Evaluating card-based protocols in terms of execution time

International Journal of Information Security - Card-based cryptography is an attractive and unconventional computation model; it provides secure computing methods using a deck of physical cards....     

Phase evolution and <110>-orientation mechanism in RTGG-processed BaTiO3 ceramics with electrical properties

The <110>-oriented BaTiO₃ ceramics were fabricated using BaCO₃ matrix and H_1.08Ti_1.73O₄.nH₂O (HTO) template particles, and the mechanism of BaTiO₃ phase formation was investigated. The dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties were also investigated. The transformation of the HTO phase into the TiO₂ bronze or TiO₂ (B) phase was observed at 600°C, where the BaTiO₃ nucleation was accompanied by the formation of a Ba₂TiO₄ phase. The TiO₂ phase reacted with the Ba₂TiO₄ phase at 800°C to give a BaTiO₃ phase, whereas its reaction with the BaTiO₃ resulted in the formation of BaTi₂O₅ phase that got decomposed into BaTiO₃ and Ba₆Ti₁₇O₄₀ phase at sintering temperature ≥1300°C. Sintering with samples’ embedding in BaTiO₃ powders prevented the formation of the Ba₆Ti₁₇O₄₀ secondary phase. The crystallographic orientation along the <110> direction (F₁₁₀) was developed by the epitaxial grain growth mechanism. In addition to the contribution of the grain-size increment for enhancing the F₁₁₀, the preservation of the platelike structure was also found to have a significant impact. The ceramics prepared by the embedded sintering (grain size ≈12.4 µm and F₁₁₀ = 83%) exhibited the room-temperature dielectric constant of 1708 and piezoelectric strain constant of 445 pm/V, which are higher than those of the BaTiO₃ ceramics with randomly oriented grains.     

An Advanced Oscillation Mixing Method for Improving the Cooling Uniformity in Quenching

In quenching, the cooling uniformity is most important to diminish distortion occurring on work pieces. As a trial to accomplish uniform cooling, therefore, there exist various mixing methods of a quenchant and the quenchant circulation with an external pump has so far been the well accepted mixing method. However, this study proposes an advanced oscillation mixing method that can improve more the cooling uniformity in quenching. The proposed method includes a stirrer in oscillating motion, so that the simultaneous oscillating and mixing movements of the stirrer are considered to provide efecfively the uniform cooling characteristics for the quenchant. In comparison with the case of the circulation pump mixing, the investigation using the oscillation mixing method has demonstrated the following two experimental facts:(1) the short vapor blanket stage caused by the quick breakage of the oil vapor blanket and (2) the reduced variation of the quenching distortion.     

Oxidation Behavior of Ni-3,6, 10 wt.% Al Alloys at 800°C

The oxidation behavior of Ni and Ni-3, 6, and 10Al alloys at 800°C in an N₂–O₂ gas mixture was investigated. The mass gain of each alloy depended on both the oxidation periods and Al content. NiO scale was formed on all alloy substrates accompanied by internal oxides of Al₂O₃. Many cavities were formed at the NiO/substrate interface at shorter oxidation times, and these cavities were found to be filled by metallic Ni(Al) from the matrix in the internal-oxidation zone by the development of internal oxides. The filling of cavities by Ni(Al) was more significant on higher Al alloys, which had a higher density of internal Al₂O₃. Once metallic Ni(Al) formed along the entire NiO/substrate interface, the oxidation kinetics became the same as pure Ni. It was concluded that pure Ni filling the cavities at the interface provided a diffusion path of Ni from the substrate to the NiO scale, and that controlled the oxidation kinetics.     

Simulation of ultrasonic-vibration drawing using the finite element method (FEM)

In ultrasonic-vibration drawing, wires are drawn while ultrasonic vibration is applied to a drawing die. Prior studies provide experimental proof that ultrasonic-vibration drawing reduces drawing resistance, improves lubrication and prevents wire breakage. In the future, ultrasonic-vibration drawing is expected to contribute to the drawing of difficult-to-draw materials and operations, such as shaped wires, ultrafine wires, and the wire drawing operation in semidry or dry condition. However, a detailed analysis and understanding of the mechanism of improvement is not possible on the basis of conventional experimental observations because the ultrasonic-vibration processing phenomenon occurs at high speed. Therefore, we attempted to understand the processing mechanism of ultrasonic-vibration drawing using the finite element method (FEM). ABAQUS was used for the FEM. Drawing force and stress–strain distributions in drawn wires were analyzed. From these studies, we quantitatively clarified the mechanism of improved drawing characteristics, such as decreased drawing force.     

Study on stiffness visualization and safety control based on will-consensus building for tele-palpation robot system

This paper proposes a method for visualizing the stiffness of a soft object in a palpation-support information system by the teleoperation of a robot hand. It is important that a palpation system display a body’s shape and stiffness. In our method, the stiffness of the contact area between the soft object and the robot finger is estimated by a recursive least-squares method with forgetting factor that uses an impedance dynamics model. With the estimated stiffness and direction of contact force, we calculate the scalar parameter for visualization of stiffness. Moreover, we propose a safety control method for the palpation system, which is part of a tele-control method based on will-consensus building. The system configuration, estimated algorithm, and experimental results are presented.     

Critical mass in the emergence of collective intelligence: a parallelized simulation of swarms in noisy environments

We extend an abstract agent-based swarming model based on the evolution of neural network controllers, to explore further the emergence of swarming. Our model is grounded in the ecological situation, in which agents can access some information from the environment about the resource location, but through a noisy channel. Swarming critically improves the efficiency of group foraging, by allowing agents to reach resource areas much more easily by correcting individual mistakes in group dynamics. As high levels of noise may make the emergence of collective behavior depend on a critical mass of agents, it is crucial to reach sufficient computing power to allow for the evolution of the whole set of dynamics in simulation. Since simulating neural controllers and information exchanges between agents are computationally intensive, to scale up simulations to model critical masses of individuals, the implementation requires careful optimization. We apply techniques from astrophysics known as treecodes to compute the signal propagation, and efficiently parallelize for multi-core architectures. Our results open up future research on signal-based emergent collective behavior as a valid collective strategy for uninformed search over a domain space.     

High‐pixel‐rate grating‐light‐valve laser projector

Abstract— A high‐pixel‐rate, high‐contrast (30,000:1) wide‐color‐gamut grating‐light‐valve laser projector is reported. A new optical engine enabling high‐frame‐rate (240 Hz) scan projection is employed. Panoramic wide‐angle‐scan projection with a 64:9 aspect ratio was also developed. Speckle noise is eliminated using a simple but highly efficient technique. The optical throughput efficiency of the grating‐light‐valve laser projector is reviewed.     

Patient with unusual Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome (progeria)

A patient with unusual Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome (progeria) is reported. This 7-year-old boy had all the characteristics of progeria, except for coxa valga and the "horse-riding" stance. A previous cerebral infarction was detected in the right putamen on cranial magnetic resonance imaging. During treadmill exercise test electrocardiography, ST depression suggested the existence of arteriosclerotic lesions. Skin fibroblast culture exhibited 76% DNA-repair capacity compared to normal. He has not manifested endocrinologic abnormalities. From these findings it is concluded that this patient has an incomplete case of Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome and that a correlation may exist between the clinical features and the degree of DNA-repair capacity.     

Chemical nature of larval osmeterial secretions of papilionid butterflies in the generaParnassius,Sericinus andPachliopta

Volatile components of the larval osmeterial secretion ofParnassius glacialis (Parnassiinae, Parnassiini) consisted of isobutyric acid, 2-methylbutyric acid, and their methyl esters. In contrast, the osmeterial exudate ofSericinus montela (Parnassiinae, Zerynthiini) was characterized as monoterpene hydrocarbons comprising-myrcene (Major),-pinene, sabinene, limonene, and-phellandrene, whereas that ofPachliopta aristolochiae (Papilioninae, Troidini) was composed of numerous sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, including-himachalene,-amorphene, and germacrene-A, and a few oxygenated sesquiterpenoids. In these three species, the chemical nature of the secretions of the last and the penultimate instars was essentially of similar quality, suggesting that the three genera,Parnassius, Sericinus, andPachliopta, are assigned to homogeneous types.