Field Weakening Alternative

The most common machines for traction are induction and PM synchronous machines. The latter are efficient and small, but they are more expensive and less rugged than induction machines. Fault behavior is easier to manage with an induction machine. For induction machines, the back electromotive force vanishes rapidly when the stator voltages are removed. As shown later, the efficiency of a rerated induction machine can compete with that of a PM machine when both are operated over a wide speed range. The size of any electromechanical device is related to the internal force it generates. It is important to recognize that the size and mass of a motor in a traction system are based on the target torque level. Any induction machine can support a wide frequency and speed range. When operated by an inverter, the name- plate frequency rating of the motor becomes meaningless, as it can be operated at arbitrary speed by adjusting the inverter fundamental frequency. By keeping the voltage-to- frequency ratio constant, the flux level in the machine is constant, meaning that nominal torque can be obtained at any given frequency that supports this constant ratio. The speed and output power of the machine then change linearly with frequency. It works within reason, as long as physical limits on the currents (overheating) and the flux densities (core or tooth saturation) are maintained. According to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), the admissible maximum operating speed for a general-purpose induction machine is twice its synchronous speed.     

Design aspects of bearingless slice motors

The complexity of a bearingless motor offers a multitude of freedoms in constructive design because different motor setups may have nearly the same dynamic behavior, and may differ only slightly in some operation characteristic. However, the mechanical setup often has a very strong impact on the power inverter topology and the volt-ampere requirements, thereby affecting the system costs significantly. This paper focuses on design aspects of bearingless slice motors with permanent magnet excitation, and presents a methodical evaluation approach based on performance indexes.     

Hydrogen sulfide production and volatilization in a polymictic eutrophic saline lake, Salton Sea, California

The Salton Sea is a large shallow saline lake located in southern California that is noted for high sulfate concentrations, substantial algal productivity, and very warm water column temperatures. These conditions are well-suited for sulfide production, and sulfide has been implicated in summer fish kills, although no studies have been conducted to specifically understand hydrogen sulfide production and volatilization there. Despite polymictic mixing patterns and relatively short accumulation periods, the amount of sulfide produced is comparable to meromictic lakes. Sulfide levels in the Salton Sea reached concentrations of 1.2 mmol L(-1) of total free sulfide in the hypolimnion and 5.6 mmol L(-1) in the sediment pore water. Strong winds in late July mixed H2S into the surface water, where it depleted the entire water column of dissolved oxygen and reached a concentration of 0.1 mmol L(-1). Sulfide concentrations exceeded the toxicity threshold of tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) and combined with strong anoxia throughout the water column, resulted in a massive fish kill. The mixing of sulfide into the surface waters also increased atmospheric H2S concentrations, reaching 1.0 micromol m(-3). The flux of sulfide from the sediment into the water column was estimated to range from 2-3 mmol m(-2) day(-1) during the winter and up to 8 mmol m(-2) day(-1) during the summer. Application of the two-layer model for volatilization indicates that up to 19 mmol m(-2) day(-1) volatilized from the surface during the mixing event. We estimate that as much as 3400 Mg year(-1) or approximately 26% of sulfide that diffused into the water column from the deepest sediments may have been volatilized to the atmosphere.     

Cognition, commitment language, and behavioral change among cocaine-dependent patients.

Patients' cognitive abilities and verbal expressions of commitment to behavioral change predict different aspects of substance abuse treatment outcome, but these 2 traits have never been examined conjointly. The authors therefore investigated patients' cognitive abilities and verbal expressions of commitment to behavioral change as predictors of retention and drug use outcomes in an outpatient cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) of adult cocaine-dependent patients. A neuropsychological battery was administered at baseline. Two independent raters used recordings of CBT sessions to code commitment language strength across the temporal segments (e.g., beginning, middle, and end) of 1 session per patient. Better cognitive abilities predicted treatment retention (p     

Effect of zero-valent iron and a redox mediator on removal of selenium in agricultural drainage water

Effective and economical removal of selenium (Se) in agricultural drainage water is very important in Se bioremediation. Zero-valent iron (ZVI) and a redox mediator [anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS)] were assessed for their ability to enhance the removal of Se(VI) or Se(IV) (500 µg/L) in synthetic drainage water by Enterobacter taylorae. The results showed that E. taylorae was capable of using inexpensive sucrose to remove Se from the drainage water. During a 7-day experiment, Se(VI) was almost entirely reduced to Se(0) and transformed to organic Se in the drainage water with sucrose levels of 500 to 1000 mg/L. Addition of ZVI to the drainage water increased the removal of total soluble Se to 94.5-96.5% and limited the production of organic Se. Addition of AQDS to the drainage water with or without ZVI decreased Se(VI) removal, but enhanced the removal of Se(IV), suggesting that E. taylorae only can use anthrahydroquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AHQDS, a reduced form of AQDS) to respire Se(IV), and not Se(VI). These results show that ZVI has promising application potential in the bioremediation of Se in Se-contaminated water.     

A unique reaction in a common pathway: mechanism and function of chorismate synthase in the shikimate pathway

Chorismate synthase, the seventh enzyme in the shikimate pathway, catalyzes the transformation of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate to chorismate which is the last common precursor in the biosynthesis of numerous aromatic compounds in bacteria, fungi and plants. The enzyme has an absolute requirement for reduced FMN as a cofactor, although the 1,4-anti elimination of phosphate and the C(6proR)-hydrogen does not involve a net redox change. The role of the reduced FMN in catalysis has long been elusive. However, recent detailed kinetic and bioorganic approaches have fundamentally advanced our understanding of the mechanism of action, suggesting an initial electron transfer from tightly bound reduced flavin to the substrate, a process which results in C-O bond cleavage. Studies on chorismate synthases from bacteria, fungi and plants revealed that in these organisms the reduced FMN cofactor is made available in different ways to chorismate synthase: chorismate synthases in fungi--in contrast to those in bacteria and plants--carry a second enzymatic activity which enables them to reduce FMN at the expense of NADPH. Yet, as shown by the analysis of the corresponding genes, all chorismate synthases are derived from a common ancestor. However, several issues revolving around the origin of reduced FMN, as well as the possible regulation of the enzyme activity by means of the availability of reduced FMN, remain poorly understood. This review summarizes recent developments in the biochemical and genetic arena and identifies future aims in this field.     

Classification of magnetic resonance images from rabbit renal perfusion

The feasibility of using chemometric techniques for the automatic detection of whether a rabbit kidney is pathological or not is studied. Sequential images of the kidney are acquired using Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging with contrast agent injection. A segmentation approach based upon principal component analysis (PCA) is used to separate out the cortex from the rest of the kidney including the medulla, the renal pelvic, and the background. Two classifiers (Soft Independent Method of Class Analogy, SIMCA; Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis, PLS-DA) are tested for various types of data pre-treatment including segmentation, feature extraction, centering, autoscaling, standard normal variate transformation, Savitsky-Golay smoothing, and normalization. It is shown that (i) the renal cortex contains more discriminating information on kidney perfusion changes than the whole kidney, and (ii) the PLS-DA classifiers outperform the SIMCA classifiers. PLS-DA, preceded by an automated PCA-based segmentation of kidney anatomical regions, correctly classified all kidneys and constitutes a classification tool of the renal function that can be useful for the clinical diagnosis of renovascular diseases.     

Perchlorate reduction by autotrophic bacteria in the presence of zero-valent iron

A series of batch experiments were performed to study the combination of zero-valent iron (ZVI) with perchlorate-reducing microorganisms (PRMs) to remove perchlorate from groundwater. In this method, H2 produced during the process of iron corrosion by water is used by PRMs as an electron donor to reduce perchlorate to chloride. Perchlorate degradation rates followed Monod kinetics, with a normalized maximum utilization rate (rmax) of 9200 microg g(-1) (dry wt) h(-1) and a half-velocity constant (Ks) of 8900 microg L(-1). The overall rate of perchlorate reduction was affected by the biomass density within the system. An increase in the OD600 from 0.025 to 0.08 led to a corresponding 4-fold increase of perchlorate reduction rate. PRM adaptation to the local environment and initiation of perchlorate reduction was rapid under neutral pH conditions. At the initial OD600 of 0.015, perchlorate reduction followed pseudo-first-order reaction rates with constants of 0.059 and 0.033 h(-1) at initial pH 7 and 8, respectively. Once perchlorate reduction was established, the bioreductive process was insensitive to the increases of pH from near neutral to 9.0. In the presence of nitrate, perchlorate reduction rate was reduced, but not inhibited completely.