Visual simulation of mixed-motion avalanches with interactions between snow layers

In the field of computer graphics, simulation of fluids, including avalanches, is an important research topic. In this paper, we propose a method to simulate a kind of avalanche, mixed-motion avalanche, which is usually large and travels down the slope fast, often resulting in impressive visual effects. The mixed-motion avalanche consists of snow smokes and liquefied snow which form an upper suspension layer and a lower dense-flow layer, respectively. The mixed-motion avalanche travels down the surface of the snow-covered mountain, which is called accumulated snow layer. We simulate a mixed-motion avalanche taking into account these three snow layers. We simulate the suspension layer using a grid-based approach, the dense-flow and accumulated snow layer using a particle-based approach. An important contribution of our method is an interaction model between these snow layers that enables us to obtain the characteristic motions of avalanches, such as the generation of the snow smoke from the head of the avalanche.     

Theory of one-tape linear-time Turing machines

A theory of one-tape two-way one-head off-line linear-time Turing machines is essentially different from its polynomial-time counterpart since these machines are closely related to finite state automata. This paper discusses structural-complexity issues of one-tape Turing machines of various types (deterministic, nondeterministic, reversible, alternating, probabilistic, counting, and quantum Turing machines) that halt in linear time, where the running time of a machine is defined as the length of any longest computation path. We explore structural properties of one-tape linear-time Turing machines and clarify how the machines’ resources affect their computational patterns and power.     

Recurrent infomax generates cell assemblies, neuronal avalanches, and simple cell-like selectivity

Recently multineuronal recording has allowed us to observe patterned firings, synchronization, oscillation, and global state transitions in the recurrent networks of central nervous systems. We propose a learning algorithm based on the process of information maximization in a recurrent network, which we call recurrent infomax (RI). RI maximizes information retention and thereby minimizes information loss through time in a network. We find that feeding in external inputs consisting of information obtained from photographs of natural scenes into an RI-based model of a recurrent network results in the appearance of Gabor-like selectivity quite similar to that existing in simple cells of the primary visual cortex. We find that without external input, this network exhibits cell assembly-like and synfire chain-like spontaneous activity as well as a critical neuronal avalanche. In addition, we find that RI embeds externally input temporal firing patterns to the network so that it spontaneously reproduces these patterns after learning. RI provides a simple framework to explain a wide range of phenomena observed in in vivo and in vitro neuronal networks, and it will provide a novel understanding of experimental results for multineuronal activity and plasticity from an information-theoretic point of view.     

A cross-junction channel valveless-micropump with PZT actuation

A gas-jet micro pump with novel cross-junction channel has been designed and fabricated using a Si micromachining process. The valveless micro pump is composed of a piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) diaphragm actuator and fluidic network. The design of the valveless pump focuses on a cross-junction formed by the neck of the pump chamber and one outlet and two opposite inlet channels. The structure of cross-junction allows differences in fluidic resistance and fluidic momentum inside the channels during each PZT diaphragm vibration cycle, which leads to the gas flow being rectified without valves. The flow channels were easily fabricated by using silicon etching process. To investigate the effects of the structure of the cross-junction on the gas flow rate, two types of pump with different cross-junction were studied. The design and simulation were done using ANSYS-Fluent software. The simulations and experimental data revealed that the step-nozzle structure is much more advantageous than the planar structure. A flow rate of 5.2 ml/min was obtained for the pump with step structure when the pump was driven at its resonant frequency of 7.9 kHz by a sinusoidal voltage of 50 V_p–p.     

New pixel driving circuit using self‐discharging compensation method for high‐resolution OLED micro displays on a silicon backplane

A new 4T2C pixel circuit formed on a silicon substrate is proposed to realize a high‐resolution 7.8‐μm pixel pitch AMOLED microdisplay. In order to achieve high luminance uniformity, the pixel circuit compensates its Vth variation of the MOSFET for the driving transistor internally by using self‐discharging method. Also presented are 0.5‐in Quad‐VGA and 1.25‐in wide Quad‐XGA microdisplays with the proposed pixel circuit.     

Fundamental characteristics of printed gelatin utilizing micro 3D printer

Gelatin is useful for biofabrication, because it can be used for cell scaffolds and it has unique properties. Therefore, we attempted to fabricate biodevices of gelatin utilizing micro 3D printer which is able to print with high precision. However, it has been difficult to fabricate 3D structure of gelatin utilizing 3D printer, because a printed gelatin droplet on the metal plate electrode would spread before solidification. To clear this problem, we developed a new experimental set-up with a peltier device that can control temperature of the impact point. At an impact point temperature of 80 °C, the spreading of printed gelatin droplets was prevented. Therefore, we were able to print a ball gelatin. In addition, we were able to print a narrower gelatin line than at an impact point temperature of 20 °C.     

Temperature-controlled molecular dynamics study on velocity-dependent threshold behavior of dynamic nano-friction

Laws of dynamic nano-friction (i.e., continuous wearless friction) were searched for under steady spatial distributions of the local quasi-temperature, by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The temperature control of the non-conservative model was carried out by extending the isothermal MD method using the Nosé–Poincaré thermostat. The results suggested that the threshold phenomenon characterizes sliding-velocity dependence of the nano-frictional force between crystal lattices constituting a nano-electromechanical system (NEMS). This phenomenon was turned out to be a universal feature, whether heat transfer to the environment exists or not.     

A query model to synthesize answer intervals from indexed videounits

While a query result in a traditional database is a subset of the database, in a video database, it is a set of subintervals extracted from the raw video sequence. It is very hard, if not impossible, to predetermine all the queries that will be issued in the future, and all the subintervals that will become necessary to answer them. As a result, conventional query frameworks are not applicable to video databases. We propose a new video query model that computes query results by dynamically synthesizing needed subintervals from fragmentary indexed intervals in the database. We introduce new interval operations required for that computation. We also propose methods to compute relative relevance of synthesized intervals to a given query. A query result is a list of synthesized intervals sorted in the order of their degree of relevance     

Interval Evaluations in the Analytic Hierarchy Process By Possibility Analysis

Since a pairwise comparison matrix in the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is based on human intuition, the given matrix will always include inconsistent elements violating the transitivity property. We propose the Interval AHP by which interval weights can be obtained. The widths of the estimated interval weights represent inconsistency in judging data. Since interval weights can be obtained from inconsistent data, the proposed Interval AHP is more appropriate to human judgment. Assuming crisp values in a pairwise comparison matrix, the interval comparisons including the given crisp comparisons can be obtained by applying the Linear Programming (LP) approach. Using an interval preference relation, the Interval AHP for crisp data can be extended to an approach for interval data allowing to express the uncertainty of human judgment in pairwise comparisons.     

Nonsingular BEM formulations for thin-walled structures and elastostatic crack problems

Summary This paper presents a unique approach, named mathematical regularization, to remove the nearly-singular and singular integrals occurring in the boundary integral formulations for the solution of the boundary value problems with a pathologica integration boundary due to the very near or coinciding parts of the total boundary. Nonsingular boundary integral equations are derived for thin-walled structure problems. In the case of crack-like problems, we present two kinds of the nonsingular integral representations of the secondary fields and the derivative boundary integral equations.