46,025 research outputs found
Reliable data delivery in low energy ad hoc sensor networks
Reliable delivery of data is a classical design goal for reliability-oriented collection routing protocols for ad hoc wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Guaranteed packet delivery performance can be ensured by careful selection of error free links, quick recovery from packet losses, and avoidance of overloaded relay sensor nodes. Due to limited resources of individual senor nodes, there is usually a trade-off between energy spending for packets transmissions and the appropriate level of reliability. Since link failures and packet losses are unavoidable, sensor networks may tolerate a certain level of reliability without significantly affecting packets delivery performance and data aggregation accuracy in favor of efficient energy consumption. However a certain degree of reliability is needed, especially when hop count increases between source sensor nodes and the base station as a single lost packet may result in loss of a large amount of aggregated data along longer hops. An effective solution is to jointly make a trade-off between energy, reliability, cost, and agility while improving packet delivery, maintaining low packet error ratio, minimizing unnecessary packets transmissions, and adaptively reducing control traffic in favor of high success reception ratios of representative data packets. Based on this approach, the proposed routing protocol can achieve moderate energy consumption and high packet delivery ratio even with high link failure rates. The proposed routing protocol was experimentally investigated on a testbed of Crossbow's TelosB motes and proven to be more robust and energy efficient than the current implementation of TinyOS2.x MultihopLQI
Eccentric discs in binaries with intermediate mass ratios: Superhumps in the VY Sculptoris stars
We investigate the role of the eccentric disc resonance in systems with mass
ratios q greater than 1/4, and demonstrate the effects that changes in the mass
flux from the secondary star have upon the disc radius and structure. The
addition of material with low specific angular momentum to its outer edge
restricts a disc radially. Should the mass flux from the secondary be reduced,
it is possible for the disc in a system with mass ratio as large as 1/3 to
expand to the 3:1 eccentric inner Lindblad resonance and for superhumps to be
excited.Comment: 6 pages with 7 figures, accepted by MNRA
Evidence for Partial Taylor Relaxation from Changes in Magnetic Geometry and Energy during a Solar Flare
Solar flares are powered by energy stored in the coronal magnetic field, a
portion of which is released when the field reconfigures into a lower energy
state. Investigation of sunspot magnetic field topology during flare activity
is useful to improve our understanding of flaring processes. Here we
investigate the deviation of the non-linear field configuration from that of
the linear and potential configurations, and study the free energy available
leading up to and after a flare. The evolution of the magnetic field in NOAA
region 10953 was examined using data from Hinode/SOT-SP, over a period of 12
hours leading up to and after a GOES B1.0 flare. Previous work on this region
found pre- and post-flare changes in photospheric vector magnetic field
parameters of flux elements outside the primary sunspot. 3D geometry was thus
investigated using potential, linear force-free, and non-linear force-free
field extrapolations in order to fully understand the evolution of the field
lines. Traced field line geometrical and footpoint orientation differences show
that the field does not completely relax to a fully potential or linear
force-free state after the flare. Magnetic and free magnetic energies increase
significantly ~ 6.5-2.5 hours before the flare by ~ 10^31 erg. After the flare,
the non-linear force-free magnetic energy and free magnetic energies decrease
but do not return to pre-flare 'quiet' values. The post-flare non-linear
force-free field configuration is closer (but not equal) to that of the linear
force-free field configuration than a potential one. However, the small degree
of similarity suggests that partial Taylor relaxation has occurred over a time
scale of ~ 3-4 hours.Comment: Accepted for Publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. 11 pages, 11
figure
Mechanochemical models for generating biological pattern and form in development
The central issue in development is the formation of spatial patterns of cells in the early embryo. The mechanisms which generate these patterns are unknown. Here we describe the new Oster-Murray mechanochemical approach to the problem, the elements of which are experimentally well documented. By way of illustration we derive one of the basic models from first principles and apply it to a variety of problems of current interest and research. We specifically discuss the formation of skin organ patterns, such as feather and scale germs, cartilage condensations in the developing vertebrate limb and finally wound healing
The Serendiptichord: Reflections on the collaborative design process between artist and researcher
The Serendiptichord is a wearable instrument, resulting from a collaboration crossing fashion, technology, music and dance. This paper reflects on the collaborative process and how defining both creative and research roles for each party led to a successful creative partnership built on mutual respect and open communication. After a brief snapshot of the instrument in performance, the instrument is considered within the context of dance-driven interactive music systems followed by a discussion on the nature of the collaboration and its impact upon the design process and final piece
The effects of tidally induced disc structure on white dwarf accretion in intermediate polars
We investigate the effects of tidally induced asymmetric disc structure on
accretion onto the white dwarf in intermediate polars. Using numerical
simulation, we show that it is possible for tidally induced spiral waves to
propagate sufficiently far into the disc of an intermediate polar that
accretion onto the central white dwarf could be modulated as a result. We
suggest that accretion from the resulting asymmetric inner disc may contribute
to the observed X-ray and optical periodicities in the light curves of these
systems. In contrast to the stream-fed accretion model for these periodicities,
the tidal picture predicts that modulation can exist even for systems with
weaker magnetic fields where the magnetospheric radius is smaller than the
radius of periastron of the mass transfer stream. We also predict that
additional periodic components should exist in the emission from low mass ratio
intermediate polars displaying superhumps.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Chemotactic Collapse and Mesenchymal Morphogenesis
We study the effect of chemotactic signaling among mesenchymal cells. We show
that the particular physiology of the mesenchymal cells allows one-dimensional
collapse in contrast to the case of bacteria, and that the mesenchymal
morphogenesis represents thus a more complex type of pattern formation than
those found in bacterial colonies. We finally compare our theoretical
predictions with recent in vitro experiments
Combinatorial biomaterials discovery strategy to identify new macromolecular cryoprotectants
Cryoprotective agents (CPAs) are typically solvents or small molecules, but there is a need for innovative CPAs to reduce toxicity and increase cell yield, for the banking and transport of cells. Here we use a photochemical high-throughput discovery platform to identify macromolecular cryoprotectants, as rational design approaches are currently limited by the lack of structure–property relationships. Using liquid handling systems, 120 unique polyampholytes were synthesized using photopolymerization with RAFT agents. Cryopreservation screening identified “hit” polymers and nonlinear trends between composition and function, highlighting the requirement for screening, with polymer aggregation being a key factor. The most active polymers reduced the volume of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) required to cryopreserve a nucleated cell line, demonstrating the potential of this approach to identify materials for cell storage and transport
Direction Detector on an Excitable Field: Field Computation with Coincidence Detection
Living organisms process information without any central control unit and
without any ruling clock. We have been studying a novel computational strategy
that uses a geometrically arranged excitable field, i.e., "field computation."
As an extension of this research, in the present article we report the
construction of a "direction detector" on an excitable field. Using a numerical
simulation, we show that the direction of a input source signal can be detected
by applying the characteristic as a "coincidence detector" embedded on an
excitable field. In addition, we show that this direction detection actually
works in an experiment using an excitable chemical system. These results are
discussed in relation to the future development of "field computation."Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
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