A biomechanical evaluation of lifting speed using work- and moment-related measures.

A biomechanical evaluation of lifting speed was conducted in the laboratory. The study investigated the effects of lifting speed on several predetermined biomechanical cost functions. The lifting tasks consisted of five lifting speeds labelled as the slowest, slow, normal, fast and fastest, and three weights, 50, 65 and 80% of their maximum acceptable weight of lift. The speed at each level was determined individually by each subject according to their capability. The study found that work-related measures, including the total net muscle work, total absolute net muscle work and work done to the load, decreased significantly as the lifting speed increased (p < 0.05, < 0.001 and < 0.001, respectively). The time integral of sum of squared ratio of joint moment and strength also decreased significantly (p < 0.001). This indicates that lifting at a faster speed tends to reduce the work the body has to do. The peak speed of load occurred at 70% of total lifting time for the slowest lifts, but at 30% of total lifting time for other lifting speeds. Performing lifts at the minimum speeds changed the usual speed coordination technique the subjects used.     

Cooperative Association/Re-association Approaches to Optimize Energy Consumption for Real-Time IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee Wireless Sensor Networks

The major challenge of real-time Wireless Sensor Networks stills the optimization of both constraints: energy consumption, to get long network lifetime and the communication delay, to meet real-time requirements. In the context of IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee networks, the association procedure has a direct effect on building paths optimizing those constraints. In this paper, we are interested on the definition of an ideal approach of load balancing to fairly distribute energy consumption among nodes in IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee WSNs. This approach leads to conserve energy of each node in order to extend the network lifetime. To be closer to this ideal, we propose new dynamic association/re-association approaches allowing path alternation relative to association criteria and their threshold parameters. The implementation of those approaches in NS2 simulator highlights the efficiency of cooperative and dynamic association criteria particularly the one based on the sum of the inverses of remaining energy. Indeed, this approach gives better results with regard to energy distribution according to ideal approach which leads to a longer lifetime. It also performs lower latency for real time communication.     

Immunoradiometric assay for estimation of thyroid stimulating hormone using solid phase anti-TSH Sepharose particles

A procedure for immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) using solid phase Sepharose particles for the measurement of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in human serum or plasma was developed, optimized, and validated. The ¹²⁵I-anti-TSH monoclonal antibody (MoAb) was prepared using N-bromosuccinimide as oxidizing agent and was purified by HPLC. The coupling of activated sepharose particles with polyclonal antiobody of TSH produced using rabbit as a host animal was undertaken. Optimization and validation of the assay were carried out. The reproducibility as measured by the intra- and interassay variations is acceptable. The recovery and dilution tests confirmed that the calibration was accurate and the matrix was appropriate. The results agree well with those obtained with the currently used commercial kit. The technique developed proved to be sensitive, specific, precise, and accurate for routine laboratory use.     

The effect of training on the results of the isoinertial 6-foot incremental lift strength test

A study was designed to determine whether training has an affect on the results of the isoinertial 6-foot incremental lift strength test. The study involved having five male and five female subjects participate in a two week training program in which the subjects trained on the isoinertial 6-foot incremental weight machine. The results of the study showed that the training protocol used in this study increased the mean of the results of the test by approximately 14% for male subjects and 23% for female subjects. These findings were statistically significant at the = 0.05 level.     

A Computer-Aided Panel Layout Procedure for Process Control Jobs—LAYGEN

The procedure presented in this paper is a computerized methodology to generate alternate, ergonomically sound layouts of large control panels. The displays and controls are laid out on a vertical and two inclined panels taking various ergonomic design principles into account. Required input data categories, general structure of the methodology, and output reports of LAYGEN are discussed.     

Experimental characterization of sheet metal deformation during electro-hydraulic forming

A novel experimental technique, that combines high-speed imaging and digital image correlation techniques, has been developed and applied to investigate the high-rate deformation behavior of aluminum sheet during electro-hydraulic forming (EHF). Aluminum alloy AA5182-O sheets (1 mm thick and ∼152 mm diameter) were EHF deformed by high-energy (up to ∼21 kJ) pressure-pulse and the time-evolution of sheet-displacement, velocity, strain and strain-rate quantified. The data shows that different locations on the sheet undergo unique deformation history that is not apparent from the conventional post-mortem strain measurement (using etched circle/grid pattern) approach. Under the experimental conditions used in this work, the sheets were formed into domes and the maximum strain-rate observed was ∼664/s. Further, this maximum strain-rate was observed at an off-apex location and was ∼2.5 times greater than the maximum strain-rate at the dome apex. The maximum velocity observed was ∼100 m/s and the velocity-time data showed evidence of pressure-wave reverberations during the forming process. We believe that knowledge of such time-evolution of sheet deformation is necessary for a better understanding and accurate modeling of sheet formability that has often been reported to exceed quasi-static forming limits under high-rate forming conditions.     

Superstructure-based design and operation for biomass utilization networks

This paper is providing a design and evaluation methodology for biomass utilization networks (B-NETs) planning in local areas. The methodology is an effort to integrate various exertions of many researchers as well as stakeholders in the biomass field including process technologies, local area classification and renewable energy mechanisms to design and evaluate B-NETs. The proposed design methodology has three steps: classification, problem formulation and suggesting solution methods. The core part of planning the B-NETs utilization methodology is the superstructure that is a super class model for the processes of biomass utilization networks that has to be built for the local area. The biomass utilization superstructure (BUSS) relates the biomass resources to their products, available processes, and possible future processes of utilization in static manner. Although the local area BUSS is static in nature, it shows the decision makers what kinds of B-NETs are, or can be, available in their area. It is important to note that for each super class process there exists a number of elemental technologies, or what we call unit process (UP), that can perform the job under the same condition with different processing constraint. To support the design and operation process a technological information infrastructure (TII) needs to be built to work as an information pool and simulation tool. With the support of TII and the BUSS different scenarios can be synthesized, analyzed and compared. Scenarios development enables the designer to check processing alternatives as well as biomass promotion mechanisms that fit the concerns of various stakeholders. The results of the methodology application can be given in the form of suggestions of a specific network class(es) or scenarios that can be applied in a class of localities with the same characteristics. Following to methodology configuration, a proposal for optimization methods is discussed and a case study for comparing biomass network scenarios in mountainous city is introduced.     

Manual materials handling capabilities in non-standard postures.

Research efforts to establish manual materials handling (MMH) capabilities of individuals and populations have been conducted for many years. Most of the previous efforts have explored 'standard postures', utilizing two-handed, symmetric, sagittal plane MMH using unrestricted postures. Recognizing that many industrial MMH activities do not utilize 'standard postures', recent research projects have explored psychophysically determined MMH capacities in a variety of non-standard postures. Among the non-standard postures examined were: twisting while lifting or lowering, lifting and lowering from lying, sitting, kneeling, and squatting positions, and carrying loads under conditions of constricted ceiling heights. This paper presents the results of a series of previous research efforts at Texas Tech University. The results are presented in the form of population capabilities of both males and females for 99 MMH tasks using 'non-standard postures'. The data tables contain means and standard deviations of the data, as well as percentile distributions for the subject populations. Sample sizes for the experimental populations ranged from 45 to 50 subjects of each sex in the first three experiments to 20 subjects of each sex in the fourth set of experiments.     

A novel approach on the determination of the minimal operating efficiency of a PEM fuel cell

In this article, a novel mathematical approach is proposed to determine the minimal proton exchange membrane fuel cell efficiency below which it is not recommended to operate the fuel cell. The objective of this proposal is to minimize the annual fuel cost and the electricity cost of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell since both terms are efficiency dependent. A new concept developed in this article might be used as a valuable mathematical tool to determine the minimal efficiency required to operate a fuel cell in a reasonable fashion in order to make the fuel cell system technically and economically feasible. Two dimensionless mathematical criteria J₁ and J₂ were proposed for the annual fuel cost and electricity cost, respectively. A minimum fuel cell efficiency of was obtained with J₁ and J₂ values of 2.7 and 0.026, respectively.