Modeling microwave power structures based on k-furcated waveguides arbitrarily filled with materials by modal techniques.

Waveguide structures are very popular in the microwave power industry due to their power handling capabilities. Modal expansion of the waveguide fields and application of the circuit theory allow for the division of a complex device into several simpler sections which can be analyzed separately with the best suited method. The modal techniques can be divided into two groups--those which analyze junctions or discontinuities and those which examine propagation characteristics. In this paper, a review of modal techniques for high power applications is given. Modal expansion of the fields in the waveguides is then performed and applied to modeling of k-furcated waveguides. The modal analysis based on the Coupled Mode Method is described for the waveguides partially filled with isotropic materials. A hybrid modal analysis coupled with Finite Element Method suitable for more complex waveguide structures is also described. Computational results obtained for some real-life microwave devices are presented. Excellent agreement was found when comparing the results with those generated with a commercial FDTD simulator demonstrates the validity and reliability of the proposed method.     

Green pavements: reuse of plastic waste in asphalt mixtures

Nowadays, the disposal of plastic waste is an issue of major concern worldwide because of its considerable volume and growth. An option to tackle this problem is to recycle this waste. This alternative reduces the quantity of net discards, conserves both material and energy and provides a comparatively simple way to make a substantial reduction in the overall volume of solid waste. The purpose of this study is to investigate an environmentally friendly approach about the influence of recycling different percentages of urban and rural plastic waste by adding them in a dry process on an asphalt mixture, through a comparative laboratory study. The resulting mixtures are analyzed considering their volumetric parameters and the values from diverse laboratory mechanical tests. The performance tests include, Marshall stability, Marshall quotient, indirect tensile strength, fracture energy, resilient modulus, permanent deformation and creep compliance, which were carried out on unmodified and modified hot asphalt mixtures. The obtained results are presented and discussed in this paper showing that the reuse of recycled plastics in asphalt mixtures is a viable alternative that contributes to the reduction of plastic wastes as well as the protection of the environment.     

Reduction of carbamylated albumin by extended hemodialysis

Introduction Among conventional hemodialysis (CHD) patients, carbamylated serum albumin (C‐Alb) correlates with urea and amino acid deficiencies and is associated with mortality. We postulated that reduction of C‐Alb by intensive HD may correlate with improvements in protein metabolism and cardiac function. Methods One‐year observational study of in‐center nocturnal extended hemodialysis (EHD) patients and CHD control subjects. Thirty‐three patients receiving 4‐hour CHD who converted to 8‐hour EHD were enrolled, along with 20 controls on CHD. Serum C‐Alb, biochemistries, and cardiac MRI parameters were measured before and after 12 months of EHD. Findings EHD was associated with reduction of C‐Alb (average EHD change ?3.20 mmol/mol [95% CI ?4.23, ?2.17] compared to +0.21 [95% CI ?1.11, 1.54] change in CHD controls, P < 0.001). EHD was also associated with increases in average essential amino acids (in standardized units) compared to CHD (+0.38 [0.08, 0.68 95%CI]) vs. ?0.12 [?0.50, 0.27, 95% CI], P = 0.047). Subjects who reduced C‐Alb more than 25% were found to have reduced left ventricular mass, increased urea reduction ratio, and increased serum albumin compared to nonresponders, and % change in C‐Alb significantly correlated with % change in left ventricular mass. Discussion EHD was associated with reduction of C‐Alb as compared to CHD, and reduction of C‐Alb by EHD correlates with reduction of urea. Additional studies are needed to test whether reduction of C‐Alb by EHD also correlates with improved clinical outcomes.     

Modifications to bicarbonate conductivity: A way to increase phosphate removal during hemodialysis? Proof of concept

Introduction Hyperphosphatemia and cardiovascular mortality are associated particularly with end‐stage renal disease. Available therapeutic strategies (i.e., diet restriction, calcium [or not]‐based phosphate binders, calcimimetics) are associated with extrarenal blood purification. Compartmentalization of phosphate limits its depuration during hemodialysis. Several studies suggest that plasmatic pH is involved in the mobilization of phosphate from intracellular to extracellular compartments. Consequently, the efficiency of modified bicarbonate conductivity to purify blood phosphate was tested. Methods Ten hemodialysis patients with chronic hyperphosphatemia (>2.1 mmol/L) were included in the two three–sessions‐per week periods. Bicarbonate concentration was fixed at 40 mmol/L and 30 mmol/L in the first and second periods, respectively. Phosphate depuration was evaluated by phosphate mobilization clearance (K_M). Findings Although bicarbonatemia was lower during the second period (21.0 ± 2.7 vs. 24.4 ± 3.1 mmol/L, P < 0.01), no difference was observed in phosphatemia (2.4 ± 0.5 vs. 2.3 ± 0.4 mmol/L, P = NS). The in‐session variation of phosphate was lower (?1.45 ± 0.42 vs. ?1.58 ± 0.44 mmol/L, P < 0.05) and K_M was higher during the second period (82.94 ± 38.00 vs. 69.74 ± 24.48 mL/min, P < 0.05). Discussion The decrease of in‐session phosphate and the increase in K_M reflect phosphate refilling during hemodialysis. Thus, modulation of serum bicarbonate may play a role in controlling the phosphate pool. Even though correcting metabolic acidosis during hemodialysis remains important, alkaline excess can impair phosphate mobilization clearance. Clinical trials are needed to test the efficiency and relevance of a strategy where bicarbonatemia is corrected less at the beginning of sessions.     

PHRASE AND NGRAM-BASED STATISTICAL MACHINE TRANSLATION SYSTEM COMBINATION

Multiples translations can be computed by one machine translation (MT) system or by different MT systems. We may assume that different MT systems make different errors due to using different models, generation strategies, or tweaks. An investigated technique, inherited from automatic speech recognition (ASR), is the so-called system combination that is based on combining the outputs of multiples MT systems. We combine the outputs of a phrase- and Ngram-based Statistical MT (SMT) systems using statistical criteria and additional rescoring features.     

A multicore solution to Block–Toeplitz linear systems of equations

There exist algorithms, also called “fast” algorithms, which exploit the special structure of Toeplitz matrices so that, e.g., allow to solve a linear system of equations in O(n ²) flops. However, some implementations of classical algorithms that do not use this structure (O(n ³) flops) highly reduce the time to solution when several cores are available. That is why it is necessary to work on “fast” algorithms so that they do not lose track of the benefits of new hardware/software. In this work, we propose a new approach to the Generalized Schur Algorithm, a very known algorithm for the solution of Toeplitz systems, to work on a Block–Toeplitz matrix. Our algorithm is based on matrix–matrix multiplications, thus allowing to exploit an efficient implementation of this operation if it exists. Our algorithm also makes use of the thread level parallelism featured by multicores to decrease execution time.     

An integrated solution for QoS provision and congestion management in high-performance interconnection networks using deterministic source-based routing

A key element in any system based on several interconnected computing and/or storage nodes is the interconnection network. Currently, one of the main concerns of high-speed interconnection network designers is how to improve network performance while using the minimum number of network resources. In that sense, in this paper we describe an efficient switch architecture suitable for any interconnect technology implementing deterministic source-based routing. This switch architecture uses the same network resources to provide two issues that improve network performance: Congestion Management and QoS support. We also present results to compare the effectiveness of this architecture to those of other proposals typically used to provide these issues in this context. These results have been obtained for synthetic traffic and for traces from parallel benchmarks and video frames. From the results, we can conclude that in any traffic scenario, our proposal is as effective as the previous ones, while requiring fewer resources and thus being much more cost-effective.     

Trajectory Tracking Control for a Rotary Wing Vehicle Powered by Four Rotors

The present paper presents a trajectory tracking control scheme for an underactuated rotary wing vehicle. The translational controller is designed based on feedback linearization and saturated control. The rotational controller is designed based on the passivity properties of the rotational dynamics. The interconnection between the translational and the rotational controllers is inspired by the backstepping control technique. The final control structure allows to include an integral action that is able to compensate constant disturbances on the rotational dynamics. It is shown that the resulting closed–loop dynamics has a local asymptotic stability property. Numerical simulations show the performance of the proposed controller.     

Versioned linking of semantic enrichment of legal documents

Regulations affect every aspect of our lives. Compliance with the regulations impacts citizens and businesses similarly: they have to find their rights and obligations in the complex legal environment. The situation is more complex when languages and time versions of regulations should be considered. To propose a solution to these demands, we present a semantic enrichment approach which aims at (1) decreasing the ambiguousness of legal texts, (2) increasing the probability of finding the relevant legal materials, and (3) utilizing the application of legal reasoners. Our approach is also implemented both as a service for citizens and businesses and as a modeling environment for legal drafters. To evaluate the usefulness of the approach, a case study was carried out in a large organization and applied to corporate regulations and Hungarian laws. The results suggest this approach can support the previous aims.