Ultrafast Atomic Diffusion Paths in Fine-Grained Nickel Obtained by Spark Plasma Sintering

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - Short-circuit diffusion in fine-grained Ni samples processed by Spark Plasma sintering has been investigated by the radiotracer technique. Ni grain...     

Spiroacetals and Other Venom Constituents as Potential Wasp Attractants

The major volatile spiroacetals from the venom of both the common wasp, Vespula vulgaris and the German wasp V. germanica, viz. 7-methyl-1,6-dioxaspiro[4,5]decane and 7-ethyl-2-methyl-1,6-dioxaspiro-[4,5]decane, respectively, were synthesized by known methods. These acetals, along with N-isopentylacetamide (the major volatile amide from wasp venom), 2-heptanone (a honeybee pheromone), 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol (a component of hornet venom), cuticle wax from V. vulgaris, and venom sacs from both wasp species were assayed by EAG and olfactory bioassay for attractancy to V. vulgaris workers. Antennal responses to all test chemicals were recorded. Acetal isomers (±)-2 and (±)-3, N-isopentylacetamide, and 2-heptanone were attractive to V. vulgaris workers at levels of <1 μmol. Greater quantities of the same compounds were repellent to V. vulgaris workers.     

Attention-based multi-modal fusion for improved real estate appraisal: a case study in Los Angeles

Multimedia Tools and Applications - The geographical presentation of a house, which refers to the sightseeing and topography near the house, is a critical factor to a house buyer. The street map is...     

The effects of electronic alert letters for internet surveys of academic scientists

Scientometrics - Survey alert letters improve response rates and assure potential respondents that the research is legitimate and of high quality. Pre-notification by mail increases response rates...     

A Liquid‐Metal–Elastomer Nanocomposite for Stretchable Dielectric Materials

Stretchable high‐dielectric‐constant materials are crucial for electronic applications in emerging domains such as wearable computing and soft robotics. While previous efforts have shown promising materials architectures in the form of dielectric nano‐/microinclusions embedded in stretchable matrices, the limited mechanical compliance of these materials significantly limits their practical application as soft energy‐harvesting/storage transducers and actuators. Here, a class of liquid metal (LM)–elastomer nanocomposites is presented with elastic and dielectric properties that make them uniquely suited for applications in soft‐matter engineering. In particular, the role of droplet size is examined and it is found that embedding an elastomer with a polydisperse distribution of nanoscale LM inclusions can enhance its electrical permittivity without significantly degrading its elastic compliance, stretchability, or dielectric breakdown strength. In contrast, elastomers embedded with microscale droplets exhibit similar improvements in permittivity but a dramatic reduction in breakdown strength. The unique enabling properties and practicality of LM–elastomer nanocomposites for use in soft machines and electronics is demonstrated through enhancements in performance of a dielectric elastomer actuator and energy‐harvesting transducer.     

A mixed-integer programming approach for solving university course timetabling problems

Journal of Scheduling - This article presents a mixed-integer programming model for solving the university timetabling problem which considers the allocation of students to classes and the...     

Modeling and iterative learning control of spatially distributed parameter systems with sensing and actuation over a selected area of the domain

Multidimensional Systems and Signal Processing - This paper gives new contributions to the development of iterative learning control for distributed parameter systems, based on using finite...     

Structural analysis of binary executable headers for malware detection optimization

In the context of the OpenDAVFI project (a fork of the French initiative DAVFI for giving birth to a new generation, open antivirus engine which has been funded by the French Government), different AV filters have been developped and chained to detect both known and unknown malware very accurately while requiring a very limited number of updates. While most AV software use different static and dynamic detection techniques which are mostly based on the general concept of (static or heuristic) signature, we have observed that many malware do not comply to the Microsoft specifications with respect to the MZ-PE format. In this technical correspondence, we present structural analysis tests which have been implemented in the DAVFI/OpenDAVFi project. These tests accurately detect malware and therefore greatly reduce the number of malware that have to be analyzed by subsequent modules in our detection chain.