Amplification of optical delay by use of matched linearly chirped fiber Bragg gratings

We describe the use of a matched linearly chirped fiber Bragg grating (FBG) pair as a key element in an adjustable optical delay line. This delay line has the unique property that the achievable optical group delay is orders of magnitude greater (factor of 10^2 in our experiment) than the actual physical displacement. We demonstrate operation of such an optical delay line over a delay range of 3.5 mm using a pair of matched 1300-nm chirped FBGs with a bandwidth of 20 nm each

FILM CONVERSION AND BREAKDOWN PROCESSES ON CARBON STEEL IN THE PRESENCE OF HALIDES

The objective of this research is to determine the features which cause film breakdown leading to pitting on carbon steel in solutions containing halide anions (Cf, Br\u27, I \u27 ). It is commonly accepted that the influence of CF on passive film properties is the key feature in breakdown, and the possibility that transformations in the oxide are responsible has not been considered. Since electrochemical techniques are extremely sensitive and easy to apply , they have been used to follow the kinetics of reactions occurring on a carbon steel surface at pH = 10.6. This particular pH was chosen since these studies are part of a larger project to determine the behaviour of carbon steel under CANDU reactor operating conditions. The electrochemical techniques, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), Cyclic Voltammetry and Amperometry, and surface analytical methods such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and in-situ/ex-situ Raman spectroscopy have been used to investigate the changes in film properties leading to breakdown in borate-buffered solutions containing either Cl , Br” or I”. While variations in breakdown potential are observed in the presence of the different halide anions, its value does not vary consistently with either halide type or concentration, and breakdown never occurs below a critical potential of 0.0 V vs SCE. These results suggest that the key features leading to breakdown are subtle changes in oxide structure/composition at higher potentials. Current measurements under potentiostatic conditions indicate that the Fe304/y-Fe203 passive film grown at lower potentials thickens slightly when the potential is increased above a critical value. This indicates an increase in defectiveness of the film occurs in this potential range. A possible interpretation is that the field-assisted conversion of the Fell/1 oxide (Fe3C\u3e4/y-FeiC^) to y-FeOOH, which is thermodynamically possible in this potential range, leads to a considerable volume change which creates stress in the oxide film leading to localized fracture. In borate solutions containing no halide, the film is rapidly repaired by further Fe304/y-Fe203/y-Fe00H growth, leading to the observed thickening. That thickening and an increase in Fe1content occurs is confirmed by XPS measurements. However, in the presence of halide ions, halide transport to the metal/oxide interface prevents repassivation leading to initiation of pitting

Frequency estimation precision in Doppler optical coherence tomography using the Cramer-Rao lower bound

Doppler optical coherence tomography (DOCT) is a technique for simultaneous cross-sectional imaging of tissue structure and blood flow. We derive the fundamental uncertainty limits on frequency estimation precision in DOCT using the Cramer-Rao lower bound in the case of additive (e.g., thermal, shot) noise. Experimental results from a mirror and a scattering phantom are used to verify the theoretical limits. Our results demonstrate that the stochastic nature of frequency noise influences the precision of flow imaging, and that the noise model must be selected judiciously in order to estimate the frequency precision

Comparison the concepts of sense of place and attachment to place in architectural studies

Today, concepts such as place attachment, sense of place, meaning of place, place identity, and ... has devoted many studies In literature of architecture and urban design particularly in the field of environmental psychology. It is obvious that in all these concepts, various aspects of interaction between human and place and the impact that places have on people has been presented. This paper defines the concepts of sense of place and place attachment and explains the factors that affect them. Sense of place is a comprehensive concept which in it men feels places, percept them and attached meaning to them. Understanding the fundamental aspects of sense of place, can be effective in assess the level of public attachment to places and tendency of people to places. Place attachment refer to emotional and functional bonds between place and people which Interpreted in different scale from a district to a country in Environmental psychology. In this regard different studies point to varied of spatial and human factors. Review the literature, this paper achieves a comprehensive definition of these concepts and then it try to compare them to find their relationship. What will come eventually is that place attachment is one of the sense of place subsets. Thus in encounter of people and place if assume people sense of place a general feeling to that place, place attachment is a positive emotion which people have about the place

The analysis of the relationship between organizational values and commitment with regard to the knowledge management of Kermanshah’s tax department staff

The present research has been carried out under the title of “The analysis of the relationship between organizational values and commitment with regard to the knowledge management of Kermanshah’s Tax Department staff”. The study is descriptive from the viewpoint of its aim and method of data collection.The Statistical population of this study consists of chief administrative officers, middle-ranked officers and operating officers, a total number of whom reaches 396 individuals.195 individuals were chosen as statistical samples. The means of data collection is three types of questionnaire concerning organizational values, knowledge management, and organizational commitment. The results of data analysis prove that there is a meaningful correspondence between organizational values and knowledge management but not a meaningful relationship between organizational commitment and knowledge management. Likewise, there is a correlation between the variable that predicts organizational values and the variable of knowledge management, while there is no meaningful relationship between the variable of organizational commitment and that of knowledge management. Keywords: organizational values; organizational commitment; knowledge management

Artificial Intelligence: Application Today and Implications Tomorrow

This paper analyzes the applications of artificial intelligence to the legal industry, specifically in the fields of legal research and contract drafting. First, it will look at the implications of artificial intelligence (A.I.) for the current practice of law. Second, it will delve into the future implications of A.I. on law firms and the possible regulatory challenges that come with A.I. The proliferation of A.I. in the legal sphere will give laymen (clients) access to the information and services traditionally provided exclusively by attorneys. With an increase in access to these services will come a change in the role that lawyers must play. A.I. is a tool that will increase access to cheaper and more efficient services, but non-lawyers lack the training to analyze and understand information it puts out. The role of lawyers will change to fill this role, namely utilizing these tools to create a better work product with greater efficiency for their clients

Explaining the Relationships Between Marketing's Accountability and Internal Legitimacy with the Firm Performance (The Case Study of the Productive Brand Owner Firms)

Abstract: Consensus exists in the academic and business expertsregarding the growing challenges in the status of the marketing department within the organization. Practitioners and academics suggest that the department does not get enough acknowledgeelements from the upper echelondue to its lack of accountability and internal legitimacy, despite its pivotal role in influencing the company's strategic direction.Marketing's lack of accountability not only leads to a weakening of the department's influence within the organization, but also threatens the department's legitimacy within the organization. Importance of marketing department and accountability of the firms have always been discussed by the industries and different organization's managers. In some firms, marketing has merely been one of the firm's segments and all of the branches have an identical status in the firm and none of them have the leadership duty. The aim of this study is explaining the relationship between the marketing's accountability and internal legitimacy by the firm performance. The methodology of the current study is a kind of descriptive-correlational one. The data collection instrument is a researcher-made questionnaire including a five-choice-range of Likert which has been distributed among the statistical sample of 315 of the middle managers and the employees of 35 brand owner firms in the clothing, home appliances, audio-visual, and furniture industries. The collected data has been analyzed using the structural equations modeling. The obtained results of the study indicated that the internal accountability of the marketing segment has a significant positive effect on the internal legitimacy and consequently its performance. More precisely, by increasing the marketing's accountability, the legitimacy of that segment has increased among other segments and this caused the firm performance improvement. However, the significant positive effect of the marketing's legitimacy on the willingness to collaborate and share knowledge with the mentioned segment has been confirmed, only the willingness to collaborate indicated its significant positive effect on the firm performance

The Impacts of Sustainable Residential Interior Space on Inhabitant’s Emotions

Focusing on inhabitant’s climate comfort causes the neglect of personal and aesthetic factors that have effects on emotions and psychological comfort. Blindly adhering to sustainable design principles regardless of the basic architectural design parameters cause similar interior spaces in today’s housing of Iran. Interior space form is one the main design factors that has some effects on inhabitant’s emotions. It is a correlation research to study inhabitant’s emotions towards sustainable interior space by focusing on interior form. It illustrates that form can consider as an influential factor in creating and improving sustainable conditions according to inhabitant’s emotions.© 2016. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies, Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.Keywords: Sustainable interior design; emotion; shape; PA

Walking through architectural spaces: The impact of interior forms on human brain dynamics

© 2017 Banaei, Hatami, Yazdanfar and Gramann. Neuroarchitecture uses neuroscientific tools to better understand architectural design and its impact on human perception and subjective experience. The form or shape of the built environment is fundamental to architectural design, but not many studies have shown the impact of different forms on the inhabitants’ emotions. This study investigated the neurophysiological correlates of different interior forms on the perceivers’ affective state and the accompanying brain activity. To understand the impact of naturalistic three-dimensional (3D) architectural forms, it is essential to perceive forms from different perspectives. We computed clusters of form features extracted from pictures of residential interiors and constructed exemplary 3D room models based on and representing different formal clusters. To investigate human brain activity during 3D perception of architectural spaces, we used a mobile brain/body imaging (MoBI) approach recording the electroencephalogram (EEG) of participants while they naturally walk through different interior forms in virtual reality (VR). The results revealed a strong impact of curvature geometries on activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Theta band activity in ACC correlated with specific feature types (rs (14) = 0.525, ρ = 0.037) and geometry (rs (14) = –0.579, ρ = 0.019), providing evidence for a role of this structure in processing architectural features beyond their emotional impact. The posterior cingulate cortex and the occipital lobe were involved in the perception of different room perspectives during the stroll through the rooms. This study sheds new light on the use of mobile EEG and VR in architectural studies and provides the opportunity to study human brain dynamics in participants that actively explore and realistically experience architectural spaces