Providing Dynamic Visual Information for Collaborative Tasks: Experiments With Automatic Camera Control

One possibility presented by novel communication technologies is the ability for remotely located experts to provide guidance to others who are performing difficult technical tasks in the real world, such as medical procedures or engine repair. In these scenarios, video views and other visual information seem likely to be useful in the ongoing negotiation of shared understanding, or common ground, but actual results with experimental systems have been mixed. One difficulty in designing these systems is achieving a balance between close-up shots that allow for discussion of detail and wide shots that allow for orientation or establishing a mutual point of focus in a larger space. Achieving this balance can be difficult without disorienting or overloading task participants. In this article we present results from two experiments involving three automated camera control systems for remote repair tasks. Results show that a system providing both detailed and overview information was superior to systems providing only one or the other in terms of performance but that some participants preferred the detail-only system.     

Self generating square/triangular wave and pulse width modulator using a single MO-CCCDTA

A self-generating square/triangular wave and pulse width modulator (PWM) using multiple output current controlled current differencing transconductance amplifier (MO-CCCDTA) is presented. To obtain all the three functions simultaneously from the same topology, the MO-CCCDTA is modified a little bit. The characterisation of the modified MO-CCCDTA structure shows that the parasitic resistances at input terminals (n and p) can be varied via bias current. The maximum useful frequency range is found to be 635 MHz, which is higher than the available literature. The waveform generator and PWM circuit use only one MO-CCCDTA, one grounded capacitor and no resistor; hence suitable for IC implementation. The duty cycle of proposed pulse width modulation can be tuned by bias current of MO-CCCDTA over a wide range. The performances of the proposed block and its applications (square/triangular/PWM) are verified by PSPICE simulation using TSMC 0.35 µm technology. The power consumption is about 1.12 mW. To verify experimentally, a prototype of MO-CCCDTA has been made using commercially available ICs (AD844AN and CA3080) on printed circuit board. The simulation and experimental results verify theoretical proposition well. Monte carlo simulation is carried out, which proves satisfactory performance of the proposed circuit against mismatches. The performance of the proposed circuit is also verified through pre-layout and post-layout simulation results. The required chip area is only 22.415 × 14.6 µm².     

TESLA: an extended study of an energy-saving agent that leverages schedule flexibility

This paper presents transformative energy-saving schedule-leveraging agent (TESLA), an agent for optimizing energy usage in commercial buildings. TESLA’s key insight is that adding flexibility to event/meeting schedules can lead to significant energy savings. This paper provides four key contributions: (i) online scheduling algorithms, which are at the heart of TESLA, to solve a stochastic mixed integer linear program for energy-efficient scheduling of incrementally/dynamically arriving meetings and events; (ii) an algorithm to effectively identify key meetings that lead to significant energy savings by adjusting their flexibility; (iii) an extensive analysis on energy savings achieved by TESLA; and (iv) surveys of real users which indicate that TESLA’s assumptions of user flexibility hold in practice. TESLA was evaluated on data gathered from over 110,000 meetings held at nine campus buildings during an 8-month period in 2011–2012 at the University of Southern California and Singapore Management University. These results and analysis show that, compared to the current systems, TESLA can substantially reduce overall energy consumption.     

Small-Molecule Inhibitors of METTL3, the Major Human Epitranscriptomic Writer

The RNA methylase METTL3 catalyzes the transfer of a methyl group from the cofactor S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) to the N⁶ atom of adenine. We have screened a library of 4000 analogues and derivatives of the adenosine moiety of SAM by high-throughput docking into METTL3. Two series of adenine derivatives were identified in silico, and the binding mode of six of the predicted inhibitors was validated by protein crystallography. Two compounds, one for each series, show good ligand efficiency. We propose a route for their further development into potent and selective inhibitors of METTL3.     

Acrylic-ester-polyol based novel two-component polyurethane clear coat: Evaluation of performance characteristics

In the current study, a combination of acrylic polyol (AP) and ester polyol (EP) were synthesized and reacted at variable ratios with hexamethylene diisocyanates and isophorone diisocyanates to prepare a transparent two-component polyurethane (PU) coating formulation. The formations of the polyol system, isocyanate system, and the PU systems were confirmed by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Transparency of the coatings was examined using haze, and gloss measurement, which showed acrylic-ester-polyurethane (aePU-5 and aePU-6) have 91.5% and 91.8% transparency and gloss of 90.3 and 90.7 GU respectively. The thermal properties like T_g and the thermal stability of the coatings were verified using differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis respectively which was found to increase with increasing EP content and decreasing AP content which may be ascribed to improved compatibility of copolymers, and homogeneity in PU along with enhanced crosslinking density. The degree of adhesion of coating with the substrate was validated from lap-shear, and cross-cut tape test which showed improved performance at AP:EP ratio of 60:40. The coatings were found to exhibit resistance toward pencil hardness with aePU-5 and aePU-6 having the optimum resistance of 9H. The surface morphology and topography were observed under scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The outcome confirms the higher smoothness of the surfaces subjected to the increase in EP content. The PU system with 40 wt% AP content and 60 wt% EP designated as aePU-5 was found to exhibit optimum performance.     

Dietary and bioactive properties of the berries and leaves from the underutilized Hippophae salicifolia D. Don grown in Northeast India

Food Science and Biotechnology - The physico-chemical, polyphenols, antioxidant and antibacterial properties of berries and mixture of male and female leaves of Hippophae salicifolia were...     

Synthesis,Surface Properties and Effect of an Amino Acid Head Group of 11-(2-Methoxy-4-vinylphenoxy)undecanoicacid-Based Anionic Surfactants

Our present research describes the surface properties of three biobased anionic surfactant synthesized from vinylguaiacol and 11-bromo undecanoic acid. To further improve its hydrophobicity and bioavailability, amino acid head group incorporation was carried out. All these synthesized compounds were thoroughly characterized using NMR and mass spectroscopy. The performance properties such as foaming, wetting, emulsification value and calcium tolerance were evaluated. The studied surfactants possess excellent emulsion stability and moderate calcium tolerance as compared to commercially available surfactant sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). The micelle formation and the thermodynamics involved at the air–water interface were estimated from surface tension measurements. These surfactants showed a higher tendency towards adsorption at the air–water interface than micellization. Dynamic light scattering and steady state fluorescence anisotropy study were carried out to shed light on the bulk micellization properties of the synthesized surfactant. Along with spherical micelles of <5 nm size, larger aggregates (35–84 nm) were observed with higher anisotropy values. FESEM images further confirmed the larger spherical micelles formed by these surfactants. The surfactants formed chiral aggregates above the critical micelle concentration as indicated by circular dichroism spectra. These surfactants may be suitable candidates for additives to detergents to improve their calcium tolerance especially in the case of hard water. Furthermore, a low foaming ability along with high emulsion stability may find these surfactants to be better replacement of the conventional surfactant used as emulsifiers in many industrial applications.     

Fault Ride-Through Capability Enhancement of VSC HVDC connected Offshore Wind Power Plants

To achieve active control of the AC voltage magnitude of wind power plant(WPP) collector network and improve the fault ride-through (FRT) capability,an FRT scheme based on feed forward DC voltage contr...     

Media as Educator,Media as Disruptor: Conceptualizing the Role of Social Context in Media Effects

We document how social contexts serve to refract media effects. We theorized the relationship between media use and individual‐level knowledge (and attitude) would be stronger when community‐level knowledge (and attitude) was low than when it was high. Data come from a national survey (N = 12,608 women and 1,237 men) conducted in Nepal. Knowledge and stigma toward people living with HIV were the 2 dependent variables. Hypotheses were tested 12 times: across the use of 3 media (newspaper, radio, television) × 2 study outcomes (knowledge and attitudes) × 2 genders. Predicted interactions were supported in 9 of the 12 tests. Findings point to the need to take into account the role of community factors in theorizing about media effects.