Anti-BlUFf: towards counterfeit mitigation in IC supply chains using blockchain and PUF

International Journal of Information Security - The complexity of today’s integrated circuit (IC) supply chain, organised in several tiers and including many companies located in different...     

Cognitive-Mathematical Approaches for Evaluating Architectural Contextual Fit

The main goal of this study is to apply a scientific quantitative approach to the investigation of contextual fit. This is approached mathematically within the framework of cognitive science and research on categorization and prototypes. Two experiments investigated two leading mathematical-cognitive approaches for explaining people’s judgment of contextual fit of a new building with an architectural/urban context: prototype approach and feature frequency approach. The basic concept is that people represent the built environment via architectural prototypes and/or frequencies of encountered architectural features. In the first experiment, a group of twelve participants performed rank order tasks on artificially created architectural patterns, for the purpose of psychological scaling. Perceptual distances among all patterns were mathematically determined. In the second experiment, three groups of architectural patterns were constructed to represent assumed architectural contexts. The prototype of each context was mathematically determined according to prototype cognitive model, and based on the distances calculated in the first experiment. Fifty-six students participated in the main experiment, in which they rank ordered a group of fifteen architectural patterns in terms of contextual fit to each of the three architectural contexts. Participants’ rank order data of the fifteen patterns were regressed on both the perceptual distances from prototypes, and numbers of features shared with each architectural context. Results indicated that both prototype and feature frequency approaches significantly accounted for important portions of participants’ judgments. However, participants tended to prefer one approach to the other according to context composition. Results have implications for both research on utilizing cognitive-mathematical models in architectural research and on urban design guidelines and control.     

The hybrid dynamic parallel scheduling algorithm for load balancing on Chained-Cubic Tree interconnection networks

The Chained-Cubic Tree (CCT) interconnection network topology was recently proposed as a continuation for the extended efforts in the area of interconnection networks’ performance improvement. This topology, which promises to exhibit the best properties of the hypercube and tree topologies, needs to be deeply investigated in order to evaluate its performance among other interconnection networks’ topologies. This work comes as a complementary effort, in which the load balancing technique is investigated as one of the most important aspects of performance improvement. This paper proposes a new load balancing algorithm on CCT interconnection networks. The proposed algorithm, which is called Hybrid Dynamic Parallel Scheduling Algorithm (HD-PSA), is a combination of two common load balancing strategies; dynamic load balancing and parallel scheduling. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated both, analytically and experimentally, in terms of various performance metrics; including, execution time, load balancing accuracy, communication cost, number of tasks hops, and tasks locality.     

A new mechanism for the electrospinning of nanoyarns

A new electromechanical mechanism for spinning “core electrospun nanoyarn” is researched, designed, and implemented. SEM images have shown that the deposited nanofibers were wrapped helically around the core filament resulting in a core electrospun nanoyarn. The parameters of this mechanism such as feed‐in angles, twist rates, and take‐up speeds are analytically investigated. Twist rates of 500 to 750 revolutions per minute, core feed‐in angle of 0°, and take‐up speed of 1.5 cm/s were found optimum for successfully producing core electrospun nanoyarn. This nanoyarn is expected to find many applications in industrial and medical textiles. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Optical,Electrical, and Magnetic Studies of Organic Solar Cells Based on Low Bandgap Copolymer with Spin ½ Radical Additives

The charge photogeneration and recombination processes in organic photovoltaic solar cells based on blend of the low bandgap copolymer, PTB7 (fluorinated poly‐thienothiophene‐benzodithiophene) with C60‐PCBM using optical, electrical, and magnetic measurements in thin films and devices is studied. A variety of steady state optical and magneto‐optical techniques were employed, such as photoinduced absorption (PA), magneto‐PA, doping‐induced absorption, and PA‐detected magnetic resonance (PADMR); as well as picosecond time‐resolved PA. The charge polarons and triplet exciton dynamics in films of pristine PTB7, PTB7/fullerene donor–acceptor (D–A) blend is followed. It is found that a major loss mechanism that limits the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of PTB7‐based solar cell devices is the “back reaction” that leads to triplet exciton formation in the polymer donor from the photogenerated charge‐transfer excitons at the D–A interfaces. A method of suppressing this “back reaction” by adding spin½ radicals Galvinoxyl to the D–A blend is presented; this enhances the cell PCE by ≈30%. The same method is not effective for cells based on PTB7/C70‐PCBM blend, where high PCE is reached even without Galvinoxyl radical additives.     

Working with families: A practitioner's perspective:.

Suggests that school psychologists face a challenge to provide assessment and intervention within a family context. Comments are provided on a discussion by J. C. Hansen et al (see record 1990-18461-001) of the types of ethical dilemmas school psychologists are likely to face in providing services to families. The key to providing appropriate and ethical interventions with families will depend on the development of sound policies, professional awareness, and supervision. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characterization of nanostructured surfaces generated by reconstitution of the porin MspA from Mycobacterium smegmatis

Nanostructures with long-term stability at the surface of gold electrodes are generated by reconstituting the porin MspA from Mycobacterium smegmatis into a specially designed monolayer of long-chain lipid surfactant on gold. Tailored surface coverage of gold electrodes with long-chain surfactants is achieved by electrochemically assisted deposition of organic thiosulfates (Bunte salts). The subsequent reconstitution of the octameric-pore MspA is guided by its extraordinary self-assembling properties. Importantly, electrochemical reduction of copper(II) yields copper nanoparticles within the MspA nanopores. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, reflection electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) show that: 1) the MspA pores within the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) are monodisperse and electrochemically active, 2) MspA reconstitutes in SAMs and with a 10-nm thickness, 3) AFM is a suitable method to detect pores within SAMs, and 4) the electrochemical reduction of Cu2+ to Cu0 under overpotential conditions starts within the MspA pores.     

Textile applications of commercial photochromic dyes: part8. A statistical investigation of the influence of photochromic dyes on thermoplastic fibres using a UV-irradiation technique

Abstract

This research investigates the influence of the commercial photochromic dye concentration, expressed as a percentage, and polymer type and their interaction on the photocoloration properties of the as-spun and drawn fibres regarding the melt-spinning process. As-spun fibres made of polypropylene, polyethylene and polyester were spun with different percentages of the photochromic dye, drawn, tested and analysed under a factorial experimental design using appropriate experimental and statistical methods. According to the analyses and by using an independent source of ultraviolet irradiation and traditional colour measurement instrumentation of the degree of photocoloration and background colour, the most effective and significant parameter influencing the as-spun fibre’s photocoloration properties are the polymer type; the dye percentage effect was noted in the degree of photocoloration. The effects of the multi-stage hot-drawing process on the photocoloration properties of the drawn polypropylene and polyethylene fibres were characterised and statistically modelled. The dyed fibres showed reversible photochromism, developing pronounced colours from weak background colours on irradiation with ultraviolet light and returning to their original state when the ultraviolet light source was removed. The dye percentage positively affects the photocoloration of the as-spun and drawn polypropylene and polyethylene fibres. A new forecasting data source was achieved to optimise the selection of the polymer and the dye percentage and to specify the direction of increasing or decreasing of the significant process parameters. Utilising the elastic properties of manufactured fibres, they could be used in the development of chromic textiles for creative design, functional or smart purposes.