Efficiency of linked cell algorithms

The linked cell algorithm is an essential part of molecular simulation software, both molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo. Though it scales linearly with the number of particles, there has been a constant interest in increasing its performance, because a large part of CPU time is spent to identify the interacting particles. Several recent publications proposed improvements to the algorithm and investigated their efficiency by applying them to particular setups. Here we develop a general method to evaluate the efficiency of these algorithms which is mostly independent of the parameters of the simulation, and test it for a number of linked cell algorithms. We also propose a combination of linked cell reordering and interaction sorting that performs well for a broad range of simulation setups.     

Morphic computing

In this paper, we introduce a new type of computation called “morphic computing”. Morphic computing is based on field theory and more specifically morphic fields. Morphic fields were first introduced by Rupert Sheldrake [R. Sheldrake, A New Science of Life: The Hypothesis of Morphic Resonance (second edition, 1985), Park Street Press; Reprint edition (March 1, 1995), 1981] from his hypothesis of formative causation that made use of the older notion of morphogenetic fields. Rupert Sheldrake [R. Sheldrake, A New Science of Life: The Hypothesis of Morphic Resonance (second edition, 1985), Park Street Press; Reprint edition (March 1, 1995), 1981] developed his famous theory, morphic resonance, on the basis of the work by French philosopher Henri Bergson. Morphic fields and its subset morphogenetic fields have been at the center of controversy for many years in mainstream science and the hypothesis is not accepted by some scientists who consider it a pseudoscience. We claim that morphic computing is a natural extension of holographic computation, quantum computation, soft computing, and DNA computing. All natural computations bonded by the turing machine can be formalised and extended by our new type of computation model—morphic computing. In this paper, we introduce the basis for this new computing paradigm and its extensions such as quantum logic and entanglement in morphic computing, morphic systems and morphic system of systems (M-SOS). Its applications to the field of computation by words as an example of the morphic computing, morphogenetic fields in neural network and morphic computing, morphic fields - concepts and web search, and agents and fuzzy in morphic computing will also be discussed.     

Recombination Centers in Gamma-Irradiated Arsenic-Doped Germanium

A comprehensive investigation has been performed of the properties of recombination centers introduced in As-doped Ge by Co60 gamma rays. Materials of three resistivities were used: ~0.2, ~1 and ~8 ?-cm. Measurements of lifetime versus temperature were made at low excess densities following various anneals. Numerous measurements of lifetime as a function of excess density with temperature as a parameter and with different annealing histories were performed. The position of the recombination center was observed to shift slightly with anneal temperature from Ev + 0. 346 ±.005 eV for room temperature stable defects to 0. 322 ±0.003 eV for samples which have been annealed in the range of ~70°C to ~120°C. These values are based on excess density measurements and assume unity statistical weight. The possible error from this assumption is estimated to be ±0.02 eV. The variation of electron capture probability with temperature was indicated by comparison with temperature dependence data; it varies approximately as T3/4. The hole-to-electron capture probability ratio near room temperature is 400 ±30 %. The arsenic atom appears to play no significant role in the process of recombination center creation or annihilation.     

Transplacentally induced neuronal migration disorders: an animal model for the study of the epilepsies

OBJECTIVES: This investigation examined whether, despite the Tobacco Institute's Voluntary Cigarette Advertising and Promotion Code, current cigarette print advertising communicates culturally positive messages to youth about smoking. METHODS: Nine hundred thirteen students in grades 6-8 (ages 10-15) were shown a sample of four contemporary cigarette print ads (Camel, Marlboro, Newport, and Virginia Slims) and completed structured written assessments designed to capture their perceptions of each ad. RESULTS: Across the four ads, between 37% and 84% of the students reported that the ads communicated to them that smoking will make people popular, cool, successful in life, sexy, attractive, and healthy. Sizeable percentages of students reported that the ads show people using the product in an "exaggerated" way, and that what people in the ads are doing requires "exercise and physical energy." The median estimated age of the models in the ads was under age 25 for four out of the six models. CONCLUSIONS: As perceived by adolescents, current cigarette print advertising violates basic tenets of the Voluntary Code, thus bringing into question the tobacco industry's ability to self-regulate image advertising. These findings suggest that the FDA ruling to prohibit image advertising for tobacco in publications with significant youth readership deserves serious consideration.     

Toward a sentient environment: real-time wide area multiple human tracking with identities

In this paper, we presented a fully integratedreal-time computer vision system that can detect and track multiple humans in a wide-area using a network of stereo cameras. Continuous human identities are achieved by fusing video tracking with different kinds of biometric devices. The system also provides immersive visualization which enables the users to conveniently navigate through space and time and query useful events. The key innovations include stereo-based multi-object detection and tracking, a unified approach for fusing multiple sensors of different modalities, visualization and user interface design.     

Photoacoustic cell for ultrasound contrast agent characterization

Photoacoustics has emerged as a tool for the study of liquid gel suspension behavior and has been recently employed in a number of new biomedical applications. In this paper, a photoacoustic sensor is presented which was designed and realized for analyzing photothermal signals from solutions filled with microbubbles, commonly used as ultrasound contrast agents in echographic imaging techniques. It is a closed cell device, where photothermal volume variation of an aqueous solution produces the periodic deflection of a thin membrane closing the cell at the end of a short pipe. The cell then acts as a Helmholtz resonator, where the displacement of the membrane is measured through a laser probe interferometer, whereas photoacoustic signal is generated by a laser chopped light beam impinging onto the solution through a glass window. Particularly, the microbubble shell has been modeled through an effective surface tension parameter, which has been then evaluated from experimental data through the shift of the resonance frequencies of the photoacoustic sensor. This shift of the resonance frequencies of the photoacoustic sensor caused by microbubble solutions is high enough for making such a cell a reliable tool for testing ultrasound contrast agent, particularly for bubble shell characterization.     

A New Intelligent System Methodology for Time Series Forecasting with Artificial Neural Networks

The Time-delay Added Evolutionary Forecasting (TAEF) approach is a new method for time series prediction that performs an evolutionary search for the minimum number of dimensions necessary to represent the underlying information that generates the time series. The methodology proposed is inspired in Takens theorem and consists of an intelligent hybrid model composed of an artificial neural network combined with a modified genetic algorithm. Initially, the TAEF method finds the best fitted model to forecast the series and then performs a behavioral statistical test in order to adjust time phase distortions that may appear in the representation of some series. An experimental investigation conducted with relevant time series show the robustness of the method through a comparison, according to several performance measures, to previous results found in the literature and those obtained with more traditional methods.     

A study of the separation of cobalt from spent Li-ion battery residues

Separation of the main metals contained in spent Li-ion batteries has been investigated using a treatment route consisting of the following steps: manual dismantling, acid leaching, precipitation with NH₄OH and liquid–liquid extraction using Cyanex 272 [bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl) phosphinic acid] as the extractant agent. Aluminium, cobalt, lead and lithium were the main metal species identified in the residue. Lead was found solely in the anode of the battery, so this metal can be separated manually from the other metal species, which were found to predominate in the cathode. The following operational variables were investigated in the acid leaching step: temperature, solid/liquid ratio, H₂SO₄ concentration and H₂O₂ concentration which was used as the oxidizing agent. Around 55% of aluminium, 80% of cobalt and 95% of lithium were leached from the cathode when leaching solutions with H₂O₂ were carried out. In the precipitation step, NH₄OH was added to the leach liquor to raise the pH and aluminium was partially separated from cobalt and lithium at pH 5. After filtration, the aqueous solution was submitted to a purification step by liquid–liquid extraction with Cyanex 272 and around 85% of cobalt was separated.     

Effect of drying and storage time on the physico-chemical properties of mango leathers

Fruit leathers are made by drying a very thin layer of fruit puree to obtain a chewy product. The objective of this work was to minimise the drying time required to produce mango leathers with no preservatives and no sugar added, and to evaluate their acceptance and storage stability. Mango puree was spread on Petri dishes and oven‐dried according to a central composite design with two independent variables: drying temperature (60–80 °C) and puree load (0.4–0.6 g cm^?2). The minimum drying time (120 min) resulted from drying a puree load of 0.5 g cm^?2 at 80 °C. The product was well accepted, especially in terms of flavour. The mango leathers were packed in polypropylene buckets and stored at 25 °C. The combination between low water activity (0.62) and low pH (3.8) allowed the product to be microbiologically stable for at least 6 months, without the need for chemical preservatives.