A channel reservation and preemption model using overlapping regions in sector‐based cellular networks

This paper presents a channel reservation and preemption (CRP) model using overlapping regions in a cellular network with multiple sectors. To fully exploit and reuse the frequencies, directional antennas are installed on base stations (BSs) to divide the coverage into a number of equal‐sized sectors. When traffic is unevenly distributed across the sectors in a BS, channel utilization in every sector may become very different; low‐traffic sectors may be underutilized while high‐traffic sectors may be overutilized. A CRP scheme is thus proposed to more efficiently utilize free channels among sectors. CRP aims at reducing the dropping probabilities of handoff calls. Specifically, when free channels in a sector are not available, a handoff call, instead of being dropped, is allowed to preempt an ongoing call residing in the overlapping region of two adjacent sectors or two neighbor cells. Under CRP, the preempted ongoing call will not be disconnected, because it can switch over its service to the BS of a neighbor cell or to another directional antenna of an adjacent sector. For the purpose of evaluation, we build an analytical model for the proposed CRP using six‐tuple Markov chains. Analytical results show that the proposed CRP can significantly reduce the dropping probabilities of inter‐sector handoff calls, particularly when traffic between two sectors is not evenly distributed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Techno-economical optimization of hybrid pv/wind/battery system using Neuro-Fuzzy

High cost of renewable energy systems has led to its slow adoption in many countries. Hence, it is vital to select an appropriate size of the system in order to reduce the cost and excess energy produced as well as to maximize the available resources. The sizing of hybrid system must satisfy the LPSP (Loss of Power Supply Probability) which determines the ability of the system to meet the load requirements. Once the lowest configurations are determined, the cost of the system must then be taken into consideration to determine the system with the lowest cost. The optimization methodology proposed in this paper uses the ANFIS (Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System) to model the PV and wind sources. The algorithm developed is compared to HOMER (Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables) and HOGA (Hybrid Optimization by Genetic Algorithms) software and the results demonstrate an accuracy of 96% for PV and wind. The optimized system is simulated in PSCAD/EMTDC and the results show that low excess energy is achieved. The optimized system is also able to supply power to the load without any renewable sources for a longer period, while conforming to the desired LPSP.     

Patterns of psoriatic arthritis in Orientals

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical features of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in a multiethnic Oriental population and to study the effect of ethnicity on disease patterns. METHODS: A retrospective study of 80 patients with PsA seen at either a rheumatology or dermatology referral center. Patients and case records were reviewed and data abstracted according to a standard protocol. Eighty consecutive patients with psoriasis without PsA seen at the dermatology center were recruited as controls. RESULTS: Asymmetric polyarthritis developing in the 4th decade with an equal male to female ratio was the commonest pattern of arthritis among Chinese, Indians, and Malays. Clinically apparent lumbar spondylitis was significantly more common in Indians than Chinese (10/11 vs 11/20, respectively; p = 0.046), although the prevalence of lumbar spondylitis was similar in all ethnic groups. Eighty-nine percent of subjects required nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and 51% required disease modifying antirheumatic drugs at some time for control of joint disease. PsA was significantly more common among Indians compared to the ethnic distribution of the Singapore population (p < 0.000001). Multiple logistic regression identified Indian ethnicity as a risk factor for the development of PsA (OR 2.39, 95% confidence interval 1.02 to 5.60). CONCLUSION: The commonest pattern of PsA in all ethnic groups was asymmetric polyarthritis. Ethnicity affected the development and presentation of PsA in our series: Indians with psoriasis had double the risk of developing PsA compared to Chinese with psoriasis, and lumbar spondylitis when present in Chinese subjects was asymptomatic in 45%, being detectable only on radiological examination.     

Determination of seven preservatives in cosmetic products by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

A micellar electrokinetic chromatography method using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a cationic surfactant, coupled with UV–Vis detection, was developed for the simultaneous determination of seven preservatives, including methyl‐, ethyl‐, propyl‐ and butyl‐paraben and phenol, phenoxyethanol and resorcinol. The method involved optimizing the pH of the phosphate buffer and concentrations of CTAB, ethanol and 2‐hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin (HP‐β‐CD). The preservatives were well separated using optimum conditions and separated within 10 min at a separation voltage of ?12.5 kV with the 1.0 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) containing 90 mM CTAB, 25 mM HP‐β‐CD and 10% (v/v) ethanol. Satisfactory recoveries (84.1–103.0%), migration time (RSD < 3.1%) and peak area (RSD < 4.5%) repeatabilities were achieved. Detection limits of the preservatives were between 0.31 and 1.52 μg mL^?1 (S/N = 3, n = 5). The optimized method was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of these preservatives in 10 commercial cosmetic products.     

Pheromone regulated production of inositol-(1, 4, 5)-trisphosphate in the mammalian vomeronasal organ

Social behaviors of most mammals are profoundly affected by chemical signals, pheromones, exchanged between conspecifics. Pheromones interact with dendritic microvilli of bipolar neurons in the vomeronasal organ (VNO). To investigate vomeronasal signal transduction pathways, microvillar membranes from porcine VNO were prepared. Incubation of such membranes from prepubertal females with boar seminal fluid or urine results in an increase in production of inositol-(1, 4, 5)-trisphosphate (IP3). The dose response for IP3 production is biphasic with a GTP-dependent component at low stimulus concentrations and a nonspecific increase in IP3 at higher stimulus concentrations. The GTP-dependent stimulation is mimicked by GTPgammaS and blocked by GDPbetaS. Furthermore, the GTP-dependent component of the stimulation of IP3 production is sex specific and tissue dependent. Studies with monospecific antibodies reveal a G alpha(q/11)-related protein in vomeronasal neurons, concentrated at their microvilli. Our observations indicate that pheromones in boar secretions act on vomeronasal neurons in the female VNO via a receptor mediated, G protein-dependent increase in IP3. These observations set the stage for further investigations on the regulation of stimulus-excitation coupling in vomeronasal neurons. The pheromone-induced IP3 response also provides an assay for future purification of mammalian reproductive pheromones.     

A wave flume experiment for studying erosion mechanism of revetments using geotextiles

Unfavorable erosion to a revetment can affect the stability of the bank and may jeopardize the safety of adjacent structures, thus improvement work is needed to increase the stability of the revetment as well as reducing the possibility of failure. The use of geotextiles as a protection material for banks is not only environmentally friendly, but also stable in the long run. However, improper design of geotextiles may cause considerable loss of soil, which might result in failure. The actual flow behavior in revetments using geotextiles is rather complicated and can be categorized into three zones, namely, the uni-directional flow zone, the cyclic flow zone, and the tangential flow zone. In this study, a wave flume experiment was performed on model revetments using two kinds of geotextiles as the filter material to prevent erosion induced by cyclic flows. Soil migration behaviors were monitored. Furthermore, two kinds of cover blocks, riprap and concrete blocks, were carefully placed on the revetments in order to avoid puncture and abrasion of geotextiles during construction of revetments. The main purpose of this study is to elucidate the erosion control and filtration performance of soil-geotextile filtration systems under wave action. Two nonwoven needle punched geotextiles were tested. The geotextiles both have the same characteristic opening size, but have a different number of constrictions and different structures. One is a thin double-layer nonwoven material consisting of continuous filaments and the other is a thick one-layer nonwoven material consisting of short fibers.     

Rational Design of Charge‐Neutral,Near‐Infrared‐Emitting Osmium(II) Complexes and OLED Fabrication

A new series of charge neutral Os(II) isoquinolyl triazolate complexes ( 1 – 4 ) with both trans and cis arrangement of phosphine donors are synthesized, and their structural, electrochemical and photophysical properties are established. In sharp contrast to the cis‐arranged complexes 2 – 4 , the trans derivative 1 , which shows a planar arrangement of chromophoric N‐substituted chelates, offers the most effective extended π‐delocalization and hence the lowest excited state energy gap. These complexes exhibit phosphorescence with peak wavelengths ranging from 692–805 nm in degassed CH₂Cl₂ at room temperature. Near‐infrared (NIR)‐emitting electroluminescent devices employing 6 wt % of 1 (or 4 ) doped in Alq₃ host material are successfully fabricated. The devices incorporating 1 as NIR phosphor exhibit fairly intense emission with a peak wavelength at 814 nm. Forward radiant emittance reaches as high as 65.02 µW cm^?2, and a peak EQE of ～1.5% with devices employing Alq₃, TPBi and/or TAZ as electron‐transporting/exciton‐blocking layers. Upon switching to phosphor 4 , the electroluminescence blue shifts to 718 nm, while the maximum EQE and radiance increase to 2.7% and 93.26 (μW cm^?2) respectively. Their performances are optimized upon using TAZ as the electron transporting and exciton‐blocking material. The OLEDs characterized represent the only NIR‐emitting devices fabricated using charge‐neutral and volatile Os(II) phosphors via thermal vacuum deposition.     

Circularly polarised circular ring slot antenna fed by striplinehybrid coupler

A novel circular ring slot antenna which has a stripline hybrid coupler feed network is proposed for generating broadband circular polarisation performance. A broad impedance bandwidth (VSWR 2:1) at 20.5%, and a CP bandwidth at 9% for a <3 dB axial ratio have been achieved