GOP-SDN: an enhanced load balancing method based on genetic and optimized particle swarm optimization algorithm in distributed SDNs

Wireless Networks - One of the biggest challenges of distributed software defined networks (SDNs) is to create load balancing on controllers to reduce response time. Although recent studies have...     

Effective capacity maximization of two-way full-duplex and half-duplex relays with finite block length packets transmission

Wireless Networks - In order to satisfy the delay requirements of telecommunication systems, in this paper, we present a cooperative network with the short packet transmission in the Rayleigh...     

Nanoraspberry-like palladium/spongy nickel oxide for electrooxidation of five light fuels

The spongy nickel oxide (SNO) was synthesized the solution combustion method. The SNO was selected as a promoter to boost the catalytic activity of nanoraspberry-like palladium (NRPd) toward electrooxidation of five light fuels (LFs): methanol, ethanol, formaldehyde, formic acid, and ethylene glycol. The X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscope techniques were used for the materials characterization. In comparison with nonpromoted Pd, the NRPd-SNO electrocatalyst shown an excellent efficiency in parameters like the electrochemical active surface area and anti-CO poisoning behavior. The turnover data and the parameters, including reaction order, activation energy, and the coefficients of electron transfer and diffusion, were evaluated for the each process of LFs electrooxidation. The outcome for NRPd-SNO activity toward LFs electrooxidation was compared to some reported electrodes. The SNO increases the removal of intermediates created in the oxidation of LFs that can poison the surface of palladium catalyst. This is due to the presence of the lattice oxygens in SNO structure and Ni switching between its high and low valances. The compatibility of the adsorption process of LFs on the surface of the NRPd-SNO catalyst with different isotherms was determined by studying the Tafel polarization and calculating the surface coverage.     

Stability enhancement of polypyrrole thin film ammonia sensor by camphor sulfonic acid dopant

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - The main weakness of polymer gas sensors is its stability. Here, we report stability enhancement of a 100 nm polypyrrole (PPy) thin...     

Characterization,in vitro bioactivity and biological studies of sol-gel-derived TiO2 substituted 58S bioactive glass

Bioactive glasses (BGs) have been used for bone formation and bone repair processes in recent years. This study investigated the titanium substitution effect on 58S BGs (Ti-BGs) 60SiO₂-(36 − X)CaO-4P₂O₅-XTiO₂ (X = 0, 3, and 5 mol.%) prepared by the sol-gel technique, and the main goal was to find the optimum amount of titanium in Ti-BGs. Synthesized BGs, which were investigated after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF), were tested by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy. Moreover alkaline phosphate (ALP) activity, 3-(4,5dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, and antibacterial studies were employed to investigate the biological properties of Ti-BGs. According to the FTIR and XRD test results, hydroxyapatite (HA) formation on Ti-BGs surfaces was confirmed. Meanwhile, the presence of 5 mol.% compared to 3 mol.% increased the HA grain distribution and their size on the Ti-BGs surface. Additionally, MTT and ALP results confirmed that the optimal amount of titanium substitution in BG was 5 mol.%. Since 5 mol.% Ti incorporated BG (BG-5) had the highest biocompatibility level, antibacterial properties, maximum cell proliferation, and ALP activity among the synthesized Ti-BGs, it is presented as the best candidate for further in vivo investigations.     

A multi-criteria context-sensitive approach for social image collection summarization

Recent increase in the number of digital photos in the content sharing and social networking websites has created an endless demand for techniques to analyze, navigate, and summarize these images. In this paper, we focus on image collection summarization. Earlier methods in image collection summarization consider representativeness and diversity criteria while recent ones also consider other criteria such as image quality, aesthetic or appeal. In this paper, we propose a multi-criteria context-sensitive approach for social image collection summarization. In the proposed method, two different sets of features are combined while each one looks at different criteria for image collection summarization: social attractiveness features and semantic features. The first feature set considers different aspects that make an image appealing such as image quality, aesthetic, and emotion to create attractiveness score for input images while the second one covers semantic content of images and assigns semantic score to them. We use social network infrastructure to identify attractiveness features and domain ontology for extracting ontology features. The final summarization is provided by integrating the attractiveness and semantic features of input images. The experimental results on a collection of human generated summaries on a set of Flickr images demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed image collection summarization approach.     

In vitro antimicrobial effects of Myristica fragrans essential oil on foodborne pathogens and its influence on beef quality during refrigerated storage

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) seed was subjected to the hydro-distillation method to extract its essential oil (NEO). Its main constituents were α-pinene (20.16%), sabinene (14.45%), and β-pinene (13.26%) with great antimicrobial and antioxidant actions. A novel edible coating was then fabricated based on the sage seed mucilage (SSM) and NEO, to ameliorate the quality and shelf-life of beef slices. The NEO-loaded SSM coating was able to significantly decrease the population of total viable count, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, psychrotrophic bacteria, and fungi. Moreover, lipid oxidation of beef slices was remarkably suppressed upon the application of bioactive NEO-loaded SSM edible coating, as compared with the control by Day 6. The coated beef sample, especially NEO-rich SSM coated ones perceived a higher consumer acceptance and firmness than the SSM coated and noncoated samples. The SSM edible coating containing NEO could therefore have the potential to control the growth of pathogenic microorganisms and lipid oxidation, and to improve the color stability and sensory properties of meat and meat products.     

An Approximate Model of Multistage Automatic Transfer Lines with Possible Scrapping Of Workpieces

We consider multistage automatic transfer lines with unreliable stages, finite interstage buffer storages, and possible scrapping of workpieces. It is assumed that the first stage never idles and the last stage never becomes blocked. Assuming that uptimes and downtimes of a stage are geometrically distributed, an approximate model is developed to compute different performance measures of the transfer line. The results obtained through the approximate model are compared to the exact results for three-stage transfer lines and to simulation results for longer transfer lines. It is observed that the approximate results are good in almost all cases considered.     

Signature analysis and defect detection in layered manufacturing of ceramic sensors and actuators

This paper presents the concept of a process signature for the use of online signature analysis and defect detection in the layered manufacturing (LM) of ceramic sensors and actuators. To achieve the high quality of parts built by the fused deposition of ceramics (FDC), an online process-monitoring system is implemented to detect the processing defects. Using a process signature extracted from the image of a layer captured by the monitoring system, an ideal image is created that is then compared to the original image to detect and identify the defects. Some results of signature analysis and defect detection for single-material and multi-material parts are also presented.Received: 22 July 1999, Accepted: 21 October 2001, Published online: 29 October 2003 Correspondence to: Mohsen A. JafariThis work was supported by the Office of Naval Research under grant # N-0014-96-1-1175. Ref. US Patent # S-5738817, April 14, 1998.