Direct limit analysis based topology optimization of foundations

Topology optimization of foundation structures is conducted using a direct limit analysis based optimization approach. Originally developed for plastic topology design of 2D superstructures and industrial structures, which are traditionally designed based on elasticity, the direct limit analysis based design method demonstrated strong intrinsic properties that make of it a promising alternative for topology design. Unlike existing methods the one proposed here is fundamentally conceived and developed in the framework of direct plastic limit analysis which is the natural and usual known framework for the analysis and design of geotechnical structures. The method is extended to handle foundation design by providing for the simultaneous presence of two materials: the soil and the reinforcement, governed by Coulomb failure law. Two types of designs are considered, namely, continuous and discrete. The first allows a range of graded densities of reinforcement that may in practice represent the types of mixtures used in soil improvement, such as cementation. In the discrete design the reinforcement consists exclusively of solid structural elements. A series of two dimensional example problems demonstrate the capabilities of the method to generate rational classical designs or uncommon but intuitively sound foundation configurations that could inspire designers to develop novel solutions.     

Space charge measurements by the thermal step method in epoxidic polymer materials

To improve the performance of insulators, space charge measurements and localisation are of fundamental importance. For this purpose we have utilised the thermal step method (TSM) which allows measurement of the space charge density within the material. The object of this study is to characterise the electric state of epoxidic polymer material used in electrical insulation, and to study the influence of different factors involving the appearance and the evolution of space charge. The influence of poling temperature as well as the manufacturing process of the material on the remaining space charge distribution is also studied. Measurements show that the space charge behaviour was influenced by two factors: the poling temperature and the manufacturing process. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis and In Silico Docking of New Pyrazolo[4,3-e]pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidine-based Cytotoxic Agents

To explore a new set of anticancer agents, a novel series of pyrazolo[4,3-e]pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidine derivativeshave been designed and synthesized viacyclocondensation reactions of pyrazolo-enaminone with a series of arylidenemalononitriles; compound 5 was obtained from 5-amino-4-cyanopyrazole. The structures of the target compounds were investigated by spectral techniques and elemental analysis (IR, UV–Vis, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and ESI-MS). All compounds were evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxicity employing a panel of different human tumor cell lines, A375, HT29, MCF7, A2780, FaDu as well as non-malignant NIH 3T3 and HEK293 cells. It has been found that the pyrazolo-pyrido-pyrimidine analog bearing a 4-Br-phenyl moiety was the most active toward many cell lines with EC₅₀ values ranging between 9.1 and 13.5 µM. Moreover, in silico docking studies of the latter with six anticancer drug targets, i.e., DHFR, VEGFR2, HER-2/neu, hCA-IX, CDK6 and LOX5, were also performed, in order to gain some insights into their putative mode of binding interaction and to estimate the free binding energy of this bioactive molecule.     

Adaptive polynomial predistorters for M‐QAM transmission using non‐linear power amplifiers

In this paper, adaptive baseband polynomial predistortion techniques are introduced to counter‐balance the AM/AM and AM/PM non‐linear effects of the transmit power amplifier. The proposed polynomial predistortion scheme is based on polar coordinate representation. Both LMS and RLS concepts are used to derive the adaptive algorithms. An enhanced LMS‐based algorithm with fast convergence and low complexity is proposed. For very fast convergence, a cascaded RLS‐based adaptive polynomial predistorter structure is introduced. The performance of the proposed schemes in terms of intermodulation distortion, spectral regrowth, and convergence rate are examined. The obtained results show that the polynomial predistortion schemes can be used in M‐QAM transmitters with power amplifiers operating near saturation to achieve a highest power efficiency. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The antioxidant status and oxidative stability of muscle from lambs receiving oral administration of Artemisia herba alba and Rosmarinus officinalis essential oils

The effect of the dietary supplementation to lambs of essential oils (EOs) from rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and artemisia (Artemisia herba alba) on the antioxidant status of muscle and on meat oxidative stability was studied. Eighteen Barbarine lambs were divided into 3 groups and for 95 days received oat hay and concentrates. One group (C) was not supplemented, while the other two groups received 400 mg/kg of EOs from rosemary (R400) or artemisia (A400). Both EOs possessed antioxidant properties and their oral administration improved the reducing and radical scavenging capacity of the muscle compared to the C treatment (P < 0.01). Nevertheless, supplementing EOs did not exert protection against lipid oxidation and did not affect the colour stability in meat over 7 days of aerobic storage.     

A Comparative Study on Scaling Capabilities of Si and SiGe Nanoscale Double Gate Tunneling FETs

Silicon - In the last few years, an accelerated trend towards the miniaturization of nanoscale circuits has been recorded. In this context, the Tunneling Field-Effect Transistors (TFETs) are...     

A Novel Range Free Localization Algorithm in Wireless Sensor Networks Based on Connectivity and Genetic Algorithms

Noting the vital importance of localization using wireless sensor networks in real-world applications, many limitations of existing techniques urge us to seek more advanced localization algorithms. This paper presents a new range-free algorithm which takes advantages of genetic algorithms (GAs) to optimize multi-objective functions used in calculating an unknown position of normal node. The proposed algorithm, so far has improved the typical rage-free algorithms. It has good impact on the solving of localization problems with high accuracy. The first part illustrates typical based DV-hop localization algorithms. The principle of position estimation via genetic algorithms is introduced later. A proposed objective function to be optimized is defined in a next part, and its optimization based on GAs allows the unknown position’s computation. The new algorithm has been proved functional by theoretical analysis and simulation results. We have also proved the efficient performance of the proposed approach by comparing it to some state-of-the-art techniques.     

Efficient Data Processing in Software-Defined UAV-Assisted Vehicular Networks: A Sequential Game Approach

Wireless Personal Communications - In large scale networks like Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs), the full coverage of fixed infrastructure is hard to ensure, making network management difficult....     

Continuous affect recognition with weakly supervised learning

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Recognizing a person’s affective state from audio-visual signals is an essential capability for intelligent interaction. Insufficient training data and the...