Electrowetting-Assisted Generation of Ultrastable High Charge Densities in Composite Silicon Oxide–Fluoropolymer Electret Samples for Electric Nanogenerators

Electric nanogenerators that directly convert the energy of moving drops into electrical signals require hydrophobic substrates with a high density of static electric charge that is stable in “harsh environments” created by continued exposure to potentially saline water. The recently proposed charge-trapping electric generators (CTEGs) that rely on stacked inorganic oxide–fluoropolymer (FP) composite electrets charged by homogeneous electrowetting-assisted charge injection (h-EWCI) seem to solve both problems, yet the reasons for this success have remained elusive. Here, systematic measurements at variable oxide and FP thickness, charging voltage, and charging time and thermal annealing up to 230 °C are reported, leading to a consistent model of the charging process. It is found to be controlled by an energy barrier at the water-FP interface, followed by trapping at the FP-oxide interface. Protection by the FP layer prevents charge densities up to −1.7 mC m⁻² from degrading and the dielectric strength of SiO₂ enables charge decay times up to 48 h at 230 °C, suggesting lifetimes against thermally activated discharging of thousands of years at room temperature. Combining high dielectric strength oxides and weaker FP top coatings with electrically controlled charging provides a new paradigm for developing ultrastable electrets for applications in energy harvesting and beyond.     

First break refraction event picking using fuzzy logic systems

First break picking is a pattern recognition problem in seismic signal processing, one that requires much human effort and is difficult to automate. The authors' goal is to reduce the manual effort in the picking process and accurately perform the picking. Feedforward neural network first break pickers have been developed using backpropagation training algorithms applied either to an encoded version of the raw data or to derived seismic attributes which are extracted from the raw data. The authors summarize a study in which they applied a backpropagation fuzzy logic system (BPFLS) to first break picking. The authors use derived seismic attributes as features, and take lateral variations into account by using the distance to a piecewise linear guiding function as a new feature. Experimental results indicate that the BPFLS achieves about the same picking accuracy as a feedforward neural network that is also trained using a backpropagation algorithm; however, the BPFLS is trained in a much shorter time, because there is a systematic way in which the initial parameters of the BPFLS can be chosen, versus the random way in which the weights of the neural network are chosen     

Biochemical basis for increased susceptibility to Cidofovir of herpes simplex viruses with altered or deficient thymidine kinase activity

It has been observed that herpes simplex virus mutants with deficient or altered thymidine kinase activity are more susceptible to Cidofovir (CDV; 1-[(S)-3-hydroxy-2-(phosphonomethoxy)propyl]cytosine dihydrate) in tissue culture than are the parental strains. During infection of cells, the elevation of the dCTP pool by thymidine kinase mutant viruses is less than that induced by the wild-type virus. The competition between CDV diphosphate and dCTP at the viral polymerase is therefore changed in favor of CDV diphosphate, enhancing its activity.     

The constrained total least squares technique and its applicationsto harmonic superresolution

The constrained total least squares (CTLS) method is a natural extension of TLS to the case when the noise components of the coefficients are algebraically related. The CTLS technique is developed, and some of its applications to superresolution harmonic analysis are presented. The CTLS problem is reduced to an unconstrained minimization problem over a small set of variables. A perturbation analysis of the CTLS solution is derived, and from it the root mean-square error (RMSE) of the CTLS solution, which is valid for small noise levels, is obtained in closed form. The complex version of the Newton method is derived and applied to determine the CTLS solution. It is also shown that the CTLS problem is equivalent to a constrained parameter maximum-likelihood problem. The CTLS technique is applied to estimate the frequencies of sinusoids in white noise and the angle of arrival of narrowband wavefronts at a linear uniform array. In both cases the CTLS method shows superior or similar accuracy to other advanced techniques     

Cumulant-based approach to harmonic retrieval and related problems

A frequently encountered problem in signal processing is that of estimating the frequencies and amplitudes of harmonics observed in additive colored Gaussian noise. In practice, the observed signals are contaminated with spatially and temporally colored noise of unknown power spectral density. A cumulant-based approach to these problems is proposed. The cumulants of complex processes are defined, and it is shown that specific 1-D slices of the fourth-order cumulant of the noisy signal for the direction of arrival (DOA) and retrieval of harmonics in noise (RHN) problems are identical to the autocorrelation of a related noiseless signal. Hence correlation-based high-resolution methods may be used with fourth-order cumulants as well. The effectiveness of the proposed methods is demonstrated through standard simulation examples     

Outdoor attractancy of males ofMatsucoccus josephi (Homoptera: Matsucoccidae) andElatophilus hebraicus (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) to synthetic female sex pheromone ofMatsucoccus josephi

The active component of the sex pheromone ofMatsucoccus josephi is (2E,6E,8E)-5,7-dimethyl-2,6,8-decatrien-4-one; the chemical is also a powerful kairomone of adult males and females of the bugElatophilus hebraicus the principal predator ofM. josephi. The presence of theZ isomer (2E,6Z,8E)-5,7-dimethyl-2,6,8-decatrien-4-one does not interfere with the attractancy of the activeE component forM. josephi males or the bug. Our results show a clear dose-response between trap catch ofM. josephi males andE. hebraicus. Conversely, increasing amounts of theZ isomer in the mixture did not affect the attraction of the scale insect males or the bug. The catch ofM. josephi males did not differ significantly among traps of different color, and was significantly higher with traps attached to the tree trunk than those suspended between trees. Comparison of the catch ofM. josephi among the three forests and between pine species suggests that the level of infestation ofPinus halepepsis andPinus brutia ssp.brutia is similar, despite the fact that the latter pine is resistant to the scale insect. Both sexes ofE. hebraicus were trapped in much lower numbers at the more infested sites. This may be related to interference with the activity ofE. hebraicus due to deterioration and drying of parts of the tree crowns and heavy colonization by generalist predators in injured trees.     

Genetic algorithms to solve the power system restoration planning problem

This study reports the use of a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to solve the Power System Restoration Planning Problem (PSRP). The solution to the PSRP is described by a series of operations or a plan to be used by the Power System operator immediately on the occurrence of a blackout in the electrical power supply. Our GA uses new initialization and crossover operators based on the electrical power network, which are able to generate and maintain the plans feasible along GA runs. This releases the Power Flow program, which represents the most computer demanding component, from computing the fitness function of unfeasible individuals. The method was designed for large transmission systems and results for three different electrical power networks are shown: IEEE 14-Bus, IEEE 30-Bus, and a large realistic system.     

The hysteretic Hopfield neural network

A new neuron activation function based on a property found in physical systems-hysteresis-is proposed. We incorporate this neuron activation in a fully connected dynamical system to form the hysteretic Hopfield neural network (HHNN). We then present an analog implementation of this architecture and its associated dynamical equation and energy function. We proceed to prove Lyapunov stability for this new model, and then solve a combinatorial optimization problem (i.e., the N-queen problem) using this network. We demonstrate the advantages of hysteresis by showing increased frequency of convergence to a solution, when the parameters associated with the activation function are varied.     

The effects of VIP on intestinal motility: study on ex vivo perfused isolated canine jejunal loops

The effects of VIP on intestinal motility were studied on isolated canine jejunal loops ex vivo perfused at normothermia, under pulsatile flow with heparinized, oxygenated and nonrecirculated canine whole blood, by means of an intraluminal balloon. VIP was administered intraarterially either by 1 min injections or by long-time infusions. The results showed that for arterial concentrations of the polypeptide ranging between 25 pg/ml and 300-500 pg/ml a fast but short-lasting relaxant effect was observed. For higher concentrations VIP usually produced a biphasic response: The relaxant effect is followed by an increase of the basal muscular tone often accompanied, for concentrations higher than about 25 ng/ml, by a marked and transient increase in amplitude of the intestinal rhythmic contractions. During long-time infusions a biphasic response was also observed but both effects were of short duration. A cholingeric origin of the secondary contracting phase was expected but could not be demonstrated because, at blood concentrations at which atropine affected the biphasic response, not only was the contractile effect abolished but also the initial relaxing phase. It is suggested that the secondary contraction may be a "rebound excitation" of myogenic nature or a result of noncholingeric excitatory fiber stimulations. The short-lasting relaxant effect observed under the present experimental conditions, even during long-time infusion of the polypeptide, fails to argue for an important physiological role of VIP as an hormonal inhibitor of intestinal motility. The biphasic response, however, might have a physiological significance in so far as the aboral propulsion of the intestinal content requires a muscular inhibition which rapidly changes to contraction.     

Apple,Carrot, and Hibiscus Edible Films Containing the Plant Antimicrobials Carvacrol and Cinnamaldehyde Inactivate Salmonella Newport on Organic Leafy Greens in Sealed Plastic Bags

The objective of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial effects of carvacrol and cinnamaldehyde incorporated into apple, carrot, and hibiscus‐based edible films against Salmonella Newport in bagged organic leafy greens. The leafy greens tested included organic Romaine and Iceberg lettuce, and mature and baby spinach. Each leafy green sample was washed, dip inoculated with S. Newport (10⁷ CFU/mL), and dried. Each sample was put into a Ziploc® bag. Edible films pieces were put into the Ziploc bag and mixed well. The bags were sealed and stored at 4 °C. Samples were taken at days 0, 3, and 7 for enumeration of survivors. On all leafy greens, 3% carvacrol films showed the best bactericidal effects against Salmonella. All 3 types of 3% carvacrol films reduced the Salmonella population by 5 log₁₀ CFU/g at day 0 and 1.5% carvacrol films reduced Salmonella by 1 to 4 log₁₀ CFU/g at day 7. The films with 3% cinnamaldehyde showed 0.5 to 3 log reductions on different leafy greens at day 7. The films with 0.5% and 1.5% cinnamaldehyde and 0.5% carvacrol also showed varied reductions on different types of leafy greens. Edible films were the most effective against Salmonella on Iceberg lettuce. This study demonstrates the potential of edible films incorporated with carvacrol and cinnamaldehyde to inactivate S. Newport on organic leafy greens.