Change Point Estimation in the Mean of Multivariate Linear Profiles with No Change Type Assumption via Dynamic Linear Model

Change point estimation is a useful concept that helps quality engineers to effectively search for assignable causes and improve quality of the process or product. In this paper, the maximum likelihood approach is developed to estimate change point in the mean of multivariate linear profiles in Phase II. After the change point, parameters are estimated through filtering and smoothing approaches in dynamic linear model. The proposed change point estimator can be applied without any prior knowledge about the change type against existing estimators which assume change type is known in advance. Besides, sporadic change point can be identified as well. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed estimators to estimate step, drift and monotonic, as well as sporadic changes in small to large shifts. In addition, effect of different values of the Multivariate Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (MEWMA) control chart smoothing coefficient on the performance of the proposed estimator is investigated presenting that the smoothing estimator has more uniform performance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improved electrochemical performance of nitrocarburised stainless steel by hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films for bone tissue engineering

In this study, hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films, structurally similar to diamond‐like carbon (DLC), were deposited on the surface of untreated and plasma nitrocarburised (Nitrocarburizing‐treated) stainless steel medical implants using a plasma‐enhanced chemical vapour deposition method. The deposited DLC thin films on the nitrocarburising‐treated implants (CN+DLC) exhibited an appropriate adhesion to the substrates. The results clearly indicated that the applied DLC thin films showed excellent pitting and corrosion resistance with no considerable damage on the surface in comparison with the other samples. The CN+DLC thin films could be considered as an efficient approach for improving the biocompatibility and chemical inertness of metallic implants.Inspec keywords: tissue engineering, bone, biomedical materials, electrochemistry, amorphous state, carbon, hydrogen, thin films, plasma CVD, adhesion, corrosion resistance, surface hardeningOther keywords: electrochemical performance, plasma nitrocarburised stainless steel medical implants, hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films, bone tissue engineering, plasma‐enhanced chemical vapour deposition method, adhesion, corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, chemical inertness, metallic implants, C:H     

Review: the latest advances in biomedical applications of chitosan hydrogel as a powerful natural structure with eye-catching biological properties

Journal of Materials Science - Chitosan is one of the natural cationic polymers with unique properties such as non-toxicity, biodegradability, biocompatibility, environmentally friendly that has...     

Efficient multisecret sharing scheme using new proposed computational security model

A multisecret sharing (MSS) is a method for sharing a set of secrets among some participants. They can recover each of these secrets without endangering the other secrets. Two kinds of security models have been proposed for MSS schemes. These models are categorized into 2 types. The first security model is unconditional security. This approach decreases the efficiency of MSS schemes. Therefore, the second type of security, which is more relaxed, appeared. This approach is called computational security. In this paper, with 2 examples, we will show that the current definition of computational security does not satisfy all of our expectations from a secure MSS scheme. In fact, in these examples, recovering a secret leaks information to the other secrets while these schemes are considered secure in view of the computational security. After determining the shortcomings of the current security definition, we propose a new definition for computational security and present an MSS scheme that enjoys rigorous proof of security in terms of the new definition. In addition, a complete comparison in terms of share size, number of public values, and required operations for recovering a secret between our scheme and previous schemes indicates that the presented scheme is efficient.     

Trapping of Free Electrons in Multipole System

In this paper, the effective Parameters in the confinement and trapping of fast electrons in plasma source Such as; plasma pressure, wall material of plasma chamber and magnetic mirror rate have been investigated with using Comsol & Geant4 code. The calculations are shown that the Multicusp magnetic field was effective the pressure less than 5?mTor, and the confinement effect becomes stronger with decreasing pressure. It is equivalent to a higher yield of output ions of plasma source. The number of fast electrons trapped in the magnetic field increases with increasing magnetic field intensity and using aluminum for wall material. Optimum conditions of confinement plasma, leading to increased the hot electron density, and ionization efficiency is increased. The results of investigations have demonstrated good correspondence with theoretical calculations, therefore there is the adequacy of the developed approach and the possibility to build more effective source ion on this basis.     

Design,Construction, and Installation of Movable Electrode Biasing System on Tokamak

The first results of the movable electrode biasing experiments performed on the IR-T1 tokamak are presented. For this purpose, a movable electrode biasing system was designed, constructed, and installed on the IR-T1 tokamak, and then the positive voltage applied to an electrode inserted inside the tokamak limiter and the plasma current, poloidal and radial components of the magnetic fields, loop voltage, and diamagnetic flux in the absence and presence of the biased electrode were measured. Results compared and discussed.     

Thermal Transport in Disordered Materials

ABSTRACT

We review the status of research on thermal/phonon transport in disordered materials. The term disordered materials is used here to encompass both structural and compositional disorder. It includes structural deviations ranging from an ideal crystal with disordered arrangements of defects all the way to fully amorphous materials, as well as crystals with impurities up through multi-component random alloys. Both types of disorder affect phonons by breaking the symmetry of an idealized crystal and changing their character/mode shapes. These effects have important implications with regard to phonon–phonon interactions, phonon transport and phonon interactions with other quantum particles, which are being actively investigated. Herein, we synthesize the current theoretical understanding, identify the aspects of the problem that require more work, and pose open questions. Abbreviations: BTE: Boltzmann transport equation; DFT: Density functional theory; EPP: Eigenvector periodicity parameter; FAFDTR: Fiber-aligned frequency domain thermoreflectance; GK: Green–Kubo; GKMA: Green–Kubo modal analysis; HCACF: Heat current autocorrelation function; IXS: Inelastic X-ray scattering; LD: Lattice dynamics; LJ: Lennard–Jones; MD: Molecular dynamics; MFP: Mean free path; NEMD: Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics; NMD: Normal-mode dynamics; PDL: Propagon, diffuson, locon; PGM: Phonon gas model; PR: Participation ratio; SCLD: Supercell lattice dynamics; SED: Spectral energy density; TDTR: Time-domain thermoreflectance; VCA: Virtual crystal approximation;     

Studies on the oxygen barrier and mechanical properties of low density polyethylene/organoclay nanocomposite films in the presence of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer as a new type of compatibilizer

Nanocomposite films based on low density polyethylene (LDPE), containing of 2, 3, and 4 wt.% organoclay (OC) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer as a new compatibilizer were prepared and characterized using rheological tests, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, oxygen permeation measurements, and tensile tests. There was no exfoliation or intercalation of the clay layers in the absence of EVA, while an obvious increase in d-spacing was observed when the samples were prepared with EVA present. This issue was reflected in the properties of nanocomposites. The oxygen barrier properties of the LDPE/EVA/OC film were significantly better than those of the LDPE/OC film. The average aspect ratio of clay platelets in nanocomposites was determined from permeability measurements and using Lape–Cussler model. In addition to barrier properties, the LDPE/EVA/OC film also had better elastic modulus than their counterparts without EVA. The modulus reinforcement of nanocomposites was studied using Halpin–Tsai equations, which are universally used for composites reinforced by flake-like or rod-like fillers.     

Comparison of sintering behavior and piezoelectric properties of (K,Na)NbO3-based ceramics sintered in conventional and microwave furnace

In this study (1 − x) K_0.48Na_0.48Li_0.04Nb_0.96Ta_0.04O₃ − xSrTiO₃ (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.10) ceramics were fabricated by sintering in microwave furnace for first time as well as in conventional furnace (either via single step or two-step procedures). Sintering behavior and piezoelectric properties of sintered samples were studied and compared. It was found that two-step sintering decreases sintering temperature effectively and enhances densification compared to single step sintering. Microstructure analysis revealed that, two-step sintering suppresses grain growth and promotes densification. On the other hand, microwave sintering enhanced densification more effectively and reduced sintering time and temperature. The maximum piezoelectric constants of ceramics were measured for those sintered in microwave furnace. Piezoelectric constant of the sample containing 1 mol% SrTiO₃ which was sintered in microwave furnace was measured 310 pC N⁻¹ while by sintering in conventional furnace via single and two-step sintering it was obtained 208 and 278 pC N⁻¹, respectively.     

4-D x 3-D ultrasound: real-time scan conversion, filtering, and display of displacement vectors with a motorized curvilinear transducer

Recent research in the field of elastography has sought to expand displacement tracking to three dimensions. Once the 3-D volumes of displacement data have been obtained, they must be scan converted so that further processing, such as inversion methods to obtain tissue elasticity, can take place in Cartesian coordinates. This paper details an efficient and geometrically accurate algorithm to scan convert 3-D volumes of displacement vectors obtained from a motorized sector transducer. The proposed algorithm utilizes the physical scan geometry to convert the 3-D volumes of displacement data to both Cartesian coordinates and Cartesian displacements. Spatially varying filters are also proposed to prevent aliasing while minimizing data loss. Validation of the system has shown the algorithm to be correct to floating point precision, and the 3-D scan conversion and filtering can be performed faster than the native rate of data acquisition for the motorized transducer.