Non-traditional Applications Research Articles

Expanding Ground Vehicle Autonomy into Unstructured, Off-Road Environments: Dataset Challenges

As with the broad field of deep learning, autonomy is a research topic that has experienced a heavy explosion in attention from both the scientific and commercial industries due to its potential for the advancement of humanity in many cross-cutting disciplines. Recent advancements in computer vision-based autonomy has highlighted the potential for the realization of increasingly sophisticated autonomous ground vehicles for both commercial and non-traditional applications, such as grocery delivery. Part of the success of these technologies has been a boon in the abundance of training data that is available for training the autonomous behaviors associated with their autonomy software. These data abundance advantage is quickly diminished when an application moves from structured environments, i.e., well-defined city road networks, highways, street signage, etc., into unstructured environments, i.e., cross-country, off-road, non-traditional terrains. Herein, we aim to present insights, from a dataset perspective, into how the scientific community can begin to expand autonomy into unstructured environments, while highlighting some of the key challenges that are presented with such a dynamic and ever-changing environment. Finally, a foundation is laid for the creation of a robust off-road dataset being developed by the Engineer Research and Development Center and Mississippi State University’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems.

Opportunities of artificial intelligence in valorisation of biodiversity, biomass and bioresidues – towards advanced bio-economy, circular engineering, and sustainability

Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly gained notoriety due to fast advances in generative AI. However, this field encompasses a broader set of already mature tools and methods. Here, we explore its broad impact on the valorization of assets directly derived from living organisms, biomass, produced in high quantities and used in non-traditional applications at an industrial scale. For this review, we have explored the trends in scientific publications as well as in patents to measure the current state of the art and the potential for commercial applications. The number of publications and patents is rapidly increasing, showing the penetration of these technologies into chemical and biochemical engineering processes. The ethical considerations of such rapid advances need to be addressed to maximize the benefits and minimize the unintentional collateral negative social impact. Considering AI’s current limitations, biases, and economic impacts will facilitate a better transition to the broad implementation of these new technologies. The valorization of biomass and bioresidues, along with the sustainable use of biodiversity, faces important challenges and obstacles that AI tools are helping to overcome, accelerating basic research and optimizing industrial processes in the development of sustainable energy, and high value-added bioproducts and biomaterials. The application of AI in these fields promises industrial innovation, enhanced efficiency, cost reduction and increased product yields for a global growing market; and thereby promotes Circular Engineering and Advanced Bioeconomy to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development goals in the near future.

An assessment of the true Gini coefficient regarding the fulfilment of the basic criteria for inequality measures

The Gini coefficient emerged more than a hundred years ago, but it is still the well-known and most used measure for assessing the degree of inequality in a distribution. Historically, the Gini coefficient has mainly been used to study income or wealth distributions, but, as highlighted by Gini himself, the coefficient's power to measure inequality extends to other contexts. In order to adapt it to the needs and points of view of those who use it, both in its classical and non-traditional applications, the Gini coefficient is frequently modified and extended, which resulted in a multitude of mathematical expressions, interpretations and generalizations of this coefficient. The so-called True Gini coefficient, one of the multiple formulations of the Gini coefficient for discrete distributions that can be found in the literature, is a correction of the Gini coefficient that is directly derived from the mean difference between quantities, originally proposed by Gini, in 1912, and follows from the exclusion of self-on-self differences in the calculation. References to the main motivation for using the Gini coefficient point to its good properties, however, the fulfilment of the criteria for inequality measures is not common to the different formulations of the Gini coefficient. In this work we assessed the fulfillment of the four basic criteria for inequality measures by the True Gini coefficient, having shown that this formulation of the coefficient fulfills the principle of transfers, symmetry, and scale invariance. However, it does not comply with the principle of population, therefore, it cannot be included in the class of relative inequality indexes.
 The Gini coefficient emerged more than a hundred years ago, but it is still the well-known and most used measure for assessing the degree of inequality in a distribution. Historically, the Gini coefficient has mainly been used to study income or wealth distributions, but, as highlighted by Gini himself, the coefficient's power to measure inequality extends to other contexts. In order to adapt it to the needs and points of view of those who use it, both in its classical and non-traditional applications, the Gini coefficient is frequently modified and extended, which resulted in a multitude of mathematical expressions, interpretations and generalizations of this coefficient. The so-called True Gini coefficient, one of the multiple formulations of the Gini coefficient for discrete distributions that can be found in the literature, is a correction of the Gini coefficient that is directly derived from the mean difference between quantities, originally proposed by Gini, in 1912, and follows from the exclusion of self-on-self differences in the calculation. References to the main motivation for using the Gini coefficient point to its good properties, however, the fulfilment of the criteria for inequality measures is not common to the different formulations of the Gini coefficient. In this work we assessed the fulfillment of the four basic criteria for inequality measures by the True Gini coefficient, having shown that this formulation of the coefficient fulfills the principle of transfers, symmetry, and scale invariance. However, it does not comply with the principle of population, therefore, it cannot be included in the class of relative inequality indexes.

Remote cameras capture dung burial by burrowing cricket

Animal dung holds an important role in the nutrient cycle of nearly every ecosystem on Earth. It also acts as an ephemeral resource for invertebrate communities and has facilitated the specialization of many life history strategies. Most ecosystem functions associated with dung are linked to burial - a process most often attributed to dung beetles. However, identifying other organisms that contribute to dung burial is important to understand how communities provide this ecosystem service. During a trail camera experiment intended to monitor dung beetle behavior, we observed an unidentified species of cricket burying dung pellets underground. We were unable to find previous documentation of dung-burying behavior for this animal group, raising questions of how common or extensive this behavior is. Particularly under the threat of global insect declines, understanding which species are responsible for key processes may be crucial to maintaining ecosystem function and resilience. Additionally, this experiment exemplifies how camera traps can be used in nontraditional applications to observe and monitor unique events, behaviors, and processes, such as the decay of ephemeral resource patches and insect behavior.

A Semantics-preserving Approach for Extracting RDF Knowledge from Object-oriented Databases

The Resource Description Framework and RDF Schema recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium provide a flexible model for semantically representing information about resources on the Web, which are playing an increasingly important role in intelligent processing of large-scale data. With the widespread acceptance and applications of RDF(S), construction of RDF(S) is of increasing importance. Automatic construction of RDF(S) with diverse data has attracted more attention. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for constructing an RDF(S) with object-oriented databases that are suitable for non-traditional applications. We propose the formal rules of mapping an object-oriented database model into a RDF(S) model based on the formal definitions of these two models. We develop a tool named OODB2RDF to verify our approach.

A transcriptional atlas of the silk gland in Antheraea pernyi revealed by IsoSeq

Silk fibers spun by the silk gland of Antheraea pernyi have many unique properties and are of great value in genetic improvement and non-traditional applications. However, the complete transcriptional landscape and accurate genic annotation of the silk gland are yet to be conducted, which limits related studies on this organ. In this study, isoform sequencing revealed the full-length transcriptome of the A. pernyi silk gland, producing 12,572 high-confidence isoforms from 7,658 genes, among which more than 40 % of genes have not yet been annotated in the reference genome. Moreover, approximately 9 % of isoforms are computationally identified as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Up to 1,492 alternative splicing (AS) and 3,068 alternative polyadenylation (APA) events were revealed within this transcriptome. In addition, 2,569 putative transcription factors (TFs) belonging to 68 different families were first identified in A. pernyi genome, including 871 TFs in silk gland, and some TF families have undergone expansion or contraction. This study significantly improve our knowledge of the genes expressed in the silk gland of A. pernyi and provide a valuable resource for the in-depth study of silk protein synthesis and spinning, genetic improvement, and non-traditional applications in A. pernyi.

Tissue-associated profiling of gene expression in the fifth-instar larvae of Chinese Oak Silkworm, Antheraea pernyi

Antheraea pernyi is an edible insect with important economic value in both traditional and non-traditional applications. Elucidating the details of gene expression variation among different A. pernyi larval tissues will greatly improve our knowledge about A. pernyi biology and promote its protection and breeding. Here, tissue-based transcriptome and gene co-expression network analysis were performed for the fifth-instar larval tissues of testis, midgut, Malpighian tubule, head, trachea, silk gland, integument, hemocyte, ovary, and fat body. A total of 1,991 tissue-associated genes, including 62 transcription factor-encoding genes, were correlated with the development and functions of these tissues. Moreover, 10 gene co-expression modules that were highly correlated with the tissues were also determined. The most important 30 genes with top connectivity in each module were identified as hub genes to form the core co-expression network with important biological functions in the corresponding tissues. Based on these resources, further in-depth studies should be conducted to determine the roles of candidate genes and transcription factors governing tissue development and trait formation in A. pernyi.

Modifications of Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR (KASP) Genotyping for Detection of Rare Alleles.

KASP is commonly used to genotype bi-allelic SNPs and In/Dels, and the standard protocol works well when both alleles are nearly equally prevalent in the DNA template. To detect rare alleles in bulked samples or to distinguish more than three genotypes, such as tri-allelic loci or mutations across orthologous genes in polyploids, adjustments to the protocol and/or data analysis are required. In this chapter, we present modified protocols for these non-traditional applications, including reaction conditions that enhance the fluorophore signal from rare alleles, resulting in increased KASP assay sensitivity. We also describe alternative KASP data analysis approaches that increase statistical certainty of genotyping calls. Furthermore, this increased assay sensitivity enables high-throughput genotyping using KASP, as samples can be pooled and tested in a single reaction. For example, rare alleles can be detected in mixed seed pools when present in ratios as low as 1 in 200. The assay modifications presented here expand the options available for complex genotyping, and retain KASP's advantages of being cheap, fast, and accurate.

RAPID AND LOW-COST PHOTOGRAMMETRIC SURVEY OF HAZARDOUS SITES, FROM MEASUREMENTS TO VR DISSEMINATION

Abstract. In the field of geomatics, the development of 3D surveying techniques that can produce dense point clouds and high-resolution three-dimensional models has opened the possibility of using these techniques to generate digital replicas of a given asset to be used in contexts of cultural promotion or entertainment.These non-traditional applications have been made easier by the spreading of low-cost but fast surveying techniques, allowing them to be used in contexts or projects with fewer resources. Close-range photogrammetry is nowadays the cheapest, most flexible, and fastest technique that can be used to produce high-resolution and high-quality digital copies of reality. In this paper, we present an application of the Ant3D multi-camera system, a novel photogrammetric device designed for the rapid 3D surveying of sites characterized by poor accessibility and narrow spaces. The paper describes the three-dimensional acquisition of underground tunnels in a hazardous abandoned mining site. The digitalisation work aims to create 3D models to be experienced safely in a virtual- or augmented- reality immersive navigation of the site for cultural promotion. A workflow is proposed to turn raw reality-based 3D models into refined and efficient 3D assets that can be exploited in a game engine. Applications for mobile devices, desktop, and VR headsets, using the produced 3D assets are described.

FPGA-Based Updatable Packet Classification Using TSS-Combined Bit-Selecting Tree

OpenFlow switches are being deployed in SDN to enable a wide spectrum of non-traditional applications. As a promising alternative to brutal force TCAMs, FPGA-based packet classification is being actively investigated. However, none of the existing FPGA designs can achieve high performance on both search and update for large-scale rule sets. To address this issue, we propose TcbTree, an FPGA-based algorithmic scheme for packet classification. Specifically, at the algorithmic side, i) a two-stage framework consisting of heterogeneous algorithms is proposed, where most rules can be mapped into several balanced trees without rule replications, ii) for the remaining few rules, a centralized TSS (Tuple Space Search) architecture together with a real-time feedback scheme is designed to enhance the efficiency of TSS search on FPGA, and iii) a tree dilution method is designed to equalize rule distribution in trees, so that the latency of tree search can be reduced. At the hardware side, i) an efficient data structure set is designed to convert tree traversal to addressing process, which breaks the constraints of limited tree depth and imbalanced node distribution, and ii) distinct from fully pipelined designs, multiple levels of parallelism are efficiently explored with multi-core, multi-search-engine and coarse-grained pipelines herein. Experimental results using ClassBench show that, with the implementation of TcbTree on FPGA, the average classification throughputs for 1k, 10k, 32k and 100k rule sets achieve 788.8 MPPS, 404.3 MPPS, 237 MPPS and 41.8 MPPS, respectively, and the update throughput for all benchmark rule sets is above 1 MUPS.

Active Noise Cancellation and Its Applications

The goal of this review is to introduce the concept of Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) technique and explain the core algorithms supporting this technology. Through showing the implementations and major features of those algorithms, we were able to gain a better understanding of what’re the dominating algorithms used by the ANC technology and both the traditional and non-traditional applications of ANC in today’s market. Finally, the review also reveals the potential problem with the ANC technique and the opportunities for improvements.

Specific resonance mode enhancement and suppression using non-uniform polarization of piezoelectric wafers: Theory and experiments

We present experimental demonstration of specific resonance mode enhancement and suppression in circular and rectangular piezoelectric wafers with engineered non-uniform polarization profiles. The polarization profiles are designed based on the electromechanical impedance response of non-uniformly polarized wafers as obtained from the theory. The circular wafers are fabricated with non-uniform polarization profiles that involve a central polarized region surrounded by an unpolarized region. The radius of the polarization zone is designed based on the condition for specific mode enhancement obtained from the electromechanical impedance response of non-uniformly polarized wafers. We actually show how the condition can not only be used to enhance but also to suppress electromechanical resonances. Two kinds of wafers are designed and fabricated to specifically suppress second and third radial modes respectively. Similarly, rectangular wafers are designed with two different kinds of non-uniform polarization profiles — the first of which enhances the second in-plane extensional mode in the impedance spectrum and the second polarization profile suppresses all the electromechanical resonances pertaining to the in-plane extensional modes and selectively excites only the in-plane bending modes. The proposed approach of using non-uniformly polarized wafers finds application in designing multi-frequency sensors/transducers, frequency-tuned receivers, acoustic beamforming, and other non-traditional applications such as information storage.

Academic program recommendations for graduate degrees in medical physics: AAPM Report No. 365 (Revision of Report No. 197).

Academic program recommendations for graduate degrees in medical physics: AAPM Report No. 365 (Revision of Report No. 197).

Properties and Microstructure of High Strength Concrete Incorporating Different Supplementary Cementitious Materials

The construction industry has recently focused on the use of sustainable and innovative building materials, which called for the production of many supplementary cementitious materials with concrete to make the concrete produced durable and sustainable. Since high-strength concrete has many advantages other than its high strength, it has recently been used in non-traditional applications after for a long time confined to well-known traditional applications. This study presents the effect of micro Ferrosilicon (FS) and mineral materials on high-strength concrete properties, where silica fume (SF), FS, and metakaolin (Mk) were used as additives to cement.Besides the consistency test, all-ages compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, modulus of elasticity strengthand water permeability were investigated on the produced HSC.Microstructure analyses are carried out by SEM and EDX tests. The results showed a continuous decrease in a slump with the increase in mineral material, however, 15% FS and 15% MK were determined as the optimum percentage of the desired mechanical property. HSC performs up to 88 MPa compressive strength, 7.49 MPa tensile strength, and 39.89 GPa modulus of elasticity, as well as good durability properties. Finally, the high-strength concrete under consideration is suitable for use in both conventional and non-conventional applications and supports sustainable development and infrastructure development.

Pivoting Novel Exosome-Based Technologies for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative to meet the needs for COVID-19 diagnostic and surveillance testing, and to speed its innovation in the development, commercialization, and implementation of new technologies and approaches. The RADx Radical (RADx-Rad) initiative is one component of the NIH RADx program which focuses on the development of new or non-traditional applications of existing approaches, to enhance their usability, accessibility, and/or accuracy for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. Exosomes are a subpopulation of extracellular vesicles (EVs) 30–140 nm in size, that are critical in cell-to-cell communication. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has similar physical and molecular properties as exosomes. Therefore, the novel tools and technologies that are currently in development for the isolation and detection of exosomes, may prove to be invaluable in screening for SARS-CoV-2 viral infection. Here, we describe how novel exosome-based technologies are being pivoted for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 and/or the diagnosis of COVID-19. Considerations for these technologies as they move toward clinical validation and commercially viable diagnostics is discussed along with their future potential. Ultimately, the technologies in development under the NIH RADx-Rad exosome-based non-traditional technologies toward multi-parametric and integrated approaches for SARS-CoV-2 program represent a significant advancement in diagnostic technology, and, due to a broad focus on the biophysical and biochemical properties of nanoparticles, the technologies have the potential to be further pivoted as tools for future infectious agents.

Developing Taiichi Ohno’s Mental Model for Waste Identification in Nontraditional Applications

AbstractThe growth of technology in the manufacturing domain is compelling industry to digitally transform with little to no guidance on what constitutes value-added and nonvalue-added data and information. However, the Toyota production system (TPS) approach, which has proven successful for decades in identifying wastes in physical manufacturing processes, can provide some insights. Extensive research has been conducted on the history of Toyota and the concepts and tools of the TPS, but there is no documentation of how Taiichi Ohno approached problems and developed the classification of wastes (the 7 Wastes) which led to the concepts and tools for continuous improvement that are collectively called the TPS. This article deconstructs literature on Ohno and the Toyota story to reconstruct the mental model that Ohno used to identify and categorize physical production waste in Toyota’s manufacturing operations. The mental model attributed to Ohno proposed in this work is then generalized into a framework for identifying and eliminating both physical and nonphysical wastes in systems. Manufacturing companies and researchers can utilize the framework to foster the same thinking that Ohno used to identify nonvalue-added activities in production processes. Applying the described framework to data and information flows will allow for the discovery of wastes that were once hidden and will lead to the development of tools for improving the data and information needed to support manufacturing in a Smart Manufacturing environment.

New materials and their application in the design and production of high-performance textile products

This paper provides a comprehensive description of the performance materials employed in a select group of high- performance textiles that are designed for a range of nontraditional applications. It also covers some design aspects of the individual products and explains the principles governing the specially engineered functional performance built into the products through the use of special materials and product design features. Among the applications covered is critical life saving applications falling under healthcare and personal protection categories.

State of the Art in Crystallization of LiNbO3 and Their Applications

Lithium niobate (LiNbO3) crystals are important dielectric and ferroelectric materials, which are widely used in acoustics, optic, and optoelectrical devices. The physical and chemical properties of LiNbO3 are dependent on microstructures, defects, compositions, and dimensions. In this review, we first discussed the crystal and defect structures of LiNbO3, then the crystallization of LiNbO3 single crystal, and the measuring methods of Li content were introduced to reveal reason of growing congruent LiNbO3 and variable Li/Nb ratios. Afterwards, this review provides a summary about traditional and non-traditional applications of LiNbO3 crystals. The development of rare earth doped LiNbO3 used in illumination, and fluorescence temperature sensing was reviewed. In addition to radio-frequency applications, surface acoustic wave devices applied in high temperature sensor and solid-state physics were discussed. Thanks to its properties of spontaneous ferroelectric polarization, and high chemical stability, LiNbO3 crystals showed enhanced performances in photoelectric detection, electrocatalysis, and battery. Furthermore, domain engineering, memristors, sensors, and harvesters with the use of LiNbO3 crystals were formulated. The review is concluded with an outlook of challenges and potential payoff for finding novel LiNbO3 applications.

Enzymatic and Chemical Approaches for Post-Polymerization Modifications of Diene Rubbers: Current state and Perspectives.

Diene rubbers are polymeric materials which present elastic properties and have double bonds in the macromolecular backbone after the polymerization process. Post-polymerization modifications of rubbers can be conducted by enzymatic or chemical methods. Enzymes are environmentally friendly catalysts and with the increasing demand for rubber waste management, biodegradation and biomodifications have become hot topics of research. Some rubbers are renewable materials and are a source of organic molecules, and biodegradation can be conducted to obtain either oligomers or monomers. On the other hand, chemical modifications of rubbers by click-chemistry are important strategies for the creation and combination of new materials. In a way to expand the scope of uses to other non-traditional applications, several and effective modifications can be conducted with diene rubbers. Two groups of efficient tools, enzymatic, and chemical modifications in diene rubbers, are summarized in this review. By analyzing stereochemical and reactivity aspects, the authors also point to some applications perspectives for biodegradation products and to rational modifications of diene rubbers by combining both methodologies.

On the in-plane vibrations and electromechanical resonance characteristics of non-uniformly polarized rectangular piezoelectric wafers: Selective mode-type excitation and specific mode enhancement

We investigate the in-plane vibrations and electromechanical resonance characteristics of non-uniformly polarized rectangular piezoelectric wafers. Non-uniform polarization is represented as a non-uniform electromechanical coupling coefficient using a polarization function. Governing equations are derived for the forced in-plane vibrations of a thin wafer under the assumption of generalized plane stress. The effect of non-uniform polarization is explicitly obtained in the forcing terms of the governing equations. These equations are then recast into a variational weak form that is then solved using the finite element method to obtain the displacement fields for different modes. The electromechanical response of a non-uniformly polarized piezoelectric wafer is derived in terms of the out-of-plane displacement profile on the surface of the wafer. Using the derived analytical expression, a necessary and sufficient condition for the presence/absence of a vibrational mode in the electromechanical impedance spectrum is obtained. Based on this condition, criteria for selective mode-type excitation and specific mode enhancement of vibrational modes in the electromechanical impedance spectrum are postulated. Selective mode-type excitation of in-plane extensional and shear modes is demonstrated for a square wafer and that of in-plane bending modes is demonstrated for a rectangular wafer. Specific mode enhancement is demonstrated for both square and rectangular wafers. In addition, it is also demonstrated how the criteria can be used to suppress specific vibrational modes in the electromechanical impedance spectrum. The proposed methodology of using non-uniformly polarized piezoelectric wafers finds application in the design of single element transducers with multi-frequency operation, frequency-tuned receivers/sensors, acoustic holograms, designing acoustic beams of prescribed shape/lobes, and other non-traditional applications such as information storage.