Particle size-dependent electrical properties of nanocrystalline NiO

Nickel oxide nanoparticles are formed by chemical precipitation and subsequent drying and calcinations at temperatures ≥523 K. Samples are characterized using X-ray diffraction and BET surface area measurements indicating the formation of a single NiO phase whose crystallite size increases with increasing calcination temperature. The electrical properties are examined by measuring DC and AC conductivities and dielectric properties as functions of temperature. Electrical conductivities first slightly increases with increasing particle size up to 7–10 nm and are about 8 orders of magnitude higher than that of NiO single crystals. Further increasing the particle size above 10 nm, leads to a monotonic decrease of conductivity. The data are discussed in view of variations of grain boundary as well as triple junction volume fractions as the particle size varies. At temperatures above θ_D/2 (θ_D is the Debye temperature), the conductivity is ascribed to a band-like conduction due to the large polaron. The activation energy of conduction was found to be minimal for the highly conducting samples of 7–10 nm, and gradually increases to ~0.5 eV with increasing the particle size above 10 nm. For T < θ_D/2, the conductivity is best described by variable–range–hopping models. Model parameters are thus estimated and presented as functions of particle size. Frequency as well as temperature dependencies of the AC conductivity and dielectric constant exhibit trends usually observed in carrier dominated dielectrics.     

GrAFCI+ A fast generator-based algorithm for mining frequent closed itemsets

Knowledge and Information Systems - Mining itemsets for association rule generation is a fundamental data mining task originally stemming from the traditional market basket analysis problem....     

On the Barbalat lemma extension for the generalized conformable fractional integrals: Application to adaptive observer design

The Barbalat-type lemma for the generalized conformable fractional-order derivative is examined in this work. An adaptive observer design is presented as an application to validate such proposed theory.     

HSDN‐GRA: A hybrid software‐defined networking‐based geographic routing protocol with multi‐agent approach

We propose in this paper a Hybrid Software‐Defined Networking‐based Geographical Routing Protocol (HSDN‐GRA) with a clustering approach. It takes into account three different criteria to select the best relay to send data: (1) the contact duration between vehicles, (2) the available load of each vehicle, (3) and the log of encountered communication errors embedded in each cluster head. The multi‐criteria strategy allows the selection of the most reliable vehicles by avoiding communication problems and ensuring connection availability. Once the hybrid control plane has found out the next eligible neighbor, the data plane will be in charge of dividing and sending data. To validate our approach, HSDN‐GRA has been modeled and implemented in JADE, a multi‐agent platform, to be compared to other multi‐agent based protocols. Simulation results show that HSDN‐GRA achieves good performance with respect to the average routing overhead, the packet drop rate, and the throughput.     

Global Practical Mittag Leffler Stabilization by Output Feedback for a Class Of Nonlinear Fractional‐Order Systems

In this paper, the problem of a global practical Mittag Leffler feedback stabilization for a class of nonlinear fractional order systems by means of observer is described. The linear matrix inequality approach is used to guarantee the practical stability of the proposed feedback fractional order system. An illustrative example is given to show the applicability of the results.     

Somatostatin receptor-mediated signaling in smooth muscle. Activation of phospholipase C-beta3 by Gbetagamma and inhibition of adenylyl cyclase by Galphai1 and Galphao

In COS-7 cells, all five cloned somatostatin receptors are coupled via inhibitory G proteins to activation of an unidentified phospholipase C-beta (PLC-beta) isozyme and inhibition of adenylyl cyclase. In the present study, intestinal smooth muscle cells (SMC) that express only one receptor type, sstr3, and possess a full complement of G proteins and PLC-beta isozymes were used to identify the PLC-beta isozyme and the G proteins coupled to it and to adenylyl cyclase. Somatostatin-14 bound with high affinity to intestinal SMC; stimulated D-myo-inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) formation, Ca2+ release, and contraction; and inhibited forskolin-stimulated cAMP formation in a pertussis toxin-sensitive fashion. Somatostatin also stimulated phosphoinositide hydrolysis in plasma membranes. Only those somatostatin analogs that shared a high affinity for sstr3 receptors elicited muscle contraction. IP3 formation, Ca2+ release, and contraction in permeabilized SMC and phosphoinositide hydrolysis in plasma membranes were inhibited (approximately 80%) by pretreatment with antibodies to PLC-beta3 but not other PLC-beta isozymes, and by antibodies to Gbeta but not Galpha. Inhibition of cAMP formation was partially blocked by antibody to Galphai1 or Galphao and additively blocked by a combination of both antibodies. Somatostatin-stimulated [35S]GTPgammaS-Galpha complexes in plasma membranes were bound selectively by Galphai1 and Galphao antibodies. We conclude that in smooth muscle sstr3 is coupled to Gi1 and Go; the alpha subunits of both G proteins mediate inhibition of adenylyl cyclase, while the betagamma subunits mediate activation of PLC-beta3.     

Finite‐time stability of linear fractional‐order time‐delay systems

In this paper, a finite‐time stability results of linear delay fractional‐order systems is investigated based on the generalized Gronwall inequality and the Caputo fractional derivative. Sufficient conditions are proposed to the finite‐time stability of the system with the fractional order. Numerical results are given and compared with other published data in the literature to demonstrate the validity of the proposed theoretical results.     

Finite-Time Stability for Caputo–Katugampola Fractional-Order Time-Delayed Neural Networks

Neural Processing Letters - In this paper, an original scheme is presented, in order to study the finite-time stability of the equilibrium point, and to prove its existence and uniqueness, for...     

Driver–vehicle cooperation: a hierarchical cooperative control architecture for automated driving systems

The concept of automated driving changes the way humans interact with their cars. However, how humans should interact with automated driving systems remains an open question. Cooperation between a driver and an automated driving system—they exert control jointly to facilitate a common driving task for each other—is expected to be a promising interaction paradigm that can address human factors issues caused by driving automation. Nevertheless, the complex nature of automated driving functions makes it very challenging to apply the state-of-the-art frameworks of driver–vehicle cooperation to automated driving systems. To meet this challenge, we propose a hierarchical cooperative control architecture which is derived from the existing architectures of automated driving systems. Throughout this architecture, we discuss how to adapt system functions to realize different forms of cooperation in the framework of driver–vehicle cooperation. We also provide a case study to illustrate the use of this architecture in the design of a cooperative control system for automated driving. By examining the concepts behind this architecture, we highlight that the correspondence between several concepts of planning and control originated from the fields of robotics and automation and the ergonomic frameworks of human cognition and control offers a new opportunity for designing driver–vehicle cooperation.