Mathematical modelling of the effect of surface roughness on magnetic field profiles in type II superconductors

One of the defining characteristics of a superconductor is the Meissner effect, in which an external magnetic field is expelled from the bulk of a sample when cooled below the critical temperature. Although there has been considerable theoretical work on the Ginzburg–Landau theory of superconductors, the effects of interest in this paper can be modelled with the simpler London equation. This equation predicts an exponential decay of the local magnetic field magnitude as a function of the distance into the superconductor from a flat surface in the London limit where $\kappa =\lambda /\xi $ , defined as the ratio between the penetration depth and coherence length, is much greater than 1. However, recent measurements of the field profile in high $\kappa $ superconductors show that the observed decay is non-exponential near the surface. In particular, the measured field profiles indicate that the decay rate in the field magnitude is smaller than expected from a simple London model on a short length scale $d$ near the surface. In this paper, we examine the effects of surface roughness on magnetic field penetration into a high $\kappa $ superconductor. We model the roughness as a sinusoidal perturbation from a flat interface and investigate the effect using both an asymptotic method, based upon a small-amplitude perturbation, and a numerical method, using a finite difference discretization with a coordinate mapping from an underlying rectangular domain. A novel discretization is used in the case of 3D calculations and a fast, preconditioned GMRES solver is developed. A careful comparison of asymptotic and numerical methods validates both approaches for small perturbations, but the numerical approach allows for the investigation of rougher surfaces. Our results show that surface roughness reduces the decay rate in the average magnetic field near the surface relative to a London model. However, the reduction is more gradual than the simple dead layer model currently being used to fit experimental data. In addition, we discover some interesting new phenomena in the 3D case.     

Traffic conflicts on bicycle paths: A systematic observation of behaviour from video

In The Netherlands, on bicycle paths, single-bicycle accidents, bicycle–bicycle and bicycle–moped accidents constitute a considerable share of all bicyclist injuries. Over three quarters of all hospitalised bicyclist victims in the Netherlands cannot be directly related to a crash with motorised traffic. As the usage of bicycle paths steadily increases, it is to be expected that safety on bicycle paths will become a major issue in the coming years in The Netherlands.     

Greenhouse gas implications of household energy technology in Kenya

Linkages between household energy technology, indoor air pollution, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have become increasingly important in understanding the local and global environmental and health effects of domestic energy use. We report on GHG emissions from common Kenyan wood and charcoal cookstoves. Our estimations are based on 29 d of measurements under the conditions of actual use in 19 rural Kenyan households. Carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM10), combustion phase, and fuel mass were measured continuously or in short intervals in day-long monitoring sessions. Emissions of pollutants other than CO and PM10 were estimated using emissions ratios from published literature. We estimated that the daily carbon emissions from charcoal stoves (5202 +/- 2257 g of C: mean +/- SD) were lower than both traditional open fire (5990 +/- 1843 g of C) and improved ceramic woodstoves (5905 +/- 1553 g of C), but the differences were not statistically significant. However, when each pollutant was weighted using a 20-yr global warming potential, charcoal stoves emitted larger amounts of GHGs than either type of woodstove (9850 +/- 4600 g of C for charcoal as compared to 8310 +/- 2400 and 9649 +/- 2207 for open fire and ceramic woodstoves, respectively; differences not statistically significant). Non-CO2 emissions from charcoal stoves were 5549 +/- 2700 g of C in 20-yr CO2 equivalent units, while emissions were 2860 +/- 680 and 4711 +/- 919 for three-stone fires and improved ceramic stoves, respectively, with statistically significant results between charcoal and wood stoves. Therefore in a sustainable fuel-cycle (i.e., excluding CO2), charcoal stoves have larger emissions than woodstoves. When the emissions from charcoal production, measured in a previous study, were included in the assessment, the disparity between the GHG emissions from charcoal and firewood increased significantly, with non-CO2 GHG emissions factors (g of C/kg of fuel burned) for charcoal production and consumption 6-13 times higher than emissions from woodstoves. Policy implications and options for environment and public health are discussed.     

RESILIENT ECOLOGY AND LANDSCAPE SYSTEMS OF THE FENGXINGLONG ECOLOGICAL PARK,SANYA

In the past 30 years, Sanya has developed into a high-density city with fragmented ecosystems and bottlenecked urban development. In April 2015, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development proposed “Ecological Restoration and Urban Remediation” for Sanya and prioritized the Sanya and Linchun Rivers — two rivers that run through the central city — as core causes. The Fengxinglong Ecological Park project is located at the junction of the two rivers in downtown and its surroudings are occupied for various land uses. Diversified urban interfaces, abundant green space, and numerous ecological contradictions make the site critical for the remediation and restoration of waterways in Sanya. Through a series of resilient landscape design interventions, Fengxinglong Ecological Park catches, stores, and purifies rainwater to reduce river pollution and flooding disasters in addition to offering recreational funtions. As a valuable “urban sponge” and comprehensive resilient ecological park, it has helped restore the historic ecosystem and realized the intensive use of resources.     

多处理引擎的异构系统引领边缘AI高效部署

在过去的两年里,边缘人工智能(Edge AI)实现了加速发展,这主要得益于小型化神经网络架构的进步,从而可以在微控制器级(MCU)的器件上实现高精度.这增加了边缘AI应用和设备的数量,这些应用和设备可以通过这项技术以较低的成本实现.这方面的一个示例就是关键字识别,它已经成为智能家居设备交互的标准方式.     

One-shot learning of object categories

Learning visual models of object categories notoriously requires hundreds or thousands of training examples. We show that it is possible to learn much information about a category from just one, or a handful, of images. The key insight is that, rather than learning from scratch, one can take advantage of knowledge coming from previously learned categories, no matter how different these categories might be. We explore a Bayesian implementation of this idea. Object categories are represented by probabilistic models. Prior knowledge is represented as a probability density function on the parameters of these models. The posterior model for an object category is obtained by updating the prior in the light of one or more observations. We test a simple implementation of our algorithm on a database of 101 diverse object categories. We compare category models learned by an implementation of our Bayesian approach to models learned from by maximum likelihood (ML) and maximum a posteriori (MAP) methods. We find that on a database of more than 100 categories, the Bayesian approach produces informative models when the number of training examples is too small for other methods to operate successfully.     

Composite stacking sequence optimization for aeroelastically tailored forward-swept wings

A method for stacking sequence optimization and aeroelastic tailoring of forward-swept composite wings is presented. It exploits bend-twist coupling to mitigate aeroelastic divergence. The method proposed here is intended for estimating potential weight savings during the preliminary aircraft design stages. A structural beam model of the composite wingbox is derived from anisotropic shell theory and the governing aeroelastic equations are presented for a spanwise discretized forward swept wing. Optimization of the system to reduce wing mass is undertaken for sweep angles of ?35° to 0° and Mach numbers from 0.7 to 0.9. A subset of lamination parameters (LPs) and the number of laminate plies in each pre-defined direction (restricted to {0°,±45°, 90°}) serve as design variables. A bi-level hybrid optimization approach is employed, making use of a genetic algorithm (GA) and a subsequent gradient-based optimizer. Constraints are implemented to match lift requirements and prevent aeroelastic divergence, excessive deformations, airfoil stalling and structural failure. A permutation GA is then used to match specific composite ply stacking sequences to the optimum design variables with a limited number of manufacturing constraints considered for demonstration purposes. The optimization results in positive bend-twist coupling and a reduced structural mass. Results are compared to an uncoupled reference wing with quasi-isotropic layups and with panel thickness alone the design variables. For a typical geometry and a forward sweep of ?25° at Mach 0.7, a wingbox mass reduction of 13 % was achieved.     

Evaluation of Adverse Effects of Resorbable Hyaluronic Acid Fillers: Determination of Macrophage Responses

Resorbable tissue fillers for aesthetic purposes can induce severe complications including product migration, late swelling, and inflammatory reactions. The relation between product characteristics and adverse effects is not well understood. We hypothesized that the degree of cross-linking hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers was associated with the occurrence of adverse effects. Five experimental HA preparations similar to HA fillers were synthesized with an increasing degree of cross-linking. Furthermore, a series of commercial fillers (Perfectha^®) was obtained that differ in degradation time based on the size of their particulate HA components. Cytotoxic responses and cytokine production by human THP-1-derived macrophages exposed to extracts of the evaluated resorbable HA fillers were absent to minimal. Gene expression analysis of the HA-exposed macrophages revealed the responses related to cell cycle control and immune reactivity. Our results could not confirm the hypothesis that the level of cross-linking in our experimental HA fillers or the particulate size of commercial HA fillers is related to the induced biological responses. However, the evaluation of cytokine induction and gene expression in macrophages after biomaterial exposure presents promising opportunities for the development of methods to identify cellular processes that may be predictive for biomaterial-induced responses in patients.