EEG‐based brain source localization using visual stimuli

Electroencephalography (EEG) is widely used in variety of research and clinical applications which includes the localization of active brain sources. Brain source localization provides useful information to understand the brain's behavior and cognitive analysis. Various source localization algorithms have been developed to determine the exact locations of the active brain sources due to which electromagnetic activity is generated in brain. These algorithms are based on digital filtering, 3D imaging, array signal processing and Bayesian approaches. According to the spatial resolution provided, the algorithms are categorized as either low resolution methods or high resolution methods. In this research study, EEG data is collected by providing visual stimulus to healthy subjects. FDM is used for head modelling to solve forward problem. The low‐resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) and standardized LORETA (sLORETA) have been used as inverse modelling methods to localize the active regions in the brain during the stimulus provided. The results are produced in the form of MRI images. The tables are also provided to describe the intensity levels for estimated current level for the inverse methods used. The higher current value or intensity level shows the higher electromagnetic activity for a particular source at certain time instant. Thus, the results obtained demonstrate that standardized method which is based on second order Laplacian (sLORETA) in conjunction with finite difference method (FDM) as head modelling technique outperforms other methods in terms of source estimation as it has higher current level and thus, current density (J) for an area as compared to others.     

Evaluation of the performance of an absorption–demixtion heat pump for upgrading thermal waste heat

An absorption/demixtion heat pump is used to overcome the classic heat pump's performance limitation due to the high cost of the amount of energy consumed in the separation process. This heat pump concept uses a partially miscible mixture as working fluid instead a binary miscible mixture. Under low pressure the mixture is a heterogeneous solution of two non-miscible phases in thermodynamic equilibrium but at very different compositions. Then the solution spontaneously splits into two liquid phases without any energy supply. Beyond a critical pressure of dissolution the two earlier non-miscible phases become miscible and then form a homogeneous liquid phase. In these conditions, at high temperature, the more volatile phase is evaporated and its vapor absorbed in the less volatile phase in exactly the same way as in the classical heat pump. The features of this system are presented and a comparison is made against the classic absorption heat pump and the compression heat pump. The different steps of the system are represented by the conventional methods of McCabe and Thiele, and Ponchon–Savarit, to provide a good understanding. We calculated the performance of this system and compared its values against those of the absorption heat pump and the compression heat pump: the COP is respectively 2 and 100 times greater because the separation does not need costly energy. Moreover, the system presents investment cost saving because the separator is a simple decanter.     

Hysteresis‐Free 1D Network Mixed Halide‐Perovskite Semitransparent Solar Cells

The morphology of hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite films is known to strongly affect the performance of perovskite‐based solar cells. CH₃NH₃PbI_3‐xCl_x (MAPbI_3‐xCl_x) films have been previously fabricated with 100% surface coverage in glove boxes. In ambient air, fabrication generally relies on solvent engineering to obtain compact films. In contrast, this work explores the potential of altering the perovskites microstructure for solar cell engineering. This work starts with CH₃NH₃PbI_3‐xCl_x, films with grain morphology carefully controlled by varying the deposition speed during the spin‐coating process to fabricate efficient and partially transparent solar cells. Devices produced with a CH₃NH₃PbI_3‐xCl_x film and a compact thick top gold electrode reach a maximum efficiency of 10.2% but display a large photocurrent hysteresis. As it is demonstrated, the introduction of different concentrations of bromide in the precursor solution addresses the hysteresis issues and turns the film morphology into a partially transparent interconnected network of 1D microstructures. This approach leads to semitransparent solar cells with negligible hysteresis and efficiencies up to 7.2%, while allowing average transmission of 17% across the visible spectrum. This work demonstrates that the optimization of the perovskites composition can mitigate the hysteresis effects commonly attributed to the charge trapping within the perovskite film.     

Differential serologic response to Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae and Mycoplasma arginini in lambs affected with chronic respiratory disease

BM 17.0744 (2,2-dichloro-12-(p-chlorophenyl)-dodecanoic acid) is a substance from a group of omega-substituted alkyl carboxylic acids with the general formula, ring-spacer-carboxylic acid. With BM 17.0744-a compound structurally unrelated to thiazolidinediones--antihyperglycemic and antihyperinsulinemic potency has been demonstrated in various animal models of type II diabetes. The antidiabetic effect is independent of the genetic background of the disease, gender, and animal species. The 24-hour blood glucose profile was dose- and time-dependently improved in ob/ob mice after a single and fourth oral administration of 0.3, 1, and 3 mg/kg/d. A dose-dependent reduction of hyperglycemia (10%, 15%, 28%, and 66%) was found in db/db mice after the fifth oral administration of 3, 10, 30, and 100 mg/kg/d. Hyperinsulinemia was reduced dose-dependently in yellow KK mice by 1%, 24%, 34%, and 66% after the fifth oral administration of 0.3, 1, 3, and 10 mg/kg/d. Overall glucose metabolism was predominantly higher in euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp studies in obese fa/fa rats pretreated for 14 days with 10 mg/kg/d BM 17.0744. The data in diabetic and insulin-resistant animals suggest an improvement of insulin action that is supported by enhancement of insulin effects in vitro. There is no evidence of a risk for hypoglycemia in diabetic and metabolically healthy animals. Triglyceride (TG) and cholesterol were reduced in the serum of metabolically healthy rats, as well as serum lipids in db/db mice, which suggests this effect is independent of amelioration of the diabetic status. Lipid-lowering effects in diabetic and healthy animals show an additional property of BM 17.0744. Because of its antidiabetic and lipid-lowering potency, the substance is of great interest in treating the metabolic syndrome. Lipid decreases in rats are associated with a dose-dependent increase in carnitine acetyltransferase activity in the liver to about 100-fold (12.5 mg/kg/d). This together with hepatomegaly in small rodents may indicate peroxisomal proliferation, a phenomenon considered species-specific. Its relevance for humans is well documented for other classes of compounds including fibrates. Specific side effects of insulin sensitizers of the thiazolidinedione type, such as an increase in body weight and heart weight, could not be observed after 4-week oral application of BM 17.0744 in rats. In general, BM 17.0744 was well tolerated in the pharmacological dose range in all species tested.     

Partial differential equation-based approach for empirical mode decomposition: application on image analysis

The major problem with the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) algorithm is its lack of a theoretical framework. So, it is difficult to characterize and evaluate this approach. In this paper, we propose, in the 2-D case, the use of an alternative implementation to the algorithmic definition of the so-called "sifting process" used in the original Huang's EMD method. This approach, especially based on partial differential equations (PDEs), was presented by Niang in previous works, in 2005 and 2007, and relies on a nonlinear diffusion-based filtering process to solve the mean envelope estimation problem. In the 1-D case, the efficiency of the PDE-based method, compared to the original EMD algorithmic version, was also illustrated in a recent paper. Recently, several 2-D extensions of the EMD method have been proposed. Despite some effort, 2-D versions for EMD appear poorly performing and are very time consuming. So in this paper, an extension to the 2-D space of the PDE-based approach is extensively described. This approach has been applied in cases of both signal and image decomposition. The obtained results confirm the usefulness of the new PDE-based sifting process for the decomposition of various kinds of data. Some results have been provided in the case of image decomposition. The effectiveness of the approach encourages its use in a number of signal and image applications such as denoising, detrending, or texture analysis.     

螺旋管紧凑式换热器传热性能分析

数值模拟研究了紧凑式小管螺旋管换热器的流动换热特性.螺旋管换热器由35个单管(直管和弯管)构成,管外为空气冷却,管内流过不同温度的液体工质R141B.模拟结果表明,各单根螺旋管内外对流传热系数、温度分布和传热性能,主要受内外流体温度梯度、回流条件、外部空气流速和单根管的传热表面积等因素的影响.     

Internet addiction: Meta-synthesis of qualitative research for the decade 1996–2006

Internet addiction is “an individual’s inability to control their Internet use, which in turn leads to feelings of distress and functional impairment of daily activities” [Shapira, N., Lessig, M., Goldsmith, T., Szabo, S., Lazoritz, M., Gold, M. et al. (2003). Problematic Internet use: Proposed classification and diagnostic criteria. Depression and Anxiety, 17(4), 207–216]. Previous research in this field has offered inconclusive data on whether Internet addiction can be classified as a disorder. This study provides an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of internet addiction through a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies on excessive Internet use published during the period of 1996–2006. Several constructs pertaining to the domain of Internet addiction have been identified and a theoretical model of Internet addiction has been proposed.     

Separation of ethyl tert-butyl ether-ethanol by combined pervaporation and distillation

A cellulose derivative membrane (30 wt.% cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) combined with 70 wt.% cellulose acetate propionate (CAP)) was prepared, and its properties were evaluated by the pervaporation separation of mixtures of ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) and ethanol. The experimental results showed that the selectivity and permeability of the membrane were dependent on the blend composition, the processed feed and the experimental temperature. With respect to the temperature, the fluxes obeyed the Arrhenius equation. On the basis of these results, a separation process for the production of ETBE was developed by combining pervaporation and distillation. The distillation column was designed with the software ASPEN PLUS, and the liquid-vapour equilibria were predicted by the UNIFAC method. The area of the membrane was calculated according to the production capacity. It may be concluded that the combined process for the separation of mixtures of ETBE and ethanol is simple with high recovery of the ETBE product.     

秀故事——电梯人讲述自己的故事：我没有回老家过年

一个平凡的电梯工用最朴实的语言讲述着他对电梯最不平凡的爱……[编者按]