Scorched Earth Crocodiles

When I went to the bookstore last summer, I found a book about metal clay jewelry. There are many examples and tutorial about how to make jewelry with metal clay which I have never seen or done before. For my honors project, I wanted to study metal clay and explore the uses of this form of metalwork in rendering a 3D animation figure of a crocodile. However, as I began my project, my instructor felt it would work better to learn how to make a mold to create the crocodile. I choose to create a crocodile because I was inspired and influenced by the character Renekton in the video game called League of Legends. When I first came to America, I was alone and helpless. However, I made some friends and became outgoing and optimistic by playing League of Legends. Renekton is a hero and most honored warrior in his country, and he protected his country, during wartime. I was encouraged by his brave and strong, so I decided to create a crocodile to remind me and encourage me to be courageous later in life. Because I didn\u27t have an actual crocodile mold for casting, I used clay to form the basic form of the crocodile. When the clay was hard, I fixed the crocodile on a 4X4 wooden board with hot glue gun. To make the rubber mold, I cover the model with plastic wrap and then 1/4 clay. Then I covered the clay with plaster to create a plaster jacket which helped me hold the mold. After the plaster jacket had cured, I opened the jacket and removed all the clay inside of the jacket. Since the crocodile has too many undercuts and a huge tail, I had to build two parting lines to divide the jacket into three parts. After the plaster had dried, I drilled a hole at the top of the jacket and three small holes at each piece. Before I poured the rubber in the jacket, I tied the jacket with a belt and secured all gaps with clay. However, I overlooked two important facts, one, that the pressure is higher at the bottom than the top and second, my piece is too big. When I poured the rubber into the jacket, the rubber started to run out. I had to wait for all rubber run out and dry which took about one day. I cleaned the surface of the crocodile and re-poured the rubber into the jacket. I made the crocodile in a solid plastic to bear the weight of the heavy metal armour and the blade. After the figure was complete, I made the jacket with paper first. Then. I drew all the paper armour on one piece of brass, which I sawed and soldered to form the metal armour. To show his ruthlessness, I painted the armour in black and the blade point in blood red. I also painted the crocodile in green and red with oil paint. I enjoyed the process of making the crocodile, and I have learned how to make a silicone rubber mold and how to cast a plastic object. Since I have a silicon mold, I can now explore making more crocodiles in differing styles. I enjoyed this project, and in the future, I plan to look for a job that involves making molds and models for characters or objects

TextRWeb: Large-Scale Text Analytics with R on the Web

As digital data sources grow in number and size, they pose an opportunity for computational investigation by means of text mining, NLP, and other text analysis techniques. R is a popular and powerful text analytics tool; however, it needs to run in parallel and re- quires special handling to protect copyrighted content against full access (consumption). The HathiTrust Research Center (HTRC) currently has 11 million volumes (books) where 7 million volumes are copyrighted. In this paper we propose HTRC TextRWeb, an interactive R software environment which employs complexity hiding interfaces and automatic code generation to allow large-scale text analytics in a non-consumptive means. For our principal test case of copyrighted data in HathiTrust Digital Library, TextRWeb permits us to code, edit, and submit text analytics methods empowered by a family of interactive web user interfaces. All these methods combine to reveal a new interactive paradigm for large-scale text analytics on the web

Application of Probabilistic and Nonprobabilistic Hybrid Reliability Analysis Based on Dynamic Substructural Extremum Response Surface Decoupling Method for a Blisk of the Aeroengine

For the nondeterministic factors of an aeroengine blisk, including both factors with sufficient and insufficient statistical data, based on the dynamic substructural method of determinate analysis, the extremum response surface method of probabilistic analysis, and the interval method of nonprobabilistic analysis, a methodology called the probabilistic and nonprobabilistic hybrid reliability analysis based on dynamic substructural extremum response surface decoupling method (P-NP-HRA-DS-ERSDM) is proposed. The model includes random variables and interval variables to determine the interval failure probability and the interval reliability index. The extremum response surface function and its flow chart of mixed reliability analysis are given. The interval analysis is embedded in the most likely failure point in the iterative process. The probabilistic analysis and nonprobabilistic analysis are investigated alternately. Tuned and mistuned blisks are studied in a complicated environment, and the results are compared with the Monte Carlo method (MCM) and the multilevel nested algorithm (MLNA) to verify that the hybrid model can better handle reliability problems concurrently containing random variables and interval variables; meanwhile, it manifests that the computational efficiency of this method is superior and more reasonable for analysing and designing a mistuned blisk. Therefore, this methodology has very important practical significance

An improved Kriging surrogate model method with high robustness for electrical machine optimization

This article presents a highly robust optimization method for electrical machines, taking the uncertain tolerances of machine manufacturing into account. Different from the traditional multi-objective optimization methods based on Kriging surrogate model, two genetic algorithm (GA) models with disparate sampling principles are used here to release heavy computational burden and to improve prediction accuracy. One is adding the final optimization result of GA as the samples into the initial surrogate model, while the other one is adding the samples from the optimization process for the initial surrogate model. A 12-slot 14-pole interior permanent magnet synchronous machine (IPMSM) is used for the case study, and two GA models are compared. Furthermore, the proposed robust optimization method is compared with a deterministic optimization method to demonstrate its superiority, and its effectiveness is verified by prototype tests.</p

An improved Kriging surrogate model method with high robustness for electrical machine optimization

This article presents a highly robust optimization method for electrical machines, taking the uncertain tolerances of machine manufacturing into account. Different from the traditional multi-objective optimization methods based on Kriging surrogate model, two genetic algorithm (GA) models with disparate sampling principles are used here to release heavy computational burden and to improve prediction accuracy. One is adding the final optimization result of GA as the samples into the initial surrogate model, while the other one is adding the samples from the optimization process for the initial surrogate model. A 12-slot 14-pole interior permanent magnet synchronous machine (IPMSM) is used for the case study, and two GA models are compared. Furthermore, the proposed robust optimization method is compared with a deterministic optimization method to demonstrate its superiority, and its effectiveness is verified by prototype tests.</p

Thermal Model Approach to the YASA Machine for In-Wheel Traction Applications

The axial-flux permanent magnet (AFPM) machines with yokeless and segmented armature (YASA) topology are suitable for in-wheel traction systems due to the high power density and efficiency. To guarantee the reliable operation of the YASA machines, an accurate thermal analysis should be undertaken in detail during the electrical machine design phase. The technical contribution of this paper is to establish a detailed thermal analysis model of the YASA machine by the lumped parameter thermal network (LPTN) method. Compared with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method and the finite element (FE) method, the LPTN method can obtain an accurate temperature distribution with low time consumption. Firstly, the LPTN model of each component of the YASA machine is constructed with technical details. Secondly, the losses of the YASA machine are obtained by the electromagnetic FE analysis. Then, the temperature distribution of the machine can be calculated by the LPTN model and loss information. Finally, a prototype of the YASA machine is manufactured and its temperature distribution under different operating conditions is tested by TT-K-30 thermocouple temperature sensors. The experimental data matches the LPTN results well

Activation of CXCL6/CXCR1/2 Axis Promotes the Growth and Metastasis of Osteosarcoma Cells in vitro and in vivo

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a malignant primary bone tumor with high metastatic rate. C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 6 (CXCL6) and its receptor C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 1/2 (CXCR1/2) have been found to participate in the process of carcinogenesis. In this study, we evaluated the role of CXCL6/CXCR1/2 axis in proliferation and metastasis of OS cells. According to our results, the mRNA and protein expressions of CXCL6, CXCR1, and CXCR2 in multiple OS cell lines were determined. Treatment with exogenous CXCL6 for more than 72 h significantly promoted the proliferation of OS cells. Blocking the effect of endogenous CXCL6 restrained the migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) as evidenced by increased E-cadherin level, decreased N-cadherin and Snail levels in OS cells. On the contrary, exogenous CXCL6 administration enhanced the migration and invasive abilities of OS cells. Moreover, silencing of CXCR1/2 suppressed migration, invasion and EMT of OS cells with or without treatment with exogenous CXCL6. In addition, exogenous CXCL6 promoted the activation of PI3K/AKT and β-catenin signaling pathways, which could be repressed by CXCR2 knockdown. Inactivation of PI3K/AKT or β-catenin pathway by specific inhibitors effectively suppressed CXCL6-induced migration, invasion and EMT of OS cells. Finally, overexpression of CXCL6 significantly contributed to tumor growth, pulmonary metastasis and activation of PI3K/AKT and β-catenin pathways in nude mice in vivo, which were repressed by treatment with CXCR2 antagonist. Our results suggest that CXCL6/CXCR1/2 axis promotes the proliferation and metastasis of OS cells

Virtual Synchronous Generator Control Strategy of Grid-Forming Matrix Converter for Renewable Power Generation

Matrix converters (MC) have been considered for applications in renewable power generation and microgrids. However, similar to other power electronic converter-interfaced power generation systems, the MC-interfaced system cannot provide inertia or damping effect to support the grid’s frequency or voltage. To improve the inertia and damping effect of the MC-interfaced distributed generation system and realize the grid-friendly connection of new energy power generation, a virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control strategy suitable for the MC-interfaced system is proposed. Aiming at the problem that the system frequency in the traditional VSG cannot be restored to the nominal value after the load power fluctuations, the VSG secondary frequency control strategy is introduced. To ensure a smooth grid connection, a synchronization control strategy based on virtual power has been designed. An experimental validation platform was built and the experimental results verify the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed control strategies for a grid-forming MC