Application of a control banding tool for risk level assessment and control of nanoparticles exposure in welding operations

Scope of study: welding operations result in harmful emissions of nanoparticles; the aim of emissions monitorisation is to evaluate exposure levels and to derive protection measures in order to protect exposed workers; however, the traditional approach of comparing measured concentrations with exposure limits cannot be used; but risk levels can be quantified by using Control Banding Strategies.

Supervisory control of a variable speed wind turbine with doubly fed induction generator

This paper is on an onshore variable speed wind turbine with doubly fed induction generator and under supervisory control. The control architecture is equipped with an event-based supervisor for the supervision level and fuzzy proportional integral or discrete adaptive linear quadratic as proposed controllers for the execution level. The supervisory control assesses the operational state of the variable speed wind turbine and sends the state to the execution level. Controllers operation are in the full load region to extract energy at full power from the wind while ensuring safety conditions required to inject the energy into the electric grid. A comparison between the simulations of the proposed controllers with the inclusion of the supervisory control on the variable speed wind turbine benchmark model is presented to assess advantages of these controls. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Assessment and control of nanoparticles exposure in welding operations by use of a control banding tool

This paper describes the use of a Control Banding Tool to assess and further control of exposure of nanoparticles emitted during welding operations. The tool was applied to Metal Active Gas (MAG) arc welding of mild and stainless steel, providing semi-quantitative data on the process, so that protection measures could be derived, e.g. exhaust gas ventilation by hoods, local ventilation devices and containment measures. This tool is quite useful to compare and evaluate the characteristics of arc welding procedures so that more eco-friendly processes could be preferred over the more potentially noxious ones.

Control of predators in industrial scale microalgae cultures with Pulsed Electric Fields.

This work describes the utilization of Pulsed Electric Fields to control the protozoan contamination of a microalgae culture, in an industrial 2.7m3 microalgae photobioreactor. The contaminated culture was treated with Pulsed Electric Fields, PEF, for 6h with an average of 900V/cm, 65μs pulses of 50Hz. Working with recirculation, all the culture was uniformly exposed to the PEF throughout the assay. The development of the microalgae and protozoan populations was followed and the results showed that PEF is effective on the selective elimination of protozoa from microalgae cultures, inflicting on the protozoa growth halt, death or cell rupture, without affecting microalgae productivity. Specifically, the results show a reduction of the active protozoan population of 87% after 6h treatment and 100% after few days of normal cultivation regime. At the same time, microalgae growth rate remained unaffected. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

The prolonged use of niclosamide as a molluscicide for the control of Schistosoma mansoni

Applications of niclosamide at three-monthly intervals were undertaken for 14 years in foci of Biomphalaria glabrata in the water sources of Peri-Peri (Capim Branco, MG). All the residents of the area were submitted to an annual fecal examination (Kato/Katz) and those individuals eliminating Schistosoma mansoni eggs were treated with oxamniquine. A malacological survey was undertaken at three-monthly intervals by means of ten scoops with a perforated ladle each ten metres along the two banks of the ditches and streams of the region. Where snails were found, molluscicide was applied by means of dripping or aspersion using a 3 ppm aqueous suspension of niclosamide. Initially, a mean of 14.3% of snails in the region were found to be eliminating cercariae. Following the first four applications of molluscicide, this was reduced to 0.0% and maintained at about 1.5% throughout the program. Thus, there was a continued possibility of schistosomiasis transmission in the area and it was observed that the population of snails reestablished itself within three months of molluscicide application. The results obtained in this study do not encourage the continual use of niclosamide as the only method of control of schistosomiasis.

THE CONTROL OF ANOPHELINE MOSQUITOS BY THE SPRAYING OF DELTAMETHRIN ON RAFFIA CURTAINS USED IN MINERS' HUTS IN AREAS ENDEMIC FOR MALARIA

The residual potential of an aqueous solution of Deltamethrin (FW 25 mg i.a./m2) was evaluated on raffia curtains. These are sheets of synthetic material used in the construction of huts to house miners. Experiments were conducted during 420 days and the curtains were always rolled up in the daytime and unrolled in late afternoon. Data analyzed by logarithmic regression indicated that raffia treated with Deltamethrin had higher mortality indices than that covered with DDT. The residual capacity of Deltamethrin on raffia was high. The mortality percentage was above 85% after 360 days and dropped to about 50% at 420 days. The effect of DDT was reduced after 180 days and reached zero by the end of the experiment. Based on the results of these experiments, it is recommended that Deltamethrin be used to spray raffia curtains in mining regions and other areas that are endemic for malaria.

ADVERSE EFFECT VERSUS QUALITY CONTROL OF THE FUENZALIDA-PALACIOS ANTIRABIES VACCINE

We evaluated the components of the Fuenzalida-Palacios antirabies vaccine, which is till used in most developing countries in human immunization for treatment and prophylaxis. This vaccine is prepared from newborn mouse brains at 1% concentration. Even though the vaccine is considered to have a low myelin content, it is not fully free of myelin or of other undesirable components that might trigger adverse effects after vaccination. The most severe effect is a post-vaccination neuroparalytic accident associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome. In the present study we demonstrate how the vaccines produced and distributed by different laboratories show different component patterns with different degrees of impurity and with varying protein concentrations, indicating that production processes can vary from one laboratory to another. These differences, which could be resolved using a better quality control process, may affect and impair immunization, with consequent risks and adverse effects after vaccination. We used crossed immunoelectrophoresis to evaluate and demonstrate the possibility of quality control in vaccine production, reducing the risk factors possibly involved in these immunizing products.

Optimizing potentiometric ionophore and electrode design for environmental on-site control of antibiotic drugs: Application to sulfamethoxazole

Potentiometric sensors are typically unable to carry out on-site monitoring of environmental drug contaminants because of their high limits of detection (LODs). Designing a novel ligand material for the target analyte and managing the composition of the internal reference solution have been the strategies employed here to produce for the first time a potentiometric-based direct reading method for an environmental drug contaminant. This concept has been applied to sulfamethoxazole (SMX), one of the many antibiotics used in aquaculture practices that may occur in environmental waters. The novel ligand has been produced by imprinting SMX on the surface of graphitic carbon nanostructures (CN) < 500 nm. The imprinted carbon nanostructures (ICN) were dispersed in plasticizer and entrapped in a PVC matrix that included (or not) a small amount of a lipophilic additive. The membrane composition was optimized on solid-contact electrodes, allowing near-Nernstian responses down to 5.2 μg/mL and detecting 1.6 μg/mL. The membranes offered good selectivity against most of the ionic compounds in environmental water. The best membrane cocktail was applied on the smaller end of a 1000 μL micropipette tip made of polypropylene. The tip was then filled with inner reference solution containing SMX and chlorate (as interfering compound). The corresponding concentrations were studied for 1 × 10−5 to 1 × 10−10 and 1 × 10−3 to 1 × 10−8 mol/L. The best condition allowed the detection of 5.92 ng/L (or 2.3 × 10−8 mol/L) SMX for a sub-Nernstian slope of −40.3 mV/decade from 5.0 × 10−8 to 2.4 × 10−5 mol/L.

Modeling and Control of a Dragonfly-Like Robot

Dragonflies demonstrate unique and superior flight performances than most of the other insect species and birds. They are equipped with two pairs of independently controlled wings granting an unmatchable flying performance and robustness. In this paper it is studied the dynamics of a dragonfly-inspired robot. The system performance is analyzed in terms of time response and robustness. The development of computational simulation based on the dynamics of the robotic dragonfly allows the test of different control algorithms. We study different movement, the dynamics and the level of dexterity in wing motion of the dragonfly. The results are positive for the construction of flying platforms that effectively mimic the kinematics and dynamics of dragonflies and potentially exhibit superior flight performance than existing flying platforms.

Fractional Dynamics and Control of Distributed Parameter Systems

Fractional Calculus (FC) goes back to the beginning of the theory of differential calculus. Nevertheless, the application of FC just emerged in the last two decades, due to the progress in the area of chaos that revealed subtle relationships with the FC concepts. In the field of dynamical systems theory some work has been carried out but the proposed models and algorithms are still in a preliminary stage of establishment. Having these ideas in mind, the paper discusses a FC perspective in the study of the dynamics and control of some distributed parameter systems.

Modelling and Control of Freeway Traffic

This paper presents the most recent developments of the Simulator of Intelligent Transportation Systems (SITS). The SITS is based on a microscopic simulation approach to reproduce real traffic conditions in an urban or non-urban network. In order to analyse the quality of the microscopic traffic simulator SITS a benchmark test was performed. A dynamical analysis of several traffic phenomena, applying a new modelling formalism based on the embedding of statistics and Laplace transform, is then addressed. The paper presents also a new traffic control concept applied to a freeway traffic system.

Cascade Control of a Hexapod Robot

6th International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots and the Support Technologies for Mobile Machines, Catania, Italy, 17-19 September

Chaotic Phenomena and Performance Optimization in the Trajectory Control of Redundant Manipulators

Redundant manipulators have some advantages when compared with classical arms because they allow the trajectory optimization, both on the free space and on the presence of abstacles, and the resolution of singularities. For this type of manipulators, several kinetic algorithms adopt generalized inverse matrices. In this line of thought, the generalized inverse control scheme is tested through several experiments that reveal the difficulties that often arise. Motivated by theseproblems this paper presents a new method that ptimizes the manipulability through a least squre polynomialapproximation to determine the joints positions. Moreover, the article studies influence on the dynamics, when controlling redundant and hyper-redundant manipulators. The experiment confirm the superior performance of the proposed algorithm for redundant and hyper-redundant manipulators, revealing several fundamental properties of the chaotic phenomena, and gives a deeper insight towards the future development of superior trajectory control algorithms.

Neural control of an autonomous robot

This article aims to apply the concepts associated with artificial neural networks (ANN) in the control of an autonomous robot system that is intended to be used in competitions of robots. The robot was tested in several arbitrary paths in order to verify its effectiveness. The results show that the robot performed the tasks with success. Moreover, in the case of arbitrary paths the ANN control outperforms other methodologies, such as fuzzy logic control (FLC).

Partial characterization of proteolytic activity in Giardia duodenalis purified proteins

This report describes a preliminary characterization of proteolytic activity of proteins isolated from lysate of Giardia trophozoites of an axenic Brazilian strain. Fractions obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography (FPLC) were tested in SDS-polyacrylamide gel for the protein profiles, and the proteases activity was analyzed using gelatin impregnated SDS-PAGE. The proteases characterization was based on inhibition assays employing synthetic inhibitors for cysteine (E-64, IAA), serine (PMSF, TPCK, TLCK, and elastatinal), metalo (EDTA) and aspartic (pepstatin) proteases. Among thirty eluted fractions, polypeptide bands were observed in eight of them, however, proteolytic activity was detected in four ones (F23, F24, F25 and F26). Protein profiles of these fractions showed a banding pattern composed by few bands distributed in the migration region of 45 to < 18 kDa. The zymograms revealed proteolytic activity in all the four fractions assayed, mainly distributed in the migration region of 62 to 35 kDa. Among the profiles, the main pronounced zones of proteolysis were distinguished at 62, 55, 53, 50, 46 and 40 kDa. In inhibition assays, the protease activities were significantly inhibited by cysteine (E-64) and serine proteases (TPCK, TLCK and elastatinal) inhibitors. Gels incubated with other cysteine and serine protease inhibitors, IAA and PMSF, respectively, showed a decrease in the intensity of hydrolysis zones. Indeed, in the assays with the inhibitors EDTA for metalloproteases and pepstatin for aspartic proteases, none inhibition was detected against the substrate. These observations are relevants, especially if we consider that to define the real role of the proteases in host-parasite interaction, the purification of these enzymes for detailed studies may be warranted.