Efficient wireless non-radiative mid-range energy transfer

We investigate whether, and to what extent, the physical phenomenon of long-lifetime resonant electromagnetic states with localized slowly-evanescent field patterns can be used to transfer energy efficiently over non-negligible distances, even in the presence of extraneous environmental objects. Via detailed theoretical and numerical analyses of typical real-world model-situations and realistic material parameters, we establish that such a non-radiative scheme can lead to “strong coupling” between two medium-range distant such states and thus could indeed be practical for efficient medium-range wireless energy transfer.     

Control torque components of center-of-mass motions in hammer throwing

Summary Modified Newton's law and Euler's equation of motion giving the internal or control forces and torques in the thrower's joints are derived. It is considered that all the forces and torques, acting on any part of the thrower's body producing motion, are due to linear and angular velocity changes and to the external forces such as gravity and friction with the ground. Unfortunately, any estimation of the thrower's joints' internal or control forces and torques from this mechanical model is complicated by the asymmetric nature of the resultant equations of motion.A simplified bi-mass model is worked out as an application of this approach. Using experimental data for the center of mass paths of the hammer and the thrower the body main control driving torques at the various points in the movement pattern are evaluated, and the thrower's balance is further studied.

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Drehmomentenregelung der Massenmittelpunktsbewegung beim Hammerwurf

Übersicht Zur Bestimmung der inneren Kräfte und Momente in den Gelenken eines Hammerwerfers werden die Bewegungsgleichungen aufgestellt. Es wird angenommen, daß alle Kräfte und Momente in den Körperteilen des Sportlers, die die Bewegung erzeugen, von Geschwindigkeits- und Winkelgeschwindigkeitsänderungen sowie äußeren Kräften wie Schwerkraft und Reibkontakt mit dem Untergrund herrühren. Allerdings ist die Bestimmung der Gelenkbeanspruchungen mit diesem mechanischen Modell kompliziert. Deshalb wird vereinfachend ein Zwei-Massen-Modell behandelt. Mit Hilfe experimenteller Daten über die Bewegung des Hammers und des Körperschwerpunktes wird das wesentliche, den Antrieb regelnde innere Moment für verschiedene Zeitpunkte des Bewegungsablaufs bestimmt.

     

Convolutional Neural Network Approach for Multispectral Facial Presentation Attack Detection in Automated Border Control Systems

Automated border control systems are the first critical infrastructure point when crossing a border country. Crossing border lines for unauthorized passengers is a high security risk to any country. This paper presents a multispectral analysis of presentation attack detection for facial biometrics using the learned features from a convolutional neural network. Three sensors are considered to design and develop a new database that is composed of visible (VIS), near-infrared (NIR), and thermal images. Most studies are based on laboratory or ideal conditions-controlled environments. However, in a real scenario, a subject’s situation is completely modified due to diverse physiological conditions, such as stress, temperature changes, sweating, and increased blood pressure. For this reason, the added value of this study is that this database was acquired in situ. The attacks considered were printed, masked, and displayed images. In addition, five classifiers were used to detect the presentation attack. Note that thermal sensors provide better performance than other solutions. The results present better outputs when all sensors are used together, regardless of whether classifier or feature-level fusion is considered. Finally, classifiers such as KNN or SVM show high performance and low computational level.     

Elastic Energies in Circular Inhomogeneities: Imperfect Versus Perfect Interfaces

The change in the total potential energy in a stressed elastic plane system, consisting of an unbounded matrix containing a cylindrical inhomogeneity of circular cross-section, is studied, when an imperfect bonding is formed across the interface. The imperfect bonding is simulated by linearly elastic springs distributed over the interface. Two loading cases are examined: an equilibrium system of fixed uniform tractions acting in the remote boundary of the matrix, and a phase transformation in the inhomogeneity prescribed by stress free uniform eigenstrains distributed in the inhomogeneity region. For both loadings, the fully elastic fields in explicit forms are derived involving the spring compliances and three new two-phase parameters depending on the elastic properties of the two materials. The elastic energies stored in the whole system and in its constituents are determined in simple and compact forms. It is shown that, in both loading cases, the total potential energy of the system is reduced. It is found that, in nanoscale, the ratio of the elastic energy stored in interface to the elastic energy stored in inhomogeneity increases rapidly for small values of the circular radius and tends to zero for large values. Also, this ratio increases as the matrix becomes softer compared to the inhomogeneity.     

A quantitative western blot technique using TMB: Comparison with the conventional technique

Numerous molecular biological experiments performed throughout the world require the detection or quantification of a protein of interest. Western blotting is one of the most popular techniques used for this purpose and offers quantitative information with the aid of specialized software. However, its dependence on the picture that is captured, and the background and the absence of a common protocol prevent the technique from being completely quantitative. To overcome these obstacles, we present a simple and reliable assay that is similar to the regular technique, with the exception of the last stage of band visualization and quantification. We propose that small pieces of the blot that include the protein of interest can be cut and dipped in a small volume of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine solution, giving a colorimetric signal with linear dependence on the quantity of the protein. The reaction is stopped with H₂SO₄, and the signal is measured in a plate reader. This modification shows high linearity without additional costs and can be applied for both purified proteins and proteins found in a lysate. The results obtained with our proposed technique were compared with those obtained by the conventional method and proved to be more reliable.     

Isotopic Traceability (13C and 18O) of Greek Olive Oil

In recent years, isotopic analysis has been proven a valuable tool for the determination of the origin of various materials. In this article, we studied the ¹⁸O and ¹³C isotopic values of 210 olive oil samples that were originated from different regions in Greece in order to verify how these values are affected by the climate regime. We observed that the δ¹⁸O isotopic values range from 19.2 ‰ to 25.2 ‰ and the δ¹³C values range from −32.7 ‰ to −28.3 ‰. These differences between the olive oils’ isotopic values depended on the regional temperature, the meteoric water, and the distance from the sea. Furthermore, we studied the ¹³C isotopic values of biophenolic extracts, and we observed that they have same capability to differentiate the geographic origin. Finally, we compared the isotopic values of Greek olive oils with samples from Italy, and we concluded that there is a great dependence of oxygen isotopes on the climatic characteristics of the different geographical areas.     

Polyesterification reactions of adipic acid-based polyesters

A series of studies of uncatalyzed and catalyzed polyesterification experiments have been investigated using different glycols at different temperatures. The experimental results for uncatalyzed reactions agreed quite well with the kinetic equation as proposed by P. J. Flory. However, Flory proposed a second-order reaction for an externally added strong acid as a catalyst. In contrast to Flory's theory, a mixed mechanism, based on a combination of carboxylic acid groups from the raw material and an external organotin catalyst, was proposed for the catalyzed reaction. In this article, the reaction rate of catalyzed and uncatalyzed polyesterifications using different glycols was compared, and the effect of different temperatures and catalyst levels was also discussed. The reaction rate constant decreases in the following order for both catalyzed and uncatalyzed polyesterification: 1,6-HD > 1,4-BD > NPG > DEG > EG ? PG. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Efficient weakly-radiative wireless energy transfer: An EIT-like approach

Inspired by a quantum interference phenomenon known in the atomic physics community as electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), we propose an efficient weakly radiative wireless energy transfer scheme between two identical classical resonant objects, strongly coupled to an intermediate classical resonant object of substantially different properties, but with the same resonance frequency. The transfer mechanism essentially makes use of the adiabatic evolution of an instantaneous (so called “dark”) eigenstate of the coupled 3-object system. Our analysis is based on temporal coupled mode theory (CMT), and is general enough to be valid for various possible sorts of coupling, including the resonant inductive coupling on which witricity-type wireless energy transfer is based. We show that in certain parameter regimes of interest, this scheme can be more efficient, and/or less radiative than other, more conventional approaches. A concrete example of wireless energy transfer between capacitively-loaded metallic loops is illustrated at the beginning, as a motivation for the more general case. We also explore the performance of the currently proposed EIT-like scheme, in terms of improving efficiency and reducing radiation, as the relevant parameters of the system are varied.