A methodology to define a reconfigurable system architecture for a compact heat exchanger assembly machine

Due to the unexpected, fast, and constant changes of market requirements and the hypercompetency, robust manufacturing systems are needed that adjust easily to operational variability and the customized product supply. The simply substitution of components, software, hardware, and/or their adaptation by parameters resetting are an attractive option to face this challenge. Short product life cycles are an undeniable consequence and evidence of this. For this reason, to develop products or services profitably in the product manufacturing field, it is common to use the product family concept, which involves sharing components, functional features, and manufacturing process, both to make a cheaper product development process and to obtain customized products. A new generation of manufacturing systems that deploy characteristics such as adaptability and flexibility responding to the market dynamics called reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMS) are required by market according to manufacturing experts. The manufacturing systems with modular architecture are the best way to meet flexible and adaptable RMSs because they allow reconfiguration by a simple module substitution or by resetting module operation parameters. This paper presents a design methodology developed to obtain modular RMS. The method integrates the utilization of modular architecture principles, selection algorithms (analytical hierarchical process), clustering algorithms (average linkage clustering algorithm), family product features and functional system analysis in the classical product design process. The methodology proposed allows defining the most adequate modular system architecture and the modular definition of the reconfiguration variables that are needed to reach the flexibility required. A real study case about a heat exchanger assembly machine is presented where this methodology is applied in order to present an evidence of its usefulness.     

Prediction of influence of stepwise increment of initial acetic acid concentration in charging medium on acetification rate of semi-continuous process by artificial neural network

Based on industrial vinegar production, ethanol concentration in charging medium is normally considered as a strong variable influencing the acetification for a given initial acetic acid concentration. Moreover, high initial acetic acid concentration is considered when higher than 100 g L⁻¹ of acetic acid as finished product is obtained. This study assessed the effect of a stepwise increment of initial acetic acid concentration in fermentation medium of 45, 55, and 65 g L⁻¹ after charging at constant ethanol concentration of 35 g L⁻¹ on acetification rate (ETA) by high acid-tolerant strain of Acetobacter aceti WK. Average ETA was 8.144 + 0.09 g L⁻¹ d⁻¹ at 45 g L⁻¹ and 8.655 + 0.09 g L⁻¹ d⁻¹ at 55 g L⁻¹, and significant decreased to 6.819 + 0.23 g L⁻¹ d⁻¹ at 65 g L⁻¹. An artificial neural network (ANN) model was applied to predict the ETA in semi-continuous acetification under the conditions of the study. The optimized ANN structure was revealed to contain two hidden layers and seven neurons per layer. The experimental acetification correlated to the predicted data with R² of training and testing data set of 0.858 and validation data set of 0.831, respectively. Results indicated that the inputs as acetic acid and ethanol concentrations successfully predicted the ETA of semi-continuous acetification process.     

Possible role of two phenylalanine residues in the active site of human cytidine deaminase

Site-directed mutagenesis on human cytidine deaminase (CDA)was employed to mutate specifically two highly conserved phenylalanineresidues, F36 and F137, to tryptophan; at the same time, theunique tryptophan residue present in the sequence at position113 was mutated to phenylalanine. These double mutations wereperformed in order to have for each protein a single tryptophansignal for fluorescence studies relative to position 36 or 137.The mutant enzymes thus obtained, W113F, F36W/W113F and F137W/W113F,showed by circular dicroism and thermal stability an overallstructure not greatly affected by the mutations. The titrationof Trp residues by N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) suggested that residueW113 of the wild-type CDA and W36 of mutant F36W/W113F are buriedin the tertiary structure of the enzyme, whereas the residueW137 of mutant F137W/W113F is located near the surface of themolecule. Kinetic experiments and equilibrium experiments withFZEB showed that the residue W113 seems not to be part of theactive site of the enzyme whereas the Phe/Trp substitution inF36W/W113F and F137W/W113F mutant enzymes had a negative effecton substrate binding and catalysis, suggesting that F137 andF36 of the wild-type CDA are involved in a stabilizing interactionbetween ligand and enzyme.     

Dual concentric core dispersion compensating fibre optimised for WDM application

A dual concentric core fibre exhibiting a chromatic dispersion coefficient around -350 ps/(nm km) is used in a dispersion compensating module designed for WDM application. The optimised length ratio is larger than 20 and the residual chromatic dispersion is measured at 0.4 ps/(nm km) in the C-band     

New optical microwave up-conversion solution in radio-over-fiber networks for 60-GHz wireless applications

A new method for generating optical microwave mixing based on the optical phase modulation and the fiber chromatic dispersion is further investigated. A theoretical approach based on the analysis of the optical field spectrum has lead to the evaluation of the mixing power and optimal fiber lengths of 60-GHz radio-over-fiber (RoF) networks. Results have shown adaptable fiber lengths to match the network specifications.     

高清视频网络仍是家庭寻觅的目标

我曾为需要能够在整个家庭输送高清电视流的低成本联网技术这个问题所困扰.我仍然相信视频联网应用将为从集成电路供应商到服务提供商以及信息拥有者带来巨大收益.     

Enzymatic properties of the unnatural beta-L-enantiomers of 2',3'-dideoxyadenosine and 2',3'-didehydro-2',3'-dideoxyadenosine

The beta-L-enantiomers of 2',3'-dideoxyadenosine and 2',3'-didehydro-2',3'-dideoxyadenosine have been stereospecifically synthesized. In an attempt to explain the previously reported antiviral activities of these compounds, their enzymatic properties were studied with respect to adenosine kinase, deoxycytidine kinase, adenosine deaminase, and purine nucleoside phosphorylase. Adenosine deaminase was strictly enantioselective and favored beta-D-ddA and beta-D-d4A, whereas adenosine kinase and purine nucleoside phosphorylase had no apparent substrate properties for the D- or L-enantiomers of beta-ddA or beta-d4A. Human deoxycytidine kinase showed a remarkable inversion of the expected enantioselectivity, with beta-L-ddA and beta-L-d4A having better substrate efficiencies than their corresponding beta-D-enantiomers. Our results demonstrate the potential of beta-L-adenosine analogues as antiviral agents and suggest that deoxycytidine kinase has a strategic importance in their cellular activation.     

Comparison of calibration curve fitting methods in the determination of H2S mass fractions in natural gas by GC-SCD

This paper discusses metrologically the best practice regarding the calibration curves applied to H₂S mass fractions determination in natural gas by gas chromatography with sulfur chemiluminescence detection (GC-SCD). Three calibration curves were constructed by performing GC-SCD analysis of different H₂S gas standard concentrations (from 3 mg kg^?1 up to 500 mg kg^?1). These experimental curves are better fitted by an unweighted quadratic calibration curve considering ANOVA approach compared to ASTM D5504-12. Despite this, the obtained results show that these two different calibration curve approaches (ASTM and ANOVA) lead to comparable results. Hence, there are no significant statistical differences between these two approaches based on the hypothesis test applied. However, the quadratic calibration curve presents measurement uncertainties of H₂S mass fractions much lower than the ASTM approach.     

Treatment with the Probiotic Product Aviguard® Alleviates Inflammatory Responses during Campylobacter jejuni-Induced Acute Enterocolitis in Mice

Prevalences of Campylobacter (C.) jejuni infections are progressively rising globally. Given that probiotic feed additives, such as the commercial product Aviguard^®, have been shown to be effective in reducing enteropathogens, such as Salmonella, in vertebrates, including livestock, we assessed potential anti-pathogenic and immune-modulatory properties of Aviguard^® during acute C. jejuni-induced murine enterocolitis. Therefore, microbiota-depleted IL-10^−/− mice were infected with C. jejuni strain 81-176 by gavage and orally treated with Aviguard^® or placebo from day 2 to 4 post-infection. The applied probiotic bacteria could be rescued from the intestinal tract of treated mice, but with lower obligate anaerobic bacterial counts in C. jejuni-infected as compared to non-infected mice. Whereas comparable gastrointestinal pathogen loads could be detected in both groups until day 6 post-infection, Aviguard^® treatment resulted in improved clinical outcome and attenuated apoptotic cell responses in infected large intestines during acute campylobacteriosis. Furthermore, less distinct pro-inflammatory immune responses could be observed not only in the intestinal tract, but also in extra-intestinal compartments on day 6 post-infection. In conclusion, we show here for the first time that Aviguard^® exerts potent disease-alleviating effects in acute C. jejuni-induced murine enterocolitis and might be a promising probiotic treatment option for severe campylobacteriosis in humans.