An integral system‐ergonomic approach for IT‐based process management in complex work environments by example of manufacturing and health care

Recent trends in manufacturing and health care move these two work systems closer together from a system ergonomics point of view. Individual treatment of products, especially patients, by specialists in a distributed environment demand information technology (IT)‐based support suitable for complex systems. IT‐based support of processes in complex systems is difficult due to the lack of standard processes. IT support also means to rethink processes to use efficiency potentials. Close cooperation of users and software developers is needed to increase the ergonomic quality of the system. Therefore, suitable tools are needed: UML is available as the standard industry modeling language, Zope/Plone as the quasi‐standard for content management systems, SimPy as an object‐oriented simulation tool for event‐triggered processes, and ACT‐R as a powerful cognitive architecture for simulation of human information processes. The integration of these tools enables system‐ergonomic support of processes in the complex work system as well as of the development and deployment process. It is the base of an integral system‐ergonomic approach for IT‐based process management. Knowledge gained during process analysis either enters models or leads to the extension and adaptation of the tool chain. The models serve as basis for discussion among system ergonomists, programmers, and specialists from the work system. Further, they are understood by simulation and process support tools. Transcoding efforts between humans with different professional backgrounds and machines are reduced, and the flexibility demanded by complex systems is met. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Theoretical justification of approximate norm minimization method for intelligent digital redesign

This paper investigates the theoretical justification of intelligent digital redesign (IDR) methods based on the approximate discrete-time models. Its main purpose is to design the digital fuzzy controller achieving the minimum norm distance between the trajectories of the approximate closed-loop systems under the analog and the digital controls. It is verified that, if there exist the digital gains such that the approximate norm distance is sufficiently small, the redesigned controller makes the trajectories of the exact closed-loop systems close, or, at least, asymptotically stabilizes the plant.     

Study on the electrical conductivity and morphology of porous polypyrrole layers prepared electrochemically in the presence of pyridinium chlorochromate

The electrical conductivity and morphology of thick (up to 3 mm) porous polypyrrole (PPy) layers produced electrochemically from pyrrole in acetonitrile (ACN) solutions have been studied. The electrical conductivity of pressed porous layers ranges from 1 to 10 Scm^–1, which is about one order of magnitude less than that in films which were prepared under similar conditions but without PnClCr. Analysis of the temperature dependence of conductivity has confirmed the major role of hopping in relation to tunnelling in charge transport inside the PPy layers even at lower temperatures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed a globular structure, which is different from the usual cauliflower-like structure of PPy films prepared without any oxidizing agent. Globular particles of about 1–3 m diameter have been found under a thin smooth crust on the electrode side of the sample. Globular particles form linked chain-like or larger round formations poorly filling the space. Closely packed fibrils of about 20 nm diameter and over 100 nm in length were found inside the aggregates.     

Photosensitized free radical polymerization using pyridinium salts

Summary The polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA), ethyl acrylate (EA), styrene (St) and 2-vinyl pyridine (VP) is initiated upon irradiation at >350 nm of dichloromethane solutions containing N-ethoxy-2-methylpyridinium hexafluorophosphate (EMP⁺PF₆ ^-) and anthracene or thioxanthone. Initiation mechanisms involving the formation of ethoxyl radicals during the decomposition of EMP⁺ ions via electron transfer are proposed.     

A variable-precision square root implementation for field programmable gate arrays

Applications requiring variable-precision arithmetic often rely on software implementations because custom hardware is either unavailable or too costly to build. By using the flexibility of the Xilinx XC4010 field programmable gate arrays, we present a hardware implementation of square root that is easily tailored to any desired precision. Our design consists of three types of modules: a control logic module, a data path module to extend the precision in 4-bit increments, and an interface module to span multiple chips. Our data path design avoids the common problem of large fan-out delay in the critical path. Cycle time is independent of precision, and operation latency can be independent of interchip communication delays.Notation S_j square root digit of weight 2^–j - S _j {–1, 0, 1} - S[j] computed square root value as of stepj - S _j ^s sign bit in the representation ofS _j in sign and magnitude form - S _j ^m magnitude bit in the representation ofS _j in sign and magnitude form - w[j] residual at stepj in two's complement carry-save representation - a sum vector in the carry-save representation of 2w[j] - b carry vector in the carry-save representation of 2w[j] - a _i bit of weight 2^–i in the sum vector,a - b_i bit of weight 2^–i in the carry vector,b - T[j]=–S[j – 1]s_j – s _j ² 2^–(j+1) T _i bit of weight 2^–i inT     

Bio-Inspired Artificial Fast-Adaptive and Slow-Adaptive Mechanoreceptors With Synapse-Like Functions

Development of artificial mechanoreceptors capable of sensing and pre-processing external mechanical stimuli is a crucial step toward constructing neuromorphic perception systems that can learn and store information. Here, bio-inspired artificial fast-adaptive (FA) and slow-adaptive (SA) mechanoreceptors with synapse-like functions are demonstrated for tactile perception. These mechanoreceptors integrate self-powered piezoelectric pressure sensors with synaptic electrolyte-gated field-effect transistors (EGFETs) featuring a reduced graphene oxide channel. The FA pressure sensor is based on a piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) thin film, while the SA pressure sensor is enabled by a piezoelectric ionogel with the piezoelectric-ionic coupling effect based on P(VDF-TrFE) and an ionic liquid. Changes in post-synaptic current are achieved through the synaptic effect of the EGFET by regulating the amplitude, number, duration, and frequency of tactile stimuli (pre-synaptic pulses). These devices have great potential to serve as artificial biological mechanoreceptors for future artificial neuromorphic perception systems.     

State of the Art of Molecular Visualization in Immersive Virtual Environments

Visualization plays a crucial role in molecular and structural biology. It has been successfully applied to a variety of tasks, including structural analysis and interactive drug design. While some of the challenges in this area can be overcome with more advanced visualization and interaction techniques, others are challenging primarily due to the limitations of the hardware devices used to interact with the visualized content. Consequently, visualization researchers are increasingly trying to take advantage of new technologies to facilitate the work of domain scientists. Some typical problems associated with classic 2D interfaces, such as regular desktop computers, are a lack of natural spatial understanding and interaction, and a limited field of view. These problems could be solved by immersive virtual environments and corresponding hardware, such as virtual reality head-mounted displays. Thus, researchers are investigating the potential of immersive virtual environments in the field of molecular visualization. There is already a body of work ranging from educational approaches to protein visualization to applications for collaborative drug design. This review focuses on molecular visualization in immersive virtual environments as a whole, aiming to cover this area comprehensively. We divide the existing papers into different groups based on their application areas, and types of tasks performed. Furthermore, we also include a list of available software tools. We conclude the report with a discussion of potential future research on molecular visualization in immersive environments.     

分层网格划分实现海量地图标记物聚散可视化

在传统的地图可视化中,面对海量地图标记物展示会采用点聚合的方式,但是各类点聚合算法都是运行时计算,没有分层机制,在海量点的散开展示时,对于地图标记物堆叠没有过滤机制。针对这一问题,提出了分层的网格划分实现海量地图标记物聚散一体化解决方案。该方法对分层网格中心点构建K-D树索引,对海量点构建四叉树索引,通过索引和存储技术,实现了聚合的高效查询。对海量点散开时增加网格过滤,消除堆叠问题。在实验案例数据集上进行对比,结果表明,与传统的点聚合方案相比,在数据量大的情况下,计算性能显著提高,对海量标记物散开展示增加过滤算法,有效提升了用户体验。     

Diagnostic performance of edited 2HG MR spectroscopy of central glioma in the clinical environment

Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine - Oncometabolite D-2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG) is pooled in isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-mutant glioma cells. Detecting 2HG by MR...