Optimization of flow in additively manufactured porous columns with graded permeability

Chemical engineering systems often involve a functional porous medium, such as in catalyzed reactive flows, fluid purifiers, and chromatographic separations. Ideally, the flow rates throughout the porous medium are uniform, and all portions of the medium contribute efficiently to its function. The permeability is a property of a porous medium that depends on pore geometry and relates flow rate to pressure drop. Additive manufacturing techniques raise the possibilities that permeability can be arbitrarily specified in three dimensions, and that a broader range of permeabilities can be achieved than by traditional manufacturing methods. Using numerical optimization methods, we show that designs with spatially varying permeability can achieve greater flow uniformity than designs with uniform permeability. We consider geometries involving hemispherical regions that distribute flow, as in many glass chromatography columns. By several measures, significant improvements in flow uniformity can be obtained by modifying permeability only near the inlet and outlet.     

LPNN-based approach for LASSO problem via a sequence of regularized minimizations

In compressive sampling theory, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) is a representative problem. Nevertheless, the non-differentiable constraint impedes the use of Lagrange programming neural networks (LPNNs). We present in this article the -LPNN model, a novel algorithm that tackles the LASSO minimization together with the underlying theory support. First, we design a sequence of smooth constrained optimization problems, by introducing a convenient differentiable approximation to the non-differentiable -norm constraint. Next, we prove that the optimal solutions of the regularized intermediate problems converge to the optimal sparse signal for the LASSO. Then, for every regularized problem from the sequence, the -LPNN dynamic model is derived, and the asymptotic stability of its equilibrium state is established as well. Finally, numerical simulations are carried out to compare the performance of the proposed -LPNN algorithm with both the LASSO-LPNN model and a standard digital method.     

A survey and taxonomy on virtual data center embedding

The Journal of Supercomputing - Data center network virtualization is being considered as a promising technology to provide a performance guarantee for cloud computing applications. One important...     

DVB-H移动数字电视综述

概述 自从20世纪40年代黑白广播电视问世以来，电视已走过了一个漫长的发展历程。我们经历了彩色电视与数字广播电视在画质方面的创新，以及在信号传输方式上的不断进步，如从有线到卫星再到HD等。每项新技术的推出都使电视的受欢迎程度与日俱增，并都能为观众带来更为丰富的节目内容。目前，电视正在迎来它的另一个全新的发展阶段：移动数字电视。     

EV-DO Rev.A在日本风头渐旺将盖过HSDPA

2006年8月31日,NTT DoCoMo开始在日本东京的中心地带提供HSDPA服务,NEC为该服务提供了惟一的一款终端,支持最高可达3.6Mbit/s的数据下载,这一速度10倍于以前FOMA手机可支持的速度。NTT DoCoMo的用户使用HSDPA服务,不需要支付额外的费用。这一举措使原本已经非常激烈的日本三大移动运营商之间的竞争又步入了一个新阶段。KDDI对此做出回应,宣布将在今年12月份推出世界上第一个商用的EV-DO Rev.A服务,KDDI目前已经推出了两款支持该服务的终端。K DDI过去所取得的成功在很大程度上归功于其采用了CDMA,这使得KDDI有效地将…     

Predicting Forest Age Classes from High Spatial Resolution Remotely Sensed Imagery Using Voronoi Polygon Aggregation

Efficient identification of forest age is useful for forest management and ecological applications. Here we propose a user-assisted method for determining forest age using high spatial resolution remotely sensed imagery. This method requires individual trees to be extracted from imagery and represented as points. We use a local maximum filter to generate points that are converted to Voronoi polygons. Properties of the Voronoi polygons are correlated with forest age and used to aggregate points (trees) into areas (stands) based on three forest age classes. Accuracy of the aggregation ranges from approximately 68% to 78% and identification of the mature class is more consistent and accurate than the younger classes.     

Disciplinary and linguistic considerations for academic Web linking: An exploratory hyperlink mediated study with Mainland China and Taiwan

The Web has become an important means of academic information exchange and can be used to give new insights into patterns of informal scholarly communication. This study develops new methods to examine patterns of university Web linking, focusing on Mainland China and Taiwan, and including language considerations. Multiple exploratory investigations into Web links were conducted between universities in these two places. Firstly, inlinks were counted to each university Web site from its national peers using four alternative Web document models. The results were shown to correlate significantly with research productivity in Taiwan but not in the Mainland, although in the latter case less reliable institutional data could have been the cause. For Taiwan, this is the first evidence of a scholarly association with academic linking for a non-English speaking region. It was then ascertained that the same link counts associated more strongly with scientific than social scientific research productivity in Taiwan. This confirms the general assumption of greater Web use by the hard sciences. We then investigated Taiwan-Mainland university cross-links, and found that although English is extensively used on the Web, there was no evidence that it was the language of preference for informal scholarly communication between the two areas. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Synthesis of heterocyclic metal complexes and their evaluation as marine antifoulants

4-Amino-3-thio-1,24-triazolidine (L₁) and 4-amino-5-thio-1,3,4-thiadiazole (L_II) as well as their metal complexes of the general formulae ML_I·2H₂O and ML_IICl (M; Pb(II), Cd(II) and Zn(II)) were prepared. With Sn(II), we obtained Sn(L_I)₂·2H₂O and SnL_IICl, respectively. The structures of the compounds were identified through elemental analysis, and IR and UV spectra measurements, in addition to thermal analysis in case of the metal complexes. The antifouling properties of the compounds were tested by their incorporation into paint formulations which were applied to PVC substrates and tested in water from Alexandria western harbour. When the compounds were added at 17·5% by volume, the coated panels were fouled after 3 months of immersion. The addition of 6·7% by volume of tributyltin oxide to 15·8% of the prepared compounds in one formulation elevated the paint efficiency and prevented fouling for 11 months. Paint containing solely tributyltin oxide at the same concentration was inactive against algae.