People grasp objects differently depending on what they plan to do with the objects. One hypothesis concerning this tendency is based on the end-state comfort effect, which has been described as a tendency to grasp an object in an uncomfortable way that allows for a more comfortable final posture [1]. Following up on this hypothesis, we sought to introduce quantitative indices of “comfort” base...

where (ai, bj) ∈ R, ν is the commensurable differentiation order,mB and mA are respectively numerator and denominator degrees, with mA > mB for strictly causal systems. Stability of fractional differentiation systems is addressed in the following theorem. Theorem 1.1. (Stability Matignon (1998)). A commensurable transfer function with a commensurable order ν, as in (4), with T and R two coprime...

Stably folded membrane proteins reside in a free energy minimum determined by the interactions of the peptide chains with each other, the lipid bilayer hydrocarbon core, the bilayer interface, and with water. The prediction of three-dimensional structure from sequence requires a detailed understanding of these interactions. Progress toward this objective is summarized in this review by means of...

Fall-induced injuries are increasing more rapidly than demographic changes can account for [1]. The potential effects of a fall include not only injury or death but also fear of further falls (which limits activity and makes the situation worse), depression and other psychological sequelae [2]. The scientific evidence regarding the role physical activity has to play in falls management is confu...

Surface modification at the nanometer scale is a challenge for the future of molecular electronics. In particular, the precise anchoring and electrical addressing of biological scaffolds such as complex DNA nanonetworks is of importance for generating bio-directed assemblies of nano-objects for nanocircuit purposes. Herein, we consider the individual modification of nanoelectrodes with differen...

An embedded-atom potential has been constructed for the intermetallic compound B2-NiAl by fitting to both experimental properties and ab initio data. The ab initio data have been generated in the form of energy-volume relations for a number of alternative structures of NiAl and Ni3Al, as well as for Ni and Al. The potential accurately reproduces the basic lattice properties of B2-NiAl, planar f...

The influence of physical damping on the numerical stability of time integration analysis is an open question since decades ago. In this paper, it is shown that, under specific very general conditions, physical damping can be disregarded when studying the numerical stability. It is also shown that, provided the specific conditions are met, analysis of structural systems involved in extremely hi...

In the context of physical synthesis, large-scale standard-cell placement algorithms must facilitate incremental changes to layout, both local and global. In particular, flexible gate sizing, net buffering and detail placement require a certain amount of unused space in every region of the die. The need for “local” whitespace is further emphasized by temperature and power-density limits as well...

in this study , the physical and mechanical properties of polypropylene composites reinforced with bagasse alkaline-sulfite-anthraquinone, soda-anthraqouinone, monoethanolamine-anthraquinone chemical pulps and mechanical pulp (cmp) known as pulp-plastic compostes (ppc) were investigated and the results were compared among ppcs and with polypropylene composites reinforced with bagasse flour know...

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of surfactant composition on the physical properties of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) containing wheat germ oil (WGO) and to investigate the influence of both surfactant composition and pH on the oxidative stability of WGO encapsulated within the NLCs. The results showed that the smallest particle size (52.7 nm) was related to the NLC with t...