Task allocation and trajectory planning for multiple agents in the presence of obstacle and connectivity constraints with mixed‐integer linear programming

This article addresses the problem of maneuvering multiple agents that must visit a number of target sets, while enforcing connectivity constraints and avoiding obstacle as well as interagent collisions. The tool to cope with the problem is a formulation of model predictive control including binary decision variables. In this regard, two mixed‐integer linear programming formulations are presented, considering a trade‐off between optimality and scalability between them. Simulation results are also shown to illustrate the main features of the proposed approaches.     

Quantum secure direct communication of digital and analog signals using continuum coherent states

In this work, we present optical schemes for secure direct quantum communication of digital and analog signals using continuum coherent states and frequency-dependent phase modulation. The main advantages of the proposed schemes are that they do not use entangled states and they can be implemented with today technology. The theory of quantum interference of continuum coherent state is described, and the optical setups for secure direct communication are presented and their securities are discussed.

     

Depolymerization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) wastes using ethanol and ethanol/water in supercritical conditions

Chemical recycling of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) in supercritical ethanol has been investigated. In the presence of water, under supercritical conditions (temperature and pressure above 516 K and 6,384 kPa, respectively) excess ethanol reacts with PET to form diethyl terephthalate (DET) as the main product. A laboratory‐made 0.1 L ‐batch reactor was used at 528 K under pressures from 7,600 and 11,600 kPa. After the required reaction times, the reaction products were analyzed by reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance. It was found that PET is completely depolymerized into monomers in about 5 h. The influences of water, pressure, ethanol/PET weight ratio, PET sources, as well as depolymerization time were investigated. Maximum DET recovery yield was 98.5%. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 2009–2016, 2006     

NIR spectroscopy and chemometric tools to identify high content of deoxynivalenol in barley

ABSTRACT

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the mycotoxins produced mainly by the Fusarium graminearum species complex in small grain cereals, including barley. This toxin can cause alimentary disorders, immune function depression and gastroenteritis. The negative health effects associated with DON coupled to the increasing concern about green and rapid methods of analysis motivated this study. In this context, near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy data were applied for exploratory analysis to distinguish barley with high and low levels of DON contamination (> or <1250 µg/kg according to the European Union threshold), by Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA), and to verify the performance of Partial Least Squares-Regression (PLS-R) to predict DON concentration in barley samples. Maximum values of specificity and sensitivity were achieved in the calibration set; 90.9% and 81.9% were observed in the cross-validation set for the PLS-DA classification model. PLS-R quantification of DON in barley presented low values of error (RMSEC = 101.94 µg/kg and RMSEP = 160.76 µg/kg). Thus, we found that NIR in combination with adequate chemometric tools could be applied as a green technique to monitor DON contamination in barley.     

Quantum communication with photon-added coherent states

Recently photon-added quantum light states have been studied, mainly for discussions of the classical-quantum frontier. In this work we discuss the use of photon-added coherent states (PACS) in quantum communication. Firstly, we present the PACS-based qubit and the quantum circuit for its teleportation. Following, we show a quantum key distribution scheme emplying photon-added coherent and thermal states.     

Optimisation of a fermentation process for butanol production by particle swarm optimisation (PSO)

BACKGROUND: The performance of three particle swarm optimisation (PSO) algorithms was assessed in relation to their capability to optimise an alternative fermentation process for the production of biobutanol. The process consists of three interconnected units: fermentor, cell retention system and vacuum flash vessel (responsible for the continuous recovery of butanol from the broth). The dynamic behaviour of the process was described by a non‐linear mathematical model. Four constrained optimisation problems were formulated concerning the operation and design of flash fermentation: (1) maximisation of butanol productivity; (2) maximisation of substrate conversion; (3) and (4) adjustment of operating conditions in the face of problems of fluctuations in the quality of the agricultural raw material and changes in the kinetics of the microorganisms. RESULTS: The design and operation of the flash fermentation process based on the optimisation of productivity, instead of substrate conversion, resulted in a smaller fermentor and provided satisfactory values of operating conditions able to overcome problems of variations in the glucose concentration in the raw material and changes in kinetics. CONCLUSIONS: The differences among the PSO algorithms, i.e. the velocity equation and parameters values, had significant effects on the optimisation, the best results being obtained with the original velocity equation with the inertia weight decreasing linearly with each iteration. The PSO algorithms obtained solutions that obeyed constraints, demonstrating that a constraint handling method originally developed for genetic algorithms can be applied successfully to PSO algorithms. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Oral biofilm formation on the titanium and zirconia substrates

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this randomized crossover investigation was to assess the biofilm formation on two titanium and one zirconia substrates in relation to the topography and surface roughness of the materials. METHODS: Twenty‐four discs specimens for each evaluated material (Machined pure titanium, Cast pure titanium, or Zirconia) were evaluated after oral cavity exposure in six healthy subjects. The study was conducted in 3 phases according to the material evaluated. Each subject was asked to use a removable splint containing 4 disks of the same tested substrate, 2 located in the anterior, and 2 in the posterior region. Participants were asked to use the intraoral splint during 24 h. The total biofilm covering on the discs was evaluated by 1% of neutral red staining. EMV and surface roughness was carried out to correlate with the biofilm found between different substrates. RESULTS: Data showed higher mean roughness values for zirconia (Zc) when compared with titanium specimens (MPT and CPT; P < 0.001). MPT and CPT presented no differences between them (P > 0.05). The mean percentage (%) of covering biofilm on substrates was 84.14 for MPT, 86.22 for CPT and 90.90 for Zc. CONCLUSION: There were no significant differences in the total area of formed biofilm among the tested groups. No correlation was found between surface roughness and the total amount of formed biofilm in the groups. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Influence of impeller type on hydrodynamics and gas‐liquid mass‐transfer in stirred airlift bioreactor

The influence of impeller type in a mechanically stirred airlift bioreactor was analyzed in relation to the non‐Newtonian viscous fluids. The agitation was carried out through a marine impeller (axial impeller) and a paddle impeller (radial impeller) located along with the gas sparger in the region comprised by the riser. The bioreactor was sparged with air under different velocities (0.036–0.060 m s^?1). Carboxymethylcellulose 1.94% and xanthan 1.80% were used as a fluid model. The gas holdup and volumetric mass‐transfer coefficient increased in up to five and three times, respectively, when compared to a conventional airlift bioreactor; however, better results were obtained when the straight paddle impeller type was used. The results suggest that the studied bioreactor can be used successfully in viscous fluid, and it can be more efficient than conventional airlift bioreactors. The results obtained suggest the use of radial impellers. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 3159–3171, 2015