Response level crossing rate of a linear system excited by a partially specified Gaussian load process

The problem of determining the maximum mean response level crossing rate of a linear system driven by a partially specified Gaussian load process has been considered. The partial specification of the load is given only in terms of its total average energy. The critical input power spectral (PSD) function, which maximizes the mean response level crossing rate, is obtained. The critical input PSD turns out to be highly narrow-banded which fails to capture the erratic nature of the excitation. Consequently, the trade-off curve between the maximum mean response level crossing rate and the maximum disorder in the input process, quantified in terms of its entropy rate, has been generated. The method of Pareto optimization is used to tackle the conflicting objectives of the simultaneous maximization of the mean response level crossing rate and the input entropy rate. The non-linear multi-objective optimization has been carried out using a recently developed multi-criteria genetic algorithm scheme. Illustrative example of determining the critical input of an axially vibrating rod, excited by a partially specified stationary Gaussian load process, has been considered.     

A generalized continuum theory for multiphase suspension flows

A continuum theory for multiphase particulate suspensions in a fluid media is formulated. The generalized fundamental balance laws for the particulate phases as well as for the continuous suspending fluid phase are presented. The thermodynamics of a multiphase system is studied and the method of Lagrangian multipliers is employed to include the constraints of incompressibility of materials of the constituents and the criterion for fully saturated media. Constitutive equations are developed which include microrotational and microdilatational effects. The basic equations of motion of different phases are derived and discussed. Special considerations are given to the case of incompressible constituents. Examples of applications of the present theory to dilute suspension flows and multiphase sedimentations are also discussed.     

Pd/Cu-Free Cobalt-Catalyzed Suzuki and Heck Using Green Bio-Magnetic Hybrid and DFT-Based Theoretical Study

Catalysis Letters - Several highly efficient and magnetically recyclable cobalt catalytic systems were prepared using magnetic chitosan and some safe and available organic compounds...     

A game attention model for efficient bit rate allocation in cloud gaming

The widespread availability of broadband internet access and the growth in server-based processing have provided an opportunity to run games away from the player into the cloud and offer a new promising service known as cloud gaming. The concept of cloud gaming is to render a game in the cloud and stream the resulting game scenes to the player as a video sequence over a broadband connection. To meet the stringent network bandwidth requirements of cloud gaming and support more players, efficient bit rate reduction techniques are needed. In this paper, we introduce the concept of game attention model (GAM), which is basically a game context-based visual attention model, as a means for reducing the bit rate of the streaming video more efficiently. GAM estimates the importance of each macro-block in a game frame from the player’s perspective and allows encoding the less important macro-blocks with lower bit rate. We have evaluated nine game video sequences, covering a wide range of game genre and a spectrum of scene content in terms of details, motion and brightness. Our subjective assessment shows that by integrating this model into the cloud gaming framework, it is possible to decrease the required bit rate by nearly 25 % on average, while maintaining a relatively high user quality of experience. This clearly enables players with limited communication resources to benefit from cloud gaming with acceptable quality.     

Bumpy Particle Adhesion and Removal in Turbulent Flows Including Electrostatic and Capillary Forces

The effect of electrostatic and capillary forces on bumpy particle adhesion and removal in turbulent flows is studied. We use the JKR theory and account for the increase of adhesion by capillary force. The effects of electrostatic forces and nonlinear hydrodynamic drag are included in the analyses. The criteria for incipient rolling and sliding detachments and electrostatic lifting removal are evaluated. A turbulence burst model is used for evaluating the peak air velocity near the substrate. The critical shear velocities for detaching particles of different sizes under different conditions are evaluated. The electric field strength needed for electrostatic removal of particles with different charges is also estimated. The results are compared with those obtained in the absence of the capillary force. Comparisons of the model predictions with the available experimental data are also presented.     

Electrodeposition of smooth and adherent film of polypyrrole on lead electrode

Electropolymerization of pyrrole on lead substrate electrode was studied. Due to electrochemical activity of Pb in acidic media, this process is only possible at basic pHs. For this purpose, electropolymerization process was performed in an aqueous solution of Na₂SO₄ with pH 12. Potentiodynamic cycling shows the Pb oxidation at the first cycles. In subsequent cycles, polypyrrole film grows on the oxidized lead substrate. Of course, as the passive film is highly porous, a composite of polypyrrole/PbSO₄ is formed in the first layers. However, subsequent cycling leads to the formation of pure polypyrrole film. According to this structure and strong connection of the polymer film to the substrate surface via this composite layer, the polypyrrole film deposited on the lead surface has enhanced mechanical stability. AFM measurements showed peculiar smoothness of both composite and lateral polypyrrole films. This synthesis approach is of particular interest for the preparation of highly stable polymer films and fabrication of supercapacitors with a polymer/PbSO₄ conductive structure.     

Context-aware saliency detection for image retargeting using convolutional neural networks

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Image retargeting is the task of making images capable of being displayed on screens with different sizes. This work should be done so that high-level visual...     

Tracing fine sediment sources in small mountain catchment

Fine sediment represents an important diffuse source pollutant in surface waters, due to its role in governing the transfer and fate of many substances, including nutrients, heavy metals, pesticides and other organic contaminants, and its influence on aquatic ecology. Therefore, catchment management strategies frequently need to include provision for the control of sediment mobilization and delivery. The sediment tracing concept provides a valuable framework for assisting the management and control of diffuse source sediment pollution by identifying the key sources and demonstrating the importance of intermediate storages and the likely impact of upstream mitigation strategies on downstream sediment and sediment associated contaminant fluxes. In this research, fine sediment sources were identified using tracing method. By field works, sediments were sampled from dam reservoir, different sources were also sampled. Fifteen tracers were first selected for tracing which are: The amounts of N, P, C, Cr, Co, Mg, K, Na, smectite, chlorite, illite, kaolinite, and two magnetic properties consisting of LOW Frequency Magnetic Susceptibility (X(LF)) and Frequency Dependent Magnetic Susceptibility (X(FD)). The samples were analyzed in the laboratory for these parameters and different statistical methods were applied to the data including Non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis Test and Stepwise Discriminant function analysis. The results provide important information on the relative importance of fine sediment sources to the reservoir sediments, which can be used to support model validation and the targeting of management and control strategies.     

Design and simulation of autonomous military vehicle control system based on machine vision and ensemble movement approach

The Journal of Supercomputing - On the battlefield, early detection of armored vehicles can have a positive effect. Because according to this issue, timely and appropriate reactions can be done....