Market-based multiagent system for reconfiguration of shipboard power systems

On ships, the electric shipboard power system (SPS) supplies electrical power to critical functions such as navigation, communication, emergency systems, and in the case of warships, weapon systems. During ship operation, some parts of the SPS may become unavailable due to damage, fault, or maintenance. For the survivability and reliability of ships, it is desired to make the SPS highly reconfigurable. This paper presents a market-based multiagent system (MAS) for the reconfiguration of radial SPS. Radial SPSs are found on majority of ships. In the proposed MAS, each agent only communicates with its neighbor agents to make the system work in a fully decentralized manner. The MAS is implemented using Java Agent Development Framework (JADE), which is fully implemented in Java and compliant with Foundation of Intelligent Physical Agents (FIPA). An SPS with two generators and four loads is used for testing the proposed MAS. The results show the proposed MAS can successfully reconfigure a radial SPS.     

Effect of interstitial boron and carbon on the hydrogenation properties of Ti25V35Cr40 alloy

Doping of interstitial elements B or C into a BCC-type Ti₂₅V₃₅Cr₄₀ alloy to raise effective desorption hydrogenation capacity was investigated. Ti₂₅V₃₅Cr₄₀M_x alloys (M = B or C and x = 0, 0.1, 1, or 5) were prepared by arc-melting followed by homogenization treatment. X-ray diffraction shows that the as-cast specimens have a BCC structure, but they contain some amount of precipitates that increases with the doping concentration of B and C. Doping-induced precipitates can be greatly eliminated by annealing treatment at 1200 °C, indicating that B or C might have been partially dissolved into the interstitial sites in the BCC lattice of matrix phase of specimens. With the doping of C, the second plateau pressure of annealed specimens in the PCI curves at T = 30 °C significantly increases with the amount of C, but the maximum hydrogenation capacity is reduced. On the other hand, the second plateau pressure and maximum hydrogenation capacity are only slightly affected by the B doping. Under optimum doping conditions, the effective hydrogen desorption capacities are increased from 0.80 H/M of the sample without doping to 0.86 H/M and 0.87 H/M for Ti₂₅V₃₅Cr₄₀B₁ and Ti₂₅V₃₅Cr₄₀C_0.1, respectively. The improvement might be ascribed to the increase in second plateau pressure caused by less stable hydrogen atoms at the lattice sites of Ti₂₅V₃₅Cr₄₀ containing interstitial B or C.     

Numerical predictions of a PEM fuel cell performance enhancement by a rectangular cylinder installed transversely in the flow channel

This paper numerically investigates the installation of the transverse rectangular cylinder along the gas diffusion layer (GDL) in the flow channel for the cell performance enhancement of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The effects of the blockage at various gap sizes and the width of the cylinder on the cell performance enhancement have been studied with changing the gap ratios λ = 0.05–0.3, for the same cylinder) and the width-to-height ratios (WR = 0.66–1.66, for the same cylinder height and gap ratio). The results show that the transverse installation of a rectangular cylinder in the fuel flow channel effectively enhances the cell performance of a PEMFC. In addition, the influence of the width of the cylinder on the cell performance is obvious, and the best cell performance enhancement occurs at the gap ratio 0.2 among the gap ratios of 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3.     

Hydrogen permeation through coated and uncoated WASPALOY

Hydrogen permeability, diffusivity, and solubility have been measured for a Ni-base superalloy, WASPALOY,* over the temperature range of 200 to 560 °C. Measurements were made with various surface conditions. The hydrogen diffusivity and permeability values for Pd-coated WASPALOY were between those for pure nickel and for austenitic stainless steel. Hydrogen in uncoated WASPALOY had consistently lower effective diffusivity and permeability than in the Pd-coated condition. Gold-plating on WASPALOY or adding H₂O to H₂ gas substantially reduced both transport parameters, presumably due to slower surface or interface kinetics and lower permeability of hydrogen in the gold layer. Independently measured hydrogen solubility determined by equilibration of bulk specimens with H₂ gas was roughly 60 pct of the solubility obtained by dividing the effective diffusivity into the permeation constant. This is discussed on the basis of internal trapping, which reduced the effective diffusivity and resulted in a higher apparent solubility. WASPALOY is a trademark of United Technologies Corporation. T-P. Perng, Formerly Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Illinois M.J. Johnson, Formerly Student Assistant at the University of Illinois     

Effects of water vapor on hydrogen induced slow crack growth in stainless steels

Three types of stainless steel—austenitic, ferritic, duplex—were subjected to sustained load crack propagation tests in moist hydrogen gas. Three-stage crack velocity vs stress intensity behavior was observed for the unstable austenite alloy just as for pure hydrogen gas tests. Moisture essentially eliminated this behavior for the ferritic and duplex alloys. The fractographic features of all specimens failed in moist hydrogen are very similar to those for pure hydrogen. There is a continuous transition from brittle to ductile fracture appearance in the range from 25 °C to 100 °C. These results are rationalized on the basis of an inhibition of hydrogen entry into the metal due to H₂O. Formerly Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Metallurgy, University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign     

Cross regulation by IL-10 and IL-2/IL-12 of the helper T cells and the cytolytic activity of lymphocytes from malignant effusions of lung cancer patients

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Our previous report demonstrated that there was impairment of local cellular immunity with elevated interleukin-10 (IL-10) and undetectable IL-12 in neoplastic pleural effusion. These findings suggest that the local immune reactions favor the T-helper type 2 (Th2) pathway instead of Th1 pathway. The present study was designed to examine whether local cellular immunity could be manipulated by IL-2 and/or IL-12 treatment, and to determine their effect on the helper T-cell pathways and the cytolytic activity of the effusion-associated lymphocytes (EALs). DESIGN: Using malignant pleural effusions obtained from four patients suffering from adenocarcinoma of lung, we separated the tumor cells from the EALs with Ficol-Hypaque centrifugation, followed by Percoll density centrifugation. To test whether the cytolytic function of lymphocytes could be enhanced by culturing with IL-2 and/or IL-12, lymphocytes were incubated with recombinant IL-2 with/without IL-12 for 6 days. Following this, the tumoricidal activity was assessed in an overnight 5'chromium-release assay. Autologous tumor cells for measuring specific antitumor activity, Daudi cells susceptible to lymphokine-activated killer cells, and NK-susceptible K562 cells were used as target cells. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: After treatment in vitro with IL-2, IL-12, or IL-2 plus IL-12, the Th pathway shifted from Th2 to Th1 type (increased gamma-interferon production). To further study the effect of cytokine treatment on the cytolytic activity of EALs, it was found that after 6-day culturing, the EALs failed to kill any of the three tumor targets, whereas the 6-day cultured peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) gave low level of cytotoxicity against all three tumor targets. Stimulation with IL-2 alone partially restored the immunocompetence of EALs to kill the tumor targets. Stimulation with IL-12 alone showed no significant effect on their cytolytic activity. However, IL-12 synergized with IL-2 to increase the cytolytic activity of EALs and PBLs against autologous tumor targets. This synergistic effect was not found for Daudi cells and K562 cells. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that EALs activated with IL-12 in the presence of a low concentration of IL-2, which converted the EALs from Th2 pathway to Th1 pathway, could be an alternative source of antitumor effectors for adoptive immunotherapy of cancer.     

Can optimal acid suppression prevent rebleeding in peptic ulcer patients with a non-bleeding visible vessel: a preliminary report of a randomized comparative study

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The hypothesis that profound acid suppression might prevent clot lysis and thus benefit patients with a non-bleeding visible vessel has not been confirmed. Omeprazole can suppress gastric acid remarkably and may be beneficial for patients with peptic ulcer bleeding. METHODOLOGY: Fifty-two patients with a non-bleeding visible vessel at the ulcer base were enrolled and randomized into four groups (N = 13 in each group). In the cimetidine group, the patients received cimetidine 300 mg i.v. bolus followed by 300 mg i.v. every 6 hr during hospitalization. In the heater probe thermocoagulation + cimetidine group, the patients received heater probe thermocoagulation and cimetidine 300 mg i.v. bolus followed by 300 mg i.v. every 6 h during hospitalization. In the omeprazole q.d. group, the patients received omeprazole 40 mg i.v. bolus followed by 40 mg i.v. daily for two days. In the omeprazole q 12 h group, the patients received omeprazole 40 mg i.v. bolus followed by 40 mg i.v. every 12 h for two days. A 24 hr intragastric pH was recorded for every case. RESULTS: The mean 24 hr intragastric pH were higher in the omeprazole q.d. (mean 5.8) and the omeprazole q 12 h groups (mean 6.4) than in the cimetidine (mean 4.3) and the heater probe thermocoagulation + cimetidine groups (mean 4.9) (p < 0.05). Rebleeding occurred in 5, 2, 2 and 2 patients in the cimetidine, heater probe thermocoagulation + cimetidine, omeprazole q.d., and omeprazole q 12 h groups, respectively (p > 0.05). Volume of blood transfusion and number of days in hospital were not statistically different among the four groups. CONCLUSIONS: Omeprazole can remarkably suppress gastric acid when it is compared to that of the H2 receptor blocker. Patients with a non-bleeding visible vessel using omeprazole do not exhibit a decrease in the rebleeding rate as compared with those patients using cimetidine.     

A fast control law for nano-positioning

To achieve fast nano-positioning control in a large traveling distance with a single motion stage and without a waiting time, this paper presents a micro-dynamic model together with a simple switching rule and two controllers, one for macro-dynamics and the other for micro-dynamics, such that the moving stage can smoothly travel from macro-dynamic range into micro-dynamic range. First, a micro-dynamic model is proposed to capture the complicated hysteresis behavior of the nonlinear micro-dynamics. Next, two controllers of simple structures are designed for the micro-dynamic traveling range and the macro-dynamic traveling range, respectively, based on the previous model. Finally, a simple switching law is proposed to complete a design. Experiments show that the resultant control system has a fast response speed without a sluggish response in the conjunction of the macro-dynamic range and the micro-dynamic range. Furthermore, it can sustain large disturbances while holding the motion stage at the set point.     

Usefulness of argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions score to differentiate suspicious malignancy in pulmonary cytology

OBJECTIVE: Pulmonary cytologic specimens reported as "suspicious for malignancy" pose problems in clinical management. Silver staining for argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNOR) has proved useful in making a cytopathologically differential diagnosis between benign and malignant cells. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of AgNOR score in the diagnosis of pulmonary cytologic specimens deemed inconclusive by conventional staining methods. METHODS: Pulmonary cytologic specimens initially reported as suspicious for malignancy with Papanicolaou or May-Grünwald-Giemsa (MGG) staining obtained from 35 proved cases were destained then restained using the AgNOR technique. Another 35 cases with clear cytologic diagnosis were also examined for comparison. The median number of dots, defined as the AgNOR score, was used to differentiate malignant from benign specimens. RESULTS: Malignant cases had significantly higher AgNOR scores than benign ones (p<0.001). There were no significant differences among smears previously stained with Papanicolaou or MGG method, among specimens obtained via bronchoscopic brushing, fine-needle aspiration of lung or pleural effusion, or among subgroups of malignant diseases. Based on the results of our previous study, the cutoff value of the AgNOR score to differentiate benignancy from malignancy was set at 6. At this setting, the sensitivity and specificity of AgNOR score were 88% and 80%, respectively, in aiding a differential diagnosis of pulmonary cytologic specimens initially classified as suspicious for malignancy. For those cases with a clear cytologic diagnosis, the sensitivity and specificity of AgNOR score were 92% and 100%, respectively. For all cases, the sensitivity of AgNOR score was 90% and the specificity was also 90%. CONCLUSIONS: The AgNOR score is of value in aiding a differential diagnosis between benign and malignant lesions in pulmonary specimens with equivocal cytologic features.     

Limit-cycle analysis of dynamic fuzzy control systems

The main purpose of this study is to predict limit cycles of a dynamic fuzzy control system by combining a stability equation, describing function and parameter plane. The stability of a linearized dynamic fuzzy control system is then analyzed using stability equations and the parameter plane method, with the assistance of a describing function method. This procedure identifies the amplitude and frequency of limit cycles that are clearly formed by the dynamic fuzzy controller in the parameter plane. Moreover, the suppression of the limit cycle by adjusting control parameters is proposed. Continuous and sampled-data systems are addressed, and the proposed approach can easily be extended to a fuzzy control system with multiple nonlinearities. Simulations are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.