Multiplicative phase-shifting interferometry using optical flow

Fringe patterns with a multiplicative phase shift among them appear in experimental techniques as photoelasticity and RGB shadow moiré, among others. These patterns cannot be processed using standard phase-shifting demodulation techniques. In this work, we propose to use a multiframe regularized optical flow algorithm to obtain the interesting modulating phase. The proposed technique has been applied to simulated and experimental interferograms obtaining satisfactory results.     

Synthesis and characterization of ZnO nanorod films for photocatalytic disinfection of contaminated water

The growth of ZnO nanorods on a flat substrate was studied as a function of the main parameters used in their preparation and their ability to photocatalytically eliminate bacteria in water.The seed layer was obtained, by a spray pyrolysis technique, from a zinc acetate solution. Subsequently, to grow the rods, the seeds were immersed in a basic solution of zinc nitrate maintained at 90 °C. The growth parameters, thickness of the seed layer, acidity of the precursor solution used to obtain the seed layer, and the rate of crystal growth on the seed layer during the thermal bath treatment, were studied.The resulting materials were characterized morphologically by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM); X-ray diffraction and TEM were used to study their structure and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy to determine their absorbance. Most of the obtained materials were textured in the (002) direction perpendicular to the substrate. The rods have a hexagonal cross section between 60 and 150 nm. Using these rods, the photocatalytic degradation of Escherichia coli bacteria in water was studied; a positive influence of the surface area and crystalline growth on the degradation rate was observed.     

Synthesis of new silicas with high stable and large mesopores and macropores for biocatalysis applications

Monomodal or bimodal porous silicas with large mesopores, constituted by particles or having a monolithic (block type) morphology, respectively, are synthesized using sodium silicate as siliceous species source, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as pore template and ethyl acetate (EtAc) as pH modifier. The monomodal porosity is represented by 20–30 nm pores and the bimodal one by these pores and also macropores. These characteristics are modulated in function of the CTAB and EtAc concentrations as well as the pH and hydrothermal treatment. The role of these reagents upon the porosity is rationalized. The presence of high CTAB concentration and a rather low pH decreasing rate (function of EtAc concentration and hydrothermal treatment) are essential for having the already known bimodal mesoporous silicas (BMS). On the contrary a rather high pH decreasing rate promotes the formation of the new bimodal mesoporous–macroporous silicas (BMMS) synthesized in this work, where the EtAc also plays the role of emulsion forming agent. The hydrolytic stability of the synthesized silica under aqueous conditions, at different pH values, makes these silicas good candidates for application in different areas of catalysis, especially in the enzymatic one.     

Functional Chromatography Reveals Three Natural Products that Target the Same Protein with Distinct Mechanisms of Action

Access to lead compounds with defined molecular targets continues to be a barrier to the translation of natural product resources. As a solution, we developed a system that uses discrete, recombinant proteins as the vehicles for natural product isolation. Here, we describe the use of this functional chromatographic method to identify natural products that bind to the AAA+ chaperone, p97, a promising cancer target. Application of this method to a panel of fungal and plant extracts identified rheoemodin, 1‐hydroxydehydroherbarin, and phomapyrrolidone A as distinct p97 modulators. Excitingly, each of these molecules displayed a unique mechanism of p97 modulation. This discovery provides strong support for the application of functional chromatography to the discovery of protein modulators that would likely escape traditional high‐throughput or phenotypic screening platforms.     

On the role of spectral resolution in velocity shear layer measurements by Doppler reflectometry

The signal quality of a Doppler reflectometer depends strongly on its spectral resolution, which is influenced by the microwave beam properties and the radius of curvature of the cutoff layer in the plasma. If measured close to a strong perpendicular velocity shear layer, the spectrum of the backscattered signal is influenced by different velocities. This can give rise to two Doppler shifted peaks in the spectrum as observed in TJ-II H-mode plasmas. It is shown by two-dimensional full wave simulations that the two peaks are separable provided the spectral resolution of the system is sufficient. However, if the spectral resolution is poor, the two peaks blend into one and yield an intermediate and incorrect velocity.     

A methodology to define a reconfigurable system architecture for a compact heat exchanger assembly machine

Due to the unexpected, fast, and constant changes of market requirements and the hypercompetency, robust manufacturing systems are needed that adjust easily to operational variability and the customized product supply. The simply substitution of components, software, hardware, and/or their adaptation by parameters resetting are an attractive option to face this challenge. Short product life cycles are an undeniable consequence and evidence of this. For this reason, to develop products or services profitably in the product manufacturing field, it is common to use the product family concept, which involves sharing components, functional features, and manufacturing process, both to make a cheaper product development process and to obtain customized products. A new generation of manufacturing systems that deploy characteristics such as adaptability and flexibility responding to the market dynamics called reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMS) are required by market according to manufacturing experts. The manufacturing systems with modular architecture are the best way to meet flexible and adaptable RMSs because they allow reconfiguration by a simple module substitution or by resetting module operation parameters. This paper presents a design methodology developed to obtain modular RMS. The method integrates the utilization of modular architecture principles, selection algorithms (analytical hierarchical process), clustering algorithms (average linkage clustering algorithm), family product features and functional system analysis in the classical product design process. The methodology proposed allows defining the most adequate modular system architecture and the modular definition of the reconfiguration variables that are needed to reach the flexibility required. A real study case about a heat exchanger assembly machine is presented where this methodology is applied in order to present an evidence of its usefulness.     

Parametric study of the use and optimization of tuned mass dampers to control the wind‐ and seismic‐induced responses of a slender monument

Passive energy dissipation devices have been used around the world to mitigate the response of structures under dynamic excitations, such as wind or seismic loading. The use of tuned mass dampers (TMD) in tall and slender buildings to reduce unwanted responses has proved to be very effective. The main purpose of this work is to study the structural behavior of a 115‐m‐height slender monument fitted with TMDs subjected to simulated wind and seismic loading. Turbulent wind forces were calculated based on samples of turbulent wind speed simulated with an auto regressive and moving average (ARMA) model. Ground motions compatible with a seismic site spectrum were also simulated. An optimization approach is suggested to determine the parameters of the TMDs that reduce the structural response to the maximum. The effectiveness of the TMDs for reducing the structural response of the monument is discussed in detail, and the use of optimally tuned TMDs is emphasized.     

A method to extract mobility degradation and total seriesresistance of fully-depleted SOI MOSFETs

Free-carrier mobility degradation in the channel and drain/source series resistance are two important parameters limiting the performance of MOS devices. In this paper, we present a method to extract these parameters from the drain current versus gate voltage characteristics of fully-depleted (FD) SOI MOSFETs operating in the saturation region. This method is developed based on an integration function which reduces errors associated with the extraction procedure and on the DC characteristics of MOS devices having several different channel lengths. Simulation results and measured data of FD SOI MOSFETs are used to test and verify the method developed     

Analysis of the propagation of leaky magnetostatic modes in normally magnetized microstrip and slot lines

The propagation of leaky forward magnetostatic (MS) volume waves along ferrite-loaded microstrip and slot lines is analyzed. This phenomenon is studied by means of a numerical approach based on the residue calculus technique because of its good numerical convergence and stability. The proposed method allows for a quick and accurate computation of the phase and attenuation constants of the leaky MS modes. A comparative analysis between both microstrip lines and slot lines is carried out, and some new physical effects, such as MS resonances in the radiation loss, are reported. The advantages of the proposed method of analysis over other numerical methods, such as Galerkin's or moment methods, are also discussed.     

The danger of high-frequency spurious effects on wide microstrip line

It has been found that remarkably severe spurious effects can occur in the current excited on microstrip line at moderate to high frequency, when the strip is wide (approximately w/h > 3). This newly observed effect occurs because one or more leaky modes (LMs) approaches the branch point at k/sub 0/ in the complex longitudinal wavenumber plane. When this happens, the attenuation (leakage) constant of these LMs becomes very small. Hence, the LMs can propagate to very large distances along the line with only minimal attenuation. This effect only occurs when the strip is fairly wide, and at certain frequencies. When it occurs, the effect can be disastrous since the continuous-spectrum (radiation) part of the current on the strip then decays very slowly with distance from the source so that the total strip current excited by the source exhibits spurious oscillations out to very large distances from the source. An approximate design rule for predicting this effect is given, which is accurate for wide strips (approximately w/h > 6). The LMs that are responsible for this effect are identified, and the behavior of these modes are studied for different strip widths.