Fuzzy logic intelligent system for gas turbine module and system fault isolation

A fuzzy logic intelligent system is developed for gas-turbine fault isolation. The gas path measurements used for fault isolation are exhaust gas temperature, low and high rotor speed, and fuel flow. These four measurements are also called the cockpit parameters and are typically found in almost all older and newer jet engines. The fuzzy logic system uses rules developed from a model of performance influence coefficients to isolate engine faults while accounting for uncertainty in gas path measurements. It automates the reasoning process of an experienced powerplant engineer. Tests with simulated data show that the fuzzy system isolates faults with an accuracy of 89% with only the four cockpit measurements. However, if additional pressure and temperature probes between the compressors and before the burner, which are often found in newer jet engines, are considered, the fault isolation accuracy rises to as high as 98%. In addition, the additional sensors are useful in keeping the fault isolation system robust as quality of the measured data deteriorates.

Health monitoring,of a helicopter rotor in forward flight using fuzzy logic

A fuzzy logic system is developed for helicopter rotor system fault isolation. Inputs to the fuzzy logic system are measurement deviations of blade bending and torsion response and vibration from a "good" undamaged helicopter rotor. The rotor system measurements used are flap and lag bending tip deflections, elastic twist deflection at the tip, and three forces and three moments at the rotor hub. The fuzzy logic system uses rules developed from an aeroelastic model of the helicopter rotor with implanted faults to isolate the fault while accounting for uncertainty in the measurements. The faults modeled include moisture absorption, loss of trim mass, damaged lag damper, damaged pitch control system, misadjusted pitch link, and damaged flap. Tests with simulated data show that the fuzzy system isolates rotor system faults with an accuracy of about 90-100%. Furthermore, the fuzzy system is robust and gives excellent results, even when some measurements are not available. A rule-based expert system based on similar rules from the aeroelastic model performs much more poorly than the fuzzy system in the presence of high levels of uncertainty.

On the importance of backbone loop and peptide flip in the Walker sequence in F-1-ATPase action

The Walker sequence, GXXXXGKT, present in all the six subunits of F-1-ATPase exists in a folded form, known as phosphate-binding loop (P-loop). Analysis of the Ramachandran angles showed only small RMS deviation between the nucleotide-bound and nucleotide-free forms. This indicated a good overlap of the backbone loops. The catalytic beta-subunits (chains D, E and F) showed significant changes in the Ramachandran angles and the side chain torsion angles, but not the structural alpha-subunits (chains A, B and C). Most striking among these are the changes associated with Val160 and Gly161 corresponding to a flip in the peptide unit between them when a nucleotide is bound (chains D or F compared to nucleotide-free chain E). The conformational analysis further revealed a hitherto unnoticed hydrogen bond between amide-N of the flipped Gly161 and terminal phosphate-O of the nucleotide. This assigns a role for this conserved amino acid, otherwise ignored, of making an unusual direct interaction between the peptide backbone of the enzyme protein and the incoming nucleotide substrate. Significance of this interaction is enhanced, as it is limited only to the catalytic subunits, and also likely to involve a mechanical rotation of bonds of the peptide unit. Hopefully this is part of the overall events that link the chemical hydrolysis of ATP with the mechanical rotation of this molecule, now famous as tiny molecular motor.

Partial instantiation methods for inference in first-order logic

Satisfiability algorithms for propositional logic have improved enormously in recently years. This improvement increases the attractiveness of satisfiability methods for first-order logic that reduce the problem to a series of ground-level satisfiability problems. R. Jeroslow introduced a partial instantiation method of this kind that differs radically from the standard resolution-based methods. This paper lays the theoretical groundwork for an extension of his method that is general enough and efficient enough for general logic programming with indefinite clauses. In particular we improve Jeroslow's approach by (1) extending it to logic with functions, (2) accelerating it through the use of satisfiers, as introduced by Gallo and Rago, and (3) simplifying it to obtain further speedup. We provide a similar development for a "dual" partial instantiation approach defined by Hooker and suggest a primal-dual strategy. We prove correctness of the primal and dual algorithms for full first-order logic with functions, as well as termination on unsatisfiable formulas. We also report some preliminary computational results.

The biological and structural characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis UvrA provides novel insights into its mechanism of action

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an extremely well adapted intracellular human pathogen that is exposed to multiple DNA damaging chemical assaults originating from the host defence mechanisms. As a consequence, this bacterium is thought to possess highly efficient DNA repair machineries, the nucleotide excision repair (NER) system amongst these. Although NER is of central importance to DNA repair in M. tuberculosis, our understanding of the processes in this species is limited. The conserved UvrABC endonuclease represents the multi-enzymatic core in bacterial NER, where the UvrA ATPase provides the DNA lesion-sensing function. The herein reported genetic analysis demonstrates that M. tuberculosis UvrA is important for the repair of nitrosative and oxidative DNA damage. Moreover, our biochemical and structural characterization of recombinant M. tuberculosis UvrA contributes new insights into its mechanism of action. In particular, the structural investigation reveals an unprecedented conformation of the UvrB-binding domain that we propose to be of functional relevance. Taken together, our data suggest UvrA as a potential target for the development of novel anti-tubercular agents and provide a biochemical framework for the identification of small-molecule inhibitors interfering with the NER activity in M. tuberculosis.

A low power, process invariant keeper design for high speed dynamic logic circuits

A low power keeper circuit using the concept of rate sensing has been proposed. The proposed technique reduces the amount of short circuit power dissipation in the domino gate by 70% compared to the conventional keeper technique. Also the total power-delay product is 26% lower compared to the previously reported techniques. The process tracking capability of the design enables the domino gate to achieve uniform delay across different process corners. This reduces the amount of short circuit power dissipation that occurs in the cascaded domino gates by 90%. The use of the proposed technique in the read path of a register file reduces the energy requirement by 26% as compared to the other keeper techniques. The proposed technique has been prototyped in 130nm CMOS technology.

Unified Vdd Vth Optimization Based DVFM Controller for a Logic Block

In this paper analytical expressions for optimal Vdd and Vth to minimize energy for a given speed constraint are derived. These expressions are based on the EKV model for transistors and are valid in both strong inversion and sub threshold regions. The effect of gate leakage on the optimal Vdd and Vth is analyzed. A new gradient based algorithm for controlling Vdd and Vth based on delay and power monitoring results is proposed. A Vdd-Vth controller which uses the algorithm to dynamically control the supply and threshold voltage of a representative logic block (sum of absolute difference computation of an MPEG decoder) is designed. Simulation results using 65 nm predictive technology models are given.

Location and conformation of pantothenate and its derivatives in Mycobacterium tuberculosis pantothenate kinase: insights into enzyme action

Previous studies of complexes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis PanK (MtPanK) with nucleotide diphosphates and non-hydrolysable analogues of nucleoside triphosphates in the presence or the absence of pantothenate established that the enzyme has dual specificity for ATP and GTP, revealed the unusual movement of ligands during enzyme action and provided information on the effect of pantothenate on the location and conformation of the nucleotides at the beginning and the end of enzyme action. The X-ray analyses of the binary complexes of MtPanK with pantothenate, pantothenol and N-nonylpantothenamide reported here demonstrate that in the absence of nucleotide these ligands occupy, with a somewhat open conformation, a location similar to that occupied by phosphopantothenate in the `end' complexes, which differs distinctly from the location of pantothenate in the closed conformation in the ternary `initiation' complexes. The conformation and the location of the nucleotide were also different in the initiation and end complexes. An invariant arginine appears to play a critical role in the movement of ligands that takes place during enzyme action. The work presented here completes the description of the locations and conformations of nucleoside diphosphates and triphosphates and pantothenate in different binary and ternary complexes, and suggests a structural rationale for the movement of ligands during enzyme action. The present investigation also suggests that N-alkylpantothenamides could be phosphorylated by the enzyme in the same manner as pantothenate.

A decidable temporal logic with repeating values

Various logical formalisms with the freeze quantifier have been recently considered to model computer systems even though this is a powerful mechanism that often leads to undecidability. In this paper, we study a linear-time temporal logic with past-time operators such that the freeze operator is only used to express that some value from an infinite set is repeated in the future or in the past. Such a restriction has been inspired by a recent work on spatio-temporal logics. We show decidability of finitary and infinitary satisfiability by reduction into the verification of temporal properties in Petri nets. This is a surprising result since the logic is closed under negation, contains future-time and past-time temporal operators and can express the nonce property and its negation. These ingredients are known to lead to undecidability with a more liberal use of the freeze quantifier.

Current‐limiting action of mixed‐phase BaTiO3 ceramic semiconductors

Stable and highly reproducible current‐limiting characteristics are observed for polycrystalline ceramics prepared by sintering mixtures of coarse‐grained, donor‐doped BaTiO3 (tetragonal) as the major phase and ultrafine, undoped cubic perovskite such as BaSnO3, BaZrO 3, SrTiO3, or BaTiO3 (cubic). The linear current‐voltage (I‐V) relation changes over to current limiting as the field strength increases, when thermal equilibrium is attained. The grain‐boundary layers with low donor and high Sn, Zr, or Sr have depleted charge carrier density as compared to that in the grain bulk. The voltage drop at the grain‐boundary layers diminishes the temperature gradient between the interior and surface regions.

l-pGlu-(2-propyl)-l-His-l-ProNH2 attenuates 4-aminopyridine-induced epileptiform activity and sodium current: a possible action of new thyrotropin-releasing hormone analog for its anticonvulsant potential

L-PGlu-(2-proPyl)-L-His-L-ProNH(2) (NP-647) is a CNS active thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) analog with potential application in various CNS disorders including seizures. In the present study, mechanism of action for protective effect of NP-647 was explored by studying role of NP-647 on epileptiform activity and sodium channels by using patch-clamp methods. Epileptiform activity was induced in subicular pyramidal neurons of hippocampal slice of rat by perfusing 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) containing Mg(+2)-free normal artificial cerebrospinal fluid (nACSF). Increase in mean firing frequency was observed after perfusion of 4-AP and zero Mg(+2) (2.10+/-0.47 Hz) as compared with nACSF (0.12+/-0.08 Hz). A significant decrease in mean firing frequency (0.61+/-0.22 Hz), mean frequency of epileptiform events (0.03+/-0.02 Hz vs. 0.22+/-0.05 Hz of 4-AP+0 Mg), and average number of action potentials in paroxysmal depolarization shift-burst (2.54+/-1.21 Hz vs. 8.16+/-0.88 Hz of 4-AP +0 Mg) was observed. A significant reduction in peak dV/dt (246+/-19 mV ms(-1) vs. 297 18 mV ms-1 of 4-AP+0 Mg) and increase (1.332+/-0.018 ms vs. 1.292+/-0.019 ms of 4-AP+0 Mg) in time required to reach maximum depolarization were observed indicating role of sodium channels. Concentration-dependent depression of sodium current was observed after exposure to dorsal root ganglion neurons to NP-647. NP-647 at different concentrations (1, 3, and 10 mu M) depressed sodium current (15+/-0.5%, 50+/-2.6%, and 75+/-0.7%, respectively). However, NP-647 did not show change in the peak sodium current in CNa18 cells. Results of present study demonstrated potential of NP-647 in the inhibition of epileptiform activity by inhibiting sodium channels indirectly. (C) 2011 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.