Developments of Environmentally Certified Reference Material From the Brazilian Metrology Institute to Support National Traceability

This chapter aims to present the developments performed by the Brazilian Metrology Institute (NMI) – Inmetro, considering the environmental demand. Inmetro addresses a great part of its activities to the study of the traceability transference based on production and dissemination of certified reference material (CRM) of different areas in chemistry. The chapter presents results from certification of the following reference materials developed: BTEX and PAH in solution, besides automotive emission gas mixtures and bioethanol. So, the achievements made are the growth in developing CRM in order to support the needs of the national industry and to disseminate traceability among the society.

Application of Statistical Quality Control in Testing Labs for Estimation of Machine Interference

The performance and maintenance of testing laboratories is a prime issue. The quality of coal test results not only depends on performance of individual results but it also depends on the performance of various tests in the same laboratory. Machine interference is a significant problem in many manufacturing system and testing equipment. The variation of results for testing equipment may be due to various factors which need to calculate the uncertainty of measurement to show the accuracy of the machine. In case of coal testing laboratory, the plant layout and surrounding environment affects the performance of the system. The machine interference comes under variable causes which may affect the result. This chapter proposes a methodology for constructing system performance measures, finding out the various factors responsible for variations in result. The chapter deals with estimation of machine interference existence using variable control chart approach for coal testing equipment. The analysis of results for such machine interference will be useful and significant for system designers and practitioners.

A Step-Index Multimode Fiber-Optic Microbend Displacement Sensor Wavelength Dependent Loss

In this chapter, the wavelength dependence of bend loss in a step-index multimode optical fiber (100 µm core diameter; fused silica) was investigated for fiber bend radii ranging between 2.0 and 4.5 mm using six laser excitation wavelengths, namely, 337.1, 470, 590, 632.8, 750, and 810 nm. The results obtained from fitting the bend loss measurements to Kao's model and utilizing MATLAB® indicate that bend loss is wavelength dependent and transmission loss in multimode optical fibers increases with the decrease in the fiber bend radius. Furthermore, the response of a microbend fiber-optic displacement sensor was characterized at 337.1, 470, 632.8, 750, and 810 nm. Measurements obtained from the microbend sensor indicate that the sensor output power is linear with the applied displacement and the sensor output is wavelength dependent. Lastly, references for industrial and biomedical applications of microbend fiber-optic sensors are provided. Finally, a brief description for the transmission loss mechanisms in optical fibers is given.

Analysis of Sidebands Failures in Asynchronous Drives

This chapter deals with the diagnosis of induction motors (IM) with the so-called motor current signature analysis (MCSA). The MCSA is one of the most efficient techniques for the detection and the localization of electrical and mechanical failures, in which faults become apparent by harmonic components around the supply frequency. This chapter presents a summary of the most frequent faults and its consequences on the stator current spectrum of an IM. A three-phase IM model was used for simulation taking into account in one hand the normal healthy operation and in the other hand the broken rotor bars, the shorted turns in the stator windings, the voltage unbalance between phases of supply, and the abnormal behavior of load. The MCSA is used by many authors in literature for faults detection of IM. The major contribution of this work is to prove the efficiency of this diagnosis methodology to detect different faults simultaneously, in normal and abnormal functional conditions. The results illustrate good agreement between both simulated and experimental results.

The Challenge of Developing Primary Standards Mixtures of Carbon Dioxide at Atmospheric Levels

In recent years, the need for the quality control, reliability, and traceability of analytical results has been strongly emphasized. The National Metrology Institute – Inmetro is involved in improving measurement capabilities to provide confidence level regarding greenhouse gases standards. The chapter describes the development of certified reference materials of carbon dioxide in atmospheric synthetic air that are used to monitor its concentration in the atmosphere. Considering the contributions from gravimetry preparation and its verification analysis by cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS), the relative expanded uncertainty of the standard mixture of carbon dioxide was lower than 0.5% for the range studied from 370 to 550 μmol/mol, which is comparable to the average of 0.25% relative uncertainties presented on international standards mixtures.

Plasma Cocaine Metabolite Levels and Liver CYP450 3A4 Isoenzyme Activity as Indicators of Cocaine Metabolism in Rats Treated With Salako Supplements

The effects of Salako nutritional supplements on cocaine-dependent Sprague Dawley rats was investigated. Rats were made cocaine-dependent using conditioned place preference (CPP) where craving was analyzed regularly. Cocaine metabolite levels were determined from blood samples. CYP450 3A4 isoenzyme activities were obtained using liver homogenate. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS one-way ANOVA and Duncans multiple range test. Results show that when cocaine use was discontinued, the supplements reduced craving of cocaine significantly. Blood plasma results showed higher benzoylecgonine equilibrium possibly indicating that the supplements aided the removal of stored cocaine metabolites which may have contributed to better management of craving in the rats. CYP450 3A4 isoenzyme activity was further enhanced by the supplements and is indicative of increased cocaine metabolism. The results indicate that the Salako nutritional supplements reduce craving caused by chronic cocaine administration by increasing the liver CYP450 3A4 isoenzyme activity, resulting in better plasma clearance.

Measurement Analysis of Ultra-Wide-Band and Ultra-Wide-Band-MIMO Antennas

This chapter mainly focused on the recent trends in the antenna design techniques for next-generation wireless communication systems. Ultra-wideband antenna and multi-input-multi-output antennas are very useful to achieve higher data rates. An antenna is a transducer that changes guided electromagnetic energy in a transmission line to radiated electromagnetic energy in free space. Antennas may also be observed as an impedance transformer, coupling among an input or line impedance, and the impedance of free space. The looming widespread commercial deployment of ultra-wideband (UWB) systems has flashed new interest in the subject of ultra-wideband antennas. The power levels approved by the FCC mean that every dB counts in a UWB system as much as or possibly even more so than in a standard narrowband system. Thus, in effect, UWB antenna is a precarious part of an overall UWB system design. Basic principles for ultra-wide-band (UWB) antenna design and radiation are presented and discussed in this chapter.

From Einstein Theories to Least Action Principle, a Relativistic Error of a Limit Case of Classical Mechanics

The authors prove that the standard least action principle implies a more general form of the same principle by which they can state generalized motion equation including the classical Euler equation as a particular case. This form is based on an observation regarding the last action principle about the limit case in the classical approach using symmetry violations. Furthermore, the well-known first integrals of the classical Euler equations become only approximate first integrals. The authors also prove a generalization of the fundamental lemma of the calculus of variation and they consider the application in electromagnetism. This chapter is an enhanced version of a published work. It proves the existence of particular relativistic error condition in classical mechanics, potentially significant on experiments of light propagation in matters. The work includes a discussion of applications potentially correlated with the found particle motion error condition.