Multihour engineering and traffic routing optimization in hierarchical telephone networks

Classical hierarchical routing in telephone networks is extended to a wider class called out-of-chain routing in such a way that some useful properties of hierarchical routing are retained. This new routing pattern offers more potential paths than the fixed hierarchical one and can be introduced as a dynamic routing where the fixed alternate sequences change at some predetermined instants during the day. The effect of this new routing pattern on the network performances is examined. The main topic of this paper is to present heuristic methods used to optimise such routings in large networks. We show on artificial networks that the throughput of a given network can be significantly improved by suitable routing choices. We demonstrate that the integration of routing changes within a multihour dimensioning process is possible but the lack of realistic data does not permit at this time to quantify the value of routing optimization on real networks.     

Speed–accuracy tradeoff in Fitts’ law tasks—on the equivalency of actual and nominal pointing precision

Pointing tasks in human–computer interaction obey certain speed–accuracy tradeoff rules. In general, the more accurate the task to be accomplished, the longer it takes and vice versa. Fitts’ law models the speed–accuracy tradeoff effect in pointing as imposed by the task parameters, through Fitts’ index of difficulty (I_d) based on the ratio of the nominal movement distance and the size of the target. Operating with different speed or accuracy biases, performers may utilize more or less area than the target specifies, introducing another subjective layer of speed–accuracy tradeoff relative to the task specification. A conventional approach to overcome the impact of the subjective layer of speed–accuracy tradeoff is to use the a posteriori “effective” pointing precision W_e in lieu of the nominal target width W. Such an approach has lacked a theoretical or empirical foundation. This study investigates the nature and the relationship of the two layers of speed–accuracy tradeoff by systematically controlling both I_d and the index of target utilization I_u in a set of four experiments. Their results show that the impacts of the two layers of speed–accuracy tradeoff are not fundamentally equivalent. The use of W_e could indeed compensate for the difference in target utilization, but not completely. More logical Fitts’ law parameter estimates can be obtained by the W_e adjustment, although its use also lowers the correlation between pointing time and the index of difficulty. The study also shows the complex interaction effect between I_d and I_u, suggesting that a simple and complete model accommodating both layers of speed–accuracy tradeoff may not exist.     

银川市室内环境空气污染现状及治理措施的初探

本文通过对银川市室内环境空气污染现状的调查与检测,阐述了室内环境空气污染的来源及危害,提出了污染治理措施。     

工字梁的抗剪极限承载力

对工字梁腹板抗剪极限承载力的研究进行总结,对各种公式与文献中的试验结果进行对比,将拉力场理论和转向应力场理论的假定与ANSYS分析揭示的腹板应力发展变化规律进行对比,指出了假定和数值分析结果的不一致。提出了翼缘对腹板转动约束的合理参数,得到精度良好的考虑翼缘约束的腹板剪切屈曲系数。利用得到的屈曲系数,考虑翼缘抗弯承载力的贡献,提出新的工字梁抗剪极限承载力的计算公式。与现有试验数据和ANSYS非线性有限元分析结果的对比,证实建议方法离散性较小,适用范围广,尤其是对于通用高厚比较大的梁,较以往方法有了较大改进。     

Electrodeposition of yellow bronze from acidic sulfate baths containing polyether laprol and micromolar additives of halides

The composition of yellow bronze coatings deposited from acidic sulfate solutions added with polyether laprol and the electrodeposition conditions are studied by voltammetry and XPS. It is found that halides in rather low (micromolar) concentrations affect significantly the partial electrodeposition processes. Chlorides increases cathodic polarization, widen the current window of the yellow bronze electrodeposition, and favor the increase in tin content of the coatings. Bromides narrow the current window, lower the tin content in the coatings, and hinder the yellow bronze surface oxidation. Iodides inhibit the copper electroreduction markedly, which makes the yellow bronze deposition practically impossible. Original Russian Text ? Z. Mockus, S. Kanapeckaité, V. Jasulaitiené, A. Survila, 2006, published in Zashchita Metallov, 2006, Vol. 42, No. 5, pp. 526–531.     

影响喷气燃料与橡胶相容性的因素

采用几种具有不同初始物理性能及不同丙烯腈含量、不同硫化剂和硫化程度的丁腈橡胶，考察了其配方和物理性能对采用不同工艺条件生产的喷气燃料的相容性。结果表明，喷气燃料与橡胶的相容性不仅与喷气燃料的加工工艺有关，而且与橡胶的组成及其制备工艺有关。采用非加氢工艺生产的喷气燃料与橡胶的相容性好于采用加氢工艺(特别是加氢裂化工艺)生产的喷气燃料。橡胶材料的初始力学性能的好坏并不完全决定其与喷气燃料相容性的好坏，橡胶材料的耐过氧化物侵蚀能力才是影响相容性好坏的主要因素。橡胶的组成和其制备工艺决定了橡胶在喷气燃料中萃取物的数量和组成，不同萃取物的综合作用给相容性带来不同程度的影响。用硫作硫化剂的橡胶虽然原始强度低于用过氧化物作硫化剂的橡胶，但前者与喷气燃料的相容性却远好于后者。     

Magnetic Resonance Visualisation of Flow and Pore Structure in Packed Beds with Low Aspect Ratio

Different NMR techniques were combined to obtain the structure and velocity information for a systematic investigation of fixed beds with low aspect ratio (tube diameter to particle diamter, d_t/d_p) in the range 1.4 to 32. The structure of the void space was determined for a variety of packed beds of glass beads or regular and irregular porous pellets by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Based on the images the radial distribution of the voids within the bed was obtained. Ordering effects were found even for non‐spherical and polydisperse particles, and a maximum of the fluid density near the tube wall was confirmed for all pellet geometries and sizes. By combining MRI with velocity encoding, velocity profiles and distributions of flow velocity components of a single fluid phase through packed beds have been acquired. The radial velocity distribution follows an oscillatory pattern which largely reflects the ordering of the particles, which can be accessed from the density distribution of the interparticle fluid. Maximum velocities of up to four times the average value were found to occur near the tube wall. This wall effect was observed for all but the smallest particles, where the aspect ratio was d_t/d_p = 32. Moreover, a visualisation of flow pattern in the presence of packed particles was achieved by using a tagging technique, and the stationary flow field could be identified for an experimental time of several hours.     

Chromosome comparison between populations of the collared peccary, Tayassu tajacu, raised in captivity

The collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu) is widely distributed over the American continent, being found from the south of the USA to the north of Argentina. In Brazil, it is spread all over the country, being one of the potential species to be raised in captivity. Therefore, the cytogenetic techniques could be a potential tool for reproductive monitoring of animals raised in captivity, mainly when destined for commercial purposes. This study had the objective of determining the chromosome number of two populations raised in captivity and characterizing them by GTG banding. For this purpose, an analysis was made of mitotic metaphases obtained from lymphocyte cultures made from blood samples of 11 animals, six of which from the Northeast and five from the North of Brazil. The results of this analysis showed the same karyotype pattern for the species (2n=30 chromosomes and NF=48), besides corresponding to the South American pattern of the species, i.e., without a translocation between autosomes 1 and 8, chromosome X acrocentric, and no differences were found between the two populations studied. However, chromosomal polymorphisms were observed compared to data from the literature on populations from North and South America.     

Sheet molding compound characterization using spiral flow

Sheet molding compound (SMC) is a fiber‐reinforced polymeric composite. It is often used in automotive, marine, and industrial applications over other materials because of its high strength to density ratio, resistance to corrosion, and low cost. There is a demand in the SMC industry to be able to characterize SMC processability. This is particularly true for heavy truck body panels, one of the fastest growing applications of SMC. Because of their large size and high strength requirement, the molding forces have a major influence in the molding cycle. Also because of the long flow paths involved, the ability of the paste to carry glass needs to be properly characterized when developing new SMC materials. In this article, we demonstrate the benefits of using spiral flow as a processability tester. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008