Statistical process monitoring of a multiphase flow facility

Industrial needs are evolving fast towards more flexible manufacture schemes. As a consequence, it is often required to adapt the plant production to the demand, which can be volatile depending on the application. This is why it is important to develop tools that can monitor the condition of the process working under varying operational conditions. Canonical Variate Analysis (CVA) is a multivariate data driven methodology which has been demonstrated to be superior to other methods, particularly under dynamically changing operational conditions. These comparative studies normally use computer simulated data in benchmark case studies such as the Tennessee Eastman Process Plant (Ricker, N.L. Tennessee Eastman Challenge Archive, Available at 〈http://depts.washington.edu/control/LARRY/TE/download.html〉 Accessed 21.03.2014). The aim of this work is to provide a benchmark case to demonstrate the ability of different monitoring techniques to detect and diagnose artificially seeded faults in an industrial scale multiphase flow experimental rig. The changing operational conditions, the size and complexity of the test rig make this case study an ideal candidate for a benchmark case that provides a test bed for the evaluation of novel multivariate process monitoring techniques performance using real experimental data. In this paper, the capabilities of CVA to detect and diagnose faults in a real system working under changing operating conditions are assessed and compared with other methodologies. The results obtained demonstrate that CVA can be effectively applied for the detection and diagnosis of faults in real complex systems, and reinforce the idea that the performance of CVA is superior to other algorithms

La manipulación de la memoria histórica en el nacionalismo español

El autor analiza el tema propuesto desde una doble perspectiva: por un lado, la selección del recuerdo a evocar en función de la legitimidad histórica reivindicada por los poderes establecidos. Por otro, la falsificación de las fuentes de base y la distorsión interpretativa de la realidad histórica, distorsión ligada, fundamentalmente a partir del siglo XIX, a la emergencia de los nacionalismos.The author analyzes the proposed theme from a double perspective: the selection of memory for legitimizing the History favoured by the Establishment and the falsification of the original sources and the interpretative distortion of historical reality, basically bound to the emergence of nationalisms since the XIX century

From spin-Peierls to superconductivity: (TMTTF)_2PF_6 under high pressure

The nature of the attractive electron-electron interaction, leading to the formation of Cooper-pairs in unconventional superconductors has still to be fully understood and is subject to intensive research. Here we show that the sequence spin-Peierls, antiferromagnetism, superconductivity observed in (TMTTF)_2PF_6 under pressure makes the (TM)_2X phase diagram universal. We argue that the suppression of the spin-Peierls transition under pressure, the close vicinity of antiferromagnetic and superconducting phases at high pressure as well as the existence of critical antiferromagnetic fluctuations above T_c strongly support the intriguing possibility that the interchain exchange of antiferromagnetic fluctuations provides the pairing mechanism required for bound charge carriers.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, 4 figures (jpeg,eps,png

A Comparative Study of the Effectiveness of Adaptive Filter Algorithms, Spectral Kurtosis and Linear Prediction in Detection of a Naturally Degraded Bearing in a Gearbox

Diagnosing bearing faults at the earliest stages is critical in avoiding future catastrophic failures. Many techniques have been developed and applied in diagnosing bearings faults; however, these traditional diagnostic techniques are not always successful when the bearing fault occurs in gearboxes where the vibration response is complex; under such circumstances, it may be necessary to separate the bearing signal from the complex signal. In this paper, an adaptive filter has been applied for the purpose of bearing signal separation. Four algorithms were compared to assess their effectiveness in diagnosing a bearing defect in a gearbox, least mean square (LMS), linear prediction, spectral kurtosis and fast block LMS. These algorithms were applied to decompose the measured vibration signal into deterministic and random parts with the latter containing the bearing signal. These techniques were applied to identify a bearing fault in a gearbox employed for an aircraft control system for which endurance tests were performed. The results show that the LMS algorithm is capable of detecting the bearing fault earlier in comparison with the other algorithms

The effect of ultrasound pretreatment on some selected physicochemical properties of black cumin (Nigella Sativa)

Background In the present study, the effects of ultrasound pretreatment parameters including irradiation time and power on the quantity of the extracted phenolic compounds quantity as well as on some selected physicochemical properties of the extracted oils including oil extraction efficiency, acidity and peroxide values, color, and refractive index of the extracted oil of black cumin seeds with the use of cold press have been studied. Methods For each parameter, three different levels (30, 60, and 90 W) for the ultrasound power and (30, 45, and 60 min) and for the ultrasound irradiation time were studied. Each experiment was performed in three replications. Results The achieved results revealed that, with enhancements in the applied ultrasound power, the oil extraction efficiency, acidity value, total phenolic content, peroxide value, and color parameters increased significantly (P 0.05). Conclusions In summary, it could be mentioned that the application of ultrasound pretreatment in the oil extraction might improve the oil extraction efficiency, the extracted oil’s quality, and the extracted phenolic compounds content.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Alterations in EGF-Endocytosis, Lysosomal Enzyme Transport and Maturation of Cathepsins in Juvenile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis Fibroblasts

Background: Juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (JNCL), one of the most frequent forms of the NCL storage diseases, is known to be caused by loss-of-function mutations in ceroid-lipofuscinosis neuronal protein 3 (CLN3), but its cell function has not been fully elucidated. We previously reported increased lysosomal pH in CLN3 deficient cells. In the present study, we analysed the consequences of this effect in the endo-lysosomal pathways in CLN3 cells.Methods: The present study investigated different endo-lysosomal pathways in control, CLN2, CLN3 human skin fibroblasts under high and low proteolysis conditions. Cell surface biotinylation after EGF (2 ng/mL) stimulation, EGF phosphorylation (Tyr-845), retromer and cation-independent mannose-6-phosphate receptor (CI-MPR) levels and stability, EGF degradation pathways and cathepsin L and D levels were analysed by western blots. Caveolae mediated endocytosis was analysed by flow cytometry. CIMPR subcellular localization was ascertained by immunocytochemistry, confocal microscopy and further image analysis.Results: Whereas caveolae-mediated endocytosis was not affected in CLN3 cells, clathrin-mediated epidermal growth factor (EGF) internalization was reduced, along with EGF receptor (EGFR) phosphorylation. In addition, cell surface EGFR levels and recycling to the cell membrane were increased. EGFR lysosomal degradation was impaired and our results suggest that the receptor was diverted to proteasomal degradation. We also analysed the machinery responsible for lysosomal hydrolase transport to the lysosome and found increased stability of CIMPR, a major receptor implicated in the transport of hydrolases. The subcellular distribution of the CI-MPR was also altered in CLN3 cells, since it accumulated within the Trans-Golgi network (TGN) and did not progress into the lysosomes. In addition, we found a reduced turnover of retromer subunits, a complex that retrieves the CI-MPR from endosomes to the TGN. Finally and as a possible consequence of these alterations in lysosomal enzyme transport, cathepsin L and D maturation were found suppressed in CLN3 cells.Conclusion: Altogether, these results point to increased lisosomal pH as a pivotal event causing various alterations in intracellular traffic associated to the development of JNCL disease

Dielectric response of charge induced correlated state in the quasi-one-dimensional conductor (TMTTF)2PF6

Conductivity and permittivity of the quasi-one-dimensionsional organic transfer salt (TMTTF)2PF6 have been measured at low frequencies (10^3-10^7 Hz) between room temperature down to below the temperature of transition into the spin-Peierls state. We interpret the huge real part of the dielectric permittivity (up to 10^6) in the localized state as the realization in this compound of a charge ordered state of Wigner crystal type due to long range Coulomb interaction.Comment: 11 pages, 3 .eps figure