Effects of primary and quaternary amine intercalants on the organoclay dispersion in a sulfur-cured EPDM rubber

The effects of primary and quaternary amine modified montmorillonite (MMT) on the nanocomposite formation in an ethylene/propylene/diene rubber (EPDM) were studied. The organoclay was introduced in 10 parts per 100 rubber (phr) amount in the related recipes. X-ray diffraction spectra (XRD) were recorded in various stages of their processing in order to get information about the intercalation process. The curatives found to play a crucial role, as they promote the intercalation/exfoliation phenomena. Incorporation of MMT modified with octadecylamine (MMT-PRIM) in the EPDM and its more polar version (contains maleic anhydride grafted EPDM, EPDM-MA) resulted in intercalated and exfoliated structures, respectively. Deintercalation of the clay (collapse of the layers), generated in both EPDM and EPDM-MA during vulcanization, was attributed to the reactivity of the PRIM and to its ability to participate in complex formation with the curatives (vulcanization intermediates). This explanation was supported by the non-collapse of the MMT layers when the less reactive modifier, viz. octadecyltrimethylamine served as MMT intercalant (MMT-QUAT). In the latter case the corresponding nanocomposite contained mostly intercalated clay layers based on XRD and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) results.     

Enabling user interface developers to experience accessibility limitations through visual,hearing, physical and cognitive impairment simulation

His paper presents a tool facilitating developers of user interfaces (UIs) to experience accessibility limitations that can be posed from various disabilities during the interaction of impaired users with their developments. In this respect, various aspects of visual, hearing, physical and cognitive impairments have been modelled through filters providing approximate, yet, realistic simulations over them. These filters have formed the basis for the developed tool, which can be used either on its own (as a standalone application), or be embedded in the NetBeans Integrated Development Environment. The tool, named DIAS, allows for impairment simulations to be performed over Java, mobile and web applications. Moreover, it integrates two of the most common assistive technologies (ATs), namely a screen reader and a magnifier. As a result, developers of UIs can not only experience how interaction would be affected from various impairments, but they can also understand how their developments would be perceived by impaired users through an AT. This work aims to provide an integrated, practical solution for impairment simulation, which could be easily adopted by developers, thus realistically increasing the possibilities for the future development of interactive applications that are more accessible to users with disabilities.     

Spray Drying Performance of a Laboratory Spray Dryer for Tomato Powder Preparation

This work investigates the performance of a spray dryer for tomato powder preparation by spray drying of tomato pulp. Samples of tomato pulp with a 14% constant total solids concentration were used, and a pilot scale spray dryer (Buchi, B-191) with cocurrent operation and a two-fluid nozzle atomizer was employed for the spray drying process. Twenty-four different experiments were conducted keeping constant the feed rate, the feed temperature, and the atomizer pressure, and varying the compressed air flow rate, the flow rate of drying rate, and the air inlet temperature. In each experiment the air outlet temperature was recorded. Data for the residue remaining in the chamber and cyclone walls was gathered and two types of efficiencies were calculated as an indication of the spray dryer performance. Analysis of experimental data yielded correlations between residue accumulation and the variable operating conditions. The same operating parameters had a great influence on the air outlet temperature whereas temperature deviations were observed comparing measured air outlet temperatures with corresponding outlet adiabatic saturation temperatures.     

3D measures exploitation for a monocular semi-supervised fall detection system

Falls have been reported as the leading cause of injury-related visits to emergency departments and the primary etiology of accidental deaths in elderly. Thus, the development of robust home surveillance systems is of great importance. In this article, such a system is presented, which tries to address the fall detection problem through visual cues. The proposed methodology utilizes a fast, real-time background subtraction algorithm, based on motion information in the scene and pixels intensity, capable to operate properly in dynamically changing visual conditions, in order to detect the foreground object. At the same time, it exploits 3D space’s measures, through automatic camera calibration, to increase the robustness of fall detection algorithm which is based on semi-supervised learning approach. The above system uses a single monocular camera and is characterized by minimal computational cost and memory requirements that make it suitable for real-time large scale implementations.     

User Interface Design Principles for Interactive Television Applications

Interactive Television (ITV) applications gratify entertainment needs and leisure activities in a relaxed domestic context. Then, the mentality of efficiency and task completion implied by many user interface heuristics may not be suitable for design and expert evaluation of ITV. In line with the contemporary movement towards the design of the user experience of computing systems, a set of design principles for ITV applications has been developed. Instead of information technology, the field of communication science was explored, which has accumulated an extensive theory of TV usage and viewer behavior. For the empirical validation, the principles were employed in the design of an interactive music TV application. The results suggest that a small set of generic principles could support the systematic design of ITV applications and produce a design rationale that is traceable and comparable to alternative solutions, during the process of early product development. In addition, the principles could be refined into specific guidelines and further employed to support expert evaluation techniques.     

Attacking smart card systems: Theory and practice

Smart card technology has evolved over the last few years following notable improvements in the underlying hardware and software platforms. Advanced smart card microprocessors, along with robust smart card operating systems and platforms, contribute towards a broader acceptance of the technology. These improvements have eliminated some of the traditional smart card security concerns. However, researchers and hackers are constantly looking for new issues and vulnerabilities. In this article we provide a brief overview of the main smart card attack categories and their corresponding countermeasures. We also provide examples of well-documented attacks on systems that use smart card technology (e.g. satellite TV, EMV, proximity identification) in an attempt to highlight the importance of the security of the overall system rather than just the smart card.     

Transport ticketing security and fraud controls

For many years, public transportation systems have been an essential part of day-to-day life and so the principle of needing a “ticket” has been familiar to generations of travellers. However as technology has advanced it has become possible to make use of electronic tickets that have significant advantages both for travellers and for the transport system operators. There has been a lot of recent publicity regarding weaknesses in some electronic ticket solutions; which whilst based on some solid facts tend to suggest that transport ticket security and fraud control is primarily a smart card/RFID technology issue. However this cannot be the case as systems exist that do not use such technology; or use it along side legacy systems. This paper will consider technology problems, but will first establish the bigger picture of transport ticketing and will finally make suggestions for future evolution of such systems.     

Hybrid TDMA with heuristic traffic shaping: An efficient bandwidth allocation approach for heavy loaded LANs

Hybrid TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) with heuristic traffic shaping (HyTDMA/HTS) is a new collisionless MAC protocol for efficiently managing the traffic of a heavy loaded broadcast LAN. The protocol employs techniques that enable it to perform better than both fixed assignment protocols like TDMA as well as dynamic bandwidth allocation protocols like LTDMA. HyTDMA/HTS can smoothly operate in diverse traffic environments of very high loads and bursty traffic, and it can still maintain maximum shared medium utilization while maintaining low packet delay times. Built into the protocol is also a simple yet effective heuristic mechanism that regulates the traffic of hosts flooding the network with an excessive number of packets larger than the average.     

Interactive mixed reality white cane simulation for the training of the blind and the visually impaired

This paper presents a mixed reality tool developed for the training of the visually impaired based on haptic and auditory feedback. The proposed approach focuses on the development of a highly interactive and extensible Haptic Mixed Reality training system that allows visually impaired to navigate into real size Virtual Reality environments. The system is based on the use of the CyberGrasp™ haptic device. An efficient collision detection algorithm based on superquadrics is also integrated into the system so as to allow real time collision detection in complex environments. A set of evaluation tests is designed in order to identify the importance of haptic, auditory and multimodal feedback and to compare the MR cane against the existing Virtual Reality cane simulation system.