Nonlinear electrical transport in K-TCNQ at low temperatures

A remarkable nonlinearity has been observed for electric transport in K-TCNQ (potassium tetracyanoquinodimethane) quasi-one-dimensional conductor. The negative differential resistance region appears afterV _m (turn over voltage), beyond which voltage goes down with increase of current. A possible mechanism is discussed in terms of dynamics of charged solitons and domain walls in one-dimensional molecular stacks of these types of crystals.     

On certain classes of exact solutions of Einstein equations for rotating fields in conventional and nonconventional form

Using the symmetry reduction approach we have herein examined, under continuous groups of transformations, the invariance of Einstein exterior equations for stationary axisymmetric and rotating case, in conventional and nonconventional forms, that is a coupled system of nonlinear partial differential equations of second order. More specifically, the said technique yields the invariant transformation that reduces the given system of partial differential equations to a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations (nlodes) which, in the case of conventional form, is reduced to a single nlode of second order. The first integral of the resulting nlode has been obtained via invariant-variational principle and Noether’s theorem and involves an integration constant. Depending upon the choice of the arbitrary constant two different forms of the exact solutions are indicated. The generalized forms of Weyl and Schwarzschild solutions for the case of no spin have also been deduced as particular cases. Investigation of nonconventional form of Einstein exterior equations has not only led to the recovery of solutions obtained through conventional form but it also yields physically important asymptotically flat solutions. In a particular case, a single third order nlode has been derived which evidently opens up the possibility of finding many further interesting solutions of the exterior field equations.     

Face to virtual face

The first virtual humans appeared in the early 1980s in such films as Dreamflight (1982) and The Juggler (1982). Pioneering work in the ensuing period focused on realistic appearance in the simulation of virtual humans. In the 1990s, the emphasis has shifted to real-time animation and interaction in virtual worlds. Virtual humans have begun to inhabit virtual worlds and so have we. To prepare our place in the virtual world we first develop techniques for the automatic representation of a human face capable of being animated in real time using both video and audio input. The objective is for one's representative to look, talk, and behave like oneself in the virtual world. Furthermore, the virtual inhabitants of this world should be able to see our avatars and to react to what we say and to the emotions we convey. We sketch an overview of the problems related to the analysis and synthesis of face-to-virtual-face communication in a virtual world. We describe different components of our system for real-time interaction and communication between a cloned face representing a real person and an autonomous virtual face. It provides an insight into the various problems and gives particular solutions adopted in reconstructing a virtual clone capable of reproducing the shape and movements of the real person's face. It includes the analysis of the facial expression and speech of the cloned face, which can be used to elicit a response from the autonomous virtual human with both verbal and nonverbal facial movements synchronized with the audio voice     

Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness: Role of waist-to-hip ratio.

Evidence is presented showing that body fat distribution as measured by waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is correlated with youthfulness, reproductive endocrinologic status, and long-term health risk in women. Three studies show that men judge women with low WHR as attractive. Study 1 documents that minor changes in WHRs of Miss America winners and Playboy playmates have occurred over the past 30–60 yrs. Study 2 shows that college-age men find female figures with low WHR more attractive, healthier, and of greater reproductive value than figures with a higher WHR. In Study 3, 25- to 85-yr-old men were found to prefer female figures with lower WHR and assign them higher ratings of attractiveness and reproductive potential. It is suggested that WHR represents an important bodily feature associated with physical attractiveness as well as with health and reproductive potential. A hypothesis is proposed to explain how WHR influences female attractiveness and its role in mate selection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Simulation of Facial Muscle Actions Based on Rational Free Form Deformations

This paper describes interactive facilities for simulating abstract muscle actions using Rational Free Form Deformations (RFFD). The particular muscle action is simulated as the displacement of the control points of the control-unit for an RFFD defined on a region of interest. One or several simulated muscle actions constitute a Minimum Perceptible Action (MPA), which is defined as the atomic action unit, similar to Action Unit (AU) of the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), to build an expression.     

Dielectric behaviour of glasses and glass ceramics in the system BaO-PbO-TiO2-B2O3-SiO2

Glasses with varying molar ratios of PbO/BaO in the system BaO-PbO-TiO₂-B₂O₃-SiO₂ were prepared keeping (BaO + PbO)/TiO₂ ratio equal to one. The glasses were ceramized by two-stage heat treatment. X-ray diffraction indicates that PbTiO₃ crystallizes in lead-rich glasses while BaTiO₃ precipitates in barium-rich compositions. Solid solution (Ba, Pb)TiO₃ does not seem to crystallize over the entire range of compositions. Simultaneous presence of PbO and BaO in the initial glass composition reduces the yield of ferroelectric phase. Dielectric properties have been interpreted in terms of microstructural features.     

Potentiometric urea biosensor based on BSA embedded surface modified polypyrrole film

A potentiometric biosensor based on bovine serum albumin (BSA) embedded surface modified polypyrrole has been developed for the quantitative estimation of urea in aqueous solution. The enzyme, urease (Urs), was covalently linked to free amino groups present over the BSA embedded modified surface of the conducting polypyrrole film electrochemically deposited onto an indium–tin-oxide (ITO) coated glass plate. The biosensor has been characterized by UV–visible, infrared spectroscopy and SEM. Potentiometric and spectrophotometric response of the enzyme electrode (Urs/BSA-PPy/ITO) were measured as a function of urea concentration in Tris–HCl buffer (pH 7.0). It has been found that the electrode responds to low urea concentration with wider range of detection. The electrode showed a linear response range of 6.6 × 10⁻⁶ to 7.5 × 10⁻⁴ M urea. The response time is about 70–90 s reaching to a 95% steady-state potential value and 75% of the enzyme activity is retained for about 2 months. These results indicate an efficient covalent linkage of enzyme to free amino groups of the BSA molecules over the surface of polypyrrole film, which leads to high enzyme loading, an increased lifetime stability of the electrode and an improved wide range of detection of low urea concentration in aqueous solution.     

VMI versus information sharing: an analysis under static uncertainty strategy with fill rate constraints

A vendor-managed inventory (VMI) relationship between a downstream retailer and an upstream vendor consists of two distinct components: (i) information sharing (IS) and (ii) a shift in decision-making responsibility. This study compares these two components of VMI in a two-stage serial supply chain based on the ‘static uncertainty’ strategy under dynamic and random demand with fill rate constraints. Numerical experiments are conducted using analytical models to identify the conditions where the incremental value of VMI over IS is significant. The results provide guidelines relevant to academia and supply chain practitioners in taking VMI adoption decision above and beyond IS according to their specific business environment.     

A virtual RV-M1 robot system

Exploring a virtual model under simulated environments is the best way to learn about a real system. This is particularly true in robotics where it is quite expensive to provide the system to each individual. The interdisciplinary area of robotics is being studied commonly in various fields like electrical, computer, mechanical engineering, nanotechnology, etc. A virtual robot system can help one fully understand the controls and working of a robot. The system may also be helpful to design the path and plan the trajectory of a robot in an industrial environment or other robotics application. Virtual model of RV-M1 robot has been developed in the MATLAB environment. The virtual system performs forward kinematics and inverse kinematics in addition to providing a simulation of the robot teachbox.     

Molecular Pathways in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a multifactorial, chronic disease process that leads to pulmonary arterial endothelial dysfunction and smooth muscular hypertrophy, resulting in impaired pliability and hemodynamics of the pulmonary vascular system, and consequent right ventricular dysfunction. Existing treatments target limited pathways with only modest improvement in disease morbidity, and little or no improvement in mortality. Ongoing research has focused on the molecular basis of pulmonary arterial hypertension and is going to be important in the discovery of new treatments and genetic pathways involved. This review focuses on the molecular pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension.