318 research outputs found
High-Spatial-Resolution OH and CH2O PLIF Visualization in a Dual-Mode Scramjet Combustor
A high-spatial-resolution planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) imaging system was constructed and used to image a cavity-stabilized, premixed ethylene-air flame. The flame was created within a continuous flow, electrically-heated supersonic combustion facility consisting of a Mach 2 nozzle, an isolator with flush-wall fuel injectors, a combustor with a cavity flameholder of height 9 mm and optical access, and an extender. Tests were conducted at total temperature 1200 K, total pressure 300 kPa, equivalence ratio near 0.4 in the combustor, and Mach number near 0.6 in the combustor. A frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser pumped a dye laser, which produced light at 283.55 nm. The beam was shaped into a light sheet with full width half-maximum 25 microns, which illuminated a streamwise plane that bisected the cavity. An intensified camera system imaged OH in this plane with a square 6.67 mm field of view and in-plane resolution 39 microns. Images were taken between the backward-facing step and 120 mm downstream of the step. OH structures as small as 110 microns were observed. CH2O was excited using 352.48 nm light; the smallest observed CH2O structures were approximately 200 microns wide. Approximately 15,000 images per species were processed and used to compute composite images
Vanishing hands? On the link between product and organization architecture
The present article investigates whether modular product architectures deliver better and more differentiated products, given their production in disintegrated and integrated settings. A theoretic model benchmarks the performance of disintegration and integration for different degrees of product modularity by measuring both product quality and differentiation. In line with conventional wisdom, (nearly) modular products befit disintegration insofar as disintegration increases quality. However, disintegration only leads to greater product differentiation than integration if there is substantial entry and exit. These findings—albeit developed with stylised models of disintegration and integration—provide a possible explanation for empirical results showing a decrease in product variety when modular products were produced by independent manufacturers (disintegration). Moreover, the model results predict that industries with limited entry and exit as well as strong winner-take-all dynamics tend to incur a loss in variety if modular products are produced in a disintegrated settin
A complementary view on the growth of directory trees
Trees are a special sub-class of networks with unique properties, such as the level distribution which has often been overlooked. We analyse a general tree growth model proposed by Klemm etal.[Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 128701 (2005)] to explain the growth of user-generated directory structures in computers. The model has a single parameter q which interpolates between preferential attachment and random growth. Our analysis results in three contributions: first, we propose a more efficient estimation method for q based on the degree distribution, which is one specific representation of the model. Next, we introduce the concept of a level distribution and analytically solve the model for this representation. This allows for an alternative and independent measure of q. We argue that, to capture real growth processes, the q estimations from the degree and the level distributions should coincide. Thus, we finally apply both representations to validate the model with synthetically generated tree structures, as well as with collected data of user directories. In the case of real directory structures, we show that q measured from the level distribution are incompatible with q measured from the degree distribution. In contrast to this, we find perfect agreement in the case of simulated data. Thus, we conclude that the model is an incomplete description of the growth of real directory structures as it fails to reproduce the level distribution. This insight can be generalised to point out the importance of the level distribution for modeling tree growt
Sustainable growth in complex networks
Based on the empirical analysis of the dependency network in 18 Java
projects, we develop a novel model of network growth which considers both: an
attachment mechanism and the addition of new nodes with a heterogeneous
distribution of their initial degree, . Empirically we find that the
cumulative degree distributions of initial degrees and of the final network,
follow power-law behaviors: , and
, respectively. For the total number of links as a
function of the network size, we find empirically ,
where is (at the beginning of the network evolution) between 1.25 and
2, while converging to for large . This indicates a transition from
a growth regime with increasing network density towards a sustainable regime,
which revents a collapse because of ever increasing dependencies. Our
theoretical framework is able to predict relations between the exponents
, , , which also link issues of software engineering and
developer activity. These relations are verified by means of computer
simulations and empirical investigations. They indicate that the growth of real
Open Source Software networks occurs on the edge between two regimes, which are
either dominated by the initial degree distribution of added nodes, or by the
preferential attachment mechanism. Hence, the heterogeneous degree distribution
of newly added nodes, found empirically, is essential to describe the laws of
sustainable growth in networks.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl
Optical beam guidance in monolithic polymer chips for miniaturized colorimetric assays
For the first time, we present a simple and robust optical concept to enable precise and sensitive read-out of colorimetric assays in flat lab-on-a-chip devices. The optical guidance of the probe beam through an incorporated measurement chamber to the detector is based on the total internal reflection at V-grooves in the polymer chip. This way, the optical path length through the flat measurement chamber and thus the performance of the measurements are massively enhanced compared to direct (perpendicular) beam incidence. This is demonstrated by a chip-based, colorimetric glucose-assay on serum. Outstanding features are an excellent reproducibility (CV= 1.91 %), a competitive lower limit of detection (cmin = 124 μM), and a high degree of linearity (R2 = 0.998) within a working range extending over nearly three orders of magnitude
Hearing sensitivity: An underlying mechanism for niche differentiation in gleaning bats
Tropical ecosystems are known for high species diversity. Adaptations permitting niche differentiation enable species to coexist. Historically, research focused primarily on morphological and behavioral adaptations for foraging, roosting, and other basic ecological factors. Another important factor, however, is differences in sensory capabilities. So far, studies mainly have focused on the output of behavioral strategies of predators and their prey preference. Understanding the coexistence of different foraging strategies, however, requires understanding underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms. In this study, we investigate hearing in bats and how it shapes bat species coexistence. We present the hearing thresholds and echolocation calls of 12 different gleaning bats from the ecologically diverse Phyllostomid family. We measured their auditory brainstem responses to assess their hearing sensitivity. The audiograms of these species had similar overall shapes but differed substantially for frequencies below 9 kHz and in the frequency range of their echolocation calls. Our results suggest that differences among bats in hearing abilities contribute to the diversity in foraging strategies of gleaning bats. We argue that differences in auditory sensitivity could be important mechanisms shaping diversity in sensory niches and coexistence of species
Heterogeneity shapes groups growth in social online communities
Many complex systems are characterized by broad distributions capturing, for
example, the size of firms, the population of cities or the degree distribution
of complex networks. Typically this feature is explained by means of a
preferential growth mechanism. Although heterogeneity is expected to play a
role in the evolution it is usually not considered in the modeling probably due
to a lack of empirical evidence on how it is distributed. We characterize the
intrinsic heterogeneity of groups in an online community and then show that
together with a simple linear growth and an inhomogeneous birth rate it
explains the broad distribution of group members.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure panel
A complementary view on the growth of directory trees
Trees are a special sub-class of networks with unique properties, such as the
level distribution which has often been overlooked. We analyse a general tree
growth model proposed by Klemm {\em et. al.} (2005) to explain the growth of
user-generated directory structures in computers. The model has a single
parameter which interpolates between preferential attachment and random
growth. Our analysis results in three contributions: First, we propose a more
efficient estimation method for based on the degree distribution, which is
one specific representation of the model. Next, we introduce the concept of a
level distribution and analytically solve the model for this representation.
This allows for an alternative and independent measure of . We argue that,
to capture real growth processes, the estimations from the degree and the
level distributions should coincide. Thus, we finally apply both
representations to validate the model with synthetically generated tree
structures, as well as with collected data of user directories. In the case of
real directory structures, we show that measured from the level
distribution are incompatible with measured from the degree distribution.
In contrast to this, we find perfect agreement in the case of simulated data.
Thus, we conclude that the model is an incomplete description of the growth of
real directory structures as it fails to reproduce the level distribution. This
insight can be generalised to point out the importance of the level
distribution for modeling tree growth.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure
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