Response sensitivity analysis of the dynamic milling process based on the numerical integration method

As one of the bases of gradient-based optimization algorithms, sensitivity analysis is usually required to calculate the derivatives of the system response with respect to the machining parameters. The most widely used approaches for sensitivity analysis are based on time-consuming numerical methods, such as finite difference methods. This paper presents a semi-analytical method for calculation of the sensitivity of the stability boundary in milling. After transforming the delay-differential equation with time-periodic coefficients governing the dynamic milling process into the integral form, the Floquet transition matrix is constructed by using the numerical integration method. Then, the analytical expressions of derivatives of the Floquet transition matrix with respect to the machining parameters are obtained. Thereafter, the classical analytical expression of the sensitivity of matrix eigenvalues is employed to calculate the sensitivity of the stability lobe diagram. The two-degree-of-freedom milling example illustrates the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method. Compared with the existing methods, the unique merit of the proposed method is that it can be used for analytically computing the sensitivity of the stability boundary in milling, without employing any finite difference methods. Therefore, the high accuracy and high efficiency are both achieved. The proposed method can serve as an effective tool for machining parameter optimization and uncertainty analysis in high-speed milling.     

Effect of obstacle density on the travel time of the visually impaired people

Because China has put more emphasis on people with disabilities, their living conditions and protection have received increasing attention. In an emergency, the visually impaired people are limited in their ability to evacuate, especially along egress paths with obstacles. This paper studied the relationship between the travel time of visually impaired people and obstacle density in their path. Eight sighted people and 32 people with visual impairments were chosen to carry out the walking experiment. The results of the experiment showed that the travel time of sighted people was shorter than that of visually impaired people under the same obstacle and non‐obstacle situations. Based on the analysis of variance of travel time, it was clear from the results that the travel time of the visually impaired people rapidly increased when there were obstacles. When the obstacle density was kept to within a certain range, there was no obvious increase in travel time. Once the density exceeded this range, there was another obvious increase. Based on this result, it can be seen that keeping the obstacle density to within a certain range could be helpful for the visually impaired people during an evacuation when the egress paths cannot be made obstacle‐free.     

Effects of temperature,pH and light on the stability of aloin A and characterisation of its major degradation products

This study explored the stability and degradation products of aloin A under varying pH, temperature and light conditions usually encountered in processing. The stability of aloin A was significantly affected by temperature and pH. The content of aloin A decreased by more than 90% within 12 h at 50 °C and within 6 h at 70 °C, respectively. A significant decrease in stability was also observed at higher pHs. At pH 8.0, less than 2% of aloin A remained within 12 h. However, aloin A exhibited good stability at acidic pH levels with 94% remaining at pH 2.0 for 14 days. Light exerted no influence on the stability during the experimental period (14 days). Aloe‐emodin, elgonica‐dimers A and B were characterised as major degradation products of aloin A at pH 5.0 or below, and elgonica‐dimers were mainly formed at 4 °C as well. 10‐hydroxyaloins A and B were found under any condition except at pH 2.0 and 3.0, and they were mainly formed under high temperature, neutral‐basic and any light conditions.     

Broadband circularly polarized patch antenna with gap‐coupled feed and resistor loading

A broadband circularly polarized patch antenna with suspended structure is proposed. The suspended patch has a bow‐tie structure and a gap‐coupled feed. By connecting a resistor load to another gap‐coupled feed port at the opposite position, a wide impedance and axial ratio (AR) bandwidths are obtained. The proposed design has a very simple antenna structure with an impedance bandwidth of 44.5% and a 3‐dB AR bandwidth of 33.8%, respectively. The results show that the bandwidth of the patch antenna is successfully broadened using the suspended configuration, gap‐coupled feed, and resistor loading. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 24:587–593, 2014.     

Water Oxidation Catalysts for Artificial Photosynthesis

Water oxidation is the primary reaction of both natural and artificial photosynthesis. Developing active and robust water oxidation catalysts (WOCs) is the key to constructing efficient artificial photosynthesis systems, but it is still facing enormous challenges in both fundamental and applied aspects. Here, the recent developments in molecular catalysts and heterogeneous nanoparticle catalysts are reviewed with special emphasis on biomimetic catalysts and the integration of WOCs into artificial photosystems. The highly efficient artificial photosynthesis depends largely on active WOCs integrated into light harvesting materials via rational interface engineering based on in‐depth understanding of charge dynamics and the reaction mechanism.     

Polymer Template Synthesis of Flexible BaTiO3 Crystal Nanofibers

BaTiO₃ crystals are attractive materials due to their high dielectric properties, but they are brittle and inelastic ceramics, which limits their broader applications in emerging fields, such as flexible electronics. A scalable strategy for the fabrication of ultra‐flexible crystalline BaTiO₃ nanofiber (NF) films by a sol–gel electrospinning method, followed by a brief calcination, is reported. It facilitates the formation of perovskite BaTiO₃ crystals with intricate grain boundaries at a low temperatures by growing them within polymer NF templates. The ceramic films have a polymer‐like softness of 50 mN, a large Young's modulus of 61 MPa, and an elastic strain of 0.9%. Moreover, they have a low density of 28 mg cm^?3 and demonstrate superior softness without fracture after deformation. Piezoelectric sensors fabricated based on these films exhibit a high sensitivity of 80 ms with an output voltage of 1.05 V at a pressure of 100 kPa. This approach allows for the large‐scale fabrication of flexible BaTiO₃ crystal NF films.     

Image authentication and tamper localization based on relative difference between DCT coefficient and its estimated value

Digital images are increasingly transmitted over non-secure channels such as Internet, therefore image authentication techniques have recently gained great attention due to their importance for a large number of multimedia applications. To protect the authenticity of images, several approaches have been proposed. These approaches include conventional cryptography, semi-fragile watermarking and digital signatures. In this paper, we propose two techniques of the same type based on what we call characteristic data digest. Both techniques can blindly detect and localize malicious tampering, while maintaining reasonable tolerance to conventional content-preserving manipulations. The characteristic data is derived from the relative difference between each pair of selected DCT coefficient, AC for one technique and DC for another technique, in a central block and its counterpart estimated by the center block and its adjacent blocks. In order to maintain the relative difference relationship when the image undergoes legitimate processing, we make a pre-compensation for the coefficients. Experimental results show that our techniques are significantly superior to semi-fragile techniques under the condition of the same image fidelity, especially in tolerance range of legitimate processing, and/or the ability to detect and localize the tampered area. Due to the simplicity of the algorithms, our techniques can be used in video frame authentication, and even other digital media. In addition, this kind of proposed techniques can be extended to use other characteristic data, such as high-level moment, statistical data of images, and so on.