Simulating the dynamics of fluid-cylinder interactions

We present the simulation of the dynamics of fluid-cylinder interactions in a narrow three-dimensional channel filled with a Newtonian fluid, using a Lagrange multiplier based fictitious domain methodology combined with a finite element method and an operator splitting technique. As expected, a settling truncated cylinder turns its broadside perpendicular to the main stream direction and the center of mass moves to the central axis of the channel. In the case of two truncated cylinders, they first move around each other for a while and then stay together in a "T" shape. After the "T" shape has been formed for a long enough time, we found no vortex shedding behind the cylinders. When simulating the fluidization of 60 truncated cylinders, we captured the features of interactions among fluidized cylinders as observed in experiments.     

Insistence—— the Key to Success

When we were young, we might have all kinds of dreams： to become a star, a lawyer, a scientist and so on. These dreams are really nice. When we have a dream, we have the power to help us go ahead.     

The Happiest Day

On Mar.22nd,we went to Shuiyun Valley to plant trees with the volunteers of the Lion Club. The ride was about one hour.Unluckily,it began to rain when we got there.The rain got heavier and heavier,so we sheltered ourselves in a tent.Two hours later,the rain stopped,and we were led to a hill. At the foot of the hill were some spades and saplings.We carried them up the hill.They were so heavy that we couldn't walk very fast.Finally,we arrived at the top where a farmer taught us how to plant trees.First,we need to dig a deep hole.Next,put a tree in the hole and make it stand straight,then cover it with soil.I couldn't wait to try,so I picked up a spade and started working.     

Improving Writing Skills of Thai EFL Students by Recognition of and Compensation for Factors of L 1 to L2 Negative Transfer

In this study, we examined the likelihood of a TAME （extended technology acceptance model）, in which the interrelationships among computer self-efficacy, perceived usefulness, intention to use and self-reported use of computer-mediated technology were tested. In addition, the gender- and age-invariant of its causal structure were evaluated. The data were collected from a self-reported questionnaire administered to 477 administrative staff of a public university in Malaysia. The results of structural equation modeling supported the adequacy of TAME. Although the TAME＇s causal structure was applicable to both male and female staff, age group appeared to moderate the structural relationships among the constructs of interest.     

Genetic analysis of fruit shape traits at different maturation stages in sponge gourd

The fruit shape is important quantitative trait closely related to the fruit quality. However, the genetic model of fruit shapes has not been proposed. Therefore, in the present study, analysis of genetic effects for fruit shape traits （fruit length and fruit perimeter） in sponge gourd was conducted by employing a developmental genetic model including fruit direct effects and maternal effects. Analysis approaches of unconditional and conditional variances were applied to evaluate the genetic behavior of fruit shape traits at economical and physiological maturation times. The results of variance analysis indicated that fruit length and fruit perimeter were simultaneously affected by fruit direct genetic effects and maternal effects. Fruit direct genetic effects were relatively more important for fruit shape traits at whole developmental period. The gene expression was most active at the economical maturation stage （1-12 d after flowering） for two shape traits, and the activation of gene was mostly due to direct dominance effects at physiological maturation stage （13-60 datter flowering）. The coefficients due to different genetic effects, as well as the phenotypic correlation coefficients, varied significantly between fruit shape traits themselves at various maturation stages. The results showed that it was relatively easy to improve fruit shape traits for industrial purpose by carefully selecting the parents at economical maturation stage instead of that at physiological maturation stage.     

Insistence——the Keyto Success

When we were young, we might have all kinds of dreams: to become a star, a lawyer, a scientist and so on. These dreams are really nice. When we have a dream, we have the power to help us goahead. On our way to make our dreams come true, we will meet with …     

A new method in highway route design: joining circular arcs by a single C-Bézier curve with shape parameter

We constructed a single C-Bezier curve with a shape parameter for G^2 joining two circular arcs. It was shown that an S-shaped transition curve, which is able to manage a broader scope about two circle radii than the Bezier curves, has no curvature extrema, while a C-shaped transition curve has a single curvature extremum. Regarding the two kinds of curves, specific algorithms were presented in detail, strict mathematical proofs were given, and the effectiveness of the method was shown by examples This method has the following three advantages： （1） the pattern is unified; （2） the parameter able to adjust the shape of the transition curve is available; （3） the transition curve is only a single segment, and the algorithm can be formulated as a low order equation to be solved for its positive root. These advantages make the method simple and easy to implement.     

Automatic segmentation of bladder in CT images

Segmentation of the bladder in computerized tomography （CT） images is an important step in radiation therapy planning of prostate cancer. We present a new segmentation scheme to automatically delineate the bladder contour in CT images with three major steps. First, we use the mean shift algorithm to obtain a clustered image containing the rough contour of the bladder, which is then extracted in the second step by applying a region-growing algorithm with the initial seed point selected from a line-by-line scanning process. The third step is to refine the bladder contour more accurately using the rolling-ball algorithm. These steps are then extended to segment the bladder volume in a slice-by-slice manner. The obtained results were compared to manual segmentation by radiation oncologists. The average values of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and Hausdorffdistance are 86.5%, 96.3%, 90.5%, 96.5%, and 2.8 pixels, respectively. The results show that the bladder can be accurately segmented.     

Psychological type and undergraduate student achievement in pharmacy course in Military Medical University

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator （MBTI） was given to 264 students in an undergraduate Pharmacy course at a military medical university. Selected MBTI personality types were compared for achievement in the course using a t-test to compare total points earned. High grades were earned by students stronger in the traits of introversion （I） and judgment （J）, whereas the extraverted （E） and perceptive （P） types had the lowest grades and dropped out of the course in the largest numbers. When combinations of MBTI types were compared, the highest grades were earned as follows： IJ 〉 SJ 〉 ST 〉 IS （S： Sensing; T： Thinking; J： Judgment）. This ranking indicates that a sensing personality also has a strong relationship to achievement in this pharmacy course when it is combined with judgment, thinking. Instructors and students need to be aware of the relationship between personality and learning so that they can modify their teaching style and learning behavior to enhance academic achievement.     

Occupant friendly seismic retrofit by concrete plates

Abstract： An innovative occupant friendly retrofitting technique has been developed for reinforced concrete （RC） building structures with hollow brick infill wails used as partition walls which constitute the major portion of the existing building stock in Turkey. The idea is to convert the existing hollow brick infill wall into a load carrying system acting as a cast-in-place RC wall by reinforcing it with relatively thin concrete plates bonded to the mortar coated infill wall by use of tile adhesive and fixed by qb6 （6 mm diameter） bolts. Test parameters were the shape and thickness of the plates, presence of reinforcement in plates, number and arrangement of O6 bolts. It was observed that lateral strength, stiffness, energy dissipation capacity, and ductility of the strengthened infill walls were improved and behaviour was enhanced by the proposed technique. Plates with two different basic shapes were used to strengthen the test specimens.     

HUMBLE OPINIONS ON STYLE

The word STYLE has many meanings, ranging from the way a man lives to the latest cut in women's clothes, or from the women's hairdo to the manner of building. when we speak of some writer's style, we mean the sound his words make on paper. It can refer to anything from the philosophy and personality of the writer to his choice of words and the way he combines clauses into sentences. So we shall aim to work through definitions towards a richer appreciation of what Iiterary style is and how it can best be analysed.     

Social identity and English Language Teaching

The use of language is one of the most important ways for us to build up our social identity and shape other people’s view of who we are. This intimate connection between language and social identity means that learners need the chances to build social identities and explore diversity of the language. This, however, poses a great chal enge to the educational systems and to norms of classroom teaching, which only provide an idealized (and reductionism) view of language. In this paper, I wil first discuss the relationship between language and social identity, and then discuss how this intimate connection should affect our English language teaching.     

Bilateral shear strength of rectangular frame column based on simplified space truss-arch model

To investigate the bilateral shear strength of rectangular frame column subjected to oblique horizontal load, we presented a simplified space truss-arch model developed from unilateral truss-arch model. Main parameters in the new model were the cross-sectional area, transverse reinforcement raito, axial load, and material strength of the column. The reduction coefficient of concrete sterength owing to the severe cracking of column was also introduced in the model. Finally, 14 specimens under oblique horizontal load were tested to verified the feasibility and applicability of the space truss-arch model.     

Simulation of droplet topography on super-hydrophobic surface

We established a novel droplet model (with-gravity model) to show the gravity effect of the droplet in the contact angle experiment.By using with-gravity model, we obtained a three-dimensional topography of the droplet including the height of the droplet, the shape of the baseline and the circumference of the baseline.Comparing the with-gravity model with the ideal spherical model, our model considered the measurement error caused by gravity effect in the contact angle experiment which is a key point to influence the three-dimension topography of the droplet.From the calculation of our model, we found that there were two important points to enhance the measurement error: the size of the droplet and the contact angle.With the droplet and the contact angle became larger, measurement error was obviously increased.     

Some Problems in Nonlinear Dynamic Instability and Bifurcation Theory for Engineering Structures

In civil engineering, the nonlinear dynamic instability of structures occurs at a bifurcation point or a limit point. The instability at a bifurcation point can be analyzed with the theory of nonlinear dynamics, and that at a limit point can be discussed with the theory of elastoplasticity. In this paper, the nonlinear dynamic instability of structures was treated with mathematical and mechanical theories. The research methods for the problems of structural nonlinear dynamic stability were discussed first, and then the criterion of stability or instability of structures, the method to obtain the bifurcation point and the limit point, and the formulae of the directions of the branch solutions at a bifurcation point were elucidated. These methods can be applied to the problems of nonlinear dynamic instability of structures such as reticulated shells, space grid structures, and so on.     

An Exploring Model of Intelligence and Personality in Different Culture

Middle school subjects of 13-2lyears （from 4 nationalities） were used for studying the relationship between progressive cognition and personality characteristics by Raven＇s Standard Progressive Matrices and Eysenk＇s Personality Questionnaire. The results showed： （1） the correlation and stepwise regression were completely identical： P score was negatively related to progressive cognition; E score was positively related to progressive cognition. （2） With the personality characteristics and the personal variables as independent variables, the stepwise regression indicated： E score was the most predictors of progressive cognition, and then was nation, culture degree of mother and father, P, age, sex, mathematics and language achievements.     

Application of automated image analysis to the identification and extraction of recyclable plastic bottles

An experimental machine vision apparatus was used to identify and extract recyclable plastic bottles out of a conveyor belt. Color images were taken with a commercially available Webcam, and the recognition was performed by our homemade software, based on the shape and dimensions of object images. The software was able to manage multiple bottles in a single image and was additionally extended to cases involving touching bottles. The identification was fulfilled by comparing the set of measured features with an existing database and meanwhile integrating various recognition techniques such as minimum distance in the feature space, self-organized maps, and neural networks. The recognition system was tested on a set of 50 different bottles and provided so far an accuracy of about 97% on bottle identification. The extraction of the bottles was performed by means of a pneumatic arm, which was activated according to the plastic type; polyethylene-terephthalate （PET） bottles were left on the conveyor belt, while non-PET bottles were extracted. The software was designed to provide the best compromise between reliability and speed for real-time applications in view of the commercialization of the system at existing recycling plants.     

Gold Nanoparticles of Multiple Shapes Synthesized in L-Tryptophan Aqueous Solution

In this paper, we describe a simple and efficient synthesis of gold nanoparticles(GNPs) of various shapes(spherical, rod-like, hexagonal, truncated triangular, and triangular) using Au(Ⅲ) reduction in aqueous solutions by L-tryptophan. We evaluated the influences of reaction temperature, foreign metal ions Ag(Ⅰ), and surfactants of nonionic(polyethylene glycol, PEG), anionic(sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS), and cationic(cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, CTAB) on GNPs synthesis. We characterized the resultant GNPs using UV–visible adsorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy/high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, selected-area electron diffraction, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. We fabricated the variously sized GNPs by controlling the rate of the reduction of gold ions in aqueous solution by varying the reaction temperature: the higher the temperature, the smaller the gold nanospheres. We found the existence of Ag(Ⅰ) to reinforce the reduction of Au(Ⅲ) and to correspond with the appearance of some amorphous bimetallic Au/Ag nanoparticles. Additionally, we found the presence of surfactants to greatly influence the shape of the formed GNPs, especially the presence of CTAB, which results in the anisotropic growth of gold nanocrystals into hexagonal, truncated triangular, and triangular nanoplates. In addition, with the increase in CTAB concentration, we found the amount of gold nanoplates to first increase and then decrease. Finally, we performed preliminary explorations of the reduction process and morphological evolution to propose possible corresponding reduction and morphological evolution pathways.     

Time domain system identification of unknown initial conditions

System identification is a method for using measured data to create or improve a mathematical model of the object being tested. From the measured data however, noise is noticed at the beginning of the response. One solution to avoid this noise problem is to skip the noisy data and then use the initial conditions as active parameters, to be found by using the system identification process. This paper describes the development of the equations for setting up the initial conditions as active parameters. The simulated data and response data from actual shear buildings were used to prove the accuracy of both the algorithm and the computer program, which include the initial conditions as active parameters. The numerical and experimental model analysis showed that the value of mass, stiffness and frequency were very reasonable and that the computed acceleration and measured acceleration matched very well.