Researches on Fuzzy Creep Compensation of Load Cell

Creep is a critical specification of load cell. Based on the analysis of creep, a new compensation technique, fuzzy creep compensation, is presented in this paper. It firstly introduces the fuzzy recognition to determine loading situations. Compared to the other compensation methods, fuzzy creep compensation can avoid the complicated modeling of creep performance, and it is also proved to be an efficient and simple approach to improve the accuracy of load cell by experiments.

Web Tension Regulation of Multispan Roll-to-Roll System using Integrated Active Dancer and Load Cells for Printed Electronics Applications

The mass production of primed electronics can be achieved by roll-to-roll（R2R） printing system, so highly accurate web tension is required that can minimize the register error and keep the thickness and roughness of printed devices in limits. The web tension of a R2R system is regulated by the use of integrated load cells and active dancer system for printed electronics applications using decentralized multi-input-single-output（MISO） regularized variable learning rate backpropagation artificial neural networks. The active dancer system is used before printing system to reduce disturbances in the web tension of process span. The classical PID control result in tension spikes with the change in roll diameter of winder and unwinder rolls. The presence of dancer in R2R system shows that improved web tension control in printing span and the web tension can be enhanced from 3.75 N to 4.75 N. The overshoot of system is less than ±2.5 N and steady state error is within ± 1 N where load cells have a signal noise of ±0.7 N. The integration of load cells and active dancer with self-adapting neural network control provide a solution to the web tension control of multispan roll-to-roll system.

Development and installation of bedload monitoring systems with submerged load cells

Bedload governs riverbed channel variations and morphology, it is necessary to determine bedload discharge through an arbitrary cross section in a mountain fiver. A new system with submerged load cells has been developed to directly measure bedload discharge. The system consists of： （1） an iron box which is 1 m long, 0.5 m wide and 0.1 m in depth, （2） two submerged load cells 0.7 m apart, （3） a pressure sensor and, （4） an electromagnetic velocity meter. This system has been designed to exclude the effect of the hydraulic pressure of water on direct measurements of bedload particle weight. Initial tests in a laboratory were conducted to examine the accuracy of measurements with the system under aerial conditions. The system has been installed in the supercritical flume in Ashi-arai-dani River of the Hodaka Sedimentation Observatory of the Disaster Prevention Research Institute （DPRI） of Kyoto University to obtain bedload discharge under natural conditions. Flume tests were conducted in this channel by artificial supply of uniform sediment particles of several grain sizes. The average velocity of the sediment particles near the bed was estimated using cross-correlation functions for weight waves obtained by the two load cells, Bedload discharge calculations were based on time integration of the product of sediment velocity and sediment weight obtained by the two load cells. This study clarifies the reasons why bedload measurements are difficult, and provides some solutions using the monitoring systems with submerged load cells through the field measurements. Additionally, the applicability of bedload measurement with the submerged load cells is explained based on experimental artificial sediment supply data.

Load-Measuring Pot Bearing with Built-In Load Cell —Part II: Fatigue Performance and Experimental Temperature Correction

This paper presents the results of fatigue performance tests performed up to 10 million cycles on a load-measuring pot bearing with built-in load cell to verify its field applicability and proposes an empirical temperature correction formula. In Part I of this work, various measurement performances of the load-measuring pot bearing were evaluated through static and dynamic loading tests. Bridge bearings are subjected to the effect of fatigue caused by the repeated application of moving loads and exposed to harsh site conditions including cold and hot weathers differently to laboratory conditions. Accordingly, the durability of the load-measuring pot bearing with built-in load cell shall be secured and the environmental effects like temperature shall be minimized for its application on field. This study conducted fatigue tests up to 10 million cycles on a load-measuring pot bearing with the capacity of 1000 kN to examine eventual degradation of the measurement accuracy with respect to the number of fatigue loading cycles. In addition, the experimental temperature correction procedure is proposed to obtain the temperature correction formula enabling to correct the effect of temperature on the load measurement.

Load-Measuring Pot Bearing with Built-In Load Cell —Part I: Design and Performance

This paper presents the underlying principle and the results of various performance evaluations for a load-measuring pot bearing with built-in load cell. The pot bearing composed of a pot made of steel in which an elastomer disk is inserted is a bearing supporting larger loads than the elastomeric bearing and accommodating rotational movement. Owing to a Poisson’s ratio close to 0.5, elastomer withstands hydrostatic pressure when confined in a rigid body. Accounting for this principle, the vertical load applied on the pot bearing can be obtained by converting the pressure acting on the elastomer. Therefore, a load-measuring pot bearing is developed in this study by embedding a load cell exhibiting remarkable durability in the base plate of the bearing. The details for the insertion of the load cell in the base plate of the pot were improved through finite element analysis to secure sufficient measurement accuracy. The evaluation of the static performance of the pot bearing applying these improved details verified that the bearing exhibited sufficient accuracy for the intended measurement purpose. The dynamic performance evaluation results indicated that accurate measurement of the dynamic load was also achieved without time lag.

Characteristics of Dynamic Load Response of a Fuel Cell with a Dead-ended Anode

The dynamic load characteristics of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell（PEMFC） with a dead-ended anode were studied. In a 70 h experiment, the effects of anode pressure, operating temperature, and relative humidity of the cathode on the performances of the fuel cell were investigated. The obtained results show that, with different relative humidity of the cathode at 65 ℃, dynamic loading has little effect on the performances of fuel cell and the electrochemically active surface area（ECSA）. However, the fuel cell operating under dynamic load is unstable when the relative humidity is 50%, and at 50 ℃ with 100% relative humidity, applying a dynamic load has a significant influence on the fuel cell performances. Scanning electron microscopy（SEM） showed that both the upstream and middle catalyst layers of the cell were unchanged, whereas the downstream cathode catalyst layer thinned as a response to dynamic load.

Dental pulp stem cells express tendon markers under mechanical loading and are a potential cell source for tissue engineering of tendon-like tissue

Postnatal mesenchymal stem cells have the capacity to differentiate into multiple cell lineages. This study explored the possibility of dental pulp stem cells （DPSCs） for potential application in tendon tissue engineering. The expression of tendon- related markers such as scleraxis, tenascin-C, tenomodulin, eye absent homologue 2, collagens I and VI was detected in dental pulp tissue. Interestingly, under mechanical stimulation, these tendon-related markers were significantly enhanced when DPSCs were seeded in aligned polyglycolic acid （PGA） fibre scaffolds. Furthermore, mature tendon-like tissue was formed after transplantation of DPSC-PGA constructs under mechanical loading conditions in a mouse model. This study demonstrates that DPSCs could be a ootential stem cell source for tissue enEineerin~ of tendon-like tissue.

Nomograms based on HPV load for predicting survival in cervical squamous cell carcinoma: An observational study with a longterm follow-up

Objective: To investigate the prognostic value of pretreatment human papillomavirus(HPV) viral load for cervical cancer, and to develop nomograms based on HPV load and other clinicopathological factors for long-term survival.Methods: We conducted a prospective study on cervical squamous cell carcinoma(SCC) patients diagnosed between January 2003 and December 2008. Cervical samples were tested for HPV viral load by the Hybrid Capture II(HCII) assay before treatment and 6 months after treatment. Clinical characteristics and follow-up information were also collected. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was used to adjust covariates in both the radical hysterectomy(RH) treatment group and concurrent chemoradiotherapy(CCRT) treatment group to identify relevant covariates, and then nomograms were constructed and used for internal validation.Results: A total of 520 SCC patients enrolled in this study with a median follow-up of 127 months, 360 patients received RH, whereas 160 patients received CCRT. The median HPV viral load in RH and CCRT groups was356.10 and 294.29, respectively. Tumor size was positively correlated with high pretreatment HPV load in both groups. In CCRT group, the advanced International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics(FIGO) stage and enlarged retroperitoneal lymph node status determined by computed tomography(LNSCT) were correlated with low HPV load group. Initial HPV viral load, FIGO stage and lymph node metastasis were prognostic factors for RH group, whereas HPV viral load, squamous cell carcinoma antigen(SCC-Ag) level and LNSCT were identified as prognostic factors for CCRT group. Nomograms incorporating these predictors for 10-year progression-free survival(PFS) were constructed [concordance index(C-index): 0.756, 0.749].Conclusions: A low pretreatment HPV viral load is an independent prognostic factor for poor prognosis of cervical SCC and is related to other clinicopathological factors. The survival nomogram based on HPV viral load could predict the long-term prognosis.

A Uniaxial Loading Device for Studying Mechanoresponses of Single Plant Cell

A system which consists of a loading chamber unit, displacement sensor, data collector and processor, and a feedback control, was established for applying mechanical forces to single plant cells. The method works by compressing an agar cell-suspension block between parallel surfaces through using a force-feedback control circuit coupled to a microchip, delivering the pre-defined. The actual controlled stimulus is achieved whilst measuring the force being imposed on the cell, and its deformation. TheArabidopsisprotoplasts were utilized to test the system. It provides an experimental approach to investigate the mechanoresponses of plant cellsin vitroconditions.

Load Balancing for Hex-Cell Interconnection Network

The hex-cell is one of the interconnection networks used for parallel systems. The main idea of the hex-cell is that there are hexagon cells that construct the network;each one of those cells has six nodes. The performance of the network is affected by many factors one of the factors as load balancing. Until the moment of writing of this paper, there is no load balancing algorithm for this network. The proposed algorithm for dynamic load balancing on hex-cell is based on Tree Walking Algorithm (TWA) for load balancing on tree interconnection network and the ring all to all broadcast.

Mechanical loading of adipose derived stromal cells causes cell alignment

Osteoarthritis is a debilitating disease that affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Current research involving growth and characterization of adipose derived stromal cells (ADSC) in vitro offers a potential solution for the treatment of cartilage de-fects that will allow patients to return to the physical activities they were involved in. Studies have shown that fibroblast cells grown in vitro respond to cyclic mechanical stretching by orienting in a direction perpendicular to the direction of stretch. ADSCs were isolated from human peripatellar adipose tissue discards. Cells were cultured until confluent and seeded at a density of approximately 105 cells in silicone wells pretreated with ProNectin-F Plus. After stret-ching, relative alignment of the cells was ascertained using imaging software. Stretching cells for 3, 4, 8 and 12 hours resulted in noticeable cellular alignment of approximately 60? relative to the direction of loading. Cell alignment is crucial for developing tis-sue-engineered cartilage that has similar mechanical properties to native cartilage. Mechanically loading cells is one method to achieve cell alignment. Since cell differentiation will be initiated after alignment, the resulting chondrocytes will be aligned, leading to organized collagen formation and resulting in a hya-line-like cartilage structure.

Higher Viral Load and Prolonged Viral Shedding Period is Associated with Impaired Th17 Cell Response in Patients with H1N1 Influenza A

Objective To explore whether age,disease severity,cytokines and lymphocytes in H1N1 influenza A patients correlate with viral load and clearance.Methods Total of 70 mild and 16 severe patients infected with H1N1 influenza A virus were enrolled in this study.Results It was found that the patients under 14 years old and severe patients displayed significantly higher viral loads and prolonged viral shedding periods compared with the patients over 14 years old and mild patients,respectively(P < 0.05).Moreover,the patients under 14 years old and severe patients displayed significantly lower Th17 cell frequency than the patients over 14 years old and mild patients(P < 0.01).The viral shedding period inversely correlated with the frequency of IL-17+IFN-γ-CD4+ T cells.Additionally,the decreased concentration of serum TGF-β correlated with the decreased frequency of IL-17+IFN-γ-CD4+ T cells.Conclusions Both younger and severe patients are associated with higher viral loads and longer viral shedding periods,which may partially be attributed to the impaired Th17 cell response.

Non-random tissue distribution of human na ve umbilical cord matrix stem cells

AIM: To determine the tissue and temporal distribution of human umbilical cord matrix stem (hUCMS) cells in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice. METHODS: For studying the localization of hUCMS cells, tritiated thymidine-labeled hUCMS cells were injected in SCID mice and tissue distribution was quantitatively determined using a liquid scintillation counter at days 1, 3, 7 and 14. Furthermore, an immunofluorescence detection technique was employed in which anti-human mitochondrial antibody was used to identify hUCMS cells in mouse tissues. In order to visualize the distribution of transplanted hUCMS cells in H&E stained tissue sections, India Black ink 4415 was used to label the hUCMS cells. RESULTS: When tritiated thymidine-labeled hUCMS cells were injected systemically (iv) in female SCID mice, the lung was the major site of accumulation at 24 h after transplantation. With time, the cells migrated to other tissues, and on day three, the spleen, stomach, and small and large intestines were the major accumulation sites. On day seven, a relatively large amount of radioactivity was detected in the adrenal gland, uterus, spleen, lung, and digestive tract. In addition, labeled cells had crossed the blood brain barrier by day 1. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that peripherally injected hUCMS cells distribute quantitatively in a tissue-specific manner throughout the body.

Effective Virtual Reality Based Building Navigation Using Dynamic Loading and Path Optimization

Although computer capabilities have been improved significantly, a large-scale virtual reality （VR） system demands much more in terms of memory and computation than the current computer systems can offer. This paper discusses two important issues related to VR performance and applications in building navigation. These are dynamic loading of models based on cell segmentation for the optimal VR operation, and the route optimization based on path planning for easy navigation. The VR model of engineering and information technology complex （EITC） building at the University of Manitoba is built as an example to show the feasibility of the proposed methods. The reality, enhanced by three-dimensional （3D） real-time interactivity and visualization, leads navigators into a state of the virtual building immersion.

Natural course of chronic hepatitis B is characterized by changing patterns of programmed death type-1 of CD8-positive T cells

AIM:To investigate if and how programmed death type-1(PD-1)expression affects the natural course of hepatitis B virus(HBV)infection. METHODS:Sixty-four patients in different natural stages of chronic HBV infection were enrolled in this study.PD-1 expression in total T cells was detected by flow cytometry.Levels of total CD8+T cell responses and proliferation in relation to PD-1 expression levels were analyzed with intracellular staining and PD-1/ PD-L1 blockage. RESULTS:The PD-1 expression in T cells was dynamically changed during the natural course of chronic HBV infection,did not significantly increase in the immune tolerance phase,and returned to normal in the inactive virus carrier stage.Blockage of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway could not affect the T-cell response in the immune tolerance and inactive virus carrier stages of chronic HBV infection.However,it could significantly restore the T-cell response in the immune clearance stage of chronic HBV infection.Furthermore,the PD-1 expression level in T cells was associated with the alanine aminotransferase level during the immune clearance stage of chronic HBV infection. CONCLUSION:The PD-l/PD-L1 pathway plays a different role in T-cell response during the natural course of chronic HBV infection.

Micromechanical Analysis of Interfacial Debonding in Metal Matrix Composites Subjected to off-axis Loading

This study aims to investigate the effects of interfacial debonding and fiber volume fraction on the stressstrain behavior of the fiber reinforced metal matrix composites subjected to off-axis loading.The generalized method of cells(GMC)is used to analyze a representative element whose fiber shape is circular.The constant compliant interface model(CCI)is also adopted to study the response of composites with imperfect interfacial bonding.Results show that for the composites subjected to off-axis loading,the mechanical behaviors are affected appreciably by the interfacial debonding and the fiber volume fraction.

O-CELL静载试桩法及其应用

O -CELL法是美国发明的静载试桩方法 ,其最大优点是可在试桩时量测出桩的端阻力和桩周侧摩擦力 ,具有经济、安全、方便等特点 ,但这种方法不适用于一些桩型 ,对长混凝土桩也不适用。

Mathematical Models to Simultaneously Determine Overtime Requirements and Schedule Cells

The problem studied in this paper was inspired from an actual textile company. The problem is more complex than usual scheduling problems in that we compute overtime requirements and make scheduling decisions simultaneously. Since having tardy jobs is not desirable, we allow overtime to minimize the number of tardy jobs. The overall objective is to maximize profits. We present various mathematical models to solve this problem. Each mathematical model reflects different overtime workforce hiring practices. An experimentation has been carried out using eight different data sets from the samples of real data collected in the above mentioned textile company. Mathematical Model 2 was the best mathematical model with respect to both profit and execution time. This model considered partial overtime periods and also allowed different overtime periods on cells. We could solve problems up to 90 jobs per period. This was much more than what the mentioned textile company had to handle on a weekly basis. As a result, these models can be used to make these decisions in many industrial settings.

Effect of electrode Pt-loading and cathode flow-field plate type on the degradation of PEMFC

The electrode Pt-loading has an effect on the number of active sites and the thickness of catalyst layer,which has huge influence on the mass transfer and water management during dynamic process in PEMFCs. In this study, membrane electrode assemblies with different Pt-loadings were prepared, and PEMFCs were assembled using those membrane electrode assemblies with traditional solid plate and water transport plate as cathode flow-field plates, respectively. The performance and electrochemical surface area of cells were characterized to evaluate the membrane electrode assemblies degradation after rapid currentvariation cycles. Scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope were used to investigate the decay of catalyst layers and Pt/C catalyst. With the increase of Pt-loading, the performance degradation of membrane electrode assemblies will be mitigated. But higher Pt-loading means thicker catalyst layer, which leads to a longer pathway of mass transfer, and it may result in carbon material corrosion in membrane electrode assemblies. The decay of Pt/C catalyst in cathode is mainly caused by the corrosion of carbon support, and the degradation of anode Pt/C catalyst is a consequence of migration and aggregation of Pt particles. And using water transport plate is beneficial to alleviating the age of cathode Pt/C catalyst.

External Magnetic Field Effect on Bifacial Silicon Solar Cell’s Electrical Parameters

The aim of this work is to present a theoretical study of external magnetic field effect on a bifacial silicon solar cell’s electrical parameters (peak power, fill factor and load resistance) using the J-V and P-V characteristics. After the resolution of the magneto transport equation and continuity equation of excess minority carriers in the base of the bifacial silicon solar cell under multispectral illumination, the photo-current density and the photovoltage are determined and the J-V and P-V curves are plotted. Using simultaneously the J-V and P-V curves, we determine, according to magnetic field intensity, the peak photocurrent density, the peak photovoltage, the peak electric power, the fill factor and the load resistance at the peak power point. The numerical data show that the solar cell’s peak power decreases with magnetic field intensity while the fill factor and the load resistance increase.