Condition monitoring of an advanced gas-cooled nuclear reactor core

A critical component of an advanced gas-cooled reactor station is the graphite core. As a station ages, the graphite bricks that comprise the core can distort and may eventually crack. Since the core cannot be replaced, the core integrity ultimately determines the station life. Monitoring these distortions is usually restricted to the routine outages, which occur every few years, as this is the only time that the reactor core can be accessed by external sensing equipment. This paper presents a monitoring module based on model-based techniques using measurements obtained during the refuelling process. A fault detection and isolation filter based on unknown input observer techniques is developed. The role of this filter is to estimate the friction force produced by the interaction between the wall of the fuel channel and the fuel assembly supporting brushes. This allows an estimate to be made of the shape of the graphite bricks that comprise the core and, therefore, to monitor any distortion on them

A noise-robust acoustic method for recognition of foraging activities of grazing cattle

To stay competitive in the growing dairy market, farmers must continuously improve their livestock production systems. Precision livestock farming technologies provide individualised monitoring of animals on commercial farms, optimising livestock production. Continuous acoustic monitoring is a widely accepted sensing technique used to estimate the daily rumination and grazing time budget of free-ranging cattle. However, typical environmental and natural noises on pasture noticeably affect the performance and generalisation of current acoustic methods. In this study, we present an acoustic method called Noise-Robust Foraging Activity Recognizer (NRFAR). The proposed method determines foraging activity bouts by analysing fixed-length segments of identified jaw movement events associated with grazing and rumination. The additive noise robustness of NRFAR was evaluated for several signal-to-noise ratios, using stationary Gaussian white noise and four different non-stationary natural noise sources. In noiseless conditions, NRFAR reaches an average balanced accuracy of 89%, outperforming two previous acoustic methods by more than 7%. Additionally, NRFAR presents better performance than previous acoustic methods in 66 out of 80 evaluated noisy scenarios (p<0.01). NRFAR operates online with a similar computational cost to previous acoustic methods. The combination of these properties and the high performance in harsh free-ranging environments render NRFAR an excellent choice for real-time implementation in a low-power embedded device. The instrumentation and computational algorithms presented within this publication are protected by a pending patent application: AR P20220100910. Web demo available at: https://sinc.unl.edu.ar/web-demo/nrfarComment: list of used audio-clips is available in the list_audio_clips.xls

Enlarged scaling ranges for the KS-entropy and the information dimension

Numerical estimates of the Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy based on a finite amount of data decay towards zero in the relevant limits. Rewriting differences of block entropies as averages over decay rates, and ignoring all parts of the sample where these rates are uncomputable because of the lack of neighbours, yields improved entropy estimates. In the same way, the scaling range for estimates of the information dimension can be extended considerably. The improvement is demonstrated for experimental data.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

Residual effects of mental fatigue on subjective fatigue, reaction time and cardiac responses

Este estudio investigó los efectos residuales de la fatiga mental inducidos por 30 minutos Test de Stroop con palabra con color incongruente sobre la fatiga percibida subjetivamente, el tiempo de reacción y la variabilidad de la frecuencia cardíaca (HRV) en 20 voluntarios adultos (10 hombres, 10 mujeres). Las variables dependientes se evaluaron antes, inmediatamente después y a los 15, 30, 45 y 60 minutos después de dos condiciones: (a) Test de Stroop con palabra con color incongruente de 30 minutos (condición de fatiga mental); o (b) condición de control de 30 minutos. En la pre condiciones, no hubo diferencias significativas entre las condiciones experimentales para ninguna variable. Sin embargo, hubo un efecto residual de la fatiga mental en las respuestas psicológicas durante hasta ~ 15 minutos después de la manipulación experimental (p < 0,01). Para la tarea de tiempo de reacción, se observaron diferencias significativas solo inmediatamente después de la fatiga mental, en comparación con la condición de control (p < 0,0001). No hubo diferencias significativas entre las condiciones experimentales para ningún parámetro de HRV en ningún período. Además, no hubo diferencias significativas relacionadas con el género en ningún período ni en ninguna de las condiciones para ninguna variable. Los datos sugieren que la fatiga mental puede alterar las respuestas psicológicas hasta ~ 15 min después de su inducción, y la fatiga mental puede afectar el rendimiento del tiempo de reacción cognitiva sin cambiar las respuestas cardíacas autónomas.This study investigated the residual effects of mental fatigue induced by the 30-minute incongruent Stroop Color Word task on subjectively perceived fatigue, reaction time, and heart rate variability (HRV) in 20 adult volunteers (10 men; 10 women). Dependent variables were assessed before, immediately after, and at 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes after two conditions: (a) a 30-minute incongruent Stroop Color Word task (mental fatigue condition); or (b) a 30-minute control condition. At pre-testing, there were no significant differences between experimental conditions for any variable. However, there was a residual effect of mental fatigue on psychological responses for up to ~15 minutes after the experimental manipulation (p < 0.01). For the reaction time task, significant differences were observed only immediately after the mental fatigue, compared to the control condition (p < 0.0001). There were no significant differences between experimental conditions for any parameters of HRV at any testing period. In addition, there were no significant gender related differences at any period or in either condition for any variable. The data suggest that mental fatigue can alter psychological responses for up to ~15 min after its induction, and mental fatigue may impair cognitive reaction time performance without changing autonomic cardiac responses.Este estudo investigou os efeitos residuais da fadiga mental induzida por 30 minutos do teste de Stroop com a palavra de cor incongruente na fadiga percebida de maneira subjetiva, tempo de reação e variabilidade da frequência cardíaca (VFC) em 20 voluntários adultos (10 homens; 10 mulheres). As variáveis dependentes foram avaliadas antes, imediatamente após e aos 15, 30, 45 e 60 minutos após duas condições: (a) teste de Stroop com a palavra de cor incongruente de 30 minutos (condição fadiga mental); ou (b) uma condição controle de 30 minutos. No pré-teste, não houve diferenças significativas entre as condições experimentais para qualquer variável. No entanto, houve um efeito residual da fadiga mental nas res-postas psicológicas por até ~ 15 minutos após a manipulação experimental (p <0,01). Para o teste de tempo de reação, foram observadas diferenças significativas apenas imediatamente após a fadiga mental, em comparação com a condição controle (p <0,0001). Não houve diferenças significativas entre as condições experimentais para quaisquer parâmetros da VFC em qualquer período. Além disso, não houve diferenças significativas relacionadas ao gênero em qualquer período ou em qualquer condição para qualquer variável. Os dados sugerem que a fadiga mental pode alterar as respostas psico-lógicas por até 15 minutos após sua indução, e a fadiga mental pode prejudicar o desempenho cognitivo pela piora tempo de reação sem alterar as respostas autonômicas cardíacas

Desarrollo e implementación de un dispositivo de adquisición y almacenamiento de sonidos para ganadería de precisión

El monitoreo preciso de las actividades alimentarias de los rumiantes (rumia y pastoreo) es un importante indicador de su salud y bienestar. Un buen seguimiento en la dieta repercute de manera directa en la calidad y cantidad de la leche y carne producidas por el animal. En este trabajo se describe el desarrollo e implementación de un dispositivo de adquisición y almacenamiento de señales para el monitoreo de actividades alimentarias en ganado bovino. Dicho dispositivo tiene por objetivo captar los sonidos producidos por los animales durante su alimentación, sin interferir en su comportamiento normal y sin intervención del operador. El sistema propuesto consta de tres módulos: i) un módulo de adquisición y limpieza del sonido producido por el animal, ii) un módulo de compresión de la señal resultante, organización y almacenamiento de los datos y iii) un módulo de administración de la energía. El sistema fue diseñado para tener una autonomía de una semana y soportar las condiciones operacionales presentes en el campo de aplicación, como son la presencia de ruidos y condiciones climáticas adversas.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativa (SADIO

Desarrollo e implementación de un dispositivo de adquisición y almacenamiento de sonidos para ganadería de precisión

El monitoreo preciso de las actividades alimentarias de los rumiantes (rumia y pastoreo) es un importante indicador de su salud y bienestar. Un buen seguimiento en la dieta repercute de manera directa en la calidad y cantidad de la leche y carne producidas por el animal. En este trabajo se describe el desarrollo e implementación de un dispositivo de adquisición y almacenamiento de señales para el monitoreo de actividades alimentarias en ganado bovino. Dicho dispositivo tiene por objetivo captar los sonidos producidos por los animales durante su alimentación, sin interferir en su comportamiento normal y sin intervención del operador. El sistema propuesto consta de tres módulos: i) un módulo de adquisición y limpieza del sonido producido por el animal, ii) un módulo de compresión de la señal resultante, organización y almacenamiento de los datos y iii) un módulo de administración de la energía. El sistema fue diseñado para tener una autonomía de una semana y soportar las condiciones operacionales presentes en el campo de aplicación, como son la presencia de ruidos y condiciones climáticas adversas.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativa (SADIO

Algoritmo para el monitoreo acústico en tiempo real de la actividad alimenticia del ganado bovino

La evaluación tanto del comportamiento de pastoreo como de la ingesta de pasturas en rumiantes es una tarea compleja que puede ser llevada a cabo adecuadamente por medio de la detección, clasificación y medición precisa de eventos de pastoreo como: chews, bites y chewbites. Es bien conocido que el monitoreo acústico es uno de los mejores métodos para cuantificar y clasificar eventos ingestivos de la actividad alimenticia de rumiantes. Sin embargo, la mayoría de los métodos de análisis son complejos y costosos computacionalmente, además de difíciles de implementar. En este trabajo presentamos y evaluamos un novedoso sistema de análisis llamado Chew-Bite Real-Time Algorithm (CBRTA) que trabaja automáticamente en tiempo real para detectar y clasificar eventos ingestivos en vacas.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativa (SADIO

Induced epidermal permeability modulates resistance and susceptibility of wheat seedlings to herbivory by Hessian fly larvae

Salivary secretions of neonate Hessian fly larvae initiate a two-way exchange of molecules with their wheat host. Changes in properties of the leaf surface allow larval effectors to enter the plant where they trigger plant processes leading to resistance and delivery of defence molecules, or susceptibility and delivery of nutrients. To increase understanding of the host plant's response, the timing and characteristics of the induced epidermal permeability were investigated. Resistant plant permeability was transient and limited in area, persisting just long enough to deliver defence molecules before gene expression and permeability reverted to pre-infestation levels. The abundance of transcripts for GDSL-motif lipase/hydrolase, thought to contribute to cuticle reorganization and increased permeability, followed the same temporal profile as permeability in resistant plants. In contrast, susceptible plants continued to increase in permeability over time until the entire crown of the plant became a nutrient sink. Permeability increased with higher infestation levels in susceptible but not in resistant plants. The ramifications of induced plant permeability on Hessian fly populations are discussed

Dental Implant Placement with Simultaneous Anterior Maxillary Reconstruction with Block and Particulate Fresh Frozen Allograft Bone: A Case Report with 24-Month Follow-Up Data

Fresh frozen allograft bone is routinely used in orthopedic surgery for the reconstruction of large bone defects, and its use in oral and maxillofacial surgery is increasing. The purpose of this case was to demonstrate the installation of dental implants and the use of fresh frozen bone for reconstruction of anterior maxilla in the same surgery. This case report presents the insertion of dental implants followed immediately by a placement of fresh frozen allograft in block and particle for a reconstruction of atrophic anterior maxillary in the same surgery. Ten months subsequent to this procedure, provisional fixed prosthesis was installed on the implants. Four months later (postoperative month 14), the final fixed prosthesis was installed and the clinical success was observed. The insertion of dental implants followed immediately by a placement of fresh frozen allograft is a safe and efficient process that results in the successful return of dental function and aesthetic rehabilitation for the patient

Incidência de mancha de alternaria em alface cultivada sob adubação convencional e orgânica.

pesquisa foi realizada na Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, PR, no período de dezembro de 2004 a janeiro de 2005. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a incidência de Mancha de Alternaria (Alternaria sp.) em dois tipos de alface (grupo crespa cultivar Verônica e grupo lisa cultivar Elisa) produzida sob diferentes tipos de adubação (mineral — NPK + cobertura NK; composto orgânico; biofertilizante aeróbico e biofertilizante anaeróbico). Verificaram-se efeitos significativos da interação entre o tipo de alface plantada e o adubo aplicado na incidência de Mancha de Alternaria (Alternaria sp). De uma forma geral foi observada menor incidência dessa doença na alface crespa. Palavras-chave: Lactuca sativa, Alternaria, adubação, biofertilizantesEdição dos Resumos Expandidos do Congresso Brasileiro de Olericultura, 45; Congresso Brasileiro de Floricultura e Plantas Ornamentais, 15; Congresso Brasileiro de Cultura de Tecidos de Plantas, 2., 2005, Fortaleza