Quality of Service in VoIP Communication

The focus of this paper lies in the practical aspects of voice over IP communication. VoIP configurations in the H.323 standard will be presented briefly. Following that, the fundamental protocol procedure of H.323 communication will be briefly explained. A further part of the paper will address the subject QoS (quality of service), and present the common measurement methods used in QoS. Results gained from experiments conducted in a VoIP environment will then follow. The investigations concentrate primarily on the load behavior of voice packets in relation to important parameters of this service. The results obtained are presented and evaluated in diagrams. The paper concludes with a summary.     

Predicting the electrospinnability of polymer solutions with electromechanical simulation

The number of polymers successfully electrospun is increasing, and methods are needed predict the electrospinnability of polymers. With such methods, researchers should consider the polymer solution parameters and perform measurements in conditions that mimic the electrospinning process. A novel test method based on the electromechanical simulation of the fiber formation was developed. We formed fibers by mechanically dragging a conductive ball from the solution at an applied voltage and measuring the electrical current. The changes in the time of the electrical current (the ball current) reflect the fiber‐formation process, which depended on certain polymer solution properties (e.g., viscosity, surface tension, liquid flow) and on the influence of charges on the fiber surface. The data obtained with the proposed method was compared with experimental data from electrospinning trials with the spinneret and bubble electrospinning. The results demonstrate that the ball‐current method made it possible to predict the polymer solution behavior in the electrospinning process. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 41091.     

Tice: A real-time language compilable using C++ compilers

Model-based development (MBD) holds the promise to capture potential timing problems in embedded software during the early phases of the development, securing the production of bug-free embedded software. For most MBD approaches, the source code is just an intermediate artifact that can be generated automatically from the models. This assumption clashes with an undeniable fact: a large share of the commercial embedded software exploits existing libraries or is developed using C/C++ natively. A way to reconcile the ambitions of MBD with the use of a programming language is by offering new language constructs and an innovative compilation tool-chain that prevents model error and timing problems “by construction.” However, the persistent popularity of C/C++ among embedded programmers and the limited availability of tools have severely limited the uptake of alternative programming languages for embedded software. Therefore, we propose an original route. Our language proposal, named Tice, has been shaped as a C++ active library. Tice retains full compatibility with existing C++ code, which can be integrated easily into new Tice-based projects. The enforcement of Tice syntax and semantics can be made by a standard C++ compiler, forgoing the need for new tools. In this article, we describe Tice's syntax, semantics, and model of computation and communication. We demonstrate Tice's practical applicability on an industrial scale use-case and give ample evidence for Tice's efficient compilation using off-the-shelf C++ compilers. Finally, we show Tice's code generation process.     

The influence of solution parameters on the electrospinning intensity from foamed surface

Electrospinning is an efficient process for producing polymeric and hybrid nanofibers. There is, however, a lack of understanding concerning scalability of the process and in particular the production rate optimization. The electrospinning mass transfer intensity depends predominately on solution parameters, process parameters and the design of the equipment. These parameters influence the deposition intensity of the spinning process differently, but it is not known which factors dominate. The e‐spinning deposition intensity of polyethylene oxide, polyvinyl alcohol and their mixtures was investigated using a bubble foamed polymer solution surface to promote high mass deposition. Based on the measured properties of the solutions, a mathematical criterion was developed which made it possible to predict the electrospinning intensity of a given polymer solution. The proposed formula agrees with the experimental data and confirms that spinning intensity can be predicted from pre‐determined solution parameters. Using computer modeling, the weighting coefficients of the solution parameters have been determined, showing which parameter is the most important for the process intensity. The criterion and the same weighting coefficients were applied to the analysis of published data and it was found that they can be applied not only for electrospinning from the foamed surface but also from the free surface. A physical explanation of the criterion is proposed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42034.     

Textile-based microfluidics: modulated wetting,mixing, sorting,and energy harvesting

Microfluidics technology allows us to perform rapid and massively parallel manipulation and characterization of fluid samples with biomedical and environmental importance. In the attempt to achieve resource-efficient fabrication and operation of the microfluidic devices, paper-based and thread-based microfluidics have been previously demonstrated by other researchers. We propose to develop textile-based microfluidics, formed by three-dimensional networks of individual threads, to further advance the ability of paper-based and thread-based microfluidics. This paper describes four different phenomena that we investigate in textile-based microfluidic systems: modulated wetting, liquid mixing, liquid sorting, and energy harvesting. Our results indicate the feasibility of textiles as a new platform to develop low-cost microfluidic technology.