Joint trellis-coded quantisation/modulation

Joint trellis-coded quantisation (TCQ) and trellis-coded modulation (TCM) can achieve considerable signal-to-quantisation noise ratios with moderate complexity. TCM is replaced with turbo TCM (TTCM) and simulation results given which show that the new scheme can achieve the same performance as that possible using by trellis-coded scalar quantisation at an SNR slightly above the channel capacity bound     

Extraction and representation of facts from legal briefs

In knowledge-based consultation systems, the quality of the advice rendered depends on the techniques employed to represent the domain knowledge, the explanation generating capabilities, and the control strategies utilized during the consultative advice stage. The ability to understand the problem is more crucial in providing effective consultation. In this work, the emphasis is on understanding and the consequent formulation of a plausible internal representation of legal briefs. The system developed, SIFTER, reads the given input text from a legal practitioner's point of view and retrieves from it those facts that are relevant to the particular type of case on hand. In other words, it uses the domain specific knowledge to identify the type of case and to yank out the necessary information pertaining to the case. The SIFTER generates a noun-phrase processed form of the input which contains pseudo names for the proper-nouns, dates and time-intervals. The verbs in the processed input are used to check whether the case specific events have occurred or not and then the appropriate fact-containing noun-phrases are used to instantiate the relevant legal variables and, hence, to construct an internal representation of the given problem which can then be readily used by the consultative advice stage of a problem solver or analyzer. The implementation has been done in LISP culling the required domain knowledge from the Industrial Dispute Act of India.     

Matched asymptotic solution for flow in a semi-hyperbolic die

A semi-hyperbolic converging geometry finds application as an inexpensive elongation rheometer under certain flow conditions. We provide a matched asymptotic solution for the flow of a Newtonian fluid under no-slip boundary conditions. The predicted velocity and pressure profiles agree nearly quantitatively with CFD simulated values. Our theoretical approach has certain advantages over the known similarity solution proposed by James (1991. A.I.Ch.E. Journal 37, 59-64).     

Dielectric properties of the system Pb2 −x Nd x Li0·5Nb1·5 O6+δ

The dielectric properties of the ceramic defect pyrochlore-structured system Pb_2−x Nd _x Li_0·5Nb_1·5 O_6+δ has been studied as a function of concentrationx, frequency and temperature. The results have been analyzed for relaxation process and conduction mechanism. Now deceased.     

The application of explicit Nyström methods to singular second order differential equations

An important class of singular second order initial value problems is y″ + (2/x)y′+f(x,y) = 0, 0 < x < x_f, y(0) = a, y′(0) = 0; this class includes, for example, the well-known singular equations of Emden and Liouville. The purpos of this paper is to show the interesting result that explicit Nyström methods, existing for the direct integration of special second order regular initial value problems, can be used for the integration of this class of singular initial value problems and the methods show their proper respective orders of convergence. This is justified mathematically and demonstrated computationally.     

Indentation studies on two-phase bicrystals of alpha-beta brass with various phase boundary geometries

Indentation studies were carried out on a two-phase model system of alpha-beta brass so as to understand the role of phase boundary on the propagation of deformation. Unlike in the case of uniaxial loading, the phase boundary acts as a very effective barrier for slip propagation, irrespective of its geometry.     

Early warning system for rainfall- and snowmelt-induced slope failure in seasonally cold regions

In 2005, the Japanese government launched a new nationwide early warning system for predicting debris flow and slope failure disasters based on rainfall intensity and the Soil Water Index (SWI). However, the Japanese government has not set early warning criteria in many mountain areas. In addition, the existing early warning criteria in some areas are much higher than realistic ones, and snowmelt water is not considered in the calculation of the SWI. These two factors have been the cause of many slope failures in seasonally cold regions, induced by rainfall and/or snowmelt, which were not predicted. Therefore, this study attempts to propose a new determination method for setting early warning criteria for rainfall- and/or snowmelt-induced slope failures in seasonally cold regions. For this purpose, the study firstly proposes a combination model for estimating snow density that incorporates the hourly snowmelt water into the Japanese early warning system more accurately by using meteorological monitoring data and modeled snow density. Next, based on case studies and parametric analyses for slope stability assessment, new early warning criteria are proposed for predicting three different patterns of slope failures under two typical types of precipitation (rainfall and snowmelt) conditions. Finally, a new determination method for setting early warning criteria in seasonally cold regions is proposed by referring to the existing early warning criteria near the target area, in accordance with the precipitation types and the local ground conditions of the slopes. Since the existing early warning criteria near the target area already take the effects of the variations in local geology and geography into account, the new determination method for early warning criteria can be applied to arbitrary areas in seasonally cold regions, without directly considering the local soil properties, in the actual design and maintenance works.