Using response surface design to determine the optimal parameters of genetic algorithm and a case study

Genetic algorithms (GAs) are efficient stochastic search techniques for approximating optimal solutions within complex search spaces and used widely to solve NP-hard problems. Genetic algorithm includes a number of parameters whose different levels strictly affect the performance of the algorithm. The general approach to determine the appropriate parameter combination of GA depends on too many trials of different combinations, and the best one of them that produces good results is selected for the programme, which would be used for problem solving. A few researchers studied on the parameter optimisation of GA. In this paper, response surface-dependent parameter optimisation is proposed to determine the optimal parameters of GA. Results are tested for benchmark problems that are most common in mixed-model assembly line balancing problems of type-I.     

Densification behavior and mechanical properties of spark plasma-sintered ZrC–TiC and ZrC–TiC–CNT composites

Titanium carbide (TiC) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were introduced into zirconium carbide (ZrC) ceramics to improve the fracture toughness. ZrC–TiC and ZrC–TiC–CNT composites containing 0–30 vol.% TiC and 0.25–1 mass% CNT were prepared by spark plasma sintering at temperatures of 1750–1850 °C for 300 s under a pressure of 40 MPa. Densification behavior, microstructure, and mechanical properties of the ZrC-based composites were investigated. Fully dense ZrC–TiC and ZrC–TiC–CNT composites with a relative density of more than 98 % were obtained. Vickers hardness of ZrC-based composites increased with increasing TiC content and the highest hardness was achieved with the addition of 20 vol.% TiC. Addition of CNTs up to 0.5 wt% significantly increased the fracture toughness of ZrC-based composites, whereas the addition of TiC did not have this effect.     

Effects of some drugs on hepatic glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in Lake Van fish (Chalcalburnus tarischii Pallas, 1811)

Inhibitory effects of some drugs on hepatic glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase from Lake Van fish (chalcalburnus tarischii pallas, 1811) were investigated. For this purpose, initially liver glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase was purified 899-fold in a yield of 46.24% by using 2',5'-ADP Sepharose 4B affinity gel. In order to control the purification of enzyme was done SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed a single band for enzyme. A constant temperature (+4 degrees C) was maintained during the purification process. Enzyme activity was determined with the Beutler method by using a spectrophotometer at 340 nm. Vankomycine, sulfanylamide, sulfanylacetamide, nidazole, ciprofloxacin, amoxicillin and KMnO(4) were used as drugs. These drugs exhibited inhibitory effects on the enzyme. IC(50) values of vankomycine, sulfanylamide, sulfanylacetamide, nidazole, ciprofloxacin, amoxicillin and KMnO(4) were 1.88, 0.037, 0.032, 1.178, 2.26, 643.5 and 0.0002 mM, and the K(i) constants 1.18+/-0.148, 0.119+/-0.021, 0.075+/-0.015, 1.15+/-0.21, 7.69+/-0.67, 1007+/-69, and 0.001+/-0.00022 mM, respectively. While vankomycine and nidazole showed competitive inhibition, others displayed noncompetitive inhibition. K(i) constants and IC(50) values for drugs were determined by Lineweaver-Burk graphs and plotting activity percentage versus [I], respectively.     

Improving UDP performance using intermediate QoD‐aware hop system for wired/wireless multimedia communication systems

Multimedia communication in wireless networks is challenging due to the inherent complexity and constraints of multimedia data. To reduce the high bandwidth requirement of video streaming, videos are compressed by exploiting spatial and temporal redundancy, thus yielding dependencies among frames as well as within a frame. Unnecessary transmission and maintenance of useless packets in the buffers cause further loss and degrade the quality of delivery (QoD) significantly. In this paper, we propose a QoD‐aware hop system that can decide when and which packets could be dropped without degrading QoD. Moreover, the transmission of useless packets causes network congestion and vain payment by the wireless system subscriber. In this paper, we focus on two types of frame discarding policies to maintain QoD: partial frame discarding policy (PFD) and early frame discarding policy (EFD). PFD policy discards the succeeding packets of a frame if a packet of the frame cannot be served. On the other hand, in EFD policy, when it is likely to fail to serve packets of a frame (based on a threshold) the subsequent packets of the frame are discarded. We first provide an analytical study of average buffer occupancy based on these discarding policies and show the closed‐form expressions for average buffer occupancy. We then perform our simulations by implementing a Markovian model and measure the frameput (the ratio of number of frames served) rather than the number of packets served. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A fuzzy controller design for nuclear research reactors using the particle swarm optimization algorithm

In this paper, a closed-loop fuzzy logic controller based on the particle swarm optimization algorithm is proposed for controlling the power level of nuclear research reactors. The principle of the fuzzy logic controller is based on the rules constructed from numerical experiments made by means of a computer code for the core dynamics calculation and from human operator's experience and knowledge. In addition to these intuitive and experimental design efforts, consequent parts of the fuzzy rules are optimally (or near optimally) determined using the particle swarm optimization algorithm. The contribution of the proposed algorithm to a reactor control system is investigated in details. The performance of the controller is also tested with numerical simulations in numerous operating conditions from various initial power levels to desired power levels, as well as under disturbance. It is shown that the proposed control system performs satisfactorily under almost all operating conditions, even in the case of very small initial power levels.     

Removal of cationic dye from aqueous solution by adsorption onto crosslinked poly(4-vinylpyridine/crotonic acid) and its N-oxide derivative

In this study, crosslinked poly(4-vinylpyridine/crotonic acid) [poly(4-VPy/CrA)] and its N-oxide derivative were synthesized to compare the adsorption of cationic methylene blue (MB) dye on these materials. The adsorptive removal of MB from aqueous solution onto adsorbents was studied by using column adsorption method. Experimental results showed that MB was removed more effective by poly(4-VPy/CrA)–N-oxide than poly(4-VPy/CrA) resins. The percentage removal of MB increased with pH, and it was observed that basic pH was favorable for the adsorption of MB. The adsorption capacity for poly(4-VPy/CrA)–N-oxide resin was found to 19.96 mg/g. It was found that the adsorption isotherm of the MB-fitted Langmuir-type isotherm. For the adsorption of MB, the pseudo-second-order chemical reaction kinetics provides the best correlation with the experimental data. Ten adsorption–desorption cycles demonstrated that the resins were suitable for repeated use without considerable change in adsorption capacity.     

From Metalloligand to Extended 3D Network: Synthesis, Crystal Structure and Magnetic Property of {[Cu(en)2][Cu(μ3-pydc)2]·6H2O}n

A novel 2D coordination polymer, {[Cu(en)₂][Cu(μ₃-pydc)₂]·6H₂O} _n (1) pyridine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid (pydcH₂); ethylenediamine (en), based on the metalloligand [Cu(μ-pydcH)₂] _n , has been prepared and characterized by IR, UV–Vis and ESR spectroscopy, thermal analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and single crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. The temperature dependent magnetic properties have also been studied. The pydc ligand exhibits tetradentate-μ₃ bridging mode, being coordinated through three carboxylate oxygens and one nitrogen atom. The complex contains two copper(II) ions that exhibit two different coordination environment with two en and two pydc ligands. The single crystal structure shows that the complex forms a 3D framework with 2D layers along the c-axis. Van der Waals interactions are responsible for the self-assembly of the layer into a 3D network.     

Experimental and theoretical studies of thiazoles as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel in sulphuric acid solution

The inhibition effects of 2-amino-5-mercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole (2A5MT) and 2-mercaptothiazoline (2MT) on mild steel corrosion in 1.0 M H₂SO₄ were studied with potentiodynamic polarization, linear polarization resistance and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. It was shown that both 2A5MT and 2MT act as good corrosion inhibitors for mild steel protection. The high inhibition efficiencies were attributed to the simple blocking effect by adsorption of inhibitor molecules on the steel surface. The effects of the presence of extra NH₂ group and N atom in 2A5MT on the ability to act as corrosion inhibitors were investigated by theoretical calculations.     

Air permeability of electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanoweb

Ultrafine fibers were spun from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) solution in N,N‐dimethylformamide using a homemade electrospinning setup. Fibers with diameter ranging from 80 to 340 nm were obtained. Fiber size and fiber size distribution were investigated for various concentration, applied voltage, and tip‐to‐collector distance using image analysis. The diameters of the electrospun fibers increase when increasing the solution concentration and decrease slightly when increasing the voltage and needle tip‐to‐collector distance. Porosity and air permeability are vital properties in applications of electrospun nanofibrous structures. In this study, effects of process parameters on the porosity and air permeability of electrospun nanoweb were investigated as well. Results of statistical analysis showed that solution concentration and applied voltage have significant influences on pore diameters. It was concluded that nanofiber diameter played an important role on the diameter of pores formed by the intersections of nanofibers. A more realistic understanding of porosity was obtained and a quantitative relationship between nanoweb parameters and its air permeability was established by regression analysis. Two separate models were constructed for predicting air permeability in relation to process parameters. Optimization of electrospinning process for producing nanoweb with desirable air permeability is well achieved by these models. The models presented in this study are of high importance for their ability to predict the air permeability of PAN nanoweb both by process or structure parameters. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from white-brined Urfa cheese

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of Staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) genes in Urfa cheese samples and to characterize the enterotoxigenic potential of these isolates. From a total of 127 Urfa cheese samples, 53 isolates (from 41.7% of the samples) were identified by a species-specific PCR assay as S. aureus. Of these isolates, 40 (75.5%) gave positive PCR results for the 3' end of the coa gene. The coa-positive S. aureus strains were characterized for their population levels and enterotoxigenic properties, including slime factor, β-lactamase, antibiotic susceptibilities, production of the classical SEs (SEA through SEE), in both cheese and liquid cultures by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and for the presence of specific genes, including classical SE genes (sea through see), mecA, femA, and spa, by PCR. The genetic relatedness among the coa-positive S. aureus isolates was investigated by PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and the 23S rRNA gene spacer. The 23S rRNA gene spacer and coa RFLP analysis using AluI and Hin6I revealed 14 different patterns. SEB, SEC, and SEA and SEE were detected by ELISA in three cheese samples. Fourteen S. aureus strains harbored enterotoxin genes sea through see, and three strains carried multiple toxin genes. The most commonly detected toxin gene was sec (25% of tested strains). Of the 40 analyzed S. aureus strains, 3 (7.5%) were mecA positive. Based on tandem repeats, four coa and spa types were identified. The results of this study indicate that S. aureus and SEs are present at significant levels in Urfa cheese. These toxins can cause staphylococcal food poisoning, creating a serious hazard for public health.