Energy-Efficient Transmission Range Optimization Model for WSN-Based Internet of Things

With the explosive advancements in wireless communications and digital electronics, some tiny devices, sensors, became a part of our daily life in numerous fields. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is composed of tiny sensor devices. WSNs have emerged as a key technology enabling the realization of the Internet of Things (IoT). In particular, the sensor-based revolution of WSN-based IoT has led to considerable technological growth in nearly all circles of our life such as smart cities, smart homes, smart healthcare, security applications, environmental monitoring, etc. However, the limitations of energy, communication range, and computational resources are bottlenecks to the widespread applications of this technology. In order to tackle these issues, in this paper, we propose an Energy-efficient Transmission Range Optimized Model for IoT (ETROMI), which can optimize the transmission range of the sensor nodes to curb the hot-spot problem occurring in multi-hop communication. In particular, we maximize the transmission range by employing linear programming to alleviate the sensor nodes’ energy consumption and considerably enhance the network longevity compared to that achievable using state-of-the-art algorithms. Through extensive simulation results, we demonstrate the superiority of the proposed model. ETROMI is expected to be extensively used for various smart city, smart home, and smart healthcare applications in which the transmission range of the sensor nodes is a key concern.     

Evaluation of interface shear strength of composite liner system and stability analysis for a landfill lining system in Thailand

The paper presents the case history of laboratory evaluation of the interface shear strength properties of various interfaces encountered in a modern day landfill with emphasis on proper simulation of field conditions and subsequent use of these results in the stability analyses of liner system. Over 70 large direct shear tests were systematically conducted to evaluate the interface shear strength properties of composite liner system using project specific materials under site specific conditions, being used at non-hazardous and hazardous landfills project situated in Sa Kaeo Province, Thailand. The critical interfaces were located between the geotextiles and the smooth geomembrane (GM), the smooth GM and the geosynthetic clay liner (GCL), and the smooth GM liner and the compacted clay liner (CCL) with the interface friction angles ranging from 6.5° to 10.5° for dry conditions and 6.5° to 9.5° in wet conditions. The residual shear stress for these interfaces was attained at a displacement less than 4 mm. Three methods, namely, limit equilibrium method (LEM), limit method (LM), and the simple composite column (SCC) approach were used to evaluate the tensile loads induced in the geosynthetic components. The SCC approach proposed by Liu, C.N. [2001. Tension of geosynthetics material regarding soils on landfill liner slopes. Proceedings, National Science Council ROC(A), 25(4), 211–218] that takes into account the force equilibrium as well as displacement compatibility yielded satisfactory results. The factor of safety for geosynthetic components in the liner was found to be greater than 3.0 for both types of landfill.     

Three-dimensional hydrodynamic flow focusing of dye,particles and cells in a microfluidic device by employing two bends of opposite curvature

This work relates to three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic flow focusing, wherein sample is encapsulated by sheath fluid in all the directions, making it a preferred method for particle focusing. Given the complex phenomenon involved in achieving 3D hydrodynamic focusing, we have been able to demonstrate a relatively simple microdevice for achieving this objective. In this work, a novel approach for 3D focusing utilizing two bends of opposite curvature in microchannel is proposed and demonstrated through experiments and numerical simulations. The proposed microdevice is fabricated on a single layer of polydimethylsiloxane and a single sheath inlet is used, thereby simplifying the 3D focusing mechanism and reducing the requirements of cost enhancing accessories. The mechanism underlying particle focusing is examined in detail. This microdevice provides several distinct advantages over other designs mentioned in the literature.     

Firm valuation effects of the decision to adopt relationally governed business process outsourcing arrangements

Business process outsourcing (BPO) has recently grown in incidence and importance. However, academic research on this phenomenon is sparse. Further, studies on outsourcing have primarily used a transaction cost economics (TCE) lens, largely neglecting other key theoretical explanations of the outsourcing decision and performance. While TCE provides a useful framework, it underemphasises hybrid governance structures that reflect relationships that fall between markets and hierarchies. We examine the decision to adopt relationally governed BPO arrangements and the impact on firm value. We recognise ‘discriminatory alignment’ aspects of governance and argue that the nature of the process itself will influence the value that can be garnered through relational governance. Using secondary data on 298 BPO announcements, we test the proposed model and confirm that a higher level of relational governance adoption strongly enhances firm valuation. This positive valuation impact of relational governance adoption reaches an even higher level in situations of primary processes and processes that have had a presence in the outsourcing organisation. The results emphasise the importance of considering all processes for outsourcing, the critical consideration of relational governance and the importance of planning governance structures that are aligned with the nature and experience with the process being outsourced.     

Dry Sliding Wear Behavior of Tempered (T4 and T6) Hypereutectic Aluminum Alloy-Based Composites

Silicon - The present work describes the effect of tempering (T4 and T6) processes on the dry sliding wear properties of ilmenite reinforced aluminum alloy (LM30) composites, prepared through stir...     

Implementation of Band Gap and Gate Oxide Engineering to Improve the Electrical Performance of SiGe/InAs Charged Plasma-Based Junctionless-TFET

Silicon - This paper reports on a charged plasma-based adjustable bandgap source/channel (So/Ch) interface using a new semiconductor compound (SiGe/ InAs) and bimaterial oxide (HfO2/SiO2)...     

Ecological interface design and emergent users: Designing for small-scale trucking ecology in India

Effective on-road safety requires proper maintenance of vehicles. In the trucking sector in India, there is a need for supporting predictive maintenance to decrease downtime and improve safety. Improving maintenance in this sector involves certain challenges. First, most trucks are owned by small-scale fleet owners (trucks < 5). Second, maintenance is often handled by small-scale mechanic workshops. The fault diagnosis is very often limited to recognition by the driver and later reassessed by the mechanic by relying on the feel or the sound of the vehicle. Third, a majority of stakeholders in this sector—drivers, mechanics, and owners—have low levels of education. Despite these challenges, with the increase in the rate of digitalization, in the future, it will be easier to monitor the health of the parts of a truck. In addition, there is a developing trend of mobile phone and internet penetration in India that has leapfrogged a majority of Indians into becoming “emergent users” of information technology. Therefore, this article shows that sociotechnical approaches such as ecological interface design can be used to develop mobile interfaces for supporting predictive maintenance through health and usage monitoring of trucks for small-scale fleet owners in India. To develop the interface, a field study was conducted at several sites in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The insights were used to develop scenarios and the abstraction hierarchy, which were later used creatively to develop the interface design for emergent users.     

Machine learning enabled integrated formulation and process design framework for a pharmaceutical 3D printing platform

The pharmaceutical manufacturing sector needs to rapidly evolve to absorb the next wave of disruptive industrial innovations—Industry 4.0. This involves incorporating technologies like artificial intelligence and 3D printing (3DP) to automate and personalize the drug production processes. This study aims to build a formulation and process design (FPD) framework for a pharmaceutical 3DP platform that recommends operating (formulation and process) conditions at which consistent drop printing can be obtained. The platform used in this study is a displacement-based drop-on-demand 3D printer that manufactures dosages by additively depositing the drug formulation as droplets on a substrate. The FPD framework is built in two parts: the first part involves building a machine learning model to simulate the forward problem—predicting printer operation for given operating conditions and the second part seeks to solve and experimentally validate the inverse problem—predicting operating conditions that can yield desired printer operation.