Industry 4.0: Industrial IoT Enhancement and WSN Performance Analysis

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

Synthesis and Characterization of New Optically Active Poly (ethyl L-lysinamide)s and Poly (ethyl L-lysinimide)s

Ethyl L-lysine dihydrochloride was reacted with three different dianhydrides to yield the poly (ethyl L-lysinimide)s (PI1−3); it was also reacted with two different diacyl chlorides to yield the poly (ethyl L-lysinamide)s (PA4-5). The resulting polymers have inherent viscosities in the range of 0.15 to 0.42 dL g−1. These polymers are prepared from an inexpensive starting material and are optically active, potentially ion exchangeable, semicrystalline, thermally stable, and soluble in polar aprotic solvents such as DMF, DMSO, NMP, DMAc, and sulfuric acid. All of the above polymers were fully characterized by FT-IR and 1H NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, WAX diffraction, TGA, inherent viscosity measurement, and specific rotation

Efficient maintenance and update of nonbonded lists in macromolecular simulations

Molecular mechanics and dynamics simulations use distance based cutoff approximations for faster computation of pairwise van der Waals and electrostatic energy terms. These approximations traditionally use a precalculated and periodically updated list of interacting atom pairs, known as the “nonbonded neighborhood lists” or nblists, in order to reduce the overhead of finding atom pairs that are within distance cutoff. The size of nblists grows linearly with the number of atoms in the system and superlinearly with the distance cutoff, and as a result, they require significant amount of memory for large molecular systems. The high space usage leads to poor cache performance, which slows computation for large distance cutoffs. Also, the high cost of updates means that one cannot afford to keep the data structure always synchronized with the configuration of the molecules when efficiency is at stake. We propose a dynamic octree data structure for implicit maintenance of nblists using space linear in the number of atoms but independent of the distance cutoff. The list can be updated very efficiently as the coordinates of atoms change during the simulation. Unlike explicit nblists, a single octree works for all distance cutoffs. In addition, octree is a cache-friendly data structure, and hence, it is less prone to cache miss slowdowns on modern memory hierarchies than nblists. Octrees use almost 2 orders of magnitude less memory, which is crucial for simulation of large systems, and while they are comparable in performance to nblists when the distance cutoff is small, they outperform nblists for larger systems and large cutoffs. Our tests show that octree implementation is approximately 1.5 times faster in practical use case scenarios as compared to nblists

Stapes Management in Tympanosclerosis

Background: Stapes management in tympanosclerosis has always been controversial. There are evidences supporting stapes mobilization, but there are concerns regarding refixation and recurrence of conductive hearing loss; therefore, supporting stapedectomy.Methods: In this retrospective study, clinical records, operative notes, and audiologic data of patients with stapes fixation (1994–2011) were analyzed. Audiometric findings are reported according to the recommendations of the Committee on Hearing and Equilibrium 1995 Guidelines for the Evaluation of Results of Treatment of Conductive Hearing Loss.Results: In the present study, 66 patients were enrolled (23 male, 43 female). Stapedectomy and stapes mobilization both had good hearing results (12.1 dB vs. 10.6 dB reduction in ABG) and there was no significant difference. Overall, 63.6% of patients had achieved good results (mobilization: 57.9%, stapedectomy: 71.4%). The difference in success rate between the two groups was not statistically significant.Conclusions: Stapedectomy and mobilization of stapes both seem to be efficacious and safe in the treatment of stapes involvement in tympanosclerosis. The hearing improvement is long lasting in both procedures

Probabilistic Evaluation of Field Liquefaction Potential Using Relative State Parameter Index (ξ\u3csub\u3eR\u3c/sub\u3e)

From the earliest studies of soil behavior under cyclic loading, it is found that the cyclic stress required for liquefaction onset is strongly affected by the relative density (Dr ) and initial effective overburden pressure of the soil. In this paper, relative state parameter index (ξR), which accounts for both relative density and effective stress, is used to evaluate the likelihood of liquefaction initiation in field condition. Two comprehensive databases of field case histories based on SPT and CPT are incorporated in the analyses. Logistic regression method is employed to derive a probabilistic expression that yields the probability of liquefaction initiation in terms of ξR. The most advantage of this expression is its consistency with both field SPT and CPT data. In addition, relative state parameter index has been evolved from dilatancy concept which has a reasonable consistency with liquefaction phenomenon. The boundary curve that obtains 20% likelihood of liquefaction initiation is found to be the most conservative boundary and is recommended as a deterministic ξR -based liquefaction criterion. Finally, a relationship is proposed to correlate liquefaction probability to the factor of safety against liquefaction triggering

Fenugreek seed extract treats peripheral neuropathy in pyridoxine induced neuropathic mice

Trigonella foenum graecum commonly known as Fenugreek exerts normoglycemic and insulinotropic effects in humans by compounds from its seed and leaf extracts. Some studies reported that treating pregnant mice with fenugreek seed could cause toxic effects on the nervous system of its pubs during developmental growth, while in some other studies neuroprotective properties were considered for it. Safety of anti-diabetic drugs for nervous system is very important because peripheral neuropathy is a common complication of diabetes and hazardous drugs could worsen it. In this study, the effect of treatment with fenugreek seed extract on the function of sciatic nerves of neuropathic mice was evaluated. Neuropathy was induced in male mice by pyridoxine intoxication. After that, animals were treated with 0.2, 2 and 20 mg/kg of hydro-alcoholic extract of fenugreek seeds for 10 days, tail flick, electrophysiological and histological assays were performed to evaluate the effect of fenugreek seed extract on function of the peripheral nerves. Our data showed that fenugreek has anti neuropathic effect and restores the function of nerve fibers. Results of electrophysiological recordings stated that the highest rate of healing was occurred in 20 mg/kg fenugreek extract treated animals. In conclusion, findings of the present study demonstrate that treatment with fenugreek seed extract can potentially facilitate healing from pyridoxine induced peripheral neuropathy in mice