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Well-defined statistical copolymers of n-hexyl isocyanate, HIC, and 3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl isocyanate, TESPI, were synthesized via coordination polymerization mechanism, employing a chiral half-titanocene complex as initiator. The monomer reactivity ratios of the statistical copolymers were calculated using linear graphical methods and the computer program COPOINT in the frame of the terminal model. The molecular and structural characteristics of the copolymers were also calculated. The kinetics of the thermal decomposition of the statistical copolymers was studied by Thermogravimetric Analysis, TGA, and Differential Thermogravimetry, DTG, and the activation energy of this process was calculated employing several theoretical models. In addition, block copolymers constituted from PHIC and PTESPI blocks were synthesized by sequential coordination polymerization. All samples were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance, NMR, spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography, SEC. The thermal stability of the blocks was also studied by TGA and DTG and compared to the corresponding statistical copolymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arrhenius temperature integral is typically used in non-isothermal kinetic analysis, which is widely applied in gas–solid reactions in separation processes. In previous studies, researchers provided various methods to solve the temperature integral, but the error usually became significant when the value of x (x = Ea/RT) was too large or too small. In this paper, we present a new series method and design a computer program to calculate the temperature integral. According to the precise calculation of the temperature integral, we first reveal the relationship among the integral, the temperature, and the activation energy, and we find an interesting phenomenon in which the 3-D image of the temperature integral is of self-similarity according to fractal theory. The work is useful for mechanism and theoretical studies of non-isothermal kinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a method to compute the dispersion curves of underground propagating waves. The method conceptualizes the underground space as consisting of two general layers. One is described numerically by variational finite elements which can model complex soil profiles; the other one is described analytically by interactions of bulk waves which represent leaking wave field in the unbounded deep soil. The dispersion curves are finally obtained from a linear generalized eigenproblem mathematically well-studied. The method and its computer program are verified by comparison with the published results for three cases of underground systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engagement in complex, challenging and multifaceted model-eliciting activities is considered helpful for preparing learners for everyday life. The current study seeks to trace the evolution of modelling routines during two model-eliciting activities. To identify how these routines emerged and evolved, we video-recorded a group of five prospective teachers as they worked on two model-eliciting activities. We then transcribed the recordings and analysed the prospective teachers' discussion using the lens of learning as routinization. Specifically, in the participants' work on the two model-eliciting activities, we identified three routines that emerged and evolved during their discussion. The main routine focused on integrating all the components provided to create a model. The other routines entailed assigning values to numerical and qualitative data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The support systems for assisting clinical decision highly improve the quality and efficiency of the therapeutic and diagnostic treatment in medicine. The proper implementation of such systems can emulate the reasoning of health care professionals in such a way that suggest reasonable decisions on patient treatment. The fuzzy logic system can be considered as one of the efficient techniques for converting a complex decision tree that usually facing the physician into artificial intelligent procedure embedded in a computer program. So many properties in fuzzy logic system that can facilitate the process of medical diagnosis and therapeutic management. In this paper, a system for therapeutic management of hypertriglyceridemia was efficiently realized using a fuzzy logic technique. The obtained results had shown that the proposed fuzzy logic contributes a reliable managing procedure for assisting the physicians and pharmacist in treating the hypertriglyceridemia. Many different hypertriglyceridemia treatment cases showed a perfect matching decision between the standard guidelines and that given by the proposed system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Deformable dose accumulation (DDA) has uncertainties which impede the implementation of DDA-based adaptive radiotherapy (ART) in clinic. The purpose of this study is to develop a multi-layer quality assurance (MLQA) program to evaluate uncertainties in DDA. Methods: A computer program is developed to generate a pseudo-inverse displacement vector field (DVF) for each deformable image registration (DIR) performed in Accuray’s PreciseART. The pseudo-inverse DVF is first used to calculate a pseudo-inverse consistency error (PICE) and then implemented in an energy and mass congruent mapping (EMCM) method to reconstruct a deformed dose. The PICE is taken as a metric to estimate DIR uncertainties. A pseudo-inverse dose agreement rate (PIDAR) is used to evaluate the consequence of the DIR uncertainties in DDA and the principle of energy conservation is used to validate the integrity of dose mappings. The developed MLQA program was tested using the data collected from five representative cancer patients treated with tomotherapy. Results: DIRs were performed in PreciseART to generate primary DVFs for the five patients. The fidelity index and PICE of these DVFs on average are equal to 0.028 mm and 0.169 mm, respectively.With the criteria of 3 mm/3% and 5 mm/5%,the PIDARs of the PreciseART-reconstructed doses are 73.9 ± 4.4% and 87.2 ± 3.3%, respectively. The PreciseART and EMCM-based dose reconstructions have their deposited energy changed by 5.6 ± 3.9% and 2.6 ± 1.5% in five GTVs, and by 9.2 ± 7.8% and 4.7 ± 3.6% in 30 OARs, respectively. Conclusions: A pseudo-inverse map-based EMCM program has been developed to evaluate DIR and dose mapping uncertainties. This program could also be used as a sanity check tool for DDA-based ART. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An inerter is a two-terminal inertial element that can produce an amplified inertance and enhanced damping when operating with spring and damping elements. Its superior vibration mitigation effect has been proved by previous studies. Although H∞ optimal design of inerter-controlled single-degree-of-freedom structure can be derived based on fixed-point method, rational and theoretical design methods for inerter-controlled multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) structures yet need to be developed. In this study, a practical and semi-analytical method based on the damping enhancement principle is proposed for the design of inerter-controlled MDOF structures under earthquakes. To improve the vibration mitigation efficiency, the parameters of inerter systems are distributed based on structural responses, and the required damping coefficient in the inerter systems is minimized to fully utilize the damping enhancement effect of inerter systems. The response mitigation ratio is taken as the targeted performance index to fulfill the demand-oriented design philosophy presented in this study. The stochastic response of the structure is obtained by conducting complex mode superposition. A detailed design procedure and corresponding computer program is developed. Three benchmark structures are employed to exemplify the effectiveness of the proposed design. The analysis results show that the story drifts and story shear forces of the designed structure are effectively mitigated to the target value. In comparison with an existing method (the fixed-point method), the proposed design strategy efficiently exploits the damping enhancement effect, resulting in reducing the damping coefficient and damping force while satisfying the performance demand, thereby producing a rational and economical design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mathematical model is formulated, and a finite-difference method and computer programs have been developed that allow effective computer simulation of the process of thermal breakdown of contact films. The system of equations includes the Stefan problem, the equations of electric transfer and of a switched circuit. The axial symmetry of the boundary-value problem conditions is assumed. A finite-difference method in a spherical coordinate system is used for the solution. During the development of the process, the radius of the conducting bridge made of a molten material changes by several orders of magnitude. An effective solution of this problem is the use of a "moving" grid by corresponding replacing the variables. The results of the work can be applied in the practice of research and design of electrical apparatuses and other electrotechnical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: After seven decades of levothyroxine (LT4) replacement therapy, dosage adjustment still takes several months. We have developed a decision aid tool (DAT) that models LT4 pharmacometrics and enables patient-tailored dosage. The aim of this was to speed up dosage adjustments for patients after total thyroidectomy. Methods: The DAT computer program was developed with a group of 46 patients post-thyroidectomy, and it was then applied in a prospective randomized multicenter validation trial in 145 unselected patients admitted for total thyroidectomy for goiter, differentiated thyroid cancer, or thyrotoxicosis. The LT4 dosage was adjusted after only two weeks, with or without application of the DAT, which calculated individual free thyroxine (fT4) targets based on four repeated measurements of fT4 and thyrotropin (TSH) levels. The individual TSH target was either <0.1, 0.1–0.5, or 0.5–2.0 mIU/L, depending on the diagnosis. Initial postoperative LT4 dosage was determined according to clinical routine without using algorithms. A simplified DAT with a population-based fT4 target was used for thyrotoxic patients who often went into surgery after prolonged TSH suppression. Subsequent LT4 adjustments were carried out every six weeks until target TSH was achieved. Results: When clinicians were guided by the DAT, 40% of patients with goiter and 59% of patients with cancer satisfied the narrow TSH targets eight weeks after surgery, as compared with only 0% and 19% of the controls, respectively. The TSH was within the normal range in 80% of DAT/goiter patients eight weeks after surgery as compared with 19% of controls. The DAT shortened the average dosage adjustment period by 58 days in the goiter group and 40 days in the cancer group. For thyrotoxic patients, application of the simplified DAT did not improve the dosage adjustment. Conclusions: Application of the DAT in combination with early postoperative TSH and fT4 monitoring offers a fast approach to LT4 dosage after total thyroidectomy for patients with goiter or differentiated thyroid cancer. Estimation of individual TSH-fT4 dynamics was crucial for the model to work, as removal of this feature in the applied model for thyrotoxic patients also removed the benefit of the DAT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caissons are rigid foundations most commonly used to support bridge piers. In this study, numerical analysis using the finite-element method based computer program ABAQUS was carried out to study the response of caissons under static and pseudostatic conditions. The caisson was embedded in layered soil comprising a saturated clay layer sandwiched between two sand layers. Sand was modeled using an elastic, Mohr-Coulomb plastic model and clay was modeled using a porous elastic and clay plasticity model to account for soil consolidation. The wall friction angle (δ) and seismic acceleration coefficients (kh and kv) were varied in this study. Calculations were made by executing a mathematical code in MATLAB to obtain the lateral soil pressure, maximum and minimum base pressures, tilt, shift, and point of rotation of the caisson. The analysis was further extended to develop three-dimensional (3D) interaction diagrams relating the combination of applied vertical load (V), lateral load (Q), and moment (M) in nondimensional form required to cause caisson failure for different wall friction angles and seismic acceleration coefficients. These diagrams can be used for the safe design of caissons under different seismic conditions and ground conditions for a variety of design loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In genetic programming, an evolutionary method for producing computer programs that solve specified computational problems, parent selection is ordinarily based on aggregate measures of performance across an entire training set. Lexicase selection, by contrast, selects on the basis of performance on random sequences of training cases; this has been shown to enhance problem-solving power in many circumstances. Lexicase selection can also be seen as better reflecting biological evolution, by modeling sequences of challenges that organisms face over their lifetimes. Recent work has demonstrated that the advantages of lexicase selection can be amplified by down-sampling, meaning that only a random subsample of the training cases is used each generation. This can be seen as modeling the fact that individual organisms encounter only subsets of the possible environments and that environments change over time. Here we provide the most extensive benchmarking of down-sampled lexicase selection to date, showing that its benefits hold up to increased scrutiny. The reasons that down-sampling helps, however, are not yet fully understood. Hypotheses include that down-sampling allows for more generations to be processed with the same budget of program evaluations; that the variation of training data across generations acts as a changing environment, encouraging adaptation; or that it reduces overfitting, leading to more general solutions. We systematically evaluate these hypotheses, finding evidence against all three, and instead draw the conclusion that down-sampled lexicase selection's main benefit stems from the fact that it allows the evolutionary process to examine more individuals within the same computational budget, even though each individual is examined less completely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The correlation coefficient is the most commonly used measure for summarizing the magnitude and direction of linear relationship between two response variables. Considerable literature has been devoted to the inference procedures for significance tests and confidence intervals of correlations. However, the essential problem of evaluating correlation equivalence has not been adequately examined. For the purpose of expanding the usefulness of correlational techniques, this article focuses on the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and the Fisher's z transformation for developing equivalence procedures of correlation coefficients. Equivalence tests are proposed to assess whether a correlation coefficient is within a designated reference range for declaring equivalence decisions. The important aspects of Type I error rate, power calculation, and sample size determination are also considered. Special emphasis is given to clarify the nature and deficiency of the two one-sided tests for detecting a lack of association. The findings demonstrate the inappropriateness of existing methods for equivalence appraisal and validate the suggested techniques as reliable and primary tools in correlation analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we apply a computational model for multicriteria decision making in traffic jam problems. First, we propose a system to determine the optimal shortcut road by reading the number of cars in each street using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). Then, we have processed the data of traffic jam problems using Choquet integral with writing algorithm and computer program as a working procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible and rigid pavements are commonly built for airport pavements to support the moving loads of aircraft during the pavement design life. At the planning stage, the pavement structure, materials, aircraft loads, environmental conditions, and pavement damage models should be evaluated. Comparing with road pavement design, airport pavement structural design is unique in terms of the traffic loads supported by pavements with high load magnitude, significant tire pressure, and dynamic traffic conditions. With the transition from conventional empirical design to mechanistic-empirical approaches, the mechanistic-empirical approaches are adopted in the various computer programs as the main methods for pavement structural design. The methods developed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other approaches of airport pavement structural design are discussed in this paper to compare their analysis methodology and identify the advancement of each design method. A highlight of this paper is to examine the recent specifications for airport pavement structural design (FAA AC 150/5320–6 G) and the structural evaluation (FAA AC 150/5335–5D) released by the FAA. In addition, in order to support the maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) strategy, the pavement structural condition and material properties can be assessed by a Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) or a Heavy Weight Deflectometer (HWD) test. Future structural design of airport pavements should consider potential pavement failure patterns caused by complex gear loading types, and continuous pavement M&R using FWD or HWD tests. • Airport pavement structural design is unique in terms of the traffic loads. • The difference between traditional empirical and mechanistic methods is reviewed. • The latest specifications for airport pavement structural design are reviewed. • The application of nondestructive tests in the pavement design is reviewed. • The maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) strategies of pavements are reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Slope-assisted distributed fiber strain or temperature sensor is investigated. • Brillouin frequency shift estimated by different models is compared. • Slope-assisted method based on pseudo-Voigt model has highest accuracy. • A closed-form analytical solution for BFS is presented. • Proposed method can ensure high accuracy and enhance the dynamic range. To improve accuracy in temperature and strain measured by the slope-assisted distributed optical fiber sensor based on Brillouin scattering, the Lorentzian, Gaussian, pseudo-Voigt and Voigt models are used to approximate the measured Brillouin spectra. The results reveal that the pseudo-Voigt and Voigt profiles can give the better approximation than the other two profiles. In view of computational burden, a slope-assisted Brillouin frequency shift (BFS) estimation method based on the pseudo-Voigt model is proposed. To simplify BFS estimation in the slope-assisted method, by fitting the quartic function to the pseudo-Voigt profiles, a slope-assisted method based on the quartic function is proposed and a closed-form analytical solution for BFS is obtained in the method. The computer programs for the slope-assisted methods based on the line, Lorentzian, Gaussian, pseudo-Voigt models and quartic function are written and are used to estimate BFS for the measured Brillouin spectra with different pulse widths and average times along an optical fiber. The results reveal that the line model-based slope-assisted method has a narrow dynamic range. The Lorentzian, Gaussian models-based methods cannot always ensure its accuracy for Brillouin spectra measured in different situations. The method based on the pseudo-Voigt model possesses higher accuracy and wider dynamic range than the line, Lorentzian, Gaussian models-based ones. The quartic function-based slope-assisted method has almost the same accuracy as the pseudo-Voigt model-based one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A soft recovery system is used to arrest a supersonic object over a limited distance in a controlled manner. This may be achieved through ballistic compression of gas. This work explains the motion of a supersonic object passing through a ballistic compression decelerator i.e., pressurized gas column initially sandwiched between two diaphragms. The accompanying mechanics is complex and includes diverse effects such as separation of shock from the supersonic object, travelling shocks, shock reflections, creation of a new shock, emergence and dissolution of contact discontinuities and expansion waves, and shock-shock interactions. In this work, these phenomena have been numerically and experimentally studied. While the method of characteristics was used to solve Euler's equations in continuous regions, jump conditions derived from control volume considerations were used to obtain solutions across discontinuities. In this way, a duly validated finite difference method computer program was developed to analyze the problem. Finally, simulation predictions were validated by conducting experiments on a 7.62 mm soft recovery system tube. Our results showed that, an object having an entry velocity of 880 m/s, left the SRS with a velocity that was lower by 47% from simulation predictions. Further analysis showed that friction between the object and tube was a major contributor to this gap. Post accounting for friction, the difference between numerical analysis and experimental data got reduced to about 5% at most locations, and to 17% at the end of the SRS. We attribute this residual difference between observations and simulations to build up of pressure at a location post passage of shock by it. Our 2-D finite volume study results, which are consistent with earlier research, as well as with our experimental data, show that such a phenomenon is prominent particularly in narrow tubes due to development of significantly thick turbulent boundary layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although great success has been achieved in the shale gas industry, accurate production dynamic analyses is still a challenging task. Long horizontal wells coupling with mass hydraulic fracturing has become a necessary technique to extract shale gas efficiently. In this paper, a comprehensive mathematical model of a multiple fractured horizontal well (MFHW) in a rectangular drainage area with a rectangular stimulated reservoir volume (SRV) has been established, based on the conceptual model of "tri-pores" in shale gas reservoirs. Dimensionless treatment and Laplace transformation were employed in the modeling process, while the boundary element method was used to solve the mathematical model. The Stehfest numerical inversion method and computer programing techniques were employed to obtain dimensionless type curves, production rate, and cumulative production. Results suggest that 9 flow stages can be observed from the pseudopressure derivative type curve when the reservoir and the SRV are large enough. The number of fractures, SRV permeability, and reservoir permeability have no effect on the total production when the well is abandoned. As SRV and reservoir permeability increases, the production rate is much higher in the middle production stage. Although the SRV scale and its permeability are very important for early and intermediate production rates, the key factors restricting the shale gas production rate are the properties of the shale itself, such as adsorbed gas content, natural fractures, and organic content. The proposed model is useful for analyzing production dynamics with stimulated horizontal wells in shale gas reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cerebral Palsy (CP) is characterised by variable difficulties in muscular action, resulting in inability of the individual to perform functional movement. An option to provide functionality to the individual with CP is the use of computer innovation. The aim of this paper was to verify if there was any performance improvement in a task performed in a virtual environment and if there was transfer to the task performed in the real environment and vice versa in this population.Methods: A computer program was developed comprising a motor task, but with two possibilities of user interaction: a) concrete interface (with physical contact): in which the individual touches the computer screen to finish the task and b) abstract interface (no physical contact): in which the individual performs a hand movement in front of the Kinect device. Participants were split into two groups. The experimental group consisted of 28 individuals with CP within the ages of 6 and 15 years old. The control group included 28 typically developing individuals mirroring the age and sex of the experimental group.Results: Individuals from both groups were able to improve task performance and retain acquired information. The CP group presented worse performance than the control group in all phases of the study. Further findings showed that the CP group presented better performance in the abstract interface than in the concrete interface, whereas, in the control group, the opposite occurred: their best performance was in the concrete.Conclusions: Motor tasks performed by individuals with CP through an interface with a more virtual environment feature (abstract interface: Kinect) provided better performance when compared to an interface with a more real characteristic (concrete interface: Touchscreen).Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier - NCT03352440; Date of registration - November 17, 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most fundamental questions that can be asked about any process concerns the underlying units over which it operates. And this is true not just for artificial processes (such as functions in a computer program that only take specific kinds of arguments) but for mental processes. Over what units does the process of enumeration operate? Recent work has demonstrated that in visuospatial arrays, these units are often irresistibly discrete objects. When enumerating the number of discs in a display, for example, observers underestimate to a greater degree when the discs are spatially segmented (e.g., by connecting pairs of discs with lines): you try to enumerate discs, but your mind can't help enumerating dumbbells. This phenomenon has previously been limited to static displays, but of course our experience of the world is inherently dynamic. Is enumeration in time similarly based on discrete events? To find out, we had observers enumerate the number of notes in quick musical sequences. Observers underestimated to a greater degree when the notes were temporally segmented (into discrete musical phrases, based on pitch-range shifts), even while carefully controlling for both duration and the overall range and heterogeneity of pitches. Observers tried to enumerate notes, but their minds couldn't help enumerating musical phrases – since those are the events they experienced. These results thus demonstrate how discrete events are prominent in our mental lives, and how the units that constitute discrete events are not entirely under our conscious, intentional control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a method for fast computation of highly oscillatory Fourier-type integrals with monomial phase functions and Jacobi-type singularities. It is shown that on an appropriately chosen contour in the complex plane the original integral can be expressed as the sum of two nonoscillatory and rapidly decaying integrals, each of which can be efficiently computed by the generalized Gauss-Laguerre rule or by the double exponential method. For moderate and large frequencies, the proposed method is stable and more efficient than the existing methods. We also give a Mathematica program for the implementation of the method on a computer. The effectiveness and accuracy is tested by means of numerical examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The connective particle ʽal-kēn 'therefore' usually functions to introduce a logical conclusion or consequence: 'A therefore B'. However, in cases such as 2 Sam 7:22 it functions as a speaker-oriented particle -- what is mentioned in the preceding verse is the reason why the speaker makes the following statement. This usage may be compared with another speaker-oriented particle kî 'for', which explains the reason for the speaker's previous utterance. These two speaker-oriented particles may be explained thus: speaker-oriented kî: 'This (B) is the reason why I said that (A)' speaker-oriented ʽal-kēn: 'That (A) is the reason why I say this (B)'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical education is evolving and electronic learning (e-Learning) strategies have now become an essential asset in radiology education. Radiology education is a significant part of the undergraduate medical curriculum and the use of e-Learning in radiology teaching in medical schools is on the rise. If coupled with clinical decision support systems, e-Learning can be a practical way of teaching students clinical decision making, such as selecting the diagnostic imaging tests that are best suited in certain clinical scenarios. The innovative concept of flipped classroom learning encourages students to work independently and maximises the application of learnt contents in interactive classroom sessions. For integrated curricula with their student-centred, problem-based, and community-based design, an approach to systematically integrate radiology may be to define diagnostic reasoning as one of the core goals. Radiologists as teachers and scholars may understand themselves as experts in diagnostic reasoning and in mentoring how to make medical decisions. Computer programs simulating the routine work are available and can be used to teach the recognition of anatomical structures and pathological patterns, and also to teach ultrasonography and interventional radiology, maximising patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: With the rapid development of information technology and online communities, patients in growing numbers choose to consult physicians in online health communities (OHCs) for information and treatment. Although many researchers have examined OHCs, the impact of physicians' online rating and activeness on patient consultation choice, which is reflected by the number of patients in OHCs, has rarely been discussed. Methods: A computer program was developed to download the required data. We collected data from 8,401 physicians from an online health community, Good Doctor Online, and analyzed data with Stata. An empirical model was conducted to explore the factors that influence the number of patients who consult a physician in OHCs. Results: The results indicate that the online rating and activeness of physicians have positive effects on the number of patients. Furthermore, the physician's professional seniority and hospital rank significantly moderate this positive relationship. As hospital levels increase, the impacts of the online rating and activeness on the number of patients decrease. In addition, the online rating has a weaker influence on the number of patients when a physician has a high professional seniority. Conclusions: It is important to understand what factors influence the number of patients who choose to consult physicians in OHCs. This study aims to explore the effects of online rating and activeness of physicians on the number of patients, as well as the moderating effects of the physician's professional seniority and hospital rank. Our results have implications for existing health management and e-health literature, and OHC designers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detection energy window of Makrofol detector irradiated with alpha particles and chemically treated by PEW (potassium hydroxide, ethanol, water) solution was investigated. Detectors were exposed to 241 Am source through the cylindrical collimators in order to control incident alpha particle energies and angles. Alpha particles were detected in the wide energy range from 0.4 MeV to above 5 MeV. The dependence of track diameter on particle incident energy was also examined. Changes of etchant concentration and bulk etch rate (V b) during two-hour etching were investigated. A slight increase of etchant concentration was observed while V b was nearly constant during the whole etching process. Alpha particle passage through collimators with various dimensions and the corresponding energy distribution were also simulated theoretically using Monte Carlo Method and computer program written in Fortran90. • Detection energy window of Makrofol irradiated with alpha particles was investigated. • Particles in the energy range from 0.4 MeV to above 5 MeV were detected. • The dependence of track diameter on particle incident energy followed Bragg curve. • A slight increase of etchant concentration was observed; V b was nearly constant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Guidelines on hemodialysis (HD) dosing are based on urea kinetics, which can be modeled mathematically. Different schedules can be compared by equivalent continuous clearance. Methods A computer program generating HD prescriptions automatically was developed. In 200 actual HD urea kinetic modeling sessions involving 33 patients the urea distribution volume, generation rate, and concentration profile in the external space were computed using ionic dialysance as dialyzer clearance in the double pool ureakinetic model. Dialyzer in vivo mass area coefficient K0A was calculated from online data with the Michaels' equation. Data from the modeling sessions were used for generating new prescriptions for the same patients. Findings New prescriptions meeting 12 criteria—technical limits and guideline targets—were generated by the model. They showed a wide range of basic treatment parameters (time and frequency, blood and dialysate flow, and ultrafiltration). In five cases, the dialysis time or frequency should have been increased from the actual to achieve the targets, in 72 cases the frequency could have been decreased. Two methods to emphasize RRF were tested. Using a coefficient of 2.0 for renal urea clearance in computing adjusted equivalent continuous clearance (EKR/Va), as suggested by Casino and Basile, decreased further the required treatment frequency in incremental dialysis. Discussion The model produced plausible individual prescriptions, but some unknown factors caused the determination of the dialyzer in vivo K0A to be inaccurate. The model must be tested with modern devices on patients before integration into dialysis machines and information systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A widely used class of algorithms for computing tree decompositions of graphs are heuristics that compute an elimination order, i.e., a permutation of the vertex set. In this paper, we propose to turbocharge these heuristics. For a target treewidthk, suppose the heuristic has already computed a partial elimination order of width at most k, but extending it by one more vertex exceeds the target width k. At this moment of regret, we solve a subproblem which is to recompute the last c positions of the partial elimination order such that it can be extended without exceeding width k. We show that this subproblem is fixed-parameter tractable when parameterized by k and c, but it is para-NP-hard and W[1]-hard when parameterized by only k or c, respectively. Our experimental evaluation of the FPT algorithm shows that we can trade a reasonable increase of the running time for the quality of the solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relational program verification is a variant of program verification where one can reason about two programs and as a special case about two executions of a single program on different inputs. Relational program verification can be used for reasoning about a broad range of properties, including equivalence and refinement, and specialized notions such as continuity, information flow security, or relative cost. In a higher-order setting, relational program verification can be achieved using relational refinement type systems, a form of refinement types where assertions have a relational interpretation. Relational refinement type systems excel at relating structurally equivalent terms but provide limited support for relating terms with very different structures. We present a logic, called relational higher-order logic (RHOL), for proving relational properties of a simply typed λ-calculus with inductive types and recursive definitions. RHOL retains the type-directed flavor of relational refinement type systems but achieves greater expressivity through rules which simultaneously reason about the two terms as well as rules which only contemplate one of the two terms. We show that RHOL has strong foundations, by proving an equivalence with higher-order logic, and leverage this equivalence to derive key meta-theoretical properties: subject reduction, admissibility of a transitivity rule, and set-theoretical soundness. Moreover, we define sound embeddings for several existing relational type systems such as relational refinement types and type systems for dependency analysis and relative cost, and we verify examples that were out of reach of prior work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical education is evolving and electronic learning (e-Learning) strategies have now become an essential asset in radiology education. Radiology education is a significant part of the undergraduate medical curriculum and the use of e-Learning in radiology teaching in medical schools is on the rise. If coupled with clinical decision support systems, e-Learning can be a practical way of teaching students clinical decision making, such as selecting the diagnostic imaging tests that are best suited in certain clinical scenarios. The innovative concept of flipped classroom learning encourages students to work independently and maximises the application of learnt contents in interactive classroom sessions. For integrated curricula with their student-centred, problem-based, and community-based design, an approach to systematically integrate radiology may be to define diagnostic reasoning as one of the core goals. Radiologists as teachers and scholars may understand themselves as experts in diagnostic reasoning and in mentoring how to make medical decisions. Computer programs simulating the routine work are available and can be used to teach the recognition of anatomical structures and pathological patterns, and also to teach ultrasonography and interventional radiology, maximising patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the facts that determinants and matrices have extensive application in scientific research and that in this technology epoch almost all different researches and simulations are made using computer systems, we present a comparison of the time duration for calculating cornice determinants through computer systems. In this paper, we develop computer functions for calculating determinants using the Laplace expansion method, Gjanbalaj-Salihu's method, and Salihu's SemiDiagonal Method. We compare the time duration for the execution of these functions to calculate the final result of the determinant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, many multi-attribute decision-making methods have not been effectively applied to solve practical problems because of various shortcomings. The purpose of this paper is to develop a novel dynamic multi-attribute decision-making (DMADM) method based on the improved weights function and score function. In this paper, a novel method based on the improved entropy of interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets is applied to calculate attribute weight. A time weight method is developed via the multi-target nonlinear programming model based on the ideal solution and information entropy. The influence of decision-makers' subjective preference and objective attribute information are integrated into the time weight. A novel ranking method based on the improved score function is used to select the best alternative in the DMADM process. Moreover, the interaction among attributes is considered by the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy geometric weighted Heronian means operator in the proposed method. Finally, an example of partner selection with collaborative innovation is given to verify the developed approach. This study contributes to the development of DMADM theory by using improved attribute weight, time weight, and score functions, and offers us a very useful way to deal with DMADM problems in real life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thread mapping is one of the techniques which allow for efficient exploiting of the potential of modern multicore architectures. The aim of this paper is to study the impact of thread mapping on the computing performance, the scalability, and the energy consumption for parallel dense linear algebra kernels on hierarchical shared memory multicore systems. We consider the basic application, namely a matrix-matrix product (GEMM), and two parallel matrix decompositions (LU and WZ). Both factorizations exploit parallel BLAS (basic linear algebra subprograms) operations, among others GEMM. We compare differences between various thread mapping strategies for these applications. Our results show that the choice of thread mapping has the measurable impact on the performance, the scalability, and energy consumption of the GEMM and two matrix factorizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Most cryptographic schemes are designed in a model where perfect secrecy of the secret key is assumed. In most physical implementations, however, some form of information leakage is inherent and unavoidable. To deal with this, a flurry of works showed how to construct basic cryptographic primitives that are resilient to various forms of leakage. Dodis et al. (FOCS '10) formalized and constructed leakage resilient one-way functions. These are one-way functions f such that given a random image f (x) and leakage g (x) it is still hard to invert f (x). Based on any one-way function, Dodis et al. constructed such a one-way function that is leakage resilient assuming that an attacker can leak any lossy function g of the input. In this work we consider the problem of constructing leakage resilient one-way functions that are secure with respect to arbitrary computationally hiding leakage (a.k.a. auxiliary-input). We consider both types of leakage – selective and adaptive – and prove various possibility and impossibility results. On the negative side, we show that if the leakage is an adaptively-chosen arbitrary one-way function, then it is impossible to construct leakage resilient one-way functions. The latter is proved both in the random oracle model (without any further assumptions) and in the standard model based on a strong vector-variant of DDH. On the positive side, we observe that when the leakage is chosen ahead of time, there are leakage resilient one-way functions based on a variety of assumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we consider a solution of automata (or nodes) that move passively in a well-mixed solution without being capable of controlling their movement. Nodes can cooperate by interacting in pairs and every such interaction may result in an update of their local states. Additionally, the nodes may also choose to connect to each other in order to start forming some required structure. Such nodes can be thought of as small programmable pieces of matter, like tiny nanorobots or programmable molecules. The model that we introduce here is a more applied version of network constructors, imposing physical (or geometric) constraints on the connections that the nodes are allowed to form. Each node can connect to other nodes only via a very limited number of local ports. Connections are always made at unit distance and are perpendicular to connections of neighboring ports, which makes the model capable of forming 2D or 3D shapes. We provide direct constructors for some basic shape construction problems, like spanning line, spanning square, and self-replication. We then develop new techniques for determining the computational and constructive capabilities of our model. One of the main novelties of our approach is that of exploiting the assumptions that the system is well-mixed and has a unique leader, in order to give terminating protocols that are correct with high probability. This allows us to develop terminating subroutines that can be sequentially composed to form larger modular protocols. One of our main results is a terminating protocol counting the size n of the system with high probability. We then use this protocol as a subroutine in order to develop our universal constructors, establishing that it is possible for the nodes to become self-organized with high probability into arbitrarily complex shapes while still detecting termination of the construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exertion of super-long pile skin friction is an asynchronous process in deep soft soil area. The limitation of skin friction on the upper part of pile is much smaller than the lower part of pile. The softening of super-long pile skin friction is also a common phenomenon. Therefore, a new hyperbolic load transfer model is proposed in this paper, which takes into account the softening of pile skin friction and the nonlinear characteristic of pile-soil relative displacement. Meanwhile, a User-Defined Material (UMAT) subroutine is written in FORTRAN language and connected with an ABAQUS interface. The curve of pile skin friction is obtained, which is more consistent with practical engineering. It is further developed into a universally applicable function of super-long piles. The settlement and effective pile length in deep soft soil area can be calculated by a new function with the consideration of super-long pile weight. Example analysis shows that the calculation of axial force distribution of super-long pile, settlement of pile top, and effective pile length are more consistent with pile test results. In summary, the method proposed in this paper can exactly reflect the working characters of super-long pile in practical engineering, which can provide valuable reference for the design of super-long pile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-Frame core sandwich structures are fabricated with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) face sheets and aluminum alloy cores. The hybrid combination enables composite face sheets to maximize specific flexural stiffness and X-Frame metal core to improve the impact resistance. The effects of impact energy, impact site and face sheet material type on the impact response and resulting damage state have are investigated experimentally and numerically. The low-velocity impact tests are carried out to study the impact response in terms of the impact load, absorbed energy and failure modes. Meanwhile, finite element analysis is implemented to simulate the impact behaviors and failure mechanisms by the VUMAT subroutine in ABAQUS/Explicit, using a progressive damage model based on the Hashin and Yeh delamination failure criteria. For comparison, all-metallic sandwich structures are also studied to better understand the influence of face sheet materials. These studies reveal that impact response and resulting damage state are strongly dependent on the impact energy and impact site. Composite sandwich structure absorbs more impact energy than aluminum sandwich structure for the perforation case, indicating that the former has better impact resistance. The predicted results of the low-velocity impact response are fairly consistent with the experimental measurements, which suggests that the numerical procedure could be a helpful tool in developing novel lightweight multifunctional structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the performance of applications is a core target of computer systems research and has led to the creation of various techniques. Among them is function memoization, an intuitive technique that, unfortunately, failed to live up to its promised potential. Traditional function memoization falls short mainly because it is input-based, meaning the system needs to pattern-match the current invocations inputs with previously seen ones to decide which memoized output value to return. This is often computationally intensive and only suitable for a limited set of functions. However, function calls often exhibit temporal value locality on their output. We capitalize on this observation to create the first output-based function memoization technique. We demonstrate that compiler-directed output-based memoization reduces energy and runtime by 50 to 75 percent (2-4x speedup) at the cost of a relatively small degradation of the applications output quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review recent empirical findings and arguments proffered as evidence that educated adults solve elementary addition problems (3 + 2, 4 + 1) using so-called compacted procedures (e.g., unconscious, automatic counting); a conclusion that could have significant pedagogical implications. We begin with the large-sample experiment reported by Uittenhove, Thevenot and Barrouillet (2016, Cognition, 146, 289-303), which tested 90 adults on the 81 single-digit addition problems from 1 + 1 to 9 + 9. They identified the 12 very-small addition problems with different operands both ≤ 4 (e.g., 4 + 3) as a distinct subgroup of problems solved by unconscious, automatic counting: These items yielded a near-perfectly linear increase in answer response time (RT) yoked to the sum of the operands. Using the data reported in the article, however, we show that there are clear violations of the sum-counting model’s predictions among the very-small addition problems, and that there is no real RT boundary associated with addends ≤4. Furthermore, we show that a well-known associative retrieval model of addition facts—the network interference theory (Campbell, 1995)—predicts the results observed for these problems with high precision. We also review the other types of evidence adduced for the compacted procedure theory of simple addition and conclude that these findings are unconvincing in their own right and only distantly consistent with automatic counting. We conclude that the cumulative evidence for fast compacted procedures for adults’ simple addition does not justify revision of the long-standing assumption that direct memory retrieval is ultimately the most efficient process of simple addition for nonzero problems, let alone sufficient to recommend significant changes to basic addition pedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we address to boost the discriminative capability of deep neural network by alleviating the over-fitting problem. Previous works often deal with the problem of learning a neural network by optimizing one or more objective functions with some existing regularization methods (such as dropout, weight decay, stochastic pooling, data augmentation, etc.). We argue that these approaches may be difficult to further improve the classification performance of a neural network, due to not well employing its own learned knowledge. In this paper, we introduce a self-regularized strategy for learning a neural network, named as a Self-Regularized Neural Network (SRNN). The intuition behind the SRNN is that the sample-wise soft targets of a neural network may have potentials to drag its own neural network out of its local optimum. More specifically, an initial neural network is firstly pre-trained by optimizing one or more objective functions with ground truth labels. We then gradually mine sample-wise soft targets, which enables to reveal the correlation/similarity among classes predicted from its own neural network. The parameters of neural network are further updated for fitting its sample-wise soft targets. This self-regularization learning procedure minimizes the objective function by integrating the sample-wise soft targets of neural network and the ground truth label of training samples. Three characteristics in this SRNN are summarized as: (1) gradually mining the learned knowledge from a single neural network, and then correcting and enhancing this part of learned knowledge, resulting in the sample-wise soft targets; (2) regularly optimizing the parameters of this neural network with their sample-wise soft targets; (3) boosting the discriminative capability of a neural network with the self-regularization strategy. Extensive experiments on four public datasets, i.e., CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100, Caltech101 and MIT, well demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed SRNN for image classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article states that Propeller Experiment Controller's Experimental Functions object offers different public methods to meet the multiple requirements of behavioral experiments. The StartExperiment methods make use of two cogs. StartExperiment(DO, CLK, DI, CS) creates one memory file on SD card and also generates random numbers.

In recent years, code obfuscation has attracted both researchers and software developers as a useful technique for protecting secret properties of proprietary programs. The idea of code obfuscation is to modify a program, while preserving its functionality, in order to make it more difficult to analyze. Thus, the aim of code obfuscation is to conceal certain properties to an attacker, while revealing its intended behavior. However, a general methodology for deriving an obfuscating transformation from the properties to conceal and reveal is still missing. In this work, we start to address this problem by studying the existence and the characterization of function transformers that minimally or maximally modify a program in order to reveal or conceal a certain property. Based on this general formal framework, we are able to provide a characterization of the maximal obfuscating strategy for transformations concealing a given property while revealing the desired observational behavior. To conclude, we discuss the applicability of the proposed characterization by showing how some common obfuscation techniques can be interpreted in this framework. Moreover, we show how this approach allows us to deeply understand what are the behavioral properties that these transformations conceal, and therefore protect, and which are the ones that they reveal, and therefore disclose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the development of a simulation model, which was incorporated into a Geographic Information System (GIS) in order to calculate the maximum intensity of urban heat islands (UHI max ) based on urban geometry data (using a H/W parameter). This tool is called THIS – Tool for Heat Island Simulation. The urban heat island phenomenon is defined by the temperature rise in dense city centers compared with the surrounding countryside. The methodology of this study is based on a theoretical-numerical basis (Oke model), followed by the development of a calculation algorithm incorporated into the GIS platform, which is then adjusted and applied as exemplification. This adjustment was made by calibrating the Oke model for a case study based on two Brazilian cities and different various trends for different roughness length ranges were found. As a consequence, this work has resulted in the automation of an algorithm to obtain maximum intensity values of heat islands based on a simplified model. After finishing the subroutine, the application of the THIS in a simulation of different urban scenarios showed different trends in the UHI max value for the H/W ratio and the roughness length. The UHI max increases when the H/W ratio increases, but the urban canyons with greater roughness (larger areas of facades and more heterogeneous heights, Z 0 ≥ 2.0) result in UHI max values of approximately two times smaller than canyons with less roughness (homogeneous with highest average areas occupied by buildings, Z 0 < 2.0) for the same value as the H/W ratio. Overall, the developed tool has one aim: to simulate the effect of the isolated variable of urban geometry on the maximum intensity of nocturnal heat islands, considering different urban scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We prove a necessary and sufficient condition for a function being a polynomial function over a finite, commutative, unital ring. Further, we give an algorithm running in quasilinear time that determines whether or not a function given by its function table can be represented by a polynomial, and if the answer is yes then it provides one such polynomial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a static analysis for determining whether and to what extent functions in JavaScript programs are pure. To this end, the analysis classifies functions as pure functions, observers, or procedures. A function is pure if none of its executions generate or depend upon externally observable side effects. A function is an observer as soon as one of its executions depends on an external side effect, but none of its executions generate observable side effects. Otherwise, the function is classified as a procedure. Function executions and associated callers are found by traversing all reachable function execution contexts on the call stack at the point where an effect occurs. Our approach is based on a flow analysis that, in addition to computing traditional control and value flow, keeps track of read and write effects. To increase the precision of our purity analysis, we combine it with an intraprocedural analysis that determines freshness of variables and objects. We formalize the core aspects of our technique and discuss its implementation and results on common JavaScript benchmarks. Results show that our approach is capable of determining function purity in the presence of higher-order functions, dynamic property expressions, and prototypal inheritance. When compared with existing purity analyses, we find that our approach is as precise or more precise than the existing analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]