Diagnosis of Equipment Failures by Pattern Recognition

The main problems in relation to automatic fault finding and diagnosis in equipments or production systems are discussed: 1) compression of the syndrome and observation spaces for better discrimination between failure modes; 2) simultaneous display of the failure patterns and the failure instants, for maintenance control and review of the reliability design; 3) automatic production of a final set of diagnosis assumptions classified according to their probabilities. 4) sequencing of the inspections in accordance with the failure rates and inspection costs.     

Cell culture imaging using microimpedance tomography

We present a novel, inexpensive, and fast microimpedance tomography system for two-dimensional imaging of cell and tissue cultures. The system is based on four-electrode measurements using 16 planar microelectrodes (5 microm x 4 mm) integrated into a culture chamber. An Agilent 4294A impedance analyzer combined with a front-end amplifier is used for the impedance measurements. Two-dimensional images are obtained using a reconstruction algorithm. This system is capable of accurately resolving the shape and position of a human hair, yielding vertical cross sections of the object. Human epithelial stem cells (YF 29) are also grown directly on the device surface. Tissue growth can be followed over several days. A rapid resistivity decrease caused by permeabilized cell membranes is also monitored, suggesting that this technique can be used in electroporation studies.     

Performance Evaluation of Video Streaming Over Ad Hoc Networks Using Flat and Hierarchical Routing Protocols

A performance evaluation of real time services (such as video streaming) over mobile ad-hoc networks using both hierarchical and flat routing protocols is shown in this paper. A variety of workload and scenarios, as characterized by mobility, load and size of the ad hoc network have been simulated using NS-2. We use OLSR (Optimized Link State Protocol) as the flat routing protocol and our own implementation of HOLSR (Hierarchical OLSR)—which uses HNA (Host and Network Association) messages—as the hierarchical one, modifying other previous HOLSR version and maintaining the maximum compatibility with the flat OLSR. We carry out a complete comparison between these protocols focused on video evaluation. The simulation lets us compare the quality of service (QoS) of the video streaming paying attention to objective parameters (PSNR, packet delivery ratio, packet delay and interruptions). Some drawbacks of the hierarchical environment are also analyzed, as the link load between cluster heads and the lack of QoS-state-aware in HOLSR design. Quantitative results indicate that the protocol overhead is reduced (more than 40% in larger networks) and the video quality is improved (from 1 to 6 dB in certain cases) using hierarchical protocols.     

Sustainability of the four generations of biofuels – A review

Biofuel has emerged as an alternative source of energy to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and combat global warming. Biofuels are classified into first, second, third and fourth generations. Each of the biofuel generations aims to meet the global energy demand while minimizing environmental impacts. Sustainability is defined as meeting the needs of the current generations without jeopardizing the needs of future generations. The aim of sustainability is to ensure continuous growth of the economy while protecting the environment and societal needs. Thus, this paper aims to evaluate the sustainability of these four generations of biofuels. The objectives are to compare the production of biofuel, the net greenhouse gases emissions, and energy efficiency. This study is important in providing information for the policymakers and researchers in the decision-making for the future development of green energy. Each of the biofuel generations shows different benefits and drawbacks. From this study, we conclude that the first generation biofuel has the highest biofuel production and energy efficiency, but is less effective in meeting the goal of reducing the greenhouse gases emission. The third generation biofuel shows the lowest net greenhouse gases emissions, allowing the reduction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. However, the energy required for the processing of the third generation biofuel is higher and, this makes it less environmentally friendly as fossil fuels are used to generate electricity. The third and fourth generation feedstocks are the potential sustainable source for the future production of biofuel. However, more studies need to be done to find an alternative low cost for biofuel production while increasing energy efficiency.     

A review of synthesis and morphology of SrTiO3 for energy and other applications

With the increasing demand and depleting trend of commercial energies, it has forced the researchers all over the world to accelerate research and development in the area of renewable energy. Currently, unique and interesting features of binary compounds have gained more attention by researchers, and it became a favourite research topic among various groups of researchers around this world. It was noticed that strontium titanate (SrTiO₃) consists of several extraordinary properties that can apply for miscellaneous applications especially for energy storage, fuel cells, as well as to generate hydrogen fuel via photocatalysis process. Besides that, it was noticed that SrTiO₃ can be synthesised in different pathways. The method of preparation and amount of precursors can affect the surface properties of SrTiO₃. Thus, this article presents a critical review on how SrTiO₃ synthesis methods affect its surface morphology and the applications of SrTiO₃ in various fields.     

Customizing MRI-Compatible Multifunctional Neural Interfaces through Fiber Drawing

Fiber drawing enables scalable fabrication of multifunctional flexible fibers that integrate electrical, optical, and microfluidic modalities to record and modulate neural activity. Constraints on thermomechanical properties of materials, however, have prevented integrated drawing of metal electrodes with low-loss polymer waveguides for concurrent electrical recording and optical neuromodulation. Here, two fabrication approaches are introduced: 1) an iterative thermal drawing with a soft, low melting temperature (T_m) metal indium, and 2) a metal convergence drawing with traditionally non-drawable high T_m metal tungsten. Both approaches deliver multifunctional flexible neural interfaces with low-impedance metallic electrodes and low-loss waveguides, capable of recording optically-evoked and spontaneous neural activity in mice over several weeks. These fibers are coupled with a light-weight mechanical microdrive (1 g) that enables depth-specific interrogation of neural circuits in mice following chronic implantation. Finally, the compatibility of these fibers with magnetic resonance imaging is demonstrated and they are applied to visualize the delivery of chemical payloads through the integrated channels in real time. Together, these advances expand the domains of application of the fiber-based neural probes in neuroscience and neuroengineering.     

Slanted Stixels: A Way to Represent Steep Streets

International Journal of Computer Vision - This work presents and evaluates a novel compact scene representation based on Stixels that infers geometric and semantic information. Our approach...