Simulation of Micro-Electronic FlowFET Systems

A microelectronic fluidic system has been investigated by modeling and 3D simulation of fluid flow controlled by an applied gate voltage. The simulations have helped to characterize a novel FlowFET (a fluidic Field Effect Transistor) device under fault-free conditions. The FlowFET operates by applying a voltage field from a gate electrode in the insulated side wall of a microchannel to modulate the ␣-potential at the shear plane [1]. The change in ␣-potential can be used to control both the magnitude and direction of the electroosmotic flow in the microchannel

Who is Interested in Participating in Participatory Budgeting?

Inequalities in terms of who participates in politics yield policy outcomes that fail to reflect the interests of the broader public. Because these processes fail to engage the full citizenry in political decision-making processes, they are also markers of an anemic civic culture. Advocates of participatory budgeting (PB) – a process implemented at the subnational level in thousands of cities in the United States and beyond that invites residents to participate directly in the process of allocating public resources for local projects – argue that it can alleviate these inequalities. They argue that features of the PB process make it ripe for engaging new participants in the political process and weaving a more inclusive social fabric. We examine the correlates of interest in participating in PB using a survey of Cook County residents. We also consider the extent to which the policy priorities of those who are interested in participating diverge from those who are less interested. Although we find evidence that the process is particularly appealing to younger respondents and those who identify as Latine or Black (as opposed to White), we also find that interest is higher among those with higher socioeconomic status and those who perceive conditions in their neighborhood to already be good. Our evidence also suggests that inequalities in who is interested in participating may not radically affect policy outcomes. However, those who decline to participate cannot reap the broader social and political benefits advocates hope the PB process can foster

A modified membrane-inspired algorithm based on particle swarm optimization for mobile robot path planning

YesTo solve the multi-objective mobile robot path planning in a dangerous environment with dynamic obstacles, this paper proposes a modified membraneinspired algorithm based on particle swarm optimization (mMPSO), which combines membrane systems with particle swarm optimization. In mMPSO, a dynamic double one-level membrane structure is introduced to arrange the particles with various dimensions and perform the communications between particles in different membranes; a point repair algorithm is presented to change an infeasible path into a feasible path; a smoothness algorithm is proposed to remove the redundant information of a feasible path; inspired by the idea of tightening the fishing line, a moving direction adjustment for each node of a path is introduced to enhance the algorithm performance. Extensive experiments conducted in different environments with three kinds of grid models and five kinds of obstacles show the effectiveness and practicality of mMPSO.National Natural Science Foundation of China (61170016, 61373047), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-11-0715) and SWJTU supported project (SWJTU12CX008); grant of the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research, CNCSUEFISCDI, project number PN-II-ID-PCE- 2011-3-0688

A numerical study of the correspondence between paths in a causal set and geodesics in the continuum

This paper presents the results of a computational study related to the path-geodesic correspondence in causal sets. For intervals in flat spacetimes, and in selected curved spacetimes, we present evidence that the longest maximal chains (the longest paths) in the corresponding causal set intervals statistically approach the geodesic for that interval in the appropriate continuum limit.Comment: To the celebration of the 60th birthday of Rafael D. Sorki

Mathematical investigation of normal and abnormal wound healing dynamics:local and non-local model

The movement of cells during (normal and abnormal) wound healing is the result of biomechanical interactions that combine cell responses with growth factors as well as cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions (adhesion and remodelling). It is known that cells can communicate and interact locally and non-locally with other cells inside the tissues through mechanical forces that act locally and at a distance, as well as through long non-conventional cell protrusions. In this study, we consider a non-local partial differential equation model for the interactions between fibroblasts, macrophages and the extracellular matrix (ECM) via a growth factor (TGF-β) in the context of wound healing. For the non-local interactions, we consider two types of kernels (i.e., a Gaussian kernel and a cone-shaped kernel), two types of cell-ECM adhesion functions (i.e., adhesion only to higher-density ECM vs. adhesion to higher-/lower-density ECM) and two types of cell proliferation terms (i.e., with and without decay due to overcrowding). We investigate numerically the dynamics of this non-local model, as well as the dynamics of the localised versions of this model (i.e., those obtained when the cell perception radius decreases to 0). The results suggest the following: (i) local models explain normal wound healing and non-local models could also explain abnormal wound healing (although the results are parameter-dependent); (ii) the models can explain two types of wound healing, i.e., by primary intention, when the wound margins come together from the side, and by secondary intention when the wound heals from the bottom up.</p

Design and implementation of membrane controllers for trajectory tracking of nonholonomic wheeled mobile robots

YesThis paper proposes a novel trajectory tracking control approach for nonholonomic wheeled mobile robots. In this approach, the integration of feed-forward and feedback controls is presented to design the kinematic controller of wheeled mobile robots, where the control law is constructed on the basis of Lyapunov stability theory, for generating the precisely desired velocity as the input of the dynamic model of wheeled mobile robots; a proportional-integral-derivative based membrane controller is introduced to design the dynamic controller of wheeled mobile robots to make the actual velocity follow the desired velocity command. The proposed approach is defined by using an enzymatic numerical membrane system to integrate two proportional-integral-derivative controllers, where neural networks and experts’ knowledge are applied to tune parameters. Extensive experiments conducted on the simulated wheeled mobile robots show the effectiveness of this approach.The work of XW and GZ is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (61170016, 61373047). The work of MG, FI and RL was supported by a grant of the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research, CNCS-UEFISCDI (project number: PN-II-ID-PCE-2011-3-0688)