Planar geometric location problems

We present anO(n ² log³ n) algorithm for the two-center problem, in which we are given a setS ofn points in the plane and wish to find two closed disks whose union containsS so that the larger of the two radii is as small as possible. We also give anO(n ² log⁵ n) algorithm for solving the two-line-center problem, where we want to find two strips that coverS whose maximum width is as small as possible. The best previous solutions of both problems requireO(n ³) time.Pankaj Agarwal has been supported by DIMACS (Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science), an NSF Science and Technology Center, under Grant STC-88-09648. Micha Sharir has been supported by the Office of Naval Research under Grants N00014-89-J-3042 and N00014-90-J-1284, by the National Science Foundation under Grant CCR-89-01484, by DIMACS, and by grants from the US-Israeli Binational Science Foundation, the Fund for Basic Research administered by the Israeli Academy of Sciences, and the G.I.F., the German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development. A preliminary version of this paper has appeared inProceedings of the Second Annual ACM-SIAM Symposium on Discrete Algorithms, 1991, pp. 449–458.     

Impact of p‐toluenesulfonate on polypyrrole–cobalt catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

Polypyrrole (PPy) and polypyrrole p‐toluenesulfonate (PPy/pTS) supported cobalt (Co) catalysts have been synthesized using in situ surfactant modified chemical oxidative polymerization. These catalysts have been characterized for their structure and electrocatalytic activity employing FT‐IR, Raman, SEM, HRTEM, and electrochemical techniques. The influence of pTS on the morphology and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity has been discussed in respect of the formation of polaronic and bipolaronic species. The impact of these species on the electrochemical performance has been studied using continuous cycling in acidic media. Overall, PPy/pTS‐Co is found to be the best suitable candidate among the catalysts synthesized for this study and can become an attractive substitute as a non‐noble catalyst material for cathode applications in fuel cells. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 2645–2651, 2013     

Smart object recommendation (SORec) architecture using representation learning in Smart objects-Based Social Network (SBSN)

The Journal of Supercomputing - With the popularization of Internet of Things (IoT) and Social Internet of Things (SIoT), innumerable smart objects are allowed to establish associations among each...     

Flow Control in ServerNet® Clusters

This paper investigates the performance implications of several end-to-end flow control protocols in clusters based on the ServerNet^® system-area network. The Static Window (SW) and Packet Pair (PP) flow control protocols are studied. Based on them, the Simplified Packet Pair (SPP) and the Alternating Static Window (ASW) protocols are defined. Previously, it has been proven that PP is stable for store-and-forward networks based on Rate Allocation Servers. The applicability of PP to wormhole-routing networks is studied. Simulation results for the performance characteristics are obtained and evaluated. It is shown that if high throughput is desired, ASW is the best method for controlling the average latency. On the other hand, if low throughput is acceptable, SPP can be applied to maintain low latencies.     

变时滞不确定Lurie系统的时滞分布依赖鲁棒稳定性分析

In this paper, the problem of robust absolute stability of Lurie system with probabilistic time-varying delay and normbounded parametric uncertainty is considered. The time delay variation range is divided into two sub-intervals. By considering the probability distribution of the time-varying delay between the two sub-intervals and the knowledge of the delay variation range, a novel linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) based stability condition is derived by defining a Lyapunov Krasovskii functional. It is illustrated with the help of numerical examples that the derived stability criteria can lead to less conservative results as compared to the results obtained by the traditional method of using the delay variation range information only.     

Interaction between bisphenol A and micelles of ionic surfactants

Interactions between bisphenol A (BPA) and ionic surfactants—cationic hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HTAB) and anionic sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS)—were studied by measuring interfacial tensions and the intensities of pyrene fluorescence. The critical micellar concentrations (CMC) decreased with an increase in the BPA concentration, and the degree of that decrease was greater in HTAB than in SDS. In those micelles, BPA interacted more strongly with HTAB than with SDS. Conversely, BPA adsorbed on the air-water interface cooperatively with the surfactants, even though almost no adsorption of BPA itself was observed. This cooperative adsorption was more enhanced with HTAB than with SDS. Thus, BPA worked on the surfactants to stabilize the micelles and interfacial adsorption. The stability gained by the addition of BPA was greater on the interface than in the micelle. This was evidence of decreased hydrophilicity of the head group of the ionic surfactant, which interacted with BPA, because this decrease acted on the surface activities of the surfactants more directly than on the micelle stabilities. Pyrene fluorescence measurements yielded identical results for the effect on micelle stabilities. It is noteworthy that the fluorescence intensity of peak 1, l ₁, decreased with an increase in BPA concentrations at constant concentrations of surfactant greater than the CMC, but the peak ratio, l ₁/l ₃, remained almost unchanged. This fact was also related to the interaction of BPA with the hydrophilic head groups in the surfactant micelle.     

Electro‐chemical activity in liquid crystal on silicon microdisplays

In reflective liquid crystal devices that have an asymmetric electrode structure, an internal cell voltage is often present that interferes with the proper functioning of the device. Contrary to transmissive devices, this internal voltage cannot be attributed solely to ionic charges in the liquid crystal. On the basis of extensive measurements, an electro‐chemical model is developed and validated, providing a complete explanation for the generation and the dynamic behavior of the internal voltage in asymmetric liquid crystal devices. A possible solution for eliminating the occurrence of the internal voltage is also provided.     

Perturbed Sierpinski carpet resonator and its usage in compact dual and triple band bandpass filters

In this paper, perturbed Sierpinski carpet fractal shaped resonator is characterized and applied in the design of multiband band pass filters (BPFs). The route to achieving compact multimode resonators starting from the Sierpinski carpet fractal shaped resonator is detailed. The proposed resonators are used to demonstrate two topologies of dual band bandpass filters with passband center frequencies at 3.5 GHz as well as 5.5 GHz, respectively. Both the designs exhibit nearly identical passband bandwidth. In the second design, it is observed that the second passband gets slightly shifted towards 5.85 GHz. However, with edge loading this shift is nullified. A scaled down version of the same resonator is designed and three such resonators are interdigitally coupled in conjunction with complementary split ring resonators to exhibit a novel technique of achieving compact triband bandpass filter. All designs have acceptable passband insertion loss in the respective bands. Accessories are used to improve passband selectivity in all designs and also a wide stop band till 10 GHz is obtained. Fabrication prototypes for all the variants are realized with simulated and measured results in good agreement. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 26:418–425, 2016.     

A system dynamics framework for integrated reverse supply chain with three way recovery and product exchange policy

With the technological advancements and rapid changes in demand pattern, diverse ranges of products are entering into the market with reduced lifecycle which leads to the environmental disasters. The awareness of product take-back and recovery has been increasing in various supply chains not only due to the obligation imposed by legislation but also competitive economics worldwide. In this paper, we develop a system dynamics framework for a closed-loop supply chain network with product exchange and three way recovery policy, namely; product remanufacturing, component reuse and remanufacturing, and raw material recovery. In the simulation study, we investigate the significance of various factors including product exchange, collection and remanufacturing; their interactions and the type of their impact on bullwhip and profitability through sensitivity and statistical analysis. Our results suggest that the inclusion of three way recovery in reverse channel and product exchange policy in the forward channel reduce the order variation and bullwhip effect at both retailer and distributor level and increases the profitability of RL operations. In addition, we redefine the reverse logistics framework with “open-loop” in which the remanufactured products are redistributed only in the secondary market and compare the performance of open-loop model with that of closed-loop. Extended numerical investigation provides insights to the decision makers regarding the actions which can lead to better performance of the system.     

Biomimetic synthesis of AgNPs from Penicillium chrysogenum strain FGCC/BLS1 by optimising physico‐cultural conditions and assessment of their antimicrobial potential

Biomimetic synthesis of metal nanoparticles (NPs) is safe and eco‐friendly; therefore, find diverse applications. Considering this, the soil fungi Penicillium chrysogenum strain Fungal germplasm collection centre/ BLS1 was isolated, characterized and explored to synthesize extracellular silver NPs (AgNPs) under optimised conditions. The synthesis of AgNPs was investigated using ultraviolet (UV)–visible spectroscopy, Fourier‐transform infra‐red spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis. Process optimisation exhibited AgNPs synthesis within 8 h using 2 mM AgNO3 at pH 11 and temperature 70°C. TEM analysis revealed polydispersed ellipsoidal shaped AgNPs with average particle size 96.8 nm as measured by DLS. AgNPs showed negative zeta potential that confers surface stability in solution. FTIR spectra confirmed the presence of protein bound to AgNPs. Antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus by the AgNPs (100 ppm) was demonstrated by counting colony forming unit, disc diffusion, and growth kinetics assay. Additionally radial assay revealed antifungal activity of AgNPs (100 ppm) against phytopathogenic fungi Sclerotinia sclerotiorum Microbial type culture collection 8785. Furthermore, AgNPs (100 ppm) did not show any cytotoxic effects on human Red blood cells. Therefore, this novel fungal strain can be utilised for biofabrication of AgNPs under optimised conditions and have shown strong antimicrobial property.Inspec keywords: biomimetics, silver, nanoparticles, particle size, nanofabrication, nanomedicine, microorganisms, biomedical materials, antibacterial activity, light scattering, cellular biophysics, ultraviolet spectra, visible spectra, Fourier transform infrared spectra, transmission electron microscopy, pH, electrokinetic effects, proteins, molecular biophysics, biochemistry, reduction (chemical), biodiffusion, reaction kinetics, bloodOther keywords: biomimetic synthesis, physicocultural conditions, antimicrobial potential assessment, metal nanoparticles, soil fungi Penicillium chrysogenum strain FGCC/BLS1, extracellular silver NPs, ultraviolet‐visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, FTIR, transmission electron microscope, TEM, dynamic light scattering, process optimisation, Ag nitrate, pH, absorbance, polydispersed ellipsoidal shaped AgNPs, particle size, DLS, mycosynthesised AgNPs, negative zeta potential, surface stability, protein component, reducing agent, antibacterial activity, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, disc diffusion, colony forming unit counting, growth kinetics assay, radial assay, antifungal activity, phytopathogenic fungi Sclerotinia sclerotiorum MTCC 8785, RBC haemolysis assay, temperature 70 degC, Ag