Energy efficient target detection through waveform selection for multi-sensor RF sensing based Internet of Things

—In this paper, we explore multi-sensor Radio Frequency (RF) sensing based Internet of Things (IoT) for surveillance applications. RF sensing techniques are the next generation technologies which offer distinct advantages over traditional means of sensing. Traditionally, Energy detection (ED) has been used for surveillance applications due to its low computational complexity. However, ED is unreliable due to high false detection rates. There is a need to develop surveillance strategies which offer reliable target detection rates. In this paper, we have proposed a multi-sensor RF sensing based target detection architecture for IoT. To perform surveillance within IoT, multiple sensor nodes are required to co-exist while performing the desired tasks. Interfering waveforms from the neighbouring sensor nodes have a significant impact on the target detection reliability of IoT. n this paper, a waveform selection criterion has been proposed to optimise the target detection reliability and power consumption within IoT in the presence of interfering waveforms

Earthquake Input Motions and Seismic Site Response in a Centrifuge Test Examining SFSI Effects

This paper describes the ground motion selection process and reports observed seismic site response and SFSI effects during a dynamic centrifuge test (Test-1). The centrifuge test is the first in a series of tests examining the effects of SFSI in dense urban environments. The objective of Test-1 is to examine SFSI effects for two structures that are located a significant distance apart and essentially isolated. The model structures represent a three-story building founded on spread footings and a nine-story structure founded on a threestory basement. The structures are sited on a dry, dense bed of Nevada Sand. The centrifuge model is subjected to a series of shaking events that represent near-fault and “ordinary” ground motions at a site in Los Angeles. Results show that site periods degrade as ground motion intensity increases with more pronounced degradation observed for near-fault ground motions as compared with ordinary ground motions. Additionally, the results indicate the importance of kinematic effects of embedded structures when considering SFSI effects

Seismic Performance Assessment in Dense Urban Environments: Evaluation of Nonlinear Building-Foundation Systems Using Centrifuge Tests

In dense urban areas, buildings are generally constructed in clusters, forming city blocks. New buildings are designed assuming their response is independent of adjacent buildings, which ignores potentially important structure-soil-structure-interaction (SSSI) effects. Although a few studies have revealed the significance of SSSI effects, validated simulation and design tools do not exist. In this paper, we present the results from the first in a series of centrifuge tests intended to investigate SSSI effects. Results herein are focused on the design and measured response of two model building-foundation systems placed on dense dry Nevada sand and tested at 55-g. The two models represent prototypical nine-story and three-story special moment resisting frame buildings, with the former structure supported by a three-level basement-mat and the later on isolated spread footings. Nonlinear response-history simulations are performed to aid in the design of the models, with particular attention to reproducing prototype building periods and nonlinear characteristics. Yielding of the model buildings is achieved using custom-designed fuses placed strategically throughout the superstructures. At present, the two models are placed as far apart as possible to characterize soil-structure interaction on individual buildings; subsequent experiments will move the structures in near proximity, allowing direct experimental assessment of structuresoil- structure-interaction

Implementation and benchmarking of seismic protective devices in MASTODON

by Sai Sharath Parsi, Manish Kumar, Manish Kumar, Chandrakanth Bolisetti, Justin Coleman and Andrew S. Whittake

On fluid flow and heat transfer in a pipe with a U-bend

Vertical ground source heat pumps operate by pumping a heat transfer fluid through a pipe buried in the ground. There is a U-Bend at its deepest point to return the fluid to the surface. Incidentally, the U-Bend does more than packing the extensive length of the heat transferring conduit within a single compact borehole. Large flow structures called Dean\u27s vortices are generated in the bend and these, along with the resulting turbulence produced, are known to significantly enhance the heat transfer processes, and hence, shorten the required length. This study examines the specific roles of Reynolds and Dean numbers on the flow structure and the resulting heat transfer in a pipe with a U-Bend. Water flowing in a pipe without and with heated wall was simulated using FLUENT. The model was verified based on available data in the literature. The efficacy of the local heat transfer rate along the pipe was cast with respect to the subtle changes in the flow characteristics under varying Reynolds number and Dean number. Copyright © 2013 by ASME

Repurposing a neurodegenerative disease drug to treat Gram-negative antibiotic-resistant bacterial sepsis

The emergence of polymyxin resistance in carbapenem-resistant and extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria is a critical threat to human health, and alternative treatment strategies are urgently required. We investigated the ability of the hydroxyquinoline analog ionophore PBT2 to restore antibiotic sensitivity in polymyxin-resistant, ESBL-producing, carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative human pathogens. PBT2 resensitized Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa to last-resort polymyxin class antibiotics, including the less toxic next-generation polymyxin derivative FADDI-287, in vitro. We were unable to select for mutants resistant to PBT2 + FADDI-287 in polymyxin-resistant E. coli containing a plasmid-borne mcr-1 gene or K. pneumoniae carrying a chromosomal mgrB mutation. Using a highly invasive K. pneumoniae strain engineered for polymyxin resistance through mgrB mutation, we successfully demonstrated the efficacy of PBT2 + polymyxin (colistin or FADDI-287) for the treatment of Gram-negative sepsis in immunocompetent mice. In comparison to polymyxin alone, the combination of PBT2 + polymyxin improved survival and reduced bacterial dissemination to the lungs and spleen of infected mice. These data present a treatment modality to break antibiotic resistance in high-priority polymyxin-resistant Gram-negative pathogens.David M.P. De Oliveira, Lisa Bohlmann, Trent Conroy, Freda E.-C. Jen, Arun Everest-Dass, Karl A. Hansford, Raghu Bolisetti, Ibrahim M. El-Deeb, Brian M. Forde, Minh-Duy Phan, Jake A. Lacey, Aimee Tan, Tania Rivera-Hernandez, Stephan Brouwer, Nadia Keller, Timothy J. Kidd, Amanda J. Cork, Michelle J. Bauer, Gregory M. Cook, Mark R. Davies, Scott A. Beatson, David L. Paterson, Alastair G. McEwan, Jian Li, Mark A. Schembri, Mark A. T. Blaskovich, Michael P. Jennings, Christopher A. McDevitt, Mark von Itzstein, Mark J. Walke