A lightweight and cost effective edge intelligence architecture based on containerization technology

World Wide Web - The integration of Cloud computing and Internet of Things led to rapid growth in the edge computing field. This would not be achievable without combining the data centers’...     

Influence of corona on the voltages induced by nearby lightning onoverhead distribution lines

A model for the calculation of lightning-induced voltages is presented with the aim of assessing the effect of corona when power distribution lines are illuminated by lightning electromagnetic fields. Corona is taken into account by means of dynamic capacitance describing a charge-voltage diagram. Such an equivalent capacitance is then introduced in a model which describes a line illuminated by a lightning electromagnetic field. It is first concluded that the influence of corona on lightning induced overvoltages is of importance only for particularly severe strokes. It is also found that corona acts to increase the magnitude of these overvoltages, contrary to the case of voltages due to direct strokes, which are attenuated by corona. A theoretical explanation of such an amplitude increase is presented. The effect of the ground resistivity is also taken into account in the calculations. The results show that such an effect is in general as important as the effect of corona. This is different from the direct-strike behavior, where corona, when present, affects the surge propagation more than the ground resistivity. This is due to the fact that for the case of induced-voltages, the ground resistivity may affect more strongly the lightning-radiated fields rather than the surge propagation along the line, while corona affects only surge propagation. The need for experimental results to test the theoretical finding of the paper is stressed and some indication is given. Finally, a sensitivity analysis of the induced voltages as a function of the charge-voltage diagram adopted to model corona is also performed     

Determination of methotrexate in untreated body fluids by micellar liquid chromatography

A fast and sensitive method for determination of the antineoplastic drug methotrexate in untreated serum and urine is described. Reversed-phase liquid chromatography with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micellar mobile phase has been used with direct sample injection. Changes in mobile phase variables such as SDS concentration and/or pH profoundly affected drug retention. Recovery was quantitative and the detection limit (90 nM for a 20 microL sample size) was below the range normally monitored. Multichannel UV detection provided strong evidence regarding peak purity and peak identity.     

Phase‐dependent binary interaction parameters in industrial low‐density polyethylene separators

In the production process of low‐density polyethylene (LDPE), an important step is the flash separation of monomers and other small molecules from the polymer produced. The process is carried out adiabatically in two stages. To improve the performance of thermodynamic models, it is very important to analyze the use of model binary interaction parameters (BIP) dependent on the phase characteristics for each phase (phase‐dependent BIP). In this work the PC‐SAFT (perturbed‐chain statistical associating fluid theory) equation of state (EOS) is applied to the flash simulation of LDPE industrial separators using eight different resins. The main numerical aspects are examined with emphasis on the optimization strategy for the EOS BIP that explicitly characterizes each phase involved separately. The results demonstrate good predictive behavior. As a result of improved and more consistent modeling, a new strategy for optimized operation can be envisaged for the sequence of separators. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 2106–2117, 2013     

Recent results of fracture experiments on carbon steel welded pipes

Several pipe fracture experiments were conducted with circumferential cracks in the center of ferritic nuclear pipe welds. These experiments involved either submerged arc or shielded metal arc welds with either through-wall cracks or internal surface cracks. The pipe diameters varied from 940 mm (37 inches) to 152 mm (6 inches), and thickness from 10·9 mm (0·43 inches) to 86·6 mm (3·41 inches). Some of the through-wall and surface-cracked pipe experiments were conducted under constant internal pressure and four-point bending. The test temperature was 288°C (550°F). The results of these experiments are compared with limit-load analyses, the ASME, Section XI, article IWB-3650 criterion, and more elaborate elastic-plastic fracture mechanical analysis.     

Laparoscopic treatment of gallbladder and common bile duct stones: a prospective study

The aim of this study was to investigate prospectively the feasibility, success rate, safety, and short-term results of single-stage laparoscopic treatment of gallstones and ductal stones in 100 consecutive, unselected patients. Common bile duct (CBD) stones were diagnoses at routine intraoperative cholangiography and choledochoscopy in 100 of 950 patients with gallstones undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Unsuspected CBD stones were present in 39 patients (4.1% of 950; 39% of 100); 26 patients were referred for surgery after failed endoscopic sphinctertomy (ES) performed elsewhere. Transcystic duct CBD exploration (TC-CBDE) was the procedure of choice. When it was not feasible, choledochotomy and direct CBD exploration (D-CBDE) was performed. Use of biliary drainage was liberal. A completion cholangiogram was obtained for all patients. Laparoscopic treatment of CBD stones was successful in 96 patients: after TC-CBDE in 63 and after D-CBDE in 33. Four operations were converted to open surgery (4%). Retained stones, observed in five patients, were treated by ES in two cases and by percutaneous endoscopic/fluoroscopic lithotripsy in three. Minor morbidity included biloma (n = 2), port site infection (n = 2), and subumbilical hematoma (n = 1). Major morbidity was bile leakage from the cystic duct stump in two cases due to clips or transcystic duct drainage displacement, respectively. One elderly, high risk patient died after being referred for several failed attempts of endoscopic clearance; she died from cardiogenic shock 3 days after successful laparoscopic treatment. Laparoscopic CBD exploration is feasible and safe in most patients, with short-term results that compare favorably with the results of sequential ES/LC reported in the literature.     

A randomized, controlled, clinical study of laparoscopic vs open tension-free inguinal hernia repair

BACKGROUND: The aim of this prospective, randomized, controlled clinical study was to compare laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) hernia repair with a standard tension-free open mesh repair (open). METHODS: A total of 108 low-risk patients with unilateral (primary or recurrent) or bilateral hernias were randomized to TAPP (group 1 = 52 cases) or open (group 2 = 56 cases). The outcome measures included operating time, complications, postoperative pain, return to normal activity, operating theater costs, and recurrences. RESULTS: The mean operative time was longer for the TAPP than for the open group only in unilateral primary hernias. At rest, the median Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score was higher for group 1 than group 2 at 48 h postoperatively. Mild to discomforting pain in the inguinal region after 7 days, night pain after 30 days, and inguinal hardening after 3 months were more frequent in group 2 than group 1. No significant differences were observed in return to normal activities between the groups. One hernia recurrence was observed after 1 month in group 1. TAPP was significantly more expensive than open. CONCLUSIONS: TAPP was associated with less postoperative pain than open. The increase in operating theater costs, however, was dramatic and was not compensated by shorter time away from work. TAPP should not be adopted routinely unless its costs can be drastically reduced.     

An enhanced two-level Boolean synthesis methodology for fuzzy rulesminimization

A new methodology for the minimization of a given set of fuzzy rules is presented. It is based on a novel mapping of fuzzy relations on Boolean functions and exploits existing Boolean synthesis algorithms. In this mapping each fuzzy membership predicate is translated into a Boolean variable and proper constraints on Boolean manipulations are added to guarantee fuzziness translation. The formal consistency of the approach depends on a fuzzy semantic which easily generalizes most of the existing models, granting broad applicability to the suggested procedure. The applicability of an enhanced two-level Boolean minimizer is demonstrated, and the technique is applied to the fuzzy identification of nonlinear systems, consistently reducing the number of rules and easing application of further optimization interventions     

A dynamically reconfigurable monolithic CMOS pressure sensor for smart fabric

This paper presents a mixed-signal system-on-chip (SOC) for sensing capacitance variations, enabling the creation of pressure-sensitive fabric. The chip is designed to sit in the corner of a smart fabric such as elastic foam overlaid with a matrix of conductive threads. When pressure is applied to the matrix, an image is created from measuring the differences in capacitance among the rows and columns of fibers patterned on the two opposite sides of the elastic substrate. The SOC approach provides the flexibility to accommodate for different fabric sizes and to perform image enhancement and on-chip data processing. The chip has been designed in a 0.35-/spl mu/m five-metal one-poly CMOS process working up to 40 MHz at 3.3 V of power supply, in a fully reconfigurable arrangement of 128 I/O lines. The core area is 32 mm/sup 2/.     

XiSystem: a XiRisc-based SoC with reconfigurable IO module

In the nanometer era, the increase in nonrecurring engineering costs is a challenge for SoCs that can be faced through a standardization process. Hardware specialization of a standard platform to a given application can be achieved by exploiting reconfigurable technology. This paper presents a XiSystem SoC, which integrates two different field-programmable devices to provide application-specific computing blocks and IOs. A XiRisc reconfigurable processor is exploited to achieve more than one order of magnitude speed-up and energy consumption reduction vis-a/spl grave/-vis a DSP-like processor, while an eFPGA is integrated in the system in order to make it flexible enough to support various IO ports and protocols. The reconfigurable IO device is also utilized for pre/post data processing and implementation of some standard computational blocks.