Supporting skill-, rule-, and knowledge-based behaviour through an ecological interface: An industry-scale application

The present paper deals with a screen-based ecological interface designed to support the operators' work in a medium voltage electricity distribution control room. More specifically, the focus is placed on how the designed interface supports operators in skill-, rule-, or knowledge-based behaviour, as well as in the transition between the three levels of behaviour. The aim of this work is to multiply the examples of ecological interface designs for industry-scale applications, in order to contribute to the maturation of this promising design approach for complex socio-technical systems.

Relevance to industry

Ecological Interface Design has shown its value in diverse domains. Present work is expected to become a prototypical case for the electricity distribution industry, as it demonstrates the applicability and effectiveness of ecological design for domain operations.     

Dielectric Study of Tetraalkylammonium and Tetraalkylphosphonium Levulinate Ionic Liquids

Broadband dielectric spectroscopy in a broad temperature range was employed to study ionic conductivity and dynamics in tetraalkylammonium- and tetraalkylphosphonium-based ionic liquids (ILs) having levulinate as a common anion. Combining data for ionic conductivity with data obtained for viscosity in a Walden plot, we show that ionic conductivity is controlled by viscosity while a strong association of ions takes place. Higher values for ionic conductivities in a broad temperature range were found for the tetraalkylphosphonium-based IL compared to its ammonium homolog in accordance with its lower viscosity. Levulinate used in the present study as anion was found to interact and associate stronger with the cations forming ion-pairs or other complexes compared to the NTf₂ anion studied in literature. In order to analyze dielectric data, different fitting approaches were employed. The original random barrier model cannot well describe the conductivity especially at the higher frequencies region. In electric modulus representation, two overlapping mechanisms contribute to the broad low frequencies peak. The slower process is related to the conduction mechanism and the faster to the main polarization process of the complex dielectric permittivity representation. The correlation of the characteristic time scales of the previous relaxation processes was discussed in terms of ionic interactions.     

Polycyanurate networks modified by polyoxytetramethylene glycol

Summary We report results obtained within a collaborative project dealing with the preparation of hybrid polycyanurate/polyoxytetramethylene glycol (PCN/PTMG) networks and the investigation of their structure-property relationships by a variety of experimental techniques. The hybrids were prepared from PCN and PTMG (molar mass 1.000 g/mol) with 10, 20, 30 and 40 wt% PTMG. The degree of incorporation of PTMG into the PCN network was determined by gel fraction measurements. WAXS and SAXS studies had indicated that the materials under investigation are amorphous and exhibit nanostructural heterogeneity, which increases with increasing amount of PTMG. Stress-strain measurements show improvement of the mechanical properties for PTMG contents of 30 and 40%. The focus in this paper is on the detailed investigation of the α relaxation associated with the glass transition in wide ranges of frequency and temperature by dielectric techniques. A single α relaxation was observed in all the compositions shifting systematically to lower temperatures/higher frequencies with increasing PTMG content. The results were systematically analyzed in terms of time scale and relaxation strength of the response and are discussed in terms of plasticization, presence of nanostructural heterogeneities and hybridization. Co-operativity of the α relaxation, quantified in terms of fragility, was found to decrease with increasing amount of PTMG, in correlation with increasing level of nanoheterogenity.     

On the synthesis and rebinding properties of [Co(C2H3O2)2(z-Histidine)] imprinted polymers prepared by precipitation polymerization

In the present study, the synthesis via free-radical precipitation polymerization of metal-complexing polymer microparticles capable of specific binding to [Co(C₂H₃O₂)₂(z-Histidine)] complex is reported. Initially, the functional monomer (i.e., 4-vinylpyridine, a vinyl monomer with metal chelate properties) is complexed together with the template [Co(C₂H₃O₂)₂(z-Histidine)] molecule via the mediation of cobalt ions. Evidence of the polymerizable complex formation is obtained through the compleximetric titration of the z-Histidine in the prepolymerization reaction mixture. Subsequent polymerization of the polymerizable complex with a bi-functional or tri-functional cross-linker results in the formation of imprinted polymer microparticles in the size range of 1–5 µm. The effects of agitation, cross-linker type, degree of cross-linking and molar ratio of the template to the functional monomer on the rebinding properties of the imprinted polymers are experimentally assessed. The synthesized imprinted polymers can potentially find application in the purification of his-tagged recombinant proteins.     

TiReX: Replica-exchange molecular dynamics using Tinker

We present a driver program for performing replica-exchange molecular dynamics simulations with the Tinker package. Parallelization is based on the Message Passing Interface, with every replica assigned to a separate process. The algorithm is not communication intensive, which makes the program suitable for running even on loosely coupled cluster systems. Particular attention is paid to the practical aspects of analyzing the program output.

Program summary

Program title: TiReXCatalogue identifier: AEEK_v1_0Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEEK_v1_0.htmlProgram obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. IrelandLicensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.htmlNo. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 43 385No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 502 262Distribution format: tar.gzProgramming language: Fortran 90/95Computer: Most UNIX machinesOperating system: LinuxHas the code been vectorized or parallelized?: parallelized with MPIClassification: 16.13External routines: TINKER version 4.2 or 5.0, built as a libraryNature of problem: Replica-exchange molecular dynamics.Solution method: Each replica is assigned to a separate process; temperatures are swapped between replicas at regular time intervals.Running time: The sample run may take up to a few minutes.     

A Single Cysteine Residue in the Translocation Pathway of the Mitosomal ADP/ATP Carrier from Cryptosporidium parvum Confers a Broad Nucleotide Specificity

Cryptosporidiumparvum is a clinically important eukaryotic parasite that causes the disease cryptosporidiosis, which manifests with gastroenteritis-like symptoms. The protist has mitosomes, which are organelles of mitochondrial origin that have only been partially characterized. The genome encodes a highly reduced set of transport proteins of the SLC25 mitochondrial carrier family of unknown function. Here, we have studied the transport properties of one member of the C. parvum carrier family, demonstrating that it resembles the mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier of eukaryotes. However, this carrier has a broader substrate specificity for nucleotides, transporting adenosine, thymidine, and uridine di- and triphosphates in contrast to its mitochondrial orthologues, which have a strict substrate specificity for ADP and ATP. Inspection of the putative translocation pathway highlights a cysteine residue, which is a serine in mitochondrial ADP/ATP carriers. When the serine residue is replaced by cysteine or larger hydrophobic residues in the yeast mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier, the substrate specificity becomes broad, showing that this residue is important for nucleotide base selectivity in ADP/ATP carriers.     

Poly(imide-amide)-poly(ethylene glycol) hybrid networks: nanostructure,molecular dynamics and membrane properties

Summary Nanometer-scale structure, molecular dynamics (at 100-580 K) and membrane properties were studied in two series of poly(imide-amide) (PIA)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hybrid networks with regularly varied composition and different lengths of PEG crosslinks (M_n= 1000 or 3400). Combined WAXD/SAXS/polarized microscopy/DSC/DRS/TSDC/creep rate spectroscopy (CRS) analysis of these hybrids was performed. Depending on their composition, semicrystalline or mesomorphous, or amorphous state, and nanostructural heterogeneity were observed for these networks. They could be subdivided into (a) the PIA-rich hybrids with spatially isolated PEG domains, “suppressed” dynamics in the PEG glass transition, and PIA domains with T_g=520–570 K (group 1), and (b) the other hybrids with a continuous PEG phase and low-temperature glass transition only (group 2). Heterogeneity in segmental dynamics was revealed by CRS over the temperature range from T_g^PEG to T_g^PIA. In the second group of hybrids, the permeability coefficients were higher, by two or three orders of magnitude, for organic vapors than those for air gases.