A proposal for a convertible stadium roof structure derived from Watt-I linkage

In this paper, a novel convertible stadium roof structure is introduced, which has been derived from a special geometric configuration of Watt-I linkage, a 1-DoF mechanism used in robot technologies as anthropomorphic fingers. The proposed structure can offer a wide range of different shape configurations according to the environmental conditions and spatial needs, thus offering several aesthetic and functional advantages over existing solutions. This paper serves as a feasibility investigation of this concept, mainly from geometric and structural point of view. To that affect, first kinematic analysis and geometric design of this linkage are introduced. Then, structural analyses of the proposed structure with realistic dimensions and loading conditions are performed in three different geometric configurations, in order to discuss strength and stiffness limitations. Finally, potential cover materials and actuators are briefly discussed.     

Antibacterial Activity of a Novel Oligosaccharide from Streptomyces californics against Erwinia carotovora subsp. Carotovora

The present study aims to characterize and predict models for antibacterial activity of a novel oligosaccharide from Streptomyces californics against Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora using an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system and an artificial neural network. The mathematical predication models were used to determine the optimal conditions to produce oligosaccharide and determine the relationship between the factors (pH, temperature, and time). The characteristics of the purified antibacterial agent were determined using ultraviolet spectroscopy (UV/Vis), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H- and ¹³C-NMR), and mass spectrometry (MS). The best performances for the model were 39.45 and 35.16 recorded at epoch 1 for E. carotovora Erw₅ and E. carotovora EMCC 1687, respectively. The coefficient (R²) of the training was more than 0.90. The highest antimicrobial production was recorded after 9 days at 25 °C and a pH of 6.2, at which more than 17 mm of the inhibition zone was obtained. The mass spectrum of antimicrobial agent (peak at R.T. = 3.433 of fraction 6) recorded two molecular ion peaks at m/z = 703.70 and m/z = 338.30, corresponding to molecular weights of 703.70 and 338.30 g/mol, respectively. The two molecular ion peaks matched well with the molecular formulas C₂₉H₅₃NO₁₈ and C₁₄H₂₆O₉, respectively, which were obtained from the elemental analysis result. A novel oligosaccharide from Streptomyces californics with potential activity against E. carotovora EMCC 1687 and E. carotovora Erw₅ was successfully isolated, purified, and characterized.     

基于贝叶斯参数优化的无模型自适应硅单晶直径控制

直拉硅单晶的生长过程涉及多场多相耦合与复杂的物理化学变化,其中工艺参数的波动是导致晶体直径不均匀的重要原因,如何实现工艺参数的控制以获得理想的、均匀的晶体直径具有重要的研究意义。本文分析现有控制方法存在不稳定以及控制效果不佳的问题后,提出基于贝叶斯参数优化的无模型自适应控制模型来控制硅单晶生长过程中的晶体直径。首先以坩埚上升速度与加热器的功率作为控制输入参数,晶体直径作为输出,搭建无模型自适应控制模型,并分析算法的稳定性。其次将控制模型进行仿真实验,发现硅单晶直径控制模型中不同的超参数设定会影响控制过程的迭代次数以及控制效果。最后,利用贝叶斯优化超参数的取值范围,并进行最终的仿真实验,结果表明,经贝叶斯参数优化后的控制模型计算快、迭代次数少,输出的晶体直径稳定,同时将生长工艺参数控制在实际生产要求范围内。因此,基于贝叶斯参数优化的无模型自适应控制实现了硅单晶直径均匀稳定的有效控制,具有结合工程背景的实际应用前景。     

基于拓扑描述函数的连续体结构拓扑优化方法

提出了一种利用拓扑描述函数(TDF)作为拓扑设计变量求解连续体结构拓扑优化问题 的新方法. 优化问题的目标函数是结构的整体柔顺性，约束条件为对于可利用材料的体积限 制. 这种方法不仅可以消除拓扑优化中经常出现的棋盘格式等数值不稳定现象，而且能够有 效地抑制传统算法处理此类优化问题时所引发的边界扩散效应. 与其它的基于水平集描述函 数的拓扑优化方法相比，所提出的算法不仅无需求解控制水平集函数演化的双曲守恒方 程，而且合理地考虑了目标函数的拓扑导数信息，因而使得算法的计算效率有了显著的提高.     

Development of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction to Produce Skin-Whitening and Anti-Wrinkle Substances from Safflower Seed

In this study, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was applied to extract bioactive substances with skin-whitening, anti-wrinkle, and antioxidant effects from safflower seeds, and the extraction conditions were optimized by a central composite design. The independent variables, including extraction time (5.0~55.0 min), extraction temperature (26.0~94.0 °C), and ethanol concentration (0.0~100%), were optimized to increase tyrosinase activity inhibitory (TAI), collagenase activity inhibitory (CAI), and radical scavenging activity (RSA), which are indicators of skin-whitening, anti-wrinkle, and antioxidant effects. An extraction time of 26.4 min, extraction temperature of 52.1 °C, and ethanol concentration of 50.7% were found to be optimum conditions of UAE, under which TAI, CAI, and RSA were 53.3%, 91.5%, and 27.7%, respectively. The extract produced by UAE was analyzed by LC-MS/MS, and maleic acid and levulinic acid were identified as the main substances. Therefore, UAE is evaluated as an effective process to extract skin-whitening, anti-wrinkle, and antioxidant substances from safflower seeds at lower temperatures and shorter extraction times compared to the conventional extraction methods. Overall, safflower seeds extract can be used as a material for value-added cosmetics, including maleic acid and levulinic acid, which have bioactive functions.     

Energy-Efficient Optimization for Energy-Harvesting-Enabled mmWave-UAV Heterogeneous Networks

Energy Harvesting (EH) is a promising paradigm for 5G heterogeneous communication. EH-enabled Device-to-Device (D2D) communication can assist devices in overcoming the disadvantage of limited battery capacity and improving the Energy Efficiency (EE) by performing EH from ambient wireless signals. Although numerous research works have been conducted on EH-based D2D communication scenarios, the feature of EH-based D2D communication underlying Air-to-Ground (A2G) millimeter-Wave (mmWave) networks has not been fully studied. In this paper, we considered a scenario where multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are deployed to provide energy for D2D Users (DUs) and data transmission for Cellular Users (CUs). We aimed to improve the network EE of EH-enabled D2D communications while reducing the time complexity of beam alignment for mmWave-enabled D2D Users (DUs). We considered a scenario where multiple EH-enabled DUs and CUs coexist, sharing the full mmWave frequency band and adopting high-directive beams for transmitting. To improve the network EE, we propose a joint beamwidth selection, power control, and EH time ratio optimization algorithm for DUs based on alternating optimization. We iteratively optimized one of the three variables, fixing the other two. During each iteration, we first used a game-theoretic approach to adjust the beamwidths of DUs to achieve the sub-optimal EE. Then, the problem with regard to power optimization was solved by the Dinkelbach method and Successive Convex Approximation (SCA). Finally, we performed the optimization of the EH time ratio using linear fractional programming to further increase the EE. By performing extensive simulation experiments, we validated the convergence and effectiveness of our algorithm. The results showed that our proposed algorithm outperformed the fixed beamwidth and fixed power strategy and could closely approach the performance of exhaustive search, particle swarm optimization, and the genetic algorithm, but with a much reduced time complexity.     

A Novel Quantum Entanglement-Inspired Meta-heuristic Framework for Solving Multimodal Optimization Problems

To solve Multimodal optimization prob-lems (MOPs), a Novel Quantum entanglement-inspired meta-heuristic framework (NMF-QE) is proposed. Its main inspirations are two concepts of quantum physics:quantum entanglement and quantum superposition. When given Proto-born particles (PBPs) of a population, these two concepts are mathematically developed to generate twin-born and combination-born particles, respectively. And if any elite-born particles would be created by a local re-searching strategy. These three or four groups of particles come together as a whole search population of NMF-QE to realize exploration and exploitation of algo-rithms. To guarantee dynamical optimization capability of NMF-QE, the individual evolutionary mechanism of some existing meta-heuristics will be adopted to iteratively create PBPs. A selected meta-heuristic is coupled with NMF-QE to present its improved variant. Numerical results show that the proposed NMF-QE can effectively improve optimization performance of meta-heuristics on MOPs.     

Production of Bioactive Compounds with Broad Spectrum Bactericidal Action,Bio-Film Inhibition and Antilarval Potential by the Secondary Metabolites of the Endophytic Fungus Cochliobolus sp. APS1 Isolated from the Indian Medicinal Herb Andrographis paniculata

Endophytes, being the co-evolution partners of green host plants, are factories of pharmaceutically valuable novel natural products. Cochliobolus sp. APS1, an endophyte of Andrographis paniculata (Green Chiretta), produces a plethora of natural bioactive compounds and the multipotent alkaloid Aziridine, 1-(2-aminoethyl)-, is the prime one among them. The isolate exhibited antibacterial, anti-biofilm, and antilarval potency. The MIC and MBC values of the ethyl-acetate culture extract ranged from 15.62 to 250 µg/mL against ten pathogenic microorganisms (including MRSA and VRSA). Killing kinetics data along with the leakage of macromolecules into the extracellular environment supports the cidal activity of the antibacterial principles. The broad spectrum antibacterial activity of Aziridine, 1-(2-aminoethyl)-, was optimized by a one-variable-at-a-time system coupled with response surface methodology, which led to a 45% enhancement of the antibacterial activity. The maximum response (22.81 ± 0.16 mm of zone of inhibition against MRSA) was marked in 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask containing 90 mL potato dextrose broth supplemented with (g%/L) glucose, 9.7; urea concentration, 0.74; with medium pH 6.48; after 8.76 days of incubation at 26 °C. APS1 strongly inhibited biofilm formation in the tested pathogenic microorganisms and acts as a larvicidal agent against the Dengue-vector Aedes aegypti. This is probably the first report of Aziridine, 1-(2-aminoethyl)-, from any endophytic source. Cochliobolus sp. APS1 possesses industrial importance for the production of bioactive alkaloids.     

CuSn系超结构的电子衍射与能量分析

本文首先根据CuSn合金的选区电子衍射图构建出一种新的三次超结构的单胞和五次超结构η'-Cu6Sn5相与六角CuSn相的取向关系.然后对CuSn合金几种可能的超结构进行能量计算,发现晶胞中的空位占有率和优化前后几何变化率成线性关系,以及超结构中Edshammar多面体中心的多余Cu原子和同一平面Sn原子之间键长对晶胞的稳定性至关重要.