Unusual Two-Step Assembly of a Minimalistic Dipeptide-Based Functional Hypergelator

Self-assembled peptide hydrogels represent the realization of peptide nanotechnology into biomedical products. There is a continuous quest to identify the simplest building blocks and optimize their critical gelation concentration (CGC). Herein, a minimalistic, de novo dipeptide, Fmoc-Lys(Fmoc)-Asp, as an hydrogelator with the lowest CGC ever reported, almost fourfold lower as compared to that of a large hexadecapeptide previously described, is reported. The dipeptide self-assembles through an unusual and unprecedented two-step process as elucidated by solid-state NMR and molecular dynamics simulation. The hydrogel is cytocompatible and supports 2D/3D cell growth. Conductive composite gels composed of Fmoc-Lys(Fmoc)-Asp and a conductive polymer exhibit excellent DNA binding. Fmoc-Lys(Fmoc)-Asp exhibits the lowest CGC and highest mechanical properties when compared to a library of dipeptide analogues, thus validating the uniqueness of the molecular design which confers useful properties for various potential applications.     

Algorithms for generating multi-stage molding plans for articulated assemblies

Multi-stage molding is capable of producing better-quality articulated products at a lower cost. During the multi-stage molding process, assembly operations are performed along with the molding operations. Hence, it gives rise to a new type of planning problem. It is difficult to perform the planning manually because it involves evaluating large number of combinations and solving complex geometric reasoning problems. This paper investigates the problem of generating multi-stage molding plans for articulated assemblies. We present a planning framework that allows us to utilize constraints from experimentally proven molding plans. As a part of the planning problem, we determine the molding sequence and intermediate assembly configurations. We present algorithms for all the steps in the planning problem and characterize their computational complexities. Finally, we illustrate our approach with representative examples.     

Spatial consistency of dense features within interest regions for efficient landmark recognition

Recently, feature grouping has been proposed as a method for improving retrieval results for logos and web images. This relies on the idea that a group of features matching over a local region in an image is more discriminative than a single feature match. In this paper, we evolve this concept further and apply it to the more challenging task of landmark recognition. We propose a novel combination of dense sampling of SIFT features with interest regions which represent the more salient parts of the image in greater detail. In place of conventional dense sampling used in category recognition that computes features on a regular grid at a number of fixed scales, we allow the sampling density and scale to vary based on the scale of the interest region. We develop new techniques for exploring stronger geometric constraints inside the feature groups and computing the match score. The spatial information is stored efficiently in an inverted index structure. The proposed approach considers part-based matching of interest regions instead of matching entire images using a histogram under bag-of-words. This helps reducing the influence of background clutter and works better under occlusion. Experiments reveal that directing more attention to the salient regions of the image and applying proposed geometric constraints helps in vastly improving recognition rates for reasonable vocabulary sizes.     

Effect of type and percentage of reinforcement for optimization of the cutting force in turning of Aluminium matrix nanocomposites using response surface methodologies

Aluminium matrix composites (AMCs) now hold a significant share of raw materials in many applications. It is of prime importance to study the machinability of such composites so as to enhance their applicability. Sufficient work has been done for studying the machining of AMCs with particle reinforcements of micron range. This paper presents the study of AMCs with particle reinforcement of under micron range i.e. nanoparticles. This paper brings out the results of an experimental investigation of type and weight percent of nanoparticles on the tangential cutting force during turning operation. SiC, Gr and SiC-Gr (in equal proportions) were used with Al-6061 alloy as the matrix phase. The results indicate that composites with SiC require greater cutting force followed by hybrid and then Gr. Increase in the weight percent also significantly affected the magnitude of cutting force. RSM was used first to design and analyze the experiments and then to optimize the turning process and obtain optimal conditions of weight and type of reinforcements for turning operation.     

Area Coverage Optimization in Three-Dimensional Wireless Sensor Network

Wireless Personal Communications - During the development of wireless sensor networks for smart cities, deployment of nodes in three-dimensional space is important factor as data loss in such cases...     

Performance analysis of diamond search algorithm over full search algorithm

Microsystem Technologies - Motion estimation is a progression used to estimate motion vectors between two or more images with a high degree of temporal redundancy. It is commonly used in video...     

A Novel Heterogeneous Clustering Protocol for Lifetime Maximization of Wireless Sensor Network

The network lifetime of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is one of the most challenging issues for any network protocol. The nodes in the network are densely deployed and are provided with limited power supply. The routing strategy is treated as an effective solution to improve the lifetime of the network. The cluster based routing techniques are used in the WSN to enhance the network lifespan and to minimize the energy consumption of the network. In this paper, an energy efficient heterogeneous clustering protocol for the enhancement of the network lifetime is proposed. The proposed protocol uses the sensor energy for the clustering process in a well-organized manner to maximize the lifetime of network. The MATLAB simulator is used for implementing the clustering model of proposed protocol and for measuring the effectiveness of the proposed technique the comparison is performed with the various existing approaches such as Stability Election Protocol, Distributed Energy Efficient Clustering and Adaptive Threshold Energy Efficient cross layer based Routing.

     

Manufacturing multi-material articulated plastic products using in-mold assembly

In-mold assembly can be used to create plastic products with articulated joints. This process eliminates the need for post-molding assembly and reduces the number of parts being used in the product, hence improving the product quality. However, designing both products and molds is significantly more challenging in case of in-mold assembly. Currently, a systematic methodology does not exist for developing product and processes to exploit potential benefits of in-mold assembly for creating articulated joints. This paper is a step towards creating such a methodology and reports the following three results. First, it presents a model for designing assemblies and molding process so that the joint clearances and variation in the joint clearances can meet the performance goals. Second, it describes proven mold design templates for realizing revolute, prismatic, and spherical joints. Third, it describes a mold design methodology for designing molds for products that contain articulated joints and will be produced using in-mold assembly process. Three case studies are also presented to illustrate how in-mold assembly process can be used to create articulated devices.     

Coverage area enhancement in wireless sensor network

In the wireless sensor network, coverage area may be enhanced after an initial deployment of sensors. Though, some research works propose how to decrease the coverage hole by increasing sensing range or movement assisted sensor deployment, these are not suitable for energy constraint wireless sensor network, as longer mobility distance or higher power level consume more energy. In this paper, we address the increasing coverage area through smaller mobility of nodes. We find out the coverage hole in the monitoring region, which is not covering by any sensing disk of sensor. Then, we address the new position of mobility nodes to increase the coverage area. The simulation result shows the mobile nodes can recover the coverage hole perfectly. The coverage holes is recovered by mobility on the existing recovery area, which cannot be lost. Moreover, hole detection time in our proposed protocol is better than existing algorithm.