A new rheological model and its application in mountain tunnelling

The time-dependent features of soft rock, named rheology generally, should be taken into account in the long-term design and maintenance of mountain tunnels. Based on the classic Burger-MC rheological model, a Burger-deterioration rheological model is proposed in this paper and is implemented in the numerical codes FLAC3D. A deterioration threshold and two deterioration ratios are introduced in this model to consider the time-dependent strength deterioration aspect of the rock mass. The proposed model is applied to an engineering instance (Ureshino Tunnel Line I, Nagasaki, Japan) to account for the delayed deformations that occurred after its completion since November 1992. The delayed crown settlement and invert upheaval computed from simulations are featured by an exponential characteristic and a stair-typed characteristic, respectively, which agree well with the in-site monitoring data qualitatively. In addition, the realistic rheological parameters involved in the proposed model can be back-analyzed from the in-site monitoring data

Loop Distribution and Fusion with Timing and Code Size Optimization for Embedded DSPs

International Conference on Embedded and Ubiquitous Computing (EUC 2005), Nagasaki, Japan,6-9 Dec 2005Loop distribution and loop fusion are two e.ective loop transformation techniques to optimize the execution of the programs in DSP applications. In this paper, we propose a new technique combining loop distribution with direct loop fusion, which will improve the timing performance without jeopardizing the code size. We .rst develop the loop distribution theorems that state the legality conditions of loop distribution for multi-level nested loops. We show that if the summation of the edge weights of the dependence cycle satis.es a certain condition, then the statements involved in the dependence cycle can be distributed; otherwise, they should be put in the same loop after loop distribution. Then, we propose the technique of maximum loop distribution with direct loop fusion. The experimental results show that the execution time of the transformed loops by our technique is reduced 21.0compared to the original loops and the code size of the transformed loops is reduced 7.0% on average compared to the original loops.Department of Computin

Auxilary Cartographic Functions in R: North Arrow, Scale Bar, and Label with Leader Arrow

Auxiliary cartographic components such as a scale bar, a north arrow, and labels frequently play an important role in faciliating the use of maps. Since the current R environment does not fully support these tools, we developed a scale bar for a projected map, a north arrow, and interactive text labeling with a leader arrow. The functionalities of the developed codes and noteworthy points during the execution of these functions are discussed

Attacks on RFID Protocols

This document consists of a collection of attacks upon RFID protocols and is meant to serve as a quick and easy reference. This document will be updated as new attacks are found. Currently the only attacks on protocols shown are the authors\u27 original attacks with references to similar attacks on other protocols. The main security properties considered are authentication, untraceability, and - for stateful protocols - desynchronization resistance

Character-angle based video annotation

A video annotation system includes clips organization, feature description and pattern determination. This paper aims to present a system for basketball zone-defence detection. Particularly, a character-angle based descriptor for feature description is proposed. The well-performed experimental results in basketball zone-defence detection demonstrate that it is robust for both simulations and real-life cases, with less sensitivity to the distribution caused by local translation of subprime defenders. Such a framework can be easily applied to other team-work sports

The Parma Polyhedra Library: Toward a Complete Set of Numerical Abstractions for the Analysis and Verification of Hardware and Software Systems

Since its inception as a student project in 2001, initially just for the handling (as the name implies) of convex polyhedra, the Parma Polyhedra Library has been continuously improved and extended by joining scrupulous research on the theoretical foundations of (possibly non-convex) numerical abstractions to a total adherence to the best available practices in software development. Even though it is still not fully mature and functionally complete, the Parma Polyhedra Library already offers a combination of functionality, reliability, usability and performance that is not matched by similar, freely available libraries. In this paper, we present the main features of the current version of the library, emphasizing those that distinguish it from other similar libraries and those that are important for applications in the field of analysis and verification of hardware and software systems.Comment: 38 pages, 2 figures, 3 listings, 3 table

An ancestral haplotype of the human <i>PERIOD2</i> gene associates with reduced sensitivity to light-induced melatonin suppression

Humans show various responses to the environmental stimulus in individual levels as “physiological variations.” However, it has been unclear if these are caused by genetic variations. In this study, we examined the association between the physiological variation of response to light-stimulus and genetic polymorphisms. We collected physiological data from 43 subjects, including light-induced melatonin suppression, and performed haplotype analyses on the clock genes, PER2 and PER3, exhibiting geographical differentiation of allele frequencies. Among the haplotypes of PER3, no significant difference in light sensitivity was found. However, three common haplotypes of PER2 accounted for more than 96% of the chromosomes in subjects, and 1 of those 3 had a significantly low-sensitive response to light-stimulus (P < 0.05). The homozygote of the low-sensitive PER2 haplotype showed significantly lower percentages of melatonin suppression (P < 0.05), and the heterozygotes of the haplotypes varied their ratios, indicating that the physiological variation for light-sensitivity is evidently related to the PER2 polymorphism. Compared with global haplotype frequencies, the haplotype with a low-sensitive response was more frequent in Africans than in non-Africans, and came to the root in the phylogenetic tree, suggesting that the low light-sensitive haplotype is the ancestral type, whereas the other haplotypes with high sensitivity to light are the derived types. Hence, we speculate that the high light-sensitive haplotypes have spread throughout the world after the Out-of-Africa migration of modern humans

An ancestral haplotype of the human PERIOD2 gene associates with reduced sensitivity to light-induced melatonin suppression.

Humans show various responses to the environmental stimulus in individual levels as "physiological variations." However, it has been unclear if these are caused by genetic variations. In this study, we examined the association between the physiological variation of response to light-stimulus and genetic polymorphisms. We collected physiological data from 43 subjects, including light-induced melatonin suppression, and performed haplotype analyses on the clock genes, PER2 and PER3, exhibiting geographical differentiation of allele frequencies. Among the haplotypes of PER3, no significant difference in light sensitivity was found. However, three common haplotypes of PER2 accounted for more than 96% of the chromosomes in subjects, and 1 of those 3 had a significantly low-sensitive response to light-stimulus (P < 0.05). The homozygote of the low-sensitive PER2 haplotype showed significantly lower percentages of melatonin suppression (P < 0.05), and the heterozygotes of the haplotypes varied their ratios, indicating that the physiological variation for light-sensitivity is evidently related to the PER2 polymorphism. Compared with global haplotype frequencies, the haplotype with a low-sensitive response was more frequent in Africans than in non-Africans, and came to the root in the phylogenetic tree, suggesting that the low light-sensitive haplotype is the ancestral type, whereas the other haplotypes with high sensitivity to light are the derived types. Hence, we speculate that the high light-sensitive haplotypes have spread throughout the world after the Out-of-Africa migration of modern humans