A Posture Control Model and Balance Test for the Prediction of Relative Postural Stability

A balance testing methodology has been developed based on a posture control model which defines relative stability by the degree to which a transient postural perturbation causes the center-of-pressure on the feet to approach the limits of the base-of-support. To minimize anticipatory adaptations and to ensure subject safety, the balance test uses a small-amplitude continuous random or pseudo-random perturbation. The data are used to identify an input-output model, which is then used to predict large-amplitude transient response. Sixtyfour normal subjects were tested, as well as five patients with vestibular lesions and five elderly subjects with a history of falling. Tests were performed with eyes open (EO) and blindfolded (BF), and the EO/BF ratio was calculated. The results showed highly significant differences between young (20-40) and elderly (61-79) normals, but no differences between males and females. In using the balance test to identify the balance-impaired individuals, the BF and EO/BF data provided higher success rates than the EO data. Depending on the modeling method used, the balance test was able to identify up to three of five vestibular patients and five of five elderly fallers, at a false positive rate of 25 percent in the normal subjects.     

国际化学纤维大会庆祝40华诞

今年9月19- 21日在奥地利Dornbirn举办的第40届国际化学纤维大会把重点放在3个主题：汽车用纺织品、家用纺织品和运动服装。来自30个国家的750多位代表参加了本届会议。由于“9.11”恐怖事件，一些欧洲以外的代表取消了参加会议的计划。在大会的开幕式上，奥地利化学纤维研究所主任兼兰精公司的董事 Franz Raninger 博士发言。他说，2000年，化学纤维行业经历了兴旺的一年，增长了6 %。预计今年将继续增长。但是，信息技术泡沫的破灭，使我们回到现实中。美国经济停滞不前，欧洲和亚洲的生意已经滑坡，日本也已进入经济衰退时期，只有中国…     

An algorithm for the selection problem

A refinement to a well-known selection algorithm is described. The refinement results in a useful improvement in the performance of the original algorithm, particularly when the selection index is small relative to the median.     

The ({beta}{alpha})8 glycosidases: sequence and structure analyses suggest distant evolutionary relationships

There are currently at least nine distinct glycosidase sequencefamilies which are all known to adopt a TIM barrel fold [Henrissat,B.and Davies,G. (1997) Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol., 7, 637–644].To explore the relationships between these enzymes and theirevolution, comprehensive sequence and structure comparisonswere performed, generating four distinct clusters. The firstcluster, S1, comprises the     

A test of subliminal symbiotic activation as a means of alleviating depression.

Thirty-six depressive subjects were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. Group 1 subjects received 60 subliminal presentations of a slide of two figures and the words MOMMY AND I ARE ONE for male subjects and DADDY AND I ARE ONE for female subjects. Group 2 subjects received 60 subliminal slide presentations of a single figure with the words PEOPLE ARE WALKING. Group 3 subjects did not receive a slide. A pretest and posttest Beck Depression Inventory was administered to assess depression increase or decrease. The "subliminal" therapy was carried out over four different sessions. The data show that Group 1 subjects significantly reduced depression scores from pretest to posttest, whereas the subjects in Groups 2 and 3 did not reduce depression scores. Discussion is centered on comparisons of the data with past findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Numerical analysis of density-induced segregation during die filling

In this study, segregation behaviour of binary granular mixtures with the same particle size but different densities during die filling in the presence of air was investigated using a combined discrete element method (DEM) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach, in which the kinematics of particles was modelled using DEM, the motion of air was analysed using CFD and a two-way coupling of the particles and the air was incorporated. The depositions of powder from stationary and moving shoes into the die cavities of different geometries were simulated and the corresponding segregation behaviours were analysed. It has been found that, for die filling from a stationary shoe, the concentration distributions of the heavy and light particles along the die width mainly depend on the initial spatial distribution of the granular mixture in the shoe. For die filling from a moving shoe, a low concentration of light particles on the leading side of the die (referring to the direction of the shoe motion) is observed for die filling with a square die, in which the process is dominated by nose flow. The density difference can cause segregation along the die depth with a low concentration of light particles at the bottom. The presence of air enhances this segregation tendency by resisting the flow of light particles into the bottom of the die and causes a higher concentration of the light particles at the top. Finally, the segregation index, defined as the volume weighted root-mean-square deviation in the content of light particles, was introduced to quantify the degree of segregation in the horizontal and vertical directions. It has been found that the degree of segregation is determined by the presence of air and also the powder flow pattern.     

2009显示周回顾：触控技术

在2009显示周上,触控技术取得了令人惊讶的突破,触控屏数目剧增,并且性能也得到提升。     

Adaptive HVAC zone modeling for sustainable buildings

Control of energy flows within a building is critical to achieving optimal performance of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. To design optimal HVAC control strategies, a dynamic model of the HVAC system - particularly the building zones that it services - is essential. As analysis of building energy consumption is facilitated by the accurate prediction of indoor environmental conditions, techniques that dynamically model HVAC zones are crucial, and as such, is an active area of research. This paper focuses on real-time HVAC zone model fitting and prediction techniques based on physical principles, as well as the use of genetic algorithms for optimization. The proposed approach is validated by comparing real-time HVAC zone model fitting and prediction against the corresponding experimental measurements. In addition, comparison with prediction results using an algorithm based on feedback-delayed Kalman filters has demonstrated the superiority of the proposed approach in terms of prediction accuracy.