Geometric-optics-integral-equation method for light scattering by nonspherical ice crystals

A new geometric-optics model has been developed for the calculation of the single-scattering and polarization properties for arbitrarily oriented hexagonal ice crystals. The model uses the ray-tracing technique to solve the near field on the ice crystal surface, which is then transformed to the far field on the basis of the electromagnetic equivalence theorem. From comparisons with the results computed by the finite-difference time domain method, we show that the novel geometric-optics method can be applied to the computation of the extinction cross section and single-scattering albedo for ice crystals with size parameters along the minimum dimension as small as ~6. Overall agreement has also been obtained for the phase function when size parameters along the minimum dimension are larger than ~20. We demonstrate that the present model converges to the conventional ray-tracing method for large size parameters and produces single-scattering results close to those computed by the finite-difference time domain method for size parameters along the minimum dimension smaller than ~20. The present geometric-optics method can therefore bridge the gap between the conventional ray-tracing and the exact numerical methods that are applicable to large and small size parameters, respectively.     

Protein topology of presenilin 1

Mutations in a gene encoding a multitransmembrane protein, termed presenilin 1 (PS1), are causative in the majority of early-onset cases of AD. To determine the topology of PS1, we utilized two strategies: first, we tested whether putative transmembranes are sufficient to export a protease-sensitive substrate across a lipid bilayer; and second, we examined the binding of antibodies to specific PS1 epitopes in cultured cells selectively permeabilized with the pore-forming toxin, streptolysin-O. We document that the "loop," N-terminal, and C-terminal domains of PS1 are oriented toward the cytoplasm.     

Drugs and homicide by women

In this paper we use data derived from interviews with 215 female homicide offenders incarcerated or on parole in New York to examine their drug use prior to and at the time of the homicide, their victims' drug use, and their perceptions as to the drug-relatedness of the homicides. We found that about 7 out of 10 respondents had been regular users of some drug at some point in their lives prior to their incarceration, while over half had been addicted to a substance. Over one-third of the respondents who were present at the scene were "high" on a drug at the time, while about half of the victims of these homicides used drugs before the homicide. Almost two-thirds of the homicides committed by respondents who were present at the scene were perceived to be drug-related. Alcohol, crack, and powdered cocaine were the drugs most likely to be related to these homicides. The implications of our findings are discussed.     

T–S fuzzy model-based tracking control of a one-dimensional manipulator actuated by pneumatic artificial muscles

Pneumatic artificial muscle (PAM) has highly nonlinear and time-varying behavior due to gas compression and nonlinear elasticity of the bladder containers. Hence, it is difficult to achieve excellent tracking performance when using classical control methods. This study proposes a Takagi–Sugeno (T–S) fuzzy model-based control for improving control performance. The proposed approach decomposes the model of a nonlinear system into a set of linear subsystems. This allows, the T–S fuzzy model-based controller to use simple linear control techniques providing a systematic framework for the design of a state feedback controller. Stability analysis is carried out using Lyapunov direct method. The powerful LMI Toolbox in MATLAB is employed to solve linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) to obtain the controller gains. Experimental results verified that the proposed controller can achieve excellent tracking performance under different disturbances.     

An integrated method for finding key suppliers in SCM

Association rule is a widely used data mining technique that searches through an entire data set for rules revealing the nature and frequency of relationships or associations between data entities. Supplier selection is a significant work in supply chain management. Often, there will be thousands of potential suppliers and identifying a subset of these suppliers can be a complex process of determining a satisfactory subset based on a number of factors. In this paper, the supplier selection can be viewed as the problem of mining a large database of shipment. The proposed method incorporates the extended association rule algorithm of data mining with that of set theory to find key suppliers. This research has employed a numerical example for the integrated method to develop suitable supplier clusters. The results show that the method is effective and applicable.     

Assessment of drivers' visual perception of information displayed in LED traffic signs at road construction sites

This study investigated drivers' visual perception of information displayed in LED traffic signs under different levels of environmental luminance. Concerning the information displayed, the environmental luminance comprised four luminance contrasts, two arrow types, and three environmental luminances, which were used to identify the visibility of traffic signs at the reading distance. Regarding visible distance, visibility involved reading starting and end points, extent of glare, comfortable distance, and glare distance. According to the study results obtained by using a highly reliable glare assessment method and studying the LED traffic signs, the lower the luminance contrast of traffic signs was the higher glare the participants perceived. A luminance contrast of 6200:2066 cd/m² provided the farthest comfortable and glare distances, enabling drivers to notice the signs comparatively earlier and have sufficient time to react accordingly. Overall, arrow type “<<<” outperformed “←” because the former was easier for drivers to read and created less glare. Regarding environmental luminance, traffic signs displayed in high and medium luminance environments (i.e., extremely sunny and cloudy days, respectively) each featured their own advantage, whereas those displayed in low luminance environments (nights) have to be further improved.     

Heat transfer in microchannel devices using DSMC

The heat transfer characteristics of supersonic flows in microchannels is studied using direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. The velocity components and the spatial coordinates of the simulated particles are calculated and recorded by using a variable-hard-sphere (VHS) collision model. The effects of Knudsen number (Kn) on the heat transfer of the microchannel flows are examined. The results show that the magnitude of the temperature jump at the wall increases with increasing Kn. The heat transfer to the isothermal wall is found to increase significantly with Kn. The possible causes for the increase of wall heat transfer are discussed     

Output regulation of two-time-scale hyperbolic PDE systems

This paper addresses the output regulation of flow systems described by a class of two-time-scale nonlinear PDE systems. Within the framework of singular perturbation, the reduced-order slow model comprised of first-order PDEs coupled with ODEs is obtained. Based on the numerical approximation technique and the solvability of an inertial manifold, the finite-dimensional nonlinear model with nonlinear input is developed in this paper. Extending from the geometric control method, the non-distributed nonlinear controller can be synthesized. A combination of the state-space internal model control scheme, the reduced observer-based controller can asymptotically attenuate the effect of external disturbances. Finally, the developed methodologies are successfully applied to the development of a PFR system asscociated with the cooling coil apparatus.     

Integral-equation representations of flow elastoplasticity derived from rate-equation models

Summary Two integral-equation representations are presented in this paper, based on the exact integrations of the conventional rate-equation model of associativeJ ₂ flow elastoplasticity with combined-isotropic-kinematic hardening-softening. Among them the strain-controlled integral-equation representation has two new naturally defined material functionsY(Z) andU(Z) of the normalized active workZ, which plays the role of intrinsic time. One of the immediate benefits derivable from the new representations is, owing to the explicit unfolding of the highly nonlinear path-dependence between stress and strain without a detour to the evolutions of internal state variables, their adaptability for direct calculations without any iteration. Indeed, it is itself a constructive algorithm. It is shown that at a realistic level of precision, the strain-controlled integral-equation representation saves 99% or more of the CPU time compared with the widely used elastic predictor-radial return algorithm of the rate-equation representation.List of symbols e _ij ,e _ij ^e ,e _ij ^p strain deviator, elastic strain deviator, plastic strain deviator - effective strain - ^p effective plastic strain - e ₁,e ₂,e ₃ principal strain deviator,e ₃=–e ₁–e ₂ - e _tan,e _rad tangential strain increment, radial strain increment - E Young's modulus, assumed to be constant - f yield function in stress space - F yield function in strain space - G shear modulus, assumed to be constant - G(Z ₁,Z ₂) shear relaxation function of elastoplasticity - h( ^p ),k( ^p ) material functions of plasticity for the stress-space rate-equation representation - material functions of plasticity for the strain-space rate-equation representation - I ₂ second invariant of the deviatoric strain tensor - J ₂ second invariant of the deviatoric stress tensor - J(z ₁,z ₂) shear creep function of elastoplasticity - K bulk modulus, assumed to be constant - p dummy variable of integration in place of the effective plastic strain - r _ij active stress - R _ij active strain - effective active-stress, i.e. times Euclidean length of active stress - effective active-strain, i.e. times Euclidean length of active strain - S _ij ,S _ij ^e ,S _ij ^r stress deviator, elastic stress deviator, stress relaxation - effective stress - effective stress relaxation - S ₁,S ₂,S ₃ principal stress deviator,S ₃=–S ₁–S ₂ - t, , , time - t ₀ zero-value time - t _u latest unloading time - y(z), u(z) material functions of plasticity for the stress-controlled integral-equation representation - Y(Z), U(Z) material functions of plasticity for the strain-controlled integral-equation representation - z normalized active complementary-work - material functions defined for use in convertingh( ^p ) andk( ^p ) toy(z) andu(z) - Z normalized active work - material functions defined for use in convertingh( ^p ) andk( ^p ) toY(Z) andU(Z) - _ij back stress - A _ij back strain - _ij , _ij ^e , _ij ^p strain, elastic strain, plastic strain - _y (initial) yield strain, _y =h(0)/2G - Poisson's ratio assumed to be constant - _ij , _ij ^e , _ij ^r stress, elastic stress, stress relaxation - _y (initial) yield stress, yield strength, _y =h(0)