A quantum multiply-accumulator

This paper proposes a quantum multiply-accumulator circuit (QMAC), which can perform the calculation on conventional integers faster than its classical counterpart. Whereas classically applying a multiply–adder (MAC) $n$ times to $k$ bit integers would require $O(n \log k)$ parallel steps, the hybrid QMAC needs only $O(n + k)$ steps for the exact result and $O(n + \log k)$ steps for an approximate result. The proposed circuit could potentially be embedded in a conventional computer architecture as a quantum device or accelerator, enabling a wide range of applications to execute faster.     

Paint robotics—improving automotive painting performance

Robotic painting has achieved increased popularity in recent years, due to the flexibility and enhanced performance with such systems.There is a clear trend among major automobile makers to change from hard to flexible automation, and, in that respect, paint robotics is becoming increasingly more important for future paint shop design.New programming tools offer operators and paint engineers better possibility to program and maintain robot systems.With the introduction of the laser, a powerful tool is now available for real-time, in-line control of film build and the related paint process.With the additional advances in robotic-based quality inspection systems, such as a robot-mounted quality inspection camera systems, automotive manufacturers now have the possibility to document and store literally all paint quality data for a multitude of purposes related to process control.Combining these technologies offers a glimpse of a future where true closed-loop process control and quality monitoring can be used to diminish significantly the variation in paint application systems, improve flexibility, quality, and reduce operational costs, while at the same time reduce the complexity of robotic painting systems.     

Multiparameter Characterization of Aerosols

The performance of particle‐based products depends on a multiple set of particle properties. To monitor them during particle manufacturing, three novel aerosol measurement techniques were developed: wide‐angle light scattering (WALS), three‐dimensional laser scattering (3D‐LSS), and differential aerodynamic particle sizing (DAPS). They measure particle shape, aggregate structure, and particle size, i.e., radius of gyration and aerodynamic diameter. The techniques were tested for rod‐like organic pigments and partially sintered SiO₂ aggregates, which were produced by two new aerosol generators.     

Impacts of fat from ruminants' meat on cardiovascular health and possible strategies to alter its lipid composition

In the last few decades there has been increased consumer interest in the fatty acid (FA) composition of ruminant meat due to its content of saturated FAs, which have been implicated in diseases associated with modern life. However, recent studies have questioned the recommendations to reduce intake of fat, saturated FAs and cholesterol as a means of reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Interestingly, ruminant meat has some bioactive lipids such as C18:1t11 and C18:2 c9, t11 which have been reported to have positive effects on human health. In order to improve muscle fat composition from a human health standpoint, oilseeds, plant oils and marine oils can be used in ruminant diets. On the other hand, molecular mechanisms play an important role in the alteration of the FA composition of muscle fat. Genetics offer a wide range of possibilities for improvement of muscle fat composition by identifying different loci underlying the expression of quantitative traits. While significant progress has been made in characterizing the influence of diet on the FA composition of ruminant meat, the use of genetic tools can favor genotypes that could maximize their genetic potential through the diet. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry     

Collecting in Europe

Artsmithite, Hg¹⁺ ₄Al(PO₄)_2-x(OH)_1+3x (where x = 0.26), occurs as a colorless-to-white matted nest (measuring 1 × 3 mm on the holotype specimen) of randomly scattered fibrous to acicular crystals at the Funderburk prospect, Pike County, Arkansas. The mineral is monoclinic, and individual crystals average 0.5 mm in length with a length-to-width ratio in excess of 100:1. Individual fibers are flexible and elongated along [001] and are colorless and transparent. Artsmithite is vitreous, has an off-white to cream-colored streak, shows no obvious cleavage, and displays an irregular fracture. It does not fluoresce, and its calculated density is 6.40g/cc. Optically, the mineral is biaxial positive with a 2V measured at 60 degrees and all indices of refraction exceeding 1.80; r < v, distinct; and the fibers are length slow with Z approximately equal to c. Associated minerals on the holotype specimen are quartz, goethite, dickite, and cinnabar; other species reported from the locality include barite, calcite, calomel, eglestonite, fluorapatite, galena, livingstonite, mercury, metacinnabar, montroydite, perhamite, pyrite, siderite, stibiconite, stibnite, and terlinguaite. Artsmithite is a secondary phase, probably produced during the weathering and chemical breakdown of cinnabar and fluorapatite (Roberts et al. 2003).     

Mercury concentration in fillets of Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) caught in the Barents Sea in January 2006

In January 2006 it was reported that Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) caught in the Barents Sea contained mercury levels that exceeded the EU's upper limit of 0.5 mg/kg wet weight for this species. To further investigate this finding, the National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES) in Norway recently undertook a study to quantify the levels of mercury in Greenland halibut caught in the same area of the Barents Sea. A total of 120 Greenland halibut were caught in this area between the 28th and the 30th of January 2006. The fish were immediately frozen and shipped to the laboratory; individual fish were coded, weighed, defrosted, filleted and skinned before their mercury content was determined. Analyses were carried out on 65 individuals of Greenland halibut weighing from 0.81 kg to 7.1 kg, and 40 fish weighing more than 3 kg. The lowest mercury concentration found in muscle tissue (skinless and boneless fillet) was 0.019 mg/kg wet weight, in a fish that weighed 0.81 kg. The highest mercury concentration measured in muscle tissue was 1.1 mg/kg wet weight, from a fish that weighed 4.2 kg. Of the 65 fish analysed, 15 individuals with weight exceeding 3 kg had mercury concentrations in their muscle tissue exceeded the EU's upper limit.     

Fabrication, structural and electrical characterization of lanthanum tungstate films by pulsed laser deposition

Films of lanthanum tungstate, 3 μm in thickness, were fabricated by means of pulsed laser deposition on a Pd foil. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and their electrical conductivity was measured at temperatures between 400 and 800 °C in different gas atmospheres. The films' structure and electrical characteristics are close to what is reported in the literature for corresponding polycrystalline material. The films exhibit fairly high proton conductivity at elevated temperatures, which make them interesting for components in hydrogen-related technologies. Changes in microstructure and the crystallographic orientation observed at higher temperatures were accompanied by changes in the conductivity characteristics.     

An Asynchronous Communication Model for Distributed Concurrent Objects

Distributed systems are often modeled by objects that run concurrently, each with its own processor, and communicate by synchronous remote method calls. This may be satisfactory for tightly coupled systems, but in the distributed setting synchronous external calls lead to much waiting; at best resulting in inefficient use of processor capacity, at worst resulting in deadlock. Furthermore, it is difficult to combine active and passive behavior in concurrent objects. This paper proposes an object-oriented solution to these problems by means of asynchronous method calls and conditional processor release points. Although at the cost of additional internal nondeterminism in the objects, this approach seems attractive in asynchronous or unreliable environments. The concepts are integrated in a small object-oriented language with an operational semantics defined in rewriting logic, and illustrated by examples. This paper extends and combines results which have appeared in the proceedings of the 2004 International Conference on Software Engineering and Formal Methods (SEFM) [37] and the 2004 International Workshop on Rewriting Logic and its Applications (WRLA) [41].     

Fast Tensor-Product Solvers: Partially Deformed Three-dimensional Domains

We discuss the numerical solution of partial differential equations in a particular class of three-dimensional geometries; the two-dimensional cross section (in the xy-plane) can have a general shape, but is assumed to be invariant with respect to the third direction. Earlier work has exploited such geometries by approximating the solution as a truncated Fourier series in the z-direction. In this paper we propose a new solution algorithm which also exploits the tensor-product feature between the xy-plane and the z-direction. However, the new algorithm is not limited to periodic boundary conditions, but works for general Dirichlet and Neumann type of boundary conditions. The proposed algorithm also works for problems with variable coefficients as long as these can be expressed as a separable function with respect to the variation in the xy-plane and the variation in the z-direction. For problems where the new method is applicable, the computational cost is very competitive with the best iterative solvers. The new algorithm is easy to implement, and useful, both in a serial and parallel context. Numerical results demonstrating the superiority of the method are presented for three-dimensional Poisson and Helmholtz problems using both low order finite elements and high order spectral element discretizations.