Ethanol and neurotransmitter interactions--from molecular to integrative effects

There is extensive evidence that ethanol interacts with a variety of neurotransmitters. Considerable research indicates that the major actions of ethanol involve enhancement of the effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) at GABAA receptors and blockade of the NMDA subtype of excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptor. Ethanol increases GABAA receptor-mediated inhibition, but this does not occur in all brain regions, all cell types in the same region, nor at all GABAA receptor sites on the same neuron, nor across species in the same brain region. The molecular basis for the selectivity of the action of ethanol on GaBAA receptors has been proposed to involve a combination of benzodiazepine subtype, beta 2 subunit, and a splice variant of the gamma 2 subunit, but substantial controversy on this issue currently remains. Chronic ethanol administration results in tolerance, dependence, and an ethanol withdrawal (ETX) syndrome, which are mediated, in part, by desensitization and/or down-regulation of GABAA receptors. This decrease in ethanol action may involve changes in subunit expression in selected brain areas, but these data are complex and somewhat contradictory at present. The sensitivity of NMDA receptors to ethanol block is proposed to involve the NMDAR2B subunit in certain brain regions, but this subunit does not appear to be the sole determinant of this interaction. Tolerance to ethanol results in enhanced EAA neurotransmission and NMDA receptor upregulation, which appears to involve selective increases in NMDAR2B subunit levels and other molecular changes in specific brain loci. During ETX a variety of symptoms are seen, including susceptibility to seizures. In rodents these seizures are readily triggered by sound (audiogenic seizures). The neuronal network required for these seizures is contained primarily in certain brain stem structures. Specific nuclei appear to play a hierarchical role in generating each stereotypical behavioral phases of the convulsion. Thus, the inferior colliculus acts to initiate these seizures, and a decrease in effectiveness of GABA-mediated inhibition in these neurons is a major initiation mechanism. The deep layers of superior colliculus are implicated in generation of the wild running behavior. The pontine reticular formation, substantia nigra and periaqueductal gray are implicated in generation of the tonic-clonic seizure behavior. The mechanisms involved in the recruitment of neurons within each network nucleus into the seizure circuit have been proposed to require activation of a critical mass of neurons. Achievement of critical mass may involve excess EAA-mediated synaptic neurotransmission due, in part, to upregulation as well as other phenomena, including volume (non-synaptic diffusion) neurotransmission. Effects of ETX on receptors observed in vitro may undergo amplification in vivo to allow the excess EAA action to be magnified sufficiently to produce synchronization of neuronal firing, allowing participation of the nucleus in seizure generation. GABA-mediated inhibition, which normally acts to limit excitation, is diminished in effectiveness during ETX, and further intensifies this excitation.     

Novel method of measuring tappet rotation and the effect of lubricant rheology

One of the main drivers for developing lubricant technology is engine durability. Researchers and scientists are using new technologies, materials and advanced lubricant formulations to reduce overall engine friction and wear. One of the main engine tribological components is the valve train. This is one of the most challenging components to lubricate effectively because of the higher contact loadings and accounts for 10–20% of the total engine friction loss. The two main factors affecting the performance of engine valve trains are wear and friction, and a wide range of mechanical configurations are used to improve these. For example, direct-acting overhead camshaft valve train configurations use a rotating tappet design. Normally, the tappet is slightly offset from the cams and the cam is slightly conical to match the domed tappet to facilitate tappet rotation for even wear and to reduce slippage. In this paper, a novel innovative technique has been described to monitor tappet rotation in a real production engine having a direct overhead cam–tappet arrangement. The monitoring technique was applied to a VW Tdi engine head, and tests were carried out under different operating conditions. Lubricant compositions, oil temperature, pressure and camshaft speeds on tappet rotation were measured and all are shown to have an effect. The balance of forces between the cam–tappet and tappet-bore was found to be interlinked and the design of the hydraulic lash adjuster had a significant effect.This unique tappet rotation monitoring system can be used on most of the direct overhead camshaft engines, with minor engine modifications, to measure lubricant and hardware effects under both motored and fired conditions.     

A sensitive non-parametric EWMA control chart

In practice, we may not always have normally distributed quality characteristics of interest. This leads to the need for non-parametric techniques which are not dependent on the assumptions about the parent distribution. This study develops a non-parametric exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) chart (namely the NPSS_EWMA chart) for an improved monitoring of process location. The proposal is based on the use of sign statistics on a moving pattern in an EWMA setup. The design structure of the proposed chart is developed and its performance is evaluated in terms of different properties including average run length (ARL), standard deviation run length (SDRL), percentiles, relative ARL (RARL), extra quadratic loss (EQL), and performance comparison index (PCI). The proposal is compared with recently developed non-parametric counterparts namely NPS_EWMA, NPAS_EWMA, and NPS_CUSUM charts. It is observed that the design structure of the proposed NPSS_EWMA chart outshines the existing counterparts. An application example is also included in the study for practical demonstration.     

Nonparametric Progressive Mean Control Chart for Monitoring Process Target

Nonparametric control charts are widely used when the parametric distribution of the quality characteristic of interest is questionable. In this study, we proposed a nonparametric progressive mean control chart, namely the nonparametric progressive mean chart, for efficient detection of disturbances in process location or target. The proposed chart is compared with the recently proposed nonparametric exponentially weighted moving average and nonparametric cumulative sum charts using different run length characteristics such as the average run length, standard deviation of the run length, and the percentile points of the run length distribution. The comparisons revealed that the proposed chart outperformed recent nonparametric exponentially weighted moving average and nonparametric cumulative sum charts, in terms of detecting the shifts in process target. A real life example concerning the fill heights of soft drink beverage bottles is also provided to illustrate the application of the proposed nonparametric control chart. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improving the Performance of Combined Shewhart–Cumulative Sum Control Charts

For an improved monitoring of process parameters, it is generally desirable to have efficient designs of control charting structures. The addition of Shewhart control limits to the cumulative sum (CUSUM) control chart is a simple monitoring scheme sensitive to wide range of mean shifts. To improve the detection ability of the combined Shewhart–CUSUM control chart to off‐target processes, we developed the scheme using ranked set sampling instead of the traditional simple random sampling. We investigated the run length properties of the Shewhart–CUSUM with ranked set samples and compared their performance with certain established control charts. It is revealed that the proposed schemes offer better protection against different types of mean shifts than the existing counterparts including classical Shewhart, classical CUSUM, classical combined Shewhart–CUSUM, adaptive CUSUM, double CUSUM, three simultaneous CUSUM, combined Shewhart‐weighted CUSUM, runs rules‐based CUSUM and the mixed exponentially weighted moving average‐CUSUM. Applications on real data sets are also given to demonstrate the implementation simplicity of the proposed schemes Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Progressive Mean Control Chart for Monitoring Process Location Parameter

Control charts are widely used for process monitoring. They show whether the variation is due to common causes or whether some of the variation is due to special causes. To detect large shifts in the process, Shewhart‐type control charts are preferred. Cumulative sum (CUSUM) and exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control charts are generally used to detect small and moderate shifts. Shewhart‐type control charts (without additional tests) use only current information to detect special causes, whereas CUSUM and EWMA control charts also use past information. In this article, we proposed a control chart called progressive mean (PM) control chart, in which a PM is used as a plotting statistic. The proposed chart is designed such that it uses not only the current information but also the past information. Therefore, the proposed chart is a natural competitor for the classical CUSUM, the classical EWMA and some recent modifications of these two charts. The conclusion of this article is that the performance of the proposed PM chart is superior to the compared ones for small and moderate shifts, and its performance for large shifts is better (in terms of the average run length). Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of novel conducting composites of nanostructured poly(1‐naphthylamine) with poly(vinyl chloride)

Investigations on the synthesis of nanoconducting polymers have gained much popularity during the past few decades. The processibility of the nanostructured conducting polymers is poor, which hinders their commercial application. Considering the drawbacks of nanostructured conducting polymers, this article reports for the first time the synthesis of processible composites of nanostructured poly(1‐naphthylamine) (PNA), a polyaniline derivative with poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). The composites were prepared by loading different weight ratios of PNA (2–10 wt%) in PVC. The composites were characterized by spectral, thermal, morphological, and conductivity studies. The particle size of PNA/PVC composites was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and was found to be in the range of 5–20 nm. The highest conductivity of 2.5 × 10⁻² S/cm was obtained in the composite with 4 wt% loading of PNA. The high conductivity of the composites was correlated to the agglomerate‐free uniform dispersion of self‐assembled nanofibrillar network of PNA particles in the PVC matrix. The PNA/PVC composites exhibited good mechanical properties, which holds potential for use in semiconductor nanodevices. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

EDM of hybrid Al–SiCp–B4Cp and Al–SiCp–Glassp MMCs

Hybrid metal matrix composites are a class of material system, with two or more discrete particulate reinforcement. Notwithstanding their superior properties, their widespread application is constrained by the difficulty in machining them. Non-conventional processes such as electrical discharge machining can be applied to machine such composites. This work reports on the application of EDM to machine cast aluminum–silicon carbide–boron carbide and cast aluminum–silicon carbide–glass hybrid metal matrix composites and how the metal removal rate and surface finish vary in response to the various EDM parameters