Applied Physics

MILPITAS, California, March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- - Appro to Support Renault's Drive for Performance in Formula 1 Racing Appro (http://www.appro.com), a leading provider of high-performance enterprise computing systems, today announced that it has been awarded a contract for a 38TF Appro Xtreme-X(TM) Supercomputer for the ING Renault F1 Team Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Centre, a brand new modern technology-driven research facility designed to place Renault "in the pole position" in Formula 1 competition. This award marks another milestone for Appro's supercomputers in international HPC…

Hardware piracy - making knock-off microchips based on stolen blueprints - has long been a chronic problem in the electronics industry. Computer engineers at the University of Michigan and Rice University have devised a comprehensive way to head off this costly infringement: Each chip would have its own unique lock and key. The patent holder would hold the keys. The chip would securely communicate with the patent-holder to unlock itself, and it could operate only after being unlocked. The technique is called EPIC, short for Ending Piracy of Integrated Circuits. It relies on established…

A national database containing images of ballistic markings from all new and imported guns sold in the U.S. should not be created at this time, says a new report from the National Research Council. Such a database has been proposed to help investigators link ballistics evidence -- cartridge cases or bullets found at crime scenes -- to a firearm and the location where it was originally sold. But given the practical limitations of current technology for generating and comparing images of ballistic markings, searches of such an extensive database would likely produce too many candidate "matches…

DETROIT and LONDON, March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- - New Joint Venture Company is positioned to be a global leader in aerostructures engineering and design - Will be the Preferred Delivery Center, for both organizations, for all aerostructures INCAT, a global leader in engineering services outsourcing (ESO) and product development IT services and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Asia's premier aero structures manufacturer today announced a joint venture creating INCAT-HAL Aerostructures Limited. The new organization is immediately positioned to establish itself as a global leader in the…

Many children with autism have elevated blood levels of serotonin – a chemical with strong links to mood and anxiety. But what relevance this “hyperserotonemia” has for autism has remained a mystery. New research by Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators provides a physical basis for this phenomenon, which may have profound implications for the origin of some autism-associated deficits. In an advance online publication in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Ana Carneiro, Ph.D., and colleagues report that a well-known protein found in blood platelets, integrin beta3, physically…

Computers are commonly used as tools to design and manipulate three-dimensional objects but soon they may provide people with a way to sense the texture of those objects or feel how they fit together, says the creator of a haptic, or touch-based, interface at Carnegie Mellon University. Most haptic interfaces rely on motors and mechanical linkages to provide some sense of touch or force feedback but the device developed by Ralph Hollis, research professor in Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute, uses magnetic levitation and a single moving part to give users a highly realistic experience.…

Penn engineers have developed a model that shows while metals tend to be stronger at nanoscale volumes, their strengths saturate at around 10-50 nanometers diameter, at which point they also become more sensitive to temperature and strain rate. Using this model, they have found that, while metals tend to be stronger at nanoscale volumes, their strengths saturate at around 10-50 nanometers diameter, at which point they also become more sensitive to temperature and strain rate. Such prediction of different strength regimes of nano-solids is important for future application and engineering…

HOLMDEL, New Jersey, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- - Leading Russian Wireless Service Provider Deploys OnePlan Network Resource Planning to Reduce Backhaul Expenses and Strengthen Network for Next Generation Services Call it Wireless 2.0. Seeing their voice service revenues plateau, wireless service providers are bringing a new generation of data services to market in the hopes of invigorating subscriber revenue growth (ARPU). Launching those new services, however, requires providers to strike a perfect balance between adding sufficient backhaul support to ensure a superior quality of experience…

HELSINKI, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- - Wi-Fi Based Real-Time Tracking Used Seamlessly for Both Asset Tracking and Staff Safety Ekahau Inc., a leading provider of Wi-Fi-based Real Time Location Systems (RTLS), today announced the successful completion of a project with Spanish service provider, AT4 wireless to track nursing staff and equipment at the Hospital Alta Resolucion (Benalmadena) in Southern Spain. The hospital, which was recently built to complement the services of a larger neighboring public hospital in Marbella on the Costa del Sol, features some of the latest technological…

Using “virtual peers” -- animated life-sized children that simulate the behaviors and conversation of typically developing children -- Northwestern University researchers are developing interventions designed to prepare children with autism for interactions with real-life children. Justine Cassell, professor of communication studies and electrical engineering and computer science, recently presented a preliminary study on the work at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. “Children with high-functioning autism may be able to give you a lecture on a topic of…