Extraction of flank wear growth models that correlates cutting edge integrity of ball nose end mills while machining titanium

The application of titanium alloys are increasingly seen at aerospace, marine, bio-medical and precision engineering due to its high strength to weight ratio and high temperature properties. However, while machining the titanium alloys using solid carbide tools, even with jet infusion of coolant lower tool life was vividly seen. The high temperatures generated at the tool–work interface causes adhesion of work-material on the cutting edges; hence, shorter tool life was reported. To reduce the high tool–work interface temperature positive rake angle, higher primary relief and higher secondary relief were configured on the ball nose end-mill cutting edges. However, after an initial working period, the growth of flank wear facilitates higher cutting forces followed by work-material adhesion on the cutting edges. Therefore, it is important to blend the strength, sharpness and surface integrity on the cutting edges so that the ball nose end mill would demonstrate an extended tool-life. Presently, validation of tool geometry is very tedious as it requires extensive machining experiments. This paper illustrates a new feature-based ball-noseend-mill–work interface model with correlations to the material removal mechanisms by which the tool geometry optimization becomes easier. The data are further deployed to develop a multi-sensory feature extraction/correlation model to predict the performance using wavelet analysis and Wagner Ville distribution. Conclusively, this method enables to evaluate the different ball nose end mill geometry and reduces the product development cycle time

Testing the validity of twin deficit hypothesis in Pacific island countries: an empirical investigation

Pacific island countries (PICs), since the mid 1990s, have been struggling with current account deficits in their balance of payments. Declining aid inflows and contraction in their traditional exports of primary goods along with growing imports of food, fuel and capital and intermediate goods have been the causes behind current account imbalances. On the fiscal front, stagnation in revenues and rigidities in public expenditures have been responsible for overall budget deficits. Resorting to panel data analysis, this study finds evidence in support of the twin deficit hypothesis in terms of their short-and long-run relationship and suggests suitable policy measures for consideration by decision makers

Multiparameter Moment Matching Model Reduction Approach for Generating Geometrically Parameterized Interconnect Performance Models

In this paper we describe an approach for generating geometrically-parameterized integrated-circuit interconnect models that are efficient enough for use in interconnect synthesis. The model generation approach presented is automatic, and is based on a multi-parameter model-reduction algorithm. The effectiveness of the technique is tested using a multi-line bus example, where both wire spacing and wire width are considered as geometric parameters. Experimental results demonstrate that the generated models accurately predict both delay and cross-talk effects over a wide range of spacing and width variation.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA

Sleep Disordered Breathing, Obesity and Atrial Fibrillation: A Mendelian Randomisation Study.

Funder: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)It remains unclear whether the association between obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), a form of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), and atrial fibrillation (AF) is causal or mediated by shared co-morbidities such as obesity. Existing observational studies are conflicting and limited by confounding and reverse causality. We performed Mendelian randomisation (MR) to investigate the causal relationships between SDB, body mass index (BMI) and AF. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with SDB (n = 29) and BMI (n = 453) were selected as instrumental variables to investigate the effects of SDB and BMI on AF, using genetic association data on 55,114 AF cases and 482,295 controls. Primary analysis was conducted using inverse-variance weighted MR. Higher genetically predicted SDB and BMI were associated with increased risk of AF (OR per log OR increase in snoring liability 2.09 (95% CI 1.10-3.98), p = 0.03; OR per 1-SD increase in BMI 1.33 (95% CI 1.24-1.42), p < 0.001). The association between SDB and AF was not observed in sensitivity analyses, whilst associations between BMI and AF remained consistent. Similarly, in multivariable MR, SDB was not associated with AF after adjusting for BMI (OR 0.68 (95% CI 0.42-1.10), p = 0.12). Higher BMI remained associated with increased risk of AF after adjusting for OSA (OR 1.40 (95% CI 1.30-1.51), p < 0.001). Elevated BMI appears causal for AF, independent of SDB. Our data suggest that the association between SDB, in general, and AF is attributable to mediation or confounding from obesity, though we cannot exclude that more severe SDB phenotypes (i.e., OSA) are causal for AF

Nutrient Composition of Selected Cooked and Processed Snack Foods

Nutrient composition of 27 cooked snack foods and 19 processed snacks was determined. The cooked foods were mostly cereal based, made from wheat flour, rice or rice flour, and almost all of them were traditional Malaysian kuih or dishes. The processed snacks studied were chocolate, cereal, tuber, fish and prawn products. The levels of 19 nutrients were tabulated, expressed as per 100 g edible portion. Selected nutrients in each serving or packet of the foods were also presented. The paper is intended as a contribution to the knowledge on nutrient composition of local snack foods, for which information is still greatly lacking. The number of foods studied is only a fraction of the total number available. More work in this area will have to be carried out, to meet the increasing demand for such data

Scattering of electromagnetic waves by electron acoustic waves

It is shown that a large amplitude electromagnetic wave can parametrically excite low-frequency electrostatic modified electron acoustic waves which are unique to three-component plasmas ions, hot electrons and a group of cold electrons. The growth rates and thresholds of the decay instabilities are obtained. Application of our results in the auroral region of the ionosphere is illustrated.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/26789/1/0000345.pd

γ-ray assisted synthesis of Ni3Se2 nanoparticles stabilized by natural polymer

Nickel selenide nanoparticles were synthesized using γ-ray irradiation in the presence of natural polymer, chitosan as capping agent. Chitosan is the deacetylated product of chitin, the second most abundant organic resources after cellulose. The nanoparticles were produced using nickel acetate and selenium dioxide and the as-prepared chitosan stabilized nanoparticles were soluble and stable in aqueous solution. The morphology and structure of the nickel selenide nanoparticles were characterized using transmission electron microscope (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Optical properties of the nanoparticles were characterized by UV–Visible spectrophotometer and photoluminescent spectroscopy. The XRD result shows that the nickel selenide conformed to Ni3Se2 with crystal structure of rhombohedral. The absorption spectrum of the Ni3Se2 nanoparticles covered from around 300–600 nm which makes it a potential photovoltaic and optoelectronic device material. In this report, γ-ray irradiation provided a “green”, simple and clean route for the synthesis of chitosan stabilized Ni3Se2 nanoparticles. The size and size distribution of the nickel selenide nanoparticles were influenced by the concentration of chitosan and absorbed dose of γ-ray irradiation

Recon 2.2: from reconstruction to model of human metabolism.

IntroductionThe human genome-scale metabolic reconstruction details all known metabolic reactions occurring in humans, and thereby holds substantial promise for studying complex diseases and phenotypes. Capturing the whole human metabolic reconstruction is an on-going task and since the last community effort generated a consensus reconstruction, several updates have been developed.ObjectivesWe report a new consensus version, Recon 2.2, which integrates various alternative versions with significant additional updates. In addition to re-establishing a consensus reconstruction, further key objectives included providing more comprehensive annotation of metabolites and genes, ensuring full mass and charge balance in all reactions, and developing a model that correctly predicts ATP production on a range of carbon sources.MethodsRecon 2.2 has been developed through a combination of manual curation and automated error checking. Specific and significant manual updates include a respecification of fatty acid metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation and a coupling of the electron transport chain to ATP synthase activity. All metabolites have definitive chemical formulae and charges specified, and these are used to ensure full mass and charge reaction balancing through an automated linear programming approach. Additionally, improved integration with transcriptomics and proteomics data has been facilitated with the updated curation of relationships between genes, proteins and reactions.ResultsRecon 2.2 now represents the most predictive model of human metabolism to date as demonstrated here. Extensive manual curation has increased the reconstruction size to 5324 metabolites, 7785 reactions and 1675 associated genes, which now are mapped to a single standard. The focus upon mass and charge balancing of all reactions, along with better representation of energy generation, has produced a flux model that correctly predicts ATP yield on different carbon sources.ConclusionThrough these updates we have achieved the most complete and best annotated consensus human metabolic reconstruction available, thereby increasing the ability of this resource to provide novel insights into normal and disease states in human. The model is freely available from the Biomodels database (http://identifiers.org/biomodels.db/MODEL1603150001)

Progress on stochastic background search codes for LIGO

One of the types of signals for which the LIGO interferometric gravitational wave detectors will search is a stochastic background of gravitational radiation. We review the technique of searching for a background using the optimally-filtered cross-correlation statistic, and describe the state of plans to perform such cross-correlations between the two LIGO interferometers as well as between LIGO and other gravitational-wave detectors, in particular the preparation of software to perform such data analysis.Comment: 7 pages, 1 encapsulated PostScript figure, uses IOP class files, submitted to the proceedings of the 4th Amaldi meeting (which will be published in Classical and Quantum Gravity