Interoperability requirements for automated manufacturing systems in construction

Multi-disciplinary software interoperability in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operations industry is becoming a new and widely adopted business culture. Technical advances in interoperability architectures, frameworks, methods and standards during the last decade resulted in higher maturity of product and process models. Mature models, in effect, enable data exchange by an increasing number of software applications in the industry. This establishes trust in data exchange and results in the lower cost impact of inefficient interoperability. The negative cost impact increases with advancing life-cycle phase, from planning and design phase to construction phase and to operation and maintenance phase. Interoperability in the planning and design phase is most mature and well published, while interoperability in the construction phase and for automated manufacturing is less researched. This paper reviews state-of-the art automated manufacturing systems in construction and researches interoperability requirements for automated construction in context of the entire building lifecycle. Our research is based on experimental free-form clay building, designed with embedded simple HVAC components, and manufactured with additive layer technology. Conclusions provide valuable results for interoperability research and practice in construction projects with automated manufacturing systems in place.     

A torque estimator-based control strategy for oil-well drill-string torsional vibrations active damping including an auto-tuning algorithm

Considerable compliance of the lengthy oil-well drill string combined with low tool inertia and stick-slip friction between the tool and the rock bed causes notable undesired torsional vibrations of the drill-string electrical drive. In order to attenuate the torsional vibrations and, thus, improve both the quality and the productivity of the drilling process, an automatically tuned active damping control strategy based on drill-string torque estimation is proposed in the paper. The core of the strategy includes a proportional-integral (PI) controller extended with estimator-based drill-string torque feedback loop. Furthermore, an appropriate algorithm that prevents drill-string back-spinning caused by the limited braking power of the power converter is presented. Finally, an auto-tuning algorithm is proposed, which is built around an adaptive Kalman filter-based estimator of drill-string drive natural frequencies. The drill-string control strategy is verified experimentally using a drill string hardware-in-the-loop setup under the laboratory conditions, as well as on an actual oil-drilling rig.     

A GIS based component-oriented integrated system for estimation, visualization and analysis of road traffic air pollution

Road traffic is a dominant source of air pollution. Therefore it is necessary to provide decision-makers with up-to-date emission information in an easily understandable form. To achieve this goal we have integrated existing emission calculation software with a graphical user interface, which includes a GIS (geographical information system) component. The paper first gives a summary of the basic road traffic emission model and then focuses on the design and implementation of the computer application with the emphasis on the used component and GIS technology. The integrated emission evaluation system offers entirely new ways of using the emission model and gives additional visualization and analysis possibilities.     

Inhibition of Hepatitis C Replication by Targeting the Molecular Chaperone Hsp90: Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of 4,5,6,7-Tetrahydrobenzo[1,2-d]thiazole Derivatives

Cellular chaperones that belong to the heat-shock protein 90 (Hsp90) family are a prerequisite for successful viral propagation for most viruses. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) uses Hsp90 for maturation, folding, and modification of viral proteins. Based on our previous discovery that marine alkaloid analogues with a 4,5,6,7-tetrahydrobenzo[1,2-d]thiazole-2-amine structure show inhibition of HCV replication and binding to Hsp90, a series of twelve novel compounds based on this scaffold was designed and synthesized. The aim was improved Hsp90 affinity and anti-HCV activity. Through structural optimization, improved binding to Hsp90 and specific HCV inhibition in genotype 1b and 2a replicon models was achieved for three compounds belonging to the newly synthesized series. Furthermore, these compounds efficiently inhibited replication of full-length HCV genotype 2a in a reporter virus RNA assay with IC₅₀ values ranging from 0.03 to 0.6 μm .     

Real-time no-reference histogram-based freezing artifact detection algorithm for UHD videos

Multimedia Tools and Applications - During video transmission different errors can occur, which can introduce distinct artifacts in video received at the end user side. One of the most common...     

A Potent N-(piperidin-4-yl)-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxamide Inhibitor of Adenylyl Cyclase of G. lamblia: Biological Evaluation and Molecular Modelling Studies

In this work, we report a derivative of N-(piperidin-4-yl)-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxamide as a new inhibitor for adenylyl cyclase of Giardia lamblia which was obtained from a study using structural data of the nucleotidyl cyclase 1 (gNC1) of this parasite. For such a study, we developed a model for this specific enzyme by using homology techniques, which is the first model reported for gNC1 of G. lamblia. Our studies show that the new inhibitor has a competitive mechanism of action against this enzyme. 2-Hydroxyestradiol was used as the reference compound for comparative studies. Results in this work are important from two points of view. on the one hand, an experimentally corroborated model for gNC1 of G. lamblia obtained by molecular modelling is presented; on the other hand, the new inhibitor obtained is an undoubtedly excellent starting structure for the development of new metabolic inhibitors for G. lamblia.     

Development and application of a road product model

Product modeling is not a new technology any more, but its use in construction industry is still very rare, even more in the area of road design, construction and maintenance. The paper presents the evolution of a road product model, PMC, from its early concepts in 1993 to the latest implementations and applications. It explains the basic structure of the model and compares the PMC with other existing road models. Some software modules based on the latest version of the PMC road product model are presented. Further the paper presents experiences and findings of a case study, where the model and the relevant software has been tested. The paper concludes with a discussion on effectiveness of the PMC and suggests next steps for a broader acceptance of the presented technology.     

Modeling and control of a pneumatically actuated inverted pendulum

This paper presents the results of modeling of an inverted pendulum system driven by a linear pneumatic motor and equipped with relatively low-cost potentiometer-based position measurement system. Based on the nonlinear model of the overall pendulum system, which also includes notable friction effects, a linearized model is derived. The linearized model is used as a basis for the design of state feedback controller based on LQ and LQG optimization procedures. The linear state feedback controllers are augmented by a compensator of nonlinear friction effects whose design is based on the results of experimental identification of an appropriate static friction model. The proposed pendulum controller structures have been verified by means of computer simulations and experimentally on the experimental setup of a pneumatically actuated inverted pendulum.     

Dual Escherichia coli DNA Gyrase A and B Inhibitors with Antibacterial Activity

The emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria is a global health threat necessitating the discovery of new antibacterials and novel strategies for fighting bacterial infections. We report first-in-class DNA gyrase B (GyrB) inhibitor/ciprofloxacin hybrids that display antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli. Whereas DNA gyrase ATPase inhibition experiments, DNA gyrase supercoiling assays, and in vitro antibacterial assays suggest binding of the hybrids to the E. coli GyrA and GyrB subunits, an interaction with the GyrA fluoroquinolone-binding site seems to be solely responsible for their antibacterial activity. Our results provide a foundation for a new concept of facilitating entry of nonpermeating GyrB inhibitors into bacteria by conjugation with ciprofloxacin, a highly permeable GyrA inhibitor. A hybrid molecule containing GyrA and GyrB inhibitor parts entering the bacterial cell would then elicit a strong antibacterial effect by inhibition of both the GyrA and GyrB subunits of DNA gyrase and potentially slow bacterial resistance development.