Calculated phase diagrams and the corrosion of die-cast Mg-Al alloys

The corrosion of commercial die-cast Mg-Al alloys was elucidated by a study, of the corrosion in 3% NaCl, of (i) high-pressure die-cast (HPDC) model Mg-Al alloys, (ii) low-purity Mg, (iii) high-purity (HP) Mg and (iv) HP Mg heat treated at 550 °C. HPDC is the most important route for the production of Mg components. The corrosion of the model alloys was dominated by the Fe impurity element. The present research identified the appearance of the Fe-rich particles in the microstructure. In high magnification (∼1000× to 5000×) secondary electron images, they appear as small white features, typically less than 1 μm in diameter. In order to understand the impurity tolerance limits, (i) the appropriate corrosion literature was summarised and reviewed and (ii) Mg phase diagrams were calculated using the Pandat software package. Calculated phase diagrams can explain (i) the tolerance levels for Fe and Cu and (ii) the production of high-purity castings by means of control of melt conditions; this has high significance for the production of quality castings from recycled Mg. A full analysis requires that the Mg database be extended to include Ni, Co and some RE. The Fe tolerance limit is ∼5-10 ppm for cast HP Mg heat treated at 550 °C. Analysis of the Mg corrosion literature indicates that several studies have been dominated by the Fe impurity content and have not dealt with the stated aims; it means that the full chemical composition should be reported in all studies of the corrosion of Mg alloys.     

Multivariate analysis of a biologically activated carbon (BAC) system and its efficiency for removing PAHs and aliphatic hydrocarbons from wastewater polluted with petroleum products

The efficiency of a biologically activated carbon system for treating wastewater polluted with petroleum products was examined and the effects of process parameters on its efficacy were evaluated. In each experiment 17 alkylated and 19 non-alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs, C₁₀–C₄₀) were extracted using semipermeable membrane devices from wastewater before and after treatment. The acquired data during experiments were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA). The treatment system robustly removed dissolved PAHs across the studied ranges of the process parameters, providing overall removal efficiencies of 96.9–99.7% for the sum of 36 PAHs. However, the major contributor to their removal was sorption rather than biodegradation, and despite the general efficiency of the process there was up to a 9-fold range in the sums of quantified PAHs in the effluents between experiments. Combinations of long process contact time (24 h) with high temperature (24 °C) and moderate oxygen concentration (6–7 mg O₂ L⁻¹) resulted in good removal of bioavailable PAHs. The removal of TPHs was more dependent on biological activities during the wastewater treatment, and consequently more dependent on the process parameters. In addition, small but significant proportions of PAHs were volatilized and released during the wastewater treatment.     

Preface: Volume 66, Issue 5

This part of the volume contains the papers accepted for presentation at the workshop on Unification in Non-Classical Logics (UNCL), co-located with ICALP 2002, which took place on July 12, 2002 in M 'alaga, Spain.The workshop was concerned with one of the most promising areas of research on non-classical logics and its applications. Unification in non-classical logics, with various approaches to handling generalised terms, has drawn more and more attention in recent years. So far, most popular lines of research include fuzzy unification of (conventional) databases and the use of fuzzy concepts in information retrieval.This workshop was conceived as a forum for the exchange of ideas relevant for the concept of unification in non-classical logics, including, but not limited to, the topics of:

• Unification in multiple-valued and fuzzy logic programming.

• Unification based on similarities and fuzzy equivalence relations.

• Categorical unification.

• Practical use of non-classical unification, e.g. in expert systems and information retrieval.

The program committee selected six papers after a reviewing process in which each submitted paper received at least two reviews. Considerable effort was devoted for the evaluation of the submissions and to providing the authors with helpful feedback. The criteria for selection were originality, quality, and relevance to the topic of the workshop.Alsinet et al reviewed and compared two models which extend first order possibilistic logic in order to enable fuzzy unification. The extension considers mainly fuzzy constants, and in form of restrictions on existential quantifiers.Banerjee and Bujosa presented a non-classical interpretion of classical unification in terms of geometrical constructions over a suitable R-module M. The main result is that unification of two terms can be seen as the intersection of their corresponding affine varieties on M. This paves the way of using methods from computer algebra in the field of unification.In Eklund et al, substitutions and unifiers appear as constructs in Kleisli categories related to particular composed powerset term monads. It is shown that an often used similarity-based approach to fuzzy unification is compatible with the categorical approach, and can be adequately extended.Kutsia presented a unification procedure for a theory with individual and sequence variables, free fixed and flexible arity function symbols and patterns. These theories have been used in different contexts such as databases, rewriting, programming languages, or theorem proving.Medina et al introduced a formal model for similarity-based fuzzy unification in multi-adjoint logic programs. On this computational model, a similarity-based unification approach which provides a semantic framework for logic programming with different notions of similarity was constructed.Virtanen introduced unification in similarity-based logic programming. One of the crucial points is the definition of similarity degrees between sets, giving rise to [lambda]-interpretations. The selection of so called most significant terms again is one of the cornerstones of the paper.We would like to thank all those who submitted papers for consideration, the authors of accepted papers for their interesting discussions during the workshop, the additional referees for their careful work, and Inma Fortes from the local organising committee for her assistance.     

Leukotriene A4 Hydrolase and Hepatocyte Growth Factor Are Risk Factors of Sudden Cardiac Death Due to First-Ever Myocardial Infarction

Patients at a high risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD) without previous history of cardiovascular disease remain a challenge to identify. Atherosclerosis and prothrombotic states involve inflammation and non-cardiac tissue damage that may play active roles in SCD development. Therefore, we hypothesized that circulating proteins implicated in inflammation and tissue damage are linked to the future risk of SCD. We conducted a prospective nested case–control study of SCD cases with verified myocardial infarction (N = 224) and matched controls without myocardial infarction (N = 224), aged 60 ± 10 years time and median time to event was 8 years. Protein concentrations (N = 122) were measured using a proximity extension immunoassay. The analyses revealed 14 proteins significantly associated with an increased risk of SCD, from which two remained significant after adjusting for smoking status, systolic blood pressure, BMI, cholesterol, and glucose levels. We identified leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H, odds ratio 1.80, corrected confidence interval (CI_corr) 1.02–3.17) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF; odds ratio 1.81, CI_corr 1.06–3.11) as independent risk markers of SCD. Elevated LTA4H may reflect increased systemic and pulmonary neutrophilic inflammatory processes that can contribute to atherosclerotic plaque instability. Increased HGF levels are linked to obesity-related metabolic disturbances that are more prevalent in SCD cases than the controls.     

A column generation method for spatial TDMA scheduling in ad hoc networks

An ad hoc network can be set up by a number of units without the need of any permanent infrastructure. Two units establish a communication link if the channel quality is sufficiently high. As not all pairs of units can establish direct links, traffic between two units may have to be relayed through other units. This is known as the multi-hop functionality. In military command and control systems, ad hoc networks are also referred to as multi-hop radio networks.

Spatial TDMA (STDMA) is a scheme for access control in ad hoc networks. STDMA improves TDMA by allowing simultaneous transmission of multiple units. In this paper, we study the optimization problem of STDMA scheduling, where the objective is to find minimum-length schedules. Previous work for this problem has focused on heuristics, whose performance is difficult to analyze when optimal solutions are not known. We develop novel mathematical programming formulations for this problem, and present a column generation solution method. Our numerical experiments show that the method generates a very tight bound to the optimal schedule length, and thereby enables optimal or near-optimal solutions. The column generation method can be used to provide benchmarks when evaluating STDMA scheduling algorithms. In particular, we use the bound obtained in the column generation method to evaluate a simple greedy algorithm that is suitable for distributed implementations.     

Comparison of whole-body vibration exposures in buses: effects and interactions of bus and seat design

Bus and seat design may be important for the drivers' whole-body vibration (WBV). WBV exposures in buses during actual operation were assessed. WBV attenuation performance between an air-suspension seat and a static pedestal seat in low-floor buses was compared; there were no differences in WBV attenuation between the seats. Air-suspension seat performance in a high-floor and low-floor bus was compared. Relative to the pedestal seat with its relatively static, limited travel seat suspension, the air-suspension seat with its dynamic, longer travel suspension provided little additional benefit. Relative to the measurement collected at the bus floor, the air-suspension seat amplified the WBV exposures in the high-floor bus. All WBV exposures were below European Union (EU) daily exposure action values. The EU Vibration Directive only allows the predominant axis of vibration exposure to be evaluated but a tri-axial vector sum exposure may be more representative of the actual health risks.     

Design and implementation of a new teleoperation control mode for differential drive UGVs

In this paper, we propose and implement a new control mode for teleoperated unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), that exploits the similarities between computer games and teleoperation robotics. Today, all teleoperated differential drive UGVs use a control mode called Tank Control, in which the UGV chassis and the pan tilt camera are controlled separately. This control mode was also the dominating choice when the computer game genre First Person Shooter (FPS) first appeared. However, the hugely successful FPS genre, including titles such as Doom, Half Life and Call of Duty, now uses a much more intuitive control mode, Free Look Control (FLC), in which rotation and translation of the character are decoupled, and controlled separately. The main contribution of this paper is that we replace Tank Control with FLC in a real UGV. Using feedback linearization, the orientation of the UGV chassis is abstracted away, and the orientation and translation of the camera are decoupled, enabling the operator to use FLC when controlling the UGV. This decoupling is then experimentally verified. The developments in the gaming community indicates that FLC is more intuitive than Tank Control and reduces the well known situational awareness problem. It furthermore reduces the need for operator training, since literary millions of future operators have already spent hundreds of hours using the interface.     

Immunohistochemical and histochemical findings favoring the occurrence of autocrine/paracrine as well as nerve-related cholinergic effects in chronic painful patellar tendon tendinosis

The pathogenesis of the pain in patellar tendon tendinosis ("jumper's knee") is unclear. We have recently presented new information about the sensory nervous system in the human patellar tendon, but there is very little information regarding the possible occurrence of a cholinergic system in this tendon. In the present study, specimens of pain-free normal tendons and chronically painful tendinosis tendons were examined by different immunohistochemical and histochemical methods. Antibodies against the M(2) receptor, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), and vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) were applied, and staining for demonstration of activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was also utilized. It was found that immunoreactions for the M(2) receptor could be detected intracellularly in both blood vessel cells and tenocytes, especially in tendinosis specimens. Furthermore, in the tendinosis specimens, some tenocytes were seen to exhibit immunoreaction for ChAT and VAChT. AChE reactions were seen in fine nerve fibers associated with small blood vessels in both the normal control tendons and the tendinosis tendons. The observations suggest that there is both a nerve related and a local cholinergic system in the human patellar tendon. As ChAT and VAChT immunoreactions were detected in tenocytes of tendinosis tendons, these cells might be a source of local acetylcholine (Ach) production. As both tenocytes and blood vessel cells were found to exhibit immunoreactions for the M(2) receptor, it is likely that both of these tissue cells may be influenced by ACh. Thus, in conclusion, there appears to be an upregulation of the cholinergic system, and an occurrence of autocrine/paracrine effects in this system, in the tendinosis patellar tendon.     

Metallurgical aspects on the formation of self-organized anodic oxide nanotube layers

The present work reports how metallurgical factors such as grain size and chemical composition of substrate affect the current behavior during anodization and the morphology of resulting formed oxide layers. The grain size of pure Ti sheet is controlled by the accumulative roll-bonding (ARB) process. Tubular oxide layers are formed on the ARB-processed Ti sheets with different grain sizes, but grain size does not affect the length, diameter of tubes and the degree of tube arrangement. The effect of chemical composition is examined using Ti-Zr alloys (Ti-20Zr, Ti-50Zr, Ti-80Zr) that can consist of a single phase, meaning that homogeneous tube formation can be achieved. With increasing Zr content in the alloys, tube diameter decreases while tube length increases. For the Ti-50Zr and Ti-80Zr, self-organization is achieved on two size scales, that is, nanotube arrays with two distinct diameters are observed. TEM observation revealed that anodic oxide layers are in crystalline state only in the case of pure Zr.     

The influence of yttrium (Y) on the corrosion of Mg-Y binary alloys

Corrosion of Mg-Y alloys was studied using electrochemical evaluations, immersion tests and direct observations. There were two important effects. In 0.1 M NaCl, the corrosion rate increased with increasing Y content due to increasing amounts of the Y-containing intermetallic. In 0.1 M Na₂SO₄, the corrosion rate decreased with increasing Y content above 3%, attributed to a more protective surface film, despite the intermetallic. The corrosion rate evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was somewhat smaller than that evaluated from H evolution as expected from the Mg corrosion mechanism. A mechanism is proposed for filiform corrosion. Direct in situ corrosion observations revealed that a predominant feature was hydrogen evolution from particular parts of the alloy surface.