Nonlinear performance evaluation model for throughput of AQM scheme using full factorial design approach

The performance of active queue management (AQM) is measured in terms of throughput, delay, queue size, and loss rate. We have carried out the optimized performance measure of throughput for AQM scheme random early detection (RED) using full factorial design (FDD) technique that is a new approach of performance analysis particularly for congestion control algorithms. We have considered the input factors, viz, buffer size, maximum threshold, and the number of file transfer protocol (FTP) sources for the evaluation of RED that can be used for other AQM schemes, viz, adaptive RED, three‐section RED (TRED), and adaptive queue management with random dropping (AQMRD). The effect of each input factor as well as their interactions are evaluated using factorial design technique that results to obtain the nonlinear equation for performance measure in terms of input factors buffer size, maximum threshold, and the number of FTP sources. Finally, we show the contour plots for variation of performance measure throughput (steady state) from minimum to maximum values with respect to the different setting of input parameters.     

Exploration and Production

Estimated number of active rigs. Rigs active means rigs making new holes and workovers. Figures for Kuwait and Saudi Arabia exclude the neutral zone.     

糖蜜及其发酵制品的应用研究进展

糖蜜是制糖工业的副产物。对甘蔗糖蜜、甜菜糖蜜、大豆糖蜜、柑橘糖蜜、石榴糖蜜的来源、成分及它们在各自相关领域的应用进行了简要概括,重点综述了以糖蜜为微生物发酵底物,生产相关活性物质的研究进展以及它们的相关作用,旨在为其在医药、食品、化妆品等领域的应用提供参考依据。     

Ligand-Installed Nanocarriers toward Precision Therapy

Development of drug-delivery systems that selectively target neoplastic cells has been a major goal of nanomedicine. One major strategy for achieving this milestone is to install ligands on the surface of nanocarriers to enhance delivery to target tissues, as well as to enhance internalization of nanocarriers by target cells, which improves accuracy, efficacy, and ultimately enhances patient outcomes. Herein, recent advances regarding the development of ligand-installed nanocarriers are introduced and the effect of their design on biological performance is discussed. Besides academic achievements, progress on ligand-installed nanocarriers in clinical trials is presented, along with the challenges faced by these formulations. Lastly, the future perspectives of ligand-installed nanocarriers are discussed, with particular emphasis on their potential for emerging precision therapies.     

MOF-derived multi-metal embedded N-doped carbon sheets rich in CNTs as efficient bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts for rechargeable ZABs

The rational design and preparation of bifunctional electrocatalysts with pleasant oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance is crucial for extensive commercial applications of rechargeable Zn–air batteries (ZABs). Herein, we report a simple method to obtain multi-metal (Fe, Ni, Zn) embedded in N-doped carbon sheets entangled with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as superior oxygen electrocatalysts (FeNi-NCS-2). The resultant FeNi-NCS-2 exhibits an impressive electrochemical performance, providing a reversible oxygen overpotential as low as 0.758 V. The ZAB with FeNi-NCS-2 as the air cathode shows a promising capacity of 639.71 mAh g^?1 at 20 mA cm^?2, a power density of 109.8 mW cm^?2 and cycling stability of over 130 cycles at 10 mA cm^?2 with an energy efficiency of about 55%, superior to the ZAB based on Pt/C–IrO₂. The satisfactory electrocatalytic performance is mainly due to the Fe, Ni-based nanoparticles protected by graphitic carbon layers, hierarchical porous lamellar structures that promote the accessibility between the active centers and the electrolyte as well as self-growing tangled carbon nanotubes that provide fast transmission channels. This study presents a facile way for the synthesis of highly efficient ORR/OER bifunctional electrocatalysts for high-performance rechargeable ZABs.     

基于决策树的羽流追踪机器人自主决策方法研究

针对无法获得可靠羽流流向信息不利于实现羽流追踪的问题，提出了一种基于决策树的羽流追踪移动机器人自主决策方法。该方法通过移动机器人两侧的浓度传感器采集到的浓度信息，利用追踪的行为规则建立决策树模型，获得行为决策信息，使机器人高效地追踪到羽流并精确地定位。由于浓度变化关系蕴含了羽流的流向及流速信息，从而取代了传统方法中流向及流速传感器。在扩散环境下，通过移动机器人羽流追踪实验，实现了良好的源定位效果。     

Calcium phosphate-based nanosystems for advanced targeted nanomedicine

Synthetic calcium phosphates (CaPs) are the most widely accepted bioceramics for the repair and reconstruction of bone tissue defects. The recent advancements in materials science have prompted a rapid progress in the preparation of CaPs with nanometric dimensions, tailored surface characteristics, and colloidal stability opening new perspectives in their use for applications not strictly related to bone. In particular, the employment of CaPs nanoparticles as carriers of therapeutic and imaging agents has recently raised great interest in nanomedicine. CaPs nanoparticles, as well as other kinds of nanoparticles, can be engineered to specifically target the site of the disease (cells or organs), thus minimizing their dispersion in the body and undesired organism-nanoparticles interactions. The most promising and efficient approach to improve their specificity is the ‘active targeting’, where nanoparticles are conjugated with a targeting moiety able to recognize and bind with high efficacy and selectivity to receptors that are highly expressed only in the therapeutic site. The aim of this review is to give an overview on advanced targeted nanomedicine with a focus on the most recent reports on CaP nanoparticles-based systems, specifically designed for the active targeting. The distinctive characteristics of CaP nanoparticles with respect to the other kinds of nanomaterials used in nanomedicine are also discussed.     

Direct model-based predictive control scheme without cost function for voltage source inverters with reduced common-mode voltage

This paper presents a direct model-based predictive control scheme for voltage source inverters (VSIs) with reduced common-mode voltages (CMVs). The developed method directly finds optimal vectors without using repetitive calculation of a cost function. To adjust output currents with the CMVs in the range of –V_dc/6 to +V_dc/6, the developed method uses voltage vectors, as finite control resources, excluding zero voltage vectors which produce the CMVs in the VSI within ±V_dc/2. In a model-based predictive control (MPC), not using zero voltage vectors increases the output current ripples and the current errors. To alleviate these problems, the developed method uses two non-zero voltage vectors in one sampling step. In addition, the voltage vectors scheduled to be used are directly selected at every sampling step once the developed method calculates the future reference voltage vector, saving the efforts of repeatedly calculating the cost function. And the two non-zero voltage vectors are optimally allocated to make the output current approach the reference current as close as possible. Thus, low CMV, rapid current-following capability and sufficient output current ripple performance are attained by the developed method. The results of a simulation and an experiment verify the effectiveness of the developed method.     

Porous ceramics with tailored pore size and morphology as substrates for coral larval settlement

The growing demand for stony corals as ornamental aquarium animals requires defined aquacultural breeding strategies. For the sexual propagation of corals, material substrates are needed, that attract larvae and support their settlement and development. In this study, five types of highly porous ceramic materials were developed following the example of coral skeleton. The applicability of these settlement substrates was tested using larvae of the stony coral Pocillopora damicornis. Partial sintering of pressed clay pellets, freeze casting of clay and alumina-mullite based slurries and direct foaming of high alkane phase emulsified suspensions (HAPES) using alumina were employed. By the addition of mm-sized spherical polystyrene beads as sacrificial templates during freeze casting (alumina-mullite), superficial pores in the size of the larvae were created. The inorganic substrates featured open porosities between 35% (pressed clay) and 83% (foamed alumina), pore sizes ranging from nm to mm-scale and pore morphologies dominated by interparticle porosity (pressed), lamellar pores (freeze casting) and cellular pore types (direct foaming). The ceramic substrates were incubated in artificial sea water for 3 months to induce necessary biofilm formation and algae growth. Afterwards, individual substrates were exposed to 5 coral larvae, and their settlement behavior was monitored over 14 days. At the end of this period, all ceramic materials were successfully accepted as settlement substrates, with a mean settlement rate of 46.2%, and no significant differences between the substrate types. On samples with large surface superficial pores, a significantly reduced survival of settled larvae (79%) compared to the other porous materials (93–98%) was determined, suggesting a non-ideal surface topography. While alumina foam samples (HAPES) exhibit the most promising results in terms of settlement and survival of larvae, clay-based substrates provide a more economic solution for the sexual propagation of corals in aquaculture.