Application of cellular neural network (CNN) method to the nuclear reactor dynamics equations

This paper describes the application of a multilayer cellular neural network (CNN) to model and solve the nuclear reactor dynamic equations. An equivalent electrical circuit is analyzed and the governing equations of a bare, homogeneous reactor core are modeled via CNN. The validity of the CNN result is compared with numerical solution of the system of nonlinear governing partial differential equations (PDE) using MATLAB. Steady state as well as transient simulations, show very good comparison between the two methods. We used our CNN model to simulate space-time response of different reactivity excursions in a typical nuclear reactor.     

P distribution in different sediment fraction of a constructed wetland

The aim of this work was to study the accumulation and fractionation of P in the inlet and outlet sediment of a constructed wetland for the wastewater treatment of a metallurgic plant in Argentina. It was important to predict whether P could be released into the water again by changing environmental conditions or retained over time. P-fractionation was performed using a sequential extraction method. Sediment cores were sliced at depths of: 0-3; 3-7 and 7-10 cm. Sediment showed high pH values and anoxic conditions. In the inlet area, P was principally bound to the carbonate fraction, whereas in the outlet area, it was mainly bound in the residual fraction. This behavior was justified by the effluent composition, which is rich in Ca2+ and Fe3+ and presents high values of pH and conductivity. These conditions favor CaCO3 and Fe(OOH)n precipitation and the subsequent sorption of P to their surface. The sediment active layer involved in the exchange reactions was the superficial one (0-3 cm). The wetland is highly efficient in P retention. P was retained by sediment in fractions that will not release it to the water while chemical and environmental conditions of the system are maintained.     

Investigation on minimum quantity lubricant-MQL grinding of 100Cr6 hardened steel using different abrasive and coolant–lubricant types

Large quantities of coolant–lubricants are still widely used in the metal working industry, generating high consumption and discard costs and impacting the environment. Alternatives to current practices are getting more serious consideration in response to environmental and operational cost pressures. In the grinding process, promising alternatives to conventional dry and fluid coolant applications are minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) or near dry grinding process. Despite several researches, there have been a few investigations about the influence of different types of coolant–lubricants and grinding wheels on the process results. The current study aims to show the effects of the above parameters on grinding performance such as grinding forces and surface quality. The tests have been performed in presence of fluid, air jet and eleven types of coolant–lubricants, as well as, in dry condition. The grinding wheels employed in this study were vitrified bond corundum, resin bond corundum and vitrified bond SG wheels. The results indicate that SG wheels and MQL oils have potential for the development of the MQL process in comparison to vitrified and resin bond corundums and water miscible oils. Also, the lowest thermal damages, material side flow on the ground surface and wheel loading were generated by using the SG grinding wheel in MQL grinding process.     

Temporal Reasoning for a Collaborative Planning Agent in a Dynamic Environment

We present a temporal reasoning mechanism for an individual agent situated in a dynamic environment such as the web and collaborating with other agents while interleaving planning and acting. Building a collaborative agent that can flexibly achieve its goals in changing environments requires a blending of real-time computing and AI technologies. Therefore, our mechanism consists of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) planning subsystem and a Real-Time (RT) scheduling subsystem. The AI planning subsystem is based on a model for collaborative planning. The AI planning subsystem generates a partial order plan dynamically. During the planning it sends the RT scheduling subsystem basic actions and time constraints. The RT scheduling subsystem receives the dynamic basic actions set with associated temporal constraints and inserts these actions into the agent's schedule of activities in such a way that the resulting schedule is feasible and satisfies the temporal constraints. Our mechanism allows the agent to construct its individual schedule independently. The mechanism handles various types of temporal constraints arising from individual activities and its collaborators. In contrast to other works on scheduling in planning systems which are either not appropriate for uncertain and dynamic environments or cannot be expanded for use in multi-agent systems, our mechanism enables the individual agent to determine the time of its activities in uncertain situations and to easily integrate its activities with the activities of other agents. We have proved that under certain conditions temporal reasoning mechanism of the AI planning subsystem is sound and complete. We show the results of several experiments on the system. The results demonstrate that interleave planning and acting in our environment is crucial.     

Pharmacokinetic analysis and antiepileptic activity of two new isomers of N-valproyl glycinamide

Valproyl glycinamide (TV 1901-VPGD) is a new antiepileptic drug, which is currently undergoing clinical trials. The present study explored the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (anticonvulsant activity and neurotoxicity) of two new isomers of valproyl glycinamide: valnoctyl glycinamide (VCGD) and diisopropylacetyl (DIGD). Both VCGD and DIGD showed anticonvulsant activity and a safety margin in mice similar to those of VPGD. Following i.v. administration (556 mg) to six dogs, VCGD had a clearance (Cl) value of 3.8 +/- 1.1 Lh-1 (mean +/- SD), a volume of distribution (Vss) of 15 +/- 2 L, and a half-life (t1/2) of 1.9 +/- 0.3 h. DIGD had Cl, Vss, and t1/2 values of 10 +/- 0.8 Lh-1, 19 +/- 3 L, and 1.6 +/- 0.2 h, respectively. Neither VCGD nor DIGD operated as chemical drug delivery systems (CDDSs) of glycine, valnoctic acid, or diisopropyl acetic acid and both showed antiepileptic profiles different from that of valproic acid (VPA). Both glycinamides were biotransformed to their glycine analogues with similar fractions metabolized (fm): 59 +/- 5% (VCGD) and 62 +/- 15% (DIGD). The two glycine metabolites, valnoctyl glycine (VCGA) and diisopropylacetyl glycine (DIGA), were also administered to the same dogs in order to calculate the above fm values. Both VCGA and DIGA had higher Cl and lower Vss values than VCGD and DIGD and therefore their mean t1/2 values were 0.43 +/- 0.02 and 0.30 +/- 0.07 h, respectively. VCGA and DIGA were excreted mainly intact in the urine, with fractions excreted unchanged (fe) of 60 +/- 9 and 55 +/- 7%, respectively. The improved pharmacokinetic profile of VCGD and DIGD relative to their glycine analogues may explain the similarity of their anticonvulsant activity to that of valproyl glycinamide. The current study demonstrates the benefit of the structure-pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationship (SPPR) approach in developing and selecting a potent antiepileptic compound in intact animals based not only on its intrinsic pharmacodynamic activity but also on its improved pharmacokinetic profile.     

Perpendicular Orientation of Anisotropic Au‐Tipped CdS Nanorods at the Air/Water Interface

Anisotropic CdS nanorods tipped by Au nanoparticles on one edge (Au‐CdS‐NRs) are perpendicularly oriented at the air/water interface, whereby all the Au tips are located in the subphase, using the Langmuir–Blodgett technique. Since these nano‐objects reveal light‐induced charge separation at the semiconductor/metal interface, it is of high interest to control their organization. The orientation of these assemblies is studied in situ while compressing the Langmuir–Blodgett trough using the π‐A isotherm, Brewster angle microscopy, and horizontal touch voltammetry. All these analyses clearly confirm the induced organization of the amphiphilic Au‐CdS‐NRs by compression of the Langmuir layer. The compressed layers are successfully transferred by the Langmuir–Schaefer method onto transmission electron microscopy grids while maintaining the preferential orientation as analyzed by transmission, scanning and scanning trasmission electron microscopy, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. As far as can be determined, the Langmuir–Blodgett technique has not been used so far for perpendicularly orienting anisotropic nano‐objects. Moreover, these findings clearly demonstrate that anisotropic amphiphilic nano‐objects can be treated with some similarity to the traditional amphiphilic molecular building blocks.     

Pavlovian conditioning of sexual arousal: First- and second-order effects.

Four experiments examined the conditioning of sexual arousal in 81 male Long-Evans hooded rats. In each case, the unconditioned response (UCR) was unconsummated arousal after exposure to a female. There was evidence of a substantial conditioned effect, as shown by decreases in the time to complete copulation during postconditioning conditioned stimulus/stimuli (CS) tests. It was also possible to establish a 2nd-order conditioned response (CR), which retained its strength even after extinction of the 1st-order response. Results confirm the power of Pavlovian contingencies in sexual responding. The locus and mode of action of this CR and its function are discussed. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optimal time byzantine agreement for t <n/8 with linear-messages

Summary.  This paper presents a Byzantine Agreement protocol with n=8t+1, optimal number of rounds (namely min{ f+2, t+1} where f is number of actual faults), and messages of linear size (namely m≦n+O(log n), where m stands for message size). All previous protocols that stop in optimal time and tolerate t=O(n) faults require messages of size at least O(n ²). The new protocol uses a novel technique called Reconstructed Traversal which is based on the Reconstruction Principle and on the Coordinated Traversal protocol. Received: August 1992/Accepted: January 1995l     

A Gel‐Based Model of Selective Cell Motility: Implications for Cell Sorting,Diagnostics, and Screening

The ability to precisely control cell‐loaded material systems is essential for in vitro testing of novel therapeutics poised to advance to clinic. In this report, unique patterns of cell migration are devised into an in vitro gel‐in‐gel model for the purpose of obtaining cell response data to potentially therapeutic chemical agonists. The model consists of co‐cultures in a cell‐loaded microgel invading an acellular “sorting” gel. Material properties including biophysical and chemical compositions of the sorting gel are carefully controlled to guide a desired cell‐specific behavior, leading to massive tumor cell invasion by amoeboid migration mechanisms. Optical transparency enables straightforward and high‐throughput measurements of outgrowth response in the presence of either chemical and photoradiation therapy. Important dosing and drug sensitivity information are obtained with the gel‐in‐gel model using no more than a light microscope, without further need for arduous genomic or proteomic screening of the tissue samples.     

Fractography, Mechanical Properties, and Microstructure of Commercial Silicon Nitride–Titanium Nitride Composites

Commercial-grade Si₃N₄–TiN composites with 0, 10, 20, and 30 wt% TiN content have been characterized. Submicrometer grain-size Si₃N₄ was reinforced with fine TiN grains. Density, Young's modulus, coefficient of thermal expansion, and fracture toughness increased linearly with TiN content. Increased strength was observed in the Si₃N₄+20 wt% TiN, and Si₃N₄+30 wt% TiN composites. Fractography was used to characterize the different types of fracture origins. Improvements in toughness and strength are due to residual stresses in the Si₃N₄ matrix and the TiN particles. A threefold improvement in dry wear resistance of the Si₃N₄+30 wt% TiN composite over the Si₃N₄ matrix was observed.