On the onset of current oscillations at the limiting current region emerged during iron electrodissolution in sulfuric acid solutions

The onset of current oscillations emerged at the limiting current region (LCR) during iron electrodissolution in sulfuric acid solutions is investigated in this work by using a number of perturbation experiments. Perturbation experiments on the Fe|n M H₂SO₄ system were conducted through the: (a) insertion of a series external resistance, (b) rotation of the Fe-disc electrode, (c) injection of various chemical species on the Fe surface and (d) change of the position of the Fe electrode. Electrical, mass-transport and chemical effects, all were found to influence the onset of current oscillations. These effects were combined with previously developed ideas concerning the formation of a ferrous salt layer along with the partial passivation of the Fe electrode. A plausible mechanism is proposed, able to explain the onset of current oscillations at the beginning of the mass-transfer controlled LCR. This mechanism agrees with experimental observations and may explain: (i) why current oscillations emerge within a fixed potential region at the LCR, (ii) why the IR-drop along with appropriate hydrodynamic conditions are both required for the onset of oscillations and (iii) what is the role of hydrodynamic conditions and chemical composition of the layer formed at the LCR.     

Learning to divide and conquer: applying the L* algorithm to automate assume-guarantee reasoning

Assume-guarantee reasoning enables a “divide-and-conquer” approach to the verification of large systems that checks system components separately while using assumptions about each component’s environment. Developing appropriate assumptions used to be a difficult and manual process. Over the past five years, we have developed a framework for performing assume-guarantee verification of systems in an incremental and fully automated fashion. The framework uses an off-the-shelf learning algorithm to compute the assumptions. The assumptions are initially approximate and become more precise by means of counterexamples obtained by model checking components separately. The framework supports different assume-guarantee rules, both symmetric and asymmetric. Moreover, we have recently introduced alphabet refinement, which extends the assumption learning process to also infer assumption alphabets. This refinement technique starts with assumption alphabets that are a subset of the minimal interface between a component and its environment, and adds actions to it as necessary until a given property is shown to hold or to be violated in the system. We have applied the learning framework to a number of case studies that show that compositional verification by learning assumptions can be significantly more scalable than non-compositional verification. J.M. Cobleigh currently employed by The MathWorks, Inc., 3 Apple Hill Drive, Natick, MA 01760, USA.     

OFDMA techniques in multicellular networks with total frequency reuse

Orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) techniques are investigated in this paper. Five subchannel allocation algorithms are analysed and their performance in a multicellular environment is evaluated with simulations. Four schemes of lower complexity, suitable for the early deployment of wireless systems, are compared with a more computationally demanding scheme with respect to their blocking probability, loading factor and offered bit rate. The channel condition of each carrier is calculated and its knowledge is used for power controlled adaptive modulation, as an essential feature of the OFDMA technique. The general radio resource management process is divided into two steps: in the first step a base station allocates carriers to users while in the second step the modulation and power levels for each allocated carrier are defined.The simulation results demonstrate that a wireless system in its early deployment phase (up to 15–30% blocking probability) can employ simple OFDMA techniques capable of achieving high throughput. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that two of the proposed lower complexity schemes, (those based on cell coordination), offer good performance gain for higher data rate services. Nevertheless, these schemes achieve relatively lower gains with adaptive modulation, when compared with the techniques which exploit interference averaging or adaptive interference mitigation.     

Hybrids as NO Donors

Cinnamic acid and its derivatives have been studied for a variety of biological properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, antihypertensive, and antibacterial. Many hybrids of cinnamic derivatives with other bioactive molecules have been synthesized and evaluated as nitric oxide (NO) donors. Since NO plays a significant role in various biological processes, including vasodilation, inflammation, and neurotransmission, NO donor groups are incorporated into the structures of already-known bioactive molecules to enhance their biological properties. In this review, we present cinnamic hybrids with NO-donating ability useful in the treatment of several diseases.     

A privacy-aware access control model for distributed network monitoring

In this paper, we introduce a new access control model that aims at addressing the privacy implications surrounding network monitoring. In fact, despite its importance, network monitoring is natively leakage-prone and, moreover, this is exacerbated due to the complexity of the highly dynamic monitoring procedures and infrastructures, that may include multiple traffic observation points, distributed mitigation mechanisms and even inter-operator cooperation. Conceived on the basis of data protection legislation, the proposed approach is grounded on a rich in expressiveness information model, that captures all the underlying monitoring concepts along with their associations. The model enables the specification of contextual authorisation policies and expressive separation and binding of duty constraints. Finally, two key innovations of our work consist in the ability to define access control rules at any level of abstraction and in enabling a verification procedure, which results in inherently privacy-aware workflows, thus fostering the realisation of the Privacy by Design vision.     

Multiscale modeling for image analysis of brain tumor studies

Image-based modeling of tumor growth combines methods from cancer simulation and medical imaging. In this context, we present a novel approach to adapt a healthy brain atlas to MR images of tumor patients. In order to establish correspondence between a healthy atlas and a pathologic patient image, tumor growth modeling in combination with registration algorithms is employed. In a first step, the tumor is grown in the atlas based on a new multiscale, multiphysics model including growth simulation from the cellular level up to the biomechanical level, accounting for cell proliferation and tissue deformations. Large-scale deformations are handled with an Eulerian approach for finite element computations, which can operate directly on the image voxel mesh. Subsequently, dense correspondence between the modified atlas and patient image is established using nonrigid registration. The method offers opportunities in atlas-based segmentation of tumor-bearing brain images as well as for improved patient-specific simulation and prognosis of tumor progression.     

Investigation of the antioxidant properties of Ferula orientalis L. using a suitable extraction procedure

The present work examines the in vitro antioxidant properties of the essential oil and various extracts prepared from the herbal parts of Ferula orientalis A. (Apiaceae). The highest 2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity was found in the polar extract, e.g. methanol–water (1:1), obtained from non-deodorised materials with IC₅₀ values at 99.1 μg/ml. In the β-carotene/linoleic acid assay, the deodorised acetone extract exhibited stronger activity than the polar one. The relative antioxidant activities (RAA%) of the extracts ranged from 10.1% to 76.1%, respectively. Extraction with methanol–water (1:1) mixture was concluded to be the most appropriate method in terms of higher extract yield, as well as effectiveness, observed in both assays. Although the essential oil showed antioxidative potential, it was not as strong as that of positive control (BHT). GC/MS analysis of the essential oil resulted in the identification of 39 compounds, β-phellandrene (23.6%), (E)-β-ocimene (13.8%), α-pinene (12.5%), α-phellandrene (11.5%) and dehydro-sesquicineole (10.1%) being the major components.     

Antioxidant efficiency of oregano during frying and storage of potato chips

The effect of oregano on the oxidative stability of cottonseed oil during frying of potato chips and on the storage stability of the produced chips was studied. The ground spice or an ethanol‐derived extract thereof was added to the oil at a concentration of 2 g l^?1 (dry basis) before frying. The results showed that both ground oregano and its ethanol‐derived extract decreased the rates of accumulation of conjugated dienes, polar compounds, polymerised triglycerides, dimeric triglycerides as well as p‐anisidine value (p‐AV) of the frying oil. The major decrease was observed in the accumulation of polymerised and dimeric triglycerides. The accumulation of oxidised triglycerides showed a low decrease with the addition of oregano, while the hydrolytic compounds formed during frying were not affected. No significant difference (at 95% significance level) between ground oregano and its ethanol‐derived extract was observed. The storage stability of potato chips removed from the fryer at various time intervals was estimated by the rates of increase in peroxide value and conjugated dienes of the oil absorbed in the chips. Both rates were depressed when oregano was added to the frying oil; the protective action of oregano extract was considerably greater (at 95% significance level) than that of ground oregano. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Direct laser writing of microoptical structures using a Ge-containing hybrid material

We present our investigations into the direct laser writing of a novel germanium-containing hybrid sol–gel photosensitive material for optical applications at micro scale. We employ this material in the fabrication of photonic micro-structures, such as aspheric lenses and prisms; these are well-shaped and provided good optical performance. The material exhibits good transparency and structurability, and three-dimensional structures with sub-100 nm resolution are achieved. We demonstrate the suitability of the direct laser writing method for the rapid production of custom shaped microoptical components. Since germanium glasses are widely used in fiber optics, the combination of direct laser writing with this specially designed, functional material opens an interesting way in fabricating structures for controlling light flow.