Interest For Many Applications Research Articles

Mildly Non-Projective Dependency Grammar

Syntactic representations based on word-to-word dependencies have a long-standing tradition in descriptive linguistics, and receive considerable interest in many applications. Nevertheless, dependency syntax has remained something of an island from a formal point of view. Moreover, most formalisms available for dependency grammar are restricted to projective analyses, and thus not able to support natural accounts of phenomena such as wh-movement and cross–serial dependencies. In this article we present a formalism for non-projective dependency grammar in the framework of linear context-free rewriting systems. A characteristic property of our formalism is a close correspondence between the non-projectivity of the dependency trees admitted by a grammar on the one hand, and the parsing complexity of the grammar on the other. We show that parsing with unrestricted grammars is intractable. We therefore study two constraints on non-projectivity, block-degree and well-nestedness. Jointly, these two constraints define a class of “mildly” non-projective dependency grammars that can be parsed in polynomial time. An evaluation on five dependency treebanks shows that these grammars have a good coverage of empirical data.

Growth of Silver Nanoparticles by DC Magnetron Sputtering

Silver (Ag) nanoparticles are of great interest for many applications. However, their fabrications have been limited by the synthesis methods in which size, shape, and aggregation are still difficult to control. Here, we reported on using direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering for growing Ag nanoparticles on unheated substrates. Effects of sputtering condition on grain size of Ag nanoparticle were discussed. At constant sputtering current and deposition time, the average sizes of Ag nanoparticles were 5.9 ± 1.8, 5.4 ± 1.3, and 3.8 ± 0.7 nm for the target‐substrate distances of 10, 15, and 20 cm, respectively. The morphology evolution from nanoparticles to wormlike networks was also reported. High‐resolution transmission electron microscopy image represented clear lattice fringes of Ag nanoparticles with a d‐spacing of 0.203 nm, corresponding to the (200) plane. The technique could be applied for growth of nanoparticles that were previously difficult to control over size and size uniformity.

A selective fluorogenic sensor for visual detection of nitrite

Determination of nitrite levels is of substantial interest in many applications from monitoring drinking water quality to clinical diagnosis, etc. N-(Rhodamine B)-lactam-o-phenylenediamine (RB-PDA) was identified from a panel of rhodamine-lactams for fluorogenic and visual detection of nitrite in aqueous media via analyte triggered formation of highly fluorescent and deep colored species.

Computational Design of Sequences With Good Correlation Properties

In this paper, we introduce a computational framework based on an iterative twisted approximation (ITROX) and a set of associated algorithms for various sequence design problems. The proposed computational framework can be used to obtain sequences (or complementary sets of sequences) possessing good periodic or aperiodic correlation properties and, in an extended form, to construct zero (or low) correlation zone sequences. Furthermore, as constrained (e.g., finite) alphabets are of interest in many applications, we introduce a modified version of our general framework that can be useful in these cases. Several applications of ITROX are studied and numerical examples (focusing on the construction of real-valued and binary sequences) are provided to illustrate the performance of ITROX for each application.

The forecasting performance of mortality models

Mortality projections are of special interest in many applications. For example, they are essential in life insurances to determine the annual contributions of their members as well as for population predictions. Due to their importance, there exists a huge variety of mortality forecasting models from which to seek the best approach. In the demographic literature, statements about the quality of the various models are mostly based on empirical ex-post examinations of mortality data for very few populations. On the basis of such a small number of observations, it is impossible to precisely estimate statistical forecasting measures. We use Monte Carlo (MC) methods here to generate time trajectories of mortality tables, which form a more comprehensive basis for estimating the root-mean-square error (RMSE) of different mortality forecasts.

Effects of cryogenic temperature on dynamic fragmentation of laser shock-loaded metal foils

Although shock-induced fracture and fragmentation of materials at low temperatures are issues of considerable interest for many applications, such as the protection from hypervelocity impacts in outer space or the ongoing development of high energy laser facilities aiming at inertial confinement fusion, little data can be found on the subject yet. In this paper, laser driven shock experiments are performed on gold and aluminum samples at both ambient and cryogenic (down to about 30 K) temperatures. Complementary techniques including transverse optical shadowgraphy, time-resolved velocity measurements, and post-recovery analyses are combined to assess the effects of target temperature upon the processes of microjetting, spallation, and dynamic punching, which are expected to govern fragments generation and ejection. The results indicate that cryogenic temperature tends to reduce the resistance to tensile and shear stresses, promotes brittle fracture, and leads to slightly higher fragments ejection velocities.

Modeling and structural analysis of evolutionarily diverse S8 family serine proteases.

Serine proteases are an abundant class of enzymes that are involved in a wide range of physiological processes and are classified into clans sharing structural homology. The active site of the subtilisin-like clan contains a catalytic triad in the order Asp, His, Ser (S8 family) or a catalytic tetrad in the order Glu, Asp and Ser (S53 family). The core structure and active site geometry of these proteases is of interest for many applications. The aim of this study was to investigate the structural properties of different S8 family serine proteases from a diverse range of taxa using molecular modeling techniques. In conjunction with 12 experimentally determined three-dimensional structures of S8 family members, our predicted structures from an archaeon, protozoan and a plant were used for analysis of the catalytic core. Amino acid sequences were obtained from the MEROPS database and submitted to the LOOPP server for threading based structure prediction. The predicted structures were refined and validated using PROCHECK, SCRWL and MODELYN. Investigation of secondary structures and electrostatic surface potential was performed using MOLMOL. Encompassing a wide range of taxa, our structural analysis provides an evolutionary perspective on S8 family serine proteases. Focusing on the common core containing the catalytic site of the enzyme, the analysis presented here is beneficial for future molecular modeling strategies and structure-based rational drug design.

Scanning Kelvin Probe as a highly sensitive tool for detecting hydrogen permeation with high local resolution

Hydrogen uptake by metals is of high interest for many applications. Hydrogen storage may be a crucial factor for shaping the energy management of the future, but hydrogen absorption in some metallic materials, such as high strength steels, may also cause so called hydrogen induced embrittlement, which constitutes a serious operational safety problem in technical applications. Hence, hydrogen uptake into and permeation through metals is an important field of research. However, what is missing is a ready to use technique with high lateral resolution. Here a novel approach will be presented, based on a potentiometric hydrogen detection at high lateral resolution.

Full transient response of Taylor cones to a step change in electric field

We studied experimentally the complete transient response of Taylor cones subject to a step change in external electric field with the goal of finding optimal conditions to reduce the overall response time and achieve the highest possible switching bandwidth. The transient behavior of electrified menisci is of interest for many applications that would benefit from active control of on/off switching of the electrospray, such as femtoliter droplet-on-demand or novel fuel injectors in next generation internal combustion engines. We first investigated the transient behavior of ethanol, a typical solvent for droplet-on-demand. We then expanded the study to fuels such as JP-8 and E-30 biogas, a biofuel with 30% ethanol (vol.). The system response is a multi-stage process that can last from ~100 μs to ~100 ms. Potential bottleneck stages include liquid accumulation, meniscus oscillation, and cone relaxation, depending on the experimental conditions. A typical full response time is ~1 ms, and the shortest transient process observed is ~400 μs. For a given liquid, nozzle outer diameter (OD) and applied voltage are the two most important parameters to influence the full response time. Onset or near-onset voltage for the establishment of the cone jet often leads to a large number of oscillation cycles and should be avoided. Changes in conductivity and viscosity by less than a factor of 10 have negligible effects on the transient process. Using JP-8 or E-30 biogas, 90 μm OD nozzle with extractor, and flow rate of 0.4 mL/h, we can routinely achieve bandwidth of 1 kHz, corresponding to a full response time of 1 ms, after which quasi-monodispersed droplets of ~10 μm are generated. Adaptation of an inviscid model of a charged oscillating droplet to the oscillating meniscus satisfactorily explains several key phenomena observed in our experiments, such as the full response time and the overshoot of the meniscus height.

Statistical downscaling of historical monthly mean winds over a coastal region of complex terrain. I. Predicting wind speed

Surface wind speed is a key climatic variable of interest in many applications, including assessments of storm-related infrastructure damage and feasibility studies of wind power generation. In this work and a companion paper (van der Kamp et al. 2011), the relationship between local surface wind and large-scale climate variables was studied using multiple regression analysis. The analysis was performed using monthly mean station data from British Columbia, Canada and large-scale climate variables (predictors) from the NCEP-2 reanalysis over the period 1979–2006. Two regression-based methodologies were compared. The first relates the annual cycle of station wind speed to that of the large-scale predictors at the closest grid box to the station. It is shown that the relatively high correlation coefficients obtained with this method are attributable to the dominant influence of region-wide seasonality, and thus contain minimal information about local wind behaviour at the stations. The second method uses interannually varying data for individual months, aggregated into seasons, and is demonstrated to contain intrinsically local information about the surface winds. The dependence of local wind speed upon large-scale predictors over a much larger region surrounding the station was also explored, resulting in 2D maps of spatial correlations. The cross-validated explained variance using the interannual method was highest in autumn and winter, ranging from 30 to 70% at about a dozen stations in the region. Reasons for the limited predictive skill of the regressions and directions for future progress are reviewed.

Bifunctional Nanoparticles with Fluorescence and Magnetism via Surface-Initiated AGET ATRP Mediated by an Iron Catalyst

Fluorescent/magnetic nanoparticles are of interest in many applications in biotechnology and nanomedicine for its living detection. In this study, a novel method of surface modification of nanoparticles was first used to modify a fluorescent monomer on the surfaces of magnetic nanoparticles directly. This was achieved via iron(III)-mediated atom-transfer radical polymerization with activators generated by electron transfer (AGET ATRP). Fluorescent monomer 9-(4-vinylbenzyl)-9H-carbazole (VBK) was synthesized and was grafted from magnetic nanoparticles (ferroferric oxide) via AGET ATRP using FeCl(3)·6H(2)O as the catalyst, tris(3,6-dioxaheptyl)amine (TDA-1) as the ligand, and ascorbic acid (AsAc) as the reducing agent. The initiator for ATRP was modified on magnetic nanoparticles with the reported method: ligand exchange with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and then esterification with 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide. After polymerization, a well-defined nanocomposite (Fe(3)O(4)@PVBK) was yielded with a magnetic core and a fluorescent shell (PVBK). Subsequently, well-dispersed bifunctional nanoparticles (Fe(3)O(4)@PVBK-b-P(PEGMA)) in water were obtained via consecutive AGET ATRP of hydrophilic monomer poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA). The chemical composition of the magnetic nanoparticles' surface at different surface modification stages was investigated with Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra. The magnetic and fluorescent properties were validated with a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and a fluorophotometer. The Fe(3)O(4)@PVBK-b-P(PEGMA) nanoparticles showed an effective imaging ability in enhancing the negative contrast in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Optimisation of surface expression using the AIDA autotransporter

BackgroundBacterial surface display is of interest in many applications, including live vaccine development, screening of protein libraries and the development of whole cell biocatalysts. The goal of this work was to understand which parameters result in production of large quantities of cells that at the same time express desired levels of the chosen protein on the cell surface. For this purpose, staphylococcal protein Z was expressed using the AIDA autotransporter in Escherichia coli.ResultsThe use of an OmpT-negative E. coli mutant resulted in successful expression of the protein on the surface, while a clear degradation pattern was found in the wild type. The expression in the mutant resulted also in a more narrow distribution of the surface-anchored protein within the population. Medium optimisation showed that minimal medium with glucose gave more than four times as high expression as LB-medium. Glucose limited fed-batch was used to increase the cell productivity and the highest protein levels were found at the highest feed rates. A maintained high surface expression up to cell dry weights of 18 g l-1 could also be achieved by repeated glucose additions in batch cultivation where production was eventually reduced by low oxygen levels. In spite of this, the distribution in the bacterial population of the surface protein was narrower using the batch technique.ConclusionsA number of parameters in recombinant protein production were seen to influence the surface expression of the model protein with respect both to the productivity and to the display on the individual cell. The choice of medium and the cell design to remove proteolytic cleavage were however the most important. Both fed-batch and batch processing can be successfully used, but prolonged batch processing is probably only possible if the chosen strain has a low acetic acid production.

Automatic comparison and remeshing applied to CAD model modification

Automatically detecting modifications between CAD models has many potential applications in product development processes. Tracing modifications throughout the design and manufacturing cycle of a new product, based on CAD/CAM/CAE tools, is one of these applications. Easily retrieving and reusing existing designs, along with engineering data associated, is another very interesting perspective. In this direction, several methods have been proposed, aimed at the quantification of similarity between existing CAD models. These methods are based on using shape descriptors, with a specific focus on invariance to affine transformations. However, these methods are dedicated to discriminating, clustering and retrieving CAD models, and not to accurately identifying and locating differences between models. Such an automatic identification of differences between CAD models is of great practical interest for many applications but making it invariant to affine transformations is very complex. This paper proposes new shape descriptors that are focused on this invariance. These descriptors use vector-based representations of geometry, which can be successfully applied for accurate, local and automatic comparisons between CAD models. The potential of these descriptors is illustrated in the specific context of automatic remeshing, which is the initial purpose for which they have been designed. The result demonstrates that this vector-based representation of geometry can contribute, possibly in conjunction with other shape descriptors, to setting up powerful and efficient CAD model comparison tools.

5,15‐A2B2‐ and 5,15‐A2BC‐Type Porphyrins with Donor and Acceptor Groups for Use in Nonlinear Optics and Photodynamic Therapy

AbstractDevelopment of efficient new synthetic strategies leading to more diversified substitution patterns of porphyrin rings is of great importance as it expands the potential applicability of these compounds and provides a more accurate way of tailoring their properties for a specific application. Changes in the electronic and conformational structures induced by different substituents are manifested by unique properties which are of interest for many applications ranging from amphiphilic porphyrins for photodynamic therapy, push–pull systems for optical applications, chiral systems useful in catalysis, to donor–acceptor systems suitable for electron transfer studies. Different chemical strategies were demonstrated for access to unsymetrically substituted porphyrins with nonequivalent β or meso substituents. For the latter we have adopted the functionalization of preformed porphyrins in order to obtain a diverse range of porphyrin structures with 5,15‐A2B2 and 5,15‐A2BC meso substitution patterns suitable for applications in optical limiting and photodynamic therapy. The functionalization of A2‐type starting materials by organolithium and palladium‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reactions is an efficient means to enable the introduction of almost any desired meso substituent. We report the nonlinear absorptive properties of our A2B2 and A2BC porphyrins and show that there is strong correlation between structural features and the optical limiting efficiency. The nonlinear optical studies indicate that the 5,15‐A2B2 substitution pattern provides more promising candidates for use in optical limiting.

Feedback in the Non-Asymptotic Regime

Without feedback, the backoff from capacity due to non-asymptotic blocklength can be quite substantial for blocklengths and error probabilities of interest in many practical applications. In this paper, novel achievability bounds are used to demonstrate that in the non-asymptotic regime, the maximal achievable rate improves dramatically thanks to variable-length coding and feedback. For example, for the binary symmetric channel with capacity 1/2 the blocklength required to achieve 90% of the capacity is smaller than 200, compared to at least 3100 for the best fixed-blocklength code (even with noiseless feedback). Virtually all the advantages of noiseless feedback are shown to be achievable, even if the feedback link is used only to send a single signal informing the encoder to terminate the transmission (stop-feedback). It is demonstrated that the non-asymptotic behavior of the fundamental limit depends crucially on the particular model chosen for the “end-of-packet” control signal. Fixed-blocklength codes and related questions concerning communicating with a guaranteed delay are discussed, in which situation feedback is demonstrated to be almost useless even non-asymptotically.

Templated Photonic Crystal Fabrication of Stoichiometrically Complex Nanoparticles for Resonance Raman Solid Cross Section Determinations

Development of methods to fabricate nanoparticles is of great interest for many applications. In this paper, we developed a facile method to fabricate complex stoichiometrically defined nanoparticles by ultilizing the defined volume interstices of close-packed photonic crystals. Fabrication of small defined size nanoparticles enables measurements of resonance Raman cross sections of solid materials. We successfully ultilized this method to fabricate mixed NaNO3/Na2SO4 nanoparticles with a defined stoichiometry on the surface of the photonic crystal spherical particles. We used these stoichiometrically defined NaNO3/Na2SO4 nanoparticles to determine the solid UV resonance Raman cross section of the NO3¯ ν1 symmetric stretching band (229 nm excitation wavelength) by monitoring the Raman spectrum of Na2SO4 as an internal standard. These are the first resonance Raman cross section measurements of solids that avoid the biasing of self-absorption. These NaNO3/Na2SO4 nanoparticles appear to show a more facile photolysis than is observed for normal solid NaNO3 samples. This templated photonic crystal fabrication of complex nanoparticle method will be important for many applications.

Nonparametric Framework for Detecting Spectral Anomalies in Hyperspectral Images

Over the past few years, hyperspectral data exploitation aimed at detecting spectral anomalies within remotely sensed images has been of growing interest in many applications. In this letter, we are interested in an anomaly detection (AD) scheme for hyperspectral images in which spectral anomalies are defined with respect to a statistical model of the background probability density function (PDF). Among the multitude of PDF estimators discussed in statistics literature, Parzen windowing (PW) has always attracted much attention. However, its ability to estimate the PDF of global background in order to detect anomalies in hyperspectral images has not been investigated yet. Here, we propose the use of PW to provide reliable background PDF estimation. As is widely recognized, PW performance is primarily affected by the choice of the bandwidth matrix, which controls the degree of smoothing for the resulting PDF approximation. In this letter, the bandwidth selection problem is approached, resorting to an unsupervised method based on a Bayesian approach. Once the background PDF is approximated through PW, it is employed to detect anomalous objects within the scene by using the likelihood ratio test.

Reversible temperature regulation of electrical and thermal conductivity using liquid–solid phase transitions

Reversible temperature tuning of electrical and thermal conductivities of materials is of interest for many applications, including seasonal regulation of building temperature, thermal storage and sensors. Here we introduce a general strategy to achieve large contrasts in electrical and thermal conductivities using first-order phase transitions in percolated composite materials. Internal stress generated during a phase transition modulates the electrical and thermal contact resistances, leading to large contrasts in the electrical and thermal conductivities at the phase transition temperature. With graphite/hexadecane suspensions, the electrical conductivity changes 2 orders of magnitude and the thermal conductivity varies up to 3.2 times near 18 °C. The generality of the approach is also demonstrated in other materials such as graphite/water and carbon nanotube/hexadecane suspensions.

Analysis of light propagation in slotted resonator based systems via coupled-mode theory

Optical devices with a slot configuration offer the distinct feature of strong electric field confinement in a low refractive index region and are, therefore, of considerable interest in many applications. In this work we investigate light propagation in a waveguide-resonator system where the resonators consist of slotted ring cavities. Owing to the presence of curved material interfaces and the vastly different length scales associated with the sub-wavelength sized slots and the waveguide-resonator coupling regions on the one hand, and the spatial extent of the ring on the other hand, this prototypical system provides significant challenges to both direct numerical solvers and semi-analytical approaches. We address these difficulties by modeling the slot resonators via a frequency-domain spatial Coupled-Mode Theory (CMT) approach, and compare its results with a Discontinuous Galerkin Time-Domain (DGTD) solver that is equipped with curvilinear finite elements. In particular, the CMT model is built on the underlying physical properties of the slotted resonators, and turns out to be quite efficient for analyzing the device characteristics. We also discuss the advantages and limitations of the CMT approach by comparing the results with the numerically exact solutions obtained by the DGTD solver. Besides providing considerable physical insight, the CMT model thus forms a convenient basis for the efficient analysis of more complex systems with slotted resonators such as entire arrays of waveguide-coupled resonators and systems with strongly nonlinear optical properties.

Computational nano-optic technology based on discrete sources method

Continuous advance in the potential of fabrication and utilization of nanostructures for different applications requires an adequate tool for such structures’ analysis and characterization. Investigation of light scattered by nanostructures by means of computer simulation seems to be a reliable tool for investigation of the properties and functional abilities of nanostructures. In particular, nano-features embedded in layered structures are of growing interest for many practical applications. Mathematical modeling of light scattering allows us to predict functional properties and behavior of nanostructures prior to their fabrication. This helps to reduce manufacturing and experimental costs. In the present paper, the Discrete Sources Method (DSM) is used as a tool of computational nano-optics. Mathematical models based on DSM are used for several practical applications. We are going to demonstrate that the computer simulation analysis allows not only prediction and investigation of the system properties, but can help in development and design of new setups.