Automatic parallelisation for LTI MIMO state space systems using FPGAs. An optimisation for cost & performance

The parallelism attained by the use of Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) has shown remarkable potential for accelerating control systems applications. This comes at a time when well established methods based on inherited serial Central Processor Units (CPUs) cannot guarantee solutions for the increasing execution speed demands. However, the transition from serial to parallel architectures represents a tremendous challenge due to overwhelming numbers of unexplored options and conflicting factors. The work presented achieves a parallelisation characterisation for generic MIMO systems using stand-alone FPGA implementations. The main contribution is that a very fine subset of possible serial/parallel implementations is obtained. This is used to achieve a flexible trade-off between cost and performance. Automatic optimisation of latency, occupied FPGA area and execution speed is attained and justified in respect to most of the feasible scenarios.     

Synergy of elemental Fe and Ti promoting low temperature hydrogen sorption cycling of magnesium

We studied the catalytic effects of Titanium, Iron and FeTi intermetallic on the desorption kinetics of magnesium hydride. In order to separate the catalytic effects of each element from additional synergistic and alloying effects, Mg-Ti and Mg-Fe mixtures were studied as a baseline for Mg-Fe-Ti elemental and Mg-(FeTi) intermetallic composites. Sub-micron dimensions for MgH₂ particles and excellent nanoscale catalyst dispersion was achieved by high-energy ball-milling as confirmed by analytical electron microscopy techniques. The composites containing Fe shows desorption temperature of 170 K lower than as-received MgH₂ powder, which makes it suitable to be cycled at relatively low temperature of 523 K. Furthermore, the low cycling temperature prevents the formation of Mg₂FeH₆. In sorption cycling tests, Mg-10% Ti and Mg-10% (FeTi), after about 5 activation cycles, show fast desorption kinetics initially, but the kinetics also degrade faster than for all other composites, eventually slowing down by a factor of 7 and 4, respectively. The ternary Mg-Fe-Ti composite shows best performance. With the highest BET surface area of 40 m²/g, it also shows much less degradation during cycling. This is attributed to titanium hydride acting as a size control agent preventing agglomeration of particles; while Fe works as a very strong catalyst with uniform and nanoscale dispersion on the surface of MgH₂ particles.     

miRNAs Participate in the Regulation of Oxidative Stress-Related Gene Expression in Endometrioid Endometrial Cancer

Reactive oxygen species are formed as by-products of normal cell metabolism. They are needed to maintain cell homeostasis and signaling, which is possible due to defense systems. Disruption of this balance leads to oxidative stress that can induce cancer. Redox regulation by miRNAs may be a potential therapeutic target. The aim of the study was to assess the activity of genes associated with oxidative stress in endometrial cancer and to determine their relationship with miRNAs. The study included 45 patients with endometrioid endometrial cancer and 45 without neoplastic changes. The expression profile of genes associated with oxidative stress was determined with mRNA microarrays, RT-qPCR and ELISA. The miRNA prediction was performed based on the miRNA microarray experiment and the mirDB tool. PRDX2 and AQP1 showed overexpression that was probably not related to miRNA activity. A high level of PKD2 may be the result of a decrease in the activity of miR-195-3p, miR-20a, miR-134. A SOD3 level reduction can be caused by miR-328, miR-363. In addition, miR-363 can also regulate KLF2 expression. In the course of endometrial cancer, the phenomenon of oxidative stress is observed, the regulation of which may be influenced by miRNAs.     

Improved Speech Synthesis Using Fuzzy Methods

The paper presents theoretical support for and describes the use of a fuzzy paradigm in implementing a TTS system for the Romanian language, employing a rule-based formant synthesizer. In the framework of classic TTS systems, we propose a new approach in order to improve formant trace computation, aiming at increasing synthetic speech perceptual quality. A fuzzy system is proposed for solving the problem of the phonemes that are prone to multi-definitions in rule-based speech synthesis. In the introductory section, we briefly present the background of the problem and our previous results in speech synthesis. In the second section, we deal with the problem of the context-dependent phonemes at the letter-to-sound module level of our TTS system. Then, we discuss the case of the phoneme /l/ and the solution adopted to define it for different contexts. A fuzzy system is associated with each parameter (denoted F1 and F2) to implement the results of the complete analysis of the phoneme /l/ behavior. The knowledge used in implementing the fuzzy module is acquired by natural speech analysis. In the third section, we exemplify the computation of the synthesis parameters F1 and F2 of the phoneme /l/ in the context of the two syllable sequences. The parameter values are contrasted with those obtained from the spectrogram analysis of the natural speech sequences. The last section presents the main conclusions and further research objectives.     

Optimizing supports for additive manufacturing

In additive manufacturing process, support structures are often required to ensure the quality of the final built part. In this article, we present mathematical models and their numerical implementations in an optimization loop, which allow us to design optimal support structures. Our models are derived with the requirement that they should be as simple as possible, computationally cheap, and, yet, based on a realistic physical modelling. Supports are optimized with respect to two different physical properties. First, they must support overhanging regions of the structure for improving the stiffness of the supported structure during the building process. Second, supports can help in channeling the heat flux produced by the source term (typically a laser beam) and thus improving the cooling down of the structure during the fabrication process. Of course, more involved constraints or manufacturability conditions could be taken into account, most notably removal of supports. Our work is just a first step, proposing a general framework for support optimization. Our optimization algorithm is based on the level set method and on the computation of shape derivatives by the Hadamard method. In a first approach, only the shape and topology of the supports are optimized, for a given and fixed structure. In a second and more elaborated strategy, both the supports and the structure are optimized, which amounts to a specific multiphase optimization problem. Numerical examples are given in 2D and 3D.     

The Influence of Alkyl Chain Length and Steric Effect on Extraction of Zinc(II) Complexes with 1‐Alkyl‐2‐Methylimidazoles

Abstract

The extraction of Zn(II) complexes with six 1‐alkyl‐2‐methylimidazoles (alkyl is from C₅H₁₁ up to C₁₂H₂₅) from nitric solution was studied as a function of pH of the aqueous phase. As the organic solvents toluene, p‐xylene and 1,2,3,4‐tetrahydronaphthalene were used. The stability constants of the complexes in the aqueous phase as well as partition constants of the extractable species were determined. It was demonstrated that both the stability constants (β_c) and the partition constants (P_c) of the complexes increased with increasing alkyl chain length. Pseudo‐tetrahedral complexes were found to dominate at the second and third complexation steps, thus increasing the stability constants and facilitating extraction of the Zn(II) complexes with 1‐alkyl‐2‐methylimidazoles.     

Microstructural evolution during low temperature sorption cycling of Mg-AlTi multilayer nanocomposites

We studied the hydrogen storage behavior of sputtered Mg-AlTi multilayers where nanometric Mg or Mg–Al–Ti layers were confined by 2 nm thick layers of AlTi. By decreasing the thickness of Mg layers, we were able to achieve 5.1 wt.% H capacity without significant degradation in over 200 cycles at 473 K. However, for the samples with pure Mg layers degradation eventually occurred at higher cycle numbers. In multilayers of 34 nm thick Mg degradation was followed by disintegration of the films into sponge-like flakes. Alloying Mg layers with Al and Ti through cosputtering improved the performance of the multilayer composites. Through cycling, Al and Ti segregated out of Mg matrix and formed a nanocrystalline/amorphous AlTi phase as observed by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. This improved resistance of the microstructure against coarsening while a well dispersion of AlTi particles was achieved. Moreover, the stability of multilayers enhanced to an extent that they not only preserved their physical integrity, also did they maintain their superior kinetics up to over 250 cycles. Pressure - composition isotherms showed no significance change in thermodynamics of MgH₂ formation.