Moment-Based Angular Difference Estimation Between Two Tomographic Projections in 2D and 3D

This paper introduces a new method for estimating the angular difference between two tomographic projections belonging to a set of projections taken at unknown directions in 2D and 3D. Our method relies on the projection neighbor selection in projection moment space, the calculation of the angular differences between these neighboring projections using moment properties and a projection moment neighborhood graph. The accuracy and the robustness of our method are shown on a test database including fifty 2D and 3D gray-level images at different resolutions and with different levels of noise.     

Evaluation of multiple features for violent scenes detection

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Violent scenes detection (VSD) is a challenging problem because of the heterogeneous content, large variations in video quality, and complex semantic meanings of...     

Fatigue crack propagation under in‐phase and out‐of‐phase biaxial loading

Fatigue damage characteristics of aluminium alloy under complex biaxial loads such as in‐phase and out‐of‐phase loading conditions and different biaxiality ratios have been investigated. The effects of microscale phenomena on macroscale crack growth were studied to develop an in‐depth understanding of crack nucleation and growth. Material characterization was conducted to study the microstructure variability. Scanning electron microscopy was used to identify the second phase particles, and energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy was performed to analyse their phases and elements. Extensive quasi‐static and fatigue tests were conducted on Al7075‐T651 cruciform specimens over a wide range of load ratios and phases. Detailed fractography analysis was conducted to understand the crack growth behaviour observed during the fatigue tests. Significant differences in crack initiation and propagation behaviour were observed when a phase difference was applied. Primarily, crack retardation and splitting were observed because of the constantly varying mode mixity caused by phase difference. The crack growth behaviour and fatigue lives under out‐of‐phase loading were compared with those under in‐phase loading to understand the effect of mixed‐mode fracture.     

Stress intensity factor analysis of friction sliding at discontinuity interfaces and junctions

A stress intensity factor (SIF) analysis for two-dimensional fractures with frictional contact (crack friction) is presented. This analysis is carried out using the symmetric-Galerkin boundary element method, and a modified quarter-point crack tip element. As in case of non-contact fracture, it is shown that highly accurate SIFs can be obtained, even with the simple Displacement Correlation SIF technique. Moreover, with the modified crack tip element, the mesh on the crack does not need to be excessively refined in order to achieve high accuracy. This meshing advantage is especially important in the context of the nonlinear frictional contact problem, as the computing time for the iterative process strongly depends on the number of elements used. Several numerical examples are presented and the SIF results are compared with available analytical or reference solutions. This research was supported in part by the University of South Alabama Research Council, and by the Applied Mathematical Sciences Research Program of the Office of Mathematical, Information, and Computational Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with UT-Battelle, LLC.     

Non‐planar mixed‐mode growth of initially straight‐fronted surface cracks,in cylindrical bars under tension,torsion and bending,using the symmetric Galerkin boundary element method‐finite element method alternating method

In this paper, the stress intensity factor (SIF) variations along an arbitrarily developing crack front, the non‐planar fatigue‐crack growth patterns, and the fatigue life of a round bar with an initially straight‐fronted surface crack, are studied by employing the 3D symmetric Galerkin boundary element method‐finite element method (SGBEM‐FEM) alternating method. Different loading cases, involving tension, bending and torsion of the bar, with different initial crack depths and different stress ratios in fatigue, are considered. By using the SGBEM‐FEM alternating method, the SIF variations along the evolving crack front are computed; the fatigue growth rates and directions of the non‐planar growths of the crack surface are predicted; the evolving fatigue‐crack growth patterns are simulated, and thus, the fatigue life estimations of the cracked round bar are made. The accuracy and reliability of the SGBEM‐FEM alternating method are verified by comparing the presently computed results to the empirical solutions of SIFs, as well as experimental data of fatigue crack growth, available in the open literature. It is shown that the current approach gives very accurate solutions of SIFs and simulations of fatigue crack growth during the entire crack propagation, with very little computational burden and human–labour cost. The characteristics of fatigue growth patterns of initially simple‐shaped cracks in the cylindrical bar under different Modes I, III and mixed‐mode types of loads are also discussed in detail.     

On codeword design in metric DNA spaces

Finding a large set of single DNA strands that do not crosshybridize to themselves and/or to their complements is an important problem in DNA computing, self-assembly, and DNA memories. We describe a theoretical framework to analyze this problem, gauge its computational difficulty, and provide nearly optimal solutions. In this framework, codeword design is reduced to finding large sets of strands maximaly separated in a DNA space and the size of such sets depends on the geometry of these metric spaces. We show that codeword design is NP-complete using any single reasonable measure that approximates the Gibbs energy, thus practically excluding the possibility of finding any procedure to find maximal sets efficiently. Second, we extend a technique known as shuffling to provide a construction that yields provably nearly-maximal codes. Third, we propose a filtering process that removes strands creating pairs with low Gibbs energies, as approximated by the nearest-neighbor model. These two steps produce large codes of thermodynamic high quality. The proposed framework can be used to gain an understanding of the Gibbs energy landscapes for DNA strands on which much of DNA computing and self-assembly are based.     

Kinematic analysis of patients with spinal muscular atrophy during spontaneous breathing and mechanical ventilation

Dinoseb is a herbicide known to inhibit photosystem II electron transfer like DCMU, triazine and phenolic-type herbicides. The mutant Din7 of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, selected for resistance to dinoseb, and the mutant Ins2, constructed by the insertion of the kanamycin resistance cassette into the drgA gene, were cross-resistant to other nitrophenolic herbicides (DNOC, 2,4-dinitrophenol) and to the cell inhibitor metronidazole but not to the photosystem II inhibitors DCMU or ioxynil. The Din7 mutant had the same characteristics of photosystem II inhibition by dinoseb as the wild type. This result suggested the existence of another site for dinoseb inhibition. The wild type cells modified dinoseb to a non-toxic product that gave an absorption spectrum similar to that of dithionite treated dinoseb containing reduced nitro groups. In contrast, the Din7 mutant did not modify dinoseb. These phenomena were controlled by the drgA gene encoding a protein which showed similarity to several enzymes having nitroreductase activity. The addition of superoxide dismutase to the medium relieved the toxic effect of dinoseb in wild type cells but not in Din7. It is proposed that in wild type cells of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 the DrgA protein is involved in detoxification of dinoseb via the reduction of the nitro group(s) and this process is accompanied by the formation of toxic superoxide anions. Mutations blocking the activity of the DrgA protein lead to the development of resistance to nitrophenolic herbicides and metronidazole.