R-GRU: Regularized gated recurrent unit for handwritten mathematical expression recognition

Handwritten mathematical expression recognition(HMER) plays a wide variety of roles in different domains like online teaching, scientific research, etc. Due to its two-dimensional non-linear structure, it is a challenging problem. In this work, we proposed a novel architecture using regularization(dropout), attention & gated recurrent unit(R-GRU). R-GRU is used as the central decoding unit that takes the intermediate representation produced by the encoder as an input and generates corresponding LaTeX sequences. Simulation on CROHME 2014 and 2016 datasets achieve results comparable to the latest state-of-the-art.

     

[18F]PRIMATX,a New Positron Emission Tomography Tracer for Imaging of Autotaxin in Lung Tissue and Tumor-Bearing Mice

Autotaxin (ATX) is a secreted enzyme with tissue levels associated with tissue injury, which increase during wound healing and chronic fibrotic diseases. We selected [¹⁸F](R,E)-3-(4-chloro-2-((5-methyl-2H-tetrazol-2-yl)methyl)phenyl)-1-(4-((5-(2-fluoroethoxy)pyridin-2-yl)methyl)-2-methylpiperazin-1-yl)prop-2-en-1-one ([¹⁸F]PRIMATX, [¹⁸F] 2 ), a tracer for positron emission tomography, to image ATX expression in vivo. It successfully differentiates expression levels in lung tissue samples from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients, and allows the detection of ATX-expressing tumors in living mice, confirming its potential for development as a clinical imaging agent.     

Combined microscopic and dynamic rheological methods for studying the structural breakdown properties of whey protein gels and emulsion filled gels

The microstructural and large deformation rheological properties of model food gels were studied by performing notch propagation tensile testing on the gels using a tensile stage and observing changes in the microstructure of the gels during tensile testing using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Heat-set whey protein (WP) gels containing either added sodium caseinate (NaCN) or sunflower oil droplets emulsified with WP or NaCN as the emulsifier protein were prepared in 0 or 50 mM NaCl. The WP gel structure strengthened in the presence of added NaCl and NaCN. The rheological properties of WP gels containing sunflower oil droplets emulsified with WP or NaCN were influenced by the NaCl concentration, oil concentration and extent of oil droplet aggregation in the gel or by the type of emulsifier protein used. During tensile testing, the notch length in all gels increased above a certain critical stress, leading to fracture of the gels through the notch. Also, the microstructural changes in the oil phase of emulsion filled gels subjected to tensile testing were influenced by the structural properties of the WP gel matrix and the proximity of the oil droplet to the fracture path.     

Palladium‐Catalyzed Oxidative Cyclization for the Synthesis of Indolyl/Pyrrolyl 3‐Phosphonates

Imino‐/enaminophosphonates derived from amines and diethyl phenacyl phosphonates undergo oxidative cyclization via C H bond activation catalyzed by palladium chloride to provide a convenient route for the synthesis of substituted indol‐3‐yl and pyrrol‐3‐yl phosphonates.

     

Sustainable Plant-Based Biopolymer Membranes for PEM Fuel Cells

Carboxycellulose nanofibers (CNFs) promise to be a sustainable and inexpensive alternative material for polymer electrolyte membranes compared to the expensive commercial Nafion membrane. However, its practical applications have been limited by its relatively low performance and reduced mechanical properties under typical operating conditions. In this study, carboxycellulose nanofibers were derived from wood pulp by TEMPO oxidation of the hydroxyl group present on the C6 position of the cellulose chain. Then, citric acid cross-linked CNF membranes were prepared by a solvent casting method to enhance performance. Results from FT-IR spectroscopy, ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, and XRD reveal a chemical cross-link between the citric acid and CNF, and the optimal fuel cell performance was obtained by cross-linking 70 mL of 0.20 wt % CNF suspension with 300 µL of 1.0 M citric acid solution. The membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs), operated in an oxygen atmosphere, exhibited the maximum power density of 27.7 mW cm⁻² and the maximum current density of 111.8 mA cm⁻² at 80 °C and 100% relative humidity (RH) for the citric acid cross-linked CNF membrane with 0.1 mg cm⁻² Pt loading on the anode and cathode, which is approximately 30 times and 22 times better, respectively, than the uncross-linked CNF film. A minimum activation energy of 0.27 eV is achieved with the best-performing citric acid cross-linked CNF membrane, and a proton conductivity of 9.4 mS cm⁻¹ is obtained at 80 °C. The surface morphology of carboxycellulose nanofibers and corresponding membranes were characterized by FIB/SEM, SEM/EDX, TEM, and AFM techniques. The effect of citric acid on the mechanical properties of the membrane was assessed by tensile strength DMA.     

Comparison of the scaling characteristics of nanoscale SOI N-channel multiple-gate MOSFETs

As MOSFET scaling pushes channel lengths below 65 nm, device designs utilizing fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology and employing two or more gates are becoming increasingly attractive as a means to counteract short channel effects. The presence of multiple gates enhances the total control that the gate exercises on the channel region and the SOI technology allows for a significant reduction in the junction capacitance. In combination, these two factors result in devices that exhibit superior characteristics to the conventional planar MOSFET. This paper compares the variation in the switching performance of the three leading multi-gate MOSFET designs, namely the FinFET, TriGate, and Omega-gate. A 3-dimensional, commercial numerical device simulator is employed to investigate the device characteristics using a common set of material parameters, device physics models, and performance metrics. Examined initially are the short-channel effects including the subthreshold slope (S) and the drain-induced barrier lowering as the gate length is scaled down to 20 nm. Subsequently investigated and compared are the effects of scaling of the fin’s body width and height, the oxide thickness, and channel doping. The investigation reveals that the Omega-gate MOSFET shows the best scaling characteristics at a particular device dimension with the TriGate device showing the least variation in characteristics as device dimensions vary.     

A linear rate control model for better target buffer level tracking in H.264

An improved rate control scheme with better buffer level tracking and more accurate mean absolute difference (MAD) prediction for H.264 video encoding is proposed in this work. Compared to the existing H.264 rate control scheme, the proposed scheme gives better buffer regulation with improved peak signal-to-noise ratio for basic unit level rate control. The bits required for encoding header information account for a significantly high percentage of the total bits, especially at lower bit rate and for low motion sequences. A linear relation between coded mean absolute difference and header bits is proposed for achieving effective rate control. The proposed scheme estimates the mean absolute difference adaptively from temporally colocated regions and INTER16x16 mode decision process. The estimated mean absolute difference is then used for calculating the quantization parameter for better target matching. A new linear rate control model is proposed, which works well especially for low motion sequences. The experimental results show that the proposed improvement in rate control algorithm significantly reduces the difference between actual and target buffer level while improving the quality of encoded video sequences.     

Microstructural characterization of β-lactoglobulin–konjac glucomannan systems: Effect of NaCl concentration and heating conditions

In the initial part of this study, the high temperature (85 °C) microscopic phase behaviour of β-lactoglobulin (0.4–6%, w/w)–konjac (0.05–0.75%, w/w) mixtures containing 50 mM NaCl was established using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Also, the effects of heating time (heating temperature: 78 °C) and NaCl concentration (0–75 mM) on protein denaturation kinetics and the phase behaviour in 2%, w/w, β-lactoglobulin–0.4%, w/w, konjac mixtures were investigated using turbidimetry, protein denaturation measurement, CLSM and image analysis techniques. Segregative phase separation occurred in heat-treated β-lactoglobulin–konjac mixtures containing biopolymer and NaCl concentrations exceeding certain critical levels, due to heat and NaCl induced β-lactoglobulin denaturation/aggregation. The microstructural properties of selected heated (to 85 °C for 30 min) and cooled (to 25 °C) β-lactoglobulin–konjac mixtures containing different NaCl levels were studied using CLSM and rheological measurements and the results showed that the microstructure can be distinguished as miscible, phase separated or phase separated containing stable protein inclusions dependent on NaCl concentration. Response surface methodology was used to determine the minimum NaCl concentrations required for phase separation and for formation of phase separated systems containing stable inclusions in a wide concentration range of heated and cooled β-lactoglobulin (0.8–2%, w/w)–konjac (0.2–0.75%, w/w) mixtures. The results show that the microstructural and rheological properties of β-lactoglobulin–konjac mixtures can be controlled by selecting appropriate mixture biopolymer and NaCl concentrations and heating conditions.     

Improvement in Machining Performances of SiC Workpiece Using TW-Electro Chemical Spark Machining

Silicon - Electrochemical Spark Machining (ECSM) is applicable to machine the materials which are non-conducting. The present research work extended the application area of ECSM process from...