Chain length dependence of localized vibrational modes around a soliton in trans-polyacetylene

Vibrational frequencies of finite polyacetylene with a charged soliton are calculated using the molecular orbital method. It is found that the frequency of the translational mode has a remarkable length effect and is inversely proportional to the square of chain length. The dependence is explained by regarding the soliton as a quantum particle in a one dimensional box.     

Litter on the beaches of the Red Sea of Yemen

Distribution of litter: ropes, netting, lamb bulbs, foot wear, plastic bags, bottles, aluminum cans, cardboard, wood loges, rubber, polystyrene blocks and plastic sheets accumulating on Red Sea beaches of Yemen were examined. The results of the study reflected these wastes to be varied from a region to region but they were similar in almost all-coastal areas. Most of the litter were plastics including food bags, oil and water bottles, bait bags, and also vehicles tires. Most of pollution occurred from the sea, due to the heavy traffic and to the fishing vessels, which fish in the area.     

Dynamics of hybrid shafts

In this paper the dynamic performance and cross-section deformation of shafts made of metals (steel and aluminum), composites (CFRP and GFRP) and hybrids of metals and composites have been studied. A layered finite degenerated shell element with transverse shear deformation and dynamic behavior is employed. Results obtained show that improvements in dynamic performance and reduction of cross-section deformation of hybrid shafts over metallic and composite shafts are possible.     

Enhancement of free space optical link in heavy rain attenuation using multiple beam concept

Free space optics (FSO) has attracted a lot of attention for a variety of applications in telecommunications area, and it is dream of every researcher and telecommunication society to make it a real alternative solution for the last mile problem, to replace fiber optics. FSO is much preferred because of its low maintenance cost and deployment time. FSO with single-beam system is vulnerable to atmospheric attenuation, so to overcome this, a multiple-beam FSO transceiver system has become prominent and is usually used. In this paper, average rain attenuation is evaluated from the collected rain intensity data which are collected for a period of seven months, and implemented in the study concerning results relating link distance, and received optical power of using multiple-beam FSO system in tropical rainy weather. Comparison is made in terms of received optical power, geometrical losses, atmospheric losses, and bit error rate (BER) on using different number of optical beams, based on simulation at data rate of 1 Gb/s. From the results it is clear that the quality of received power is improved by using up to four beams, along with link distance up to 1141.2 m as compared to one-beam, two-beam, and three-beam, with link distances 833.3 m, 991.0 m, 1075.4 m, respectively.     

Associated Laguerre-Konhauser polynomials, quasi-monomiality and operational identities

In this paper we exploit the monomiality principle to discuss and introduce a new class of Laguerre-Konhauser polynomials. We study their properties (differential equations, generating functions, recurrence relations, expansions and so on), and discuss the link with ordinary case.     

A memetic-based fuzzy support vector machine model and its application to license plate recognition

In this paper, a novel fuzzy support vector machine (FSVM) coupled with a memetic particle swarm optimization (MPSO) algorithm is introduced. Its application to a license plate recognition problem is studied comprehensively. The proposed recognition model comprises linear FSVM classifiers which are used to locate a two-character window of the license plate. A new MPSO algorithm which consists of three layers i.e. a global optimization layer, a component optimization layer, and a local optimization layer is constructed. During the construction process, MPSO performs FSVM parameters tuning, feature selection, and training instance selection simultaneously. A total of 220 real Malaysian car plate images are used for evaluation. The experimental results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed model for undertaking license plate recognition problems.     

Determination of rain attenuation parameters for free space optical link in tropical rain

Free space optics (FSO) is a promising communication technique for various types of services in the optical access network. Single beam FSO system in tropical rainy weather is vulnerable to atmospheric rain attenuation, so it is necessary to have precise power law parameters of rain attenuation in tropical regions. In this study, the power law parameters k, and α are estimated as 2.03 and 0.74, respectively for the FSO applications in tropical South-East Asian weather. These parameters were evaluated by using least square mean equation (LSME) method with Levenberg–Marquardt optimization based on the one year collected heavy rain data. The obtained parameter values for tropical weather are contributed to improve link performance for high-speed networks.     

2-Mercaptobenzotellurazole Derivatives Obtained Using a Mercapto Group

Novel 2-mercaptobenzotellurazole derivatives with different functional groups were obtained using its mercapto group.     

The Influence of Drawing in Hot Water on The Morphological Properties of Pet Films as Measured by DSC and Modulated DSC

PET films uniaxially drawn in hot water are studied by means of conventional DSC and modulated DSC (MDSC).Glass transition is studied by MDSC which allows to access the glass transition temperature T _g and the variations of ΔC _p=C _p1−C _pg (difference between thermal capacity in the liquid-like and glassy states at T=T _g). Variations of T _g with the water content (which act as plasticizer) and with the drawing (which rigidifies the amorphous phase) are discussed with regard to the structure engaged in these materials. The increments of ΔC _p at T _g are also interpreted using a three phases model and the 'strong-fragile’ glass former liquid concept. We show that the ‘fragility’ of the medium increases due to the conjugated effects of deformation and water sorption as soon as a strain induced crystalline phase is obtained. Then, ‘fragility’ decreases drastically with the occurring rigid amorphous phase. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.