bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fault Diagnosis of Rolling Bearings Based on Multi-Scale Entropy and Ensembled Artificial Neural Network
Authors: Chen Fen , Liu Quan , Wei Qin , Ting Deng , Ting Yan , Wenqin Su , Bingjie Peng , Zhao Lei
Published: October 2014

Rolling bearing is widely used in rotating mechanical system, and its operating state has great effects on availability, reliability and the life cycle of whole mechanical system. Therefore, fault diagnosis of rolling bearing is indispensable for the health monitoring in rotating machinery system. In this paper, a method based on multi-scale entropy (MSE) and ensembled artificial neural network (EANN) is proposed for feature extraction and fault recognition in rolling bearings respectively. MSE is mainly in charge for quantizing the complexity of the nonlinear time series in different scales. Then, EANN is employed to identify various faults of rolling bearing after overcoming the two disadvantages like local minimization and slow convergence speed in back propagation neural network (BPNN). The experimental results indicate that the method based on MSE and EANN is feasible and effective to classify different categories of faults and to identify the severity level of fault in the rolling bearings. Therefore, it is available for fault detection and diagnosis in rolling bearings with good performance.
Predicting Subjective Responses From Human Motion: Application to Vehicle Ingress Assessment
Authors: Masoud Hadi I. , Reed Matthew P. , Paynabar Kamran , Jin Jionghua (Judy) , Kozak Ksenia K. , Wang Nanxin , Wan Jian , Gomez-Levi Gianna
Published: October 2014

The ease of entering a car is one of the important ergonomic factors that car manufacturers consider during the process of car design. This has motivated many researchers to investigate factors that affect discomfort during ingress. The patterns of motion during ingress may be related to discomfort, but the analysis of motion is challenging. In this paper, a modeling framework is proposed to use the motions of body landmarks to predict subjectively reported discomfort during ingress. Foot trajectories are used to identify a set of trials with a consistent right-leg-first strategy. The trajectories from 20 landmarks on the limbs and torso are parameterized using B-spline basis functions. Two group selection methods, group nonnegative garrote (GNNG) and stepwise group selection (SGS), are used to filter and identify the trajectories that are important for prediction. Finally, a classification and prediction model is built using support vector machine (SVM). The performance of the proposed framework is then evaluated against simpler, more common prediction models.
Electrochemical Machining Recycling for Metal Recovery and Waste Elimination
Authors: Skinn Brian , Lucatero Savidra , Hall Timothy , Snyder Stephen , Taylor E. Jennings , Inman Maria
Published: October 2014

This paper will discuss an integrated technology being developed by Faraday to recover and recycle metals from electrochemical machining (ECM) electrolytes. ECM is suited for low mass removal, high value-added manufacturing steps that cannot be easily performed using conventional machining, whether due to workpiece material properties, tooling limitations, or high surface integrity requirements. Sludge byproducts formed during conventional ECM processes are difficult and expensive to recycle, and discarding the sludge results in the loss of potentially valuable “waste” metal as well as entrained electrolyte. The FARADAYIC® Recycling ECM [(R) ECM] technology machines metals into the electrolyte to a concentration of 800–1500 ppm (mg L−1), and subsequently recovers those metals by electrowinning in solid/metallic form devoid of hydroxides/hydrated oxides, without intermediate electrolyte processing.
Microstructural and Dynamic Mechanical Characterization of Biodegradable Magnesium-Calcium Alloy for Orthopedic Implants
Authors: Brooks V. S. , Guo Y. B.
Published: October 2014

Magnesium-Calcium (Mg-Ca) alloy is an emerging metallic biomaterial for manufacturing biodegradable orthopedic implants. However, very few studies have been conducted on mechanical properties of the bi-phase Mg-Ca alloy, especially at the high strain rates often encountered in manufacturing processes. The mechanical properties are critical to design and manufacturing of Mg-Ca implants. The objective of this study is to study the microstructural and mechanical properties of Mg-Ca0.8 (wt %) alloy. Both elastic and plastic behaviors of the Mg-Ca0.8 alloy were characterized at different strains and strain rates in quasi-static tension and compression testing as well as dynamic split-Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) testing. It has been shown that Young’s modulus of Mg-Ca0.8 alloy in quasi-static compression is much higher than those at high strain rates. Yield strength and ultimate strength of the material are very sensitive to strain rates and increase with strain rate in compression. Strain softening also occurs at large strains in dynamic compression. Furthermore, quasi-static mechanical behavior of the material in tension is very different from that in compression. The stress-strain data was repeatable with reasonable accuracy in both deformation modes. In addition, a set of material constants for the internal state variable plasticity model has been obtained to model the dynamical mechanical behavior of the novel metallic biomaterial.
Experimental Study on Laser High-Speed Micro-Processing
Authors: Zhang Wenwu , Jiao Junke , Ruan Liang , Zhang Tianrun
Published: October 2014

To study the characteristics of material removal with high power ultra-short pulsed lasers, a 300 W picosecond laser was used to make microgrooves in cooper and steel. The effects of laser power, laser frequency, scanning layers, and scanning velocity on the width and depth of the grooves were analyzed. The material removal rate of picosecond laser was compared with that of a 10 W nanosecond laser. The results showed that high power high frequency ultra-short pulsed lasers have good potential in high speed micromachining. Evidence showed that ps laser machining could be more efficient than nanosecond machining. There are issues to be solved to make high power ultra-short pulsed lasers the dominating process for high speed micromachining.
Feature Extraction of Rolling Bearing Fault Based on Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition and Correlation Dimension
Authors: Zhao Lei , Zhou Zude , Yin Yang , Chen Rong , Liu Quan , Wei Qin
Published: October 2014

Rolling bearing is the core element of a machine, especially used in rotary machine. Its working status and healthy condition directly affect the efficiency and life cycle of a machine. So it is very important to monitor and diagnose the faults of rolling bearings. In this paper, a novel method based on ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) and improved correlation dimension (CD) is presented to extract fault feature of rolling bearing fault. The conventional CD has two defects, one is sensitive to the noise, and another is difficult to calculate the slope over the linear region (scaling region). In order to reduce the effects of noise, EEMD is used to decompose the components with truly physical meaning from signals. And in order to identify the scaling region and calculate the slope, an improved CD algorithm is proposed to acquire the scaling area automatically and verified by the well-known analytic models such as Lorenz attractor. Finally, the method is applied to detect the fault features of rolling bearings based on vibration signals and the experimental results indicate its applicability and effectiveness in fault diagnosis of the rolling bearings.
A Security Framework for Cloud Manufacturing
Authors: Wang Yazhe , Ma Shunan , Ren Lei
Published: October 2014

Cloud manufacturing has been considered as a promising new service-oriented manufacturing paradigm that can transform traditional industry. However security is one of the major issues which hamper the growth of cloud manufacturing industry. In this paper, we analyze the cloud manufacturing security issues and challenges, and propose a security framework for cloud manufacturing, which includes four levels: infrastructure security, identity and access management, data protection and security, and cloud security as a service. The Infrastructure security level can ensure an organization’s core IT infrastructure security at the network, host, and application levels; Identity and access management level can improve operational efficiency and to comply with privacy and data protection requirements; Data protection and security level can help users evaluate their data security scenarios and make informed judgments regarding risk for their organizations; security as a service level, which includes web security service, storage security service and IAM(Identity and Access Management) service, would extract security functions and capacities to assemble software as a service. The cloud manufacturing security framework we proposed can resolve the security issues and improve the security performance of cloud manufacturing industry.
RFID Indoor Localization Using Master-Slave Reference Tags Scheme for Manufacturing Environment
Authors: Zhang Shilong , Liu Quan , Xu Wenjun , Liu Zaiqun
Published: October 2014

In manufacturing process, the indoor location information of physical object is an essential part in storage and transport link. The efficient perception of indoor location is able to significantly reduce the system load and also improves its real-time performance. In this paper, a novel RFID indoor localization algorithm using Master-Slave reference tags scheme (MSRT) is presented. The algorithm divides the sensing area into several subspaces with master reference tags to realize rough location. In each subspaces, slave reference tags are used to perform partial location. A set of experiments have been conducted and the results demonstrate that the proposed method can reduce system redundancy and server load without decrement of accuracy.
Enhancement of Kirschner Wire for Bone Drilling
Authors: Tai Bruce L. , Nonoyama Fumitake , Wang Yancheng , Shih Albert J.
Published: October 2014

This study advances design and manufacturing of the tip geometry of the Kirschner wire (K-wire) — a popular orthopedic drilling tool with a sharp, three-sided trocar point — for improved bone drilling efficiency. Since there is no active cutting edge as there is for twist drill bits, bone drilling forces can be so large as to cause excessive heat generation and tool wear. Our modified K-wire consists of three slots at the tip to enhance cutting and chip (bone debris) evacuation. A finite element model was developed to simulate bone debris generation, thus predicting the improvement by the slot design. An experimental study was conducted to validate the model and ascertain actual drilling performance. During 5 mm drilling the maximum thrust force and torque were both reduced on average by 30–40% based on the experimental data. The overall trends of both force and torque agree with the model-predicted results.
Experimental Investigation of Vibratory Finishing Process
Authors: Song Xiaozhong , Chaudhari Rahul , Hashimoto Fukuo
Published: October 2014

The vibratory finishing process is widely used for finishing metal components. An experimental investigation is reported on the factors affecting the metal removal and resultant surface roughness during vibratory finishing including the influence of chemical solutions. The effect of process parameters such as media size and impact frequency is studied by measuring the contact forces. A method to investigate the effect of chemical solution and to optimize the processing time to achieve desired resultant surface roughness is presented.
Sintering of Powders From Fiberglass Recycling
Authors: Quadrini Fabrizio
Published: October 2014

Sintering is a typical process for metal powders which can be effectively agglomerated by a solid state diffusion mechanism. Polymer powders are less sensible to this kind of mechanism because of the lower molecular mobility. Anyway, such applications have been mentioned about sintering of thermoplastic powders in the scientific literature. In this study, sintering has been used for the first time to agglomerate thermoset powders coming from recycling of fiberglass. This way, two interesting results have been obtained. First of all, new products have been produced by recycling fiberglass without any addition of virgin resin or linking agent. Moreover, it has been shown that sintering can lead to very high thickness products which are very difficult to obtain by typical molding processes because of shrinkage or frozen stresses. In order to show the feasibility of this new process, some powders have been collected from the waste of industrial partners. These powders have been molded without the addition of any other material so as to produce small plates or thick bricks. In such cases, a polyester coating was also added to improve the surface quality of the brick. Several samples have been extracted from these products and tested to evaluate the mechanical performances of the recycled plates. Results are very promising in terms of process easiness and part properties. A density about 1 g/cm3 has been obtained with a flexural modulus about 1 GPa and a flexural strength up to 20 MPa.
Concurrent Design of Assembly Plans and Supply Chain Configurations Using AND/OR Graphs and Dynamic Programming
Authors: Kuang Heng , Hu S. Jack , Ko Jeonghan
Published: October 2014

Making concurrent decisions on assembly plans and supply chain configurations is a desirable strategy in today’s competitive global market. Such concurrent decisions help reduce decision iterations for shortened lead time, and lower the total cost for manufacturers and their supply chains. However, there lacks deep understanding of the interaction of assembly plans and supply chain configurations, as well as methodologies for integrating them. In this paper, we consider the problem of simultaneously decomposing an assembly product to modules and assigning the modules to suppliers. The joint decision is formulated as an optimization problem of finding the assembly decomposition and the corresponding supply chain network with the lowest total supply chain cost. We develop a coordinated decision making method by integrating assembly AND/OR graphs with supply chain cost information. A Dynamic Programming (DP) based algorithm is developed to efficiently solve the combined optimization problem. Case studies demonstrate that the proposed method can find optimal solutions to the integrated decision making problem efficiently and provide a tool to plan assemblies from the perspective of the total supply chain cost in the early stages of product development.
Wear of Abrasive Particles in Slurry During Lapping
Authors: Lehner James T. , Brown Christopher A.
Published: October 2014

Changes in abrasive particle size, shape, and sharpness are studied in multi-axis lapping of sealing regions of stainless steel ball valves. Twelve experimental runs, investigating changes in the abrasive particle as a function of lapping load and motion, are performed during lapping. The influence of changes in the lapping load and motion are investigated using design of experiments. Changes in the size, shape, and sharpness of the abrasive particle are influenced by the load and by the motion of the seats and balls of the valves. Combinations of lapping load and motions, as opposed to any individual variable, tend to dominate the influence on the changes in the abrasive particle.
Representation and Exchange of Digital Catalogues of Cutting Tools
Authors: Li Yujiang , Huang Qiuling , Hedlind Mikael , Sivard Gunilla , Lundgren Magnus , Kjellberg Torsten
Published: October 2014

Information management for manufacturing resources such as cutting tools is an important research topic in the context of cloud manufacturing. Vendors and customers usually use catalogues to communicate information for such manufacturing resource. Incompatibilities of information in syntax, semantics, and structure among supply chains often result in inefficient manual sharing and management of the catalogue information. It is difficult for cloud based applications to pool information from various sources. This communication failure calls for a system neutral solution for data modeling and exchange to enhance interoperability of the cutting tool catalogue information. Previous studies has present solutions for representation of the cutting tool information with STEP AP242 (ISO/DIS 10303-242) with semantic classification referring to a PLib (ISO 13584, Part Library) based dictionary. This approach can be extended for the catalogue modeling, due to functionalities for specification and configuration control of general product variants in the same standard.

With a modeling approach with standardized information schemas, system architecture to guide implementation is proposed to enhance the communication in practice. Relative elements to represent vendors’ catalogues and customers’ requirements are modeled. Associations to the PLib-based dictionary complete semantics and enable information mapping between vendors and customers. Principles of the mapping are identified to facilitate implementation of related software systems. Prototypes are developed to verify the proposed system architecture. The proposed solution is promising to migrate to other types of products than cutting tools, because the data models are based on the general product models defined in AP242.
Modeling of Strength Differential Effects in HCP Sheet Materials
Authors: Kurukuri Srihari , Worswick Michael
Published: October 2014

A simple approach is proposed to employ symmetric yield functions for modeling the tension-compression asymmetry commonly observed in hcp materials. In this work, the strength differential (SD) effect is modeled by choosing separate symmetric plane stress Barlat Yld 2000 yield functions for the tension i.e., in the first quadrant of principal stress space, and compression i.e., third quadrant of principal stress space. In the second and fourth quadrants, the yield locus is constructed by adopting Bézier interpolating functions between uniaxial tensile and compressive stress states. The main advantage of this proposed approach is that the yield locus parameters are deterministic and relatively easy to identify when compared to the Cazacu-Plunkett-Barlat (CPB) family of yield functions commonly used for modeling the SD effect observed in hcp materials. The proposed yield function is implemented as a user material subroutine (UMAT) within the commercial finite element software, LS-DYNA. The predictions of the developed material model are compared with the measured load-displacement and strain distributions from a three-point bend experiment on AZ31B sheet.
Characterization of Ultrasonic Metal Welding by Correlating Online Sensor Signals With Weld Attributes
Authors: Lee S. Shawn , Shao Chenhui , Kim Tae Hyung , Hu S. Jack , Kannatey-Asibu Elijah , Cai Wayne W. , Spicer J. Patrick , Abell Jeffrey A.
Published: October 2014

Online process monitoring in ultrasonic welding of automotive lithium-ion batteries is essential for robust and reliable battery pack assembly. Effective quality monitoring algorithms have been developed to identify out of control parts by applying purely statistical classification methods. However, such methods do not provide the deep physical understanding of the manufacturing process that is necessary to provide diagnostic capability when the process is out of control. The purpose of this study is to determine the physical correlation between ultrasonic welding signal features and the ultrasonic welding process conditions and ultimately joint performance. A deep understanding in these relationships will enable a significant reduction in production launch time and cost, improve process design for ultrasonic welding, and reduce operational downtime through advanced diagnostic methods. In this study, the fundamental physics behind the ultrasonic welding process is investigated using two process signals, weld power and horn displacement. Several online features are identified by examining those signals and their variations under abnormal process conditions. The joint quality is predicted by correlating such online features to weld attributes such as bond density and post-weld thickness that directly impact the weld performance. This study provides a guideline for feature selection and advanced diagnostics to achieve a reliable online quality monitoring system in ultrasonic metal welding.
Prediction of Tool Wear Based on Cutting Forces When End Milling Titanium Alloy Ti-6Al-4V
Authors: Stanley Cynthia , Ulutan Durul , Mears Laine
Published: October 2014

Research regarding tool wear in the machining of difficult materials is important because it is a significant indicator of process failure in terms of degradation of part quality, and the resulting high cost and increased process time. Prior researchers have investigated the effects of cutting parameters on tool wear and as a result, tool life has seen significant improvement. However, these studies are not concerned with tool flank wear during machining; they instead focus on tool flank wear after a certain amount of cutting distance. This study proposes a new method of predicting tool flank wear during machining that has the capability of suggesting tool failure without directly measuring the tool. For this purpose, a detailed set of experiments on end milling of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V was conducted and analyzed. Then, the resultant force output, which can be monitored during machining, was used to establish a predictive algorithm for tool flank wear. Using the increase in the resultant force as well as the total energy spent on the workpiece, it was shown that tool flank wear can be effectively predicted during machining and this can decrease the time spent on tool failure inspection and early tool change, increasing the throughput of the process.
Geographic Differences of Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction From Electric Vehicle Deployment in the United States
Authors: Yang Fan , Yuan Chris , Zhao Xiang
Published: October 2014

The use of electric vehicle (EV) has been widely recognized as an effective way to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation sector. However, the geographic difference of GHG emission reduction from EV deployment is seldom explored. This paper presents a study on the total GHG emissions generated from the life cycle of an EV (represented by Nissan Leaf) and an internal combustion vehicle (ICV) (represented by Toyota Corolla) for benchmarking on the potential emission reductions in the United States. The differences of electricity mix and driving style in each state are considered in the analysis. The results indicate a 43% GHG emissions reduction from ICV with the deployment of EV under the current average United States’ electricity generation scheme and transportation style. But the life cycle GHG emission reductions vary significantly from state to state in the U.S. Some states such as Indiana, Wyoming and West Virginia can only get 7237, 9501 and 9860 kg CO2 equivalent reduced, while some states such as Vermont, New Jersey and Idaho can get 57915, 57206 and 49039 kg CO2 equivalent GHG emissions reduced. This study can be useful in supporting future decision-making and strategy development for EV deployment in the U.S.
Tool/Chip Interfacial Stress Distributions in Atomistic Machining of Polycrystalline Coppers
Authors: Ji Chunhui , Shi Jing , Wang Yachao , Wang Hsueh-Ming Steve
Published: October 2014

A three-dimensional molecular dynamics (MD) model is developed to study the tool/chip interface stress distributions in machining of polycrystalline copper at atomistic scale. Three polycrystalline copper structures with equivalent grain sizes of 12.25, 7.72, and 6.26 nm are constructed for simulation. Also, a monocrystalline copper structure of the same dimension is simulated as the benchmark case. In addition to the grain size, the effects of depth of cut and cutting speed are also considered. The friction force and normal force profiles along the tool/chip interface in both polycrystalline and monocrystalline nano-machining exhibit similar patterns. The reduction in grain size overall increases the magnitude of normal force along the tool/chip interface, but the normal forces in all polycrystalline cases are still smaller than that in the monocrystalline case. In polycrystalline nano-machining, the increase of depth of cut consistently increases the normal force along the entire contact area, but this trend cannot be observed for the friction force. In addition, the stress profiles are also significantly affected by the cutting speed.
Experimental Validation of Active Fixture Design Methodology
Authors: Papastathis Thomas N. , Bakker Otto Jan , Ratchev Svetan M. , Popov Atanas A.
Published: October 2014

A design methodology for active and fully-active fixtures has been established previously. In this work the results of a part of the validation for the design are presented, namely the differences between two different layouts and the difference between application of an passive and active clamp. The test-bed consist of a reconfigurable fixturing system with an active clamp holding a thin-walled plate. For three cases passive and actively controlled clamping forces were exerted during a series of milling operations. These are (1) passive clamping at a suboptimal and (2) at the optimal position and (3) clamping with an actively controlled clamping force at the optimal clamping location. The previously proposed design procedure has been qualitatively validated since its predictions regarding optimal layout and adaptive clamping forces hold true, when comparing the surface finishes, which improve from case to case.
Ultrasonic Consolidation of Thermoplastic Composite Prepreg for Automated Tape Layup
Authors: Rizzolo Robert H. , Walczyk Daniel
Published: October 2014

There is a need to manufacture advanced composite parts faster, cheaper and with less waste as interest in these materials for lightweighting components used by the aerospace, automotive, marine and energy markets continues to grow. For example, although hot gas torch heating is a well-established process for producing advanced thermoplastic composites parts in automated tape layup (ATL), researchers are looking at other polymer welding methods including laser, infrared and ultrasonic heating in an attempt to improve the process. This paper focuses on benchmarking the capabilities of a new method, ultrasonic consolidation, against another standard process for consolidating thermoplastic composites, i.e. thermal pressing. To accomplish this, 3-point beam bending tests are conducted on specimens made with both methods and flexural strength results were used as an objective comparison. The ultrasonic welding proved to be more effective in welding PET/Carbon tape than thermal, showing an increase of maximum flexural stiffness of 65% for the highest performing ultrasonic consolidation samples, but did not weld HDPE/Glass as effectively with the best ultrasonic samples having 36% lower stiffness. The quasi-isotropic samples showed very similar results. The results show that given suitable process parameters and a compatible thermoplastic composites system, ultrasonic consolidation of prepreg composite tape can be as effective as current thermal methods in terms of performance, but still manage to decrease the time and energy consumed.
An Integrated Cyber-Physical System for Cloud Manufacturing
Authors: Wang Lihui , Gao Robert , Ragai Ihab
Published: October 2014

This paper presents an integrated cyber-physical system for remote accessibility and controllability of factory equipment, e.g. CNC machines and robots. It is enabled by combining 3D models, sensor data and camera images in real-time. The aim of this research is to significantly reduce network traffic for much improved accessibility and controllability of any cyber-physical systems over the Internet. The ultimate goal is to build cloud-based services of monitoring, process planning, machining and assembly in decentralised environment. This paper covers the basis of the approach, system architecture and implementation, and a case study of remote control of a robotic assembly cell. Compared with camera-based systems, our approach consumes less than 1% of its network bandwidth, feasible and practical as a future cloud-based solution.
Internet-of-Things-Enabled Smart Production Logistics Execution System Based on Cloud Manufacturing
Authors: Qu Ting , Lei Shuiping , Chen Yidong , Wang Zongzhong , Luo Hao , Huang George Q.
Published: October 2014

With the rapid development of cloud computer concept and technologies, more and more cloud-based business mode and practical applications are emerging in industrial environments, including cloud manufacturing and cloud logistics. Such cloud systems integrate the distributed resources and make best use of them to fulfill dynamic tasks in an optimal way. This paper will demonstrate a simple yet practical application of a cloud-based production logistics (PL) management system (C-PLES) developed under Internet-of-Things (IoT) environment. It collects both real-time process dynamics and resource statues from a ubiquitous PL environment to realize dynamic distributed capability matching. The systematic combination of IoT and cloud system enables the distributed PL terminal resources with uncertainties (e.g. availabilities and locations) to be optimally accessed and assigned to fulfill the real-time PL requirements generated from the dynamic production processes. It also enables the distributed execution data to be centrally managed and seamlessly switched among the dynamically accessed resources.
Effect of Die Geometry Properties on Forming of Micro-Parts by Forward-Backward Extrusion of 6063 Aluminum Alloy
Authors: Takatsuji N. , Dohda K. , Funazuka T.
Published: October 2014

The recent trend towards miniaturization of products and technology has boosted a strong demand for such metallic micro-parts with micro features and high tolerances. Conventional forming technologies, such as extrusion and drawing, have encountered new challenges at the micro-scale level due to the ‘size effects’ that tends to be predominant at this scale level. Friction is one of the predominant factors exercising strong effects in micro-forming. Previous studies varied grain size of the test pieces in order to examine size effects in micro-extrusion. In addition, the effects on the extrusion load, forming shape, as well as hardness of different grain sizes, die coatings and lubricants were compared. DLC coating has been proven effective as a die coating. Increasing grain size was effective with lubricants having high viscosity. In this study, the effect of different die Properties is compared and examined.
Selective covalent immobilization of ferritin on alumina
Authors: Halfer Torben , Rei Ana , Ciacchi Lucio Colombi , Treccani Laura , Rezwan Kurosch
Published: October 2014

Selective and specific covalent immobilization and simultaneous suppression of nonspecific adsorption of the protein ferritin (FN) on the surfaces of polycrystalline α-alumina colloidal particles and single α-alumina crystals is demonstrated. FN immobilization is obtained by using a classical immobilization route and by combining either the organic silane 3-(triethoxysilyl)propylsuccinic anhydride (TESPSA) or (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) with the zero-length cross linking system N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC)/N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS). The combination of APTES or TESPSA with EDC/NHS leads to a stable FN binding via amide bonds. However, the authors demonstrate that the TESPSA-EDC/NHS system enables an overall higher amount of covalent immobilization and a simultaneous suppression of nonspecific FN adsorption. After TESPSA functionalization negatively charged carboxylic groups are formed and can at the same time both electrostatically repel the overall negatively charged FN proteins and react with EDC/NHS for FN covalent immobilization. Moreover, the authors show that by specifically controlling the FN concentration during the immobilization reaction, the molecule distribution and density of bound FN can be easily tuned. The approach presented enables to selectively immobilize FN at mild conditions on substrates with different geometries and is therefore relevant for the fabrication of biomimetic nanomaterials and two-dimensional FN arrays.
Genetic Instability of Influenza pH1N1 Viruses
Authors: Jalovaara Petri , Bychkov Dmitrii , Ahtiainen Laura , Kallio-Kokko Hannimari , Valkonen Miia , Kantele Anu , Mattila Pirkko , Almusa Henrikki , Kallioniemi Olli , Kainov Denis
Published: October 2014

Here, we report full-length genome sequences of influenza pH1N1 viruses obtained prior to and after propagation in MDCK cells. Paired comparisons of the genomes showed that each strain acquired 1.0 to 18.8 mutations per genome per replication cycle, which corresponds to 0.5 to 5.8 mutations per virus proteome per replication cycle. Our analysis indicates that pH1N1 viruses accumulated adaptive mutations among others in response to propagation in cell culture. These results could be important for vaccine and drug-sensitivity surveillance studies, as well as for vaccine and antiviral drug development programs where cell cultures are used for influenza propagation.
Draft Genome Sequence of Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi Strain DAPP-PG 722, Isolated in Italy from an Olive Plant Affected by Knot Disease
Authors: Moretti Chiaraluce , Cortese Chiara , Passos da Silva Daniel , Venturi Vittorio , Ramos Cayo , Firrao Giuseppe , Buonaurio Roberto
Published: October 2014

Olive knot disease, caused by the bacterium
Pseudomonas savastanoi
pv. savastanoi, seriously affects olive trees in the Mediterranean basin. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of
P. savastanoi
pv. savastanoi DAPP-PG 722, a strain isolated in Italy from an olive plant affected by knot disease.
Draft Genome Sequence of a Deep-Sea Bacterium, Bacillus niacini Strain JAM F8, Involved in the Degradation of Glycosaminoglycans
Authors: Kurata Atsushi , Nishimura Midori , Kishimoto Noriaki , Kobayashi Tohru
Published: October 2014

Here, we report the draft genome sequence of
Bacillus niacini
JAM F8, which was newly isolated from deep-sea sediment at a depth of 2,759 m from the Izu-Ogasawara Trench. An array of genes related to degradation of glycosaminoglycans in this bacterium was identified by whole-genome analysis.
Draft Genome Sequence of the Pathogenic Fungus Scedosporium apiospermum
Authors: Vandeputte Patrick , Ghamrawi Sarah , Rechenmann Mathias , Iltis Agnès , Giraud Sandrine , Fleury Maxime , Thornton Christopher , Delhaès Laurence , Meyer Wieland , Papon Nicolas , Bouchara Jean-Philippe
Published: October 2014

The first genome of one species of the
Scedosporium apiospermum
complex, responsible for localized to severe disseminated infections according to the immune status of the host, will contribute to a better understanding of the pathogenicity of these fungi and also to the discovery of the mechanisms underlying their low susceptibility to current antifungals.
Draft Genome Sequence of Bacillus subtilis Strain D7XPN1, Isolated from Commercial Bioreactor-Degrading Food Waste
Authors: Adelskov Joseph , Patel Bharat K. C.
Published: October 2014

The analysis of the 4.1-Mb draft genome sequence of a moderately thermophilic, heterotrophic, and facultatively anaerobic bacterium,
Bacillus subtilis
strain D7XPN1, identified genes for a range of enzymes with potential in the biodegradation of food waste, a property consistent with the ecological habitat of the isolate.
Complete Genome Sequences of H3N2 Canine Influenza Virus with the Matrix Gene from the Pandemic A/H1N1 Virus
Authors: Hong Minki , Na Woonsung , Yeom Minju , Park Nanuri , Moon Hyoungjoon , Kang Bo-Kyu , Kim Jeong-Ki , Song Daesub
Published: October 2014

We analyzed the complete genome sequence containing the 3′ and 5′ noncoding regions (NCRs) of H3N2 canine influenza virus (CIV) with the matrix gene from the pandemic A/H1N1 virus, which will provide a better understanding of the pathogenesis, transmission, and evolution of variant CIV.
β-blockers in postoperative myocardial diastolic dysfunction: not a panacea
Authors: Jivanji Salim G M , Slavik Zdenek , Furck Anke
Published: October 2014

Successful treatment with heart rate lowering medication has been used to treat adults with chronic myocardial dysfunction of various aetiologies for a number of years. There has been recent evidence for the successful use of β-receptor blocking medication in highly selected group of infants with diastolic myocardial dysfunction. This case series demonstrates that while the use of β-receptor blockers in infants early following initial treatment of congenital left heart obstructive lesions appears promising and safe adjunct to more conventional management, the medium-term and long-term care of these patients remains as challenging as before.
Stochastic Bifurcations and Noise-Induced Chaos in a Dynamic Prey–Predator Plankton System
Authors: Bashkirtseva Irina , Ryashko Lev
Published: October 2014

We consider the stochastic Truscott–Brindley dynamical model of the interacting populations of prey and predator. We study a new phenomenon of the stochastic cycle splitting. In a zone of Canard cycles, using the stochastic sensitivity function technique, we find a critical value of the parameter corresponding to the supersensitive cycle. In the neighborhood of this critical value, a comparative parametrical analysis of the phenomenon of the stochastic cycle splitting is performed. It is shown that the bifurcation of the stochastic cycle splitting is accompanied by the noise-induced chaotization.
Metal Oxide Coated Porous Silicon Electrode Fabricated by Anodized Liquid Phase Depositions
Authors: Mizuhata Minoru , Katayama Akihito , Maki Hideshi
Published: October 2014

The titanium oxide/PSi nanocomposite was fablicated by liquid phase deposition (LPD) method with applying anodic potential. Results of SEM-EDX measurement showed that TiO2 deposited into the fine pore (ca. 7.4 nm) only when oxidized PSi surface was used as F- scavenger or PSi was anodized under the existence of titanium ions. TiO2/PSi nanocomposite was fabricated by anodization of PSi in H2TiF6 electrolyte under constant potential. As the amount of Ti maximized at 300 mV vs. Ag/AgCl, deposition process can be controlled by applied potential in this method. The charge/discharge capacities were measured about fabricated TiO2/PSi as lithium-ion battery anode. The improvement of the capacity was derived from the increase in PSi wettability by TiO2 deposition and activation of silicon in fine structure. In addition, TiO2/PSi fabricated by anodization kept higher capacity without rapid degradation, because of free from SiO2.
Adhesion and Interfacial Structure of Metal Film Electrolessly Deposited on Si Using Au Nanoparticles as Catalysts
Authors: Atsushiba Hiroyuki , Orita Yukiko , Sakamoto Susumu , Fukumuro Naoki , Yae Shinji
Published: October 2014

We developed a new surface-activation process for autocatalytic electroless metallization of silicon using gold nanoparticles. The gold nanoparticles provide much higher adhesion of electrolessly deposited nickel-boron alloy films on silicon substrates than do silver and palladium nanoparticles. TEM observation and XPS analysis indicate that the electrolessly deposited nickel-phosphorus alloy film directly contacts the gold nanoparticles, the silicon-gold metallic alloy is formed at the interface between the silicon substrate and gold nanoparticles even at room temperature, and an amorphous layer exists between the metals and silicon substrate.
Spatially-Resolved In Situ Raman Analysis of LiCoO2 Electrodes
Authors: Gross Toni , Hess Christian
Published: October 2014

The potential of Raman diagnostics for spatially-resolved in situ diagnostics of LiCoO2 electrodes for lithium-ion batteries is demonstrated. In situ Raman spectra of LiCoO2 composite electrodes are characterized by LiCoO2 phonon bands as well as carbon- and electrolyte-related features. Spatially-resolved Raman analysis, i.e. Raman mapping prior electrochemical cycling reveals a variation of chemical composition across the electrode surface. Comparison of in situ spectra prior and after electrochemical cycling shows a spatially-dependent redistribution of composition as derived from changes in the LiCoO2-carbon peak ratios. The results of the in situ mapping experiments are dicussed in the context of degradation of lithium-ion batteries.
Influence of the Sintering of Electrocatalysts and Decrease of Proton Conductivity on the Current-Voltage Performance in the High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (HT-PEMFC)
Authors: Suzuki Ai , Williams Mark , Oono Yuka , Miura Ryuji , Hatakeyama Nozomu , Hori Michio , Miyamoto Akira
Published: October 2014

The influence of the sintering of electrocatalysts and decrease of the proton conductivity on the current-voltage performance in the HT-PEMFC was theoretically evaluated under the non-humid conditions at 150 °C, 170 °C and 190 °C. Decreasing rate of the proton conductivity was evaluated based on the tortuosity of the proton pass. The more the phosphoric acid was evaporated with a rise in temperature, the proton path found to become more tortuous and the proton conductivity was accordingly estimated to be decreased. A theoretical breakdown of the voltage drops indicated that the sintering of the electrocatalyst influenced on the voltage drop in earlier several hundreds of hours. The following voltage drop in the latter stage was caused mainly due to the decrease in the proton conductivity.
Density Functional Theory Study of the Alkali Metal Cation Adsorption on Pt(111), Pt(100), and Pt(110) Surfaces
Authors: Matanovic Ivana , Atanassov Plamen , Garzon Fernando , Henson Neil J.
Published: October 2014

We used density functional theory to study the adsorption of hydrogen, lithium, sodium, and potassium cations on different surfaces of platinum, namely the Pt(111), Pt(110), and Pt(100) surfaces. It was found that at low H+ concentrations alkali metal cations can compete with hydrogen for adsorption on all the studied platinum surfaces leading to a site blocking effect during the electrochemical processes involving adsorption of hydrogen in alkaline media. The strongest site blocking effect is predicted to occur on the Pt(111) surface as hydrogen and alkali metal cations adsorb in the same fcc-hollow adsorption site. On the Pt(110) and Pt(100) surface hydrogen and alkali cations adsorb on different sites and can co-exist on the surface – the most favorable adsorption site for hydrogen is a bridge site, while the hollow site is favored for all the studied alkali metal cations. Based on the calculated adsorption Gibbs free energies and the number of available adsorption sites on different surfaces, the probability of the site blocking effect by alkali cations on different surfaces of platinum was determined as Pt(111)>Pt(110)>Pt(100).
Electrode/Electrolyte Interface with Various Redox Couples
Authors: Meller Mikolaj , Fic Krzysztof , Menzel Jakub , Frackowiak Elzbieta
Published: October 2014

Capacitance of typical double layer capacitors is generally limited due to electrochemically available surface area of carbon electrode. Hence, significant increase of capacitance can be done by introducing some faradaic reactions that may occur at electrode/electrolyte interface. This kind of effect is called pseudocapacitance. Different solutions based on electroactive species, such as iodides, bromides or di-hydroxybenzenes seem to be very promising ones in order to increase capacitance. However, generally only one electrode is responsible for high capacitance enhancement. In case of iodides, bromides, di-hydroxybenzenes operating range of potential for faradaic reactions is quite narrow (0.1-0.4V) being connected with positive electrode. Unfortunately electrode with smaller capacitance will affect a total capacitor performance. A few examples of pseudocapacitive phenomena originated from electroactive species present in electrolyte will be shown. They can serve as great source of pseudocapacitance and may significantly enhance total capacitance of the system.
The Regularities of the Electrolytic Dissociation of 1,3-Cyclohexanedicarboxylic Acids
Authors: Kvaratskhelia Elene , Kvaratskhelia Ramaz , Kurtanidze Rusudan
Published: October 2014

The dissociation parameters for the dilute (0.0001-0.01M) solutions of cis and trans-1,3-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acids were determined with the aid of the original method for analysis the regularities of electrolytic dissociation of weak multibasic organic acids with the close values of the dissociation constants of separate steps (the effect of “overlapping” equilibria). The equations for determination the regions of predominance of various charged and uncharged forms of these acids were also described.
Electrochemistry of Symmetrical Ion Channel: A Three-Dimensional Nernst-Planck- Poisson Model
Authors: Bozek Boguslaw , Lewenstam Andrzej , Tkacz-Smiech Katarzyna , Danielewski Marek
Published: October 2014

The paper provides a physical description of ionic transport through the rigid symmetrical channel. A three-dimensional mathematical model, in which the ionic transport is treated as the electrodiffusion of ions, is presented. It allows simulating the transport characteristics at the steady-state and time evolution of the system. The numerical solutions of the coupled differential diffusion equation system are obtained by finite element method. Examples are presented in which the flow characteristics at the stationary state and during time evolution are compared. It is shown that the stationary state is achieved after about 10 -7 s since the process beginning. The model can be applied to simulate transport in polymer membranes and nanopores which might be useful in designing biosensors and nanodevices.
Breakthrough in Modeling of Electrodiffusion Processes: Continuation and Extensions of the Classical Work of Richard Buck
Authors: Szyszkiewicz Krzysztof , Danielewski Marek , Fausek Janusz , Jasielec Jerzy , Kucza Witold , Lewenstam Andrzej , Sokalski Tomasz , Filipek Robert
Published: October 2014

In 1978 Brumleve and Buck published an important paper [1] pertaining to numerical modeling of electrodiffusion. At the time their approach was not immediately recognized and followed. However, it has changed since the beginning of 21st century. The approach of Brumleve and Buck based on Nernst-Planck-Poisson (NPP) equations is utilized to model transient behavior of various electrochemical processes. Multi-layers and reactions allow extending applications to selectivity and low detection limit with time variability, influence of parameters (ion diffusivities, membrane thickness, permittivity, rate constants), and ion interference on ion-sensor responses. Solution of NPP inverse problem allows for optimizing sensor properties and measurement environment. Conditions under which experimentally measured selectivity coefficients are true (unbiased) and detection limit is optimized are demonstrated. Impedance spectra obtained directly from NPPs are presented. Modeling durability and diagnosis of reinforced concrete is presented. Chlorides transport in concrete is modeled using NPPs and compared to other solutions.