Simulation and uniform design-based automatic generation of risk scenarios

This paper presents a methodology for automatically generating risk scenarios for dynamic reliability applications in which some dynamic characteristics(e.g.,the order,timing and magnitude of events,the value of relevant process parameters and initial conditions) have a significant influence on the evolution of the system.The main idea of the methodology is:(i) making the system model "express itself" through simulation by having the model driven by an elaborated simulation engine;(ii) exploiting uniform design to pick out a small subset of representative design points from the space of relevant dynamic characteristics;(iii) for each selected design point,employing a depth-first systematic exploration strategy to cover all possible scenario branches at each branch point.A highly dynamic example adapted from the literature(a chemical batch reactor) is studied to test the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.     

热注入法制备Ni3S4纳米棒及其电化学性能

针对采用涂敷法制备电极材料时,运行一段时间后会出现电极的比容量性能下降较快的问题,利用热注入的方法,合成电化学性能优异、尺寸约为100 nm的Ni3 S4纳米棒.研究表明:制备小尺寸的纳米材料作为超级电容器的电极材料,有利于反应过程中电解液的快速渗透,能够进一步提高其电化学性能;制备的Ni3 S4纳米棒正极材料可以在0...     

存在镜面反射时的双目立体匹配

传统的立体匹配方法建立在Lambertian的漫反射模型之上,漫反射模型的立体匹配在一个图像的大多部分是有效的,但是在处理图像中包含镜面反射的部分时结果会产生严重的匹配错误。笔者利用漫反射和镜面反射在灰度和最大色度上的不同,分离出镜面反射的像素,然后采用一种针对镜面反射的匹配测度,在图像中漫反射部分和镜面反射部分都能匹配得到正确的视差。结果证明了方法的有效性。     

When will a Computer Write the Auditor's Report?

Most corporations are required by law to produce annual reports on their financial positions. These financial reports are accompanied by an auditor's report, which is an independent auditor's opinion on the fairness of the financial statements. To formulate their reports, auditors use a “personal-judgement” approach that heavily depends on their experience and expertise. This approach may be (1) ineffective and may lead to (2) different decisions, (3) personal bias, and (4) misleading judgements. These four drawbacks of a human auditor are a source of doubt and hesitation for every corporation. Therefore, the challenging question is: Can a computer do a better job? This paper focuses on the construction and implementation of a knowledge-based system, called the “Auditor's Report EXpert” (AREX), that is capable of formulating the opinion on financial statements, as expressed in the auditor's report. The knowledge used by AREX is acquired from the literature, and from a slate of practicing and academic auditors by means of questionnaires and in-depth interviews. A preliminary validation of AREX indicates that AREX is successful in performing the auditor's report task. Hence, we tentatively conclude that currently a computer program can support an auditor in his/her task. Moreover, in the foreseeable futur's reports that are effective, universal in their decisions, do not show a personal bias, and do not have misleading statements.     

Essential role for the p110delta phosphoinositide 3-kinase in the allergic response

Inflammatory substances released by mast cells induce and maintain the allergic response. Mast cell differentiation and activation are regulated, respectively, by stem cell factor (SCF; also known as Kit ligand) and by allergen in complex with allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE). Activated SCF receptors and high-affinity receptors for IgE (FcvarepsilonRI) engage phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI(3)Ks) to generate intracellular lipid second messenger signals. Here, we report that genetic or pharmacological inactivation of the p110delta isoform of PI(3)K in mast cells leads to defective SCF-mediated in vitro proliferation, adhesion and migration, and to impaired allergen-IgE-induced degranulation and cytokine release. Inactivation of p110delta protects mice against anaphylactic allergic responses. These results identify p110delta as a new target for therapeutic intervention in allergy and mast-cell-related pathologies.     

Electroretinogram — Flicker fusion frequency in albino trout

Résumé Les Fréquences de Fusion de l'Electrorétinogramme (FFF) ont été enregistrées chez les truites mouchetées (Salvelinus fontinalis) normales et albinos. Chez les poissons adaptés à la lumière ainsi qu'à l'obscurité les valeurs sont plus élevées chez les albinos que chez les animaux normaux. Les valeurs maximum de FFF sont aussi atteintes à des intensités moins élevées chez les albinos. Ces différences sont attribuables à l'entrée d'une plus grande quantité de lumière ainsi qu'à sa réflection par la sclérotique, ce qui est due au manque de pigment épithelial rétinien.     

Surfactant-decorated graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs) reinforced aluminum nanocomposites: sintering effects on hardness and wear

The exceptional properties of graphene make it ideal as a reinforcement to enhance the properties of aluminum matrices and this critically depends on uniform dispersion. In this study, the dispersion issue was addressed by sonication and non-covalent surface functionalization of graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs) using two types of surfactant: anionic (sodium dodecyl benzene sulfate (SDBS)) and non-ionic polymeric (ethyl cellulose (EC)). After colloidal mixing with Al powder, consolidation was performed at two sintering temperatures (550 and 620℃). The structure, density, mechanical and wear properties of the nanocomposite samples were investigated and compared with a pure Al and a pure GNPs/Al nanocomposite sample. Noticeably, EC-based 0.5wt% GNPs/Al samples showed the highest increment of 31% increase in hardness with reduced wear rate of 98.25% at 620℃, while a 22% increase in hardness with reduced wear rate of 96.98% at 550℃ was observed, as compared to pure Al. Microstructural analysis and the overall results validate the use of EC-based GNPs/Al nanocomposites as they performed better than pure Al and pure GNPs/Al nanocomposite at both sintering temperatures.