Crash reductions related to traffic signal removal in Philadelphia

The effect on intersection crashes of converting one-way street intersections in Philadelphia from signal to multiway stop sign control was estimated. Using crash and traffic volume data for a comparison group, regression models were computed to represent the normal crash experience of signal controlled intersections of one-way streets, by impact type, as a function of traffic volume. An empirical Bayesian procedure was used to estimate what would have been the expected number of crashes at the converted intersections had they not been converted. The empirical Bayesian estimates were compared with actual counts of crashes after conversion. Estimates were obtained for different classes of crashes categorized by impact type, day/night condition, and impact severity. Aggregate results indicate that replacing signals by multiway stop signs on one-way streets is associated with a reduction in crashes of approximately 24%, combining all severities, light conditions, and impact types.     

Enhancing the electrochemical Cr(VI) reduction in aqueous solution

In this study we present the cathodic Cr(VI) reduction using electrodissolution of iron anode. In batch experiments we tested four different cathodic materials; the best conditions were found when copper was used. It is observed that when more current is applied into the electrochemical cell faster reduction rates are achieved. Continuous experiments also reveal that Cr(VI) reduction could be done in a very efficient way. To confirm the experimental data, cyclic voltammetry was used and it was found that the cathodic Cr(VI) reduction is taking place.     

Efficient sign based normalized adaptive filtering techniques for cancelation of artifacts in ECG signals: Application to wireless biotelemetry

In this paper, several simple and efficient sign based normalized adaptive filters, which are computationally superior having multiplier free weight update loops are used for cancelation of noise in electrocardiographic (ECG) signals. The proposed implementation is suitable for applications such as biotelemetry, where large signal to noise ratios with less computational complexity are required. These schemes mostly employ simple addition, shift operations and achieve considerable speed up over the other least mean square (LMS) based realizations. Simulation studies shows that the proposed realization gives better performance compared to existing realizations in terms of signal to noise ratio and computational complexity.     

Sparsity-motivated automatic target recognition

We present an automatic target recognition algorithm using the recently developed theory of sparse representations and compressive sensing. We show how sparsity can be helpful for efficient utilization of data for target recognition. We verify the efficacy of the proposed algorithm in terms of the recognition rate and confusion matrices on the well known Comanche (Boeing-Sikorsky, USA) forward-looking IR data set consisting of ten different military targets at different orientations.     

Magnetron sputtered TiO2 films on a stainless steel substrate: Selective rutile phase formation and its tribological and anti-corrosion performance

In this work, TiO₂ films on 316L stainless steel have been formed by non-reactive magnetron sputtering of TiO₂ target. The effect of a titanium underlayer on the crystalline phase of the TiO₂ film has been investigated in terms of phase evolution, film morphology, corrosion resistance, adhesion strength, hardness and tribological characteristics. Results showed that the titanium underlayer has a significant effect on the phase of the TiO₂ film. Without this underlayer, an anatase TiO₂ film is produced, in consistence with many other investigations. However, it is found that with a titanium underlayer, a rutile TiO₂ film can be directly formed on the substrate. The thickness of the interface layer affects the crystallinity of the rutile film. By controlling the underlayer thickness, the resultant rutile film crystal structure and morphology could be changed accordingly. At an optimized state, the rutile coating shows much improved adhesion, friction, wear and corrosion properties.     

Diacetyl—A growth and toxin inhibitor of Aspergilli

Diacetyl (2,3-butanedione) a food additive, was found to be very effective in inhibiting growth and toxin production of Aspergillus flavus, A. versicolor and A. ochraceus when grown on synthetic liquid media and on natural substrates of maize and maize flour. Total growth inhibition of A. flavus and A. versicolor was observed at 250 ppm when grown on liquid medium, whereas 3000–4000 ppm were required to inhibit growth on maize and maize flour. A. ochraceus required 3000 and 6000 ppm of diacetyl for complete inhibition of growth on liquid medium and solid substrates respectively, suggesting it was less sensitive to the compound.