Calculation of pressure fields from arbitrarily shaped, apodized, and excited ultrasound transducers

A method for simulation of pulsed pressure fields from arbitrarily shaped, apodized and excited ultrasound transducers is suggested. It relies on the Tupholme-Stepanishen method for calculating pulsed pressure fields, and can also handle the continuous wave and pulse-echo case. The field is calculated by dividing the surface into small rectangles and then Summing their response. A fast calculation is obtained by using the far-field approximation. Examples of the accuracy of the approach and actual calculation times are given.     

Comparative 16S rRNA gene surveys of granular sludge from three upflow anaerobic bioreactors treating purified terephthalic acid (PTA) wastewater

The microbial communities from three upflow anaerobic bioreactors treating purified terephthalic acid (PTA) wastewater were characterized with 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing surveys. Universal bacterial and archaeal primers were used to compare the bioreactor communities to each other. A total of 1,733 bacterial sequences and 383 archaeal sequences were characterized. The high number of Syntrophus spp. and Pelotomaculum spp. found within these reactors indicates efficient removal of benzoate and terephthalate. Under anaerobic conditions benzoate can be degraded through syntrophic associations between these bacteria and hydrogen-scavenging microbes, such as Desulfovibrio spp. and hydrogenotrophic methanogens, which remove H(2) to force the thermodynamically unfavourable reactions to take place. The authors did not observe a relatively high percentage of hydrogenotrophic methanogens with the archaeal gene survey because of a high acetate flux (acetate is a main component in PTA wastewater and is the main degradation product of terephthalate/benzoate fermentation), and because of the presence of Desulfovibrio spp. (a sulfate reducer that scavenges hydrogen). The high acetate flux also explains the high percentage of acetoclastic methanogens from the genus Methanosaeta among the archaeal sequences. A group of uncultured bacteria (OD1) may be involved in the degradation of p-toluate (4-methyl benzoate), which is a component of PTA wastewater.     

线点包容检测算法

提出的算法是先以快速的方法判断线与多边形是否有交点,如有,则求出线与多边形的各个交点,将交点进行排序,将此线按交点顺序分为多段;如果无交点,则此线只有一段。检测各段中点是否位于多边形内,如果位于内部,则此段在内,否则此段在外。以倾斜射线法检测点的包容性,其特点是此射线不与多边形的顶点或边重合,无须作特殊情况的处理,计算区域小,因而计算量小,对自相交多边形及带孔多边形等多类情况同样适用。通过编写程序计算验证表明,此算法简单有效、稳定可靠,适用于多类情况。     

Time-resolved optoacoustic measurement of absorption of light by inhomogeneous media

A method for measuring the absorption of light with optically turbid media is considered. The method is based on the registration of the temporal shape (leading-edge slope) of the developing optoacoustic signal in a medium that is absorbing a short laser pulse. Results of experiments with a Nd:YAG laser (10 ns) demonstrate the effectiveness of the method for both homogeneous and inhomogeneous optical media.     

Flight deck disturbance management: a simulator study of diagnosis and recovery from breakdowns in pilot-automation coordination

OBJECTIVE: To examine operator strategies for diagnosing and recovering from errors and disturbances as well as the impact of automation design and time pressure on these processes. BACKGROUND: Considerable efforts have been directed at error prevention through training and design. However, because errors cannot be eliminated completely, their detection, diagnosis, and recovery must also be supported. Research has focused almost exclusively on error detection. Little is known about error diagnosis and recovery, especially in the context of event-driven tasks and domains. METHOD: With a confederate pilot, 12 airline pilots flew a 1-hr simulator scenario that involved three challenging automation-related tasks and events that were likely to produce erroneous actions or assessments. Behavioral data were compared with a canonical path to examine pilots' error and disturbance management strategies. Debriefings were conducted to probe pilots' system knowledge. RESULTS: Pilots seldom followed the canonical path to cope with the scenario events. Detection of a disturbance was often delayed. Diagnostic episodes were rare because of pilots' knowledge gaps and time criticality. In many cases, generic inefficient recovery strategies were observed, and pilots relied on high levels of automation to manage the consequences of an error. CONCLUSION: Our findings describe and explain the nature and shortcomings of pilots' error management activities. They highlight the need for improved automation training and design to achieve more timely detection, accurate explanation, and effective recovery from errors and disturbances. APPLICATION: Our findings can inform the design of tools and techniques that support disturbance management in various complex, event-driven environments.     

加筋垫层法处理涵洞吹填土地基

结合吹填土的工程特性,介绍了涵洞吹填土地基的处理原则及流程。通过有限元计算模型的建立,对加筋垫层法处理涵洞地基的效果进行了研究,分析了不同的垫层宽度、厚度、土性参数和不同格栅层数、间距及刚度时,涵洞的土压力及位移规律,并对多层加筋时格栅的轴向拉力进行了分析。结果表明：加筋垫层法能有效地减小吹填土地基上涵洞的沉降,涵顶土压力随加筋垫层宽度的增大而减小,随垫层厚度的增加呈非线性增大,并逐渐趋于稳定;格栅层数和格栅刚度的增加对减小涵体沉降有一定的作用,但同时会使涵顶土压力增大。     

Effects of bioflavonoids on the toxicity of T-toxin in rats. A morphological study

Subacute toxicity of T-2 toxin in rats was characterized by a primary defeat of liver, thymus, spleen and intraorgan arteries. In 75% of animals found out increase of the size and adipose infiltration of a liver, in all animals--reduction of the size of thymus (sharp) and spleen (moderate) and pronounced hypoplasia of lymphoid tissue. In the majority of rats vacuolation of cytoplasma of smooth-muscular walls of coronary and intrarenal arteries was revealed. In animals received T-2 toxin against a background of a diet with addition a flour from seeds of milk thistle with high contents of flavonoids, described morphological changes were expressed to a lesser degree and were observed less often. Moderate periportal adipose infiltration of a liver was revealed in 30% of animals, occupancy by cells of lymphoid tissue increased, the quantity and sizes of vacuoles in walls of vessels decreased.     

Good vibrations: tactile feedback in support of attention allocation and human-automation coordination in event-driven domains

Observed breakdowns in human-machine communication can be explained, in part, by the nature of current automation feedback, which relies heavily on focal visual attention. Such feedback is not well suited for capturing attention in case of unexpected changes and events or for supporting the parallel processing of large amounts of data in complex domains. As suggested by multiple-resource theory, one possible solution to this problem is to distribute information across various sensory modalities. A simulator study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of visual, tactile, and redundant visual and tactile cues for indicating unexpected changes in the status of an automated cockpit system. Both tactile conditions resulted in higher detection rates for, and faster response times to, uncommanded mode transitions. Tactile feedback did not interfere with, nor was its effectiveness affected by, the performance of concurrent visual tasks. The observed improvement in task-sharing performance indicates that the introduction of tactile feedback is a promising avenue toward better supporting human-machine communication in event-driven, information-rich domains.