Error rates for narrow-band digital FM with discriminator detectionin mobile radio systems

Error rates for a narrowband digital FM system with discriminator detection in a land mobile radio channel characterized by fading and Doppler frequency shift are obtained using a new analytical method. The fading rate is assumed to be much slower than the bit rate so that signal distortion through a narrow bandpass filter can be analyzed via a quasistatic approach. An experiment was conducted using a Rayleigh fading simulator, and the error rate measurements are shown to agree well with the calculated results, except at high SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) where an irreducible error rate was observed     

Numerical simulation of caisson installation and dissipation in kaolin clay and calcareous silt

Caissons are widely used to support fixed platforms in shallow water or moor floating platforms in deep water. Although the installation and pullout behaviours of caissons have been explored extensively, few studies are on the dissipation of excess pore pressures induced by installation of the caisson. The pull-out capacity or bearing capacity of the caisson under undrained conditions is enhanced by dissipation of excess pore pressure, given the caisson is installed in normally consolidated cohesive soil. This paper reports numerical simulations of caisson installation and the subsequent dissipation. The analyses were carried out using a coupled effective stress-pore pressure large deformation finite element (LDFE) approach incorporating the modified Cam-Clay model. The robustness of the LDFE model was validated by comparing the penetration resistance with centrifuge testing data and the guidelines. Caissons in two fine grained soils, kaolin clay and calcareous silt, were explored. The geometry of the caisson was varied to encompass the typical sizes of caissons. The dissipation responses at four locations near the caisson tip were interpreted. A normalised dissipation time around caissons is proposed, by modifying the conventional expression for a cone.     

Possibilities of the Formation of Enol-Ethers in Lignin by Soda Pulping

In the alkaline decomposition of a β-O-4 type lignin model compound (erythro-guaiacylglycerol-β-guaiacyl ether, compound 1), an isomeric pair of C₆C₂ enol-ether (2-methoxy-4-[2-(2-methoxyphenoxy)-vinyl]-phenol, compound 2) was detected as the main decomposition product with no trace of C₆C₃ enol-ether (4-[3-hydroxy-1-(2-methoxyphenoxy)-propenyl]-2-methoxy-phenol, compound 3) or other dimers. In contrast, compound 2 was not detected in the alkaline decomposition products of compound 3. Under alkaline conditions, the γ-hydroxymethyl group of compound 3 was reduced to form 2-methoxy-4-[1-(2-methoxyphenoxy)-propenyl]-phenol (compound 4). In the HSQC analysis of soda lignin, the formation of substructures of C₆C₂ type enol-ether (related to compound 2) was confirmed. However, no substructures related to compound 4, which could be formed if a substructure of C₆C₃ type enol-ether was formed under alkaline conditions, were detected. Therefore, it could be concluded that C₆C₃ type enol-ethers could not be intermediates of alkaline decomposition products of lignin.     

Fluorine geochemistry in bedrock groundwater of South Korea

High fluoride concentrations (median=4.4 mg/L) in deep bedrock groundwater of South Korea prevent the usage of it as a drinking water source. The hydrogeochemistry of deep thermal groundwaters (N=377) in diverse bedrocks has been studied in order to evaluate the geologic and geochemical controls on fluoride concentrations in groundwater. The groundwater samples were clustered geologically, and the average and median concentrations of fluoride were compared by the Mann-Whitney U test. The order of median fluoride concentration with respect to geology is as follows: metamorphic rocks> or =granitoids > or =complex rock>volcanic rocks> or =sedimentary rocks. This result indicates that the geological source of fluoride in groundwater is related to the mineral composition of metamorphic rocks and granitoids. With respect to groundwater chemistry, the fluoride concentration was highest in Na-HCO3 type groundwater and lowest in Ca-HCO3 type groundwater. Ionic relationships also imply that the geochemical behavior of fluoride in groundwater is related to the geochemical process releasing Na and removing Ca ions. The thermodynamic relationship between the activities of Ca and F indicates that fluoride concentration is controlled by the equilibrium of fluorite (CaF2). In other words, the upper limits of fluoride concentration are determined by the Ca ion; i.e., Ca concentrations play a crucial role in fluoride behavior in deep thermal groundwater. The result of this study suggests that the high fluoride in groundwater originates from geological sources and fluoride can be removed by fluorite precipitation when high Ca concentration is maintained. This provides a basis for a proper management plan to develop the deep thermal groundwater and for treatment of high fluoride groundwater frequently found in South Korea.     

Effect of the New York State cigarette fire safety standard on ignition propensity, smoke constituents, and the consumer market

Objectives: This study examines empirical evidence from the New York experience testing tobacco industry arguments made in opposition to fire safety standards for cigarettes. Design: Percentages of cigarettes exhibiting full length burns (FLBs), cigarette sales before and following the implementation of the New York standards, a sample of retail cigarette prices, brand availability, and selected smoke constituent yields were compared between cigarettes sold in New York and two other states. Cigarette paper analysis was conducted on cigarettes sold in New York. Results: New York cigarette brands averaged 10.0% FLBs as compared to 99.8% for California and Massachusetts brands. Reduced ignition propensity (RIP) appears to have been achieved by cigarette paper banding. Cigarette sales, prices, and brand availability do not appear to have been affected by the New York standards. Yields of the majority of smoke constituents tested did not differ substantially between RIP cigarettes sold in New York as compared to the same brands sold in Massachusetts. Average yields of tar, carbon monoxide, and two compounds were slightly higher, the yields of seven compounds were higher for one brand only, and nicotine was lower, among New York brands tested. Conclusions: RIP cigarette brands have been designed to meet the New York fire safety standards. Their introduction has not affected cigarette sales or prices in New York. There is no evidence that the small increases in smoke constituent yields affect the already highly toxic nature of cigarette smoke. Data on smoking caused fires, deaths, and injuries dating from after the change in law are not yet available. Such data will be able to address the question of whether the demonstrated reduced ignition standards are associated with reduced fires and injuries. Based on the New York experience, prior industry objections to producing RIP cigarettes are unfounded. Other states and nations should adopt similar standards.     

Antioxidative activities of bran extracts from twenty one pigmented rice cultivars

Ethanol–water (70:30, v/v) extracts from the bran of rice seeds from twenty one pigmented and one nonpigmented rice cultivars were evaluated for antioxidative activities using the following tests: inhibition of peroxidation of linoleic acid; inhibition of peroxidation of rabbit lipid erythrocyte membranes; reduction of potassium ferricyanide, and scavenging of superoxide anions and hydroxyl radicals. With some exceptions, extracts from the pigmented rice seeds had higher antioxidative activity than did the nonpigmented variety. The following pigmented cultivars had the highest antioxidative activities in all tests: Jumlalocal-1, Parnkhari 203, DZ78, LK1-3-6-12-1-1, and Elwee. A significant correlation was also noted between reducing power, inhibition of erythrocyte ghost membrane peroxidation, and superoxide anion and hydroxyl radical scavenging. The results suggest that: (a) ferricyanide reducing power might be a useful and simple index for large-scale evaluation of antioxidative potencies of natural products present in rice; (b) pigmented rice varieties with high antioxidative activities provide a source of antioxidants and a genetic resource to develop new health-promoting rice cultivars.     

Effects of mechanical force on crystalline structure of electrospun poly(1‐butene) membranes

Fibrous poly(1‐butene) membranes were prepared from solutions using mixed solvents via electrospinning. The electrospun fibrous poly(1‐butene) membranes were stretched at elongations of 8, 16 and 24%, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy and stress–strain analysis showed that the deformation was elastic at an elongation of 8%, while plastic deformation occurred above 16%. The crystalline transformation induced by mechanical stretching was investigated using wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction. The poly(1‐butene) membrane stretched at 24% exhibited decreased diffraction intensity at 2θ = 11.8° and 18.3°, corresponding to the (200) and (213) crystalline reflections, indicating that crystalline transformation from metastable form II to either stable form I or I′ occurred due to mechanical stretching. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

A study of color differences in women's ready‐to‐wear collections from world fashion cities: Intensive study of the Fall/Winter 2010 collections from New York,London, Milan,and Paris

The purpose of this study is to analyze the color differences in the four fashion collections from New York, London, Milan, and Paris while focusing on 2010 Fall and Winter women's ready‐to‐wear collections. The colors of the fashion collections were collected from American Vogue's website www.style.com and analyzed by using the ISCC –NBS color system which is made up of 10 basic hues of pink, red, orange, brown, yellow, olive, yellow green, green, blue, and purple, and three neutral categories of white, gray, and black. In addition to these 13 categories, yellowish pink, gold, and silver categories were classified. For analysis, one‐way ANOVA, the Scheffe test and the t‐test were adopted. The result of analysis showed that there was a statistical difference in purple compared with the other colors examined. The London collection showed the highest ratio of use in purple, whereas the Milan collection contrarily showed the lowest ratio of use in purple. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 38, 463–468, 2013     

Improving particle size measurement using multi-flash imaging

An accurate calculation of the size distribution of coarse particles is crucial in the mining and quarrying industry. Machine vision has the capability to overcome many inherent limitations of traditional sieving methods and is an active research area. However, inaccurate image segmentation of particles through software based algorithms is a significant source of error. In this paper, a hardware based approach to improving image segmentation is demonstrated using multi-flash Imaging (MFI), where multiple images captured with different illumination allows depth edges around a particle to be captured through shadow information. The MFI method is compared with conventional segmentation methods such as watershed and Canny edge detection. In order to provide more accurate evaluation of performance wooden spheres of known diameter were evaluated. Imaging the size distribution of pebbles provided a practical scenario in the evaluation of MFI. The results revealed that MFI produced more accurate size estimations than conventional segmentation techniques for both the wooden spheres and pebbles, demonstrating the potential for future use in the mining industry.