Effect of angular speed on behavior of a V-belt drive system

For a V-belt drive system, the effect of angular speed on the three-dimensional frictional contact behaviors on the contact surfaces between the V-belt and pulley flange is studied in this work. To deal with the frictional contact phenomena for the V-belt drive system, an effective three-dimensional finite element procedure is developed herein. By this procedure, the deformation of the V-belt and the normal/tangential contact forces occurring on the contact surfaces can be estimated accurately. The friction angles of contact points along the edge of the V-belt cross section are also presented for various dynamic friction coefficients. From the computed results, it is found that smaller friction angles are obtained as dynamic friction coefficients get larger. The results achieved are very helpful for the estimation of operation efficiency of the V-belt drive system.     

Toward multiple maximum power point estimation of photovoltaic systems based on semiconductor theory

Environmental conditions, such as temperature, non‐uniform irradiation, and solar shading, deeply affect the characteristics of photovoltaic (PV) modules in PV‐assisted generation systems. Several local maximum power points (MPPs) are found in the power–voltage curve of PV systems constructed by series/parallel‐connected PV modules under partially shaded conditions. The characteristics of PV systems change unpredictably when multiple MPPs occur, so the actual MPP tracking (MPPT) becomes a difficult task. Conventional MPPT methods for the PV systems under partially shaded conditions cannot quickly find the actual MPP such that the optimal utilization of PV systems cannot be achieved. Based on the p–n junction semiconductor theory, we develop a multipoint direct‐estimation (MPDE) method to directly estimate the multiple MPPs of the PV systems under partially shaded conditions and to cope with the mentioned difficulties. Using the proposed MPDE method, the multiple MPPs of the PV systems under partially shaded conditions can be directly determined from their irradiated current–voltage and power–voltage characteristic curves. The performances of the proposed MPDE method are evaluated by examining the characteristics of multiple MPPs of PV systems with respect to different shading strengths and numbers of the shaded PV modules and also tested using the field data. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed MPDE method can simply and accurately estimate the multiple MPPs of the PV systems under partially shaded conditions. The optimization of MPP control models and the MPPT for PV systems could be achieved promisingly by applying the proposed method. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

PMD-Supported Coherent Optical OFDM Systems

Although polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) greatly impairs conventional high-speed single-carrier systems, it is shown that for multicarrier systems such as coherent optical orthogonal frequency-division-multiplexed systems (CO-OFDM), not only does PMD not cause any impairment, but it also provides a benefit of polarization diversity against polarization-dependent-loss-induced fading and consequently improves the system margin. The PMD benefit to fiber nonlinearity reduction in CO-OFDM systems is also predicted     

Color‐breakup suppression and low‐power consumption by using the Stencil‐FSC method in field‐sequential LCDs

Abstract— Field‐sequential color (FSC) is a potential technique for low‐power liquid‐crystal displays (LCDs). However, it still experiences a serious visual artifact, color break‐up (CBU), which degrades image quality. Consequently, the “Stencil Field‐Sequential‐Color (Stencil‐FSC)” method, which applies local color‐backlight‐dimming technology at a 240‐Hz field rate to FSC‐LCDs, is proposed. Using the Stencil‐FSC method not only suppressed CBU efficiently but also enhanced the image contrast ratio by using low average power consumption. After backlight signal optimization, the Stencil‐FSC method was demonstrated on a 32‐in. FSC‐LCD and effectively suppressed the CBU, which resulted in more than a 27,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and less than 40‐W average power consumption.     

Trend transformation of drain-current degradation under drain-avalanche hot-carrier stress for CLC n-TFTs

Continuous-wave green laser-crystallized (CLC) single-grain-like polycrystalline silicon n-channel thin-film transistors (poly-Si n-TFTs) demonstrate the higher electron mobility and turn-on current than excimer laser annealing (ELA) poly-Si n-TFTs. Furthermore, high drain voltage accelerates the flowing electrons in n-type channel, and hence the hot-carriers possibly cause a serious damage near the drain region and deteriorate the source/drain (S/D) current. In this study, at high drain stress voltage, it appears that CLC TFT was degraded in the initial stress time (before 50 s), but the drain current was enhanced after 50 s. After 50 s stress time, the amount of grain boundary trap states near the drain side was getting large and the reflowing holes damaged the source region or injected into gate oxide near source side as well.     

Intraventricular chemotherapy in neonatal meningitis

All of 16 infants with neonatal meningitis treated during a 30-month period were found to have accompanying ventriculitis at the time of the initial ventricular puncture. Fifteen of these infants were caused by gramm-negative organisms. All infants received antibiotics systemically and intraventricularly via an implanted ventriculostomy reservoir or by direct ventricular injection. Antibiotic concentrations within the ventricular fluid were monitored during chemotherapy; the complications encountered during treatment are discussed. Fifteen infants survived the infection; of these, seven infants were normal at follow-up examinations. In our experience intraventricular chemotherapy as an adjunct to systemic administration of antibiotics has greatly reduced the mortality rate in neonatal meningitis.     

Toward a pluralistic animal science: postliberal feminist perspectives

Women have not had the authority to define the conditions of animal agriculture or to develop strategies for addressing its problems because the field of animal science has been and remains dominated by men. Therefore, criteria for assessing the professional performance of animal scientists reflect the views of men and the experiences of masculinity. Recent attempts to improve the retention rates of women in the animal science profession have focused on socializing female protégés to the norms and expectations of the discipline. This approach is based on traditional liberal beliefs that all humans are essentially alike and that embodiment and(or) social location are irrelevant in understanding the world. Such socialization assumes that problems of gender inequity can be solved by providing opportunities for women to succeed in the existing system, with its existing norms. This approach ignores the possibility that the structure of women's lives and the normative commitments arising from women's experiences may be quite different from those of men. Professional reward structures that favor the life experiences and perspectives of men and ignore those of women coerce women into adopting values that may be incompatible with their identities. This not only devalues their perspectives and contributions, it forces them to commit self-betrayal. This is both harmful and antithetical to the idea of an empirically relevant science that blends multiple perspectives and understands diverse values. Substantive diversity in the animal science community requires standards that reflect and accommodate the pluralism in which we live.     

Temporal aspects of the effects of cooling on responses of single auditory nerve fibers

During an investigation of the effects of cochlear cooling on frequency tuning and input/output relations of single auditory nerve fibers in gerbil (Ohlemiller and Siegel (1994) Hear. Res. 80, 174-190), cooling-related changes in post-stimulus time histogram (PSTH) shape and phase-locking to tonebursts were characterized in a small sample of neurons. Local cochlear cooling by 5-10 degrees C below normal core temperature did not alter overall PSTH shape, although some evidence was found for a reduction in the time constants of rapid and short term rate adaptation. The relative contributions of rapid and short term response components appeared unaltered. Effects of cooling on phase-locking were assessed by calculating the synchronization index for responses to intense ( > 70 dB SPL) tonebursts at 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 kHz. Synchronization filter functions exhibited modest reductions in both magnitude and the upper frequency limit of phase-locking. The effects of cooling on the temporal character of responses appear distinct from those of a simple reduction in stimulus intensity. Results are interpreted in terms of cooling-related changes in responses of cochlear hair cells and afferent neurons, and suggest that temperature artifacts are unlikely to underlie reported species differences in PSTH shape and phase-locking.