Increasing pattern recognition accuracy for chemical sensing by evolutionary based drift compensation

Artificial olfaction systems, which mimic human olfaction by using arrays of gas chemical sensors combined with pattern recognition methods, represent a potentially low-cost tool in many areas of industry such as perfumery, food and drink production, clinical diagnosis, health and safety, environmental monitoring and process control. However, successful applications of these systems are still largely limited to specialized laboratories. Sensor drift, i.e., the lack of a sensor’s stability over time, still limits real industrial setups. This paper presents and discusses an evolutionary based adaptive drift-correction method designed to work with state-of-the-art classification systems. The proposed approach exploits a cutting-edge evolutionary strategy to iteratively tweak the coefficients of a linear transformation which can transparently correct raw sensors’ measures thus mitigating the negative effects of the drift. The method learns the optimal correction strategy without the use of models or other hypotheses on the behavior of the physical chemical sensors.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of 〈<Emphasis Type="Bold">c</Emphasis>+<Emphasis Type="Bold">a</Emphasis>〉 dislocation core structure in hexagonal-close-packed metals

The core structures of 〈c+a〉 dislocations in hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) metals have been investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation using a Lennard-Jones-type pair potential. The 〈c + a〉 edge dislocation has two types of core at 0 K; one is a perfect dislocation (type A), and the other has two 1/2 〈c+a〉 partials (type B). Type A transforms to type B by abruptly increasing temperature from 0 K to 293 K, while type B is stable in temperature range from 0 K to 293 K. In contrast, type A extends parallel to (0001) at 30 K, and this extended core is still stable at 293 K. These results suggest that the 〈c+a〉 edge dislocation glides on the {11 2} as two 1/2 〈c+a〉 partial dislocations and becomes sessile due to changes of the core structure. The 〈c+a〉 screw dislocation spreads over two {10 1} planes at 0 K. The core transforms into a unsymmetrical structure at 293 K, which is spread over {11 2} and {10 1}, and core spreading occurs parallel to {11 2} at 1000 K. A critical strain to move screw dislocations depends on the sense of shear strain. The dependence of the yield stress on the shear direction can be explained in terms of these core structures. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Increased serum IgD concentrations in patients with Hodgkin's disease

Serum IgD concentrations have been determined in twenty-one patients with Hodgkin's disease, in eight patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and in twenty-eight normal (control) individuals by both a solidphase radio-immuno-assay and radial-immunodiffusion. Fourteen of the Hodgkin's patients displayed three to forty-five-fold increased serum IgD levels as compared to control individuals, while in the remaining seven patients IgD concentrations were practically normal. Patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas had decreased IgD concentrations.     

(Over-)Realism in evolutionary computation: Commentary on “On the Mapping of Genotype to Phenotype in Evolutionary Algorithms” by Peter A. Whigham,Grant Dick,and James Maclaurin

Inspiring metaphors play an important role in the beginning of an investigation, but are less important in a mature research field as the real phenomena involved are understood. Nowadays, in evolutionary computation, biological analogies should be taken into consideration only if they deliver significant advantages.     

Experimental systems implementation of a hybrid optical-digital correlator

A high-speed hybrid optical-digital correlator system was designed, constructed, modeled, and demonstrated experimentally. This correlator is capable of operation at approximately 3000 correlations/s. The input scene is digitized at a resolution of 512 x 512 pixels and the phase information of the two-dimensional fast Fourier transform calculated and displayed in the correlator filter plane at normal video frame rates. High-fidelity reference template images are stored in a phase-conjugating optical memory placed at the nominal input plane of the correlator and reconstructed with a high-speed acousto-optic scanner; this allows for cross correlation of the entire reference data set with the input scene within one frame period. A high-speed CCD camera is used to capture the correlation-plane image, and rapid correlation-plane processing is achieved with a parallel processing architecture.     

Porous g-C3N4-encapsulated TiO2 hollow sphere as a high-performance Z-scheme hybrid for solar-induced photocatalytic abatement of environmentally toxic pharmaceuticals

Herein,we rationally constructed a hybrid heterostructure comprising porous g-C3N4(CN)-encapsulated anatase TiO2 hollow spheres(TOHS)via a synthesis method that involves hydrothermal and calcination treatments.The fabricated hybrid,termed CN/TOHS,demonstrated extraordinary activity toward the degradation of environmentally toxic pharmaceutical substances(acetaminophen and ciprofloxacin)in aqueous solutions under simulated sunlight irradiation;the activity of CN/TOHS was superior to that attained for individual TOHS and CN counterparts.In particular,the CN/TOHS hybrid containing 13.3 wt.％of CN on TOHS displayed the optimum degradation activity among the tested catalysts used in this study,and it also possessed exceptional recyclability and stability during consecutive degradation tests.The remarkable photocatalytic activity and stability of the hybrid were predominantly ascribed to the large solid interfacial contact between constituents,TOHS and CN,induced by effective hybrid structure,which boosted the interfacial charge transfer and impeded with the direct recombination of photo-induced charges.Notably,the results of the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis corroborated the effective mineralization of model pharmaceutical pollutants in the presence of the CN/TOHS hybrid.The simple interfacial engineering strategy presented in this study offers a potential route for the rational design of novel catalysts for application in environmental remediation and solar energy conversion.     

A virtual sensor for backlash in robotic manipulators

Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing - Gear backlash is a quite serious problem in industrial robots, it causes vibrations and impairs the robot positioning accuracy. Backlash estimation allows...     

Porous Poly(ε‐caprolactone) Nerve Guide Filled with Porous Gelatin Matrix for Nerve Tissue Engineering

The preparation and characterization of PCL guides filled with a porous matrix of a freeze‐dried, genipin‐crosslinked gelatin sponge (GL/GP) is described. Porous guides are obtained by dip coating a rotating mandrel with a PCL/PEO blend solution followed by PEO solvent extraction. PCL/PEO 60/40 is selected as the optimal composition to obtain model porous membranes with suitable morphological properties to ensure nutrient permeation and moderate stiffness. GL/GP sponges show increased mechanical strength and water stability, compared to uncrosslinked GL sponges. GL/GP in the form of films, sponges and internal fillers support the in vitro adhesion and proliferation of Schwann like cells.     

Software-Based Testing for System Peripherals

Software-based self-testing strategies have been mainly proposed to tackle microprocessor testing, but may also be applied to peripheral testing. However, testing system peripherals (e.g., DMA controllers, interrupt controllers, and internal counters) is a challenging task, since their observability and controllability are even more reduced when compared to microprocessors and to peripherals devoted to I/O communication (e.g., serial or parallel ports). In this paper an approach to develop functional tests for system peripherals is proposed. The presented methodology requires two correlated phases: module configuration and module operation. The first one prepares the peripheral to work in the different operation modes, whereas the second one is in charge of exciting the whole device and observing its behavior. We propose a methodology that guides the test engineer in building a compact set of test programs able to reach high structural fault coverage levels in a short time. Experimental results demonstrating the method effectiveness for two real-world case studies are finally reported.     

Time-delay measurement in singlemode, low-loss photonic crystal waveguides

The group delay in low-loss, singlemode, 1 mm-long photonic crystal slab waveguides is measured using the phase shift technique for the first time. Low group velocities (相似文献