Crossover enhancements in GEFREX

This letter describes some improvements to the crossover operator in the genetic-neuro-fuzzy algorithm called genetic fuzzy rule extractor (GEFREX). Although, the new crossovers studied are very simple, the performance of GEFREX, in terms of learning time, is decidedly improved.     

Switching supervisory control based on controller falsification and closed-loop performance inference

The paper addresses two of the basic issues of switching supervisory control (SSC): controller falsification (CF) and inference of candidate loop behaviour (ICLB). CF is approached as a statistical fault detection problem in that the currently operating controller is falsified as soon as a divergence trend is detected. This is achieved by considering a statistic (or residual) in the form of a ratio of closed-loop variables, and the falsification test is carried out by comparing at each time the ratio statistic with a threshold. It is constructively shown that the thresholds can be fixed, irrespective of the disturbance intensity, in such a way that faults are detected with probability one while probability of false alarms can be made as small as we wish. The ICLB issue is approached by the virtual reference approach. This allows one to obtain an inference of the performance of a candidate loop via a mean-square average of suitably filtered prediction errors. It is shown how a supervisory logic can be built by combining the results on CF with those on ICLB.     

Traumatic brain injury and memory: The role of hippocampal atrophy.

In traumatically brain-injured (TBI) patients (n?=?83), memory performance was examined on the Warrington Recognition Memory Test, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure, and the Logical Memory and Visual Reproduction subtests of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised in relationship to time postinjury and structural changes based on MRI volumetry, including hippocampus volume. Significant trauma-induced changes were observed, including hippocampal atrophy. Structure-function relationships generally became significant only after 90 days postinjury. Memory tended to relate more to the degree of hippocampal atrophy, particularly left hippocampus, than to nonspecific indicators such as the temporal horns or the ventricle-to-brain ratio. A stronger relationship with left versus right hippocampus was evident for measures of verbal and supposedly nonverbal memory. These results are discussed with regard to the role the hippocampus may play in a neural system of memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

BIODEGRADATION PROCESS ANALYSIS BY ULTRAFILTRATION

Detailed analysis of biological processes for hazardous waste-water treatment presents extreme difficulty. Complexity of organic and inorganic solute mixtures in solution prohibits GC-MS analysis. Gross parameters must be used to monitor treatment process performance. Ultrafiltration, coupled with gross parameter estimation, provides enhanced definition of treatment. Results, employed to monitor in-situ biodegradation of a hazardous landfill leachate, are discussed.     

Thioglycollate-elicited murine macrophages are cytotoxic to Mycoplasma arginini-infected YAC-1 tumor cells

We describe a collective episode of psychogenic illness in an indigenous group (Embera) of Colombia, geographically isolated from its native homeland and surrounded by non-indigenous settlers. The condition, which affected three young adult men and six adolescent women, was attributed by them to a spell (maleficio). It was designated as ataques de locura (madness attacks) according to their traditional medical system; and as a conversive disorder with dissociative features by psychiatrists. Different therapeutic approaches, including antipsychotic medication, religious healers and traditional herbal remedies were unsuccessful. Contact with shamans of the same ethnic origin, on the other hand, proved to be an effective way of dealing with the symptoms. We interpret the situation as an expression of psychosocial stress secondary to cultural change. This medical problem bears close resemblance to other specific culture-bound syndromes such as ataques de nervios or possession syndromes and gives clues to ways of dealing with psychogenic expressions of cultural stress.     

Signatures: A language extension for improving type abstraction and subtype polymorphism in C++

C++ uses inheritance as a substitute for subtype polymorphism. We give examples where this makes the type system too inflexible. We then describe a conservative language extension that allows a programmer to define an abstract type hierarchy independent of any implementation hierarchies, to retroactively abstract over an implementation, and to decouple subtyping from inheritance. This extension gives the user more of the flexibility of dynamic typing while retaining the efficiency and security of static typing. With default implementations and views flexible mechanisms are provided for implementing an abstract type by different concrete class types. We first show how the language extension can be implemented in a preprocessor to a C++ compiler, and then detail and analyse the efficiency of an implementation we directly incorporated in the GNU C++ compiler.     

Meal-generated oxidative stress in type 2 diabetic patients

OBJECTIVE: Free radical production has been reported to be increased in diabetic patients and to be involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications. In this study, a standardized meal was administered to 10 type 2 diabetic patients and 10 healthy matched normal subjects to evaluate its effects on plasma oxidative stress generation. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In diabetic patients, at baseline and after the meal, plasma malondialdehyde (MDA), vitamin C, protein SH groups, uric acid, vitamin E, and total plasma radical-trapping parameter, which evaluates plasma antioxidant capacity due to known and unknown antioxidants present in the plasma as well as their mutual cooperation, were measured. RESULTS: After the meal, plasma MDA and vitamin C increased, while protein SH groups, uric acid, vitamin E, and total plasma radical-trapping parameter decreased more significantly in the diabetic subjects than in control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: This finding shows that in the absorptive phase, free radicals are produced in diabetic patients. Since plasma glucose, but not insulin, rose significantly more in diabetic subjects than in control subjects, hyperglycemia may play an important role in the generation of postprandial oxidative stress in diabetic patients.     

Comparison of ultraviolet femtosecond and nanosecond laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis in glass, monazite, and zircon

We compared the analytical performance of ultraviolet femtosecond and nanosecond laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS). The benefit of ultrafast lasers was evaluated regarding thermal-induced chemical fractionation, that is otherwise well known to limit LA-ICPMS. Both lasers had a Gaussian beam energy profile and were tested using the same ablation system and ICPMS analyzer. Resulting crater morphologies and analytical signals showed more straightforward femtosecond laser ablation processes, with minimal thermal effects. Despite a less stable energy output, the ultrafast laser yielded elemental (Pb/U, Pb/Th) and Pb isotopic ratios that were more precise, repeatable, and accurate, even when compared to the best analytical conditions for the nanosecond laser. Measurements on NIST glasses, monazites, and zircon also showed that femtosecond LA-ICPMS calibration was less matrix-matched dependent and therefore more versatile.     

An Optical Thermometer Exploiting Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate for Monitoring the Pantographs of High-Speed Trains

Optical thermometers have been widely investigated. Here, the temperature behavior of second harmonic generation (SHG) in periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) substrates is analyzed; indeed, the QPM tuning in PPLN devices and the obtained SHG efficiency depend on the crystal thermal expansion and dispersion, particularly in the case of guided propagation. Therefore, such devices are suitable to realize optical thermometers for demanding applications. This investigation originated with the request of a thermometer to be installed on the pantographs of high-speed trains. Therefore, it must be sturdy and reliable, but it has even to work in an EMD environment. The temperature behavior of the SHG was theoretically modeled and experimentally validated at 1550 nm, in both bulk propagation and APE channel waveguides. In the first case, by using a 10-mW source, which was obtained from a laser diode and a fiber amplifier, an accuracy of 0.3 degC was found. The pump power was about three orders of magnitude smaller in guided propagation. In view of testing on the trains, our investigation resulted in the design of a device without mechanical contacts with the input and output fibers. Since it works in free propagation, there are no serious alignment and packaging problems. The performances, which are expected to be the same of our tests, widely satisfy all the requirements for working effectively in a strongly hostile and EMD environment and for giving accurate measurements on a wide range of temperatures     

Dissimilar Resistance Spot Welding of Q&P and TWIP Steel Sheets

Dissimilar resistance spot welding of twinning induced plasticity (TWIP) and quenching and partitioning (Q&P) steel grades has been investigated by evaluating the effects of clamping force, welding current, and welding time on the microstructure, shear tension strength, and fracture of welded samples. The spot welding of TWIP and Q&P steels promotes the occurrence of an asymmetrical weld nugget with a greater dilution of TWIP steel because of its lower melting temperature and thermal conductivity. As a result, weld nuggets exhibit an austenitic microstructure. TWIP steel undergoes a grain coarsening in the HAZ, whereas Q&P steel undergoes some phase transformations. Welded samples tend to exhibit higher shear tension strength as they are joined at the highest welding current, even though an improper clamping force can promote excessive metal expulsion, thereby reducing the mechanical strength of the welded joints. Shear tension welded samples failed through interfacial fracture with partial thickness fracture mode for a low welding current, while partial thickness with button pull fractures were observed when a high welding current was used. The weld spots predominantly failed at the TWIP side. However, as TWIP steel can work harden significantly in the more resistant welded joints, the failures occur, instead, at the Q&P side.