Comprehensiveness and uniqueness of commercial databases and open access systems

Scientometrics - In this study, scholarly communication systems provided by commercial services and open access systems are examined on the basis of the comprehensiveness and uniqueness of their...     

Assessing stem cell research productivity

Honour Index (HoI), a method to evaluate research performance within different research fields, was derived from the impact factor (IF). It can be used to rate and compare different categories of journals. HoI was used in this study to determine the scientific productivity of stem cell research in the Asian Four Dragons (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan) from 1981 to 2001. The methodology applied in this study represents a synthesis of universal indicator studies and bibliometric analyses of subfields at the micro-level. We discuss several comparisons, and conclude the developmental trend in stem cell research for two decades. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Learning concepts in parallel based upon the strategy of versionspace

Applies the technique of parallel processing to concept learning. A parallel version-space learning algorithm based upon the principle of divide-and-conquer is proposed. Its time complexity is analyzed to be O(k log₂n) with n processors, where n is the number of given training instances and k is a coefficient depending on the application domains. For a bounded number of processors in real situations, a modified parallel learning algorithm is then proposed. Experimental results are then performed on a real learning problem, showing that our parallel learning algorithm works, and being quite consistent with the results of theoretical analysis. We conclude that when the number of training instances is large, it is worth learning in parallel because of its faster execution     

Dynamic bandwidth allocation for multimedia traffic with rate guarantee and fair access in WCDMA systems

Packet scheduling in a WCDMA system poses a new challenge due to its nature of variable bit rates and location-dependent, time-varying channel conditions. In this work, three new downlink scheduling algorithms for a WCDMA base station are proposed to support multimedia transmissions. Using a credit management and a compensation mechanism, our algorithms provide rate guarantee and fair access to mobile terminals. In particular, we propose to allow a user to simultaneously use multiple OVSF codes in a time-sharing manner, which we call a multicode, shared model. Using multiple codes allows us to compensate those users suffering from bad communication quality or even errors. The proposed schemes can tolerate a multistate link condition (compared to the typically assumed two-state, or good-or-bad, link condition) by adjusting the number of OVSF codes and the spreading factor of each code. Simulation results show that the proposed schemes do achieve higher bandwidth utilization while keeping transmission delay low.     

Catalytic oxidation of naphthalene using a Pt/Al2O3 catalyst

Polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are listed as carcinogenic and mutagenic priority pollutants, belonging to the environmental endocrine disrupters. Most PAHs in the environment stem from the atmospheric deposition and diesel emission. Consequently, the elimination of PAHs in the off-gases is one of the priority and emerging challenges. Catalytic oxidation has been widely used in the destruction of organic compounds due to its high efficiency (or conversion of reactants), its economic benefits and good applicability.

This study investigates the application of the catalytic oxidation using Pt/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts to decompose PAHs and taking naphthalene (the simplest and least toxic PAH) as a target compound. It studies the relationships between conversion, operating parameters and relevant factors such as treatment temperatures, catalyst sizes and space velocities. Also, a related reaction kinetic expression is proposed to provide a simplified expression of the relevant kinetic parameters.

The results indicate that the Pt/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst used accelerates the reaction rate of the decomposition of naphthalene and decreases the reaction temperature. A high conversion (over 95%) can be achieved at a moderate reaction temperature of 480 K and space velocity below 35,000 h⁻¹. Non-catalytic (thermal) oxidation achieves the same conversion at a temperature beyond 1000 K. The results also indicate that Rideal–Eley mechanism and Arrhenius equation can be reasonably applied to describe the data by using the pseudo-first-order reaction kinetic equation with activation energy of 149.97 kJ/mol and frequency factor equal to 3.26 × 10¹⁷ s⁻¹.     

An analytical grain-barrier height model and its characterizationfor intrinsic poly-Si thin-film transistor

An analytical model for the grain-barrier height of the intrinsic poly-Si thin-film transistors (TFTs) is developed, in which the grain-barrier height for the applied gate voltage smaller than the threshold voltage is obtained by solving the charge neutrality equation and the grain-barrier height for the applied gate voltage larger than the threshold voltage is obtained by using the quasi-two-dimensional (2-D) method. Good agreements between experimental and simulation results are obtained for a wide gate voltage range     

Harmonic broadcasting for video-on-demand service

Using conventional broadcasting, if we want to support a 120-minute popular movie every 10 minutes, we need 12 video channels. Assuming the set-top box at the client end can buffer portions of the playing video on a disk, pyramid broadcasting schemes can reduce the bandwidth requirements to 5.7 channels. We present a new scheme which only needs 3.2 channels. For a movie with length D minutes, if we want to reduce the viewer waiting time to D/N minutes, we only need to allocate H(N) video channels to broadcast the movie periodically, where H(N) is the harmonic number of N, H(N)=1+1/2+…+1/N. In order to support video-on-demand service for a popular movie, the new scheme greatly reduces the bandwidth requirements