Gait Verification using Knee Acceleration Signals

A novel gait recognition method for biometric applications is proposed. The approach has the following distinct features. First, gait patterns are determined via knee acceleration signals, circumventing difficulties associated with conventional vision-based gait recognition methods. Second, an automatic procedure to extract gait features from acceleration signals is developed that employs a multiple-template classification method. Consequently, the proposed approach can adjust the sensitivity and specificity of the gait recognition system with great flexibility. Experimental results from 35 subjects demonstrate the potential of the approach for successful recognition. By setting sensitivity to be 0.95 and 0.90, the resulting specificity ranges from 1 to 0.783 and 1.00 to 0.945, respectively

Symbolic computation of exact solutions expressible in hyperbolic and elliptic functions for nonlinear PDEs

Algorithms are presented for the tanh- and sech-methods, which lead to closed-form solutions of nonlinear ordinary and partial differential equations (ODEs and PDEs). New algorithms are given to find exact polynomial solutions of ODEs and PDEs in terms of Jacobi's elliptic functions. For systems with parameters, the algorithms determine the conditions on the parameters so that the differential equations admit polynomial solutions in tanh, sech, combinations thereof, Jacobi's sn or cn functions. Examples illustrate key steps of the algorithms. The new algorithms are implemented in Mathematica. The package DDESpecialSolutions.m can be used to automatically compute new special solutions of nonlinear PDEs. Use of the package, implementation issues, scope, limitations, and future extensions of the software are addressed. A survey is given of related algorithms and symbolic software to compute exact solutions of nonlinear differential equations.Comment: 39 pages. Software available from Willy Hereman's home page at http://www.mines.edu/fs_home/whereman

Evolution of Binary Stars in Multiple-Population Globular Clusters - II. Compact Binaries

We present the results of a survey of N-body simulations aimed at exploring the evolution of compact binaries in multiple-population globular clusters.We show that as a consequence of the initial differences in the structural properties of the first-generation (FG) and the second-generation (SG) populations and the effects of dynamical processes on binary stars, the SG binary fraction decreases more rapidly than that of the FG population. The difference between the FG and SG binary fraction is qualitatively similar to but quantitatively smaller than that found for wider binaries in our previous investigations.The evolution of the radial variation of the binary fraction is driven by the interplay between binary segregation, ionization and ejection. Ionization and ejection counteract in part the effects of mass segregation but for compact binaries the effects of segregation dominate and the inner binary fraction increases during the cluster evolution. We explore the variation of the difference between the FG and the SG binary fraction with the distance from the cluster centre and its dependence on the binary binding energy and cluster structural parameters. The difference between the binary fraction in the FG and the SG populations found in our simulations is consistent with the results of observational studies finding a smaller binary fraction in the SG population.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Resonant Leptogenesis and Verifiable Seesaw from Large Extra Dimensions

In the presence of large extra dimensions, the fundamental scale could be as low as a few TeV. This yields leptogenesis and seesaw at a TeV scale. Phenomenologically two TeV-scale Majorana fermions with a small mass split can realize a resonant leptogenesis whereas a TeV-scale Higgs triplet with a small trilinear coupling to the standard model Higgs doublet can give a verifiable seesaw. We propose an interesting scenario where the small parameters for the resonant leptogenesis and the type-II seesaw can be simultaneously generated by the propagation of lepton number violation from distant branes to our world.Comment: 5 pages. More discussions and references. Published in PR

Building stock dynamics and its impacts on materials and energy demand in China

China hosts a large amount of building stocks, which is nearly 50 billion square meters. Moreover, annual new construction is growing fast, representing half of the world's total. The trend is expected to continue through the year 2050. Impressive demand for new residential and commercial construction, relative shorter average building lifetime, and higher material intensities have driven massive domestic production of energy intensive building materials such as cement and steel. This paper developed a bottom-up building stock turnover model to project the growths, retrofits and retirements of China's residential and commercial building floor space from 2010 to 2050. It also applied typical material intensities and energy intensities to estimate building materials demand and energy consumed to produce these building materials. By conducting scenario analyses of building lifetime, it identified significant potentials of building materials and energy demand conservation. This study underscored the importance of addressing building material efficiency, improving building lifetime and quality, and promoting compact urban development to reduce energy and environment consequences in China