Exploring the Design of Pay-Per-Use Objects in the Construction Domain

Equipment used in the construction domain is often hired in order to reduce cost and maintenance overhead. The cost of hire is dependent on the time period involved and does not take into account the actual use equipment has received. This paper presents our initial investigation into how physical objects augmented with sensing and communication technologies can measure use in order to enable new pay-per-use payment models for equipment hire. We also explore user interaction with pay-per-use objects via mobile devices. The user interactions that take place within our prototype scenario range from simple information access to transactions involving multiple users. This paper presents the design, implementation and evaluation of a prototype pay-per-use system motivated by a real world equipment hire scenario. We also provide insights into the various challenges introduced by supporting a pay-per-use model, including data storage and data security in addition to user interaction issues

IMPLEMENTATION OF ROBUST ARCHITECTURE FOR ERROR DETECTION AND DATA RECOVERY IN MOTION ESTIMATION ON FPGA

Video compression is necessary in a wide range of applications to reduce the total data amount required for transmitting or storing video data. Among the coding systems, Motion Estimation is of priority concern in exploiting the temporal redundancy between successive frames, yet also the most time consuming aspect of coding. This paper presents an error detection and data recovery (EDDR) design, based on the residue-and quotient (RQ) code that is embed into ME for video coding testing applications. Based on the Concurrent Error Detection (CED) concept, this work develops a robust EDDR architecture based on the RQ code to detect errors and recovery data in PEs of a ME and, in doing so, further guarantee the excellent reliability for video coding applications. We synthesized this design using Xilinx tool

Adobe Flash as a medium for online experimentation: a test of reaction time measurement capabilities

Adobe Flash can be used to run complex psychological experiments over the Web. We examined the reliability of using Flash to measure reaction times (RTs) using a simple binary-choice task implemented both in Flash and in a Linux-based system known to record RTs with millisecond accuracy. Twenty-four participants were tested in the laboratory using both implementations; they also completed the Flash version on computers of their own choice outside the lab. RTs from the trials run on Flash outside the lab were approximately 20 msec slower than those from trials run on Flash in the lab, which in turn were approximately 10 msec slower than RTs from the trials run on the Linux-based system (baseline condition). RT SDs were similar in all conditions, suggesting that although Flash may overestimate RTs slightly, it does not appear to add significant noise to the data recorded

Procedures: skin tag (acrochordon) removal

This issue of eMedRef provides information to clinicians on the procedure for skin tag removal

Creating Healthier Academic Work Environments: Exploring Best Practices at Departmental Level

Workplace health is crucial for student, faculty and staff success. Using experiential wisdom we highlight challenges linked to the rise of ‘neoliberal university’ characterized by a shift from education as a public good to values of entrepreneurialism, profit making and its impact on the well-being of academic faculty and staff

The packing of granular polymer chains

Rigid particles pack into structures, such as sand dunes on the beach, whose overall stability is determined by the average number of contacts between particles. However, when packing spatially extended objects with flexible shapes, additional concepts must be invoked to understand the stability of the resulting structure. Here we study the disordered packing of chains constructed out of flexibly-connected hard spheres. Using X-ray tomography, we find long chains pack into a low-density structure whose mechanical rigidity is mainly provided by the backbone. On compaction, randomly-oriented, semi-rigid loops form along the chain, and the packing of chains can be understood as the jamming of these elements. Finally we uncover close similarities between the packing of chains and the glass transition in polymers.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Using Adobe Flash Lite on mobile phones for psychological research: reaction time measurement reliability and inter-device variability

Mobile telephones have significant potential for use in psychological research, possessing unique characteristics—not least their ubiquity—that may make them useful tools for psychologists. We examined whether it is possible to measure reaction times (RTs) accurately using Adobe Flash Lite on mobile phones. We ran simple and choice RT experiments on two widely available mobile phones, a Nokia 6110 Navigator and a Sony Ericsson W810i, using a wireless application protocol (WAP) connection to access the Internet from the devices. RTs were compared within subjects with those obtained using a Linux-based millisecond-accurate measurement system. Results show that measured RTs were significantly longer on mobile devices, and that overall RTs and distribution of RTs varied across device

SBML models and MathSBML

MathSBML is an open-source, freely-downloadable Mathematica package that facilitates working with Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) models. SBML is a toolneutral,computer-readable format for representing models of biochemical reaction networks, applicable to metabolic networks, cell-signaling pathways, genomic regulatory networks, and other modeling problems in systems biology that is widely supported by the systems biology community. SBML is based on XML, a standard medium for representing and transporting data that is widely supported on the internet as well as in computational biology and bioinformatics. Because SBML is tool-independent, it enables model transportability, reuse, publication and survival. In addition to MathSBML, a number of other tools that support SBML model examination and manipulation are provided on the sbml.org website, including libSBML, a C/C++ library for reading SBML models; an SBML Toolbox for MatLab; file conversion programs; an SBML model validator and visualizer; and SBML specifications and schemas. MathSBML enables SBML file import to and export from Mathematica as well as providing an API for model manipulation and simulation

Good Learning and Implicit Model Enumeration

MathSBML is an open-source, freely-downloadable Mathematica package that facilitates working with Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) models. SBML is a toolneutral,computer-readable format for representing models of biochemical reaction networks, applicable to metabolic networks, cell-signaling pathways, genomic regulatory networks, and other modeling problems in systems biology that is widely supported by the systems biology community. SBML is based on XML, a standard medium for representing and transporting data that is widely supported on the internet as well as in computational biology and bioinformatics. Because SBML is tool-independent, it enables model transportability, reuse, publication and survival. In addition to MathSBML, a number of other tools that support SBML model examination and manipulation are provided on the sbml.org website, including libSBML, a C/C++ library for reading SBML models; an SBML Toolbox for MatLab; file conversion programs; an SBML model validator and visualizer; and SBML specifications and schemas. MathSBML enables SBML file import to and export from Mathematica as well as providing an API for model manipulation and simulation

High-Efficiency MOSFET-based MMC Design for LVDC Distribution Systems

LVDC distribution networks have the potential to release larger capacity without having to upgrade the existing cables. One of the main challenges of LVDC networks is the extra customer-end DC-AC conversion stage. This paper proposes and evaluates a 5-level Si MOSFET-based MMC as a promising alternative to the conventional 2-level IGBT-based converter. This is due to the comparatively higher efficiency, power quality and reliability, and reduced EM emissions. A comprehensive analysis of a Si MOSFET 5-level MMC converter design is performed to investigate the suitability of the topology for LVDC applications. Detailed theoretical analysis of the 5-level MMC is presented, with simulated and experimental results to demonstrate circuit performance. To suppress the AC circulating current, especially the dominant 2nd harmonics, this paper presents a double line-frequency PI with orthogonal imaginary axis control method. Comparison of simulation and experimental results with those for double line-frequency PR control shows that the proposed PI controller has better performance. In addition, it is simpler to implement and more immune to sampling/discretisation errors