Effective capacity maximization of two-way full-duplex and half-duplex relays with finite block length packets transmission

Wireless Networks - In order to satisfy the delay requirements of telecommunication systems, in this paper, we present a cooperative network with the short packet transmission in the Rayleigh...     

An H∞non‐fragile observer‐based adaptive sliding mode controller design for uncertain fractional‐order nonlinear systems with time delay and input nonlinearity

In this paper the problem of non‐fragile adaptive sliding mode observer design is addressed for a class of nonlinear fractional‐order time‐delay systems with uncertainties, external disturbance, exogenous noise, and input nonlinearity. An H_∞ observer‐based adaptive sliding mode control considering the non‐fragility of the observer is proposed for this system. The sufficient asymptotic stability conditions are derived in the form of linear matrix inequalities. It is proven that the sliding surface is reachable in finite time. An illustrative example is provided which corroborates the effectiveness of the theoretical results.     

Numerical investigation of the configuration of the pools on the flow pattern passing over pooled stepped spillway in skimming flow regime

Spillways are hydraulic structures which transfer water to the downstream. Stepped spillways areseriously attended to, since they are highly efficient regarding energy dissipation. In this study, the flow pattern over stepped spillways was simulated with five different pool configurations. The VOF method was used to simulate the flow free surface, and K??(RNG) was employed to model turbulence. The results obtained fromthe numerical model were fairly consistent with the experimental results. The results demonstrated that theflow velocity and the residual head showed significant differences in the spillway width with regard to different pool configurations. The pool configuration in which the pools were installed as staggered configuration of flat and pooled steps showed the least residual head at the downstream and as a result the greatest energy dissipation.     

Effect of Temperature on Fluidization Regimes

The probability of fluidization regimes at high temperature was determined experimentally by frequency domain analysis of pressure fluctuations. Fluidization regime probabilities were calculated for various gas velocities and temperatures. By increasing the temperature, larger bubbles became more stable which resulted in postponing transition from bubbling to turbulent fluidization. Results showed that the transition velocity from bubbling to turbulent increases by raising the temperature. A probability model was proposed and compared with experimental data indicating good accordance.     

Comparative evaluation of the antioxidant potential of some Iranian medicinal plants

Medicinal plants are a source for a wide variety of natural antioxidants. In the study reported here, we have conducted a comparative study between five medicinal plants having the same geographic origin: the Hamadan region in the west of Iran and growing in the same natural conditions. The amount of total phenolics and total flavonoids for parts of these plants used in Iranian popular medicine were evaluated. Furthermore, antioxidant activities for these parts using vitamin C equivalent antioxidant capacity (VCEAC) test were also evaluated. The results show that the antioxidant activities varied greatly among the different plant parts used in this study and some plants are rich in natural antioxidants especially leaves of Lavandula officinalis and of Melissa officinalis. A positive correlation between total phenolic or flavonoid contents and VCEAC was found with a correlation coefficient of R² = 0.961 and R² = 0.817, respectively. These findings show that phenolics in these plants provide substantial antioxidant activity.     

A brief assessment of concerns associated with genetic testing for cancer: The multidimensional impact of cancer risk assessment (MICRA) questionnaire.

The Multidimensional Impact of Cancer Risk Assessment (MICRA) is a new tool to measure the specific impact of result disclosure after genetic testing. The authors compared its performance with that of questionnaires measuring general and cancer-specific distress. Participants (158 women) responded 1 month after they received genetic test results. The women were divided into 4 standard clinical test result groups: BRCA1/2 positive, BRCA1/2 negative, panel negative, and true negative. Factor analysis supported the formation of 3 subscales: Distress (6 items, α= .86), Uncertainty (9 items, α= .77), and Positive Experiences (4 items, α= .75). All 3 MICRA subscales differentiated participants who were BRCAI/2 positive from the other 3 groups. MICRA thus helps identify subgroups of vulnerable genetic testing participants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of three restriction endonucleases in IS1245-based RFLP typing of Mycobacterium avium

IS1245-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis has been proposed recently for molecular typing of Mycobacterium avium isolates. As there is no standardised method with respect to the optimal restriction enzyme, three restriction endonucleases were tested for analysis of 17 human isolates. The restriction endonucleases, selected on the basis of the physical maps of IS1245 and of the highly homologous IS1311, were BsaAI, that cleaves IS1245, PvuII, that cleaves IS1311, and NruI, that cleaves both IS1245 and IS1311. All the restriction endonucleases yielded polymorphic and complex RFLP patterns. However, BsaAI- and NruI-generated bands were more evenly distributed and easier to detect than PvuII-generated bands, most of which clustered in a narrow zone of the fingerprint. In some cases, DNA digestion with BsaAI or NruI yielded probe-specific restriction fragments of molecular size lower than expected. Moreover, digestion with NruI, which was expected to generate the highest numbers of bands in all the isolates, yielded fewer bands than were obtained with BsaAI or PvuII in 14 and 5 isolates, respectively. These findings might suggest the existence of unidentified IS1245-related insertion element(s) in M. avium isolates. Computer analysis of the IS1245-based RFLP patterns of M. avium isolates showed that the restriction endonucleases were capable, although with minor differences, of defining distinct banding patterns and clusters of identical or highly related isolates, thus confirming IS1245-based RFLP analysis as a useful technique for epidemiological studies.     

Optimization of peroxidase-catalyzed oxidative coupling process for phenol removal from wastewater using response surface methodology

Hydroxylated aromatic compounds (HACs) are considered to be primary pollutants in a wide variety of industrial wastewaters. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) is suitable for the removal of these toxic substances. However, development of a mathematical model and optimization of the HRP-based treatment considering the economical issues by novel methods is a necessity. In the present study, optimization of phenol removal from wastewater by horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was carried out using response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD). As the initial experimental design, 2(4-1) half-fraction factorial design (H-FFD) is accomplished in triplicate at two levels to select the most significant factors and interactions in the phenol removal procedure. Temperature (degrees C), pH, concentration of enzyme (unit mL(-1)), and H202 (mM) were determined as the most effective independent variables. Finally, a fourfactor-five coded level CCD, 30 runs, was performed in order to fit a second-order polynomial function to the results and calculate the economically optimum conditions of the reaction. The goodness of the model was checked by different criteria including the coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.93), the corresponding analysis of variance ((Pmodel > F) < 0.0001) and parity plot (r = 0.96). These analyses indicated that the fitted model is appropriate for this enzymatic system. With the assumption that the minimum enzyme concentration was 0.26 unit mL(-1), the analysis of the response surface contour and surface plots defined the optimum conditions as follows: pH = 7.12, hydrogen peroxide concentration 1.72 mM, and 10 degrees C. This work improves phenol removal operation economically by applying minimum enzyme concentration and highest removal in comparison with previous studies.     

A 24-channel implantable neural recording based on time and frequency-division multiplexing

This paper presents a novel approach to encapsulate prerecorded neural signals in implantable neural recording microsystems. We have increased the number of channels and the reconstructed neural signal quality in the receiver by combining time-division-multiplexing (TDM) and frequency-division-multiplexing (FDM) method. Reducing the number of channels in each TDM module is the fundamental advantage of this method that leads to reduced crosstalk noise. We evaluate some possible configurations and propose an optimized system that has less power dissipation and area occupation than other configurations. A 24-channel implantable neural recording based on the optimized system is designed in both system and circuit level. In this system, first, channels are divided into three 8-channel groups then after multiplexing in the time domain, they are combined together by FDM method. Finally, a frequency modulator wirelessly transmits neural signals to an external setup. In addition, we adjust local carrier frequencies and the bandwidth of TDM to synchronize detection without transmitting pilot carrier. To justify the system operation, using 0.18 μm CMOS technology, we design the system in circuit level. The designed circuit consumes a power of 1.39 mW at a supply voltage of 1.8 V. This leads to a power consumption of 58 μW per channel.     

Morphological engineering of carbon-based materials: in the quest of efficient catalysts for overall water splitting

This work attempts to optimize the catalytic activity of the carbon-based materials by engineering their morphological structure. Several flake-like quantum dots with different shapes such as triangulene, elliptical, rhomboid, and square, as well as hydrocarbons having sunflower, kekulene, and snow-like structures, are considered and their electrocatalytic activities toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are theoretically evaluated. The activity analysis indicates that the OER overpotentials for the examined carbon materials vary in the range between 0.56 and 1.22 V. Benefiting from the improved electronic properties due to the proper morphology, remarkable catalytic activity was achieved for the snow-like morphology affording overpotentials of 0.56 V for OER and ?0.05 V for HER. In addition to snow-like, other morphologies such as triangulene and square can effectively promote acidic hydrogen evolution via Volmer-Heyrovsky mechanism. On contrary, the high values of free energies for H₂O dissociation step reveal that, under the alkaline condition, the examined carbon materials cannot be considered as efficient HER catalysts.