Motion Error Compensation Method for Hydrostatic Tables Using Actively Controlled Capillaries

To compensate for the motion errors in hydrostatic tables, a method to actively control the clearance of a bearing corresponding to the amount of error using actively controlled capillaries is introduced in this paper. The design method for an actively controlled capillary that considers the output rate of a piezo actuator and the amount of error that must be corrected is described. The basic characteristics of such a system were tested, such as the maximum controllable range of the error, micro-step response, and available dynamic bandwidth when the capillary was installed in a hydrostatic table. The tests demonstrated that the maximum controllable range was 2.4 /im, the resolution was 27 nm, and the frequency bandwidth was 5.5 Hz. Simultaneous compensation of the linear and angular motion errors using two actively controlled capillaries was also performed for a hydrostatic table driven by a ballscrew and a DC servomotor. An iterative compensation method was applied to improve the compensation characteristics. Experimental results showed that the linear and angular motion errors were improved to 0.12 μm and 0.20 arcsec, which were about 1/15^th and l/6^th of the initial motion errors, respectively. These results confirmed that the proposed compensation method improves the motion accuracy of hydrostatic tables very effectively.     

Separation of whey proteins by anion-exchange membranes

Three strong anion-exchange membranes (CIM QA, Q100 and HiTrap Q) were investigated for the separation of the major proteins, which were contained in whey, such as α-Lactalbumin, BSA and β-Lactoglobulin. Experiments were performed to determine the optimum mobile phase composition for separating the whey proteins using the standard chemicals of the proteins. The mobile phase was buffer A (20 mM piperazine-HCl pH 6.4) and buffer B (buffer A+1 M NaCl) and the linear gradient elution changes of salt concentration were applied. The standard chemicals of the proteins were used to investigate the optimal mobile phase compositions with the three anion-exchange membranes. From the experimental results, it was found that HiTrap Q was the most effective in separating whey proteins.     

Capacity improvement in CDMA downlink with orthogonal code-hopping multiplexing

Orthogonal code-hopping multiplexing (OCHM) is a statistical multiplexing scheme designed to increase the number of allowable downlink channels in code division multiple access (CDMA) systems. OCHM is expected to compensate for a lack of codewords in future communication systems. In CDMA systems including OCHM, system capacity is limited by the number of codewords and power (or interference), and the maximum system capacity is determined by a stronger limitation between them. Call blockings due to power limitation may occur firstly if downlink channels demand large E/sub b//I/sub 0/ values and a high-channel activity. On the other hand, code limitation may occur prior to power limitation in CDMA. The maximum system capacities determined by both code and power limitations must be known, even in OCHM. However, previous studies on OCHM system capacity focused only on increasing the number of multiplexed users with no consideration of the power limitation. In this paper, the overall system capacity of OCHM considering both code and power limitations was evaluated. For this analysis, the transmission chip energy of base station (BS) and inner/outer-cell interference is mathematically derived in a multicell and multiuser environment. The downlink system capacity for OCHM is larger than for orthogonal code division multiplexing (OCDM) as other cell interference (OCI), mean channel activity, and the required E/sub b//I/sub 0/ value decrease.     

Application of computational fluid dynamics analysis for improving performance of commercial scale selective catalytic reduction

The performance of commercial scale selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system is strongly dependant upon the degree of mixing between NH₃ and NOx or NH₃ concentration distribution at the catalyst layer according to the reaction kinetics of SCR catalysts. Insufficient mixing of the reduction agent and NOx mass flow necessitates an uneconomically large catalyst volume and high NH₃ slip to meet the required NOx emission values. The effective methodology which can increase the performance of commercial scale SCR through improving NH₃ concentration distribution at the catalyst layer using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was suggested and applied to the real operations. The operation results have shown that the performance of commercial SCR was improved from 54.4% to 74.8% as NH₃ concentration deviation at the catalyst layer was reduced from 23.6% to 8.6%. It is established that the increase of NH₃ concentration uniformity at the catalyst layer contributes to improvement of performance of commercial scale SCR.     

Effect of temperature and pressure on permeation,ageing and emissions of elastomers

This article details permeation tests that were performed on sheet samples of elastomers, over a wide range of pressures and temperatures, to study their effects on gas diffusion and solubility. It also explains how ageing is affected by gas permeation, and how the permeation test results can be used as input data for finite element analysis to aid the design of elastomeric components.     

The effects of amount of whole barley, barley bulk density, and form of roughage on feedlot lamb performance, carcass characteristics, and digesta kinetics

We conducted two feedlot trials and one metabolism trial to evaluate the effect of barley level, barley bulk density, and physical form of roughage on lamb growth performance and digesta kinetics. Level of whole barley (50, 70, 90%) and type of roughage (chopped or pelleted alfalfa) were evaluated in Trial 1 (50 d period). Trial 2 (50 d) evaluated barley bulk density (heavy = 671 and light = 607 kg/m3), form of roughage (pelleted or chopped alfalfa), and level of barley (80 or 40%). The influence of treatments used in Trial 2 on digesta kinetics was evaluated in Trial 3. Gain:feed increased and DMI decreased (P < .10) linearly with increasing level of barley, and ADG and DMI were greater (P < . 10) for lambs fed pelleted vs chopped alfalfa in Trial 1. The 70% barley diet produced the highest yield grade and kidney-pelvic fat and the lowest leg score among barley levels (P < .10). Lambs fed pelleted alfalfa had heavier carcasses and a thicker body wall than lambs fed chopped alfalfa (P < .02). In Trial 2, DMI was less and gain:feed greater (P < .01) for lambs fed the heavy barley than for lambs fed the light barley and for the 80% barley diet compared to the 40% barley diet. Lambs fed pelleted alfalfa had greater dressing percentages than lambs fed chopped alfalfa. Backfat and body wall thickness were greater (P < .10) for lambs fed the 80% barley diet than for those fed the 40% barley diet. In Trial 3, retention time of barley was greater (P < .10) for lambs fed light rather than heavy barley, and retention time of alfalfa was greater (P < .10) for lambs fed chopped compared with pelleted alfalfa. Acetate:propionate ratio was greater (P < .10) for lambs fed light vs heavy barley and lambs fed the 40 vs 80% barley diets. Ruminal pH was lower (P = .05) and in situ barley digestion greater (P = .03) over time in lambs fed the 80% barley diet than in lambs fed the 40% barley diet. Feedlot lamb ADG was not always greatest with high levels of barley; however, gain:feed improved at the higher barley levels. The higher barley levels seemed to result in fatter lambs.     

Predominance and characteristics of Burkitt lymphoma among children with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in northeastern Brazil

The purpose of this paper was to define the histologic distribution, clinical features, and treatment response of childhood non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in northeastern Brazil. We reviewed medical records and histopathologic studies of 98 children treated for NHL from 1980 to 1987 at a major pediatric cancer center in Recife, Brazil. Treatment outcome was evaluated in relation to tumor burden (stage and serum LDH) and type of therapy (LSA2L2 vs other multiagent chemotherapy). There was a striking predominance of the small noncleaved cell (Burkitt) subtype, which occurred in 92 of the 98 children and adolescents diagnosed with NHL. Subsequent analyses focused on these patients. The majority (n = 84) had advanced (stage III/IV) disease at diagnosis. The abdomen was the most common site of disease (84 cases); jaw involvement was rare (three cases). Five-year event-free survival (excluding treatment refusals) was significantly better for patients with limited vs advanced stage disease (75 +/- 14% vs 42 +/- 6%; P < 0.04). Elevated serum LDH (>500 U/l) was associated with a poorer outcome (P = 0.008). The type of chemotherapy did not affect EFS (P = 0.95). Only 39% of patients are long-term survivors, reflecting the high rate of septic deaths (25% of patients) and parental refusal/abandonment of therapy (10%). Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) was detected in tumor cells from eight of the 11 cases studied. In clinical presentation, these cases resemble sporadic Burkitt lymphoma, yet in their apparent responsiveness to LSA2L2 therapy and association with EBV, they do not. Childhood NHL in northeastern Brazil is predominantly of the Burkitt subtype, and is associated with clinical features that appear to distinguish it from the endemic and sporadic forms of this tumor. These cases may represent a third or intermediate subtype of Burkitt lymphoma.     

Identification of a reservoir for HIV-1 in patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy

The hypothesis that quiescent CD4+ T lymphocytes carrying proviral DNA provide a reservoir for human immunodeficiency virus-type 1 (HIV-1) in patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was examined. In a study of 22 patients successfully treated with HAART for up to 30 months, replication-competent virus was routinely recovered from resting CD4+ T lymphocytes. The frequency of resting CD4+ T cells harboring latent HIV-1 was low, 0.2 to 16.4 per 10(6) cells, and, in cross-sectional analysis, did not decrease with increasing time on therapy. The recovered viruses generally did not show mutations associated with resistance to the relevant antiretroviral drugs. This reservoir of nonevolving latent virus in resting CD4+ T cells should be considered in deciding whether to terminate treatment in patients who respond to HAART.