Delay compensated control of the Stefan problem and robustness to delay mismatch

This paper presents a control design for the one‐phase Stefan problem under actuator delay via a backstepping method. The Stefan problem represents a liquid‐solid phase change phenomenon which describes the time evolution of a material's temperature profile and the interface position. The actuator delay is modeled by a first‐order hyperbolic partial differential equation (PDE), resulting in a cascaded transport‐diffusion PDE system defined on a time‐varying spatial domain described by an ordinary differential equation (ODE). Two nonlinear backstepping transformations are utilized for the control design. The setpoint restriction is given to guarantee a physical constraint on the proposed controller for the melting process. This constraint ensures the exponential convergence of the moving interface to a setpoint and the exponential stability of the temperature equilibrium profile and the delayed controller in the norm. Furthermore, robustness analysis with respect to the delay mismatch between the plant and the controller is studied, which provides analogous results to the exact compensation by restricting the control gain.     

Multipath structure for FSR expansion in waveguide-based optical ring resonator

A multipath structure of a ring resonator is proposed to expand the free spectral range. Simulation work indicates that the multipath ring resonator has 25 GHz-adjacent-channel crosstalk of -41 dB, maximum interchannel crosstalk of -18 dB, and -1 dB bandwidth of 4 GHz for a typical expansion factor of 10. The results show the advantages of characteristics compared with a double-cavity ring resonator and a triple-coupler ring resonator.     

Transmission capacity of optical path overhead transfer schemeusing pilot tone for optical path network

Photonic networks based on the optical path concept and wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology require unique operation, administration, and maintenance (OAM) functions. In order to realize the required OAM functions, the optical path network must support an effective management information transfer method. The method that superimposes a pilot tone on the optical signal appears very interesting for optical path overhead transfer. The pilot tone transmission capacity is determined by the carrier to noise ratio which depends on the power spectral density of the optical signal. The pilot tone transmission capacity of an optical path network employing WDM technology is elucidated; 4.5 kb/s transmission can be realized when the pilot tone modulation index is set at 3%     

Cell density-dependent DNA fragmentation and its suppression by heparin in primary culture of adult rat hepatocytes

We show here that the internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, which is a biochemical hallmark of apoptosis, was induced in a cell density-dependent manner in primary culture of adult rat hepatocytes. This DNA fragmentation could be suppressed by a gene expression inhibitor, indicating the active nature of this process. Moreover, the viability changes in high and low cell density cultures showed a tendency corresponding with the incidence of the DNA fragmentation in them. These results suggest that in hepatocytes there may be a cell density-dependent apoptosis mechanism. In this report, we also show that heparin could suppress this DNA fragmentation with high specificity, and the cell death to some extent.     

A Model of the Relationship Between Psychosocial Variables and Diurnal Cortisol Rhythm Under Chronic Stress by Using Structural Equations

By using structural equations, we investigated the effect of chronic stress on salivary cortisol rhythm and proposed a causal model of chronic stress by using psychosocial and physiological data. First, 111 healthy workers (48 males, 63 females) completed questionnaires on chronic stress and lifestyle habits. Then, they provided saliva samples and answered questionnaires that were prepared to assess their psychological states 5 times (on waking up and at 10:00, 11:40, 14:00, and 16:00) on workdays. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that chronic stress and longer commuting time resulted in sleep irregularities and this disrupted the cortisol circadian rhythm. This suggests that chronic stress disrupts the cortisol circadian rhythm even in healthy individuals, and sleep regularity mediates the effect of chronic stress on the cortisol rhythm.

     

Laser coupling to single-mode fibre using graded-index lenses and compact disc 1.3 ?m laser package

A 1.3 ?m laser in a compact disc package is coupled to single-mode fibre using two graded-index lenses in a nearly confocal scheme. An increase in the alignment tolerance at the lens-lens interface by a factor of six suggests the design for a potentially very low-cost connectorised laser package. The coupling efficiency of approx. 6% (?12 dB) is shown to be adequate for local loop applications.     

Construction of the plasmid PMEX8-HAK1 and random site-directed mutagenesis of human cytosolic adenylate kinase

The pMEX8-hAK1 vector was devised from the pAK plasmid (Kim J. H. et al., 1989, Protein Engineering 5, 379-386), which could directly express human adenylate kinase proteins without recombination and its single strand DNA could be withdrawn with helper phage for random site-directed mutagenesis. The conserved key residues at Lys21, Lys27, and Thr39 were engineered to obtain mutants for kinetic analysis. Three mutants were obtained as K21P, K27R, and T39S, their specific activities were strikingly reduced compared to those of wild type adenylate kinase. This pMEX8-hAK1 will be a powerful tool for site-directed mutagenesis to detect the substrate-enzyme interaction for human adenylate kinase including various other enzymes.     

Air vent in water chamber and surface coating on liner slides concerning auxiliary cooling system for the high temperature engineering test reactor

Experimental study was made to confirm the validity of new designs of the auxiliary cooling system for the high temperature engineering test reactor (HTTR). First, it is necessary to vent residence air in outlet side of water chamber of the auxiliary heat exchanger for the HTTR. Accordingly, we have proposed to mount a proper bend duct in the outlet side of the water chamber. Air vent is done by difference between pressures at both ends of the bend duct caused by the forced water circulation using the water pumps. From flow tests, it was confirmed that it is capable of venting the air through the bend duct by circulating the water in maximum capacity of the water pumps. Second, it is essential to prevent seizure and excessive wear of the liner slides of the auxiliary concentric hot gas duct for the HTTR at a service temperature of 950°C. Therefore, we have put forward to coat titanium nitride (TiN) on the surface of the liner slides made of nickel-based superalloy Hastelloy XR using the thermochemical vapor deposition method. As a result of seizure and wear tests, it was confirmed that the TiN coating film of 3 μm on the surface of Hastelloy XR is sufficient.