Analysis of interaction between mechanical force and chemical effect in cleaning phenomenon by probability density functional method

Probability density functional method was used to determine whether interaction between mechanical force and chemical action in cleaning was an additive effect, a synergistic effect, or an offsetting effect. As a soiled sample, iron (III) oxide soiled fabric, Sudan IV soiled fabric, commercially available artificial soiled fabric containing mixed stains, etc. were used and washed with a tergotometer. Mean value μ_rl and standard deviation σ_rl of the cleaning force distribution were calculated by using probability density functional method, and the interaction was judged using Δμ_rl which is the difference between μ_rl obtained under the two conditions. As results, additive effects between the mechanical force and the pH effect were confirmed in the cleaning of iron (III) oxide soiled fabric and commercially available artificially soiled fabric, and an additive effect between the mechanical force and the effect of the surfactant concentration was confirmed in the cleaning of Sudan IV soiled fabric. Therefore, it was presumed that an additive effect is often established between the mechanical action and the chemical action in cleaning, rather than a synergistic effect or an offsetting effect.     

The Effects of Structural,Thermal, and Magnetic Properties of Hexylbenzene-Doped MgB<Subscript>2</Subscript> Superconductor

The effects of the amount of hexylbenzene additive (C₁₂H₁₈) on the structural, thermal, and magnetic properties of MgB₂ superconductor are examined in this study. Pure and hexylbenzene-doped MgB₂ bulk samples were produced with in situ solid-state reaction method. X-ray diffraction patterns of MgB₂ doped with MgB₂ and hexylbenzene at different ratios were determined to have MgB₂ as the main phase and consisted of a small amount of MgO. Pure and different ratios of hexylbenzene-doped Mg and B starting powders were heat-treated by a differential scanning calorimeter between room temperature and 800 °C. It was determined from the differential scanning calorimetry curves obtained that the first exothermic peak pointed the MgB₂ phase emerging with a solid–solid (Mg–B) reaction, and this temperature shifted towards the low temperatures as the hexylbenzene addition rates increased. It was observed that there was dependency to the applied field in all samples from the ac susceptibility measurements as a function of the temperature in pure and hexylbenzene-doped MgB₂ superconductor materials, and shift towards the lower temperatures in T _c, superconducting transition temperature, with increasing content. It was observed that the changes occurred in in-phase (\(\chi ^{\prime })\) and out-off-phase (\(\chi ^{\prime \prime }\)) components of ac susceptibility both weakened the MgB₂ phase structure of hexylbenzene content and, as a result of this, led to changes in the pinning mechanism.     

Effects of dietary fat saturation on eicosanoid production, platelet aggregation and blood pressure

The effects of dietary fat saturation on eicosanoid urinary excretion, platelet aggregation (PA) and blood pressure (BP) were studied in 42 healthy subjects. They consumed four consecutive diets differing in their fat saturation [saturated (SFA); monounsaturated (MUFA); polyunsaturated n-6 (PUFA n-6); and polyunsaturated n-6/n-3, (PUFA n-3)]. Each diet period lasted 5 weeks. There were no differences in 24-h 2,3-dinor-6- keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha excretion among dietary periods. A significant effect was noted regarding the excretion of 11-dehydro-thromboxane B2 (P < 0.0001). During the PUFA n-6 phase the excretion was significantly higher than during SFA and MUFA periods. Dietary fatty acid composition had a significant effect on ADP (1 mumolL-1) and collagen (2 mgL-1) induced PA. Dietary fat also had a significant effect on systolic and diastolic blood pressure (P < 0.0001). Both were significantly higher during the SFA period than during the other three periods. Our findings suggest that changes in dietary fatty acids may have mild, but significant, effects on eicosanoid production, platelet aggregation and blood pressure.     

A novel biomarker for hyperglycemia, MRX isolated from hydrolysate of glycated proteins

Long-lived proteins can undergo non-enzymatic glycation to form highly crosslinked structures with characteristic fluorescence during aging and diabetes processes. In this paper, a typical fluorophore, named Maillard reaction product X (MRX), was isolated from the hydrolysate of glycated proteins. MRX could be formed by incubation of bovine serum albumin with glucose, followed by acid hydrolysis. The structure of MRX was determined to be 8-hydroxy-5-methyldihydrothiazolo[3,2-alpha] pyridinium-3-carboxylate. MRX was also found to be formed by the incubation of cysteine and arginine with glucose, followed by hydrolysis. We found the formation of MRX in the recently developed genetically diabetic Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats and compared them with that in the control Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) rats. Significantly higher levels of MRX were observed from the serum (p < 0.005) and urinary protein (p < 0.001) of OLETF rats in comparison with those of LETO rats. MRX must be a potential candidate as a biomarker for hyperglycemia.     

Bicriteria robotic cell scheduling

This paper considers the scheduling problems arising in two- and three-machine manufacturing cells configured in a flowshop which repeatedly produces one type of product and where transportation of the parts between the machines is performed by a robot. The cycle time of the cell is affected by the robot move sequence as well as the processing times of the parts on the machines. For highly flexible CNC machines, the processing times can be changed by altering the machining conditions at the expense of increasing the manufacturing cost. As a result, we try to find the robot move sequence as well as the processing times of the parts on each machine that not only minimize the cycle time but, for the first time in robotic cell scheduling literature, also minimize the manufacturing cost. For each 1-unit cycle in two- and three-machine cells, we determine the efficient set of processing time vectors such that no other processing time vector gives both a smaller cycle time and a smaller cost value. We also compare these cycles with each other to determine the sufficient conditions under which each of the cycles dominates the rest. Finally, we show how different assumptions on cost structures affect the results.     

Antibacterial activated carbon fibre derived from phenolic resin fibre by use of co-graftpolymerization

Phenolic-resin fibre was co-graftpolymerized with methyl methacrylate and methacrylic acid. The weight of the fibre increased by 26% after grafting. The grafted fibre was soaked in silvernitrate solution to introduce silver ion on methacrylic acid in the graft by an ion-exchange reaction, followed by carbonization at 900 °C for 30 min under a nitrogen stream and activation at 900 °C under a steam stream. After activation for 40 min, the resulting fibre showed a silver content of 8.3 wt% a specific surface area of 1300 m²g^–1 and antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The average crystallite size of the silver in this fibre was 30 nm, which suggests co-graftpolymerization is a useful technique to disperse fine silver particles in the activated carbon fibre. After soaking in flowing tap water for 10 and 20 days, this activated carbon fibre lost about 50 wt% of silver but kept its antibacterial activity.     

Randomized trial comparing three forms of pelvic floor repair for neuropathic faecal incontinence

A randomized controlled trial in women with neuropathic faecal incontinence compared total pelvic floor repair (n = 12) with anterior levatorplasty and sphincter plication alone (n = 12) and postanal repair alone (n = 12). Review at 6 and 24 months indicated that results were significantly better for total pelvic floor repair than either of the other procedures. Complete continence was achieved in eight of the 12 patients 2 years after total pelvic floor repair. Only total repair significantly elongated the anal canal. Both total pelvic floor repair and anterior levatorplasty improved sensation in the upper anal canal.     

Observer-based robust control giving consideration to transient behaviour for linear systems with

In this paper, we present an observer-based controller design method which achieves performance robustness together with robust stability for linear multivariable systems with structured uncertainties. The performance robustness means that the deterioration of control performance is suppressed when we compare the transient behaviour for the uncertain system with a desired one generated by using the nominal system directly and at the same time excessive control input is avoided. In this approach, we adopt a similar way to the model-following technique and assume that the control law consists of a state feedback law for the nominal system and a compensation input for the purpose of preventing the error between the transient behaviour for the uncertain system and the desired one. The compensation input is additional modification term given by feedback form of an estimated error signal and is determined so that an upper bound of a quadratic cost function for the error system between the real trajectory for the plant and the desired one is minimized. We show that a condition for the existence of the compensation input which minimizes an upper bound of the quadratic cost function for the error system is given in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Finally, numerical examples are presented.     

A Comparison Study of Moving Object Index Structures

The task of selecting the most appropriate method for indexing the data according to application requires a careful comparison study of indices of interests. In particular, we consider object movements by tracing their trajectories within a predefined road network. MV3DR-tree and 3DR-tree constitute our first group indexing the objects moving in free movement scenarios. Besides, Mapping and MON-tree are the second group indexing the locations of objects moving over a network of road. Those access methods mainly organize a group of R-tree in order to index the underlying road network and the object movements. Our goal in this study is to evaluate existing proposals under fair circumstances with respect to storage consumption and spatio-temporal query execution performance. In our comparisons, we discuss the structure’s sensibility to query’s spatial and/or temporal extent as well as the tradeoff arising between two groups in terms of reliability and disk access performance. We believe that revealing the vulnerabilities of the selected structures, especially Mapping and MON-tree motivates us to design more robust organizations.     

Robust ride comfort control of vehicles without measurements of tire deflection

In this article, a robust ride comfort control scheme for vehicles is proposed in which measurements of the tire deflections are not required. The controller has the property that we can specify a location where the ride comfort will be best. To achieve this end, an estimator for the tire deflections and the road disturbances is proposed. Next, a combined ideal vehicle is designed. In the ideal vehicle, the location where ride comfort will be best can be moved by setting only one design parameter. Finally, a robust tracking controller is developed so that a real vehicle tracks the motion of the combined ideal vehicle.