Neural network’s selection of color in UI design of social software

Neural Computing and Applications - In recent years, the design of social software UI has become a design research focus in the field of design. Color affects many factors in UI design. However,...     

Performance of TZCD-MBOK watermarking scheme in T-DMB systems

Recently, watermarking based data transmission techniques using terrestrial digital TV signal have been proposed since they are also cost-free and can overcome the limitations of GPS. However, in the previous watermarking based methods, the detection accuracy is low and additional data rate is too low. Thus, we propose the throughput enhancement method by employing the TZCD-MBOK watermarking technique in T-DMB system. By applying the proposed scheme to T-DMB, it allows additional data transmission for disaster broadcasting and improves efficiency of data transmission in shadow region and indoor to mobile environment through watermarking spread code. From the simulation results, we confirm the proposed watermarking scheme affected on the existing T-DMB signal. Moreover, it was also confirmed that the system capacity increases as the power of additional watermarking signal rose. The results of the paper can be applied to wireless multimedia digital broadcasting systems.     

Minimal-drift heading measurement using a MEMS gyro for mobile robots: Fused with odometry

To achieve the goal of low-cost MEMS gyros for the precise self-localization of mobile robots, this paper presents a simple, yet effective method to minimize drifts on the heading angle by combining measurements from a gyro with measurements from wheel encoders (odometry). The main idea of the proposed approach is to estimate the accuracy of both sensors as a function of the actual maneuver being carried out, and then the output of both sensors are fused by the complementary filter taking into account the maneuvering conditions. The proposed method is applied to a mobile robot and the experimental data demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.     

Identification of Cyclophilin A as a Potential Anticancer Target of Novel Nargenicin A1 Analog in AGS Gastric Cancer Cells

We recently discovered a novel nargenicin A1 analog, 23-demethyl 8,13-deoxynargenicin (compound 9), with potential anti-cancer and anti-angiogenic activities against human gastric adenocarcinoma (AGS) cells. To identify the key molecular targets of compound 9, that are responsible for its biological activities, the changes in proteome expression in AGS cells following compound 9 treatment were analyzed using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE), followed by MALDI/TOF/MS. Analyses using chemical proteomics and western blotting revealed that compound 9 treatment significantly suppressed the expression of cyclophilin A (CypA), a member of the immunophilin family. Furthermore, compound 9 downregulated CD147-mediated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, including c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) by inhibiting the expression of CD147, the cellular receptor of CypA. Notably, the responses of AGS cells to CypA knockdown were significantly correlated with the anticancer and antiangiogenic effects of compound 9. CypA siRNAs reduced the expression of CD147 and phosphorylation of JNK and ERK1/2. In addition, the suppressive effects of CypA siRNAs on proliferation, migration, invasion, and angiogenesis induction of AGS cells were associated with G2/M cell cycle arrest, caspase-mediated apoptosis, inhibition of MMP-9 and MMP-2 expression, inactivation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, and inhibition of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression. The specific interaction between compound 9 and CypA was also confirmed using the drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS) and cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA) approaches. Moreover, in silico docking analysis revealed that the structure of compound 9 was a good fit for the cyclosporin A binding cavity of CypA. Collectively, these findings provide a novel molecular basis for compound 9-mediated suppression of gastric cancer progression through the targeting of CypA.     

Facile Fabrication of Povidone Iodine-Embedded Polytetrafluoroethylene Superhydrophobic Films with Improved Antiadhesive and Bactericidal Properties in Bacterial Environments

It remains a challenge to maintain the antiadhesion properties of superhydrophobic films after exposure to bacterial environments. In this work, superhydrophobic bactericidal polymer films via the simple incorporation of polyvinylpyrrolidone-iodine (PVP-I) or iodine into polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) are fabricated to improve their antiadhesive and antibacterial capability. Superhydrophobic iodine-embedded films, polytetrafluoroethylene/polyvinylpyrrolidone-iodine and polytetrafluoroethylene-iodine (PTFE/PVP-I and PTFE-I), show excellent antiadhesive and bactericidal performances even post exposure to bacterial solutions as compared to iodine-free counterparts by controlling the release of iodine. Especially, superhydrophobic PTFE/PVP-I films display a more sustained iodine release profile and significant antibacterial properties against gram-positive (S. aureus, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA)) and gram-negative (E. coli) bacteria. Such a facile combination of antiseptic agents and superhydrophobic surface could be widely used for antiseptic biomedical applications.     

Low temperature OMVPE growth of ZnSe withTertiary-butyl allyl selenide and dimethylzinc-triethylamine

The growth of high quality ZnSe by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy (OMVPE) has been investigated fortertiary-butyl allyl selenide (tBASe), combined with dimethylzinc-triethylamine (DMZn : NEt₃). Single crystalline ZnSe films were grown on GaAs at temperature as low as 350°C with a reasonable growth rate (~1 µm/h). Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) spectra show a negligible carbon incorporation in ZnSe films from tBASe even at high VI/II ratio, in contrast the carbon concentration of 10²¹ cm^-3 in ZnSe films grown from diallyl selenide (DASe)and methylallylselenide (MASe). Good surface morphology, crystalline and interface quality of ZnSe on (001) GaAs are confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, double crystal diffractometry (DCD) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). Photoluminescence at 10K shows sharp near-band-edge excitonic spectra.     

Tool design in a multi-stage drawing and ironing process of a rectangular cup with a large aspect ratio using finite element analysis

Tool design is carried out for a multi-stage deep drawing and ironing process of a rectangular cup with the large aspect ratio using the result of the finite element analysis. The analysis incorporates three-dimensional continuum elements for an elasto-plastic finite element method with the explicit time integration scheme using LS-DYNA3D. The analysis simulates the five-stage deep drawing and ironing process with the thickness control of the cup wall. Simulation is performed in order to investigate the failure by tearing during the forming process at the initial state of tool design. The analysis reveals that the difference of the drawing ratio within the cross section induces non-uniform metal flow which causes severe local extension. The irregular contact condition between the blank and the die also induces non-uniform metal flow which causes local wrinkling. This paper identifies such unfavorable mechanism in the rectangular cup drawing with ironing and proposes a new tool design with the guideline for modification in the design of the process and the sequential tool shape. The finite element analysis result with the improved tool design confirms that the proposed design not only reduces the possibility of failure but also improves the quality of a deep-drawn product. The numerical result shows fair coincidence with the experimental result.     

Surface crosslinking of high‐density polyethylene beads in a modified plasma reactor

High‐density polyethylene (HDPE) beads were successfully surface‐crosslinked in a modified plasma reactor. The modified plasma reactor treats large amounts of beads, which are uniformly surface‐crosslinked. In this study, effects of the gas pressure, radio‐frequency (RF) power, and the treatment time on the degree of surface crosslinking were systematically investigated. Degree of surface crosslinking was measured by solvent extraction method (boiling xylene method, BXM). The gel content of plasma‐treated HDPE increases from 0.0 to 1.05% within 10 min at 100 mTorr, 200 W. FTIR and DSC analyses show that the crosslinked layer after plasma treatment is limited only at HDPE surface without changing the bulk thermal property of HDPE. Through the analysis of FTIR, it was confirmed that main peaks corresponding to CH₂ bands were decreased and two peaks corresponding to CF₂ and CF₃ were observed after plasma surface modification. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 2921–2929, 2002; DOI 10.1002/app.10295     

Sustainable Basin-Scale Water Allocation with Hydrologic State-Dependent Multi-Reservoir Operation Rules

This study extends the PSO-MODSIM model, integrating particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and MODISM river basin decision support system (DSS) to determine optimal basin-scale water allocation, in two aspects. The first is deriving hydrologic state-dependent (conditional) operating rules to better account for drought and high-flow periods, and the second is direct, explicit consideration of sustainability criteria in the model’s formulation to have a better efficiency in basin-scale water allocation. Under conditional operating rules, the operational parameters of reservoir target storage levels and their priority rankings were conditioned on the hydrologic state of the system in a priority-based water allocation scheme. The role of conditional operating rules and policies were evaluated by comparing water shortages associated with objective function values under unconditional and conditional operating rules. Optimal basin-scale water allocation was then evaluated by incorporating reliability, vulnerability, reversibility and equity sustainability indices into the PSO objective function. The extended model was applied for water allocation in the Atrak River Basin, Iran. Results indicated improved distribution of water shortages by about 7.5% using conditional operating rules distinguishing dry, normal and wet hydrologic states. Alternative solutions with nearly identical objective function values were found with sustainability indices included in the model.