Early Assessment of Environmental Interventions to Prevent Childhood Obesity

Outlines January 2006 discussions on evaluating the plausibility -- clear, shared goals, activities, and expected outcomes -- and feasibility of various environmental interventions to help prevent childhood obesity. Discusses evaluation design

Local Decoders for the 2D and 4D Toric Code

We analyze the performance of decoders for the 2D and 4D toric code which are local by construction. The 2D decoder is a cellular automaton decoder formulated by Harrington which explicitly has a finite speed of communication and computation. For a model of independent $X$ and $Z$ errors and faulty syndrome measurements with identical probability we report a threshold of $0.133\%$ for this Harrington decoder. We implement a decoder for the 4D toric code which is based on a decoder by Hastings arXiv:1312.2546 . Incorporating a method for handling faulty syndromes we estimate a threshold of $1.59\%$ for the same noise model as in the 2D case. We compare the performance of this decoder with a decoder based on a 4D version of Toom's cellular automaton rule as well as the decoding method suggested by Dennis et al. arXiv:quant-ph/0110143 .Comment: 22 pages, 21 figures; fixed typos, updated Figures 6,7,8,

A Soft Computing Approach to Dynamic Load Balancing in 3GPP LTE

A major objective of the 3GPP LTE standard is the provision of high-speed data services. These services must be guaranteed under varying radio propagation conditions, to stochastically distributed mobile users. A necessity for determining and regulating the traffic load of eNodeBs naturally ensues. Load balancing is a self-optimization operation of self-organizing networks (SON). It aims at ensuring an equitable distribution of users in the network. This translates into better user satisfaction and a more efficient use of network resources. Several methods for load balancing have been proposed. Most of the algorithms are based on hard (traditional) computing which does not utilize the tolerance for precision of load balancing. This paper proposes the use of soft computing, precisely adaptive Neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model for dynamic QoS aware load balancing in 3GPP LTE. The use of ANFIS offers learning capability of neural network and knowledge representation of fuzzy logic for a load balancing solution that is cost effective and closer to human intuitio

Design of an electrochemical micromachining machine

Electrochemical micromachining (μECM) is a non-conventional machining process based on the phenomenon of electrolysis. μECM became an attractive area of research due to the fact that this process does not create any defective layer after machining and that there is a growing demand for better surface integrity on different micro applications including microfluidics systems, stress-free drilled holes in automotive and aerospace manufacturing with complex shapes, etc. This work presents the design of a next generation μECM machine for the automotive, aerospace, medical and metrology sectors. It has three axes of motion (X, Y, Z) and a spindle allowing the tool-electrode to rotate during machining. The linear slides for each axis use air bearings with linear DC brushless motors and 2-nm resolution encoders for ultra precise motion. The control system is based on the Power PMAC motion controller from Delta Tau. The electrolyte tank is located at the rear of the machine and allows the electrolyte to be changed quickly. This machine features two process control algorithms: fuzzy logic control and adaptive feed rate. A self-developed pulse generator has been mounted and interfaced with the machine and a wire ECM grinding device has been added. The pulse generator has the possibility to reverse the pulse polarity for on-line tool fabrication.The research reported in this paper is supported by the European Commission within the project “Minimizing Defects in Micro-Manufacturing Applications (MIDEMMA)” (FP7-2011-NMPICT- FoF-285614)

SciTech News Volume 71, No. 1 (2017)

Columns and Reports From the Editor 3 Division News Science-Technology Division 5 Chemistry Division 8 Engineering Division Aerospace Section of the Engineering Division 9 Architecture, Building Engineering, Construction and Design Section of the Engineering Division 11 Reviews Sci-Tech Book News Reviews 12 Advertisements IEEE