorithms are evaluated using extensive experiments and a real-life example....

  10. Hierarchical clustering into groups of human brain regions according to elemental composition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stedman, J.D.; Spyrou, N.M.

    1998-01-01

    Thirteen brain regions were dissected from both hemispheres of fifteen 'normal' ageing subjects (8 females, 7 males) of mean age 79±7 years. Elemental compositions were determined by simultaneous application of particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and Rutherford backscattering (RBS) analyses using a 2 MeV, 4 nA proton beam scanned over 4 mm 2 of the sample surface. Elemental concentrations were found to be dependent upon the brain region and hemisphere studied. Hierarchical cluster analysis was applied to group the brain regions according to the sample concentrations of eight elements. The resulting dendrogram is presented and its clusters related to the sample compositions of grey and white matter. (author)

  11. Hierarchical Control for Smart Grids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Trangbæk, K; Bendtsen, Jan Dimon; Stoustrup, Jakob

    2011-01-01

    of autonomous consumers. The control system is tasked with balancing electric power production and consumption within the smart grid, and makes active use of the flexibility of a large number of power producing and/or power consuming units. The objective is to accommodate the load variation on the grid, arising......This paper deals with hierarchical model predictive control (MPC) of smart grid systems. The design consists of a high level MPC controller, a second level of so-called aggregators, which reduces the computational and communication-related load on the high-level control, and a lower level...... on one hand from varying consumption, and on the other hand by natural variations in power production e.g. from wind turbines. The high-level MPC problem is solved using quadratic optimisation, while the aggregator level can either involve quadratic optimisation or simple sorting-based min-max solutions...

  12. Analysis hierarchical model for discrete event systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciortea, E. M.

    2015-11-01

    The This paper presents the hierarchical model based on discrete event network for robotic systems. Based on the hierarchical approach, Petri network is analysed as a network of the highest conceptual level and the lowest level of local control. For modelling and control of complex robotic systems using extended Petri nets. Such a system is structured, controlled and analysed in this paper by using Visual Object Net ++ package that is relatively simple and easy to use, and the results are shown as representations easy to interpret. The hierarchical structure of the robotic system is implemented on computers analysed using specialized programs. Implementation of hierarchical model discrete event systems, as a real-time operating system on a computer network connected via a serial bus is possible, where each computer is dedicated to local and Petri model of a subsystem global robotic system. Since Petri models are simplified to apply general computers, analysis, modelling, complex manufacturing systems control can be achieved using Petri nets. Discrete event systems is a pragmatic tool for modelling industrial systems. For system modelling using Petri nets because we have our system where discrete event. To highlight the auxiliary time Petri model using transport stream divided into hierarchical levels and sections are analysed successively. Proposed robotic system simulation using timed Petri, offers the opportunity to view the robotic time. Application of goods or robotic and transmission times obtained by measuring spot is obtained graphics showing the average time for transport activity, using the parameters sets of finished products. individually.

  13. Hierarchical effects on target detection and conflict monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Bihua; Gao, Feng; Ren, Maofang; Li, Fuhong

    2016-01-01

    Previous neuroimaging studies have demonstrated a hierarchical functional structure of the frontal cortices of the human brain, but the temporal course and the electrophysiological signature of the hierarchical representation remains unaddressed. In the present study, twenty-one volunteers were asked to perform a nested cue-target task, while their scalp potentials were recorded. The results showed that: (1) in comparison with the lower-level hierarchical targets, the higher-level targets elicited a larger N2 component (220–350 ms) at the frontal sites, and a smaller P3 component (350–500 ms) across the frontal and parietal sites; (2) conflict-related negativity (non-target minus target) was greater for the lower-level hierarchy than the higher-level, reflecting a more intensive process of conflict monitoring at the final step of target detection. These results imply that decision making, context updating, and conflict monitoring differ among different hierarchical levels of abstraction. PMID:27561989

  14. Bionic Design for Mars Sampling Scoop Inspired by Himalayan Marmot Claw

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Long Xue

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Cave animals are often adapted to digging and life underground, with claw toes similar in structure and function to a sampling scoop. In this paper, the clawed toes of the Himalayan marmot were selected as a biological prototype for bionic research. Based on geometric parameter optimization of the clawed toes, a bionic sampling scoop for use on Mars was designed. Using a 3D laser scanner, the point cloud data of the second front claw toe was acquired. Parametric equations and contour curves for the claw were then built with cubic polynomial fitting. We obtained 18 characteristic curve equations for the internal and external contours of the claw. A bionic sampling scoop was designed according to the structural parameters of Curiosity’s sampling shovel and the contours of the Himalayan marmot’s claw. Verifying test results showed that when the penetration angle was 45° and the sampling speed was 0.33 r/min, the bionic sampling scoops’ resistance torque was 49.6% less than that of the prototype sampling scoop. When the penetration angle was 60° and the sampling speed was 0.22 r/min, the resistance torque of the bionic sampling scoop was 28.8% lower than that of the prototype sampling scoop.

  15. Programming with Hierarchical Maps

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ørbæk, Peter

    This report desribes the hierarchical maps used as a central data structure in the Corundum framework. We describe its most prominent features, ague for its usefulness and briefly describe some of the software prototypes implemented using the technology....

  16. Super-hierarchical porous carbons derived from mixed biomass wastes by a stepwise removal strategy for high-performance supercapacitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Lin; Liang, Yeru; Dong, Hanwu; Hu, Hang; Zhao, Xiao; Cai, Yijing; Xiao, Yong; Liu, Yingliang; Zheng, Mingtao

    2018-02-01

    The synthesis and energy storage application of hierarchical porous carbons with size ranging from nano-to micrometres has attracted considerable attention all over the world. Exploring eco-friendly and reliable synthesis of hierarchical porous carbons for supercapacitors with high energy density and high power is still of ongoing challenge. In this work, we report the design and synthesis of super-hierarchical porous carbons with highly developed porosity by a stepwise removal strategy for high-rate supercapacitors. The mixed biomass wastes of coconut shell and sewage sludge are employed as raw material. The as-prepared super-hierarchical porous carbons present high surface areas (3003 m2 g-1), large pore volume (2.04 cm3 g-1), appropriate porosity, and outstanding electrochemical performance. The dependence of electrochemical performance on structural, textural, and functional properties of carbons engineered by various synthesis strategies is investigated in detail. Moreover, the as-assembled symmetrical supercapacitor exhibits high energy density of 25.4 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 225 W kg-1 and retains 20.7 Wh kg-1 even at a very high power of 9000 W kg-1. This work provides an environmentally benign strategy and new insights to efficiently regulate the porosity of hierarchical porous carbons derived from biomass wastes for energy storage applications.

  17. Evaluation of optimized bronchoalveolar lavage sampling designs for characterization of pulmonary drug distribution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clewe, Oskar; Karlsson, Mats O; Simonsson, Ulrika S H

    2015-12-01

    Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is a pulmonary sampling technique for characterization of drug concentrations in epithelial lining fluid and alveolar cells. Two hypothetical drugs with different pulmonary distribution rates (fast and slow) were considered. An optimized BAL sampling design was generated assuming no previous information regarding the pulmonary distribution (rate and extent) and with a maximum of two samples per subject. Simulations were performed to evaluate the impact of the number of samples per subject (1 or 2) and the sample size on the relative bias and relative root mean square error of the parameter estimates (rate and extent of pulmonary distribution). The optimized BAL sampling design depends on a characterized plasma concentration time profile, a population plasma pharmacokinetic model, the limit of quantification (LOQ) of the BAL method and involves only two BAL sample time points, one early and one late. The early sample should be taken as early as possible, where concentrations in the BAL fluid ≥ LOQ. The second sample should be taken at a time point in the declining part of the plasma curve, where the plasma concentration is equivalent to the plasma concentration in the early sample. Using a previously described general pulmonary distribution model linked to a plasma population pharmacokinetic model, simulated data using the final BAL sampling design enabled characterization of both the rate and extent of pulmonary distribution. The optimized BAL sampling design enables characterization of both the rate and extent of the pulmonary distribution for both fast and slowly equilibrating drugs.

  18. Design and construction of hierarchical TiO2 nanorod arrays by combining layer-by-layer and hydrothermal crystallization techniques for electrochromic application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yongbo; Li, Xiaomin; Bi, Zhijie; He, Xiaoli; Li, Guanjie; Xu, Xiaoke; Gao, Xiangdong

    2018-05-01

    The hierarchical TiO2 (H-TiO2) nanorod arrays (NRAs) composed of single-crystalline nanorods and nanocrystals were finely designed and successfully constructed for electrochromic (EC) application. By combining layer-by-layer (LBL) method and hydrothermal crystallization technique, the superfine nanocrystals (5-7 nm), which can provide abundant active sites and facilitate ion insertion/extraction during EC reactions, were uniformly and conformally assembled on the surface of single-crystalline TiO2 (SC-TiO2) NRAs. The as-formed H-TiO2 NRAs integrate the advantages of one-dimensional NRAs with fast kinetics and superfine nanocrystals with high ion capacity, showing highly enhanced EC performance. Large optical contrast (40.3%), shorter coloring/bleaching time (22/4 s), high coloration efficiency (11.2 cm2 C-1), and excellent cycling stability can be achieved in H-TiO2 NRAs, superior to the pristine SC-TiO2 NRAs and nanocrystalline TiO2 films. This work provides a feasible and well-designed strategy to explore high-performance materials for EC application.

  19. Hierarchically Porous N-doped Carbon Derived from ZIF-8 Nanocomposites for Electrochemical Applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang, Min; Cao, Xueping; Zhu, Dandan; Duan, Yongxin; Zhang, Jianming

    2016-01-01

    A core-shell structure composite, zeolitic imidazolate framework @ cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (ZIF-8@CTAB) was synthesized by CTAB micelle controlling the growth of ZIF-8 in aqueous systems. Direct carbonization of ZIF-8@CTAB at a high temperature produced the nitrogen-doped hierarchically porous carbon (named as PC1000@C). In comparison with the carbonization product of pure ZIF-8 (named as PC1000), PC1000@C possesses the higher specific surface area and two-times larger total pore volume. The results from elemental analysis shows the higher N content in PC1000 sample, while X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy curve-fitting shows the higher quaternary-N content in PC1000@C sample. The hierarchical microporous/mesoporous structure, high surface area and favorable N species in PC1000@C play an active role in catalyzing oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The specific capacitance of porous carbon was calculated from the galvanostatic-discharge curve. PC1000@C exhibits a large specific capacitance of 225 F g"−"1 at a current density of 0.5 A g"−"1 and still retains 92% of initial capacitance after 1000 galvanostatic charge-discharge cycles.

  20. Development of hierarchically porous cobalt oxide for enhanced photo-oxidation of indoor pollutants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheng, J. P., E-mail: chengjp@zju.edu.cn [Zhejiang University, State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering (China); Shereef, Anas; Gray, Kimberly A., E-mail: k-gray@northwestern.edu [Northwestern University, Center for Catalysis and Surface Science (United States); Wu, Jinsong [Northwestern University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering (United States)

    2015-03-15

    Porous cobalt oxide was successfully prepared by precipitation of cobalt hydroxide followed by low temperature thermal decomposition. The morphologies of the resultant oxides remained as the corresponding hydroxides, although the morphology of cobalt hydroxides was greatly influenced by the precursor salts. The cobalt oxides with average crystal size less than 20 nm were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, BET surface area, and XPS analysis. The photocatalytic activities of the various cobalt oxides morphologies were investigated by comparing the photo-degradation of acetaldehyde under simulated solar illumination. Relative to their low order structures and reference titania samples, the hierarchical nanostructures of cobalt oxide showed excellent abilities to rapidly degrade acetaldehyde, a model air pollutant. This was attributed to the unique nature of these hierarchical cobalt oxide nanoassemblies, which contained many catalytically active reaction sites and open pores.

  1. Novel hollow microspheres of hierarchical zinc-aluminum layered double hydroxides and their enhanced adsorption capacity for phosphate in water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Jiabin; Yang, Siliang; Yu, Jiaguo; Shu, Zhan

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Hierarchical Zn-Al LDHs hollow microspheres were first synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method using urea as precipitating agent. → The morphology of Zn-Al LDHs can be tailored from irregular platelet to hollow microspheres by simply varying concentrations of urea. → The as-prepared samples exhibit high adsorption capacity (54.1-232 mg/g) for phosphate from aqueous solution. - Abstract: Hollow microspheres of hierarchical Zn-Al layered double hydroxides (LDHs) were synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method using urea as precipitating agent. The morphology and microstructure of the as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. It was found that the morphology of hierarchical Zn-Al LDHs can be tuned from irregular platelets to hollow microspheres by simply varying concentrations of urea. The effects of initial phosphate concentration and contact time on phosphate adsorption using various Zn-Al LDHs and their calcined products (LDOs) were investigated from batch tests. Our results indicate that the equilibrium adsorption data were best fitted by Langmuir isothermal model, with the maximum adsorption capacity of 54.1-232 mg/g; adsorption kinetics follows the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation and intra-particle diffusion model. In addition, Zn-Al LDOs are shown to be effective adsorbents for removing phosphate from aqueous solutions due to their hierarchical porous structures and high specific surface areas.

  2. Multicollinearity in hierarchical linear models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Han; Jiang, Shanhe; Land, Kenneth C

    2015-09-01

    This study investigates an ill-posed problem (multicollinearity) in Hierarchical Linear Models from both the data and the model perspectives. We propose an intuitive, effective approach to diagnosing the presence of multicollinearity and its remedies in this class of models. A simulation study demonstrates the impacts of multicollinearity on coefficient estimates, associated standard errors, and variance components at various levels of multicollinearity for finite sample sizes typical in social science studies. We further investigate the role multicollinearity plays at each level for estimation of coefficient parameters in terms of shrinkage. Based on these analyses, we recommend a top-down method for assessing multicollinearity in HLMs that first examines the contextual predictors (Level-2 in a two-level model) and then the individual predictors (Level-1) and uses the results for data collection, research problem redefinition, model re-specification, variable selection and estimation of a final model. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Hierarchical Analysis of the Omega Ontology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joslyn, Cliff A.; Paulson, Patrick R.

    2009-12-01

    Initial delivery for mathematical analysis of the Omega Ontology. We provide an analysis of the hierarchical structure of a version of the Omega Ontology currently in use within the US Government. After providing an initial statistical analysis of the distribution of all link types in the ontology, we then provide a detailed order theoretical analysis of each of the four main hierarchical links present. This order theoretical analysis includes the distribution of components and their properties, their parent/child and multiple inheritance structure, and the distribution of their vertical ranks.

  4. Hierarchical porous Co3O4 films with size-adjustable pores as Li ion battery anodes with excellent rate performances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Guangyu; Xu, Zhanming; Zhang, Li; Sun, Kening

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: •Template-free synthesis of hierarchical porous Co 3 O 4 films on Ni foams. •Hierarchical porous Co 3 O 4 films with size-adjustable pores. •Excellent rate performances (650 mAh g −1 at 30 C) as Li ion battery anodes. -- Abstract: Constructing hierarchical porous structures on the current collectors is an attractive strategy for improving the rate performance of the Li ion battery electrodes. However, preparing hierarchical porous structures normally requires hard or soft templates to create hollows or pores in different sizes. Rigorous preparation conditions are needed to control the size (especially nanosize) and size distribution of the pores obtained by conventional methods. Herein, we describe a template-free two-step synthesis process to prepare hierarchical porous Co 3 O 4 films on Ni foam substrates. In this synthesis process, free-standing mesoporous precursor flakes are deposited on Ni foams by an electrochemical method. Subsequently, the meosporous precursor flake arrays are calcined to obtain hierarchical porous Co 3 O 4 films. More strikingly, the size of the mesopores in the flakes can be adjusted by altering the calcination temperature. The structure and morphology of the samples are characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller measurements. The relationship of the in-flake-pore size and the calcinations temperature is proposed here. Electrochemical tests have revealed that the hierarchical porous Co 3 O 4 films demonstrate excellent rate performances (650 mAh g −1 at 30 C) as Li ion battery anodes due to the hierarchical porous structure, which endows fast ion transmission

  5. Optimal experiment design in a filtering context with application to sampled network data

    OpenAIRE

    Singhal, Harsh; Michailidis, George

    2010-01-01

    We examine the problem of optimal design in the context of filtering multiple random walks. Specifically, we define the steady state E-optimal design criterion and show that the underlying optimization problem leads to a second order cone program. The developed methodology is applied to tracking network flow volumes using sampled data, where the design variable corresponds to controlling the sampling rate. The optimal design is numerically compared to a myopic and a naive strategy. Finally, w...

  6. Hierarchical composites: Analysis of damage evolution based on fiber bundle model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mishnaevsky, Leon

    2011-01-01

    A computational model of multiscale composites is developed on the basis of the fiber bundle model with the hierarchical load sharing rule, and employed to study the effect of the microstructures of hierarchical composites on their damage resistance. Two types of hierarchical materials were consi...

  7. Modular system design and evaluation

    CERN Document Server

    Levin, Mark Sh

    2015-01-01

    This book examines seven key combinatorial engineering frameworks (composite schemes consisting of algorithms and/or interactive procedures) for hierarchical modular (composite) systems. These frameworks are based on combinatorial optimization problems (e.g., knapsack problem, multiple choice problem, assignment problem, morphological clique problem), with the author’s version of morphological design approach – Hierarchical Morphological Multicritieria Design (HMMD) – providing a conceptual lens with which to elucidate the examples discussed. This approach is based on ordinal estimates of design alternatives for systems parts/components, however, the book also puts forward an original version of HMMD that is based on new interval multiset estimates for the design alternatives with special attention paid to the aggregation of modular solutions (system versions). The second part of ‘Modular System Design and Evaluation’ provides ten information technology case studies that enriches understanding of th...

  8. Rapid fabrication of hierarchically structured supramolecular nanocomposite thin films in one minute

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Ting; Kao, Joseph

    2016-11-08

    Functional nanocomposites containing nanoparticles of different chemical compositions may exhibit new properties to meet demands for advanced technology. It is imperative to simultaneously achieve hierarchical structural control and to develop rapid, scalable fabrication to minimize degradation of nanoparticle properties and for compatibility with nanomanufacturing. The assembly kinetics of supramolecular nanocomposite in thin films is governed by the energetic cost arising from defects, the chain mobility, and the activation energy for inter-domain diffusion. By optimizing only one parameter, the solvent fraction in the film, the assembly kinetics can be precisely tailored to produce hierarchically structured thin films of supramolecular nanocomposites in approximately one minute. Moreover, the strong wavelength dependent optical anisotropy in the nanocomposite highlights their potential applications for light manipulation and information transmission. The present invention opens a new avenue in designing manufacture-friendly continuous processing for the fabrication of functional nanocomposite thin films.

  9. Hierarchical approach to optimization of parallel matrix multiplication on large-scale platforms

    KAUST Repository

    Hasanov, Khalid

    2014-03-04

    © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York. Many state-of-the-art parallel algorithms, which are widely used in scientific applications executed on high-end computing systems, were designed in the twentieth century with relatively small-scale parallelism in mind. Indeed, while in 1990s a system with few hundred cores was considered a powerful supercomputer, modern top supercomputers have millions of cores. In this paper, we present a hierarchical approach to optimization of message-passing parallel algorithms for execution on large-scale distributed-memory systems. The idea is to reduce the communication cost by introducing hierarchy and hence more parallelism in the communication scheme. We apply this approach to SUMMA, the state-of-the-art parallel algorithm for matrix–matrix multiplication, and demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally that the modified Hierarchical SUMMA significantly improves the communication cost and the overall performance on large-scale platforms.

  10. Trans-dimensional matched-field geoacoustic inversion with hierarchical error models and interacting Markov chains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dettmer, Jan; Dosso, Stan E

    2012-10-01

    This paper develops a trans-dimensional approach to matched-field geoacoustic inversion, including interacting Markov chains to improve efficiency and an autoregressive model to account for correlated errors. The trans-dimensional approach and hierarchical seabed model allows inversion without assuming any particular parametrization by relaxing model specification to a range of plausible seabed models (e.g., in this case, the number of sediment layers is an unknown parameter). Data errors are addressed by sampling statistical error-distribution parameters, including correlated errors (covariance), by applying a hierarchical autoregressive error model. The well-known difficulty of low acceptance rates for trans-dimensional jumps is addressed with interacting Markov chains, resulting in a substantial increase in efficiency. The trans-dimensional seabed model and the hierarchical error model relax the degree of prior assumptions required in the inversion, resulting in substantially improved (more realistic) uncertainty estimates and a more automated algorithm. In particular, the approach gives seabed parameter uncertainty estimates that account for uncertainty due to prior model choice (layering and data error statistics). The approach is applied to data measured on a vertical array in the Mediterranean Sea.

  11. Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Surface with Controlled Wetting Property by Hierarchical Particles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jianxiong; Liu, Weiwei; Du, Jingjing; Tang, Zengmin; Xu, Lijian; Li, Na

    2015-04-01

    Hierarchical particles were prepared by synthetically joining appropriately functionalized polystyrene spheres of poly[styrene-co-(3-(4-vinylphenyl)pentane-2,4-dione)] (PS-co-PVPD) nanoparticles and poly(styrene-co-chloromethylstyrene) (PS-co-PCMS) microparticles. The coupling reaction of nucleophilic substitution of pendent β-diketone groups with benzyl chloride was used to form the hierarchical particles. Since the polymeric nanoparticles and microparticles were synthesized by dispersion polymerization and emulsion polymerization, respectively, both the core microparticles and the surface nanoparticles can be different size and chemical composition. By means of changing the size of the PS-co-PVPD surface nanoparticles, a series of hierarchical particles with different scale ratio of the micro/nano surface structure were successfully prepared. Moreover, by employing the PS-co-PVPD microparticles and PS-co-PCMS nanoparticles as building blocks, hierarchical particles with surface nanoaprticles of different composition were made. These as-prepared hierarchical particles were subsequently assembled on glass substrates to form particulate films. Contact angle measurement shows that superhydrophobic surfaces can be obtained and the contact angle of water on the hierarchically structured surface can be adjusted by the scale ratio of the micro/nano surface structure and surface chemical component of hierarchical particles.

  12. Discursive Hierarchical Patterning in Law and Management Cases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lung, Jane

    2008-01-01

    This paper investigates the differences in the discursive patterning of cases in Law and Management. It examines a corpus of 271 Law and Management cases and discusses the kind of information that these two disciplines call for and how discourses are constructed in discursive hierarchical patterns. A discursive hierarchical pattern is a model…

  13. Hierarchically porous LaFeO3 perovskite prepared from the pomelo peel bio-template for catalytic oxidation of NO

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Shaojun; Wang, Li; Wang, Ying; Li, Xing

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, pomelo peel was used as biological template to obtain hierarchically porous LaFeO3 perovskite for the catalytic oxidation of NO to NO2. In addition, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), N2 adsorption-desorption analyses, X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), NO temperature-programmed desorption (NO-TPD), oxygen temperature-programmed desorption (O2-TPD) and hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR) were used to investigate the micro-structure and the redox properties of the hierarchically porous LaFeO3 perovskite prepared from pomelo peel biological template and the LaFeO3 perovskite without the biological template. The results indicated that the hierarchically porous LaFeO3 perovskite successfully replicated the porous structure of pomelo peel with high specific surface area. Compared to the LaFeO3 perovskite prepared without the pomelo peel template, the hierarchically porous LaFeO3 perovskite showed better catalytic oxidization of NO to NO2 under the same conditions. The maximum NO conversions for LaFeO3 prepared with and without template were 90% at 305 °C and 76% at 313 °C, respectively. This is mainly attributed to the higher ratio of Fe4+/Fe3+, the hierarchically porous structure with more adsorbed oxygen species and higher surface area for the hierarchically porous LaFeO3 perovskite compared with the sample prepared without the pomelo peel template.

  14. Skin-Inspired Hierarchical Polymer Architectures with Gradient Stiffness for Spacer-Free, Ultrathin, and Highly Sensitive Triboelectric Sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ha, Minjeong; Lim, Seongdong; Cho, Soowon; Lee, Youngoh; Na, Sangyun; Baig, Chunggi; Ko, Hyunhyub

    2018-04-24

    The gradient stiffness between stiff epidermis and soft dermis with interlocked microridge structures in human skin induces effective stress transmission to underlying mechanoreceptors for enhanced tactile sensing. Inspired by skin structure and function, we fabricate hierarchical nanoporous and interlocked microridge structured polymers with gradient stiffness for spacer-free, ultrathin, and highly sensitive triboelectric sensors (TESs). The skin-inspired hierarchical polymers with gradient elastic modulus enhance the compressibility and contact areal differences due to effective transmission of the external stress from stiff to soft layers, resulting in highly sensitive TESs capable of detecting human vital signs and voice. In addition, the microridges in the interlocked polymers provide an effective variation of gap distance between interlocked layers without using the bulk spacer and thus facilitate the ultrathin and flexible design of TESs that could be worn on the body and detect a variety of pressing, bending, and twisting motions even in humid and underwater environments. Our TESs exhibit the highest power density (46.7 μW/cm 2 ), pressure (0.55 V/kPa), and bending (∼0.1 V/°) sensitivities ever reported on flexible TESs. The proposed design of hierarchical polymer architectures for the flexible and wearable TESs can find numerous applications in next-generation wearable electronics.

  15. Type Ia Supernova Light Curve Inference: Hierarchical Models for Nearby SN Ia in the Optical and Near Infrared

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandel, Kaisey; Kirshner, R. P.; Narayan, G.; Wood-Vasey, W. M.; Friedman, A. S.; Hicken, M.

    2010-01-01

    I have constructed a comprehensive statistical model for Type Ia supernova light curves spanning optical through near infrared data simultaneously. The near infrared light curves are found to be excellent standard candles (sigma(MH) = 0.11 +/- 0.03 mag) that are less vulnerable to systematic error from dust extinction, a major confounding factor for cosmological studies. A hierarchical statistical framework incorporates coherently multiple sources of randomness and uncertainty, including photometric error, intrinsic supernova light curve variations and correlations, dust extinction and reddening, peculiar velocity dispersion and distances, for probabilistic inference with Type Ia SN light curves. Inferences are drawn from the full probability density over individual supernovae and the SN Ia and dust populations, conditioned on a dataset of SN Ia light curves and redshifts. To compute probabilistic inferences with hierarchical models, I have developed BayeSN, a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm based on Gibbs sampling. This code explores and samples the global probability density of parameters describing individual supernovae and the population. I have applied this hierarchical model to optical and near infrared data of over 100 nearby Type Ia SN from PAIRITEL, the CfA3 sample, and the literature. Using this statistical model, I find that SN with optical and NIR data have a smaller residual scatter in the Hubble diagram than SN with only optical data. The continued study of Type Ia SN in the near infrared will be important for improving their utility as precise and accurate cosmological distance indicators.

  16. Hierarchical Context Modeling for Video Event Recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiaoyang; Ji, Qiang

    2016-10-11

    Current video event recognition research remains largely target-centered. For real-world surveillance videos, targetcentered event recognition faces great challenges due to large intra-class target variation, limited image resolution, and poor detection and tracking results. To mitigate these challenges, we introduced a context-augmented video event recognition approach. Specifically, we explicitly capture different types of contexts from three levels including image level, semantic level, and prior level. At the image level, we introduce two types of contextual features including the appearance context features and interaction context features to capture the appearance of context objects and their interactions with the target objects. At the semantic level, we propose a deep model based on deep Boltzmann machine to learn event object representations and their interactions. At the prior level, we utilize two types of prior-level contexts including scene priming and dynamic cueing. Finally, we introduce a hierarchical context model that systematically integrates the contextual information at different levels. Through the hierarchical context model, contexts at different levels jointly contribute to the event recognition. We evaluate the hierarchical context model for event recognition on benchmark surveillance video datasets. Results show that incorporating contexts in each level can improve event recognition performance, and jointly integrating three levels of contexts through our hierarchical model achieves the best performance.

  17. Bayesian nonparametric hierarchical modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunson, David B

    2009-04-01

    In biomedical research, hierarchical models are very widely used to accommodate dependence in multivariate and longitudinal data and for borrowing of information across data from different sources. A primary concern in hierarchical modeling is sensitivity to parametric assumptions, such as linearity and normality of the random effects. Parametric assumptions on latent variable distributions can be challenging to check and are typically unwarranted, given available prior knowledge. This article reviews some recent developments in Bayesian nonparametric methods motivated by complex, multivariate and functional data collected in biomedical studies. The author provides a brief review of flexible parametric approaches relying on finite mixtures and latent class modeling. Dirichlet process mixture models are motivated by the need to generalize these approaches to avoid assuming a fixed finite number of classes. Focusing on an epidemiology application, the author illustrates the practical utility and potential of nonparametric Bayes methods.

  18. Cooperative self-construction and enhanced optical absorption of nanoplates-assembled hierarchical Bi2WO6 flowers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Shengwei; Yu Jiaguo

    2008-01-01

    Bi 2 WO 6 hierarchical multilayered flower-like assemblies are fabricated on a large scale by a simple hydrothermal method in the presence of polymeric poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate). Such 3D Bi 2 WO 6 assemblies are constructed from orderly arranged 2D layers, which are further composed of a large number of interconnected nanoplates with a mean side length of ca. 50 nm. The bimodal mesopores associated with such hierarchical assembly exhibit peak mesopore size of ca. 4 nm for the voids within a layer, and peak mesopore size of ca. 40 nm corresponding to the interspaces between stacked layers, respectively. The formation process is discussed on the basis of the results of time-dependent experiments, which support a novel 'coupled cooperative assembly and localized ripening' formation mechanism. More interestingly, we have noticed that the collective effect related to such hierarchical assembly induces a significantly enhanced optical absorbance in the UV-visible region. This work may shed some light on the design of complex architectures and exploitation of their potential applications. - Graphical abstract: Bi 2 WO 6 hierarchical multilayered flower-like assemblies are fabricated on a large scale by a simple hydrothermal method in the presence of polymeric poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate)

  19. Hierarchical silica particles by dynamic multicomponent assembly

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wu, Z. W.; Hu, Q. Y.; Pang, J. B.

    2005-01-01

    Abstract: Aerosol-assisted assembly of mesoporous silica particles with hierarchically controllable pore structure has been prepared using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and poly(propylene oxide) (PPO, H[OCH(CH3)CH2],OH) as co-templates. Addition of the hydrophobic PPO significantly...... influences the delicate hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance in the well-studied CTAB-silicate co-assembling system, resulting in various mesostructures (such as hexagonal, lamellar, and hierarchical structure). The co-assembly of CTAB, silicate clusters, and a low-molecular-weight PPO (average M-n 425) results...... in a uniform lamellar structure, while the use of a high-molecular-weight PPO (average M-n 2000), which is more hydrophobic, leads to the formation of hierarchical pore structure that contains meso-meso or meso-macro pore structure. The role of PPO additives on the mesostructure evolution in the CTAB...

  20. In situ deposition of hierarchical architecture assembly from Sn-filled CNTs for lithium-ion batteries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Xiaoyu; Jiang, Hao; Hu, Yanjie; Li, Yunfeng; Huo, Junchao; Li, Chunzhong

    2013-07-24

    In this paper, we have demonstrated a hierarchical architecture assembly from Sn-filled CNTs, which was in situ deposited on Cu foils to form binder-free electrode by incorporating flame aerosol deposition (FAD) with chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes. The reversible capacity of Sn-filled CNTs hierarchical architecture anode exhibited above 1000 mA h g(-1) before 30th cycle and stabilized at 437 mA h g(-1) after 100 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g(-1). Even at as high as 2 A g(-1), the capacity still maintained 429 mA h g(-1). The desirable cycling life and rate capacities performance were attributed to great confinement of tin in the interior of CNTs and the superior conducting network constructed by the 3D hierarchical architecture. The novel, rapid and scalable synthetic route was designed to prepare binder-free electrode with high electrochemical performance and avoid long-time mixing of active materials, binder, and carbon black, which is expected to be one of promising preparation of Sn/C anodes in lithium-ion batteries.

  1. Design/Operations review of core sampling trucks and associated equipment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shrivastava, H.P.

    1996-01-01

    A systematic review of the design and operations of the core sampling trucks was commissioned by Characterization Equipment Engineering of the Westinghouse Hanford Company in October 1995. The review team reviewed the design documents, specifications, operating procedure, training manuals and safety analysis reports. The review process, findings and corrective actions are summarized in this supporting document

  2. Preparation and Lithium-Storage Performance of a Novel Hierarchical Porous Carbon from Sucrose Using Mg-Al Layered Double Hydroxides as Template

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shi, Liluo; Chen, Yaxin; Song, Huaihe; Li, Ang; Chen, Xiaohong; Zhou, Jisheng; Ma, Zhaokun

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • A new hierarchical porous carbon containing slit-shaped mesopores and 3D carbon nanosheets were prepared using Mg-Al layered double hydroxides as template. • The hierarchical porous carbon electrode showed a high capacity and excellent cycle stability when used in lithium-ion battery. • The excellent performance is ascribed to its hierarchical porous structure, especially the mesoporous struture. - Abstract: Novel hierarchical porous carbons (NHPCs) containing 3D carbon nanosheets and slit-mesopores are prepared in this work, using MgAl-layered double hydroxides as template and sucrose as carbon source, and their electrochemical performances as anodes of lithium-ion batteries are also investigated. Owing to the existence of abundant carbon nanosheets and slit-mesopores, the NHPCs electrode exhibits the specific reversible capacity of 1151.9 mA h/g at the current density of 50 mA/g, which is significantly higher than other hierarchical porous carbons reported in previous literatures. The contributions of carbon nanosheets and mesopores to the electrochemical performance are further clarified by nitrogen adsorption-desorption test, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammograms and galvanostatic charge/discharge test. This work not only provides an easy and effective method to prepare hierarchical porous carbon materials, but also is beneficial for the design of high-performance anode materials for lithium ion batteries.

  3. Nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon materials prepared from meta-aminophenol formaldehyde resin for supercapacitor with high rate performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Jin; Zhang, Zhongshen; Xing, Wei; Yu, Jing; Han, Guoxing; Si, Weijiang; Zhuo, Shuping

    2015-01-01

    Graphical abstract: N-doped hierarchical porous carbons with high rate capacitive performance are prepared by a combination method of nano-SiO 2 template/KOH activation. - Highlights: • A mass produced nano-SiO 2 is used to prepared hierarchical porous carbon. • N-doped hierarchical porous carbon materials are easily prepared. • The NHPCs materials exhibit a very high capacitance of up to 260.5 F g −1 . • The NHPC-800 sample shows very high rate capability. • Hierarchical porosity and N-doping synergistically enhances the whole capacitance. - Abstract: In this work, nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon materials (NHPCs) are prepared by a two-step method combined of a hard template process and KOH-activation treatment. Low cost and large-scale commercial nano-SiO 2 are used as a hard template. The hierarchical porosity, structure and nitrogen-doped surface chemical properties are proved by a varies of means, such as scanning electron microscopy, transition electron microscopy, N 2 sorption, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. When the prepared NHPCs materials are used as the electrode materials for supercapacitors in KOH electrolyte, they exhibit very high specific capacitance, good power capability and excellent cyclic stability. NHPC-800 carbon shows a high capacitance of 114.0 F g −1 at the current density of 40 A g −1 , responding to a high energy and power densities of 4.0 Wh kg −1 and 10 000 W kg −1 , and a very short drain time of 1.4 s. The excellent capacitive performance may be due to the synergistic effect of the hierarchical porosity, high effective surface area and heteroatom doping, resulting in both electrochemical double layer and Faradaic capacitance contributions

  4. Practical iterative learning control with frequency domain design and sampled data implementation

    CERN Document Server

    Wang, Danwei; Zhang, Bin

    2014-01-01

    This book is on the iterative learning control (ILC) with focus on the design and implementation. We approach the ILC design based on the frequency domain analysis and address the ILC implementation based on the sampled data methods. This is the first book of ILC from frequency domain and sampled data methodologies. The frequency domain design methods offer ILC users insights to the convergence performance which is of practical benefits. This book presents a comprehensive framework with various methodologies to ensure the learnable bandwidth in the ILC system to be set with a balance between learning performance and learning stability. The sampled data implementation ensures effective execution of ILC in practical dynamic systems. The presented sampled data ILC methods also ensure the balance of performance and stability of learning process. Furthermore, the presented theories and methodologies are tested with an ILC controlled robotic system. The experimental results show that the machines can work in much h...

  5. Design of sampling tools for Monte Carlo particle transport code JMCT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shangguan Danhua; Li Gang; Zhang Baoyin; Deng Li

    2012-01-01

    A class of sampling tools for general Monte Carlo particle transport code JMCT is designed. Two ways are provided to sample from distributions. One is the utilization of special sampling methods for special distribution; the other is the utilization of general sampling methods for arbitrary discrete distribution and one-dimensional continuous distribution on a finite interval. Some open source codes are included in the general sampling method for the maximum convenience of users. The sampling results show sampling correctly from distribution which are popular in particle transport can be achieved with these tools, and the user's convenience can be assured. (authors)

  6. The structure of nearby clusters of galaxies Hierarchical clustering and an application to the Leo region

    CERN Document Server

    Materne, J

    1978-01-01

    A new method of classifying groups of galaxies, called hierarchical clustering, is presented as a tool for the investigation of nearby groups of galaxies. The method is free from model assumptions about the groups. The scaling of the different coordinates is necessary, and the level from which one accepts the groups as real has to be determined. Hierarchical clustering is applied to an unbiased sample of galaxies in the Leo region. Five distinct groups result which have reasonable physical properties, such as low crossing times and conservative mass-to-light ratios, and which follow a radial velocity- luminosity relation. Only 4 out of 39 galaxies were adopted as field galaxies. (27 refs).

  7. Hierarchical learning induces two simultaneous, but separable, prediction errors in human basal ganglia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diuk, Carlos; Tsai, Karin; Wallis, Jonathan; Botvinick, Matthew; Niv, Yael

    2013-03-27

    Studies suggest that dopaminergic neurons report a unitary, global reward prediction error signal. However, learning in complex real-life tasks, in particular tasks that show hierarchical structure, requires multiple prediction errors that may coincide in time. We used functional neuroimaging to measure prediction error signals in humans performing such a hierarchical task involving simultaneous, uncorrelated prediction errors. Analysis of signals in a priori anatomical regions of interest in the ventral striatum and the ventral tegmental area indeed evidenced two simultaneous, but separable, prediction error signals corresponding to the two levels of hierarchy in the task. This result suggests that suitably designed tasks may reveal a more intricate pattern of firing in dopaminergic neurons. Moreover, the need for downstream separation of these signals implies possible limitations on the number of different task levels that we can learn about simultaneously.

  8. Hierarchical classification with a competitive evolutionary neural tree.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, R G.; Butchart, K; Davey, N

    1999-04-01

    A new, dynamic, tree structured network, the Competitive Evolutionary Neural Tree (CENT) is introduced. The network is able to provide a hierarchical classification of unlabelled data sets. The main advantage that the CENT offers over other hierarchical competitive networks is its ability to self determine the number, and structure, of the competitive nodes in the network, without the need for externally set parameters. The network produces stable classificatory structures by halting its growth using locally calculated heuristics. The results of network simulations are presented over a range of data sets, including Anderson's IRIS data set. The CENT network demonstrates its ability to produce a representative hierarchical structure to classify a broad range of data sets.

  9. A robust H∞ control-based hierarchical mode transition control system for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Chao; Jiao, Xiaohong; Li, Liang; Zhang, Yuanbo; Chen, Zheng

    2018-01-01

    To realize a fast and smooth operating mode transition process from electric driving mode to engine-on driving mode, this paper presents a novel robust hierarchical mode transition control method for a plug-in hybrid electric bus (PHEB) with pre-transmission parallel hybrid powertrain. Firstly, the mode transition process is divided into five stages to clearly describe the powertrain dynamics. Based on the dynamics models of powertrain and clutch actuating mechanism, a hierarchical control structure including two robust H∞ controllers in both upper layer and lower layer is proposed. In upper layer, the demand clutch torque can be calculated by a robust H∞controller considering the clutch engaging time and the vehicle jerk. While in lower layer a robust tracking controller with L2-gain is designed to perform the accurate position tracking control, especially when the parameters uncertainties and external disturbance occur in the clutch actuating mechanism. Simulation and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test are carried out in a traditional driving condition of PHEB. Results show that the proposed hierarchical control approach can obtain the good control performance: mode transition time is greatly reduced with the acceptable jerk. Meanwhile, the designed control system shows the obvious robustness with the uncertain parameters and disturbance. Therefore, the proposed approach may offer a theoretical reference for the actual vehicle controller.

  10. Direct hierarchical assembly of nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Ting; Zhao, Yue; Thorkelsson, Kari

    2014-07-22

    The present invention provides hierarchical assemblies of a block copolymer, a bifunctional linking compound and a nanoparticle. The block copolymers form one micro-domain and the nanoparticles another micro-domain.

  11. Band structures of two dimensional solid/air hierarchical phononic crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Y.L.; Tian, X.G. [State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Structure Strength and Vibration, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China); Chen, C.Q., E-mail: chencq@tsinghua.edu.cn [Department of Engineering Mechanics, AML and CNMM, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

    2012-06-15

    The hierarchical phononic crystals to be considered show a two-order 'hierarchical' feature, which consists of square array arranged macroscopic periodic unit cells with each unit cell itself including four sub-units. Propagation of acoustic wave in such two dimensional solid/air phononic crystals is investigated by the finite element method (FEM) with the Bloch theory. Their band structure, wave filtering property, and the physical mechanism responsible for the broadened band gap are explored. The corresponding ordinary phononic crystal without hierarchical feature is used for comparison. Obtained results show that the solid/air hierarchical phononic crystals possess tunable outstanding band gap features, which are favorable for applications such as sound insulation and vibration attenuation.

  12. Bioinspired Hierarchical Alumina-Graphene Oxide-Poly(vinyl alcohol) Artificial Nacre with Optimized Strength and Toughness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jinrong; Qiao, Jinliang; Wang, Jianfeng; Zhu, Ying; Jiang, Lei

    2015-05-06

    Due to hierarchical organization of micro- and nanostructures, natural nacre exhibits extraordinary strength and toughness, and thus provides a superior model for the design and fabrication of high-performance artificial composite materials. Although great progress has been made in constructing layered composites by alternately stacking hard inorganic platelets and soft polymers, the real issue is that the excellent strength of these composites was obtained at the sacrifice of toughness. In this work, inspired by the layered aragonite microplatelets/chitin nanofibers-protein structure of natural nacre, alumina microplatelets-graphene oxide nanosheets-poly(vinyl alcohol) (Al2O3/GO-PVA) artificial nacre is successfully constructed through layer-by-layer bottom-up assembly, in which Al2O3 and GO-PVA act as "bricks" and "mortar", respectively. The artificial nacre has hierarchical "brick-and-mortar" structure and exhibits excellent strength (143 ± 13 MPa) and toughness (9.2 ± 2.7 MJ/m(3)), which are superior to those of natural nacre (80-135 MPa, 1.8 MJ/m(3)). It was demonstrated that the multiscale hierarchical structure of ultrathin GO nanosheets and submicrometer-thick Al2O3 platelets can deal with the conflict between strength and toughness, thus leading to the excellent mechanical properties that cannot be obtained using only one size of platelet. We strongly believe that the work presented here provides a creative strategy for designing and developing new composites with excellent strength and toughness.

  13. Automatic Hierarchical Color Image Classification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Huang

    2003-02-01

    Full Text Available Organizing images into semantic categories can be extremely useful for content-based image retrieval and image annotation. Grouping images into semantic classes is a difficult problem, however. Image classification attempts to solve this hard problem by using low-level image features. In this paper, we propose a method for hierarchical classification of images via supervised learning. This scheme relies on using a good low-level feature and subsequently performing feature-space reconfiguration using singular value decomposition to reduce noise and dimensionality. We use the training data to obtain a hierarchical classification tree that can be used to categorize new images. Our experimental results suggest that this scheme not only performs better than standard nearest-neighbor techniques, but also has both storage and computational advantages.

  14. Optimizing incomplete sample designs for item response model parameters

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Linden, Willem J.

    Several models for optimizing incomplete sample designs with respect to information on the item parameters are presented. The following cases are considered: (1) known ability parameters; (2) unknown ability parameters; (3) item sets with multiple ability scales; and (4) response models with

  15. A Facile Method to Fabricate Anisotropic Hydrogels with Perfectly Aligned Hierarchical Fibrous Structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mredha, Md Tariful Islam; Guo, Yun Zhou; Nonoyama, Takayuki; Nakajima, Tasuku; Kurokawa, Takayuki; Gong, Jian Ping

    2018-03-01

    Natural structural materials (such as tendons and ligaments) are comprised of multiscale hierarchical architectures, with dimensions ranging from nano- to macroscale, which are difficult to mimic synthetically. Here a bioinspired, facile method to fabricate anisotropic hydrogels with perfectly aligned multiscale hierarchical fibrous structures similar to those of tendons and ligaments is reported. The method includes drying a diluted physical hydrogel in air by confining its length direction. During this process, sufficiently high tensile stress is built along the length direction to align the polymer chains and multiscale fibrous structures (from nano- to submicro- to microscale) are spontaneously formed in the bulk material, which are well-retained in the reswollen gel. The method is useful for relatively rigid polymers (such as alginate and cellulose), which are susceptible to mechanical signal. By controlling the drying with or without prestretching, the degree of alignment, size of superstructures, and the strength of supramolecular interactions can be tuned, which sensitively influence the strength and toughness of the hydrogels. The mechanical properties are comparable with those of natural ligaments. This study provides a general strategy for designing hydrogels with highly ordered hierarchical structures, which opens routes for the development of many functional biomimetic materials for biomedical applications. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Hierarchical Compliance Control of a Soft Ankle Rehabilitation Robot Actuated by Pneumatic Muscles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Quan; Liu, Aiming; Meng, Wei; Ai, Qingsong; Xie, Sheng Q

    2017-01-01

    Traditional compliance control of a rehabilitation robot is implemented in task space by using impedance or admittance control algorithms. The soft robot actuated by pneumatic muscle actuators (PMAs) is becoming prominent for patients as it enables the compliance being adjusted in each active link, which, however, has not been reported in the literature. This paper proposes a new compliance control method of a soft ankle rehabilitation robot that is driven by four PMAs configured in parallel to enable three degrees of freedom movement of the ankle joint. A new hierarchical compliance control structure, including a low-level compliance adjustment controller in joint space and a high-level admittance controller in task space, is designed. An adaptive compliance control paradigm is further developed by taking into account patient's active contribution and movement ability during a previous period of time, in order to provide robot assistance only when it is necessarily required. Experiments on healthy and impaired human subjects were conducted to verify the adaptive hierarchical compliance control scheme. The results show that the robot hierarchical compliance can be online adjusted according to the participant's assessment. The robot reduces its assistance output when participants contribute more and vice versa , thus providing a potentially feasible solution to the patient-in-loop cooperative training strategy.

  17. A Comprehensive Survey on Hierarchical-Based Routing Protocols for Mobile Wireless Sensor Networks: Review, Taxonomy, and Future Directions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nabil Sabor

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Introducing mobility to Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs puts new challenges particularly in designing of routing protocols. Mobility can be applied to the sensor nodes and/or the sink node in the network. Many routing protocols have been developed to support the mobility of WSNs. These protocols are divided depending on the routing structure into hierarchical-based, flat-based, and location-based routing protocols. However, the hierarchical-based routing protocols outperform the other routing types in saving energy, scalability, and extending lifetime of Mobile WSNs (MWSNs. Selecting an appropriate hierarchical routing protocol for specific applications is an important and difficult task. Therefore, this paper focuses on reviewing some of the recently hierarchical-based routing protocols that are developed in the last five years for MWSNs. This survey divides the hierarchical-based routing protocols into two broad groups, namely, classical-based and optimized-based routing protocols. Also, we present a detailed classification of the reviewed protocols according to the routing approach, control manner, mobile element, mobility pattern, network architecture, clustering attributes, protocol operation, path establishment, communication paradigm, energy model, protocol objectives, and applications. Moreover, a comparison between the reviewed protocols is investigated in this survey depending on delay, network size, energy-efficiency, and scalability while mentioning the advantages and drawbacks of each protocol. Finally, we summarize and conclude the paper with future directions.

  18. Design and Synthesis of Hierarchical SiO2@C/TiO2 Hollow Spheres for High-Performance Supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ying; Zhao, Yan; Cao, Shunsheng; Yin, Zhengliang; Cheng, Li; Wu, Limin

    2017-09-06

    TiO 2 has been widely investigated as an electrode material because of its long cycle life and good durability, but the relatively low theoretical capacity restricts its practical application. Herein, we design and synthesize novel hierarchical SiO 2 @C/TiO 2 (HSCT) hollow spheres via a template-directed method. These unique HSCT hollow spheres combine advantages from both TiO 2 such as cycle stability and SiO 2 with a high accessible area and ionic transport. In particular, the existence of a C layer is able to enhance the electrical conductivity. The SiO 2 layer with a porous structure can increase the ion diffusion channels and accelerate the ion transfer from the outer to the inner layers. The electrochemical measurements demonstrate that the HSCT-hollow-sphere-based electrode manifests a high specific capacitance of 1018 F g -1 at 1 A g -1 which is higher than those for hollow TiO 2 (113 F g -1 ) and SiO 2 /TiO 2 (252 F g -1 ) electrodes, and substantially higher than those of all the previously reported TiO 2 -based electrodes.

  19. Hierarchical clustering using correlation metric and spatial continuity constraint

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stork, Christopher L.; Brewer, Luke N.

    2012-10-02

    Large data sets are analyzed by hierarchical clustering using correlation as a similarity measure. This provides results that are superior to those obtained using a Euclidean distance similarity measure. A spatial continuity constraint may be applied in hierarchical clustering analysis of images.

  20. Kinetically Controlled Synthesis of Pt-Based One-Dimensional Hierarchically Porous Nanostructures with Large Mesopores as Highly Efficient ORR Catalysts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Shaofang; Zhu, Chengzhou; Song, Junhua; Engelhard, Mark H; Xia, Haibing; Du, Dan; Lin, Yuehe

    2016-12-28

    Rational design and construction of Pt-based porous nanostructures with large mesopores have triggered significant considerations because of their high surface area and more efficient mass transport. Hydrochloric acid-induced kinetically controlled reduction of metal precursors in the presence of soft template F-127 and hard template tellurium nanowires has been successfully demonstrated to construct one-dimensional hierarchical porous PtCu alloy nanostructures with large mesopores. Moreover, the electrochemical experiments demonstrated that the PtCu hierarchically porous nanostructures synthesized under optimized conditions exhibit enhanced electrocatalytic performance for oxygen reduction reaction in acid media.

  1. Kinetically Controlled Synthesis of Pt-Based One-Dimensional Hierarchically Porous Nanostructures with Large Mesopores as Highly Efficient ORR Catalysts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fu, Shaofang; Zhu, Chengzhou; Song, Junhua; Engelhard, Mark H.; Xia, Haibing; Du, Dan; Lin, Yuehe

    2016-12-28

    Rational design and construction of Pt-based porous nanostructures with large mesopores have triggered significant considerations because of their high surface area and more efficient mass transport. Hydrochloric acid-induced kinetic reduction of metal precursors in the presence of soft template F-127 and hard template tellurium nanowires has been successfully demonstrated to construct one-dimensional hierarchical porous PtCu alloy nanostructures with large mesopores. Moreover, the electrochemical experiments demonstrated that the resultant PtCu hierarchically porous nanostructures with optimized composition exhibit enhanced electrocatalytic performance for oxygen reduction reaction.

  2. Hierarchical Bayesian Modeling of Fluid-Induced Seismicity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broccardo, M.; Mignan, A.; Wiemer, S.; Stojadinovic, B.; Giardini, D.

    2017-11-01

    In this study, we present a Bayesian hierarchical framework to model fluid-induced seismicity. The framework is based on a nonhomogeneous Poisson process with a fluid-induced seismicity rate proportional to the rate of injected fluid. The fluid-induced seismicity rate model depends upon a set of physically meaningful parameters and has been validated for six fluid-induced case studies. In line with the vision of hierarchical Bayesian modeling, the rate parameters are considered as random variables. We develop both the Bayesian inference and updating rules, which are used to develop a probabilistic forecasting model. We tested the Basel 2006 fluid-induced seismic case study to prove that the hierarchical Bayesian model offers a suitable framework to coherently encode both epistemic uncertainty and aleatory variability. Moreover, it provides a robust and consistent short-term seismic forecasting model suitable for online risk quantification and mitigation.

  3. Deep hierarchical attention network for video description

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Shuohao; Tang, Min; Zhang, Jun

    2018-03-01

    Pairing video to natural language description remains a challenge in computer vision and machine translation. Inspired by image description, which uses an encoder-decoder model for reducing visual scene into a single sentence, we propose a deep hierarchical attention network for video description. The proposed model uses convolutional neural network (CNN) and bidirectional LSTM network as encoders while a hierarchical attention network is used as the decoder. Compared to encoder-decoder models used in video description, the bidirectional LSTM network can capture the temporal structure among video frames. Moreover, the hierarchical attention network has an advantage over single-layer attention network on global context modeling. To make a fair comparison with other methods, we evaluate the proposed architecture with different types of CNN structures and decoders. Experimental results on the standard datasets show that our model has a more superior performance than the state-of-the-art techniques.

  4. The Study on Mental Health at Work: Design and sampling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Uwe; Schiel, Stefan; Schröder, Helmut; Kleudgen, Martin; Tophoven, Silke; Rauch, Angela; Freude, Gabriele; Müller, Grit

    2017-08-01

    The Study on Mental Health at Work (S-MGA) generates the first nationwide representative survey enabling the exploration of the relationship between working conditions, mental health and functioning. This paper describes the study design, sampling procedures and data collection, and presents a summary of the sample characteristics. S-MGA is a representative study of German employees aged 31-60 years subject to social security contributions. The sample was drawn from the employment register based on a two-stage cluster sampling procedure. Firstly, 206 municipalities were randomly selected from a pool of 12,227 municipalities in Germany. Secondly, 13,590 addresses were drawn from the selected municipalities for the purpose of conducting 4500 face-to-face interviews. The questionnaire covers psychosocial working and employment conditions, measures of mental health, work ability and functioning. Data from personal interviews were combined with employment histories from register data. Descriptive statistics of socio-demographic characteristics and logistic regressions analyses were used for comparing population, gross sample and respondents. In total, 4511 face-to-face interviews were conducted. A test for sampling bias revealed that individuals in older cohorts participated more often, while individuals with an unknown educational level, residing in major cities or with a non-German ethnic background were slightly underrepresented. There is no indication of major deviations in characteristics between the basic population and the sample of respondents. Hence, S-MGA provides representative data for research on work and health, designed as a cohort study with plans to rerun the survey 5 years after the first assessment.

  5. The Study on Mental Health at Work: Design and sampling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Uwe; Schiel, Stefan; Schröder, Helmut; Kleudgen, Martin; Tophoven, Silke; Rauch, Angela; Freude, Gabriele; Müller, Grit

    2017-01-01

    Aims: The Study on Mental Health at Work (S-MGA) generates the first nationwide representative survey enabling the exploration of the relationship between working conditions, mental health and functioning. This paper describes the study design, sampling procedures and data collection, and presents a summary of the sample characteristics. Methods: S-MGA is a representative study of German employees aged 31–60 years subject to social security contributions. The sample was drawn from the employment register based on a two-stage cluster sampling procedure. Firstly, 206 municipalities were randomly selected from a pool of 12,227 municipalities in Germany. Secondly, 13,590 addresses were drawn from the selected municipalities for the purpose of conducting 4500 face-to-face interviews. The questionnaire covers psychosocial working and employment conditions, measures of mental health, work ability and functioning. Data from personal interviews were combined with employment histories from register data. Descriptive statistics of socio-demographic characteristics and logistic regressions analyses were used for comparing population, gross sample and respondents. Results: In total, 4511 face-to-face interviews were conducted. A test for sampling bias revealed that individuals in older cohorts participated more often, while individuals with an unknown educational level, residing in major cities or with a non-German ethnic background were slightly underrepresented. Conclusions: There is no indication of major deviations in characteristics between the basic population and the sample of respondents. Hence, S-MGA provides representative data for research on work and health, designed as a cohort study with plans to rerun the survey 5 years after the first assessment. PMID:28673202

  6. Electrooxidation and amperometric determination of vorinostat on hierarchical leaf-like gold nanolayers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vais, R Dehdari; Karimian, K; Heli, H

    2018-02-01

    Hierarchical leaf-like gold nanolayers were electrodeposited using choline chloride as a shape directing agent and characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy. The electrooxidation behavior of vorinostat was then studied on the nanolayers and the kinetic parameters of the electrodic process were obtained by voltammetric measurements in a phosphate buffer solution at pH 7.40. Vorinostat was electrooxidized on the nanolayers' surface at a lower potential and with a higher rate, compared to a polycrystalline smooth gold surface, through an irreversible process. Based on the results, an amperometric sensor was designed using the hierarchical leaf-like gold nanolayers for the determination of vorinostat. A linear dynamic range of 4.0-52μmol L -1 with a calibration sensitivity of 7.7mAmol -1 L, and a detection limit of 1.40μmolL -1 were obtained. The amperometry method was also applied to the analysis of vorinostat capsules. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Hierarchical Sets: Analyzing Pangenome Structure through Scalable Set Visualizations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Thomas Lin

    2017-01-01

    of hierarchical sets by applying it to a pangenome based on 113 Escherichia and Shigella genomes and find it provides a powerful addition to pangenome analysis. The described clustering algorithm and visualizations are implemented in the hierarchicalSets R package available from CRAN (https...

  8. Self-assembled 3D-hierarchical structure Cu2ZnSnS4 photocathodes by tuning anion ratios in precursor solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wen, Xin; Shao, Hansen; Fu, Gao; Zhou, Yong; Zou, Zhigang; Luo, Wenjun; Guan, Zhongjie

    2016-01-01

    Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) is one of the most promising light capture materials for solar cells or solar fuels. Construction of 3D hierarchical structure is very important for efficient optoelectronic devices. It is challenging to directly fabricate 3D hierarchical structure CZTS film by a facile solution method. Herein, we present a one-step sol–gel method for fabrication of CZTS thin films with 3D hierarchical structures. For the first time, it is found that the morphologies of thin films can be adjusted between dense, porous and 3D hierarchical structures by tuning anion ratios of Cl − /Ac − in precursor solution. Further analysis suggests the formation of intermediate phases of SnO 2 nanoparticles and SnS 2 nanosheets by tuning ratios of Cl − /Ac − in precursor solution, which has important effects on the formation of different nanostructures of CZTS. This study can deepen understanding of anion’ effect on morphologies of samples using a solution method and forms a reference to prepare novel nanostructures of other materials. (paper)

  9. Hierarchical meso/macro-porous carbon fabricated from dual MgO templates for direct electron transfer enzymatic electrodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Funabashi, Hiroto; Takeuchi, Satoshi; Tsujimura, Seiya

    2017-03-01

    We designed a three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical pore structure to improve the current production efficiency and stability of direct electron transfer-type biocathodes. The 3D hierarchical electrode structure was fabricated using a MgO-templated porous carbon framework produced from two MgO templates with sizes of 40 and 150 nm. The results revealed that the optimal pore composition for a bilirubin oxidase-catalysed oxygen reduction cathode was a mixture of 33% macropores and 67% mesopores (MgOC33). The macropores improve mass transfer inside the carbon material, and the mesopores improve the electron transfer efficiency of the enzyme by surrounding the enzyme with carbon.

  10. What are hierarchical models and how do we analyze them?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Royle, Andy

    2016-01-01

    In this chapter we provide a basic definition of hierarchical models and introduce the two canonical hierarchical models in this book: site occupancy and N-mixture models. The former is a hierarchical extension of logistic regression and the latter is a hierarchical extension of Poisson regression. We introduce basic concepts of probability modeling and statistical inference including likelihood and Bayesian perspectives. We go through the mechanics of maximizing the likelihood and characterizing the posterior distribution by Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. We give a general perspective on topics such as model selection and assessment of model fit, although we demonstrate these topics in practice in later chapters (especially Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 10 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 10)

  11. Facile synthesis and photocatalytic activity of zinc oxide hierarchical microcrystals

    KAUST Repository

    Xu, Xinjiang

    2013-04-04

    ZnO microcrystals with hierarchical structure have been synthesized by a simple solvothermal approach. The microcrystals were studied by means of X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Research on the formation mechanism of the hierarchical microstructure shows that the coordination solvent and precursor concentration have considerable influence on the size and morphology of the microstructures. A possible formation mechanism of the hierarchical structure was suggested. Furthermore, the catalytic activity of the ZnO microcrystals was studied by treating low concentration Rhodamine B (RhB) solution under UV light, and research results show the hierarchical microstructures of ZnO display high catalytic activity in photocatalysis, the catalysis process follows first-order reaction kinetics, and the apparent rate constant k = 0.03195 min-1.

  12. A top-down design methodology and its implementation for VCSEL-based optical links design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jiguang; Cao, Mingcui; Cai, Zilong

    2005-01-01

    In order to find the optimal design for a given specification of an optical communication link, an integrated simulation of electronic, optoelectronic, and optical components of a complete system is required. It is very important to be able to simulate at both system level and detailed model level. This kind of model is feasible due to the high potential of Verilog-AMS language. In this paper, we propose an effective top-down design methodology and employ it in the development of a complete VCSEL-based optical links simulation. The principle of top-down methodology is that the development would proceed from the system to device level. To design a hierarchical model for VCSEL based optical links, the design framework is organized in three levels of hierarchy. The models are developed, and implemented in Verilog-AMS. Therefore, the model parameters are fitted to measured data. A sample transient simulation demonstrates the functioning of our implementation. Suggestions for future directions in top-down methodology used for optoelectronic systems technology are also presented.

  13. Flexible fabrication of biomimetic compound eye array via two-step thermal reflow of simply pre-modeled hierarchic microstructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Shengzhou; Li, Mujun; Shen, Lianguan; Qiu, Jinfeng; Zhou, Youquan

    2017-06-01

    A flexible fabrication method for the biomimetic compound eye (BCE) array is proposed. In this method, a triple-layer sandwich-like coating configuration was introduced, and the required hierarchic microstructures are formed with a simple single-scan exposure in maskless digital lithography. Taking advantage of the difference of glass transition point (Tg) between photoresists of each layer, the pre-formed hierarchic microstructures are in turn reflowed to the curved substrate and the BCE ommatidia in a two-step thermal reflow process. To avoid affecting the spherical substrate formed in the first thermal reflow, a non-contact strategy was proposed in the second reflow process. The measurement results were in good agreement with the designed BCE profiles. Results also showed that the fabricated BCE had good performances in optical test. The presented method is flexible, convenient, low-cost and can easily adapt to the fabrications of other optical elements with hierarchic microstructures.

  14. Hierarchical decision making for flood risk reduction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Custer, Rocco; Nishijima, Kazuyoshi

    2013-01-01

    . In current practice, structures are often optimized individually without considering benefits of having a hierarchy of protection structures. It is here argued, that the joint consideration of hierarchically integrated protection structures is beneficial. A hierarchical decision model is utilized to analyze...... and compare the benefit of large upstream protection structures and local downstream protection structures in regard to epistemic uncertainty parameters. Results suggest that epistemic uncertainty influences the outcome of the decision model and that, depending on the magnitude of epistemic uncertainty...

  15. Ionothermal synthesis of hierarchical BiOBr microspheres for water treatment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Dieqing [The Education Ministry Key Lab of Resource Chemistry and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Road, Shanghai 200231 (China); Department of Chemistry and Institute of Environment, Energy and Sustainability, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong (China); Wen, Meicheng; Jiang, Bo; Li, Guisheng [The Education Ministry Key Lab of Resource Chemistry and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Road, Shanghai 200231 (China); Yu, Jimmy C., E-mail: jimyu@cuhk.edu.hk [Department of Chemistry and Institute of Environment, Energy and Sustainability, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong (China)

    2012-04-15

    Graphical abstract: Hierarchical BiOBr microspheres were prepared from a bromine-containing ionic liquid. The material was found effective for removing heavy metals, degrading organic pollutants and killing bacteria. Highlight: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Ionothermal synthesis of BiOBr microspheres with hierarchical structure. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Efficient mass transfer and excellent light-harvesting ability. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Suitable for removing heavy metals and treatment of organic dyes. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Remarkable photocatalytic bactericidal property. - Abstract: Bismuth oxybromide (BiOBr) micropsheres with hierarchical morphologies have been fabricated via an ionothermal synthesis route. Ionic liquid acts as a unique soft material capable of promoting nucleation and in situ growth of 3D hierarchical BiOBr mesocrystals without the help of surfactants. The as-prepared BiOBr nanomaterials can effectively remove heavy metal ions and organic dyes from wastewater. They can also kill Micrococcus lylae, a Gram positive bacterium, in water under fluorescent light irradiation. Their high adaptability in water treatment may be ascribed to their hierarchical structure, allowing them high surface to volume ratio, facile species transportation and excellent light-harvesting ability.

  16. Ionothermal synthesis of hierarchical BiOBr microspheres for water treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Dieqing; Wen, Meicheng; Jiang, Bo; Li, Guisheng; Yu, Jimmy C.

    2012-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Hierarchical BiOBr microspheres were prepared from a bromine-containing ionic liquid. The material was found effective for removing heavy metals, degrading organic pollutants and killing bacteria. Highlight: ► Ionothermal synthesis of BiOBr microspheres with hierarchical structure. ► Efficient mass transfer and excellent light-harvesting ability. ► Suitable for removing heavy metals and treatment of organic dyes. ► Remarkable photocatalytic bactericidal property. - Abstract: Bismuth oxybromide (BiOBr) micropsheres with hierarchical morphologies have been fabricated via an ionothermal synthesis route. Ionic liquid acts as a unique soft material capable of promoting nucleation and in situ growth of 3D hierarchical BiOBr mesocrystals without the help of surfactants. The as-prepared BiOBr nanomaterials can effectively remove heavy metal ions and organic dyes from wastewater. They can also kill Micrococcus lylae, a Gram positive bacterium, in water under fluorescent light irradiation. Their high adaptability in water treatment may be ascribed to their hierarchical structure, allowing them high surface to volume ratio, facile species transportation and excellent light-harvesting ability.

  17. BiOCl nanowire with hierarchical structure and its Raman features

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tian Ye; Guo Chuanfei; Guo Yanjun; Wang Qi; Liu Qian

    2012-01-01

    BiOCl is a promising V-VI-VII-compound semiconductor with excellent optical and electrical properties, and has great potential applications in photo-catalysis, photoelectric, etc. We successfully synthesize BiOCl nanowire with a hierarchical structure by combining wet etch (top-down) with liquid phase crystal growth (bottom-up) process, opening a novel method to construct ordered bismuth-based nanostructures. The morphology and lattice structures of Bi nanowires, β-Bi 2 O 3 nanowires and BiOCl nanowires with the hierarchical structure are investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transition electron microscope (TEM). The formation mechanism of such ordered BiOCl hierarchical structure is considered to mainly originate from the highly preferred growth, which is governed by the lattice match between (1 1 0) facet of BiOCl and (2 2 0) or (0 0 2) facet of β-Bi 2 O 3 . A schematic model is also illustrated to depict the formation process of the ordered BiOCl hierarchical structure. In addition, Raman properties of the BiOCl nanowire with the hierarchical structure are investigated deeply.

  18. Emotional intelligence is a second-stratum factor of intelligence: evidence from hierarchical and bifactor models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacCann, Carolyn; Joseph, Dana L; Newman, Daniel A; Roberts, Richard D

    2014-04-01

    This article examines the status of emotional intelligence (EI) within the structure of human cognitive abilities. To evaluate whether EI is a 2nd-stratum factor of intelligence, data were fit to a series of structural models involving 3 indicators each for fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence, quantitative reasoning, visual processing, and broad retrieval ability, as well as 2 indicators each for emotion perception, emotion understanding, and emotion management. Unidimensional, multidimensional, hierarchical, and bifactor solutions were estimated in a sample of 688 college and community college students. Results suggest adequate fit for 2 models: (a) an oblique 8-factor model (with 5 traditional cognitive ability factors and 3 EI factors) and (b) a hierarchical solution (with cognitive g at the highest level and EI representing a 2nd-stratum factor that loads onto g at λ = .80). The acceptable relative fit of the hierarchical model confirms the notion that EI is a group factor of cognitive ability, marking the expression of intelligence in the emotion domain. The discussion proposes a possible expansion of Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory to include EI as a 2nd-stratum factor of similar standing to factors such as fluid intelligence and visual processing.

  19. Efficiently dense hierarchical graphene based aerogel electrode for supercapacitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xin; Lu, Chengxing; Peng, Huifen; Zhang, Xin; Wang, Zhenkun; Wang, Gongkai

    2016-08-01

    Boosting gravimetric and volumetric capacitances simultaneously at a high rate is still a discrepancy in development of graphene based supercapacitors. We report the preparation of dense hierarchical graphene/activated carbon composite aerogels via a reduction induced self-assembly process coupled with a drying post treatment. The compact and porous structures of composite aerogels could be maintained. The drying post treatment has significant effects on increasing the packing density of aerogels. The introduced activated carbons play the key roles of spacers and bridges, mitigating the restacking of adjacent graphene nanosheets and connecting lateral and vertical graphene nanosheets, respectively. The optimized aerogel with a packing density of 0.67 g cm-3 could deliver maximum gravimetric and volumetric capacitances of 128.2 F g-1 and 85.9 F cm-3, respectively, at a current density of 1 A g-1 in aqueous electrolyte, showing no apparent degradation to the specific capacitance at a current density of 10 A g-1 after 20000 cycles. The corresponding gravimetric and volumetric capacitances of 116.6 F g-1 and 78.1 cm-3 with an acceptable cyclic stability are also achieved in ionic liquid electrolyte. The results show a feasible strategy of designing dense hierarchical graphene based aerogels for supercapacitors.

  20. Sampling design for long-term regional trends in marine rocky intertidal communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irvine, Gail V.; Shelley, Alice

    2013-01-01

    Probability-based designs reduce bias and allow inference of results to the pool of sites from which they were chosen. We developed and tested probability-based designs for monitoring marine rocky intertidal assemblages at Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GLBA), Alaska. A multilevel design was used that varied in scale and inference. The levels included aerial surveys, extensive sampling of 25 sites, and more intensive sampling of 6 sites. Aerial surveys of a subset of intertidal habitat indicated that the original target habitat of bedrock-dominated sites with slope ≤30° was rare. This unexpected finding illustrated one value of probability-based surveys and led to a shift in the target habitat type to include steeper, more mixed rocky habitat. Subsequently, we evaluated the statistical power of different sampling methods and sampling strategies to detect changes in the abundances of the predominant sessile intertidal taxa: barnacles Balanomorpha, the mussel Mytilus trossulus, and the rockweed Fucus distichus subsp. evanescens. There was greatest power to detect trends in Mytilus and lesser power for barnacles and Fucus. Because of its greater power, the extensive, coarse-grained sampling scheme was adopted in subsequent years over the intensive, fine-grained scheme. The sampling attributes that had the largest effects on power included sampling of “vertical” line transects (vs. horizontal line transects or quadrats) and increasing the number of sites. We also evaluated the power of several management-set parameters. Given equal sampling effort, sampling more sites fewer times had greater power. The information gained through intertidal monitoring is likely to be useful in assessing changes due to climate, including ocean acidification; invasive species; trampling effects; and oil spills.

  1. On Utmost Multiplicity of Hierarchical Stellar Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gebrehiwot Y. M.

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available According to theoretical considerations, multiplicity of hierarchical stellar systems can reach, depending on masses and orbital parameters, several hundred, while observational data confirm the existence of at most septuple (seven-component systems. In this study, we cross-match the stellar systems of very high multiplicity (six and more components in modern catalogues of visual double and multiple stars to find among them the candidates to hierarchical systems. After cross-matching the catalogues of closer binaries (eclipsing, spectroscopic, etc., some of their components were found to be binary/multiple themselves, what increases the system's degree of multiplicity. Optical pairs, known from literature or filtered by the authors, were flagged and excluded from the statistics. We compiled a list of hierarchical systems with potentially very high multiplicity that contains ten objects. Their multiplicity does not exceed 12, and we discuss a number of ways to explain the lack of extremely high multiplicity systems.

  2. Hierarchical capillary adhesion of microcantilevers or hairs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Jianlin; Feng Xiqiao; Xia Re; Zhao Hongping

    2007-01-01

    As a result of capillary forces, animal hairs, carbon nanotubes or nanowires of a periodically or randomly distributed array often assemble into hierarchical structures. In this paper, the energy method is adopted to analyse the capillary adhesion of microsized hairs, which are modelled as clamped microcantilevers wetted by liquids. The critical conditions for capillary adhesion of two hairs, three hairs or two bundles of hairs are derived in terms of Young's contact angle, elastic modulus and geometric sizes of the beams. Then, the hierarchical capillary adhesion of hairs is addressed. It is found that for multiple hairs or microcantilevers, the system tends to take a hierarchical structure as a result of the minimization of the total potential energy of the system. The level number of structural hierarchy increases with the increase in the number of hairs if they are sufficiently long. Additionally, we performed experiments to verify our theoretical solutions for the adhesion of microbeams

  3. Linguistic steganography on Twitter: hierarchical language modeling with manual interaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Alex; Blunsom, Phil; Ker, Andrew D.

    2014-02-01

    This work proposes a natural language stegosystem for Twitter, modifying tweets as they are written to hide 4 bits of payload per tweet, which is a greater payload than previous systems have achieved. The system, CoverTweet, includes novel components, as well as some already developed in the literature. We believe that the task of transforming covers during embedding is equivalent to unilingual machine translation (paraphrasing), and we use this equivalence to de ne a distortion measure based on statistical machine translation methods. The system incorporates this measure of distortion to rank possible tweet paraphrases, using a hierarchical language model; we use human interaction as a second distortion measure to pick the best. The hierarchical language model is designed to model the speci c language of the covers, which in this setting is the language of the Twitter user who is embedding. This is a change from previous work, where general-purpose language models have been used. We evaluate our system by testing the output against human judges, and show that humans are unable to distinguish stego tweets from cover tweets any better than random guessing.

  4. Advances in Applications of Hierarchical Bayesian Methods with Hydrological Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, R. B.; Schwarz, G. E.; Boyer, E. W.

    2017-12-01

    Mechanistic and empirical watershed models are increasingly used to inform water resource decisions. Growing access to historical stream measurements and data from in-situ sensor technologies has increased the need for improved techniques for coupling models with hydrological measurements. Techniques that account for the intrinsic uncertainties of both models and measurements are especially needed. Hierarchical Bayesian methods provide an efficient modeling tool for quantifying model and prediction uncertainties, including those associated with measurements. Hierarchical methods can also be used to explore spatial and temporal variations in model parameters and uncertainties that are informed by hydrological measurements. We used hierarchical Bayesian methods to develop a hybrid (statistical-mechanistic) SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes) model of long-term mean annual streamflow across diverse environmental and climatic drainages in 18 U.S. hydrological regions. Our application illustrates the use of a new generation of Bayesian methods that offer more advanced computational efficiencies than the prior generation. Evaluations of the effects of hierarchical (regional) variations in model coefficients and uncertainties on model accuracy indicates improved prediction accuracies (median of 10-50%) but primarily in humid eastern regions, where model uncertainties are one-third of those in arid western regions. Generally moderate regional variability is observed for most hierarchical coefficients. Accounting for measurement and structural uncertainties, using hierarchical state-space techniques, revealed the effects of spatially-heterogeneous, latent hydrological processes in the "localized" drainages between calibration sites; this improved model precision, with only minor changes in regional coefficients. Our study can inform advances in the use of hierarchical methods with hydrological models to improve their integration with stream

  5. On hierarchical models for visual recognition and learning of objects, scenes, and activities

    CERN Document Server

    Spehr, Jens

    2015-01-01

    In many computer vision applications, objects have to be learned and recognized in images or image sequences. This book presents new probabilistic hierarchical models that allow an efficient representation of multiple objects of different categories, scales, rotations, and views. The idea is to exploit similarities between objects and object parts in order to share calculations and avoid redundant information. Furthermore inference approaches for fast and robust detection are presented. These new approaches combine the idea of compositional and similarity hierarchies and overcome limitations of previous methods. Besides classical object recognition the book shows the use for detection of human poses in a project for gait analysis. The use of activity detection is presented for the design of environments for ageing, to identify activities and behavior patterns in smart homes. In a presented project for parking spot detection using an intelligent vehicle, the proposed approaches are used to hierarchically model...

  6. Spatial Intensity Duration Frequency Relationships Using Hierarchical Bayesian Analysis for Urban Areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rupa, Chandra; Mujumdar, Pradeep

    2016-04-01

    In urban areas, quantification of extreme precipitation is important in the design of storm water drains and other infrastructure. Intensity Duration Frequency (IDF) relationships are generally used to obtain design return level for a given duration and return period. Due to lack of availability of extreme precipitation data for sufficiently large number of years, estimating the probability of extreme events is difficult. Typically, a single station data is used to obtain the design return levels for various durations and return periods, which are used in the design of urban infrastructure for the entire city. In an urban setting, the spatial variation of precipitation can be high; the precipitation amounts and patterns often vary within short distances of less than 5 km. Therefore it is crucial to study the uncertainties in the spatial variation of return levels for various durations. In this work, the extreme precipitation is modeled spatially using the Bayesian hierarchical analysis and the spatial variation of return levels is studied. The analysis is carried out with Block Maxima approach for defining the extreme precipitation, using Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distribution for Bangalore city, Karnataka state, India. Daily data for nineteen stations in and around Bangalore city is considered in the study. The analysis is carried out for summer maxima (March - May), monsoon maxima (June - September) and the annual maxima rainfall. In the hierarchical analysis, the statistical model is specified in three layers. The data layer models the block maxima, pooling the extreme precipitation from all the stations. In the process layer, the latent spatial process characterized by geographical and climatological covariates (lat-lon, elevation, mean temperature etc.) which drives the extreme precipitation is modeled and in the prior level, the prior distributions that govern the latent process are modeled. Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm (Metropolis Hastings

  7. Randomized Controlled Trials in Music Therapy: Guidelines for Design and Implementation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradt, Joke

    2012-01-01

    Evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) plays a powerful role in today's healthcare industry. At the same time, it is important that multiple types of evidence contribute to music therapy's knowledge base and that the dialogue of clinical effectiveness in music therapy is not dominated by the biomedical hierarchical model of evidence-based practice. Whether or not one agrees with the hierarchical model of evidence in the current healthcare climate, RCTs can contribute important knowledge to our field. Therefore, it is important that music therapists are prepared to design trials that meet current methodological standards and, equally important, are able to respond appropriately to those design aspects that may not be feasible in music therapy research. To provide practical guidelines to music therapy researchers for the design and implementation of RCTs as well as to enable music therapists to be well-informed consumers of RCT evidence. This article reviews key design aspects of RCTs and discusses how to best implement these standards in music therapy trials. A systematic presentation of basic randomization methods, allocation concealment strategies, issues related to blinding in music therapy trials and strategies for implementation, the use of treatment manuals, types of control groups, outcome selection, and sample size computation is provided. Despite the challenges of meeting all key design demands typical of an RCT, it is possible to design rigorous music therapy RCTs that accurately estimate music therapy treatment benefits.

  8. A Hierarchical Dispatch Structure for Distribution Network Pricing

    OpenAIRE

    Yuan, Zhao; Hesamzadeh, Mohammad Reza

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents a hierarchical dispatch structure for efficient distribution network pricing. The dispatch coordination problem in the context of hierarchical network operators are addressed. We formulate decentralized generation dispatch into a bilevel optimization problem in which main network operator and the connected distribution network operator optimize their costs in two levels. By using Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions and Fortuny-Amat McCarl linearization, the bilevel optimization ...

  9. Synthesis of Hierarchically Porous Sandwich-Like Carbon Materials for High-Performance Supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yiju; Chen, Chaoji; Gao, Tingting; Zhang, Dongming; Huang, Xiaomei; Pan, Yue; Ye, Ke; Cheng, Kui; Cao, Dianxue; Wang, Guiling

    2016-11-14

    For the first time, hierarchically porous carbon materials with a sandwich-like structure are synthesized through a facile and efficient tri-template approach. The hierarchically porous microstructures consist of abundant macropores and numerous micropores embedded into the crosslinked mesoporous walls. As a result, the obtained carbon material with a unique sandwich-like structure has a relatively high specific surface (1235 m 2  g -1 ), large pore volume (1.30 cm 3  g -1 ), and appropriate pore size distribution. These merits lead to a comparably high specific capacitance of 274.8 F g -1 at 0.2 A g -1 and satisfying rate performance (87.7 % retention from 1 to 20 A g -1 ). More importantly, the symmetric supercapacitor with two identical as-prepared carbon samples shows a superior energy density of 18.47 Wh kg -1 at a power density of 179.9 W kg -1 . The asymmetric supercapacitor based on as-obtained carbon sample and its composite with manganese dioxide (MnO 2 ) can reach up to an energy density of 25.93 Wh kg -1 at a power density of 199.9 W kg -1 . Therefore, these unique carbon material open a promising prospect for future development and utilization in the field of energy storage. © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. Improving Hierarchical Models Using Historical Data with Applications in High-Throughput Genomics Data Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ben; Li, Yunxiao; Qin, Zhaohui S

    2017-06-01

    Modern high-throughput biotechnologies such as microarray and next generation sequencing produce a massive amount of information for each sample assayed. However, in a typical high-throughput experiment, only limited amount of data are observed for each individual feature, thus the classical 'large p , small n ' problem. Bayesian hierarchical model, capable of borrowing strength across features within the same dataset, has been recognized as an effective tool in analyzing such data. However, the shrinkage effect, the most prominent feature of hierarchical features, can lead to undesirable over-correction for some features. In this work, we discuss possible causes of the over-correction problem and propose several alternative solutions. Our strategy is rooted in the fact that in the Big Data era, large amount of historical data are available which should be taken advantage of. Our strategy presents a new framework to enhance the Bayesian hierarchical model. Through simulation and real data analysis, we demonstrated superior performance of the proposed strategy. Our new strategy also enables borrowing information across different platforms which could be extremely useful with emergence of new technologies and accumulation of data from different platforms in the Big Data era. Our method has been implemented in R package "adaptiveHM", which is freely available from https://github.com/benliemory/adaptiveHM.

  11. Hierarchical Planning Methodology for a Supply Chain Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Virna ORTIZ-ARAYA

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Hierarchical production planning is a widely utilized methodology for real world capacitated production planning systems with the aim of establishing different decision–making levels of the planning issues on the time horizon considered. This paper presents a hierarchical approach proposed to a company that produces reusable shopping bags in Chile and Perú, to determine the optimal allocation of resources at the tactical level as well as over the most immediate planning horizon to meet customer demands for the next weeks. Starting from an aggregated production planning model, the aggregated decisions are disaggregated into refined decisions in two levels, using a couple of optimization models that impose appropriate constraints to keep coherence of the plan on the production system. The main features of the hierarchical solution approach are presented.

  12. Hierarchical Factoring Based On Image Analysis And Orthoblique Rotations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stankov, L

    1979-07-01

    The procedure for hierarchical factoring suggested by Schmid and Leiman (1957) is applied within the framework of image analysis and orthoblique rotational procedures. It is shown that this approach necessarily leads to correlated higher order factors. Also, one can obtain a smaller number of factors than produced by typical hierarchical procedures.

  13. Ultrafast Hierarchical OTDM/WDM Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hideyuki Sotobayashi

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available Ultrafast hierarchical OTDM/WDM network is proposed for the future core-network. We review its enabling technologies: C- and L-wavelength-band generation, OTDM-WDM mutual multiplexing format conversions, and ultrafast OTDM wavelengthband conversions.

  14. Estimation of river and stream temperature trends under haphazard sampling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Brian R.; Lyubchich, Vyacheslav; Gel, Yulia R.; Rogala, James T.; Robertson, Dale M.; Wei, Xiaoqiao

    2015-01-01

    Long-term temporal trends in water temperature in rivers and streams are typically estimated under the assumption of evenly-spaced space-time measurements. However, sampling times and dates associated with historical water temperature datasets and some sampling designs may be haphazard. As a result, trends in temperature may be confounded with trends in time or space of sampling which, in turn, may yield biased trend estimators and thus unreliable conclusions. We address this concern using multilevel (hierarchical) linear models, where time effects are allowed to vary randomly by day and date effects by year. We evaluate the proposed approach by Monte Carlo simulations with imbalance, sparse data and confounding by trend in time and date of sampling. Simulation results indicate unbiased trend estimators while results from a case study of temperature data from the Illinois River, USA conform to river thermal assumptions. We also propose a new nonparametric bootstrap inference on multilevel models that allows for a relatively flexible and distribution-free quantification of uncertainties. The proposed multilevel modeling approach may be elaborated to accommodate nonlinearities within days and years when sampling times or dates typically span temperature extremes.

  15. Hierarchical Multinomial Processing Tree Models: A Latent-Trait Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klauer, Karl Christoph

    2010-01-01

    Multinomial processing tree models are widely used in many areas of psychology. A hierarchical extension of the model class is proposed, using a multivariate normal distribution of person-level parameters with the mean and covariance matrix to be estimated from the data. The hierarchical model allows one to take variability between persons into…

  16. HIERARCHICAL PROBABILISTIC INFERENCE OF COSMIC SHEAR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schneider, Michael D.; Dawson, William A.; Hogg, David W.; Marshall, Philip J.; Bard, Deborah J.; Meyers, Joshua; Lang, Dustin

    2015-01-01

    Point estimators for the shearing of galaxy images induced by gravitational lensing involve a complex inverse problem in the presence of noise, pixelization, and model uncertainties. We present a probabilistic forward modeling approach to gravitational lensing inference that has the potential to mitigate the biased inferences in most common point estimators and is practical for upcoming lensing surveys. The first part of our statistical framework requires specification of a likelihood function for the pixel data in an imaging survey given parameterized models for the galaxies in the images. We derive the lensing shear posterior by marginalizing over all intrinsic galaxy properties that contribute to the pixel data (i.e., not limited to galaxy ellipticities) and learn the distributions for the intrinsic galaxy properties via hierarchical inference with a suitably flexible conditional probabilitiy distribution specification. We use importance sampling to separate the modeling of small imaging areas from the global shear inference, thereby rendering our algorithm computationally tractable for large surveys. With simple numerical examples we demonstrate the improvements in accuracy from our importance sampling approach, as well as the significance of the conditional distribution specification for the intrinsic galaxy properties when the data are generated from an unknown number of distinct galaxy populations with different morphological characteristics

  17. Design of Hierarchical Ring Networks Using Branch-and-Price

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomadsen, Tommy; Stidsen, Thomas K.

    2004-01-01

    -ring is designed connecting the metro-rings, minimizing fixed link establishment costs of the federal-ring. A branch-and-price algorithm is presented for the design of the bottom layer and it is suggested that existing methods are used for the design of the federal-ring. Computational results are given...

  18. Hierarchically nanostructured hydroxyapatite: hydrothermal synthesis, morphology control, growth mechanism, and biological activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ma MG

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Ming-Guo MaInstitute of Biomass Chemistry and Technology, College of Materials Science and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, People's Republic of ChinaAbstract: Hierarchically nanosized hydroxyapatite (HA with flower-like structure assembled from nanosheets consisting of nanorod building blocks was successfully synthesized by using CaCl2, NaH2PO4, and potassium sodium tartrate via a hydrothermal method at 200°C for 24 hours. The effects of heating time and heating temperature on the products were investigated. As a chelating ligand and template molecule, the potassium sodium tartrate plays a key role in the formation of hierarchically nanostructured HA. On the basis of experimental results, a possible mechanism based on soft-template and self-assembly was proposed for the formation and growth of the hierarchically nanostructured HA. Cytotoxicity experiments indicated that the hierarchically nanostructured HA had good biocompatibility. It was shown by in-vitro experiments that mesenchymal stem cells could attach to the hierarchically nanostructured HA after being cultured for 48 hours.Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop facile and effective methods for the synthesis of novel hydroxyapatite (HA with hierarchical nanostructures assembled from independent and discrete nanobuilding blocks.Methods: A simple hydrothermal approach was applied to synthesize HA by using CaCl2, NaH2PO4, and potassium sodium tartrate at 200°C for 24 hours. The cell cytotoxicity of the hierarchically nanostructured HA was tested by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay.Results: HA displayed the flower-like structure assembled from nanosheets consisting of nanorod building blocks. The potassium sodium tartrate was used as a chelating ligand, inducing the formation and self-assembly of HA nanorods. The heating time and heating temperature influenced the aggregation and morphology of HA. The cell viability did

  19. MR-AFS: a global hierarchical file-system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reuter, H.

    2000-01-01

    The next generation of fusion experiments will use object-oriented technology creating the need for world wide sharing of an underlying hierarchical file-system. The Andrew file system (AFS) is a well known and widely spread global distributed file-system. Multiple-resident-AFS (MR-AFS) combines the features of AFS with hierarchical storage management systems. Files in MR-AFS therefore may be migrated on secondary storage, such as roboted tape libraries. MR-AFS is in use at IPP for the current experiments and data originating from super-computer applications. Experiences and scalability issues are discussed

  20. Hierarchical three-dimensional porous SnS{sub 2}/carbon cloth anode for high-performance lithium ion batteries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chao, Junfeng, E-mail: chchjjff@163.com [College of Electronic Information and Electric Engineering, Anyang Institute of Technology, Anyang 455000 (China); Zhang, Xiutai [College of Electronic Information and Electric Engineering, Anyang Institute of Technology, Anyang 455000 (China); Xing, Shumin [College of Mathematics and Physics, Anyang Institute of Technology, Anyang 455000 (China); Fan, Qiufeng; Yang, Junping; Zhao, Luhua; Li, Xiang [College of Electronic Information and Electric Engineering, Anyang Institute of Technology, Anyang 455000 (China)

    2016-08-15

    Graphical abstract: Hierarchical 3D porous SnS{sub 2}/carbon cloth, good electrochemical performance. - Highlights: • Hierarchical 3D porous SnS{sub 2}/carbon cloth has been firstly synthesized. • The SnS{sub 2}/carbon clothes were good candidates for excellent lithium ion batteries. • The SnS{sub 2}/carbon cloth exhibits improved capacity compared to pure SnS{sub 2}. - Abstract: Hierarchical three-dimension (3D) porous SnS{sub 2}/carbon clothes were synthesized via a facile polyol refluxing process. The as-synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer–Emmet–Teller (BET) and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectrometer (UV–vis DRS). The 3D porous SnS{sub 2}/carbon clothes-based lithium ion batteries exhibited high reversible capacity and good rate capability as anode materials. The good electrochemical performance for lithium ion storage could be attributed to the special nanostructure, leading to high-rate transportation of electrolyte ion and electrons throughout the electrode matrix.

  1. Robust Real-Time Music Transcription with a Compositional Hierarchical Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pesek, Matevž; Leonardis, Aleš; Marolt, Matija

    2017-01-01

    The paper presents a new compositional hierarchical model for robust music transcription. Its main features are unsupervised learning of a hierarchical representation of input data, transparency, which enables insights into the learned representation, as well as robustness and speed which make it suitable for real-world and real-time use. The model consists of multiple layers, each composed of a number of parts. The hierarchical nature of the model corresponds well to hierarchical structures in music. The parts in lower layers correspond to low-level concepts (e.g. tone partials), while the parts in higher layers combine lower-level representations into more complex concepts (tones, chords). The layers are learned in an unsupervised manner from music signals. Parts in each layer are compositions of parts from previous layers based on statistical co-occurrences as the driving force of the learning process. In the paper, we present the model's structure and compare it to other hierarchical approaches in the field of music information retrieval. We evaluate the model's performance for the multiple fundamental frequency estimation. Finally, we elaborate on extensions of the model towards other music information retrieval tasks.

  2. Hierarchical wave functions revisited

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Dingping.

    1997-11-01

    We study the hierarchical wave functions on a sphere and on a torus. We simplify some wave functions on a sphere or a torus using the analytic properties of wave functions. The open question, the construction of the wave function for quasi electron excitation on a torus, is also solved in this paper. (author)

  3. Conceptual Chemical Process Design for Sustainability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    This chapter examines the sustainable design of chemical processes, with a focus on conceptual design, hierarchical and short-cut methods, and analyses of process sustainability for alternatives. The chapter describes a methodology for incorporating process sustainability analyse...

  4. Hierarchically nanostructured hydroxyapatite: hydrothermal synthesis, morphology control, growth mechanism, and biological activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Ming-Guo

    2012-01-01

    Hierarchically nanosized hydroxyapatite (HA) with flower-like structure assembled from nanosheets consisting of nanorod building blocks was successfully synthesized by using CaCl2, NaH2PO4, and potassium sodium tartrate via a hydrothermal method at 200°C for 24 hours. The effects of heating time and heating temperature on the products were investigated. As a chelating ligand and template molecule, the potassium sodium tartrate plays a key role in the formation of hierarchically nanostructured HA. On the basis of experimental results, a possible mechanism based on soft-template and self-assembly was proposed for the formation and growth of the hierarchically nanostructured HA. Cytotoxicity experiments indicated that the hierarchically nanostructured HA had good biocompatibility. It was shown by in-vitro experiments that mesenchymal stem cells could attach to the hierarchically nanostructured HA after being cultured for 48 hours. Objective The purpose of this study was to develop facile and effective methods for the synthesis of novel hydroxyapatite (HA) with hierarchical nanostructures assembled from independent and discrete nanobuilding blocks. Methods A simple hydrothermal approach was applied to synthesize HA by using CaCl2, NaH2PO4, and potassium sodium tartrate at 200°C for 24 hours. The cell cytotoxicity of the hierarchically nanostructured HA was tested by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. Results HA displayed the flower-like structure assembled from nanosheets consisting of nanorod building blocks. The potassium sodium tartrate was used as a chelating ligand, inducing the formation and self-assembly of HA nanorods. The heating time and heating temperature influenced the aggregation and morphology of HA. The cell viability did not decrease with the increasing concentration of hierarchically nanostructured HA added. Conclusion A novel, simple and reliable hydrothermal route had been developed for the synthesis of

  5. Hierarchical porous carbon aerogel derived from bagasse for high performance supercapacitor electrode.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Pin; Zhao, Zhenhuan; Tian, Jian; Li, Haidong; Sang, Yuanhua; Yu, Guangwei; Cai, Huaqiang; Liu, Hong; Wong, C P; Umar, Ahmad

    2014-10-21

    Renewable, cost-effective and eco-friendly electrode materials have attracted much attention in the energy conversion and storage fields. Bagasse, the waste product from sugarcane that mainly contains cellulose derivatives, can be a promising candidate to manufacture supercapacitor electrode materials. This study demonstrates the fabrication and characterization of highly porous carbon aerogels by using bagasse as a raw material. Macro and mesoporous carbon was first prepared by carbonizing the freeze-dried bagasse aerogel; consequently, microporous structure was created on the walls of the mesoporous carbon by chemical activation. Interestingly, it was observed that the specific surface area, the pore size and distribution of the hierarchical porous carbon were affected by the activation temperature. In order to evaluate the ability of the hierarchical porous carbon towards the supercapacitor electrode performance, solid state symmetric supercapacitors were assembled, and a comparable high specific capacitance of 142.1 F g(-1) at a discharge current density of 0.5 A g(-1) was demonstrated. The fabricated solid state supercapacitor displayed excellent capacitance retention of 93.9% over 5000 cycles. The high energy storage ability of the hierarchical porous carbon was attributed to the specially designed pore structures, i.e., co-existence of the micropores and mesopores. This research has demonstrated that utilization of sustainable biopolymers as the raw materials for high performance supercapacitor electrode materials is an effective way to fabricate low-cost energy storage devices.

  6. Hierarchical partial order ranking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carlsen, Lars

    2008-01-01

    Assessing the potential impact on environmental and human health from the production and use of chemicals or from polluted sites involves a multi-criteria evaluation scheme. A priori several parameters are to address, e.g., production tonnage, specific release scenarios, geographical and site-specific factors in addition to various substance dependent parameters. Further socio-economic factors may be taken into consideration. The number of parameters to be included may well appear to be prohibitive for developing a sensible model. The study introduces hierarchical partial order ranking (HPOR) that remedies this problem. By HPOR the original parameters are initially grouped based on their mutual connection and a set of meta-descriptors is derived representing the ranking corresponding to the single groups of descriptors, respectively. A second partial order ranking is carried out based on the meta-descriptors, the final ranking being disclosed though average ranks. An illustrative example on the prioritisation of polluted sites is given. - Hierarchical partial order ranking of polluted sites has been developed for prioritization based on a large number of parameters

  7. Hierarchical control of a nuclear reactor using uncertain dynamics techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rovere, L.A.; Otaduy, P.J.; Brittain, C.R.; Perez, R.B.

    1988-01-01

    Recent advances in the nonlinear optimal control area are opening new possibilities towards its implementation in process control. Algorithms for multivariate control, hierarchical decomposition, parameter tracking, model uncertainties actuator saturation effects and physical limits to state variables can be implemented on the basis of a consistent mathematical formulation. In this paper, good agreement is shown between a centralized and a hierarchical implementation of a controller for a hypothetical nuclear power plant subject to multiple demands. The performance of the hierarchical distributed system in the presence of localized subsystem failures is analyzed. 4 refs., 13 figs

  8. Analytical and numerical studies of creation probabilities of hierarchical trees

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.S. Borysov

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available We consider the creation conditions of diverse hierarchical trees both analytically and numerically. A connection between the probabilities to create hierarchical levels and the probability to associate these levels into a united structure is studied. We argue that a consistent probabilistic picture requires the use of deformed algebra. Our consideration is based on the study of the main types of hierarchical trees, among which both regular and degenerate ones are studied analytically, while the creation probabilities of Fibonacci, scale-free and arbitrary trees are determined numerically.

  9. Hierarchical Compliance Control of a Soft Ankle Rehabilitation Robot Actuated by Pneumatic Muscles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Quan Liu

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Traditional compliance control of a rehabilitation robot is implemented in task space by using impedance or admittance control algorithms. The soft robot actuated by pneumatic muscle actuators (PMAs is becoming prominent for patients as it enables the compliance being adjusted in each active link, which, however, has not been reported in the literature. This paper proposes a new compliance control method of a soft ankle rehabilitation robot that is driven by four PMAs configured in parallel to enable three degrees of freedom movement of the ankle joint. A new hierarchical compliance control structure, including a low-level compliance adjustment controller in joint space and a high-level admittance controller in task space, is designed. An adaptive compliance control paradigm is further developed by taking into account patient’s active contribution and movement ability during a previous period of time, in order to provide robot assistance only when it is necessarily required. Experiments on healthy and impaired human subjects were conducted to verify the adaptive hierarchical compliance control scheme. The results show that the robot hierarchical compliance can be online adjusted according to the participant’s assessment. The robot reduces its assistance output when participants contribute more and vice versa, thus providing a potentially feasible solution to the patient-in-loop cooperative training strategy.

  10. The Hydrolytic Stability and Degradation Mechanism of a Hierarchically Porous Metal Alkylphosphonate Framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kai Lv

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available To aid the design of a hierarchically porous unconventional metal-phosphonate framework (HP-UMPF for practical radioanalytical separation, a systematic investigation of the hydrolytic stability of bulk phase against acidic corrosion has been carried out for an archetypical HP-UMPF. Bulk dissolution results suggest that aqueous acidity has a more paramount effect on incongruent leaching than the temperature, and the kinetic stability reaches equilibrium by way of an accumulation of a partial leached species on the corrosion conduits. A variation of particle morphology, hierarchical porosity and backbone composition upon corrosion reveals that they are hydrolytically resilient without suffering any great degradation of porous texture, although large aggregates crack into sporadic fractures while the nucleophilic attack of inorganic layers cause the leaching of tin and phosphorus. The remaining selectivity of these HP-UMPFs is dictated by a balance between the elimination of free phosphonate and the exposure of confined phosphonates, thus allowing a real-time tailor of radionuclide sequestration. Moreover, a plausible degradation mechanism has been proposed for the triple progressive dissolution of three-level hierarchical porous structures to elucidate resultant reactivity. These HP-UMPFs are compared with benchmark metal-organic frameworks (MOFs to obtain a rough grading of hydrolytic stability and two feasible approaches are suggested for enhancing their hydrolytic stability that are intended for real-life separation protocols.

  11. Resolution of Singularities Introduced by Hierarchical Structure in Deep Neural Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nitta, Tohru

    2017-10-01

    We present a theoretical analysis of singular points of artificial deep neural networks, resulting in providing deep neural network models having no critical points introduced by a hierarchical structure. It is considered that such deep neural network models have good nature for gradient-based optimization. First, we show that there exist a large number of critical points introduced by a hierarchical structure in deep neural networks as straight lines, depending on the number of hidden layers and the number of hidden neurons. Second, we derive a sufficient condition for deep neural networks having no critical points introduced by a hierarchical structure, which can be applied to general deep neural networks. It is also shown that the existence of critical points introduced by a hierarchical structure is determined by the rank and the regularity of weight matrices for a specific class of deep neural networks. Finally, two kinds of implementation methods of the sufficient conditions to have no critical points are provided. One is a learning algorithm that can avoid critical points introduced by the hierarchical structure during learning (called avoidant learning algorithm). The other is a neural network that does not have some critical points introduced by the hierarchical structure as an inherent property (called avoidant neural network).

  12. Hierarchically structured lithium titanate for ultrafast charging in long-life high capacity batteries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odziomek, Mateusz; Chaput, Frédéric; Rutkowska, Anna; Świerczek, Konrad; Olszewska, Danuta; Sitarz, Maciej; Lerouge, Frédéric; Parola, Stephane

    2017-05-01

    High-performance Li-ion batteries require materials with well-designed and controlled structures on nanometre and micrometre scales. Electrochemical properties can be enhanced by reducing crystallite size and by manipulating structure and morphology. Here we show a method for preparing hierarchically structured Li4Ti5O12 yielding nano- and microstructure well-suited for use in lithium-ion batteries. Scalable glycothermal synthesis yields well-crystallized primary 4-8 nm nanoparticles, assembled into porous secondary particles. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals presence of Ti+4 only; combined with chemical analysis showing lithium deficiency, this suggests oxygen non-stoichiometry. Electron microscopy confirms hierarchical morphology of the obtained material. Extended cycling tests in half cells demonstrates capacity of 170 mAh g-1 and no sign of capacity fading after 1,000 cycles at 50C rate (charging completed in 72 s). The particular combination of nanostructure, microstructure and non-stoichiometry for the prepared lithium titanate is believed to underlie the observed electrochemical performance of material.

  13. Synthesis of hierarchical worm-like SnO2@C aggregates and their enhanced lithium storage properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Zhen-Guo; Li, Jun-Tao; Zhong, Yan-Jun; Liu, Jie; Guo, Xiao-Dong; Huang, Ling; Zhong, Ben-He; Sun, Shi-Gang

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The hierarchical worm-like SnO 2 @C aggregates were synthesized. • The hierarchical worm-like SnO 2 @C unit is assembled by nanowires. • The cycling performances of SnO 2 @C aggregates are improved. • A capacity of 477.0 mA h g −1 at 400 mA g −1 could be obtained after 60 cycles. - Abstract: The present paper reports a synthetic strategy of hierarchical worm-like SnO 2 @C aggregates with enhanced electrochemical performances. Specifically, a glucose-assisted hydrothermal treatment of the intermediate Co–Sn alloy nanoparticles, which were formed by carbothermal reduction of mixed commercial SnO 2 and Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles. The SnO 2 @C sample exhibits enhanced cycling performance in comparison with raw commercial SnO 2 nanoparticles and intermediate Co–Sn alloy nanoparticles when used as anode of lithium ion battery. A stable capacity of 533.6 mA h g −1 at 100 mA g −1 and 477.0 mA h g −1 at 400 mA g −1 remains after 60 cycles. When the current density increases to 1600 mA g −1 , the SnO 2 @C sample still deliver a high capacity of 384.2 mA h g −1 . The superior electrochemical performances could be attributed to the synergistic effect of unique worm-like aggregates structure and carbon surface-layer, which facilitate the electron transportation and buffer the large volume change

  14. The contribution of genetics and early rearing experiences to hierarchical personality dimensions in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latzman, Robert D.; Freeman, Hani D.; Schapiro, Steven J.; Hopkins, William D.

    2015-01-01

    A reliable literature finds that traits are related to each other in an organized hierarchy encompassing various conceptualizations of personality (e.g., Big Three, Five Factor Model). Recent work suggests the potential of a similar organization among our closest nonhuman relative, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), with significant links to neurobiology suggesting an evolutionarily- and neurobiologically-based hierarchical structure of personality. The current study investigated this hierarchical structure, the heritability of the various personality dimensions across levels of the hierarchy, and associations with early social rearing experience in a large sample (N = 238) of socially-housed, captive chimpanzees residing in two independent colonies of apes. Results provide support for a hierarchical structure of personality in chimpanzees with significant associations with early rearing experiences. Further, heritabilities of the various dimensions varied by early rearing, with affective dimensions found to be significantly heritable among mother-reared apes, while personality dimensions were largely independent of relatedness among the nursery-reared apes. Taken together, these findings provide evidence for the influence of both genetic and environmental factors on personality profiles across levels of the hierarchy, supporting the importance of considering environmental variation in models of quantitative trait evolution. PMID:25915132

  15. Design of a gravity corer for near shore sediment sampling

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Bhat, S.T.; Sonawane, A.V.; Nayak, B.U.

    For the purpose of geotechnical investigation a gravity corer has been designed and fabricated to obtain undisturbed sediment core samples from near shore waters. The corer was successfully operated at 75 stations up to water depth 30 m. Simplicity...

  16. Hierarchical structure of moral stages assessed by a sorting task

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boom, J.; Brugman, D.; Van der Heijden, P.G.M.

    2001-01-01

    Following criticism of Kohlberg’s theory of moral judgment, an empirical re-examination of hierarchical stage structure was desirable. Utilizing Piaget’s concept of reflective abstraction as a basis, the hierarchical stage structure was investigated using a new method. Study participants (553 Dutch

  17. Assessment of surface water quality using hierarchical cluster analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dheeraj Kumar Dabgerwal

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available This study was carried out to assess the physicochemical quality river Varuna inVaranasi,India. Water samples were collected from 10 sites during January-June 2015. Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the direction and strength of relationship between physicochemical parameters. Hierarchical Cluster analysis was also performed to determine the sources of pollution in the river Varuna. The result showed quite high value of DO, Nitrate, BOD, COD and Total Alkalinity, above the BIS permissible limit. The results of correlation analysis identified key water parameters as pH, electrical conductivity, total alkalinity and nitrate, which influence the concentration of other water parameters. Cluster analysis identified three major clusters of sampling sites out of total 10 sites, according to the similarity in water quality. This study illustrated the usefulness of correlation and cluster analysis for getting better information about the river water quality.International Journal of Environment Vol. 5 (1 2016,  pp: 32-44

  18. Structural Group-based Auditing of Missing Hierarchical Relationships in UMLS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yan; Gu, Huanying(Helen); Perl, Yehoshua; Geller, James

    2009-01-01

    The Metathesaurus of the UMLS was created by integrating various source terminologies. The inter-concept relationships were either integrated into the UMLS from the source terminologies or specially generated. Due to the extensive size and inherent complexity of the Metathesaurus, the accidental omission of some hierarchical relationships was inevitable. We present a recursive procedure which allows a human expert, with the support of an algorithm, to locate missing hierarchical relationships. The procedure starts with a group of concepts with exactly the same (correct) semantic type assignments. It then partitions the concepts, based on child-of hierarchical relationships, into smaller, singly rooted, hierarchically connected subgroups. The auditor only needs to focus on the subgroups with very few concepts and their concepts with semantic type reassignments. The procedure was evaluated by comparing it with a comprehensive manual audit and it exhibits a perfect error recall. PMID:18824248

  19. From superamphiphobic to amphiphilic polymeric surfaces with ordered hierarchical roughness fabricated with colloidal lithography and plasma nanotexturing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellinas, K; Tserepi, A; Gogolides, E

    2011-04-05

    Ordered, hierarchical (triple-scale), superhydrophobic, oleophobic, superoleophobic, and amphiphilic surfaces on poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA polymer substrates are fabricated using polystyrene (PS) microparticle colloidal lithography, followed by oxygen plasma etching-nanotexturing (for amphiphilic surfaces) and optional subsequent fluorocarbon plasma deposition (for amphiphobic surfaces). The PS colloidal microparticles were assembled by spin-coating. After etching/nanotexturing, the PMMA plates are amphiphilic and exhibit hierarchical (triple-scale) roughness with microscale ordered columns, and dual-scale (hundred nano/ten nano meter) nanoscale texture on the particles (top of the column) and on the etched PMMA surface. The spacing, diameter, height, and reentrant profile of the microcolumns are controlled with the etching process. Following the design requirements for superamphiphobic surfaces, we demonstrate enhancement of both hydrophobicity and oleophobicity as a result of hierarchical (triple-scale) and re-entrant topography. After fluorocarbon film deposition, we demonstrate superhydrophobic surfaces (contact angle for water 168°, compared to 110° for a flat surface), as well as superoleophobic surfaces (153° for diiodomethane, compared to 80° for a flat surface).

  20. A binary logistic regression model with complex sampling design of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2017-09-03

    Sep 3, 2017 ... Bi-variable and multi-variable binary logistic regression model with complex sampling design was fitted. .... Data was entered into STATA-12 and analyzed using. SPSS-21. .... lack of access/too far or costs too much. 35. 1.2.

  1. Hierarchical video summarization based on context clustering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tseng, Belle L.; Smith, John R.

    2003-11-01

    A personalized video summary is dynamically generated in our video personalization and summarization system based on user preference and usage environment. The three-tier personalization system adopts the server-middleware-client architecture in order to maintain, select, adapt, and deliver rich media content to the user. The server stores the content sources along with their corresponding MPEG-7 metadata descriptions. In this paper, the metadata includes visual semantic annotations and automatic speech transcriptions. Our personalization and summarization engine in the middleware selects the optimal set of desired video segments by matching shot annotations and sentence transcripts with user preferences. Besides finding the desired contents, the objective is to present a coherent summary. There are diverse methods for creating summaries, and we focus on the challenges of generating a hierarchical video summary based on context information. In our summarization algorithm, three inputs are used to generate the hierarchical video summary output. These inputs are (1) MPEG-7 metadata descriptions of the contents in the server, (2) user preference and usage environment declarations from the user client, and (3) context information including MPEG-7 controlled term list and classification scheme. In a video sequence, descriptions and relevance scores are assigned to each shot. Based on these shot descriptions, context clustering is performed to collect consecutively similar shots to correspond to hierarchical scene representations. The context clustering is based on the available context information, and may be derived from domain knowledge or rules engines. Finally, the selection of structured video segments to generate the hierarchical summary efficiently balances between scene representation and shot selection.

  2. Hierarchical matrices algorithms and analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Hackbusch, Wolfgang

    2015-01-01

    This self-contained monograph presents matrix algorithms and their analysis. The new technique enables not only the solution of linear systems but also the approximation of matrix functions, e.g., the matrix exponential. Other applications include the solution of matrix equations, e.g., the Lyapunov or Riccati equation. The required mathematical background can be found in the appendix. The numerical treatment of fully populated large-scale matrices is usually rather costly. However, the technique of hierarchical matrices makes it possible to store matrices and to perform matrix operations approximately with almost linear cost and a controllable degree of approximation error. For important classes of matrices, the computational cost increases only logarithmically with the approximation error. The operations provided include the matrix inversion and LU decomposition. Since large-scale linear algebra problems are standard in scientific computing, the subject of hierarchical matrices is of interest to scientists ...

  3. Organization of excitable dynamics in hierarchical biological networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark Müller-Linow

    Full Text Available This study investigates the contributions of network topology features to the dynamic behavior of hierarchically organized excitable networks. Representatives of different types of hierarchical networks as well as two biological neural networks are explored with a three-state model of node activation for systematically varying levels of random background network stimulation. The results demonstrate that two principal topological aspects of hierarchical networks, node centrality and network modularity, correlate with the network activity patterns at different levels of spontaneous network activation. The approach also shows that the dynamic behavior of the cerebral cortical systems network in the cat is dominated by the network's modular organization, while the activation behavior of the cellular neuronal network of Caenorhabditis elegans is strongly influenced by hub nodes. These findings indicate the interaction of multiple topological features and dynamic states in the function of complex biological networks.

  4. Flexible supercapacitors with high areal capacitance based on hierarchical carbon tubular nanostructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Haitao; Su, Hai; Zhang, Lei; Zhang, Binbin; Chun, Fengjun; Chu, Xiang; He, Weidong; Yang, Weiqing

    2016-11-01

    Hierarchical structure design can greatly enhance the unique properties of primary material(s) but suffers from complicated preparation process and difficult self-assembly of materials with different dimensionalities. Here we report on the growth of single carbon tubular nanostructures with hierarchical structure (hCTNs) through a simple method based on direct conversion of carbon dioxide. Resorting to in-situ transformation and self-assembly of carbon micro/nano-structures, the obtained hCTNs are blood-like multichannel hierarchy composed of one large channel across the hCTNs and plenty of small branches connected to each other. Due to the unique pore structure and high surface area, these hCTN-based flexible supercapacitors possess the highest areal capacitance of ∼320 mF cm-2, as well as good rate-capability and excellent cycling stability (95% retention after 2500 cycles). It was established that this method can control the morphology, size, and density of hCTNs and effectively construct hCTNs well anchored to the various substrates. Our work unambiguously demonstrated the potential of hCTNs for large flexible supercapacitors and integrated energy management electronics.

  5. Hierarchical Control for Multiple DC-Microgrids Clusters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shafiee, Qobad; Dragicevic, Tomislav; Vasquez, Juan Carlos

    2014-01-01

    DC microgrids (MGs) have gained research interest during the recent years because of many potential advantages as compared to the ac system. To ensure reliable operation of a low-voltage dc MG as well as its intelligent operation with the other DC MGs, a hierarchical control is proposed in this p......DC microgrids (MGs) have gained research interest during the recent years because of many potential advantages as compared to the ac system. To ensure reliable operation of a low-voltage dc MG as well as its intelligent operation with the other DC MGs, a hierarchical control is proposed...

  6. Hierarchical MAS based control strategy for microgrid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xiao, Z.; Li, T.; Huang, M.; Shi, J.; Yang, J.; Yu, J. [School of Information Science and Engineering, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091 (China); Xiao, Z. [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Western Catchment Area, 639798 (Singapore); Wu, W. [Communication Branch of Yunnan Power Grid Corporation, Kunming, Yunnan 650217 (China)

    2010-09-15

    Microgrids have become a hot topic driven by the dual pressures of environmental protection concerns and the energy crisis. In this paper, a challenge for the distributed control of a modern electric grid incorporating clusters of residential microgrids is elaborated and a hierarchical multi-agent system (MAS) is proposed as a solution. The issues of how to realize the hierarchical MAS and how to improve coordination and control strategies are discussed. Based on MATLAB and ZEUS platforms, bilateral switching between grid-connected mode and island mode is performed under control of the proposed MAS to enhance and support its effectiveness. (authors)

  7. Object-oriented Method of Hierarchical Urban Building Extraction from High-resolution Remote-Sensing Imagery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    TAO Chao

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available An automatic urban building extraction method for high-resolution remote-sensing imagery,which combines building segmentation based on neighbor total variations with object-oriented analysis,is presented in this paper. Aimed at different extraction complexity from various buildings in the segmented image,a hierarchical building extraction strategy with multi-feature fusion is adopted. Firstly,we extract some rectangle buildings which remain intact after segmentation through shape analysis. Secondly,in order to ensure each candidate building target to be independent,multidirectional morphological road-filtering algorithm is designed which can separate buildings from the neighboring roads with similar spectrum. Finally,we take the extracted buildings and the excluded non-buildings as samples to establish probability model respectively,and Bayesian discriminating classifier is used for making judgment of the other candidate building objects to get the ultimate extraction result. The experimental results have shown that the approach is able to detect buildings with different structure and spectral features in the same image. The results of performance evaluation also support the robustness and precision of the approach developed.

  8. Multiperiod Hierarchical Location Problem of Transit Hub in Urban Agglomeration Area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ting-ting Li

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available With the rapid urbanization in developing countries, urban agglomeration area (UAA forms. Also, transportation demand in UAA grows rapidly and presents hierarchical feature. Therefore, it is imperative to develop models for transit hubs to guide the development of UAA and better meet the time-varying and hierarchical transportation demand. In this paper, the multiperiod hierarchical location problem of transit hub in urban agglomeration area (THUAA is studied. A hierarchical service network of THUAA with a multiflow, nested, and noncoherent structure is described. Then a multiperiod hierarchical mathematical programming model is proposed, aiming at minimizing the total demand weighted travel time. Moreover, an improved adaptive clonal selection algorithm is presented to solve the model. Both the model and algorithm are verified by the application to a real-life problem of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region in China. The results of different scenarios in the case show that urban population migration has a great impact on the THUAA location scheme. Sustained and appropriate urban population migration helps to reduce travel time for urban residents.

  9. Hierarchical Trust Management of COI in Heterogeneous Mobile Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-08-01

    Report: Hierarchical Trust Management of COI in Heterogeneous Mobile Networks The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report are those of...Institute & State University Title: Hierarchical Trust Management of COI in Heterogeneous Mobile Networks Report Term: 0-Other Email: irchen@vt.edu...Reconfigurability, Survivability and Intrusion Tolerance for Community of Interest (COI) Applications – Our proposed COI trust management protocol will

  10. Metastable states in the hierarchical Dyson model drive parallel processing in the hierarchical Hopfield network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agliari, Elena; Barra, Adriano; Guerra, Francesco; Galluzzi, Andrea; Tantari, Daniele; Tavani, Flavia

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we introduce and investigate the statistical mechanics of hierarchical neural networks. First, we approach these systems à la Mattis, by thinking of the Dyson model as a single-pattern hierarchical neural network. We also discuss the stability of different retrievable states as predicted by the related self-consistencies obtained both from a mean-field bound and from a bound that bypasses the mean-field limitation. The latter is worked out by properly reabsorbing the magnetization fluctuations related to higher levels of the hierarchy into effective fields for the lower levels. Remarkably, mixing Amit's ansatz technique for selecting candidate-retrievable states with the interpolation procedure for solving for the free energy of these states, we prove that, due to gauge symmetry, the Dyson model accomplishes both serial and parallel processing. We extend this scenario to multiple stored patterns by implementing the Hebb prescription for learning within the couplings. This results in Hopfield-like networks constrained on a hierarchical topology, for which, by restricting to the low-storage regime where the number of patterns grows at its most logarithmical with the amount of neurons, we prove the existence of the thermodynamic limit for the free energy, and we give an explicit expression of its mean-field bound and of its related improved bound. We studied the resulting self-consistencies for the Mattis magnetizations, which act as order parameters, are studied and the stability of solutions is analyzed to get a picture of the overall retrieval capabilities of the system according to both mean-field and non-mean-field scenarios. Our main finding is that embedding the Hebbian rule on a hierarchical topology allows the network to accomplish both serial and parallel processing. By tuning the level of fast noise affecting it or triggering the decay of the interactions with the distance among neurons, the system may switch from sequential retrieval to

  11. Are quantitative trait-dependent sampling designs cost-effective for analysis of rare and common variants?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yilmaz, Yildiz E; Bull, Shelley B

    2011-11-29

    Use of trait-dependent sampling designs in whole-genome association studies of sequence data can reduce total sequencing costs with modest losses of statistical efficiency. In a quantitative trait (QT) analysis of data from the Genetic Analysis Workshop 17 mini-exome for unrelated individuals in the Asian subpopulation, we investigate alternative designs that sequence only 50% of the entire cohort. In addition to a simple random sampling design, we consider extreme-phenotype designs that are of increasing interest in genetic association analysis of QTs, especially in studies concerned with the detection of rare genetic variants. We also evaluate a novel sampling design in which all individuals have a nonzero probability of being selected into the sample but in which individuals with extreme phenotypes have a proportionately larger probability. We take differential sampling of individuals with informative trait values into account by inverse probability weighting using standard survey methods which thus generalizes to the source population. In replicate 1 data, we applied the designs in association analysis of Q1 with both rare and common variants in the FLT1 gene, based on knowledge of the generating model. Using all 200 replicate data sets, we similarly analyzed Q1 and Q4 (which is known to be free of association with FLT1) to evaluate relative efficiency, type I error, and power. Simulation study results suggest that the QT-dependent selection designs generally yield greater than 50% relative efficiency compared to using the entire cohort, implying cost-effectiveness of 50% sample selection and worthwhile reduction of sequencing costs.

  12. Translating Management Practices in Hierarchical Organizations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wæraas, Arild; Nielsen, Jeppe Agger

    structures affect translators’ approaches taken towards management ideas. This paper reports the findings from a longitudinal case study of the translation of Leadership Pipeline in a Danish fire department and how the translators’ approach changed over time from a modifying to a reproducing mode. The study......This study examines how translators in a hierarchical context approach the translation of management practices. Although current translation theory and research emphasize the importance of contextual factors in translation processes, little research has investigated how strongly hierarchical...... finds that translation does not necessarily imply transformation of the management idea, pointing instead to aspects of exact imitation and copying of an ”original” idea. It also highlights how translation is likely to involve multiple and successive translation modes and, furthermore, that strongly...

  13. A Hierarchical Method for Transient Stability Prediction of Power Systems Using the Confidence of a SVM-Based Ensemble Classifier

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanzhen Zhou

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Machine learning techniques have been widely used in transient stability prediction of power systems. When using the post-fault dynamic responses, it is difficult to draw a definite conclusion about how long the duration of response data used should be in order to balance the accuracy and speed. Besides, previous studies have the problem of lacking consideration for the confidence level. To solve these problems, a hierarchical method for transient stability prediction based on the confidence of ensemble classifier using multiple support vector machines (SVMs is proposed. Firstly, multiple datasets are generated by bootstrap sampling, then features are randomly picked up to compress the datasets. Secondly, the confidence indices are defined and multiple SVMs are built based on these generated datasets. By synthesizing the probabilistic outputs of multiple SVMs, the prediction results and confidence of the ensemble classifier will be obtained. Finally, different ensemble classifiers with different response times are built to construct different layers of the proposed hierarchical scheme. The simulation results show that the proposed hierarchical method can balance the accuracy and rapidity of the transient stability prediction. Moreover, the hierarchical method can reduce the misjudgments of unstable instances and cooperate with the time domain simulation to insure the security and stability of power systems.

  14. A Hierarchical Feature Extraction Model for Multi-Label Mechanical Patent Classification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jie Hu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Various studies have focused on feature extraction methods for automatic patent classification in recent years. However, most of these approaches are based on the knowledge from experts in related domains. Here we propose a hierarchical feature extraction model (HFEM for multi-label mechanical patent classification, which is able to capture both local features of phrases as well as global and temporal semantics. First, a n-gram feature extractor based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs is designed to extract salient local lexical-level features. Next, a long dependency feature extraction model based on the bidirectional long–short-term memory (BiLSTM neural network model is proposed to capture sequential correlations from higher-level sequence representations. Then the HFEM algorithm and its hierarchical feature extraction architecture are detailed. We establish the training, validation and test datasets, containing 72,532, 18,133, and 2679 mechanical patent documents, respectively, and then check the performance of HFEMs. Finally, we compared the results of the proposed HFEM and three other single neural network models, namely CNN, long–short-term memory (LSTM, and BiLSTM. The experimental results indicate that our proposed HFEM outperforms the other compared models in both precision and recall.

  15. Materials Knowledge Systems in Python - A Data Science Framework for Accelerated Development of Hierarchical Materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brough, David B; Wheeler, Daniel; Kalidindi, Surya R

    2017-03-01

    There is a critical need for customized analytics that take into account the stochastic nature of the internal structure of materials at multiple length scales in order to extract relevant and transferable knowledge. Data driven Process-Structure-Property (PSP) linkages provide systemic, modular and hierarchical framework for community driven curation of materials knowledge, and its transference to design and manufacturing experts. The Materials Knowledge Systems in Python project (PyMKS) is the first open source materials data science framework that can be used to create high value PSP linkages for hierarchical materials that can be leveraged by experts in materials science and engineering, manufacturing, machine learning and data science communities. This paper describes the main functions available from this repository, along with illustrations of how these can be accessed, utilized, and potentially further refined by the broader community of researchers.

  16. Hierarchical NiO-SiO2 composite hollow microspheres with enhanced adsorption affinity towards Congo red in water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Chunsheng; Zhu, Xiaofeng; Zhu, Bicheng; Yu, Jiaguo; Ho, Wingkei

    2016-03-15

    Hollow microspheres and hierarchical porous nanostructured materials with desired morphologies have gained remarkable attention for their potential applications in environmental technology. In this study, NiO-SiO2 hollow microspheres were prepared by co-precipitation with SiO2 and nickel salt as precursors, followed by dipping in alkaline solution and calcination. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The synthesized hollow spheres were composed of a SiO2 shell and hierarchical porous NiO nanosheets on the surface. Adsorption experiments suggested that NiO-SiO2 composite particles were powerful adsorbents for removal of Congo red from water, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 204.1 mg/g. The high specific surface areas, hollow structures, and hierarchical porous surfaces of the hollow composite particles are suitable for various applications, including adsorption of pollutants, chemical separation, and water purification. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. A Heuristic Hierarchical Scheme for Academic Search and Retrieval

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Amolochitis, Emmanouil; Christou, Ioannis T.; Tan, Zheng-Hua

    2013-01-01

    and a graph-theoretic computed score that relates the paper’s index terms with each other. We designed and developed a meta-search engine that submits user queries to standard digital repositories of academic publications and re-ranks the repository results using the hierarchical heuristic scheme. We evaluate......, and by more than 907.5% in terms of LEX. We also re-rank the top-10 results of a subset of the original 58 user queries produced by Google Scholar, Microsoft Academic Search, and ArnetMiner; the results show that PubSearch compares very well against these search engines as well. The proposed scheme can...... be easily plugged in any existing search engine for retrieval of academic publications....

  18. Bio-mimetic mechanisms of natural hierarchical materials: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Qiang; Pugno, Nicola M

    2013-03-01

    Natural selection and evolution develop a huge amount of biological materials in different environments (e.g. lotus in water and opuntia in desert). These biological materials possess many inspiring properties, which hint scientists and engineers to find some useful clues to create new materials or update the existing ones. In this review, we highlight some well-studied (e.g. nacre shell) and newly-studied (e.g. turtle shell) natural materials, and summarize their hierarchical structures and mechanisms behind their mechanical properties, from animals to plants. These fascinating mechanisms suggest to researchers to investigate natural materials deeply and broadly, and to design or fabricate new bio-inspired materials to serve our life. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Facile synthesis of hierarchical double-shell WO{sub 3} microspheres with enhanced photocatalytic activity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Zhenfeng [College of Environment and Chemical Engineering, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300387 (China); State Key Laboratory of Hollow-Fiber Membrane Materials and Membrane Processes, Tianjin 300387 (China); Chu, Deqing, E-mail: dqingchu@163.com [College of Environment and Chemical Engineering, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300387 (China); State Key Laboratory of Hollow-Fiber Membrane Materials and Membrane Processes, Tianjin 300387 (China); Wang, Limin, E-mail: wanglimin@tjpu.edu.cn [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300387 (China); State Key Laboratory of Hollow-Fiber Membrane Materials and Membrane Processes, Tianjin 300387 (China); Wang, Lipeng [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300387 (China); Hu, Wenhui; Chen, Xiangyu; Yang, Huifang [College of Environment and Chemical Engineering, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300387 (China); Sun, Jingjing [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300387 (China)

    2017-02-28

    Highlights: • HDS-WO{sub 3} were fabricated via mild process. • A possible growth mechanism for HDS-WO{sub 3} is proposed. • The excellent photocatalytic activity is attributed to the larger surface area of the HDS-WO{sub 3} nanostructures. - Abstract: Hierarchical double-shell WO{sub 3} microspheres (HDS-WO{sub 3}) have been successfully obtained through the thermal decomposition of WO{sub 3}·H{sub 2}O formed by metal salts as the templates. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the morphology was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In addition, the HDS-WO{sub 3} microspheres were analyzed by the Thermogravimetric (TG) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The synthetic mechanism of the products with hierarchical structures was proposed. The obtained HDS-WO{sub 3} exhibits excellent photocatalytic efficiency (84.9%), which is much higher than other WO{sub 3} sample under visible light illumination.

  20. Rational design of anatase TiO2 architecture with hierarchical nanotubes and hollow microspheres for high-performance dye-sensitized solar cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Jiuwang; Khan, Javid; Chai, Zhisheng; Yuan, Yufei; Yu, Xiang; Liu, Pengyi; Wu, Mingmei; Mai, Wenjie

    2016-01-01

    Large surface area, sufficient light-harvesting and superior electron transport property are the major factors for an ideal photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), which requires rational design of the nanoarchitectures and smart integration of state-of-the-art technologies. In this work, a 3D anatase TiO2 architecture consisting of vertically aligned 1D hierarchical TiO2 nanotubes (NTs) with ultra-dense branches (HTNTs, bottom layer) and 0D hollow TiO2 microspheres with rough surface (HTS, top layer) is first successfully constructed on transparent conductive fluorine-doped tin oxide glass through a series of facile processes. When used as photoanodes, the DSSCs achieve a very large short-current density of 19.46 mA cm-2 and a high overall power conversion efficiency of 8.38%. The remarkable photovoltaic performance is predominantly ascribed to the enhanced charge transport capacity of the NTs (function as the electron highway), the large surface area of the branches (act as the electron branch lines), the pronounced light harvesting efficiency of the HTS (serve as the light scattering centers), and the engineered intimate interfaces between all of them (minimize the recombination effect). Our work demonstrates a possibility of fabricating superior photoanodes for high-performance DSSCs by rational design of nanoarchitectures and smart integration of multi-functional components.