A Universal Calibration Device for an Air Flow Sensor of the VAV Terminal Unit.

In this paper, a new calibration device for an air flow sensor of the VAV terminal unit is designed. Multi-aperture air outlets are designed to meet the calibration requirements of the air flow sensor in a variety of measurement range. The device can calibrate the air flow sensors of different types of VAV terminal unit by a movable flow rectifier without repeating the design of a different calibration pipeline.

A novel CO-based demand-controlled ventilation strategy to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the indoor environment.

Ventilation is of critical importance to containing COVID-19 contagion in indoor environments. Keeping the ventilation rate at high level is recommended by many guidelines to dilute virus-laden respiratory particles and mitigate airborne transmission risk. However, high ventilation rate will cause high energy use.

An Online Data-Driven Fault Diagnosis Method for Air Handling Units by Rule and Convolutional Neural Networks.

The stable operation of air handling units (AHU) is critical to ensure high efficiency and to extend the lifetime of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems of buildings. In this paper, an online data-driven diagnosis method for AHU in an HVAC system is proposed and elaborated. The rule-based method can roughly detect the sensor condition by setting threshold values according to prior experience.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor protects against acrylamide-induced neuronal and synaptic injury via the TrkB-MAPK-Erk1/2 pathway.

Acrylamide has been shown to be neurotoxic. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) can alleviate acrylamide-induced synaptic injury; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, dibutyryl-cyclic adenosine monophosphate-induced mature human neuroblastoma (NB-1) cells were exposed with 0-100 μg/mL acrylamide for 24-72 hours.

The cyclopeptide -amatoxin induced hepatic injury via the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway associated with oxidative stress.

In order to explore the role of apoptosis in alpha-amatoxin (α-AMA) induced liver injury and probable upstream activation signals, we established animal and cellular models, respectively, for this pathophysiological condition. To this end, we evaluated the survival rate and serum biochemical parameters in BALB/c mice exposed to α-AMA at different time periods, along with the levels of oxidative and antioxidant enzymes in the liver tissue of these mice and proteins involved in apoptosis-related pathways. Our results reveal that α-AMA-induced apoptosis occurs primarily through the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway and is associated with oxidative damage.

Computer-generated volume holograms fabricated by femtosecond laser micromachining.

We define computer-generated volume holograms (CGVHs) as arbitrary 3D refractive index modulations designed to perform optical functions based on diffraction, scattering, and interference phenomena. CGVHs can differ dramatically from classical volume holograms in terms of coding possibilities, and from thin computer-generated holograms in terms of efficiency and selectivity. We propose an encoding technique for designing such holograms and demonstrate the concept by scanning focused femtosecond laser pulses to produce localized refractive index modifications in glass.

Polarization selective computer-generated holograms realized in glass by femtosecond laser induced nanogratings.

We demonstrate polarization selective computer-generated holograms (PSCGH) for visible light operation fabricated in glass by a femtosecond laser. For this purpose we create arrays of tailored microwaveplates by controlling the laser formation of nanogratings embedded in fused silica. A birefringent cell-oriented encoding method adapted to the characteristics of the physical writing process is proposed and implemented.

Auto-tuning of PID controller parameters with supervised receding horizon optimization.

In this paper, a novel two-layer online auto-tuning algorithm is presented for a nonlinear time-varying system. The lower layer consists of a conventional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller and a plant process, while the upper layer is composed of identification and tuning modules. The purpose of the upper layer is to find a set of optimal PID parameters for the lower layer via an online receding horizon optimization approach, which result in a time-varying PID controller.

Cascade generalized predictive control strategy for boiler drum level.

This paper proposes a cascade model predictive control scheme for boiler drum level control. By employing generalized predictive control structures for both inner and outer loops, measured and unmeasured disturbances can be effectively rejected, and drum level at constant load is maintained. In addition, nonminimum phase characteristic and system constraints in both loops can be handled effectively by generalized predictive control algorithms.

Multi-model direct adaptive decoupling control with application to the wind tunnel system.

In this paper, a new multi-model direct adaptive decoupling controller is presented for multivariable processes, which includes multiple fixed optimal controllers, one free-running adaptive controller, and one re-initialized adaptive controller. The fixed controllers provide initial control to the process if its model lies in the corresponding region. For each controller selected, the re-initialized adaptive controller uses the values of this particular controller to improve the adaptation speed.

Auto-tuning of cascade control systems.

In this paper, a novel auto-tuning method for a cascade control system is proposed. By employing a simple relay feedback test, both inner and outer loop model parameters can be simultaneously identified. Consequently, well-established proportional-integral-derivative (PID) tuning rules can be applied to tune both loops.