Dual Decay Research Articles

MBSNN: A multi-branch scalable neural network for resource-constrained IoT devices

Recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence promote the development of deep neural networks (DNNs)-based intelligent applications in the Internet of Things (IoT). However, these powerful DNNs have considerable model parameters, computational complexity, and storage usage, which impose heavy costs on resource-constrained IoT devices and incur unendurable latency in smart applications. To overcome these challenges, numerous works aim to design lightweight DNNs, but existing works encounter two severe bottlenecks: one is the acute accuracy degradation when reducing model parameters, and the other is the failure to balance the accuracy and resource usage under dynamic workloads.In this paper, we investigate the problems of designing and deploying DNNs on resource-constrained IoT devices. Specifically, we first design a novel multi-branch scalable neural network (MBSNN) architecture, which features multiple subnets to provide optional intelligent services of different accuracy. Then, we propose a stepwise incremental training technique and a learning rate dual decay strategy that can efficiently train MBSNN and increase accuracy. Afterwards, we develop a threshold selection-based adaptive inference mechanism, which can wisely select thresholds for MBSNN to achieve optimal accuracy under given timing constraints. Extensive experiments show that compared to benchmarking methods, our MBSNN improves accuracy by up to 1.63%, reduces computational complexity by up to 32.7%, and decreases model parameters by up to 41.9%.

A Modified Great Deluge Algorithm with Dual Decay Rate for School Timetabling

A Modified Great Deluge Algorithm with Dual Decay Rate for School Timetabling

Pb–Pb chronometry and the early Solar System

Of the long-lived chronometric systems, only the dual decay of 238U and 235U to 206Pb and 207Pb, respectively, have appropriate half-lives to resolve the ages of meteorites and their components formed in the first 5Myr of the Solar System. This paper reviews the theory and methods behind this chronometer, offers criteria to critically evaluate Pb–Pb ages and presents a summary of the current state and immediate future of the chronometry of the early Solar System. We recognize that there is some debate over the age of the Solar System, but conclude that an age of 4567.30±0.16Ma based on four CAIs dated individually by the same method in two different laboratories is presently the best constrained published value. We further conclude that nebular chondrules dated by the Pb–Pb method require that they formed contemporaneously with CAIs and continued to form for at least ∼4Myr, a conclusion that implies heterogeneous distribution of the short-lived 26Al nuclide in the protoplanetary disk. Planetesimals were already forming by ∼1Myr after CAI formation, consistent with their growth predominantly through the accretion of chondrules. Nebular chondrule formation was completed by ∼5Myr after CAI formation when the impact-generated Cba chondrules formed after the disk was cleared of gas and dust. We note that the absolute age of the Solar System or any single early Solar System object is not fundamental to any significant scientific question and that it is important only to know the correct relative ages of objects being used to piece together the formation history of the Solar System. As such, we point out the risks inherent in comparing Pb–Pb ages produced by different approaches in different laboratories at the level of the internal errors of individual ages. Until a cross-calibration exercise using synthetic and natural standards establishes the reproducibility between laboratories, only ages from a single laboratory, or between laboratories having demonstrated concordance, can provide a reliable relative chronometric framework for the formation and evolution of the early Solar System.

A Novel Method and Its Application to Measuring Pathogen Decay in Bioaerosols from Patients with Respiratory Disease.

This work aimed to develop an in vivo approach for measuring the duration of human bioaerosol infectivity. To achieve this, techniques designed to target short-term and long-term bioaerosol aging, were combined in a tandem system and optimized for the collection of human respiratory bioaerosols, without contamination. To demonstrate the technique, cough aerosols were sampled from two persons with cystic fibrosis and chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. Measurements and cultures from aerosol ages of 10, 20, 40, 900 and 2700 seconds were used to determine the optimum droplet nucleus size for pathogen transport and the airborne bacterial biological decay. The droplet nuclei containing the greatest number of colony forming bacteria per unit volume of airborne sputum were between 1.5 and 2.6 μm. Larger nuclei of 3.9 μm, were more likely to produce a colony when impacted onto growth media, because the greater volume of sputum comprising the larger droplet nuclei, compensated for lower concentrations of bacteria within the sputum of larger nuclei. Although more likely to produce a colony, the larger droplet nuclei were small in number, and the greatest numbers of colonies were instead produced by nuclei from 1.5 to 5.7 μm. Very few colonies were produced by smaller droplet nuclei, despite their very large numbers. The concentration of viable bacteria within the dried sputum comprising the droplet nuclei exhibited an orderly dual decay over time with two distinct half-lives. Nuclei exhibiting a rapid biological decay process with a 10 second half-life were quickly exhausted, leaving only a subset characterized by a half-life of greater than 10 minutes. This finding implied that a subset of bacteria present in the aerosol was resistant to rapid biological decay and remained viable in room air long enough to represent an airborne infection risk.

A radio-theranostic nanoparticle with high specific drug loading for cancer therapy and imaging

We have developed a theranostic nanoparticle delivering the model radionuclide 177Lu based on the versatile lipid-calcium-phosphate (LCP) nanoparticle delivery platform. Characterization of 177Lu-LCP has shown that radionuclide loading can be increased by several orders of magnitude without affecting the encapsulation efficiency or the morphology of 177Lu-LCP, allowing consistency during fabrication and overcoming scale-up barriers typical of nanotherapeutics. The choice of 177Lu as a model radionuclide has allowed in vivo anticancer therapy in addition to radiographic imaging via the dual decay modes of 177Lu. Tumor accumulation of 177Lu-LCP was measured using both SPECT and Cerenkov imaging modalities in live mice, and treatment with just one dose of 177Lu-LCP showed significant in vivo tumor inhibition in two subcutaneous xenograft tumor models. Microenvironment and cytotoxicity studies suggest that 177Lu-LCP inhibits tumor growth by causing apoptotic cell death via double-stranded DNA breaks while causing a remodeling of the tumor microenvironment to a more disordered and less malignant phenotype.

Correlating the Luminosity Parameters to Pulse Shape Discrimination

Monte Carlo simulations were used to investigate the correlation between luminosity parameters and pulse shape discrimination (PSD) and subsequently compared with experimental results from CsI:Tl. Luminosity intensity parameters Af, As (fast and slow initial luminosities) and temporal luminosity parameters τf, τs (fast and slow decay time constants) of a dual decay mode scintillator were applied to create a dynamic model with Crystal Ball simulation system. The simulated pulses were analyzed with charge comparison (CC) and constant time discrimination (CTD) PSD methods followed by quantification of the histogrammed pulse data with Figure of Merit (FoM) and spillover (pulse misclassification). Performance in terms of FoM and spillover is compared with that of fixed reference pulses set at (Af τf/As τs)γ = 1 and (Af τf/As τs)γ = 0.1. For the CC method, independent of the reference pulse characteristics [(Af τf/As τs)γ = 1 or = 0.1], τs is the most influential parameter for PSD as compared with Af, As, and τf. For the CTD method, Af and As are seen to have less influence over the PSD compared to τf and τs when (Af τf/As τs)γ = 1 and τf is the most influential parameter for both reference pulses. Using both methods with either reference pulse applied, the scintillator having luminosity parameters such that is classified as having poor PSD. Excellent correlation is observed between the simulation and the experimental results with CsI:Tl, which is known for very good α/β(γ) pulse shape discrimination. This study is useful for describing how the luminosity parameters affects PSD.

U-Pb thermochronology: creating a temporal record of lithosphere thermal evolution

A new approach to U-Pb accessory mineral thermochronology allows high-resolution time-temperature histories to be extracted from lower crustal xenoliths. The combination of the U-Pb system’s dual decay scheme with the effects of temperature dependent Pb-diffusion can yield a time sensitive record of Pb production/diffusion within accessory phases. The difference in half-life for parent isotopes 238U and 235U results in the time-variable production of Pb isotopes 206Pb and 207Pb, while Pb diffusion can result in large variations in the time-scales at which Pb retention occurs between grains of different sizes. The combined effects of variable production rates between the two systems and diffusion result in data topologies on a concordia diagram that permit distinction between slow cooling and reheating t-T paths. In slowly cooled systems, the difference in time for Pb retention for grains of variable size yields a measure of partial retention zone (PRZ) residence time, and provides a robust measure of cooling rate through the PRZ. In Montana, three lower crustal xenoliths, each from a different depth, yield U-Pb rutile data that record a prolonged (>1 Ga) and slow cooling history towards a steady state geothermal gradient following the amalgamation of the terrain onto North America. The shallowest samples record the initial recovery of a conductive geothermal gradient and cool through the mineral PRZ at rates of <0.25°C/Ma over ~500 Ma. Deeper xenoliths record cooling at younger times over similar time scales and rates. This multi-depth thermal history provides a long-term record of lithosphere cooling and stabilization.

The banjo, string theory for the rest of us.

An analytical model of a five string banjo is used to calculate the dynamic response of a plucked banjo and the subsequent radiation of sound. This is the easy part: the difficult part is to identify and quantify the subtle differences between bad and good sound, whether that sound is measured or calculated. As a step toward this, the author has defined figures of merit (FOMs) to quantify radiated sound characteristics related to loudness, brightness, and decay, and to examine these FOMs as functions of the tension and propagation loss factor of the membranic head, the mass of the bridge, and the location of the pluck on the string. The calculated response does exhibit dual decay constants for radiated sound and a diminution of the sixth overtone. Qualitative agreement between calculated and measured mode patterns will be presented.

LUMINESCENT METALLACARBORANES

Metallacarborane complexes comprising MC x B y (x = 1–3, y = 3–10) polyhedral frameworks are not well known for their photophysical properties. While the subject of metallacarborane luminescence remains a hitherto under-explored topic, we have recently discovered surprising optoelectronic responses from a small clutch of rhenium-and ruthenium-carborane species. Thus the complexes [3,3,3-(CO)3-8-I-closo-3,1,2-ReC2B9H10]− and [3-CO-3,3-κ2-Me2N(CH2)2NMe2-closo-3,1,2-RuC2B9H11] display low temperature (77 K) phosphorescences with single-exponential decays (λem = 455 nm (τ = 1.65 ms) and λem = 450 nm (τ = 0.77 ms), respectively), while the structurally novel complex [7,10-μ-H-7-CO-7,7-(PPh3)2-isonido-7,8,9-ReC2B7H9] is photoemissive in solution at ambient temperatures (λem = 442 nm) with a variable biexponential dual fluorescent decay in frozen (77 K) glass. We have also observed frozen glass and solid state blue emission (λem ≈ 400 nm) from the complex [3,3-(CO)2-3-NO-closo-3,1,2-ReC2B9H11]. This work provides an opportunity to collate these results together and examine the related underlying causes for these emissions by interpretation of photophysical, electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical measurements. The results are related to the only other observed luminescence for a metallacarborane with an inclusive metal vertex, reported for the complex [commo-3,3′-Ni(1,2-C2B9H11)2], by virtue of a dynamic element leading to polyhedral skeletal reorganization of the metallacarborane framework in the excited state.

Possible role of the 11- cis -retinyl conformation in controlling the dual decay processes of excited rhodopsin

In this work, we examine how the reported dual decay processes of rhodopsin and binding site stereospecificity can be accounted for by the recently available crystal structure of rhodopsin. Arguments are presented for possible presence of two rhodopsin "rotamers" that fit within the binding cavity. Directed pathways of decay could account for the observed excited decay processes. We summarize evidence for the possible existence of two different ground-state configurations that give rise to two different excited species.

Forest resource trade between Japan and Southeast Asia: the structure of dual decay

Forest resource trade between Southeast Asia and Japan has been noteworthy because of its documented effects on the deforestation of Southeast Asia's environment. This paper expands the focus of this issue to include an examination of the effects of this trade on Japanese domestic forests. Our goal is to redefine the scope of discussions of trade-environment issues. We assert that the environmental problems of the importer and the exporter can be understood as a set of structurally connected phenomena, which we refer to as ‘dual decay.’ We examine the underlying dynamics of renewable resource trade and the effects of trade liberalization on both importers' and exporters' environments.

Lymphocyte Proteinpaedia Stage Two: T-Cell Polypeptides from a Partitioned cDNA Library Revealed by the Dual Decay Method

A complex population of gene products was analyzed by combining the great resolving power of two-dimensional (2D) protein electrophoresis with a detailed dissection of individual protein species afforded by cDNA cloning. A cDNA library from BW5147 was partitioned by random sampling into sectors (of a complexity of 500 phase plaques/sector). From each of the unique sets of cDNA clones present in the sector, 2D gels were prepared. Patterns of spots were analyzed using the Kepler software system, and the compiled data both from the sectors and from the natural lymphocyte populations have been established to serve as a guide for gene retrieval. Use of the dual decay method, which compares two exposures of a 2D gel co-electrophoretic pattern, obtained from samples with (35S)-polypeptides mixed with (3H)-polypeptides, is described and scrutinized. It was determined that of 268 spots (three sectors combined), 118 spots were shared with the natural lymphocyte population, the remaining 150 spots occur only in the sectors (and not detected in the cell population). All cDNA populations are available for retrieval. Information obtained throughout the work was entered into the database.

Time-scale calibration by high-precision U [sbnd]Pb zircon dating of interstratified volcanic ashes in the Ordovician and Lower Silurian stratotypes of Britain

High initial parent/daughter element ratios and a unique dual decay scheme make U Pb zicron ages more precise and reliable than most isotopic ages, and thus inherently superior for time-scale calibration. Employing improved techniques to the conventional method of U Pb dating, we have analyzed microgram-size (2–12 × 10 −8 g) zircon fractions from biostratigraphically controlled volcanic ashes and dated key Paleozoic time-markers with a precision better than 1% (±2Ma). Four of the stratotype samples from Britain for which fission-track ages [ 1] were previously reported have yielded improved ages of:438.7 ± 2.0Ma for the lower Silurian zone of Coronograptus cyphus from Llandovery strata at Dob's Linn, southern Scotland;457.5 ± 2.2 Ma for a Middle Ordovician Caradoc (Longvillian) ash near Bala, North Wales, and;465.7 ± 2.1and464.6 ± 1.8 Ma for the Didymograptus artus Zone and the type Didymograptus Murchisoni Zone, respectively, of the Llanvirn Series at Arenig Fawr and Abereiddi Bay, Wales. Another sample from the zone of Dicellograptus anceps ( P. pacificus Subzone) of the Ashgill Series at Dob's Linn has been dated at445.7 ± 2.4Ma, suggesting placement of the Ordovician-Silurian time boundary at approximately 441 Ma. A sixth bentonite from Caradocian age strata of North America (Spechts Ferry Shale, Decorah Formation, Missouri) is453.7 ± 1.8Ma old, indicating that the Rocklandian Stage of the Mohawkian Series is only slightly younger than the Longvillian Stage of the Caradoc Series in Britain.

Investigation of dual decay of70Ga (21 min)

The weakβ−-branchings in70Ga decay leading to excited states in70Ge at 1039 keV, and 1215 keV were measured byβ−-ray and γ-ray detection in 4π geometry to be 0.36 ±0.02%, and 0.32±0.01%, respectively. The weak electron capture decay of70Ga was confirmed and its intensity measured to be 0.41±0.05%. The energy of the γ-rays was remeasured to be 176.17±0.02 keV, and 1039.20±0.08 keV.

Dual Decay of the 50-DayIn114Isomer and Angular Momenta of the Excited States ofCd114

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Slow Neutron-induced Activities in Europium and Samarium

The activities produced by the neutron irradiation of europium and samarium have been investigated by means of a thin lens type β-ray spectrometer and by absorption and coincidence methods. The 9.2-hour activity in europium is due to the dual decay of 152Eu by β-emission and by K capture. The long period activity is due to both 152Eu and 154Eu, and again both β- emission and K capture are present. This long period K capture is due to 152Eu, and the β- emission is possibly due to both 152Eu and 154Eu. The energies of the emitted radiations are discussed and possible decay schemes proposed. The 47-hour activity induced in samarium is due to the β- decay of 153Sm, and measurement of the energies of the emitted radiations has been made.

Dual Decay of Potassium

IT has been known for some time that the?-ray activity shown by potassium is due entirely to the isotope 40K, which thereby transforms to 40Ca. One might expect that 40K would exhibit a dual decay, transforming to 40A either by emission of a positron or by the electron-capture process. Attempts have been made at various times to detect positrons in the radiation from potassium but without success. These experiments, however, would not have detected the electron-capture process. In 1937, von Weizsacker pointed out that considerations of the abundance of the chemical elements suggested that the isotope 40K may in fact transform by a capture process to 40A. The argument was as follows. The abundance of the chemical elements varies on the whole smoothly with atomic number, and the inert gases as a class show the same variation, except that they are rarer by several powers of 10 than their neighbouring elements. Argon is a striking exception, for it is about 1,000 times more abundant than would be expected from the general rule. The excess is due entirely to 40A, and argon would obey the rule if the 40A atoms could be attributed entirely to the transformation of 40K.