Increased capacity per unit-cost by oversampling

It is demonstrated that doubling the sampling rate recovers some of the loss in capacity incurred on the bandlimited Gaussian channel with a one-bit output quantizer. © 2010 IEEE.

Sexual behavior in a one-male unit of Rhinopithecus bieti in captivity

Data regarding the sexual behavior of black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) were collected in 1998 in a one-male unit in captivity by all-occurrences sampling during the mating season. Before the present study, little was known about the sexual behavior of this species. This study showed that female solicitation is mainly expressed as "prostration plus glancing laterally" (PG) or "sitting plus head moving up and down" (HM), and male solicitation is exhibited by the "grunt bared-teeth display." The mount-to-ejaculation ratio was 5.2 on average, and single-mount ejaculations (SMEs) were observed in only 4.4% of mounts on days with at least one ejaculation. Therefore, the main copulatory pattern of this species is multiple-mount ejaculation (MME). Females initiated 72% of 18 ejaculatory mounts. Females initiated more ejaculatory mounts than non-ejaculatory ones. In general, the patterns of sexual behavior in this species are similar to those reported for other Colobines. (C) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Multiple color reflection in a single unit cell using double-layer electrochromic reaction

Multiple color states have been realized in single unit cell using double electrochromic (EC) reaction. The precise control of bistability in EC compounds which can maintain several colors on the two separated electrodes allows this new type of pixel to be realized. The specific electrical driving gives a way to maintain both sides in the reduced EC states and this colors overlapping in the vertical view direction can achieve the black state. The four color states (G, B, W, BK) in one cell/pixel can make a valuable progress to achieve a high quality color devices such like electronic paper, outdoor billboard, smart window and flexible display using external light source. © 2012 Optical Society of America.

Graphics processing unit cooling solutions: Acoustic characteristics

The change in acoustic characteristics in personal computers to console gaming and home entertainment systems with the change in the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), is presented. The tests are carried out using identical configurations of the software and system hardware. The prime components of the hardware used in the project are central processing unit, motherboard, hard disc drive, memory, power supply, optical drive, and additional cooling system. The results from the measurements taken for each GPU tested are analyzed and compared. The test results are obtained using a photo tachometer and reflective tape adhered to one particular fan blade. The test shows that loudness is a psychoacoustic metric developed by Zwicker and Fastal that aims to quantify how loud a sound is perceived as compared to a standard sound. The acoustic experiment reveals that the inherent noise generation mechanism increases with the increase of the complexity of the cooling solution.

Implementation of trailer steering control on a multi-unit vehicle at high speeds

A high-speed path-following controller for long combination vehicles (LCVs) was designed and implemented on a test vehicle consisting of a rigid truck towing a dolly and a semitrailer. The vehicle was driven through a 3.5 m wide lane change maneuver at 80 km/h. The axles of the dolly and trailer were steered actively by electrically-controlled hydraulic actuators. Substantial performance benefits were recorded compared with the unsteered vehicle. For the best controller weightings, performance improvements relative to unsteered case were: lateral tracking error 75% reduction, rearward amplification (RA) of lateral acceleration 18% reduction, and RA of yaw rate 37% reduction. This represents a substantial improvement in stability margins. The system was found to work well in conjunction with the braking-based stability control system of the towing vehicle with no negative interaction effects being observed. In all cases, the stability control system and the steering system improved the yaw stability of the combination. © 2014 by ASME.

Trust-Level Risk Evaluation and Risk Control Guidance in the NHS East of England

In recent years, the healthcare sector has adopted the use of operational risk assessment tools to help understand the systems issues that lead to patient safety incidents. But although these problem-focused tools have improved the ability of healthcare organizations to identify hazards, they have not translated into measurable improvements in patient safety. One possible reason for this is a lack of support for the solution-focused process of risk control. This article describes a content analysis of the risk management strategies, policies, and procedures at all acute (i.e., hospital), mental health, and ambulance trusts (health service organizations) in the East of England area of the British National Health Service. The primary goal was to determine what organizational-level guidance exists to support risk control practice. A secondary goal was to examine the risk evaluation guidance provided by these trusts. With regard to risk control, we found an almost complete lack of useful guidance to promote good practice. With regard to risk evaluation, the trusts relied exclusively on risk matrices. A number of weaknesses were found in the use of this tool, especially related to the guidance for scoring an event's likelihood. We make a number of recommendations to address these concerns. The guidance assessed provides insufficient support for risk control and risk evaluation. This may present a significant barrier to the success of risk management approaches in improving patient safety. © 2013 Society for Risk Analysis.

Monitoring bioaccumulation and toxic effects of hexachlorobenzene using the polyurethane foam unit method in the microbial communities of the Fuhe River, Wuhan

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is a chlorinated aromatic hydrocarbon that was widely used for seed dressing in prevention of fungal growth on crops, and also as a component of fireworks, ammunition, and synthetic rubbers. Because of its resistance to degradation and mobility, HCB is widely distributed throughout the environment and is accumulated through food chains in different ecosystems. In this study, a preliminary investigation was carried out on the bioaccumulation and the toxic effects of HCB in the microbial (protozoan in particular) communities in the Fuhe River, Wuhan, a water body receiving industrial wastewaters containing HCB and other pollutants, using the standardized polyurethane foam units (PFU) method. Field samples were taken from eight stations established along the Fuhe River in January and August 2006. The concentration ratios of HCB in microbial communities and in water were 9.66-18.64, and the microbial communities accumulated 13.29-56.88 mu g/L of HCB in January and 0.82-10.25 mu g/L HCB in August. Correlation analysis showed a negative correlation between the HCB contents in the microbial assemblage, and the number of species and the diversity index of the protozoan communities. This study demonstrated the applicability of the PFU method in monitoring the effects of HCB on the level of microbial communities.