Search results for "CKS"
showing 10 items of 611 documents
Passive properties of lean duplex stainless steels after long-term ageing in air studied using EBSD, AES, XPS and local electrochemical impedance spe…
2013
Abstract Passivity of duplex stainless steel was studied after long-term ageing in air using local electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, AES, XPS and EBSD. After mechanical polishing, the passive film was homogeneous and had a capacitive behaviour described by the CPE. After long-term ageing, a small thickening was detected and O2−/OH− was significantly higher in the austenite than in the ferrite. Austenite behaved as a blocking electrode whereas two capacitive loops were observed in the ferrite (low value of O2−/OH). The loop at high frequencies was related with the oxygen reduction and the loop at low frequencies was connected with the passive film.
Automation of Optimized Gabor Filter Parameter Selection for Road Cracks Detection
2016
International audience; Automated systems for road crack detection are extremely important in road maintenance for vehicle safety and traveler's comfort. Emerging cracks in roads need to be detected and accordingly repaired as early as possible to avoid further damage thus reducing rehabilitation cost. In this paper, a robust method for Gabor filter parameters optimization for automatic road crack detection is discussed. Gabor filter has been used in previous literature for similar applications. However, there is a need for automatic selection of optimized Gabor filter parameters due to variation in texture of roads and cracks. The problem of change of background, which in fact is road text…
Estimation of Vegetation Structure Parameters From SMAP Radar Intensity Observations
2021
In this article, we present a multipolarimetric estimation approach for two model-based vegetation structure parameters (shape A and orientation distribution ψ of the main canopy elements). The approach is based on a reduced observation set of three incoherent (no phase information) polarimetric backscatter intensities (|S HH | 2 , |S HV | 2 , and |S VV | 2 ) combined with a two-parameter (A P and ψ) discrete scatterer model of vegetation. The objective is to understand whether this confined set of observations contains enough information to estimate the two vegetation structure parameters from the L-band radar signals. In order to disentangle soil and vegetation scattering influences on th…
Passive RFID Strain-Sensor Based on Meander-Line Antennas
2011
The processing of backscattered signals coming from RFID tags is potentially useful to detect the physical state of the tagged object. It is here shown how to design a completely passive UHF RFID sensor for strain monitoring starting from a flexible meander-line dipole whose shape factor and feed section are engineered to achieve the desired sensing resolution and dynamic range. This class of devices is low-cost, promises sub-millimeter resolution and may found interesting applications in the Structural Health Monitoring of damaged structures and vehicles as well as during extreme and adverse events.
Low Latency Ambient Backscatter Communications with Deep Q-Learning for Beyond 5G Applications
2020
Low latency is a critical requirement of beyond 5G services. Previously, the aspect of latency has been extensively analyzed in conventional and modern wireless networks. With the rapidly growing research interest in wireless-powered ambient backscatter communications, it has become ever more important to meet the delay constraints, while maximizing the achievable data rate. Therefore, to address the issue of latency in backscatter networks, this paper provides a deep Q-learning based framework for delay constrained ambient backscatter networks. To do so, a Q-learning model for ambient backscatter scenario has been developed. In addition, an algorithm has been proposed that employ deep neur…
Tick-borne pathogens in Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from migratory birds in southern Norway
2020
Birds are important hosts for the first life stages of the Ixodes ricinus tick and they can transport their parasites over long distances. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Neoehrlichia mikurensis and Rickettsia helvetica in ticks collected from migratory birds in Norway. A total of 815 Ixodes ricinus ticks from 216 birds trapped at Lista Bird Observatory in southern Norway during spring and autumn migration in 2008 were analysed by real-time PCR. B. burgdorferi s. l. was the most prevalent pathogen, detected in 6.1% of the ticks. The prevalence of N. mikurensis, A. phagocytophilum and R. helvetica was 1.2%…
A photovoltaic charging system of an electrically assisted tricycle for touristic purposes
2013
In this paper the design, realization and testing of a photovoltaic charging system suitable for the management of an electrically power assisted tricycle are described. This vehicle uses a photovoltaic module as a source of electric energy for the battery recharging. In this work, an overview on the needs of sustainable mobility and on the commercial electrically power assisted velocipedes is presented. The electrical rickshaw prototype, developed in the SDELab laboratory of the University of Palermo, is presented in detail, underlining the design, implementation and developing phases of the photovoltaic charging system assembled on the velocipede. Moreover, tests oriented on the setting u…
TORC1 coordinates the conversion of Sic1 from a target to an inhibitor of cyclin-CDK-Cks1
2017
Eukaryotic cell cycle progression through G(1)-S is driven by hormonal and growth-related signals that are transmitted by the target of rapamycin complex 1 (TORC1) pathway. In yeast, inactivation of TORC1 restricts G(1)-S transition due to the rapid clearance of G(1) cyclins (Cln) and the stabilization of the B-type cyclin (Clb) cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor Sic1. The latter mechanism remains mysterious but requires the phosphorylation of Sic1-Thr(173) by Mpk1 and inactivation of the Sic1-pThr(173)-targeting phosphatase (PP2A(Cdc55)) through greatwall kinase-activated endosulfines. Here we show that the Sic1-pThr(173) residue serves as a specific docking site for the CDK phospho-a…
Experimental study of electrical FitzHugh-Nagumo neurons with modified excitability
2006
International audience; We present an electronical circuit modelling a FitzHugh-Nagumo neuron with a modified excitability. To characterize this basic cell, the bifurcation curves between stability with excitation threshold, bistability and oscillations are investigated. An electrical circuit is then proposed to realize a unidirectional coupling between two cells, mimicking an inter-neuron synaptic coupling. In such a master-slave configuration, we show experimentally how the coupling strength controls the dynamics of the slave neuron, leading to frequency locking, chaotic behavior and synchronization. These phenomena are then studied by phase map analysis. The architecture of a possible ne…
Evidence for a dysfunction and disease-promoting role of the circadian clock in the diabetic retina.
2021
Diabetic retinopathy is a major complication of chronic hyperglycemia and a leading cause of blindness in developed countries. In the present study the interaction between diabetes and retinal clocks was investigated in mice. It was seen that in the db/db mouse - a widely used animal model of diabetic retinopathy - clock function and circadian regulation of gene expression was disturbed in the retina. Remarkably, elimination of clock function by Bmal1-deficiency mitigates the progression of pathophysiology of the diabetic retina. Thus high-fat diet was seen to induce histopathology and molecular markers associated with diabetic retinopathy in wild type but not in Bmal1-deficient mice. The d…