Fabrication and properties of novel composites in the system Al–Zr–C

Composite bodies in the system Al–Zr–C, with about 95% relative density, were obtained by heating the compact body of powder mixture consisting of Al and ZrC (5 : 1 mol %) in Ar at 1100–1500°C for various lengths of time. Components of the material heated at more than 1200°C were Al, Al3Zr, ZrC and AlZrC2. The Al3Zr exhibited plate-like aggregation, and its size increased with increasing temperature. In the material heated at 1500°C for 1 h, the largest plate-like Al3Zr aggregation was 2000 m long and 133 m thick. Then the AlZrC2 was present as well-proportioned hexagonal platelet particles with a 8–9 m diameter and a 1–2 m thickness in the interior of the plate-like Al3Zr aggregation and Al matrix phase. The average three-point bending strength of the bodies was 140–190 MPa, and the maximum strength was 203 MPa in the body heated at 1300°C for 1 h. The body heated at 1500°C for 1 h showed high oxidation resistivity to air up to 1000°C.     

Superfluid transition in4He in gravity and heat flow

When⁴He in a normal fluid state near the superfluid transition is cooled from the bottom below the transition, a superfluid region appears at the bottom and slowly expands in the upward direction. We performed simulations for this case in one dimension fixing the temperature T_b at the bottom and the heat flux at the top Q. We find densely distributed phase slip centers rapidly oscillating in time in the expanding superfluid region. Their role is to produce a temperature gradient compensating the transition temperature gradient (dT(p)/dp) pg in gravity and to produce a constant negative reduced temperature T-T(p) with small fluctuations superposed. The superfluid velocity multiplied by the correlation length is found to be violently fluctuating around /3m.     

Virtual segment: Store–carry–forward relay-based support for wide-area non-real-time data exchange

We have proposed the concept of the virtual segment (VS), in which a global communication service is provided by combining a store–carry–forward scheme using vehicles with broadband wireless/wired network infrastructures along roads connected to the Internet. The VS can be a practical framework for non-real-time, asynchronous message transfer (especially for large messages) in a cost-effective manner. In this study, a critical implementation design issue, the message forward scheduling, in the VS approach is discussed and investigated through computer simulation by our developed VS simulator that has reflected the results of the field experiment for realistic performance evaluation.     

Robust stability of nonlinear plants with a non-symmetric Prandtl-Ishlinskii hysteresis model

In this paper, robust stability of nonlinear plants represented by non-symmetric Prandtl-Ishlinskii (PI) hysteresis model is studied. In general, PI hysteresis model is the weighted superposition of play or stop hysteresis operators, and the slopes of the operators are considered to be the same. In order to make a hysteresis model, a modified form of non-symmetric play hysteresis operator with unknown slopes is given. The hysteresis model is described by a generalized Lipschitz operator term and a bounded parasitic term. Since the generalized Lipschitz operator is unknown, a new condition using robust right coprime factorization is proposed to guarantee robust stability of the controlled plant with the hysteresis nonlinearity. As a result, based on the proposed robust condition, a stabilized plant is obtained. A numerical example is presented to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Peroxiredoxin 2 as a chemotherapy responsiveness biomarker candidate in osteosarcoma revealed by proteomics

Purpose : We aimed to identify novel chemotherapy responsiveness biomarkers for osteosarcoma (OS) by investigating the global protein expression profile of 12 biopsy samples from OS patients. Experimental design : Six patients were classified as good responders and six as poor responders, according to the Huvos grading system. The protein expression profiles obtained by 2‐D DIGE consisted of 2250 protein spots. Results : Among them, we identified 55 protein spots whose intensity was significantly different (Bonferroni adjusted p‐value<0.01) between the two patient groups. Mass spectrometric protein identification demonstrated that the 55 spots corresponded to 38 distinct gene products including peroxiredoxin 2 (PRDX 2). Use of a specific antibody against PRDX 2 confirmed the differential expression of PRDX 2 between good and poor responders, while PRDX 2 levels as measured by Western blotting correlated highly with their corresponding 2‐D DIGE values. The predictive value of PRDX 2 expression was further confirmed by examining an additional four OS cases using Western blotting. Conclusions and clinical relevance : These results establish PRDX 2 as a candidate for chemotherapy responsiveness marker in OS. Measuring PRDX 2 in biopsy samples before treatment may contribute to more effective management of OS.     

Nanoparticle‐embedded polymer‐dispersed liquid crystal for paper‐like displays

Abstract— A polymer‐dispersed liquid‐crystal (PDLC) matrix template embedded with nano/microparticles can be backfilled/infiltrated with a dye‐doped liquid crystal for a paper‐like reflective display. In this way, a desirable degree of diffusion can be realized to reduce the viewing‐angle dependency of a gain reflector and metallic glare without changing other electro‐optical properties.     

Decentralized PD control for non-uniform motion of a Hamiltonian hybrid system

In this paper, a decentralized proportional-derivative （PD） controller design for non-uniform motion of a Hamiltonian hybrid system is considered. A Hamiltonian hybrid system with the capability of producing a non-uniform motion is developed. The structural properties of the system are investigated by means of the theory of Hamiltonian systems. A relationship between the parameters of the system and the parameters of the proposed decentralized PD controller is shown to ensure local stability and tracking performance. Simulation results are included to show the obtained non-uniform motion.     

Lyapunov function-based obstacle avoidance scheme for a two-wheeled mobile robot

An obstacle avoidance scheme of a two-wheeled mobile robot is shown by selecting an appropriate Lya- punov function. When considering the obstacle, the Lyapunov function may have some local minima. A method which erases the local minima is proposed by using a function which covers the minima with a plane surface. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by numerical simulations.     

An adaptive associative memory system based on autonomous reaction between image memories

To construct a “thinking-like” processing system, a new architecture of an adaptive associative memory system is proposed. This memory system treats “images” as basic units of information, and adapts to the environment of the external world by means of autonomous reactions between the images. The images do not have to be clear, distinct symbols or patterns; they can be ambiguous, indistinct symbols or patterns as well. This memory system is a kind of neural network made up of nodes and links called a localist spreading activation network. Each node holds one image in a localist manner. Images in high-activity nodes interact autonomously and generate new images and links. By this reaction between images, various forms of images are generated automatically under constraints of links with adjacent nodes. In this system, three simple image reaction operations are defined. Each operation generates a new image by combining pseudofigures or features and links of two images. This work was presented, in part, at the Fourth International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, January 19–22, 1999     

Effects of 4He impurities on 3He nuclear spin-lattice relaxation in hcp solid 3He

Nuclear spin-lattice relaxation properties of hcp solid ³He with ⁴He impurities have been studied. At temperatures below the exchange plateau region, three kinds of relaxation time were observed. To analyze the data, a phenomenological four-bath model was developed, the four baths being the Zeeman bath, the phonon bath, an X-bath, and a Y-bath. The X-bath consists of the exchange bath and a part of the ⁴He-⁴He elastic interaction bath. The Y-bath is the main part of the elastic interaction bath. We measured the concentration dependence of the energy constants of all the baths, as well as the temperature and concentration dependences of the three kinds of relaxation time. The relaxation behavior corresponding to the process between the X-bath and the Y-bath could not be expressed by a single exponential function of time and the relaxation rate was strongly dependent on the concentration. This process may be related to the internal thermal equilibrium process within the elastic interaction bath. The impurity-dependent relaxation time between the X-bath and the phonon bath had a temperature dependence of T ^–n with n = 7.4±0.3.