A smartphone-based program enabling people with intellectual and other disabilities to access leisure,communication, and functional activities

Universal Access in the Information Society - The study assessed a new smartphone-based program to enable five adults with moderate intellectual disabilities and visual or visual-motor impairments...     

Improved Circularity Metrology of Small Cylindrical Workpieces by the Segmenting-stitching Technique

To address the alignment and measuring force problem in the segmenting-stitching technique for the circularity metrology of small cylindrical workpieces (diameter less than 1.5 mm and length less than 10 mm), a magnet combination jig method is proposed. A small round magnet is attached between the round magnetic jig and small cylinder, and the other end of the small cylindrical workpiece is attached to some cylindrical magnets. Thus, the smaller cylinder can be put in the V-groove and measured successfully with the magnet combination. For ver-ifying the advantage of the magnet combination jig, four measurement quality evaluations are proposed: the circumferential deviation of neighbor arc contours, radial deviation of neighbor arc contours, angle of inclina-tion between the V-groove and small cylinder, and curvature of the obtained arc. The results show that the matching coefficient is enhanced by 98%, the Euclidean distance of overlap parts of neighbor arc contours is reduced by 68%, the position error is reduced 27%, and the average curvature of the arc contours is improved. It can be concluded that the measuring quality can be enhanced prominently by this magnet combination method for the segmenting-stitching method.     

水下控制系统技术在采油树先导试验中的应用

为增加国产化水下采油树控制系统的可靠性和可操作性，对水下控制系统方式进行比较分析，选择电液复合控制方式作为先导试验的控制方法。目标油田流花11-1采用直接液压控制系统，需要在直接液压控制方式的基础上对其进行适应性改造。对目标油田直接液压控制系统进行调研，在充分利用原设备的基础上，在尽可能减少半潜式平台改造和施工的前提下，对国产水下采油树电液复合控制系统新增的电气系统、通信系统、液压系统、化学药剂系统等进行设计研究分析，通过4个专项计算分析，分析结果满足电液复合控制系统要求，从而论证了设计方案的可行性。     

基于深度神经网络和随机森林集成模型的ADS-B辐射源个体识别

针对辐射源个体识别中单一神经网络随着辐射源个体数量的增加，模型的识别准确率显著下降的问题，提出一种基于深度神经网络和随机森林集成模型的广播式自动相关监视(ADS-B)辐射源个体识别方法。该方法利用多种深度神经网络模型和随机森林对增强数据集进行训练，然后利用集成学习方法中的硬投票方法对各网络模型和随机森林识别得到的结果进行集成表决，使得识别结果更具有说服力，同时在在辐射源个体数量增加的情况下依旧保持较高的识别率。实验结果表明，在融合了DRSN、VGG、ResNet、GoogleNet、DenseNet 5类神经网络和随机森林后，相比于单一的神经网络，识别准确率能够提升了3%～20%,且在辐射源个体数量增加的情况下依然能保持较高的识别准确率。     

Structural and some nutritional characteristics of Velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens) and Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) starches

Velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens) and lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) starches were isolated from seeds and their structural characteristics evaluated using XRD, size‐exclusion chromatography and light scattering analyzes. Total starch, available starch, RS and in vitro digestibility were also determined. Structural and nutritional characteristics of Velvet bean and Lima bean starches were compared to those of commercial corn starch. The legumes starches presented a C‐type XRD pattern and crystallite sizes of 43.1 Å for velvet bean and 48.3 Å for lima bean. Lima bean starch average molar mass (4.9 × 10⁶ g/mol) was slightly higher than the velvet bean starch (3.04 × 10⁶ g/mol). Size‐exclusion chromatography indicated structural similarity between the lima bean and corn starches which differed from that of the velvet bean starch. Hydrodynamic radius (R_H) for the velvet bean and lima bean starches was 45.5 and 55 nm, respectively, and their radius of gyration (R_G) was 67.7 and 82.5 nm, respectively. Total starch content in all three starches was greater than 98%. Their complex crystalline structure provided the legume starches lower in vitro digestibility values than the corn starch. RS content in both the velvet bean starch (7.72%) and lima bean starch (5.66%) was higher than in the corn starch, essentially qualifying these polysaccharides as natural dietary fiber sources, with the associated physiologic advantages.     

A novel predictive homotopic path tracking algorithm to solve non-linear algebraic equations

In chemical engineering and other areas of mathematics and engineering sciences, systems of non-linear algebraic equations often must be solved, and a problem is that these types of systems often cannot be solved analytically. Homotopic continuation methods are globally convergent and can find several solutions to the analyzed algebraic system and consist of a predictive step followed by a corrective step, which can cause reversion of homotopic path tracking. Therefore, in this work, the use of a homotopy continuation method (HCM) based on a purely predictive methodology is proposed; that is, it only makes use of predictor vectors (without correction vectors) to find the solution to several systems of non-linear algebraic equations with a multiplicity of solutions, employing lower central proccessing unit (CPU) time in comparison with standard homotopic tracking algorithms.     

Supercritical fluid extraction as a potential mitigation strategy for the reduction of acrylamide level in coffee

The removal of acrylamide from coffee through supercritical CO₂ extraction has been investigated for the first time. Two steps were performed: a pre-roasting treatment and a supercritical extraction process. The main aim of this first work was to investigate the feasibility of the process more than the impact of the treatment on the organoleptic properties of coffee. The efficiency of acrylamide removal was checked by measuring its content in the coffee beans before and after the supercritical treatment. The role of temperature, pressure, extraction time and the addition of a modifier (ethanol) was examined.     

Glass Transition of Extruded Wheat,Corn and Rice Starch

Commercial wheat, corn and rice starch were extrusion cooked under a specific mechanical energy input (SME) ranging from 81 to 365 Wh/kg (288 to 1314 kJ/kg). Extrusion cooking at low and high SME resulted in products having significant differences in molecular weight distribution and having crystalline structures of the V‐ and E‐type, as determined by gel permeation chromatography and X‐ray diffraction analysis. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed that the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the extruded starches was independent of the botanical source, the degree of extrusion‐induced molecular fragmentation and the formation of the V‐ and E‐type crystalline structures. The obtained master curve, defined by the relationship between water content and T_g of the amorphous starch, may be used as a predictive tool in modelling the extrusion process of starch or starch containing blends, especially with regard to the formation of the morphological structure and texture attributes of directly expanded products.     

Measurement Uncertainty Analysis of the Rotary-scan Method for the Measurable Dimension of Cylindrical Workpieces

The measurement uncertainty analysis is carried out to investigate the measurable dimensions of cylindrical workpieces by the rotary-scan method in this paper. Due to the difficult alignment of the workpiece with a diameter of less than 3 mm by the rotary scan method, the measurement uncertainty of the cylindrical workpiece with a diameter of 3 mm and length of 50 mm which is measured by a roundness measuring machine, is evaluated according to GUM (Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement) as an example. Since the uncertainty caused by the eccentricity of the measured workpiece is different with the dimension changing, the measurement uncertainty of cylindrical workpieces with other dimensions can be evaluated the same as the diameter of 3 mm but with different eccentricity. Measurement uncertainty caused by different eccentricities concerning the dimension of the measured cylindrical workpiece is set to simulate the evaluations. Compared to the target value of the measurement uncertainty of 0.1μm, the measurable dimensions of the cylindrical workpiece can be obtained. Experiments and analysis are presented to quantitatively evaluate the reliability of the rotary-scan method for the roundness measurement of cylindrical workpieces.