A mathematical framework to study fast walking of human

The body of a walking human is an elaborated dynamic system that operates adaptively in various conditions such as fast walking. Due to dynamic redundancies, the individual motor control strategies for speeding up the walking can be different among normal subjects. However, in reality, we see that the pattern of motion is quite similar among people and it is only the profile of hip joint motion along its path which determines the speed. The objective of the current paper is to develop a mathematical framework to investigate time optimal motion of a human during walking. To this end, a nine-link planar biped model is used. The motion is considered to take place in sagittal plane and to follow a normal pattern of motion. The solution is obtained using a phase plane method to solve minimum time problem which is subjected to inequality constraints of variable maximum joint torques and stability conditions. The solution method can be used to find the maximum possible speed of a human with specific body characteristics and to obtain a hip joint trajectory which could produce that speed. The proposed method can be utilized to study quantitative effect of different parameters such as joint strength in fast walking.     

Optimal pricing, lot-sizing and marketing planning in a capacitated and imperfect production system

In the classical economic production quantity (EPQ) problem demand is considered to be known in advance. However, in the real-world, demand of a product is a function of factors such as product’s price, its quality, and marketing expenditures for promoting the product. Quality level of the product and specifications of the adopted manufacturing process also affect the unit product’s cost. Therefore, in this paper we consider a profit maximizing firm who wants to jointly determine the optimal lot-sizing, pricing, and marketing decisions along with manufacturing requirements in terms of flexibility and reliability of the process. Geometric programming (GP) technique is proposed to address the resulting nonlinear optimization problem. Using recent advances in optimization techniques we are able to optimally solve the developed, highly nonlinear, mathematical model. Finally, using numerical examples, we illustrate the solution approach and analyze the solution under different conditions.     

Induction motors bearing fault detection using pattern recognition techniques

This paper proposes a systematic procedure based on a pattern recognition technique for fault diagnosis of induction motors bearings through the artificial neural networks (ANNs). In this method, the use of time domain features as a proper alternative to frequency features is proposed to improve diagnosis ability. The features are obtained from direct processing of the signal segments using very simple calculation. Three different cases including, healthy, inner race defect and outer race defect are investigated using the proposed algorithm. The ANNs are trained with a subset of the experimental data for known machine conditions. Once the network is trained, efficiency of the proposed method is evaluated using the remaining set of data. The obtained results indicate that using time domain features can be effective in accurate diagnosis of various motor bearing faults with high precision and low computational burden.     

Low-temperature synthesis of mesoporous nanocrystalline magnesium aluminate (MgAl2O4) spinel with high surface area using a novel modified sol-gel method

A simple, template-free and scalable modified sol-gel route was developed for the synthesis of mesoporous flake-like magnesium aluminate spinel (MgAl₂O₄) at low temperature (700 °C) with high surface area (281 m² g^?1). The obtained spinel materials were characterized by means of physicochemical techniques including X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and N₂ adsorption-desorption analysis. The propylene oxide was used as gelation and pore forming agent in the sol-gel process. Different morphologies and sizes of flake were generated by the varied synthesis conditions. The result materials reveal that the textural properties of the MgAl₂O₄ product are strongly associated with the nature and amount of addictive solvent and calcination temperatures. It shows that the BET surface area decrease as the increase of calcination temperature and the optimal temperature of 700 °C result in the pure phase of MgAl₂O₄ spinel. This synthesis strategy offers a feasible approach for scalable fabrication of mixed metal oxides for various catalytic reactions or catalyst supports due to the large surface area.     

Hydrometallurgical Extraction of Vanadium from Mechanically Milled Oil-Fired Fly Ash: Analytical Process Optimization by Using Taguchi Design Method

In this study, the Taguchi design method was employed to determine the optimum experimental parameters in extraction of vanadium by NaOH leaching of oil-fired fly. Prior to designed experiments, the raw precipitates were mechanicallly milled using a high-energy planetary ball mill. Experimental parameters were investigated as follows: mechanical milling (MM) times (2 and 5?hours), NaOH (1 and 2 molar concentration) as reaction solution (RS), powder to solution (P/S) ratios (100/400 and 100/600?mg/mL), temperature (T) of reaction system (303 K and 333?K [30?°C and 60?°C]), stirring times (ST) of reaction media (4 and 12?hours), stirring speed (SS) being adjusted to 400 and 600?rpm, and rinsing times (RT) of remained filtrates (1 and 3?hours). Statistical analysis of signal-to-noise ratio followed by analysis of variance was performed in order to estimate the optimum levels and their relative contributions. Data analysis is carried out using L₈ orthogonal array consisting of seven parameters each with two levels. The optimum conditions were MM1 (3?hours), RS2 (2 molar NaOH), P/S2 (100/600?mg/mL), T2 (333?K [60?°C]), ST2 (12?hours), SS1 (400?rpm), and RT1 (1?hour). Finally, from environmental and economical points of view, the process is faster and better organized by employing this analytical design method.     

Towards the performance evaluation of 4th generation wireless communication standards: LTE versus Mobile WiMAX

Advances in wireless communication protocols and networking toward support of the next generation of mobile and radio broadband technologies have contributed to a strong competition among various telecommunication standards in particular Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Mobile Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX). In this paper, we provide an in‐depth comparison analysis of LTE and Mobile WiMAX at the physical (PHY) layer by studying the most similar PHY configuration scenarios for these two technologies. Our study includes a throughput analysis of downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmissions in time division duplex with the least overhead possible and different antenna schemes as well as modulation and code rates. This study also performs an overhead analysis in both protocols to provide a more in‐depth understanding of the PHY layer capacity in various PHY layer configurations. Our simulation results generally show higher performance for LTE in both DL and UL transmission with 7 Mbps in DL and 5 Mbps in UL, when using one antenna port. However, by increasing the number of antennas for multiple‐input/multiple‐output configurations, the results illustrate a reduction in the performance of LTE compared to Mobile WiMAX. This arises from the increase in reference signal overhead in LTE from 4.7% in single‐input/single‐output (SISO) to 14.28% in 4 × 4 multiple‐input/multiple‐output (MIMO). Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two-step purification strategy for enhanced recovery of recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen from Pichia pastoris

Univariate screening on factors affecting the purification performance of recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) on ion exchange chromatography (IEC) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and the establishment of a two-step purification strategy were performed. Amongst four IEC adsorbents examined, the use of Q Sepharose XL IEC adsorbent under optimized conditions together with optimized SEC purification was able to efficiently purify HBsAg. An established purification strategy comprising the two techniques further demonstrated adaptability for scale-up operations with a final total purification factor (PF) of 94.82 ± 16.20, HBsAg purity of 95.48% and recovery yield of 78.07%.     

Parallel‐series connected rectenna array using frequency selective surface (FSS) for power harvesting applications at 5.8 GHz

This article presents a frequency selective surface (FSS) and rectenna array in parallel‐series connection to harvest power of wireless power systems. To improve the basic antenna parameters, a frequency selective surface was mounted on the reverse side of the substrate. According to the results, the proposed method showed significant improvement in comparison to other methods in both single and rectenna array. Moreover, the conversion efficiency of the presented technique was increased to 76%. The output voltage of 4.5 and 9 V and the current of 60 and 120 mA were resulted for 5 and 10 rectenna units, respectively. The proposed arrays can be expanded to large scale integrated array without any significant degradation in conversion efficiency.     

Effects of cold plasma on the color parameters of Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis L.) using color imaging instrumentation and spectrophotometer

This research was conducted to evaluate the effects of cold atmospheric plasma treatment on the color of Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis L.) and also to compare the usage of the spectrophotometer vs the color imaging instrumentation for the evaluation of the treatment on the color parameters. The experiments were investigated at different treatment times of 1, 5, and 10 minutes and the voltage values of 17, 20, and 23 kV. Possible changes of color were evaluated by using CIE L*a*b* values obtained with HunterLab colorimeter and CIE L*a*b* values obtained with a digital still camera (DSC) using digital image processing (MATLAB software). The values of L*, a*, and b* of the samples were obtained using both the methods. The results revealed that the L*, a*, and b* values of the treated Hyssop samples changed with increasing the treatment time and the voltage applied. Evaluating the interaction effects revealed that there was a significant difference in the (−a^*/b^* ) ratio. In addition, the results showed that the effects of all variables on the color parameters were significantly different in the case of the DSC using digital image processing. However, these effects were not significantly different using HunterLab colorimeter except for time variable and interaction effects of a* and (−a^*/b^* ) ratio. The lightest green color and the maximum chlorophyll content loss were observed for 23 kV applied over 10 minutes. Based on the results, the digital image processing can be used as a practical tool to study the variations at the color of dried Hyssop leaves after cold plasma treatment.