Numerical Analysis for Real-time Nonlinear Model Predictive Control of Ethanol Steam Reformers

The utilization of renewable energy technologies, particularly hydrogen, has seen a boom in interest and has spread throughout the world. Ethanol steam reformation is one of the primary methods capable of producing hydrogen efficiently and reliably. This paper provides an in-depth study of the reformulated system both theoretically and numerically, as well as a plan to explore the possibility of converting the system into its conservation form. Lastly, we offer an overview of several numerical approaches for solving the general first-order quasi-linear hyperbolic equation to the particular model for ethanol steam reforming (ESR). We conclude by presenting some results that would enable the usage of these ODE/PDE solvers to be used in non-linear model predictive control (NMPC) algorithms and discuss the limitations of our approach and directions for future work.Comment: Canadian Undergraduate Mathematics Conference 202

Hybrid Dealiased Convolutions

This paper proposes a practical and efficient solution for computing convolutions using hybrid dealiasing. It offers an alternative to explicit or implicit dealiasing and includes an optimized hyperparameter tuning algorithm that uses experience to find the optimal parameters. Machine learning algorithms and efficient heuristics are also developed to estimate optimal parameters for larger convolution problems using only small squares/rectangles.Comment: Undergraduate Thesi

Energy in Agriculture: The Use of Ethanol as an Unmixed Fuel for lnternal Combustion Engines

The use of ethanol (ethyl alcohol) as a fuel for spark ignited (Sl) internal combustion engines has been evaluated and considered satisfactory since the early1 900s. Today due to the increasing cost of petroleum and the current world oil uncertainty, which may greatly affect the future availability of petroleum, some alternative fuels for internal combustion engines are needed. Ethanol is one of the fuels that has shown promise as a petroleum substitute. Today the country of Brazil has chosen a path of less dependence on petroleum by developing an ethanol fuel technology. In the spring of 1980, cars designed to run exclusively on ethanol were offered for sale to the Brazilian public. Brazil has also encouraged its citizens to use ethanol by making it available to the consumer at half the cost of gasoline. This paper reviews the use of ethanol as an unmixed fuel for internal combustion engines. Anhydrous ethanol (no water present) is required when fuel mixtures are made with gasoline or diesel fuel. Presence of greater than 1.5% water in ethanol will cause separation of the ethanol from the petroleum fuel. On-farm production of ethanol will yield ethanol fuel with at least 5% water present or up to 50% water present. Thus, on-farm ethanol fuel product ion would necessitate adapting internal combustion engines for use of unmixed ethanol fuel

Does Sitting Posture Prior to Testing Single Leg Dynamic Balance Influence Performance?

Background: Previous studies have shown that the Slumped-Forward Head posture is associated with decreased glenohumeral external rotator strength, while an erect posture has been associated with positive changes in strength. Clinically, it has been observed that similar changes in hip abductor strength occur in response to various sitting postures. Purpose: The purpose of this study is two-fold, first to determine the impact sitting posture has on lower extremity hip abductor strength, and second, determine if those who demonstrate a ≥10% strength decline from “erect-sitting” to “slumped-siting” also demonstrate a decline in functional hip strength as measured by the Y-balance test. Given the unforeseen events of the Covid-19 pandemic, the second phase of this research is now a proposal study, a form in which it should be completed in the future. Methods: Fifty subjects ages 18-26 participated in this study. Each subject was placed in four postures for five minutes. Said postures were prone, erect-sitting, prone, and slumped-sitting, after which dominant leg hip abductor strength was measured with the subject in side-lying and their dominant leg up, with their non-dominant leg maintained at thirty degrees of hip and knee flexion. Measurements were recorded utilizing the Micro-FET3 Hand Held Muscle Testing Dynamometer (HHMTD). Subjects who demonstrated a ≥10 decline in strength from erect-sitting to slumped-sitting posture were assessed again for part two of the study at a later date. Part two of the study required subject\u27s to assume the same postures listed above for five minutes, yet after each posture assumed, the subjects functional dominant leg hip abductor strength was measured utilizing the Y-balance test. Results: For 28 subjects of phase one of study: 25% of the population demonstrated greater than 10% decline in hip abductor strength following five minutes in the slumped-sitting posture, who would have completed phase two data collection, which has been illustrated as a protocol. Conclusions: The Slumped Forward Head posture has shown a negative effect on hip abductor strength.https://digitalcommons.misericordia.edu/research_posters2020/1069/thumbnail.jp

The first confirmed superoutburst of the dwarf nova GALEX J215818.5+241924

In 2011 October an optical transient was reported in Pegasus as a possible nova. The object had an ultraviolet counterpart, GALEX J215818.5+241924. In this paper we present follow-up photometry of the object which revealed the presence of superhumps, with peak-to-peak amplitude of up to 0.22 magnitudes, diagnostic of it being a member of the SU UMa family of dwarf novae. The outburst amplitude was 4.6 magnitudes and it lasted at least 10 days, with a maximum brightness of magnitude 14.3. We determined the mean superhump period from our first 5 nights of observations as Psh = 0.06728(21) d. However analysis of the O-C residuals showed a dramatic evolution in Psh during the outburst. During the first part of the plateau phase the period increased with dPsh/dt = +2.67(15) x 10-4. There was then an abrupt change following which the period decreased with dPsh/dt = -2.08(9)x 10-4. We found a signal in the power spectrum of the photometry which we tentatively interpret as the orbital signal with Porb = 0.06606(35) d. Thus the superhump period excess was epsilon = 0.020(8), such value being consistent with other SU UMa systems of similar orbital period.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Journal of the British Astronomical Association. 10 pages, 3 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1005.5378. Have corrected outburst amplitude, reworded the first 2 sentences of the Abstract for clarity and solved some typo

Serum hyaluronan and hyaluronidase: very early markers of toxic liver injury.

Abstract Background: Dimethylnitrosamine (DMN), a potent hepatotoxin, administered to rats, provides a convenient model for toxic liver injury. Indicators of early liver injury are important clinically, for surveillance, for screening new drugs that are potentially hepatotoxic and for identifying drugs that protect against liver injury. Both cirrhosis and wound healing culminate in deposition of fibrous connective tissue and scarring. Increased hyaluronan (HA) occurs in the earliest stage of wound healing. Hyaluronidase, the enzyme that degrades hyaluronan, is also elevated whenever rapid turnover of hyaluronan occurs. We test the hypothesis that elevated levels of circulating hyaluronan and hyaluronidase could provide indicators of very early liver damage. Methods: Dimethylnitrosamine was administered to adult male albino rats by intraperitoneal injections for 7 consecutive days. Results: Increased serum hyaluronan levels observed on day 2 reached a maximum on day 4. Hyaluronidase was elevated on the first day and reached a maximum on day 2 that was 30-times control levels. Hyaluronan-specific staining in liver sections was maximal on day 7, occurring predominantly in portal triads and in sinusoidal spaces. Individual hepatocytes were slightly enlarged and contained intracellular hyaluronan, which was not evident in control sections. Though circulating hyaluronan levels had decreased after day 4, continued hyaluronan staining persisted in liver sections through day 21. Conventional indicators of liver injury, such as serum aminotransferase enzymes, did not reach a peak until day 7. Conventional gross and histopathological changes, including severe centrilobular congestion and hemorrhagic necrosis, were observed only after day 7. Both hyaluronan and hyaluronidase are indicators of very early liver damage in the dimethylnitrosamine-treated rat, occurring well before conventional indicators appear, or before overt histopathologic changes of liver damage can be seen. However, levels are increased only transiently, indicating that serial assays are necessary. Conclusions: Measures of circulating hyaluronidase activity may be used to assess liver damage.

Serum hyaluronan and hyaluronidase: very early markers of toxic liver injury.

Abstract Background: Dimethylnitrosamine (DMN), a potent hepatotoxin, administered to rats, provides a convenient model for toxic liver injury. Indicators of early liver injury are important clinically, for surveillance, for screening new drugs that are potentially hepatotoxic and for identifying drugs that protect against liver injury. Both cirrhosis and wound healing culminate in deposition of fibrous connective tissue and scarring. Increased hyaluronan (HA) occurs in the earliest stage of wound healing. Hyaluronidase, the enzyme that degrades hyaluronan, is also elevated whenever rapid turnover of hyaluronan occurs. We test the hypothesis that elevated levels of circulating hyaluronan and hyaluronidase could provide indicators of very early liver damage. Methods: Dimethylnitrosamine was administered to adult male albino rats by intraperitoneal injections for 7 consecutive days. Results: Increased serum hyaluronan levels observed on day 2 reached a maximum on day 4. Hyaluronidase was elevated on the first day and reached a maximum on day 2 that was 30-times control levels. Hyaluronan-specific staining in liver sections was maximal on day 7, occurring predominantly in portal triads and in sinusoidal spaces. Individual hepatocytes were slightly enlarged and contained intracellular hyaluronan, which was not evident in control sections. Though circulating hyaluronan levels had decreased after day 4, continued hyaluronan staining persisted in liver sections through day 21. Conventional indicators of liver injury, such as serum aminotransferase enzymes, did not reach a peak until day 7. Conventional gross and histopathological changes, including severe centrilobular congestion and hemorrhagic necrosis, were observed only after day 7. Both hyaluronan and hyaluronidase are indicators of very early liver damage in the dimethylnitrosamine-treated rat, occurring well before conventional indicators appear, or before overt histopathologic changes of liver damage can be seen. However, levels are increased only transiently, indicating that serial assays are necessary. Conclusions: Measures of circulating hyaluronidase activity may be used to assess liver damage.

Missed Opportunities: How the Taiping Rebellion and American Civil War Changed American Attitudes Towards the Chinese Empire and China, 1850-1865

Ph. D. Thesis.This thesis is entitled Missed Opportunities: How the Taiping Rebellion and American Civil War Changed American Attitudes Towards the Chinese Empire and China, 1850-1865. It explores how American ideas about the rebellion in China drew on the disparate American understandings of citizenship, religion, revolution, violence, trade and war. By using an entangled history methodology, this thesis demonstrates how communication between the American community in Shanghai and the United States itself shaped the ways both Americans in China and Americans at home understood events in China. The multitudes of information which crossed the Pacific both ways meant Americans did not understand the Taiping Rebellion in isolation, but with reference to the world around them and especially the secession crisis and Civil War in the United States. This dissertation argues that, despite a host of different ideas and stances on the whether the Taiping rebels might be beneficial for both China and those Americans seeking to make money or spread the word of God in the early 1850s, Americans of all political, religious and sectional backgrounds had come to a broad consensus that the Taiping did not represent opportunity for the United States by 1865. This is because of a hardening in attitudes towards revolution and violence, as well as a growing belief that the rebellion in China was standing in the way of American merchants making money in China. Finally, we can learn from examining this subject that the Taiping Rebellion was such actually something that Americans could rally around at a time of disunity, and furthermore, explain that despite the instability within the United States, Americans of all backgrounds looked to China as a land of opportunity and perhaps even imperial ambition.Arts and Humanities Research Counc

Impaired glucose tolerance or newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus diagnosed during admission adversely affects prognosis after myocardial infarction: An observational study

Objective To investigate the prognostic effect of newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus (NDM) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) post myocardial infarction (MI). Research Design and Methods Retrospective cohort study of 768 patients without preexisting diabetes mellitus post-MI at one centre in Yorkshire between November 2005 and October 2008. Patients were categorised as normal glucose tolerance (NGT n = 337), IGT (n = 279) and NDM (n = 152) on predischarge oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Primary end-point was the first occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) including cardiovascular death, non-fatal MI, severe heart failure (HF) or non-haemorrhagic stroke. Secondary end-points were all cause mortality and individual components of MACE. Results Prevalence of NGT, impaired fasting glucose (IFG), IGT and NDM changed from 90%, 6%, 0% and 4% on fasting plasma glucose (FPG) to 43%, 1%, 36% and 20% respectively after OGTT. 102 deaths from all causes (79 as first events of which 46 were cardiovascular), 95 non fatal MI, 18 HF and 9 non haemorrhagic strokes occurred during 47.2 ± 9.4 months follow up. Event free survival was lower in IGT and NDM groups. IGT (HR 1.54, 95% CI: 1.06–2.24, p = 0.024) and NDM (HR 2.15, 95% CI: 1.42–3.24, p = 0.003) independently predicted MACE free survival. IGT and NDM also independently predicted incidence of MACE. NDM but not IGT increased the risk of secondary end-points. Conclusion Presence of IGT and NDM in patients presenting post-MI, identified using OGTT, is associated with increased incidence of MACE and is associated with adverse outcomes despite adequate secondary prevention