A distance PLC programming course employing a remote laboratory based on a flexible manufacturing cell

The increasing necessity of engineers capable of handling the problems of the industry and able to face the technical challenges they will encounter in their professional career is boosting the teaching methods based on projects and real applications. The Center of Technological Innovation in Static Converters and Drives, Technical University of Catalonia (CITCEA-UPC) group, Barcelona, Spain, has introduced such learning methods applied to the automation field in a course taught for the electrical engineering degree and in some postgraduate workshops, making the laboratory platforms available through the Internet in order to allow the use of such practices in e-learning-based courses. The learning method is based on a flexible manufacturing cell, resulting from the collaboration between the CITCEA-UPC and Schneider Electric and its Training Center. The problem proposed to the students is the automation of such a cell with commercial programmable logic controllers (PLCs). The experience has proved to be positive, and the students have valued it accordingly.     

Phase II trial of first-line high-dose ifosfamide in advanced soft tissue sarcomas of the adult: a study of the Spanish Group for Research on Sarcomas (GEIS)

BACKGROUND: The agent Ifosfamide (IFOS) is active against soft tissue sarcomas (STS), and patients who progress to IFOS at doses < or = 10 g/m2 show remissions when exposed to high-dose ifosfamide (HDI) (i.e., doses > 10 g/m2), which supports a dose-response relationship for this drug. Because of a lack of first-line studies in adult STS patients, we decided to test the activity and toxicity of HDI in a phase II trial. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-eight patients were enrolled in the study. IFOS was administered at a dose of 14 g/m2 by continuous infusion over six days every four weeks. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) at 5 micrograms/kg/day for 10 consecutive days was systematically administered after an episode of neutropenic fever or a delay in hematologic recovery. Patients were treated until progression or the occurrence of severe toxicity, and surgical rescue was attempted when possible. RESULTS: Six pathology-established complete remissions and 11 partial remissions were observed in 45 assessable patients with a response rate of 37.7% (95% CI: 25.5%-50%). Grade 3-4 toxicity (% of cycles) was noted by hemoglobin (17%), leukocyte (75%), granulocyte (75%) and platelet (13%) counts in 158 evaluable cycles. GM-CSF was administered to 28 patients, and 25 suffered one or more episodes of neutropenic fever. Renal toxicity was mild and reversible with some degree of tubular and glomerular dysfunction detected in up to 60% of patients. Grade 3 CNS toxicity was observed in 32% of patients but only one required interruption of therapy. Sixty-four per cent of the patients had asthenia grade 2-3 and 20% were excluded from the study due to excessive toxicity. There was one treatment-related death. CONCLUSIONS: HDI is an active drug in first-line therapy against adult STS. Different administration schedules should be evaluated in an attempt to improve its therapeutic index.     

Urinary pyrraline as a biochemical marker of non-oxidative Maillard reactions in vivo

The presence of pyrraline, a non-oxidative glucose-derived Maillard reaction product in plasma proteins has been established previously. In this study we have investigated the presence of pyrraline in human urine to determine whether pyrraline-containing proteins are metabolized or selectively retained. Pyrraline was detected by means of HPLC, and its presence was confirmed by UV and electrospray-mass spectrometry. The quantification of pyrraline in urine from healthy individuals showed 1.21 +/- 0.4 micrograms/mg creatinine. In urine from diabetic patients, pyrraline levels varied considerably, although the mean level was higher than in healthy subjects (1.37 +/- 0.6 micrograms/mg creatinine). These data further support the presence of a catabolic pathway for advanced non-oxidative Maillard reaction products in vivo and suggest their role in the pathogenesis of diabetes.     

Analysis of the damping contribution of power system stabilizers driving wind power plants

Recently, the concept of wind power plant has been introduced as a result of the increment of wind power penetration in power systems. A wind power plant can be defined as a wind farm, which is expected to behave similar to a conventional power plant in terms of power generation, control and ancillary services. Transmission system operators are requiring wind power generation to help to power system with some ancillary services such as fault ride through or power system stabilizer capability. Therefore, it is important to study the power system stabilizer capability of wind power plants. In this paper, a comparison of various power system stabilizer schemes is presented. The effect of the distance from the tie line to the wind farm on the controller response and the influence of wind power plants proximity to synchronous generators are also evaluated. These studies show that wind power plants have promising power system stabilizer capability even using local input signals. However, the location of the wind power plant on the power system is a critical factor. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and chronic oral tegafur modulated by folinic acid in the treatment of patients with advanced breast carcinoma

BACKGROUND/AIMS/METHODS: The distribution characteristics of a human colon carcinoma cell line, KM12-HX cells, were examined. After intraportal vein (i.p.v.) or intravenous (i.v.) injection into rats, almost all the injected tumor cells are distributed to liver or lung, respectively, both after 30 s and 30 min. Our previous kinetic analysis of the fate of tumor cells revealed that the cumulative amount of tumor cells distributed in the liver is a factor determining the degree of metastasis. Thus, we examined the mechanism of initial efficient trapping of tumor cells by the liver in more detail. RESULTS: Thirty minutes after tumor cells were injected into the left ventricle of the heart, the distribution of tumor cells was more restricted in several tissues (kidney, small intestine, large intestine and spleen), as compared with the distribution of microspheres undergoing 100% extraction, indicating that the first-pass extraction of KM12-HX cells is incomplete in these organs. The hepatic first-pass distribution of these tumor cells was unaffected by pretreatment of liposomes, such that the preinjected amount was sufficient to saturate the phagocytotic function of macrophages. Thus, the mechanism of initial distribution of the tumor cells to the liver is different from the mechanism of liposome uptake by macrophages. Considering that the diameter of microvessels in sinusoid and KM12-HX cells is approximately 7 and 12 microm, respectively, it is possible that these tumor cells are trapped physically in hepatic microvessels. In fact, after i.p.v. injection of microspheres 5 microm in diameter, only 20% of the dose was distributed to liver and the rest to other tissues. In contrast, almost 100% of microspheres 10 microm in diameter were distributed to the liver. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the hypothesis that the initial organ distribution of blood-borne tumor cells is determined by mechanical and physical properties of the cells.     

Analysis of reactive power strategies in HVDC‐connected wind power plant clusters

Offshore wind power plants (WPPs) built near each other but far from shore usually connect to the main grid by a common high‐voltage DC (HVDC) transmission system. In the resulting decoupled offshore grid, the wind turbine converters and the high‐voltage DC voltage‐source converter share the ability to inject or absorb reactive power. The overall reactive power control dispatch influences the power flows in the grid and hence the associated power losses. This paper evaluates the respective power losses in HVDC‐connected WPP clusters when applying 5 different reactive power control strategies. The case study is made for a 1.2‐GW–rated cluster comprising 3 WPP and is implemented in a combined load flow and converter loss model. A large set of feasible operating points for the system is analyzed for each strategy. The results show that a selection of simulations with equal wind speeds is sufficient for the annual energy production comparison. It is found that the continuous operation of the WPPs with unity power factor has a superior performance with low communication requirements compared with the other conventional strategies. The optimization‐based strategy, which is developed in this article, allows a further reduction of losses mainly because of the higher offshore grid voltage level imposed by the high‐voltage DC voltage‐source converter. Reactive power control in HVDC‐connected WPP clusters change significantly the overall power losses of the system, which depend rather on the total sum of the injected active power than on the variance of wind speeds inside the cluster.     

M-CAVI, a neoadjuvant carboplatin-based regimen for the treatment of T2-4N0M0 carcinoma of the bladder

Dupuytren's disease is a proliferative fibroplasia that can lead to a significant contracture of the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and interphalangeal (IP) joints, causing a functional disability. Surgical excision of the Dupuytren's tissue and release of the contracted joints may be necessary to restore function. Most patients require hand therapy postoperatively. Postoperative complications have been reported at 17%. These include excessive inflammation, hematoma, ischemic skin necrosis, infection, granuloma formation, transient paresthesia, scar contracture, persistent proximal interphalangeal (PIP) flexion contracture, distal interphalangeal (DIP) hyperextension deformity, joint stiffness, poor flexion and grip strength, pain, and reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD). The hand therapist plays a vital role in the early detection and treatment of many of these complications.     

Carboplatin-based versus cisplatin-based chemotherapy in the treatment of surgically incurable advanced bladder carcinoma

BACKGROUND: The carboplatin-based chemotherapeutic regimen M-CAVI (methotrexate, carboplatin, and vinblastine) is active against bladder carcinoma and can be administered to patients who are ineligible to receive cisplatin or doxorubicin. The authors designed a randomized study to evaluate whether M-CAVI offers a therapeutic advantage over the cisplatin-based regimen M-VAC (methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin) in the treatment of patients with surgically incurable advanced bladder carcinoma. METHODS: Patients with surgically incurable advanced bladder carcinoma were enrolled on a randomized trial comparing M-CAVI, which consists of carboplatin (300 mg/m2 on Day 2, adjusted using Calvert's formula for an area under the curve of 5), methotrexate (30 mg/m2 on Days 1, 15, and 22), and vinblastine (3 mg/m2 on Days 2, 15, and 22) administered every 28 days, versus standard M-VAC. The eligibility criteria included histologically proven bladder carcinoma, surgically incurable disease, and no prior chemotherapy. Patients were treated until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity occurred. RESULTS: From January 1989 to January 1994, 47 assessable patients were included. Seventeen patients had lymph node disease and 30 had distant metastatic disease. Twenty-three patients were randomized to receive M-CAVI and 24 to receive M-VAC. Patient characteristics in the two groups were similar. Overall response rates were 39% (95% confidence interval [CI], 20-62%) for M-CAVI and 52% (95% CI, 30-73%) for M-VAC (P = 0.3), with 3 complete responses observed among patients treated with M-VAC and none among those in the M-CAVI group. M-VAC was associated with more gastrointestinal toxicity, stomatitis, alopecia, and Grade 4 neutropenia than M-CAVI. One toxicity-related death occurred in the M-VAC group. There was a statistically significant difference in median disease-related survival time favoring M-VAC (16 months; range, 6 to 22+) versus M-CAVI (9 months; range, 6 to 14+) (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: M-CAVI is less toxic but less active than M-VAC in the treatment of patients with advanced bladder carcinoma. Carboplatin-based regimens in which carboplatin is administered at the dose range used in the current study should be reserved for patients who cannot tolerate cisplatin treatment. Further research is required to assess the impact of high dose carboplatin in the treatment of this disease.