B-spline network-based iterative learning control for trajectory tracking of a piezoelectric actuator

This paper presents the trajectory tracking approach of a piezoelectric actuator using an iterative learning control (ILC) scheme based on B-spline network (BSN) filtering. The ILC scheme adopts a state-compensated iterative learning formula, which compensates for the state difference between two consecutive iterations in order that the iterative learning can learn from the tracking errors of the previous iteration effectively. The BSN is used to attenuate the noises and retrieve the signals of the tracking errors for the ILC. The BSN serves as a unique filter which generally does not have zero-phase responses. Design details on the ILC scheme using BSN filtering are discussed in the paper. Extensive experiments of tracking two desired trajectories for a piezoelectric actuator are presented. The experimental results show that the state-compensated ILC scheme using BSN filtering can achieve fast error convergence and keep small steady-state tracking errors close to the system noise level. This research thus relaxes the restriction of the zero-phase criterion commonly applied to the ILC filtering in the literature.     

Prophylaxis of acute renal allograft rejection using FTY720 in combination with subtherapeutic doses of cyclosporine

BACKGROUND: In rodent transplant models, FTY720 exerts a synergistic affect with cyclosporine (CsA) to prolong allograft survival. The present experiments sought to test this combination in subhuman primates. METHODS: Cynomolgus monkeys were transplanted with kidney allografts that were incompatible in mixed lymphocyte culture reactions. The animals were treated with daily intramuscular injections of CsA using doses selected to maintain whole blood trough concentrations at therapeutic values between 40 and 200 ng/ml. The 4 experimental groups included CsA without or with 0.1, 0.3, or 1 mg/kg/day FTY720 delivered daily by intravenous bolus injection. Therapeutic effects were suggested both by the graft histology of biopsy within the first 10 posttransplant days and by the length of host survival. RESULTS: Whereas recipients treated with CsA alone rejected kidney allografts at a median survival time of 8.5 days (n=4), those treated with either 0.1 or 0.3 mg/kg/day FTY720 in addition to CsA showed significant prolongation of kidney allograft survival to 71 days (n=3; P<0.04) or 63 days (n=5; P<0.05), respectively. The hosts in the 1.0 mg/kg/day FTY720 group survived 48 days, with 2 of 5 recipients succumbing at 9 or 17 days postgraft, suggesting possible complications caused by overimmunosuppression. Biopsies of the 0.1 mg/kg/day FTY720 group on posttransplant day 7 documented mild to moderate rejection (grade I), indicated by multiple focal areas of tubular destruction. The histology results of transplants in the 0.3 or 1 mg/kg/day FTY720 group showed only minimal interstitial inflammatory infiltrates (borderline grade), with no evidence of tubular or arterial damage. Serum creatinine values among the animals in the 0.1 mg/kg/day FTY720 group showed increases in 2 of 3 recipients by day 20 and in the third by day 41 postgraft. Among the 0.3 mg/kg/day FTY720 group, 3 of 5 recipients maintained baseline creatinine values to 45 days postgraft; 1 recipient had stable kidney function for 120 days postgraft. CONCLUSIONS: Addition of FTY720 therapy to a subtherapeutic CsA immunosuppressive regimen delays the rejection of renal allografts in subhuman primates.     

Performance in occupational therapy as a predictor of successful prevocational training

Scores on three subtests of the Minnesota Follow-up Scale (MFS) were related to client outcomes in a prevocational training program in a study of 26 clients who were referred from an adult psychiatric day treatment unit. The results of the study agreed with a prediction that successful performance in occupational therapy in the day treatment unit, as measured by subtest 1, would be significantly related to successful client outcomes. the results regarding predictions for two other subtests were less conclusive because clients received high scores. Age and sex distributions showed that the younger male clients were most likely to be referred for prevocational training. The staff of the prevocational training program accepted the results of the study and also agreed that performance in occupational therapy (in the day treatment unit) should receive greater recognition by staff members as an important indicator of work potential when evaluating clients for referral to a vocational training program. It is planned to continue the use of the MFS in the day treatment unit as an aid for evaluating clients for referral purposes. Scores will continue to be related to client outcomes in the prevocational training program. Further study is also planned concerning the relationship of age and sex and sources to which clients are discharged or referred from the day treatment unit.     

Manufacturing of Porous Alumina Ceramic by Gel Casting

Various quantities of non-toxic monomer (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, HEMA) was added to form porous alumina ceramic by gel casting process. Pure water, monomer, cross-linker (N, N'-methylene-bis-acrylamide (MBAm)), and dispersant (ammonium salt of poly (methacrylic acid), PAS) were combined to form an aqueous solution, which added alumina powder and was milled to form alumina slurry with zirconia balls for 240 minutes. An initiator (ammonium persulfate, APS) was added to the alumina slurry with a vacuum mi...     

MOIA: Multi-objective immune algorithm

The paper describes a novel algorithm for finding Pareto optimal solutions to multi-objective optimization problems based on the features of a biological immune system. Inter-relationships within the proposed multi-objective immune algorithm (MOIA) resemble antibody-antigen relationships in terms of specificity, germinal center, and the memory characteristics of adaptive immune responses. Gene fragment recombination and several antibody diversification schemes (including somatic recombination, somatic mutation, gene conversion, gene reversion, gene drift, and nucleotide addition) were incorporated into the MOIA in order to improve the balance between exploitation and exploration. Using five performance metrics, MOIA simulation figures were compared with data derived from a strength Pareto evolutionary algorithm (SPEA). The results indicate that the MOIA outperformed the SPEA in several areas.     

Coaxial metal-silicide Ni2Si/C54-TiSi2 nanowires

One-dimensional metal silicide nanowires are excellent candidates for interconnect and contact materials in future integrated circuits devices. Novel core-shell Ni(2)Si/C54-TiSi(2) nanowires, 2 μm in length, were grown controllably via a solid-liquid-solid growth mechanism. Their interesting ferromagnetic behaviors and excellent electrical properties have been studied in detail. The coercivities (Hcs) of the core-shell Ni(2)Si/C54-TiSi(2) nanowires was determined to be 200 and 50 Oe at 4 and 300 K, respectively, and the resistivity was measured to be as low as 31 μΩ-cm. The shift of the hysteresis loop with the temperature in zero field cooled (ZFC) and field cooled (FC) studies was found. ZFC and FC curves converge near room temperature at 314 K. The favorable ferromagnetic and electrical properties indicate that the unique core-shell nanowires can be used in penetrative ferromagnetic devices at room temperature simultaneously as a future interconnection in integrated circuits.     

Strength and conductivity ofin situ Cu-Fe alloys

Alloys of Cu-Fe with iron contents from 10 to 30 wt % have been prepared by casting plus mechanical reduction. A series of heat treatments was done at various stages of the mechanical reduction to promote precipitation of the iron from the copper matrix with the hope of optimizing electrical conductivity at a given strength level. A curve of optimum tensile strength against electrical conductivity was determined. It was found to lie significantly below the available data for Cu-Nb alloys and it is suggested that further improvements may be possible in Cu-Fe alloys by improved thermal mechanism processing.     

Carbachol but not bradykinin blocks the enkephalin-induced calcium transient in human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells

Early nursing reforms in the 19th century are usually associated with Nightingale, although later emphasis has been placed on similar movements in the Poor Law sector. Extension of nursing influence over decision-making in terms of nursing practice and education is charted, using examples from 19th century Minutes of hospital committees and more recent experience based mainly on the observations made by one of the writers, who had substantial input into steering the hospital through the stages prior to achieving National Health Service (NHS) Trust status. The significance of nurse executive power following the 1990s NHS reforms is highlighted and means of extending the use of this authority are explored.