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With the rapid development of voltage source converter-based high-voltage direct current (HVdc) transmission, it is an irresistible trend that HVdc grid will come into being. High-voltage and high-power dc/dc converters will serve as dc transformers in HVdc grid to interconnect dc lines with different voltage ratings. This article proposes a monopolar symmetrical dc/dc converter which is composed of cascaded half-bridge submodules and series-connected insulated-gate bipolar transistors. This hybrid topology features low capital costs, high efficiency, small footprint, and bidirectional power transfer capability. Operation principle, parameter design, and the control strategies of this topology are introduced. A 480-MW, ±500 kV/±160 kV monopolar symmetrical dc/dc converter is simulated to verify its performance and evaluate the efficiency. In addition, a downscaled prototype rated at 2.4 kW, ±300 V/±100 V has been built and tested. Experimental results further validate the effectiveness of the proposed dc/dc converter.

Weakly-supervised video grounding has been investigated to ground textual phases in video content with only video-sentence pairs provided during training, for the lack of prohibitively costly bounding box annotations. Existing methods cast this task into a frame-level multiple instance learning (MIL) problem with the ranking loss. While an object might appear sparsely across multiple frames, causing uncertain false-positive frames. Thus, directly computing the average loss of all frames is inadequate in video domain. Moreover, the positive and negative pairs are equally coupling in ranking loss, so that it is impossible to handle false-positive frames individually. Additionally, naive inner production is suboptimal for the similarity measure of cross domains. To solve these issues, we propose a novel AsyNCE loss to flexibly disentangle the positive pairs from negative ones in frame-level MIL, which allows for mitigating the uncertainty of false-positive frames effectively. Besides, a cross-modal transformer block is introduced to purify the text feature by image frame context, generating a visual-guided text feature for better similarity measure. Extensive experiments on YouCook2, RoboWatch and WAB datasets demonstrate the superiority and robustness of our method over state-of-the-art methods.

Opinion-unaware no-reference image quality assessment (NR-IQA) methods have received many interests recently because they do not require images with subjective scores for training. Unfortunately, it is a challenging task, and thus far no opinion-unaware methods have shown consistently better performance than the opinion-aware ones. In this paper, we propose an effective opinion-unaware NR-IQA method based on reinforcement recursive list-wise ranking. We formulate the NR-IQA as a recursive list-wise ranking problem which aims to optimize the whole quality ordering directly. During training, the recursive ranking process can be modeled as a Markov decision process (MDP). The ranking list of images can be constructed by taking a sequence of actions, and each of them refers to selecting an image for a specific position of the ranking list. Reinforcement learning is adopted to train the model parameters, in which no ground-truth quality scores or ranking lists are necessary for learning. Experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of our approach compared with existing opinion-unaware NR-IQA methods. Furthermore, our approach can compete with the most effective opinion-aware methods. It improves the state-of-the-art by over 2% on the CSIQ benchmark and outperforms most compared opinion-aware models on TID2013.

In recent years, significant progress has been made in HVdc transmission, particularly the voltage-source-converter technology using modular multilevel converters. There is increasing demand to develop high-power dc/dc converters to interconnect HVdc systems with different voltage levels. In this paper, a novel hybrid dc/dc converter topology is proposed by the combination of a new three-switch submodule (SM) circuit and series-connected thyristors and diodes. This topology presents less amount of semiconductors, very attractive capital costs, small footprint, and low power losses. Operating principles of this new three-switch SM and the dc/dc converter are explained, while the modulation and control schemes are also developed. The validity of the proposed topology is verified by simulation results based on a 150 MW, 200 kV/300 kV dc/dc converter. Efficiency estimates indicate that this topology could have power losses as low as 0.3% rated power. A scaled-down prototype has also been built and tested to confirm its effectiveness.

For the past few years, DC technology has been paid more and more attention in power system. However, high-voltage DC/DC converter has still not been applied in practical projects. This paper proposes a novel modular multilevel transformerless step-down DC/DC converter. A modified full-bridge sub-module (SM) is applied to reduce the quantity of the switch devices. Simulation results are acquired from MATLAB/Simulink to verify the feasibility of the proposed topology.

It is expected that in the future traditional gas, water, electricity, parking, etc. meters will be replaced by smart meters (i.e., smart IoT devices) to provide many advantages. To avoid the need to find power sources for a huge number of such smart meters, they are expected to operate on batteries and the batteries should be able to last for a long time to avoid frequent battery replacements. The operation office of these smart meters needs to collect their usage data periodically for billing purposes. In this work, we used wake-up radios (WuR) and a drone to design and implement a wakeup and data collection system to collect the usage data of smart meters. In our system, smart meters are powered off most of the time to save their battery power. When our drone approaches them and sends out a wake-up signal (WuS) packet, they will be powered on, send their usage data to the drone, and then be powered off. We have conducted real-life experiments to evaluate the performance of our system under different conditions. We measured the wakeup and data transfer success probability, the wakeup and data transfer delay, the amount of data that can be transferred while the drone is flying over a smart meter, and the power saving ratio for a smart meter. Experimental results show that our approach works well and can reduce the energy consumption of a smart meter by a factor of 180 when the data collection cycle is more than 10 days. Even if the data collection cycle is shortened to only 1 day, the energy consumption can still be reduced by a factor of 145.

High-field superconducting magnets are the key components of the high-energy particle accelerators. The Institute of High Energy Physics, Beijing, China, has been working on the related R&D since 2014. In parallel with the baseline R&D roadmap with common coil configuration, preliminary electromagnetic design of a 20-T 2-in-1 dipole magnet with cos-theta configuration has been carried out as an option for the model magnet R&D in future. Totally six layers of coils are required for each aperture of this dipole with the high temperature superconductor for the inner two layers and the low temperature superconductor for the outer four layers. Graded coil design is selected to increase the efficiency of the conductor utilization. For each aperture, the clear bore diameter is 50 mm. Asymmetric coil configuration has been adopted to obtain a good geometrical field quality. After optimization, the field uniformity of 10 -4 within 2/3 of the aperture is achieved. The coil ends of the dipole magnet have also been designed and optimized. The detailed magnetic analysis and the main characteristics of this magnet are presented.

The eco-husbandry experimental region based on ecological principles can be designed and built on a huge area in order to increase both production and environmental sustainability. Such a grassland industry might have little or none environmental impacts, if the primary and secondary production is wisely linked to each other. This can be achieved by taking into account of the urban consumer market while maintaining high primary productivity. Through industrial restructuring, using of small area of land to protect a large number of natural grassland, we can promote restoration of degraded grassland and improve the economic incomes for local society. Grassland ecological features, together with the characteristics of eco-husbandry and its composition, ecological and economic benefits of the eco-husbandry industry are introduced in this paper. A case study using the above mentioned principles are conducted in Zhenglan Banner, Hunshandake Sandland, Inner Mongolia. Features, namely, grass, meat, milk and poultry industries, grass-grazing, eco-tourism and bio-industry-science-industry-trade Consortium (“four-in-one” eco-husbandry) are designed. On the bases of environmental conservation, the economic benefits of the project will be increased by 50%–70%. The ultimate goal of the project is to achieve the Prairie ecological and economic benefits with a win-win situation, finally increasng food supply for China’s market.

Most existing hashing methods resort to binary codes for large scale similarity search, owing to the high efficiency of computation and storage. However, binary codes lack enough capability in similarity preservation, resulting in less desirable performance. To address this issue, we propose Nonlinear Asymmetric Multi-Valued Hashing (NAMVH) supported by two distinct non-binary embeddings. Specifically, a real-valued embedding is used for representing the newly-coming query by an ideally nonlinear transformation. Besides, a multi-integer-embedding is employed for compressing the whole database, which is modeled by Binary Sparse Representation (BSR) with fixed sparsity. With these two non-binary embeddings, NAMVH preserves more precise similarities between data points and enables access to the incremental extension with database samples evolving dynamically. To perform meaningful asymmetric similarity computation for efficient semantic search, these embeddings are jointly learnt by preserving the pairwise label-based similarity. Technically, this results in a mixed integer programming problem, which is efficiently solved by a well-designed alternative optimization method. Extensive experiments on seven large scale datasets demonstrate that our approach not only outperforms the existing binary hashing methods in search accuracy, but also retains their query and storage efficiency.

Slightly unbalanced grid voltage can cause large unbalanced current and non-characteristic harmonics in three-phase uncontrolled rectifier. This study proposes an accurate model to analyse the performance of three-phase uncontrolled rectifier in slightly unbalanced grid. Three appreciative operation modes (three-phase rectifier, double-phase rectifier and single-phase rectifier with discontinuous rectifier current) in slightly unbalanced grid are discussed in detail in this study. Moreover, the closed-form analytical expressions for boundaries of modes are also derived. To further aid the designer, the curves of current unbalance, third harmonic current, output average voltage, output voltage droop and output voltage harmonic as function of loads under the condition of 2% voltage imbalance are illustrated. Then the design procedure of capacitor is given considering the influence of unbalance and harmonics in slightly unbalanced grid. Finally, a design case is expressed. The design results are realised in a 5 kW three-phase uncontrolled rectifier to verify the accuracy of the proposed models. The proposed model provides a tool for rapidly and accurately judging the impact of various loads on the rectifier performance in slightly unbalanced grid.

This paper provides a summary report on measures taken to remove embedded steel ‘H' pile obstacles from the cutter head of an advancing tunnel-boring machine. The piles were part of the soil-mixing retaining wall built for the cut-and-cover tunnel construction of a Taiwan high-speed rail tunnel and a Taiwan railways administration tunnel, which were directly above the mass rapid transit tunnel that was to be constructed. The collision zone between the boring machine and piles was below groundwater level and was approximately 23 m below the ground surface in a silty sand layer. To remove the piles safely from the cutter head, horizontal grouting from two adjacent work pits was conducted for waterproofing and solidification purposes. By controlling the amount of soil being flushed out during the grout hole drilling first, and also the pressure used for grouting later, the measured tunnel settlement resulting from grouting was negligible. Because of the favourable watertightness of the grouted zone and the dewatering influence of a nearby construction site, pile removal was conducted under particularly dry working conditions. In total, 12 piles were identified in the collision zone and were successfully removed from the cutter head by hand tools.

Near stoichiometric chalcopyrite Cu-rich and In-rich CuInSe 2 thin films have been simultaneously grown on GaN (0001) by molecular beam epitaxy. Microstructure analysis of the Cu-rich and In-rich CuInSe 2 showed that the rotation twin was formed at the interface of CuInSe 2 /GaN, and no interface reaction occurs between CuInSe 2 and GaN. Our experimental results show that GaN is stable for the epitaxial growth of CuInSe 2 thin film, which exhibits a promising potential for optoelectronic applications.

The principle of Z-scan and its application on nonlinear refractive index and absorption coefficient measurement are introduced. Besides, two methods of improving sensitivity of Z-scan are described.

Background The obesity-hypertension pathogenesis is complex. From the phenotype to molecular mechanism, there is a long way to clarify the mechanism. To explore the association between obesity and hypertension, we correlate the phenotypes such as the waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SB), and diastolic blood pressure (DB) with the clinical laboratory data between four specific Chinese adult physical examination groups (newly diagnosed untreated just-obesity group, newly diagnosed untreated obesity-hypertension group, newly diagnosed untreated just-hypertension group, and normal healthy group), and the results may show something. Objective To explore the mechanisms from obesity to hypertension by analyzing the correlations and differences between WC, BMI, SB, DB, and other clinical laboratory data indices in four specific Chinese adult physical examination groups. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2012 to July 2014, and 153 adult subjects, 34 women and 119 men, from 21 to 69 years, were taken from four characteristic Chinese adult physical examination groups (newly diagnosed untreated just-obesity group, newly diagnosed untreated obesity-hypertension group, newly diagnosed untreated just-hypertension group, and normal healthy group). The study was approved by the ethics committee of Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention. WC, BMI, SB, DB, and other clinical laboratory data were collected and analyzed by SPSS. Results Serum levels of albumin (ALB)，alanine aminotransferase (ALT), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), uric acid (Ua), and TC/HDLC (odds ratio) were statistically significantly different between the four groups. WC statistically significantly positively correlated with BMI, ALT, Ua, and serum levels of glucose (GLU), and TC/HDLC, and negatively with ALB, HDLC, and serum levels of conjugated bilirubin (CB). BMI was statistically significantly positively related to ALT, Ua, LDLC, WC, and TC/HDLC, and negatively to ALB, HDLC, and CB. DB statistically significantly positively correlated with ALP, BMI, and WC. SB was statistically significantly positively related to LDLC, GLU, serum levels of fructosamine (FA), serum levels of the total protein (TC), BMI, and WC. Conclusion The negative body effects of obesity are comprehensive. Obesity may lead to hypertension through multiple ways by different percents. GGT, serum levels of gamma glutamyltransferase; ALB, serum levels of albumin; ALT, serum levels of alanine aminotransferase; LDLC, serum levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol; TG, serum levels of triglyceride; HDLC, serum levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol; FA, serum levels of fructosamine; S.C.R, serum levels of creatinine; IB, serum levels of indirect bilirubin; ALP, serum levels of alkaline phosphatase; CB, serum levels of conjugated bilirubin; UREA, Urea; Ua, serum levels of uric acid; GLU, serum levels of glucose; TC, serum levels of the total cholesterol; TB, serum levels of the total bilirubin; TP, serum levels of the total protein; TC/HDLC, TC/HDLC ratio.

Hashing techniques with asymmetric schemes (e.g., only bi-narizing the database points) have recently attracted wide attention in the circle of image retrieval. In comparison with those methods which binarize simultaneously both of the query and database points, they not only enjoy the storage and search efficiencies, but also provide higher accuracy. Gearing to this line, this paper proposes a metric-embedded asymmetric hashing (MEAH) that learns jointly a bilinear similarity measure and binary codes of database points in an unsupervised manner. Technically, the learned similarity measure is able to bridge the gap between the binary codes and the real-valued codes, which are represented possibly with different dimensions. What is more, this measure is capable of preserving the global structure hidden in the database. Extensive experiments on two public image benchmarks demonstrate the superiority of our approach over the several state-of-the-art unsupervised hashing methods.

Most existing hashing methods resort to binary codes for similarity search, owing to the high efficiency of computation and storage. However, binary codes lack enough capability in similarity preservation, resulting in less desirable performance. To address this issue, we propose an asymmetric multi-valued hashing method supported by two different non-binary embeddings. (1) A real-valued embedding is used for representing the newly-coming query. (2) A multi-integer-embedding is employed for compressing the whole database, which is modeled by binary sparse representation with fixed sparsity. With these two non-binary embeddings, the similarities between data points can be preserved precisely. To perform meaningful asymmetric similarity computation for efficient semantic search, these embeddings are jointly learnt by preserving the label-based similarity. Technically, this results in a mixed integer programming problem, which is efficiently solved by alternative optimization. Extensive experiments on three multilabel datasets demonstrate that our approach not only outperforms the existing binary hashing methods in search accuracy, but also retains their query and storage efficiency.

In order to solve the inaccuracy and slowness of four-rotor aircraft pose estimation, a fast method is proposed. It uses FPGA+DSP as the hardware processing platform to reduce the overhead time and adopts the theory of Harris corner detection to gain the corner points’ coordinate and gray values. Then the pose of four-rotor aircraft can be calculated. The result of experiment shows that the method could estimate the pose of four-rotor aircraft accurately.

The method of calculating voltage unbalance factor (VUF) recommended by the IEC61000-4-27 has the disadvantage of requiring square root operation. This paper focuses on the fast and accurate calculation of VUF of three-phase power system. The approximate algorithm for calculating the magnitude of the zero, positive, and negative sequences by simple algebraic equation is presented. In the proposed method, the square root operation is first transformed to simple trigonometric equations based on the geometric figure, and then the trigonometric equations are approximated by the algebraic operations, which thus reduced the computation burden sufficiently. The simulation and practical experiment results show that the proposed method can achieve the same level of precision as the method recommended by the IEC61000-4-27, while much less clock cycles are required, which indicates its wide application in digital signal processor (DSP).

A local, regime-dependent cloud mask (CM) algorithm is developed for isolating cloud-free pixels from cloudy pixels for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) imager radiance assimilation using mesoscale forecast models. In this CM algorithm, thresholds for six different CM tests are determined by a one-dimensional optimization approach based on probability distribution functions of the nearby cloudy and clear-sky pixels within a 10° × 10° box centered at a target pixel. It is shown that the optimizal thresholds over land are, in general, larger and display more spatial variations than over ocean. The performance of the proposed CM algorithm is compared with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) CM for a 1 week period from 19 to 23 May 2008. Based on MODIS CM results, the average Probability of Correct Typing reaches 92.94% and 91.50% over land and ocean, respectively.

The development of information technology into the areas of military technology which will impact importantly on the future battles. The comprehensive understanding and mastering the role of information technology in combat and combat theory which better the properties of information on command and control systems performance greatly improve the joint operational capability.

The mechanical system and controlling system of test bench of safety belt emergency locking property are designed. Safety belt emergency locking property of a moving cars rider can be simulated by changing direct currents acceleration, so multifarious cars safety belt emergency locking property can be examined by the equipment which is developed by using engineering computer as control center,PARKER1505 and VC6.0.Fuzzy PID control algorithm is adopted to decrease the influence and enhance the systems robust.

Metastases are the main cause of death among patients with bladder cancer, which is the second most common malignancy of the genitourinary tract and is highly prevalent in the southwestern region of Taiwan. Angiogenesis plays a critical role in tumor growth and metastasis processes and has relevance in disease recurrence, pelvic lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis. Cancer cells can produce several angiogenesis-stimulating factors involved in vascular growth, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-8. Common chemotherapeutic drugs for intravesical instillations usually cause major side effects, including urinary frequency, urinary urgency, cystitis, and hematuria. In order to identify a less cytotoxic therapeutic agent that can inhibit tumor cell proliferation, we examined the traditional Chinese herbal medicine Cortex Moutan—reported to have antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, and antitumor properties—for its effects on bladder cancer cell proliferation and expression of angiogenic factors. Our results revealed that Cortex Moutan exhibited high selectivity in inhibiting the growth of bladder cancer cells and also reduced the expression of angiogenesis-stimulating factors in those cells. Thus, we suggest that Cortex Moutan might be used as a cancer therapy drug for bladder’s intravesical chemotherapy in the future.

Aiming at the low efficiency and precision of nowadays domestic auto-straightening machine of shafts, a new kind of shafts straightness detection system is researched and developed. The supporting part of the measuring mechanism adopts the mechanical structure of auto-going-down of straightening points supporting pedestal. The whole convolute measuring system fixes on the machine tool orbit sliding table, whose movement can change the position for the straightening point and make positioning faster and more accurate. In addition, this detection system bases on applications math and builds math model by Fourier transform which can separate the elliptical error signal, straightness error signal and impulse error signal and then gained ideal straightness error of shafts.

In the present work, the nanocrystalline CeB6 and SmB6 powder are successfully prepared by evaporative condensation method. The phase composition, grain morphology, microstructure and optical absorption properties for each of the prepared powders are studied systematically. The results show that the main phase of nanocrystalline CeB6 powder and SmB6 powder are both composed of CaB6-type cubic structure with space group of Pm-3m. The scanning electron microscope results show that the synthesized CeB6 and SmB6 nanoparticles display an spherical morphology with an average grain size of 50 nm. The high resolution transmission electron microscopy observation results show that there exist many intrinsic crystal defects in nanocrystalline SmB6, such as lattice distortions or edge dislocations, due to the high volatility characteristic of Sm atom in the condensation (crystallization) process. The optical absorption results show that the absorption valley of nanocrystalline CeB6 and SmB6 are respectively located at 599 nm and 632 nm, indicating the high transparency characteristic of visible light. To further qualitatively explain the difference in optical absorption mechanism between CeB6 and SmB6, the first principle calculations are employed to calculate their band structures, densities of states, optical absorption energy, and plasma resonance frequency energy. The calculation results show that there is an electron band crossing the Fermi energy for both CeB6 and SmB6, indicating their typical conductor behaviors. The upmost valence band of CeB6 and SmB6 are composed of B-2p and B-2s states, and their bottommost conduction bands are mainly composed of Ce-4f, Ce-5d, Sm-4f, Sm-5d, B-2p and B-2s states. In addition, the volume plasma of carrier electrons can be described in the electron energy-loss function. The peak position in the low energy region of the loss function corresponds to the relevant plasma frequency. As a result, the calculated low energy loss function of CeB6 and SmB6 are 1.96 eV and 1.5 eV, respectively. Moreover, the calculated absorption valley of CeB6 and SmB6 respectively appear at 639 nm and 800 nm, which are in good accordance with the experimental results. Therefore, as an efficient optical absorption materials, the nanocrystalline CeB6 and SmB6 should open the way to extending the optical applications of rare-earth hexaborides.

A rapid development of intensive livestock and poultry, results in a large number of Aquaculture wastes, it is increasing important that timely consumptive farming wastes, and reduces environmental pollution on protection ecological environment and improving recycling agriculture. In this study, cattle, pigs, sheep, chickens and ducks five categories manure were as material, and it carried out that microbial agents used in compost, equipment, process and control software, and especially passivation of heavy metal residues in manure, degradation technology of estrogen and antibiotics of pollutants. As final, two kind products such as a high—quality organic fertilizer and gardening products, were produced with a better benefits on economic, ecological and social.

A cam-driven mechanical system applied for pin assembly of connectors of electrical devices is studied in this paper. Three cooperative cams are involved in the tasks of approaching, cutting, insertion, and restoring. In order to meet the demanded productivity growth, the operation speed tends to be elevated. However, high running speeds usually cause deficiencies of pin dropping and inaccurate positioning. Diagnosis is therefore conducted to explore their physical reasons so that modification of future mechanical design can be made. Frequency responses of experimental measurements show greater natural frequency and system stiffness caused by nonlinear dynamics for higher operation speed. It also appears that the clamping force is reduced and drift of the locked pin’s location is induced for higher running speed. In addition, separation of the fixture system induced by contact oscillation generates clearance larger than the thickness of the pin. Based on the mathematical models obtained from the technique of system identification, deeper insight of the mechanical system and future system improvement can be highly expected.

Repetition pulses with sub-microsecond arising time, high voltage and large current, have been widely utilized in the field of production and scientific research, in which the gas spark switch is usually selected because of the large state current and the high operating voltage. However, due to the recovery property of gas ionization, it is hard to get the repeated switch-on and switch-off at a high rate towards the conventional gas spark switch. Owing to the reliably triggering and faster arising time, the hydrogen thyratron is found to be more suitable for the switch to generate the repetition pulses at a high rate. In this paper we proposed a novel design of repetition pulses, in which it gets a several times high voltage output based on the inductive-adder, by using the hydrogen thyratron switch with a low operating voltage, and then we analyze the magnetic field distribution under the structure of the coaxial cable and describe the design of high voltage repetition pulses in details

The design of a scanning magnet power-supply used in a 10MeV industrial radiation accelerator is presented in this paper. The consideration of linear magnetic field current and the principle of triangle wave modulator are included. In addition, the control system based on single chip and its anti-jamming scheme in industrial circumstance are also introduced. The scanning magnet power-supply can produce continuous triangle waveform current. The frequency can be adjusted by step length of 1Hz ranged from 20Hz to 50Hz, and the peak-to-peak current is 20A.

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) was used to create a film with photonic crystal structures in the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) component. By utilizing various stamps, such as with photonic crystal structures and with grating structures in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) were studied. The better formability belongs to a stamp of photonic crystal patterns and molecular weight of PMMA in 350K and 996+15K in double layers. A photonic crystal with nanostructures in a period of 400nm was fabricated as a photonic crystal film and was integrated into an organic light emitting diode (OLED). The experiments show that the OLED without photonic crystal films behaves 2.11cd/m^2 for luminous intensity, 2.336cd/A for lightening efficiency (@h"L), and 0.475lm/W for lightening power (@h"P), under the driving voltage of 10V and current of 0.009012A; the OLED with the photonic crystal films behaves 250cd/m^2 for luminous intensity and 2.774cd/A for @h"L, and 0.871lm/W for @h"P, under the same driving voltage and same current, which shows that the latter performs well.

Mechanism of the instability for indium–gallium–zinc oxide thin film transistors caused by gate-bias stress performed in the dark and light illumination was investigated in this paper. The parallel Vt shift with no degradation of subthreshold swing (S.S) and the fine fitting to the stretched-exponential equation indicate that charge trapping model dominates the degradation behavior under positive gate-bias stress. In addition, the significant gate-bias dependence of Vt shift demonstrates that electron trapping effect easily occurs under large gate-bias since the average effective energy barrier of electron injection decreases with increasing gate bias. Moreover, the noticeable decrease of threshold voltage (Vt) shift under illuminated positive gate-bias stress and the accelerated recovery rate in the light indicate that the charge detrapping mechanism occurs under light illumination. Finally, the apparent negative Vt shift under illuminated negative gate-bias stress was investigated in this paper. The average effectively energy barrier of electron and hole injection were extracted to clarify that the serious Vt degradation behavior comparing with positive gate-bias stress was attributed to the lower energy barrier for hole injection.

Service users in Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) need to choose provider from the candidates that respond their service requests in succession. For time-sensitive services, the user has to decide the optimal time to stop waiting for the next coming providers in order to shorten the total time. The Boundary Payoff Determination (BPD) approach is proposed in the paper to help the users to predict the payoff of each coming providers, and equips the users with practical conditions and steps to make proper decision. Simulation experiments show BPD superior to the existed methods and able to increase the QoS level of time-sensitive services in SOA.

The nanotribology mechanism of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAM) chemisorbed on a gold surface under a non-flat contact by a tilt plane was studied using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The molecular trajectories, tilt angles, normal forces, shear forces, and frictional coefficient of the SAM were evaluated during the friction and relaxation processes for various parameters, including the tilt angle of the slider, interference magnitude, and SAM length. At the nanoscale, the magnitude of interface interactional forces is strongly dependent on the magnitude of the contact area, not on the surface geometry. The contact area and the exerted normal force of the SAM increase with decreasing the tilt angle of the slider at the same contact interference. In contrast, the periods in both normal force and shear force are gradually delayed as the tilt angle of the slider increases. Once the contact interference increases, the normal force and shear force increase together. During the sliding friction process with a smaller tilt slider angle, SAM molecules can maintain a better collective ordered structure. Short SAM molecules are more sensitive to a compressive loading and react to a larger normal force under the same contact interference due to the deformation of a larger tilt angle and decrease in chain length. The friction coefficient of SAM is significantly more dependent on the tilt angle of the slider than the contact interference.

We have grown high-quality InxGa1-xN/GaN triple-quantum-well microdisks on LiAlO2 substrate by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The InxGa1-xN/GaN microdisk with a hexagonal shape of oblique face 28o-angle off c-axis was achieved. The mechanism of the termination of awl-shaped growth and the growth rates of GaN-barrier and InxGa1-xN-well were evaluated and confirmed with the triple quantum wells. Based on the growth rates and 28o-angle geometric shape, one can control the finite size of InGaN/GaN microdisks by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy.

For high-sensitive pH sensing, an electrolyte−insulator−semiconductor (EIS) device with a Tm2O3 sensing membrane fabricated by reactive sputtering and the succeeding postdeposition annealing treatment was proposed. In this study, the influence of thermal annealing (700, 800, and 900 °C) on the structural characteristics of the Tm2O3 sensing membrane was investigated by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The observed structural properties were then correlated with the resulting pH-sensing performance. Results revealed that the EIS device with a Tm2O3 sensing film annealed at 800 °C exhibited a higher sensitivity of 58.02 mV/pH (within the pH range of pH 2−12), a lower hysteresis voltage of 2 mV (measurement cycle, pH = 7→4→7→10→7), and a lower drift rate of 1.04 mV/h (at the condition of pH 7) compared with those at other annealing temperatures. These results are attributed to the formation of a well-crystallized Tm2O3 structure, a thinner low-k interfacial la...

Objective To reveal the characteristic and distribution of length of hospital stay (LOS) and direct hospitalisation costs of paediatric scald. Methods A prospective case series observation was performed from January 2005 to December 2006 at the Burn Center, Changhai Hospital, Shanghai, China. The information, such as demographics, clinical diagnosis and treatments since admission, of the paediatric scald patients included in the series was recorded. The direct cost of a treatment event was recorded into the price system when it was incurred. All cost data were summarised on completion of the study. The distribution of LOS and the hospitalisation costs were recorded by gender, age, total burn area, depth of burn, blood transfusion and patterns of treatment. Mann–Whitney signed-rank test was used to assess the differences between continuous, non-normally distributed variables, and multiple linear regression was used to model LOS and direct hospitalisation costs. Statistical analyses were undertaken with SPSS 15.0 statistical software. Results Patients aged 3 years or less accounted for more than half of the total LOS and hospitalisation costs, patients with burn area less than 10%TBSA (total burn surface area) accounted for more than 70% of the total LOS and more than half of the hospitalisation costs and patients with second-degree burn accounted for more than 78% of the total LOS and hospitalisation costs. Depth of burn, area of burn, patterns of treatment and blood transfusion were independent predictors of LOS; whereas LOS, area of burn and blood transfusion were independent predictors of hospitalisation costs. Conclusion Paediatric scalds have particular characteristics in terms of distribution of LOS and direct hospitalisation costs and the factors influencing them. The data presented in this study should assist burn care practitioners and hospital epidemiologists estimate and compare the economic burden of paediatric burns at other institutions; it may also be useful in resource allocation and cost-effectiveness analysis of treatment versus prevention strategies.

This paper proposes a new classification network, the fuzzy C-means based support vector machine (FCM–SVM) and applies it to channel equalisation. In contrast to a kernel-based SVM, the FCM–SVM has a smaller number of parameters while retaining the SVM's good generalisation ability. In FCM–SVM, input training data is clustered by FCM. The output of FCM–SVM is a weighted sum of the degrees where each input data belongs to the clusters. To achieve high generalisation ability, FCM–SVM weights are learned through linear kernel based SVM. Computer simulations illustrate the performance of the suggested network, where the FCM–SVM is used as a channel equaliser. Simulations with white Gaussian and coloured Gaussian noise are performed. This paper also compares simulation results from the FCM–SVM, the Gaussian kernel based SVM and the optimal equaliser.

Objectives To investigate the association between survivin gene promoter −31 C/G polymorphism and urothelial carcinoma (UC) risk in a Taiwanese population. Methods A total of 190 patients with pathologically confirmed UC and 210 unrelated controls without cancer were recruited at Chiayi Christian Hospital from August 2002 to May 2007. The −31 C/G polymorphism in the survivin gene promoter was determined using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Results Compared with study subjects carrying the G/G genotype, significantly increased UC risks were found for individuals carrying the C/G genotype (odds ratio 2.8; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.7-4.6) and those with the C/C genotype (odds ratio 4.0; 95% CI 2.3-7.2). Those carrying the C/C or C/G genotype had a significantly increased UC risk of 3.2 (95% CI 1.9-5.2) compared with those with the G/G genotype. Among heavy smokers (≥30 pack-years), we found a significantly increased UC risk of 3.8 (95% CI 1.3-11.3) for individuals with the C/C or C/G genotype compared with those with the G/G genotype. Furthermore, patients with UC carrying the C/C genotype had a significantly greater prevalence of muscle-invasive (Stage T2-T4), high-grade (G3), or invasive, high-grade tumor compared with those carrying the G/G genotype. Conclusions These findings suggest that the −31 C/G polymorphism of the survivin gene promoter is associated with both the clinical tumor stage and the pathologic tumor grade and might be involved in the development of UC.

Printed-circuit board (PCB) elliptic antennas with useful bandwidth exceeding 10:1 ratio are suitable for wideband radar, wireless ultra wideband (UWB) and other wireless communication applications. We present wideband PCB elliptic dipole antennas which are capable of achieving the bandwidth requirements for all the applications. A set of elliptic dipole antennas with varying eccentricities have been fabricated for demonstration. We find one specific size (specific eccentricity) dipole that can yield an impressive 1.5-16 bandwidth exceeding the currently available. A couple of elliptic dipole antennas suitable for UWB application have been presented. We have measured swept frequency response, impedance and radiation patterns of all dipoles. An empirical formula is given for calculating the starting resonant frequency within the operating band. The calculated values are found in good agreement with measured results.

Wound healing is a dynamic and complex biologic process that could be accelerated by growth factors. To investigate the efficacy of topical recombinant human acidic fibroblast growth factor (rh-aFGF) treatment in deep partial-thickness burn or skin graft donor sites, we designed a randomized, multicenter, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical trial. The healing rate, fully healed rate, and healing time were evaluated to assess the efficacy of rh-aFGF application. Laboratory examinations and abnormal signs were used to assess the side and toxic effects. The results showed that the healing rate of burn wounds and skin graft donor sites treated by rh-aFGF was significantly higher than that by placebo, and the mean healed time of burn wounds and skin graft donor sites in the rh-aFGF group was significantly the shorter than that in the placebo group. In conclusion, topical administration of rh-aFGF can accelerate the wound healing process and shorten the healed time. It is a potential therapeutic application for promoting healing of deep partial-thickness burns or skin graft donor sites.

Alternative intravesical agents are required to overcome the side effects currently associated with the treatment of bladder cancer. This study used an orthotopic bladder cancer mouse model to evaluate Guizhi Fuling Wan (GFW) as an intravesical agent. The effects of GFW were compared with those of mitomycin-C (Mito-C) and bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). We began by evaluating the response of the mouse bladder cancer cell line MB49 to GFW treatment, with regard to cell viability, cell cycle progression and apoptosis. MB49 cells were subsequently implanted into the urothelial walls of the bladder in female C57BL/6 mice. The success of the model was confirmed by the appearance of hematuria and tumor growth in the bladder. Intravesical chemotherapy was administered in accordance with a published protocol. In vitro data revealed that GFW arrested MB49 cell cycle in the G0/G1 phase, resulting in the suppression of cell proliferation and induced apoptosis. One possible mechanism underlying these effects is an increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels leading to the activation of ataxia telangiectasia-mutated (ATM)/checkpoint kinase 2 (CHK2) and ATM/P53 pathways, thereby mediating cell cycle progression and apoptosis, respectively. This mouse model demonstrates the effectiveness of GFW in the tumor growth, with results comparable to those achieved by using BCG and Mito-C. Furthermore, GFW was shown to cause only mild hematuria. The low toxicity of the compound was confirmed by a complete lack of lesions on bladder tissue, even after 10 consecutive treatments using high concentrations of GFW. These results demonstrate the potential of GFW for the intravesical therapy of bladder cancer.

This paper introduces a design of a parking violation penalty equipment which aims to deal with violation of parking information. The design uses the equipment to take photos for parking violation. The equipment identifies the license plate number and fills in the license plate information automatically. It also can obtain the location of illegal sites based on GPS data automatically and uses Bluetooth printer to print a parking ticket. Then it uploads to server via the mobile network. People can query history through the server. It can reduce the penalty time to improve the work efficiency.

With the development of X-ray, CT, MRI and other medical imaging techniques, doctors and researchers are provided with a large number of medical images for clinical diagnosis. It can largely improves the accuracy and reliability of disease diagnosis. In this paper, the method of brain CT image classification with Deep neural networks is proposed. Deep neural network exploits many layers of non-linear information for classification and pattern analysis. In the most recent literature, deep learning is defined as a kind of representation learning, which involves a hierarchy architecture where higher-level concepts are constructed from lower-level ones. The techniques developed from deep learning, enriched the main research aspects of machine learning and artificial intelligence, have already been impacting a wide range of signal and information processing researches. By using the normal and abnormal brain CT images, texture features are extracted as the characteristic value of each image. Then, deep neural network is used to realize the CT image classification of brain health. Experimental results indicate that the deep neural network have performed well in the CT images classification of brain health. It also shows that the stability of the network increases significantly as the depth of the network increasing.

Primary adrenal lymphoma (PAL) is an extremely rare neoplasm of T-cell origin. Here we describe a 42-year-old woman who suffered from intermittent fevers and night sweats of 3 months duration. Laboratory results, imaging, pathology, and immunohistological examination led to a final diagnosis of primary adrenal T-cell lymphoma (PATL) with adrenal insufficiency. The patient received combination chemotherapy and prednisolone but expired 2 months after the treatment. Most reported PAL patients who have received only one therapeutic modality have unsatisfactory survival rates resulting from tumor recurrence and/or postchemotherapy infections. In contrast, one patient who received an adrenectomy followed by low-dose radiotherapy experienced long-term survival. A combination of therapeutic modalities may improve prognosis for patients with PATL, although the case numbers are too small to draw any conclusions.

The paper gives a brief description about the current main forest fire danger rating systems in the world, which include forest fire danger rating system used in Canada, USA, Australia, and other countries. It shows the composition, structure and development of the main fire danger rating systems. The limitations of those systems are also discussed. Through a comparison of the three main forest fire danger rating systems the paper describes their differences on development, fuel complex descriptions, inputs and outputs, and their applications and finds that the technologies of the Canadian forest fire danger rating system can be adopted for China to develop a national forest fire danger rating system. Two steps are needed to develop our own national forest fire danger rating system. Firstly, we apply the CFFDRS directly. Then some studies should be done to calibrate the FDRS to local weather and fuel characteristics.