Design of FLC for high-angle-of-attack flight using adaptive evolutionary algorithm

In this paper, a new methodology of evolutionary computations - An Adaptive Evolutionary Algorithm (AEA) is proposed. AEA uses a genetic algorithm (GA) and an evolution strategy (ES) in an adaptive manner in order to take merits of two different evolutionary computations : global search capability of GA and local search capability of ES. In the reproduction procedure, the proportions of the population by GA and ES are udaptively modulated according to the fitness. AEA is used for designing fuzzy logic controller (FLC) for a high-angle-of-attack flight system for a super-maneuverable version of F-18 aircraft. AEA is used to determine the membership functions and scaling factors of an FLC. The computer simulation results show that the FLC has met both robustness and performance requirements.     

The effect of phosphate treatment on nickel dispersion on MCM-41 mesoporous material

The incorporation of nickel into mesoporous molecular sieves MCM-41 was carried out. Ni-PO/MCM41 and Ni-C1/MCM41 were prepared by using Ni(II) acetate solution adjusted to pH=2.5 with phosphoric acid and hydrochloric acid, respectively, by the incipient wetness method. Photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) was used to study the local environments of Ni(II) incorporated into mesopores. The PAS of as-prepared Ni/MCM41, Ni-Cl/MCM41, and Ni-PO/MCM41 with Ni(II) acetate solution exhibits two bands of λ_max around 400 nm and 750 nm, which could be assigned to the³A_2g→³T_lg(F) and the³A_2g→³T_lg(P) transition of octahedral Ni(II) species. After calcination, Ni ion within Ni-PO/MCM41 dispersed atomically onto the surface of MCM-41 channel as an octahedral species without the transformation to nickel oxide phase, while Ni ion within Ni-Cl/MCM41 and Ni/MCM41 transformed to nickel oxide phase. It may be attributed to the fact that each Ni ion is separated by the phosphate grafted to surface silanol group. The effects of phosphoric acid on the dispersity of Ni ion within MCM-41 have been investigated using³¹P and²⁹Si MAS NMR spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.     

Performance study of a falling-film absorber with a film-inverting configuration

This paper describes the development of a novel film-inverting design concept for falling-film absorbers. The solid surface of the absorber is segmented so that both surfaces of the falling-film are alternatively cooled in a periodic manner. A conventional tubular absorber is modified by introducing film-guiding fins between tubes to produce a film-inverting arrangement. A maximum increase in vapour absorption rate of about 100% is obtained with the film-inverting design compared to the tubular absorber. The numerical simulation indicates that the vapour absorption rate can be increased by using a large number of film-inverting segments in the absorber.     

A dispatching method for automated guided vehicles by using a bidding concept

A dispatching method is suggested for automated guided vehicles by using an auction algorithm. The dispatching method in this study is different from traditional dispatching rules in that it looks into the future for an efficient assignment of delivery tasks to vehicles and also in that multiple tasks are matched with multiple vehicles. The dispatching method in this study is distributed in the sense that the dispatching decisions are made through communication among related vehicles and machines. The theoretical rationale behind the distributed dispatching method is also discussed. Through a simulation study, the performance of the method is compared with that of a popular dispatching rule. RID="*" ID="*" The research was financially supported by the Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from The Japan Science Society. The original version of the simulation program is provided by Professor Jae Yeon Kim at Dong Yang University, Korea. Correspondence to: J. K. Lim     

Isosurfaces as deformable models for magnetic resonance angiography

Vascular disease produces changes in lumenal shape evident in magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). However, quantification of vascular shape from MRA is problematic due to image artifacts. Prior deformable models for vascular surface reconstruction primarily resolve problems of initialization of the surface mesh. However, initialization can be obtained in a trivial manner for MRA using isosurfaces. We propose a methodology for deforming the isosurface to conform to the boundaries of objects in the image with minimal a priori assumptions of object shape. As in conventional methods, external forces attract the surface toward edges in the image. However, smoothing is produced by a moment that aligns the normals of adjacent surface triangles. Notably, the moment produces no translational motion of surface triangles. The deformable isosurface was applied to a digital phantom of a stenotic artery, to MRA of three renal arteries with atherosclerotic disease and MRA of one carotid artery with atherosclerotic disease. Results of the surface reconstruction from the deformable model were compared with conventional X-ray angiography for the renal arteries. Measurement of the degree of stenosis of the renal arteries was within 12% +/- 6%. The deformable model provided improvements over the isosurface in all cases in terms of measurement of the degree of stenosis or improving the surface smoothness.     

Use of a water-soluble fullerene derivative as precipitating reagent and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization matrix to selectively detect charged species in aqueous solutions

A starlike water-soluble fullerene derivative, hexa(sulfonbutyl)fullerene (C60[(CH2)4SO3-]6; HSBF), consisting of a C60 cage covalently bonded with six negatively charged sulfonate arms, was synthesized and used to selectively precipitate positively charged surfactants, amino acids, peptides, and proteins. The affinity of HSBF to the analytes depends on the charge, structure, and hydrophobic characteristics of the analytes. The ion pair precipitate was easily removed from the solution by centrifugation. After washing, the precipitate was redissolved in the solvent or buffer solution and the analyte was characterized by laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LD-TOF). HSBF shows strong optical absorbance in the UV range, so no additional organic matrix was required to conduct LD-TOF analysis of small analytes. For the solution that contained five quaternary amines differing only in alkyl chain length, HSBF exhibits the highest affinity to the amine with the longest alkyl chain. Only the arginine signal was detected from the solution that contained 14 amino acids. The peptides with arginine as the end groups interacted most strongly with HSBF and could be selectively precipitated from a solution of a mixture of five peptides. The signals associated with a trace amount of charged peptides derived from the digestion of proteins by trypsin were greatly enhanced after concentration with HSBF. Among eight proteins in the sample solution, insulin had the strongest affinity to the HSBF and exhibited the strongest signal on the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrum.     

Physicochemical characterization of diclofenac sodium-loaded poloxamer gel as a rectal delivery system with fast absorption

Rectal poloxamer gel systems composed of poloxamers and bioadhesive polymers were easy to administer to the anus and were mucoadhesive to the rectal tissues without leakage after the dose. However, a poloxamer gel containing diclofenac sodium could not be developed using bioadhesive polymers, since the drug was precipitated in this preparation. To develop a poloxamer gel using sodium chloride instead of bioadhesive polymers, the physicochemical properties such as gelation temperature, gel strength, and bioadhesive force of various formulations composed of diclofenac sodium, poloxamers, and sodium chloride were investigated. Furthermore, the pharmacokinetic study of diclofenac sodium delivered by the poloxamer gel was performed. Diclofenac sodium significantly increased the gelation temperature and weakened the gel strength and bioadhesive force, while sodium chloride did the opposite. The poloxamer gels with less than 1.0% sodium chloride, in which the drug was not precipitated, were inserted into the rectum without difficulty and leakage, and were retained in the rectum of rats for at least 6 hr. Furthermore, poloxamer gel gave significantly higher initial plasma concentrations and faster T_max of diclofenac sodium than did solid suppository, indicating that drug from poloxamer gel could be absorbed faster than that from the solid one in rats. Our results suggested that a rectal poloxamer gel system with sodium chloride and poloxamers was a more physically stable, convenient, and effective rectal dosage form for diclofenac sodium.     

Uniform theory of the Talbot effect with partially coherent light illumination

A uniform formulation for the self-imaging of gratings with any kind of partially coherent illumination is developed in terms of the cross mutual spectral density of the partial coherence theory. The formulation includes the time diffractive intensity distribution and the averaged diffractive intensity distribution at self-imaging distances and can be applied to both continuous and temporal illuminations with any kind of spectra. It is found that the averaged intensity distribution is related only to the intensity spectrum of illumination. The continuous polychromatic illumination and the ultrashort laser pulses with or without frequency chirp are then studied by a numerical stimulation. It is shown that the ultrashort laser pulse and the continuous polychromatic illuminations have similar averaged self-image distributions. Thus the Talbot effect may help in the study of the temporal and spectral characteristics of ultrashort laser pulses. An experiment with an LED is given, as well.     

Functionalization of silicone rubber for the covalent immobilization of fibronectin

Surface modification techniques were employed in order to provide functionalized silicone rubber with enhanced cytocompatibility. Acrylic acid (AAc), methacrylic acid (MAAc) and glycidylmethacrylate (GMA) were graft-co-polymerized onto the surface of silicone induced by an argon plasma and thermal initiation. The polymerizations were carried out in solution, in the case of acrylic acid a vapor phase graft-co-polymerization subsequent to argon plasma activation was carried out as well. Human fibronectin (hFn), which acts as a cell adhesion mediator for fibroblasts, was immobilized by making use of the generated carboxylic or epoxy groups, respectively. Surface analysis was accomplished by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflection mode (IR-ATR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and dynamic contact angle measurements using the Wilhelmy-plate method. The amount of immobilized active hFn was semiquantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using a structure-specific antibody against the cell-binding domain of hFn. In vitro testing showed a remarkable difference between surfaces exposing adsorbed-only and surfaces with covalently immobilized hFn. © 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers     

System Capacity and Access Control for Multimedia TDMA/SS Networks

In this paper, we study the system capacity and access control for the TDMA/SS (time division multiple access with spread spectrum) cellular networks supporting multimedia services. In the TDMA/SS system, time is divided into frames and each frame is further divided into slots. Only one user is allowed to transmit in a slot and spread spectrum technique is adopted to combat inter-cell interference. A packet can occupy more than one slot, depending on the user's data rate and quality of service requirement. We derive a necessary and sufficient condition for a group of users to be admissible for the TDMA/SS system and prove that its admission region contains that of the TDMA/CDMA system. In the TDMA/CDMA system, time is also divided into frames and each frame consists of several slots. The difference is that every packet occupies exactly one slot and multiple users can transmit their packets in the same slot. Numerical results show that the admission region of the TDMA/SS system can be significantly larger than that of the TDMA/CDMA system. To further increase bandwidth utilization and guarnatee delay bound requirements, several access control schemes are proposed. Simulation results are obtained for these access control schemes.