SCADA system with predictive controller applied to irrigation canals

This paper applies a model predictive controller (MPC) to an automatic water canal with sensors and actuators controlled by a PLC network (programmable logic controller), and supervised by a SCADA system (supervisory control and data acquisition). This canal is composed by a set of distributed sub-systems that control the water level in each canal pool, constrained by discharge gates (control variables) and water off-takes (disturbances). All local controllers are available through an industrial network managed by the SCADA system, where the centralized predictive controller runs.In this paper a complete new platform connecting the SCADA supervisory system and the MATLAB software (named SCADA–MATLAB platform) is built, in order to provide the usual SCADA systems with the ability to handle complex control algorithms. The developed MPC-model presents a novelty in the control of irrigation canals as it allows the use of industrial PLCs to implement high complex controllers, through the new developed SCADA–MATLAB platform.Experimental results demonstrate the reliability and effectiveness of the proposed strategy in real-life typical situations, including gate malfunctioning and extreme water off-take conditions.     

Muscle tissue structure and flesh texture in gilthead sea bream, Sparus aurata L., fillets preserved by refrigeration and by vacuum packaging

Fillets were analysed from 66 gilthead sea bream specimens (Sparus aurata L). Thirty-six fillets were refrigerated (2 °C). The rest of the fillets were vacuum-packed and refrigerated. Muscle and sensorial parameters were evaluated for 22 days post-mortem.Textural parameters were higher in early stages. The refrigerated fillets had the lowest values. Most of textural parameters showed a negative correlation with the detachments among fibres in both groups.Ultrastructural results in vacuum-packed fillets showed that sarcolemma-endomysium was gradually disrupted, with almost a complete loss at 22 days. Initially, the detachments of myofibrils from the sarcolemma-endomysium were scarce. Mitochondria and sarcoplasmic reticulum were swollen from the first stages onwards. From 16 days onwards, the intra-cytoplasmic organelles were significantly altered and the smooth reticulum appeared hypertrophied, indicating an increase of the autophagic mechanisms. Sarcomeres were gradually altered, mainly at the I-band level, which showed a loss of actin filaments and Z-line disruptions from 12 to 16 days onwards.In non-vacuum fillets the muscle tissue was already markedly altered from the early stages. From five days onwards, the detachments of myofibrils from the sarcolemma were frequent and the hypertrophied smooth reticulum and the degraded lysosomes were already observed.     

Influence of chemical refining on the major and minor components of rice brain oil

The effects of each individual step of the chemical refining process on major and minor components of rice bran oil were examined. In comparison with common vegetable oils, rice brain oil contains a significantly higher level of several bioactive minor components such as γ-oryzanol, tocotrienols, and phytosterols. Alkali treatment or neutralization results in a significant loss of oryzanol. In addition, it gives rise to a change in the individual phytosterol composition. After bleaching, some isomers of 24-methylenecycloartanol were detected. Because of their relatively high volatility, phytosterols and tocotrienols are stripped from the rice brain oil during deodorization and concentrated in the deodorizer distillate. At the same time, oryzanol is not volatile enough to be stripped during deodorization; hence, the oryzanol concentration does not change after deodorization. Complete refining removed 99.5% of the FFA content. Depending on the applied deodorization conditions, trans FA can be formed, but the total trans content generally remains below 1%.     

The Burnout Measure, Short Version.

The Burnout Measure (BM; Pines & Aronson, 1988) is a widely used self-report measure of burnout. It includes 21 items, evaluated on 7-point frequency scales, assessing the level of an individual's physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion. In this article, a shorter, 10-item version of the BM (BMS) is described that was developed in response to researchers' and practitioners' need for an easy-to-use instrument requiring less questionnaire space and less time for administration and scoring. Data from 2 national samples (Israeli Jewish and Arab) and 3 occupational samples attest to the validity and reliability of the BMS. Its ease of use and high face validity make the BMS attractive for researchers and practitioners interested in stress management. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the Calculation of Static Bottom-Hole Pressures in Gas Wells

In “Static Bottom-Hole Pressure in Wells” (Petroleum Science and Technology, 2006, 24:113-116), Hashim and Makola present a method for the calculation of static pressure gradients in vertical wells. In the present discussion, the methodology proposed by Hashim and Makola is examined and alternate guidelines for the calculation of static pressure gradients are provided. In particular, this work examines their proposed mathematical simplifications and practices that could compromise the accuracy of the calculations. References to recommended practices and procedures for calculating static bottom-hole pressure in gas wells are also presented.     

Thymic sarcoma in childhood

Sarcoma of the thymus is exceedingly rare, especially in children. We report a case of thymic sarcoma in a child, including the imaging findings which have not been previously described.     

Diagnosing gestational hypertension and preeclampsia with the 24-hour mean of blood pressure

The use of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring has provided a method of blood pressure assessment that may compensate for some of the limitations of isolated measurements. Here we aim to examine prospectively the effectiveness of the commonly used 24-hour mean as a potential screening test for the identification of gestational hypertension and preeclampsia. We analyzed 503 blood pressure series from 71 healthy pregnant women and 256 series from 42 women who developed gestational hypertension or preeclampsia. Forty-eight-hour blood pressure monitoring was done once every 4 weeks after the first obstetric consultation. Sensitivity and specificity of the 24-hour mean of blood pressure were computed for each trimester of pregnancy by comparing distributions of values obtained for healthy and complicated pregnancies, without assuming an a priori threshold for diagnosing gestational hypertension on the basis of mean blood pressure. Sensitivity ranges from 31.8% for diastolic blood pressure in the second trimester to 84.1% for systolic blood pressure in the third trimester. However, specificity is as low as 6.9% for diastolic blood pressure in the first trimester. The positive predictive value does not reach 55% for any variable in any trimester. The higher relative risk was consistently obtained for systolic blood pressure (4.9 in the third trimester). Despite the highly statistically significant differences in blood pressure found between healthy and complicated pregnancies in all trimesters, the daily mean of blood pressure does not provide a proper and stable individualized test for diagnosing hypertensive complications in pregnancy. Other indexes obtained from the blood pressure series have been shown, however, to identify early in pregnancy those women who subsequently will develop gestational hypertension or preeclampsia, rendering ambulatory blood pressure monitoring a useful, but still costly, technique in pregnancy.     

Power-Aware Compilation for Register File Energy Reduction

Most power reduction techniques have focused on gating the clock to unused functional units to minimize static power consumption, while system level optimizations have been used to deal with dynamic power consumption. Once these techniques are applied, register file power consumption becomes a dominant factor in the processor. This paper proposes a power-aware reconfiguration mechanism in the register file driven by a compiler. Optimal usage of the register file in terms of size is achieved and unused registers are put into a low-power state. Total energy consumption in the register file is reduced by 65% with no appreciable performance penalty for MiBench benchmarks on an embedded processor. The effect of reconfiguration granularity on energy savings is also analyzed, and the compiler approach to optimize energy results is presented.