Tentative Uncertainty Evaluation of Thermal and Mechanical Indices Used for Medical Ultrasound

Tentative estimations of uncertainties of thermal index (TI) and mechanical index (MI) are described. Recently, high power and high pressure ultrasound has become an important tool for increasing quality of medical ultrasound required in the diagnosis and treatments. Precise control of ultrasonic power or acoustic pressure is required to contain the hazards to the human body caused by high power and high acoustic pressure and frequency of ultrasound. Due to this reason, TI and MI are very important parameters as indices, which denote the effects of ultrasonic power and acoustic pressure to human body. The uncertainties of TI and MI are based on the measured quantities such as ultrasonic power, acoustic pressure and frequency. The uncertainties of these measured values are usually calculated by measurers. When TI and MI are estimated, uncertainties of these indices also should be evaluated as same as other quantities for checking the validity of the values. Actually, these uncertainties have not been discussed. In this paper, relative expanded uncertainties of TI and MI which include the uncertainty caused by the bandwidth are estimated.     

A Venerable Tool for a New Application: Using Scenario Analysis for Formulating Strategies for Emerging Technologies in Emerging Markets

ABSTRACT

Scenario analysis appears to be an ideal strategic planning tool for emerging technologies in emerging markets, yet it is in its infancy in the business world. This article is one of the first reports on applying this powerful tool to emerging technology business planning. Scenario analysis was incorporated into a PC-based simulation model and was applied by 11 teams consisting of company presidents, managers, and technical professionals to formulate a business strategy for wireless communications prior to its commercial launch. By incorporating key concepts from finance, market and competitive analysis, and management of technology, the model guides the user through a series of assumptions and decisions to arrive at a resilient strategy that maximizes the technology's chance of commercial success under a range of scenarios.     

Impacts of patent information on clustering in Derwent Innovation's ThemeScape map

ThemeScape Map (Clarivate Analytics, n.d.) is a data analytics tool provided by Derwent Innovation. It is used by patent researchers and R&D experts to generate quick patent intelligence (HG Insights, 2020). It is a general practice that users plot the map by using the default settings recommended by Derwent Innovation, but this default setting may not yield the most optimized results as desired. In this paper, the author contributes to the empirical study on the impacts of the combination of the different types of patent information to be used in ThemeScape Map when clustering patent data. As a result, this paper recommends patent analysts to include Patent Classification and DWPI data when plotting ThemeScape Map in order to achieve more optimized results.     

On the possibility of acoustic probing of gas wells

The possibility of probing the critical areas of gas wells using acoustic signals is analyzed. The results of investigations on the evolution of acoustic waves in cylindrical channels with permeable portions surrounded by a porous space are presented. The quantitative and qualitative features of the dynamics of waves as a function of the state of an inhomogeneous porous medium are established. Results showing that the state of the reservoir characteristics of rocks has a substantial influence on the evolution of acoustic signals are obtained. __________ Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 80, No. 4, pp. 118–126, July–August, 2007.     

Quantifying Tstress controlled constraint by the master curve transition temperature T0

Specimen size, crack depth and loading conditions may effect the materials fracture toughness. In order to safeguard against these geometry effects, fracture toughness testing standards prescribe the use of highly constrained deep cracked bend specimens having a sufficient size to guarantee conservative fracture toughness values. One of the more advanced testing standards, for brittle fracture, is the master curve standard ASTM E1921-97, which is based on technology developed at VTT Manufacturing Technology. When applied to a structure with low constraint geometry, the standard fracture toughness estimates may lead to strongly over-conservative estimate of structural performance. In some cases, this may lead to unnecessary repairs or even to an early “retirement” of the structure. In the case of brittle fracture, essentially three different methods to quantify constraint have been proposed, J small scale yielding correction, Q-parameter and the T_stress. Here, a relation between the T_stress and the master curve transition temperature T₀ is experimentally developed and verified. As a result, a new engineering tool to assess low constraint geometries with respect to brittle fracture has been obtained.     

Information technologies as vehicles of evolution

All evolution can be viewed as the progressive development of embodied knowledge-moving from unicellular organisms so structured that they can grow and reproduce to complex technological artifacts that successfully ply and change the environment. Such cognitive evolution takes on a new and uniquely human form when technology is directed toward the acquisition of knowledge. This paper examines the contributions of four kinds of information technology - perception extenders (microscopes, telescopes); cognitive processing enhancers (computers); disseminators of information via high levels of abstraction (written languages); and disseminators of information via high levels of realism (photography and video). This is a shortened version of a paper included in C. Mitcham and Alois Huning, eds., Philosophy and Technology II: Information Technology and Computers in Theory and Practice (Boston: D. Reidel, in press), and is included here with permission.     

Parametric Analysis of the Improved Open Photoacoustic Helmholtz Cell

Many photoacoustic cells use a Helmholtz structure for amplification of the photoacoustic signal, but very few of them are open cells. Open Helmholtz cells known from the literature exhibit very poor attenuation of the external acoustic noise, which severely limits their applications. Recent research showed that this problem can be overcome in a so-called improved open photoacoustic Helmholtz cell structure. The paper describes how mechanical dimensions of such a cell affect the frequency response of the cell and its penetration by the external acoustic noise. Properties of the cell were investigated by means of computer simulations based on the loss-improved transmission line model. The analysis showed that appropriate selection of the duct dimensions and buffer volumes should result in over 50 dB attenuation of the external acoustic noise, without noticeably affecting the Q-factor and resonance frequency of the cell.     

Team diversity and manufacturing process innovation performance: the moderating role of technology maturity

This research studies how technological maturity in manufacturing process innovation (MPI) projects moderates the impacts of different types of team diversity on technical success. While researchers consider the variety aspect of team diversity to be beneficial as a rich source of information, they consider disparity and separation to be detrimental as sources of social barriers to information processing. However, demographic manifestations of diversity involve a combination of these aspects. We therefore posit that technology maturity is an important moderator which may raise or lower the influence of one diversity aspect over another. Specifically, we examine five manifestations of project team diversity, including three types of variety (functional variety, full-time/part-time variety, location tenure variety) and two types of disparity (education level disparity, experience level disparity). Results from 183 MPI projects in US companies indicate that technology maturity negatively moderates the relationship between functional variety and MPI technical performance. It positively moderates the relationships between experience level disparity and MPI technical performance, and between location tenure variety and MPI technical performance. The impacts of education level disparity and full-time/part-time variety do not appear to be moderated by technology maturity.     

Polaron Dynamics and Coherent Acoustic Phonons in?La0.45Ca0.55MnO3 Thin Films Studied by Ultrafast Pump-Probe Spectroscopy

Pure phase, charge ordering (CO) (001)-oriented La_0.45Ca_0.55MnO₃ thin films of thicknesses 250?C600 nm are prepared by pulsed laser deposition. The ultrafast dynamics in these films is probed by using the femtosecond optical pump?Coptical probe (OPOP) spectroscopy. The temporal evolution in transient reflectivity change ??R/R has been systematically measured at various temperatures. Generally, the ??R/R curve exhibits two relaxing components and two oscillating components. Similar to the case in La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ films, the amplitude of the fast relaxing component exhibits a similar temperature dependence with that of the resistivity, and the neutron scattering intensity due to nanoscale correlated polarons. Therefore, it corresponds to the polaron dynamics in the CO sample. Both oscillating components are ascribed to the coherent longitudinal acoustic phonons and are generated by the strain pulses. The origin of these oscillations is discussed and the sound velocity can be derived from the period of these oscillations. It is revealed that the sound velocity changed drastically near the CO transition temperature, which indicates that the pump?Cprobe measurements can be employed as a sensitive probe to detect the CO phase transition in these samples.     

产品技术进化潜力预测研究

  产品技术预测是企业长久保持竞争优势的有效方法,发明问题解决理论（TRIZ）的技术进化理论能够对技术预测提供理论指导．在介绍TRIZ的技术进化模式、技术进化路线的基础上,提出如何搜索产品技术进化潜力及构建进化潜力雷达图的方法,并对产品技术进化潜力预测技术作了系统的总结．基于产品技术进化潜力预测技术开发了专用软件——产品技术进化潜力预测系统（EPMS）,可帮助企业快速、准确地把握产品的技术走向,并应用软件EPMS对蝶阀密封技术的进化潜力进行了预测．     

The combined effect of melt stirring and ultrasonic agitation on the degassing efficiency of AlSi9Cu3 alloy

The combined effect of high intensity ultrasound and melt stirring on the degassing of AlSi₉Cu₃ using simultaneously the novel MMM (Multi-frequency Multimode Modulated) ultrasonic technology to promote cavitation, and low frequency mechanical vibration to induce melt stirring, was studied. On a first stage single low frequency mechanical vibration experiments were carried out in water in order to visualize and characterize its individual effect on the liquid dynamics. On a second stage ultrasonic vibration combined with different mechanical vibration frequencies, melt temperatures and processing times were tested in liquid AlSi₉Cu₃ alloy and their influence on the degassing efficiency was evaluated and compared with the results of the single MMM ultrasonic degassing technique. Fixed ultrasonic parameters (frequency and electric power) were used, according to the best results obtained in former experimental works developed by the authors. For the experimental conditions used in this research, it was found that melt stirring significantly improves degassing efficiency, and such improvement depends on the metal temperature and the mechanical vibration frequency. The experimental results suggest that combining melt agitation and ultrasonic vibration it is possible to achieve almost the aluminum alloy theoretical density without increasing the processing time.     

Lattice dynamics, force constants, and phonon dispersion in model ferroelastics Hg2I2

The dispersion dependences of the frequencies of acoustic and optical phonons have been calculated and plotted, and the density of states of the phonon spectrum of Hg₂I₂ crystals has been obtained. The influence of hydrostatic pressure on the frequency of acoustic and optical phonons and their dispersion has been theoretically analyzed. The slowest acoustic TA branch (soft mode) at the X point of the Brillouin-zone boundary exhibits strong softening with an increase in pressure.     

Frequency Characteristics of a Quartz Tuning Fork Immersed in He II

The effect of dissipation on frequency characteristics of tuning forks was measured, the dissipation being induced by acoustic radiation of different wavelengths, excited by tuning forks. The tuning forks have been immersed in the superfluid helium. The fork resonance frequencies 32, 77 and 99 kHz have been measured at T=370 mK in the pressure range between SVP and 24.9 atm. Most of the tuning forks have been studied in a commercial can. It is found that at wavelength λ>0.6 cm the frequency dependence is determined by the relationship between density and pressure. It is established that a decrease in wavelength enhances influence of the acoustic radiation on the fork oscillation frequency. In the case where the sound wavelength is equal to the can internal diameter an acoustic resonance occurs. The frequency reaches values higher than the fork frequency in vacuum. Further reduction of the sound wavelength leads to the situation when the resonant frequency is similar to the frequency at long wavelengths.     

Network of the core: mapping and visualizing the core of scientific domains

In this article, we propose mapping and visualizing the core of scientific domains using social network analysis techniques derived from mathematical graph theory. In particular, the concept of Network of the Core is introduced which can be employed to visualize scientific domains by constructing a network among theoretical constructs, models, and concepts. A Network of the Core can be used to reveal hidden properties and structures of a research domain such as connectedness, centrality, density, structural equivalence, and cohesion, by modeling the casual relationship among theoretical constructs. Network of the Core concept can be used to explore the strengths and limitations of a research domain, and graphically and mathematically derive the number research hypotheses. The Network of the Core approach can be applied to any domain given that the investigator has a deep understanding of the area under consideration, a graphical or conceptual view (in the form of a network of association among the theoretical constructs and concepts) of the scientific domain can be obtained, and an underlying theory is available or can be constructed to support Network of the Core formation. Future research directions and several other issues related to the Network of the Core concept are also discussed.     

Quasiparticle Dynamics in FeSe Superconductors Studied by Femtosecond Spectroscopy

The ultrafast quasiparticle dynamics in FeSe single crystals were measured by using dual-color transient reflectivity measurements (ΔR/R) from 4.4 to 290 K. In general, the typical ΔR/R of FeSe includes two significant components. One is the relaxation of photoinduced quasiparticles, which has been used to estimate the electron–phonon coupling strength (λ=0.16). The other is the oscillation component due to the acoustic phonon. Moreover, the acoustic phonon’s energy estimated from the period of oscillation in ΔR/R markedly shrinks around 90 K, which is the so-called phonon softening.     

MCRC software: A tool for chemometric analysis of two-way chromatographic data

This paper describes the development and implementation of MCRC software, chemometric software for Multivariate Curve Resolution of two-way Chromatographic data. MCRC software is developed for chemometric analysis of chromatographic data; however, it may also be used for other types of multivariate data. It consists of five groups of techniques for preprocessing, chemical rank determination, local rank analysis, multivariate resolution and peak integration. This software has the ability of the analysis of complex multi-component chromatographic signals of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). The software allows a user to apply the implemented methods in an easy way and it gives a straightforward possibility to visualize the obtained results. The main features of the presented software are providing a number of preprocessing techniques, implementation of different chemical rank determination methods, usage of iterative and non-iterative resolution techniques and a user-friendly environment with a variety of graphical outputs. The implementation of the MCRC software is demonstrated by the analysis of an overlapped peak cluster of simulated GC-MS data.     

Theoretical analysis of acoustic and turbulent agglomeration of droplet aerosols

This study meticulously explores the agglomeration mechanisms in microscale droplet aerosols, specifically focusing on acoustic and turbulent agglomeration mechanisms. Our theoretical analysis reveals a significant impact of orthokinetic and hydrodynamic processes on acoustic agglomeration. The acoustic wake effect elucidates the swift replenishment of small particles subsequent to an orthokinetic phase. An optimal frequency, varying for different droplets, was identified in orthokinetic agglomeration within the 50–250 Hz range. Hydrodynamic agglomeration remained relatively stable at an acoustic frequency exceeding 1000 Hz. The aggregation kernel function, denoted as K_ij, exhibited a significant increase with increasing sound pressure levels, reaching up to 10⁻⁸ s⁻¹. Environmental temperature had a predominantly positive effect on orthokinetic and Brownian agglomeration, although it exhibited an inhibitory effect on hydrodynamic agglomeration. For raindrops, a correlation was identified between particle spacing and K_ij; a larger particle spacing corresponded to a smaller K_ij. Despite an increase in particle spacing to 50 times the particle diameter, the hydrodynamic effect persisted. The aggregation kernel function linked to Brownian thermal motion was found to be 3–4 orders of magnitude lower than that of orthokinetic and hydrodynamic interactions. Additionally, the turbulent agglomeration kernel function for fog, cloud, and rain droplets with corresponding parent nuclei of 100 μm was of the same order of magnitude as the acoustic agglomeration kernel function.     

A coupled symmetric BE–FE method for acoustic fluid–structure interaction

A coupled symmetric BE–FE method for the calculation of linear acoustic fluid–structure interaction in time and frequency domain is presented. In the coupling formulation a newly developed hybrid boundary element method (HBEM) will be used to describe the behaviour of the compressible fluid. The HBEM is based on Hamilton's principle formulated with the velocity potential. The state variables are separated into boundary variables which are approximated by piecewise polynomial functions and domain variables which are approximated by a superposition of static fundamental solutions. The domain integrals are eliminated, respectively, replaced by boundary integrals and a boundary element formulation with a symmetric mass and stiffness matrix is obtained as result. The structure is discretized by FEM. The coupling conditions fulfil C¹-continuity on the interface. The coupled formulation can also be used for eigenfrequency analyses by transforming it from time domain into frequency domain.