Pull-in behavior of functionally graded micro/nano-beams for MEMS and NEMS switches

Microsystem Technologies - In this paper, pull-in behavior of cantilever micro/nano-beams made of functionally graded materials (FGM) with small-scale effects under electrostatic force is...     

Intelligent decision support system for the adaptive control of a flexible manufacturing system with machine and tool flexibility

This paper describes an intelligent decision support system (IDSS) for real time control of a flexible manufacturing system (FMS). The controller is capable of classifying symptoms in developing the control policies on FMSs with flexibility in operation assignment and scheduling of multi-purpose machining centres which have different tools with their own efficiency. The proposed system is implemented by coupling of rule-based IDSS, simulation block and centralised simulation optimiser for elicitation of shop floor control knowledge. This posteriori adaptive controller uses a new bilateral mechanism in simulation optimiser block for offline training of IDSS based on multi-performance criteria simulation optimisation. The proposed intelligent controller receives online information of the FMS current state and trigger appropriate control rule within real-time simulation data exchange. Finally the FMS intelligent controller is validated by a benchmark test problem. Application of this adaptive controller showed that it could be an effective approach for real time control of various flexible manufacturing systems.     

Effects of Ramadan fasting on cardiovascular risk factors: a prospective observational study

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Previous research has shown that Ramadan fasting has beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk factors, however there are controversies. In the present study, the effect of Ramadan fasting on cardiovascular risk factors has been investigated. METHOD: This is a prospective observational study that was carried out in a group of patients with at least one cardiovascular risk factor (including history of documented previous history of either coronary artery disease (CAD), metabolic syndrome or cerebro-vascular disease in past 10 y). Eighty two volunteers including 38 male and 44 female, aged 29--70 y, mean 54.0 [PLUS-MINUS SIGN] 10 y, with a previous history of either coronary artery disease, metabolic syndrome or cerebro-vascular disease were recruited. Subjects attended the metabolic unit after at least 10 h fasting, before and after Ramadan who were been fasting for at least 10 days. A fasting blood sample was obtained, blood pressure was measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Lipids profile, fasting blood sugar (FBS) and insulin, homocysteine (hcy), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and complete blood count (CBC) were analyzed on all blood samples. RESULTS: A significant improvement in 10 years coronary heart disease risk (based on Framingham risk score) was found (13.0 [PLUS-MINUS SIGN] 8 before Ramadan and 10.8 [PLUS-MINUS SIGN]7 after Ramadan, P <0.001, t test).There was a significant higher HDL-c, WBC, RBC and platelet count (PLT), and lower plasma cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-c, VLDL-c, systolic blood pressure, body mass index and waist circumference after Ramadan (P <0.05, t test). The changes in FBS, insulin,Homeostasis Model Assessment Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), hcy, hs-CRP and diastolic blood pressure before and after Ramadan were not significant (P >0.05, t test). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a significant improvement in 10 years coronary heart disease risk score and other cardiovascular risk factors such as lipids profile, systolic blood pressure, weight, BMI and waist circumference in subjects with a previous history of cardiovascular disease.     

Solving cell formation problem in cellular manufacturing using ant-colony-based optimization

Grouping the machines and parts in a cellular manufacturing system based on similarities is known as the cell formation problem. It has been shown that cell formation problem is a NP-hard problem. In this paper, the ant colony optimization (ACO) method is used as an evolutionary approach to solve the cell formation problem. This model uses a P?=?[P _ij ] _{(C)?×?(M?+?P)} pheromone matrix in which C, M, and P are the number of cells, machines, and parts, respectively. In order to represent the sequence of operations, the machine–part incidence matrix entries are considered as positive integers. Performance of the proposed algorithm is tested on some benchmark problems existing in the literature to show the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed model. Comparison of the solutions obtained by the proposed algorithm with those reported in the literature indicates that application of the proposed algorithm has resulted in 5.73% improvement in the total number of intercellular movements and voids on average.     

Analysis of BSCFQ: A Modified Version of SCFQ to Support Bursty Traffic

The provisioning of quality of service in networks requires a proper scheduling algorithm. The nature of network traffic, especially real-time multimedia applications, is bursty, thus in addition to the service rate (which is commonly used to isolate sessions’ service), other parameters should be involved. In this paper we analyze our proposed scheduling algorithm [Burst Service SCFQ, BSCFQ (Daneshvar et al. in Int J Wirel Mobile Netw 5, 2013)] which attempts to provide a balance between bursty and non-bursty (smooth) traffics. BSCFQ is an improvement of Self-Clock Fair Queueing (SCFQ), a well-known packet scheduling algorithm, in order to be able to compensate for an adjustable amount of missed service to each session. BSCFQ is evaluated by calculating the fairness index, burst service which is defined by the authors and delay bound. Our improvement in the SCFQ does not necessitate any additional computation as regards the implement algorithm.     

Enhanced fluorescence transduction properties of metallic nanocavity arrays

We studied fluorescence enhancement of molecular species bound within metallic nanocavities. These nanostructures possess a number of desirable properties for real-time microarrays, such as localization of excitation light within the nanocavities, strong isolation from fluorescence produced by unbound species, and an apparent increase in fluorescence yield for bound species. Experimental measurements show nearly a factor of two increase in excitation intensity within the nanocavities, and factor of six increase in yield. A simple electromagnetic model of a dipole within a nanocavity shows an increase in radiative output consistent with our yield estimates, and also verifies the strong fluorescence isolation from species lying outside the nanocavity.     

An integrated approach to design and engineering of intelligent buildings—The Intelligent Workplace at Carnegie Mellon University

In the past few years, there have been significant advances made in the design and engineering of “intelligent” workplaces, buildings that not only accommodate major advances in office technology but provide better physical and environmental settings for the occupants. This paper will briefly present recent approaches to the creation of innovative environments for the advanced workplace. The architectural and engineering advances demonstrated in Japan, Germany, North America, the United Kingdom, and France can be summarized in four major system categories: (1) enclosure innovations including approaches to load balancing, natural ventilation and daylighting; (2) heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system innovations including approaches to local control and improved environmental contact; (3) data/voice/power “connectivity” innovations; and (4) interior system innovations, including approaches to workstation and workgroup design for improved spatial, thermal, acoustic, visual and air quality.

In-depth international field studies of over 20 intelligent office buildings have been carried out by a multidisciplinary expert team of the Advanced Building Systems Integration Consortium (ABSIC) based at Carnegie Mellon University. ABSIC is a university-industry-government partnership focused on the definition and development of the advanced workplace. The ABSIC field team evaluated the component and integrated system innovations for their multidimensional performance qualities, through expert analysis, occupancy assessments and field diagnostics.

Based on the results of the case studies and building on the most recent technological advances, the ABSIC team developed the concepts for the Intelligent Workplace, a 7000 square foot living laboratory of office environments and innovations. This project is now under construction at Carnegie Mellon University and its features are discussed in the second section of this paper.