Design and performance evaluation of a banyan network basedinterconnection structure for ATM switches

This paper presents a new self-routing packet network called the plane interconnected parallel network (PIPN). In the proposed design, the traffic arriving at the network is shaped and routed through two banyan network based interconnected planes. The interconnections between the planes distribute the incoming load more homogeneously over the network. The throughput of the network under uniform and heterogeneous traffic requirements is studied analytically and by simulation. The results are compared with the results of the baseline network and another banyan network based parallel interconnection network. It is shown that, for the proposed design, a higher degree of heterogeneity results in better performance     

Production of hydrogen over bimetallic Pt–Ni/δ-Al2O3: I. Indirect partial oxidation of propane

Indirect partial oxidation (IPOX) of propane was studied over bimetallic 0.2 wt.% Pt–15 wt.% Ni/δ-Al₂O₃ catalyst in the 623–743 K temperature range. The unreduced and reduced forms of the catalyst were characterized by ESEM–EDAX and X-ray diffraction (XRD). In the IPOX tests, the effects of steam to carbon ratio (S/C), carbon to oxygen ratio (C/O₂) and residence time (W/F (g_cat h/mol HC)) on the hydrogen production activity, selectivity and product distribution were studied in detail. The effect of temperature program applied (increasing from 623 to 743 K, ITP; decreasing from 743 to 623 K, DTP) during reaction was also tested. The results showed that the Pt–Ni bimetallic system has superior performance characteristics compared to the monometallic catalysts reported in literature. The reason is thought to be the utilization of the catalyst particles as micro heat exchangers during IPOX; the heat generated by Pt sites during exothermic total oxidation (TOX) being readily transferred through the catalyst particles acting as micro heat exchangers to the Ni sites, which promote endothermic steam reforming (SR). The optimal conditions were found as S/C = 3, C/O₂ = 2.70 and W/F = 0.51 g_cat h/mol HC for IPOX of propane on the basis of high hydrogen productivity and selectivity between 623 and 748 K for the experimental conditions tested. The thermo-neutral points obtained showed the sustainability of reaction in terms of energy.     

Application of HUMF13A01 (AAAG)n STR polymorphism to the genetic diagnosis of coagulation factor XIII deficiency

Deficiency of the A subunit of coagulation factor XIII causes a severe bleeding disorder requiring life long replacement therapy. The mutations causing A subunit deficiency appear to be very heterogeneous, and it is impractical to identify each mutation before genetic counselling or prenatal diagnosis can be attempted. In this study we have shown that a highly polymorphic short tandem repeat element, HUMF13A01 (AAAG)n that occurs in the 5' flanking sequence of the factor XIII A subunit gene, can be used to follow the segregation of deficiency causing mutations. We studied 6 families with factor XIII A subunit deficiency from 5 different ethnic groups. All parents were heterozygous for the repetitive element and therefore all the families were informative. The linked polymorphism was used to carry out the first prenatal diagnosis of factor XIII A subunit deficiency. The analysis of this polymorphism by the polymerase chain reaction is rapid, reliable, requires little DNA and is ideal for the genetic analysis of factor XIII A subunit deficiency.     

Mechanical and viscoelastic properties of polyethylene-based microfibrillated composites from 100% recycled resources

In this study, recycled polyethylene (rPE) based microfibrillated composites (MFCs) were developed while incorporating recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) (rPET) and recycled polyamide 6 (rPA) as the reinforcing fibrillar phases at a given weight ratio of 80 wt% (rPE)/20 wt% (rPET or rPA). The blends were first melt processed using a twin-screw extruder. The extrudates were then cold stretched at a drawing ratio of 2.5 to form rPET and rPA fibrillar structures. Next, the pelletized drawn samples were injection molded at the barrel temperatures below the melting temperatures of rPET and rPA. The tensile, three-point bending, impact strength, dynamic thermomechanical, and rheological properties of the fabricated MFCs were analyzed. The effects of injection molding barrel temperature (i.e., 150°C and 190°C) and extrusion melt processing temperature (i.e., 250°C and 275°C) on the generated fibrillar structure and the resultant properties were explored. A strong correlation between the fibrillar morphology and the mechanical properties with the extrusion and injection molding temperatures was observed. Moreover, the ethylene/n-butyl acrylate/glycidyl methacrylate (EnBAGMA) terpolymer and maleic anhydride grafted PE (MAH-g-PE) were, respectively, melt processed with rPE/rPET and rPE/rPA6 blends as compatibilizers. The compatibilizers refined the fibrillar structure and remarkably influenced mechanical properties, specifically the impact strength.     

Deterministic Polymorphic Engineering of MoTe2 for Photonic and Optoelectronic Applications

Developing selective and coherent polymorphic crystals at the nanoscale offers a novel strategy for designing integrated architectures for photonic and optoelectronic applications such as metasurfaces, optical gratings, photodetectors, and image sensors. Here, a direct optical writing approach is demonstrated to deterministically create polymorphic 2D materials by locally inducing metallic 1T′-MoTe₂ on the semiconducting 2H-MoTe₂ host layer. In the polymorphic-engineered MoTe₂, 2H- and 1T′- crystalline phases exhibit strong optical contrast from near-infrared to telecom-band ranges (1–1.5 µm), due to the change in the band structure and increase in surface roughness. Sevenfold enhancement of third harmonic generation intensity is realized with conversion efficiency (susceptibility) of ≈1.7 × 10⁻⁷ (1.1 × 10⁻¹⁹ m² V⁻²) and ≈1.7 × 10⁻⁸ (0.3 × 10⁻¹⁹ m² V⁻²) for 1T′ and 2H-MoTe₂, respectively at telecom-band ultrafast pump laser. Lastly, based on polymorphic engineering on MoTe₂, a Schottky photodiode with a high photoresponsivity of 90 AW⁻¹ is demonstrated. This study proposes facile polymorphic engineered structures that will greatly benefit realizing integrated photonics and optoelectronic circuits.     

Extending the information delivery manual approach to identify information requirements for performance analysis of HVAC systems

Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) systems account for more than 15% of the total energy consumption in the US. In order to improve the energy efficiency of HVAC systems, researchers have developed hundreds of algorithms to automatically analyze their performance. However, the complex information, such as configurations of HVAC systems, layouts and materials of building elements and dynamic data from the control systems, required by these algorithms inhibits the process of deploying them in real-world facilities. To address this challenge, we envision a framework that automatically integrates the required information items and provides them to the performance analysis algorithms for HVAC systems. This paper presents an approach to identify and document the information requirements from the publications that describe these algorithms. We extend the Information Delivery Manual (IDM) approach so that the identified information requirements can be mapped to multiple information sources that use various formats and schemas. This paper presents the extensions to the IDM approach and the results of using it to identify information requirements for performance analysis algorithms of HVAC systems.     

The electrical and dielectric characterization of the Co/ZnO-Rods/p-Si heterostructure depending on the frequency

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - Zinc oxide (ZnO) rods film was fabricated by homemade and simple spray pyrolysis technique on a p-type silicon (Si) substrate, and the film...     

Making friends in online games: gender differences and designing for greater social connectedness

ABSTRACT

While online multiplayer games provide an opportunity for players to both maintain and establish new connections, male and female players have been found to experience these environments differently. Interviews (n?=?22) and focus groups (n?=?14) were used to explore these differences as they impact on creating new social connections, as well as to provide recommendations for the development of new social tools and features that account for these differences. While all participants experienced toxicity and performance pressure as barriers to forming new connections, female players uniquely reported the impacts of misogynistic targeting and stereotype threat. In turn, female players wishing to avoid these stresses would often mask their gender. The common practice of gender misrepresentation by both male and female players impacted female players’ ability to create social connections through voice technology, as well as building their distrust of unknown others. Recommendations are made to build social connectedness between players taking into account the specific constraints faced by female players. These include establishing mentoring opportunities as well as profiling players beyond their immediate skill or rank. Additionally, the desire for control of one’s online identity presents practical challenges that may be overcome through thoughtful design.     

Single image super resolution based on sparse representation using discrete wavelet transform

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Single image super resolution (SR) based on sparse representation is a promising technique where the SR problem is solved by searching for the most robust...     

Different approaches to synthesize carnosine selective imprinted polymers

Selective recognition of proteins by synthetic molecularly imprinted polymers is one of the interesting topics in biosciences. Carnosine (β-alanyl-l-histidine) and related histidine containing peptides are distributed in a wide range of tissues in vertebrate organisms. These peptides have been extensively studied because of their important physiological properties besides their metal chelation property. In this study, preparation of carnosine specific imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the recognition of imidazole containing peptides with and without copper ion is reported. Carnosine and copper–carnosine complex were employed as template molecules where 4-vinylpyridine and ethylenglycol dimethacrylate were chosen as monomer and crosslinker, respectively. The selectivity and binding studies of copper–carnosine imprinted polymer showed high selectivity toward both carnosine (template peptide) and the cupric ion. The selectivity of copper–carnosine imprinted polymer was 65% and carnosine imprinted polymer was approximately 40%. These results indicate that specific recognition of carnosine is depending on the basis of metal coordination