Uniform asymptotic approximations for accurate modeling of cracks in layered elastic media*

We present uniform asymptotic solutions (UAS) for displacement discontinuities (DD) that lie within the middle layer of a three layer elastic medium. The DDs are assumed to be normal to the two parallel interfaces between the leastic media, and solutions will be presented for both 2D and 3D elastic media. Using the Fourier transform (FT) method we construct the leading term in the asymptotic expansion for the spectral coefficient functions for a DD in a three layer medium. Although a closed form solution will require an infinite series solution, we demonstrate how this UAS can be used to construct highly efficient and accurate solutions even in the case in which the DD actually touches the interface. We present an explicit UAS for elements in which the DD fields are assumed to be piecewise constant throughout a line segment in 2D and a rectangular element in 3D. We demonstrate the usefulness of this UAS by providing a number of examples in which the UAS is used to solve problems in which cracks just touch or cross an interface. The accuracy and efficiency of the algorithm is demonstrated and compared with other numerical methods such as the finite element method and the boudary integral method.     

Fault-tolerance in balanced sorting networks

Much research has been done on sorting networks but there are very few results concerning their robustness. Our starting point is the balanced sorting network introduced by Dowd et al. and its single-block robust design of Rudolph obtained at the cost of some redundancy and two permuters external to the network. In this article we introduce a new implementation which is more robust than Rudolph's network and needs no redundancy or external permuters. We also consider a class of single-stage designs with redundancy and compare the characteristics of networks discussed.     

涡流净洗——净洗新概念

在全球市场效率和经济挑战的同时，蕴含着很大的发展潜力。为了满足现成和将来不断增长的需求，本文谈及的净洗概念为现代纺织整理公司采用革新的整理技术提供了帮助。这种综合性的净洗概念之所以受到广泛关注是由于它具备了以下这些特征；低水耗、低能耗，最高净洗能力，全过程张力控制，生产重视性良好，低停车维修时间及易于为用户广泛地接受。     

在革新与现代主义之间:夏昌世与德国(英文)

夏昌世,中国第一代建筑师,1920年代在德国卡尔斯鲁厄留学。1932年,他在图宾根完成了博士论文之后重返祖国。1940年代后期,他在广州成为教授,1973年与妻子一同重返德国,并在那里生活直至1996年逝世。他的设计方法不仅受到那个时代欧洲现代主义运动氛围的熏陶,还来自他对中国传统景观与建筑艺术历史的研究。他是引领岭南区域形成岭南学派建筑的主导力量之一。同时,作为一建筑学教授,他在广州培养了新一代青年建筑师。     

0.8 μW 12-bit SAR ADC sensors interface for RFID applications

The design and first measuring results of an ultra-low power 12 bit successive-approximation ADC for autonomous multi-sensor systems are presented. The comparator and the DAC are optmised for low power consumption. The power consumption is 0.52 μW from a 1.2 V supply with a sample clock of 3.125 kHz and 0.85 μW at 6.25 kHz. This gives 136 pJ per conversion or 66 fJ per conversion step. As per authors’ knowledge, 66 fJ per conversion step is the best reported so far.The ADC was realised in the NXP CMOS 0.14 μm technology; the area was 0.35 mm². Only four metal layers were used in order to allow 3D integration of the sensors.     

Efficient Excitation of Hybrid Modes in a THz Clinotron

Journal of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves - Various regimes of hybrid, bulk-surface, modes being excited in the clinotron oscillator with a sheet electron beam and nonuniform grating...     

Urinary Excretion of Ecdysterone and Its Metabolites Following Spinach Consumption

Scope

The phytosteroid ecdysterone is present in spinach. In this study, the urinary elimination of ecdysterone and its metabolites in humans is investigated following spinach consumption of two different culinary preparations.

Methods and results

Eight participants (four males, four females) ingested 950 (27.1) g sautéed spinach (average [±standard deviation (SD)]) and 912 (70.6) g spinach smoothie as second intervention after washout. Post-administration urines are analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). After intake of both preparations, ecdysterone and two metabolites, 14-deoxy-ecdysterone, and 14-deoxy-poststerone, are excreted in urine. The maximum concentration of ecdysterone is ranging from 0.09 to 0.41 µg mL⁻¹ after sautéed spinach and 0.08–0.74 µg mL⁻¹ after smoothie ingestion. The total excreted amount (mean% [±SD]) in the urine as a parent drug plus the metabolites is only 1.4 (1.0) for both sautéed spinach and smoothie. The apparent sex related differences in 14-deoxy-poststerone excretion will need further investigations.

Conclusion

Only a small proportion of ecdysterone from spinach is excreted into urine. No significant differences are found in concentration and recovered amount (%) of ecdysterone, 14-deoxy-ecdysterone, and 14-deoxy-poststerone in urine between sautéed spinach and smoothie ingestion. A discrimination between ecdysterone from food or preparations will be challenging based on urinary concentrations only, at least for later post-administration samples.     

On the generation of test patterns for multiple faults

This article presents a new method to generate test patterns for multiple stuck-at faults in combinational circuits. We assume the presence of all multiple faults of all multiplicities and we do not resort to their explicit enumeration: the target fault is a single component of possibly several multiple faults. New line and gate models are introduced to handle multiple fault effect propagation through the circuits. The method tries to generate test conditions that propagate the effect of the target fault to primary outputs. When these conditions are fulfilled, the input vector is a test for the target fault and it is guaranteed that all multiple faults of all multiplicities containing the target fault as component are also detected. The method uses similar techniques to those in FAN and SOCRATES algorithms to guide the search part of the algorithm, and includes several new heuristics to enhance the performance and fault detection capability. Experiments performed on the ISCAS'85 benchmark circuits show that test sets for multiple faults can be generated with high fault coverage and a reasonable increase in cost over test generation for single stuck-at faults.