Spatial queueing for analysis, design and dimensioning of Picocell networks with mobile users

In this work, we characterize the performance of Picocell networks in the presence of moving users. We model various traffic types between base-stations and mobiles as different types of queues. We derive explicit expressions for expected waiting time, service time and drop/block probabilities for both fixed as well as random velocity of mobiles. We obtain (approximate) closed form expressions for optimal cell size when the velocity variations of the mobiles is small for both non-elastic as well as elastic traffic. We conclude from the study that, if the expected call duration is long enough, the optimal cell size depends mainly on the velocity profile of the mobiles, its mean and variance. It is independent of the traffic type or duration of the calls. Further, for any fixed power of transmission, there exists a maximum velocity beyond which successful communication is not possible. This maximum possible velocity increases with the power of transmission. Also, for any given power, the optimal cell size increases when either the mean or the variance of the mobile velocity increases.     

Application of natural receptors in sensors and assays

Biosensors are analytical devices that use a biological or biologically derived material immobilized at a physicochemical transducer to measure one or more analytes. Although there are a large number of reviews on biosensors in general, there has been little systematic information presented on the application of natural receptors in sensor technology. This perspective discusses broadly the fundamental properties of natural receptors, which make them an attractive option for use as biorecognition elements in sensor technology. It analyses the current situation by reference to typical examples, such as the application of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and G protein-linked receptors in affinity sensors and analyses the problems that need to be resolved prior to any commercialization of such devices.     

Fitting interrelated datasets: metabolite diffusion and general lineshapes

Objective

Simultaneous modeling of true 2-D spectroscopy data, or more generally, interrelated spectral datasets has been described previously and is useful for quantitative magnetic resonance spectroscopy applications. In this study, a combined method of reference-lineshape enhanced model fitting and two-dimensional prior-knowledge fitting for the case of diffusion weighted MR spectroscopy is presented.

Materials and methods

Time-dependent field distortions determined from a water reference are applied to the spectral bases used in linear-combination modeling of interrelated spectra. This was implemented together with a simultaneous spectral and diffusion model fitting in the previously described Fitting Tool for Arrays of Interrelated Datasets (FiTAID), where prior knowledge conditions and restraints can be enforced in two dimensions.

Results

The benefit in terms of increased accuracy and precision of parameters is illustrated with examples from Monte Carlo simulations, in vitro and in vivo human brain scans for one- and two-dimensional datasets from 2-D separation, inversion recovery and diffusion-weighted spectroscopy (DWS). For DWS, it was found that acquisitions could be substantially shortened.

Conclusion

It is shown that inclusion of a measured lineshape into modeling of interrelated MR spectra is beneficial and can be combined also with simultaneous spectral and diffusion modeling.

     

Toward wafer-scale patterning of freestanding intermetallic nanowires

Individual metal alloy nanowires of constant diameter and high aspect ratio have previously been self-assembled at selected locations on atomic force microscope (AFM) probes by the method reported in Yazdanpanah et al (2005 J. Appl. Phys. 98 073510). This process relies on the room temperature crystallization of an ordered phase of silver-gallium. A parallel version of this method has been implemented in which a substrate, either an array of micromachined tips (similar to tips on AFM probes) or a lithographically patterned planar substrate, is brought into contact with a continuous, nearly planar film of melted gallium. In several runs, freestanding wires are fabricated with diameters of 40-400 nm, lengths of 4-80 μm, growth rates of 80-170 nm s( - 1) and, most significantly, with yields of up to 97% in an array of 422 growth sites. These results demonstrate the feasibility of developing a batch manufacturing process for the decoration of wafers of AFM tips and other structures with selectively patterned freestanding nanowires.     

ESMO 2003

This paper illustrates the development of an interface for the simulator EMTDC/PSCAD for integrating an agent-based distributed application into the simulation. The custom device modules the EMTDC supports have been used to provide a channel for the agents to communicate (send and receive data) with the simulator. The main advantage of this interface is that the agents now can be developed independently, as separate JAVA applications. The application used to illustrate the features of the interface is a pilot protection scheme over a line.     

Amyloid Fibrils Aerogel for Sustainable Removal of Organic Contaminants from Water

Water contamination by organic pollutants is ubiquitous and hence a global concern due to detrimental effects on the environment and human health. Here, it is demonstrated that amyloid fibrils aerogels are ideal adsorbers for removing organic pollutants from water. To this end, amyloid fibrils prepared from β‑lactoglobulin, the major constituent of milk whey protein, are used as building blocks for the fabrication of the aerogels. The adsorption of Bentazone, Bisphenol A, and Ibuprofen, as model pollutants, is evaluated under quasi-static conditions, without use of energy or pressure. Through adsorption by amyloid fibrils aerogel, excellent removal efficiencies of 92%, 78%, and 98% are demonstrated for Bentazone, Bisphenol A, and Ibuprofen, respectively. Furthermore, the maximum adsorption capacity of amyloid fibrils aerogel for Bentazone, Bisphenol A, and Ibuprofen is 54.2, 50.6, and 69.6 mg g⁻¹, respectively. To shed light on the adsorption equilibrium process, adsorption isotherms, binding constants, saturation limits, and the effect of pH are evaluated. Finally, the regeneration of the aerogel over three consecutive cycles is studied, exhibiting high reusability with no significant changes in its removal performance. These results point at amyloid fibrils aerogels as a sustainable, efficient, and inexpensive technology for alleviating the ubiquitous water contamination by organic pollutants.     

Unique behavior of in-situ generated nanosilica particles on physico-mechanical properties of fluoroelastomer

Fluoroelastomer (FKM) rubber containing different weight percentage of in-situ generated nanosilica particles have been prepared by sol-gel method using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as precursor and n-butyl amine as catalyst. FKM rubber with precipitated silica particles have also been prepared to compare the effect of in-situ generated nanosilica particles and precipitated silica particles on the physico-mechanical properties of FKM rubber. It is interesting to note that the FKM rubber containing in-situ generated nanosilica particles display excellent tensile stress-strain properties, rheological properties and thermal properties in comparison to the FKM rubber containing precipitated silica particles. The better performance of the in-situ generated nanosilica particles has been attributed to the good dispersion of in-situ generated nanosilica particles in FKM rubber matrix when compared to the precipitated silica particles. The fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy clearly confirms the existence of chemical interaction between the FKM rubber chains and the in-situ generated nanosilica particles which leads to the good dispersion of the nanosilica particles in the rubber matrix. Strain sweep studies confirm the presence of more rubber-filler interaction in FKM rubber filled with in-situ generated nanosilica particles. On the other hand, strain sweep studies confirm the presence of more filler-filler aggregation in FKM rubber filled with precipitated silica particles. The dispersion of the in-situ generated nanosilica particles and precipitated silica particles in the surface and bulk of FKM rubber has been studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Selected samples have been cured to understand the effect of curing on the efficiency of in-situ generated nanosilica particles and precipitated silica particles on the physico-mechanical properties of FKM rubber.     

A fast iterated conditional modes algorithm for water-fat decomposition in MRI

Decomposition of water and fat in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is important for biomedical research and clinical applications. In this paper, we propose a two-phased approach for the three-point water-fat decomposition problem. Our contribution consists of two components: 1) a background-masked Markov random field (MRF) energy model to formulate the local smoothness of field inhomogeneity; 2) a new iterated conditional modes (ICM) algorithm accounting for high-performance optimization of the MRF energy model. The MRF energy model is integrated with background masking to prevent error propagation of background estimates as well as improve efficiency. The central component of our new ICM algorithm is the stability tracking (ST) mechanism intended to dynamically track iterative stability on pixels so that computation per iteration is performed only on instable pixels. The ST mechanism significantly improves the efficiency of ICM. We also develop a median-based initialization algorithm to provide good initial guesses for ICM iterations, and an adaptive gradient-based scheme for parametric configuration of the MRF model. We evaluate the robust of our approach with high-resolution mouse datasets acquired from 7T MRI.     

The Reaction Mass Biped: Geometric Mechanics and Control

Inverted Pendulum based reduced order models offer many valuable insights into the much harder problem of bipedal locomotion. While they help in understanding leg behavior during walking, they fail to capture the natural balancing ability of humans that stems from the variable rotational inertia on the torso. In an attempt to overcome this limitation, the proposed work introduces a Reaction Mass Biped (RMB). It is a generalization of the previously introduced Reaction Mass Pendulum (RMP), which is a multi-body inverted pendulum model with an extensible leg and a variable rotational inertia torso. The dynamical model for the RMB is hybrid in nature, with the roles of stance leg and swing leg switching after each cycle. It is derived using a variational mechanics approach, and is therefore coordinate-free. The RMB model has thirteen degrees of freedom, all of which are considered to be actuated. A set of desired state trajectories that can enable bipedal walking in straight and curved paths are generated. A control scheme is then designed for asymptotically tracking this set of trajectories with an almost global domain-of-attraction. Numerical simulation results confirm the stability of this tracking control scheme for different walking paths of the RMB. Additionally, a discrete dynamical model is also provided along-with an appropriate Geometric Variational Integrator (GVI). In contrast to non-variational integrators, GVIs can better preserve energy terms for conservative mechanical systems and stability properties (achieved through energy-like lyapunov functions) for actuated systems.