Towards finding the best-fit distribution for OSN data

The Journal of Supercomputing - Currently, all online social networks (OSNs) are considered to follow a power-law distribution. In this paper, the degree distribution for multiple OSNs has been...     

Crystallography of fracture facets in a near-alpha titanium alloy

A faceted initiation site is observed in Ti-6242 alloy for both the cyclic and static-loading test conditions. In this experimental study, the crystallographic orientation of the facets has been determined using the electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) technique in conjunction with the quantitative tilt fractography in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Quantitative tilt fractography analysis has been used to determine the spatial orientation of fracture facets. The results indicate that the normal-fatigue (no-dwell) fracture facets are oriented at ∼5 deg with respect to the basal plane; the dwell-fatigue fracture facets are oriented at ∼10 to 15 deg with respect to the basal plane and the static-loading fracture facets are oriented at ∼20 deg with respect to the basal plane. These crystallographic orientation determinations of the fracture facets at the crack-initiation site can be used to obtain an idea about the type of loading that produced them.     

Synergistic interactions of etoposide and interleukin-1 alpha are not due to DNA damage in human melanoma cells

Family nursing, always a component of nursing, has been recently receiving increased attention through publications, educational programs, clinical practice settings and family nursing research. Nurses are in the best position to assist families experiencing the illness of a loved one, but often lack the skills and confidence necessary to assist with the psychosocial needs. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and implementation of a family nursing program within a large, tertiary care facility. The program's evaluation is ongoing but early outcomes indicate that day-to-day nursing practice has been positively influenced and improved job satisfaction may result.     

Microstructural Investigation on Failure of Internal Drive Shaft

17-4 PH stainless steel is used as internal drive shaft material in liquid engine pumps. One of the drive shafts failed during operation. The shaft pieces were in contact for short duration after failure, which has resulted in abrasion of fractured surfaces. Samples from the location of failure were taken, and investigation of the failure was carried out using optical and scanning electron microscopy. The microstructural analysis of the material and fractographic analysis of the fractured surface show that the failure was caused by excessive torsion.     

Modified modulation formats using time-varying phase functions

New modulation formats are presented that increase the transmission rate over that of conventional systems, without degrading the bit error rate (BER) and with minimal bandwidth variation. A time-varying function called an "extra phase variation function" (EPVF) is added to the discrete phase of conventional modulation formats such as M-PSK and QAM to transmit additional data bits. A receiver configuration is presented that allows the decoding of information represented by the discrete and extra phases. It is shown that in an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel, the BER performance of the bits carried by the discrete phase and the extra phase in the modified format improves over the BER of conventional modulation formats.