Development Of A Micro Water Grid (MWG) Pilot Platform For Green Buildings

The objectives of this Micro Water Grid (MWG) pilot platform project are to i) address the need for reliable municipal water supplies, ii) identify and strengthen vulnerable water system elements, and iii) design an optimal micro water grid pilot platform for green buildings. This paper describes the overall context of the MWG and considers appropriate analytical methods for water demand, hydraulic analysis and decision models for optimal MWG pilot platforms. This is an on-going research project and various MWG design scenarios, along with numerical results, will be presented as the research progresses

Dynamic Joint Scheduling of Anycast Transmission and Modulation in Hybrid Unicast-Multicast SWIPT-Based IoT Sensor Networks

The separate receiver architecture with a time- or power-splitting mode, widely used for simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT), has a major drawback: Energy-intensive local oscillators and mixers need to be installed in the information decoding (ID) component to downconvert radio frequency (RF) signals to baseband signals, resulting in high energy consumption. As a solution to this challenge, an integrated receiver (IR) architecture has been proposed, and, in turn, various SWIPT modulation schemes compatible with the IR architecture have been developed. However, to the best of our knowledge, no research has been conducted on modulation scheduling in SWIPT-based IoT sensor networks while taking into account the IR architecture. Accordingly, in this paper, we address this research gap by studying the problem of joint scheduling for unicast/multicast, IoT sensor, and modulation (UMSM) in a time-slotted SWIPT-based IoT sensor network system. To this end, we leverage mathematical modeling and optimization techniques, such as the Lagrangian duality and stochastic optimization theory, to develop an UMSM scheduling algorithm that maximizes the weighted sum of average unicast service throughput and harvested energy of IoT sensors, while ensuring the minimum average throughput of both multicast and unicast, as well as the minimum average harvested energy of IoT sensors. Finally, we demonstrate through extensive simulations that our UMSM scheduling algorithm achieves superior energy harvesting (EH) and throughput performance while ensuring the satisfaction of specified constraints well.Comment: 29 pages, 13 figures (eps

Development and Validation of a Personality Assessment Instrument for Traditional Korean Medicine: Sasang Personality Questionnaire

Objective. Sasang typology is a traditional Korean medicine based on the biopsychosocial perspectives of Neo-Confucianism and utilizes medical herbs and acupuncture for type-specific treatment. This study was designed to develop and validate the Sasang Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) for future use in the assessment of personality based on Sasang typology. Design and Methods. We selected questionnaire items using internal consistency analysis and examined construct validity with explorative factor analysis using 245 healthy participants. Test-retest reliability as well as convergent validity were examined. Results. The 14-item SPQ showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .817) and test-retest reliability (r = .837). Three extracted subscales, SPQ-behavior, SPQ-emotionality, and SPQ-cognition, were found, explaining 55.77% of the total variance. The SPQ significantly correlated with Temperament and Character Inventory novelty seeking (r = .462), harm avoidance (r = −.390), and NEO Personality Inventory extraversion (r = .629). The SPQ score of the So-Eum (24.43 ± 4.93), Tae-Eum (27.33 ± 5.88), and So-Yang (30.90 ± 5.23) types were significantly different from each other (P < .01). Conclusion. Current results demonstrated the reliability and validity of the SPQ and its subscales that can be utilized as an objective instrument for conducting personalized medicine research incorporating the biopsychosocial perspective

Constraints on Scalar-Field Dark Energy from the Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey Gravitational Lens Statistics

We use the statistics of strong gravitational lensing based on the Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey (CLASS) data to constrain cosmological parameters in a spatially-flat, inverse power-law potential energy density, scalar-field dark energy cosmological model. The lensing-based constraints are consistent with, but weaker than, those derived from Type Ia supernova redshift-magnitude data, and mildly favor the Einstein cosmological constant limit of this dark energy model.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure; ApJL, in press; minor additions, new referenc

Temperature dependence of Mott transition in VO_2 and programmable critical temperature sensor

The temperature dependence of the Mott metal-insulator transition (MIT) is studied with a VO_2-based two-terminal device. When a constant voltage is applied to the device, an abrupt current jump is observed with temperature. With increasing applied voltages, the transition temperature of the MIT current jump decreases. We find a monoclinic and electronically correlated metal (MCM) phase between the abrupt current jump and the structural phase transition (SPT). After the transition from insulator to metal, a linear increase in current (or conductivity) is shown with temperature until the current becomes a constant maximum value above T_{SPT}=68^oC. The SPT is confirmed by micro-Raman spectroscopy measurements. Optical microscopy analysis reveals the absence of the local current path in micro scale in the VO_2 device. The current uniformly flows throughout the surface of the VO_2 film when the MIT occurs. This device can be used as a programmable critical temperature sensor.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Observation of First-Order Metal-Insulator Transition without Structural Phase Transition in VO_2

An abrupt first-order metal-insulator transition (MIT) without structural phase transition is first observed by current-voltage measurements and micro-Raman scattering experiments, when a DC electric field is applied to a Mott insulator VO_2 based two-terminal device. An abrupt current jump is measured at a critical electric field. The Raman-shift frequency and the bandwidth of the most predominant Raman-active A_g mode, excited by the electric field, do not change through the abrupt MIT, while, they, excited by temperature, pronouncedly soften and damp (structural MIT), respectively. This structural MIT is found to occur secondarily.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

The Protective Effects of Melittin on Propionibacterium acnes–Induced Inflammatory Responses In Vitro and In Vivo

Melittin is the main component in the venom of the honey bee (Apis mellifera). It has multiple effects including antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory activities in various cell types. However, the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of melittin have not been elucidated in Propionibactierium acnes (P. acnes)–induced keratinocyte or inflammatory skin disease animal models. In this study, we examined the effects of melittin on the production of inflammatory cytokines in heat-killed P. acnes–induced HaCaT cells. Heat-killed P. acnes–treated keratinocytes increased the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and Toll-like receptor 2. However, melittin treatment significantly suppressed the expression of these cytokines through regulation of the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways. Subsequently, the living P. acnes (1 × 107 CFU) were intradermally injected into the ear of mice. Living P. acnes–injected ears showed cutaneous erythema, swelling, and granulomatous response at 24 hours after injection. However, melittin-treated ears showed markedly reduced swelling and granulomatous responses compared with ears injected with only living P. acnes. These results demonstrate the feasibility of applying melittin for the prevention of inflammatory skin diseases induced by P. acnes