Robust controller synthesis via shifted parameter-dependentquadratic cost bounds

Parameterized Lyapunov bounds and shifted quadratic guaranteed cost bounds are merged to develop shifted parameter-dependent quadratic cost bounds for robust stability and robust performance. Robust fixed-order (i.e., full- and reduced-order) controllers are developed based on new shifted parameter-dependent bounding functions. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach     

String-matching with OBDDs

Ordered binary decision diagrams (OBDDs) are a very popular graph representation for Boolean functions. They can be viewed as finite automata recognizing sets of strings of a fixed length, where the letters of the input strings are read at most once in a predefined ordering. The string matching problem with string w as pattern, consists of determining, given an input string, whether or not it contains w as substring. We show that for a fraction of orderings tending to 1 when n increases arbitrarily, the minimal size of an OBDD solving the string matching problem for strings of length n has a growth which is an exponential in n.     

GaAs TUNNETT diodes on diamond heat sinks for 100 GHz and above

Single-drift GaAs TUNNETT diodes were mounted on diamond heat sinks for improved thermal resistance and evaluated around 100 GHz in a radial line full height waveguide cavity. The diodes were fabricated from MBE-grown material originally designed for diodes that operate in CW mode around 100 GHz on integral heat sinks. An RF output power of more than 70 mW with a corresponding DC to RF conversion efficiency of 4.9% was obtained at 105.4 GHz. This is the first successful demonstration of GaAs TUNNETT diodes mounted on diamond heat sinks. To the authors' knowledge, these DC to RF conversion efficiencies and RF power levels are the highest reported to date from TUNNETT diodes and exceed those of any single discrete device made of group III-V materials (GaAs, InP, etc.) at this frequency. Free-running TUNNETT diode oscillators exhibit clean spectra with an excellent phase noise of less than -94 dBc/Hz, measured at a frequency off-carrier of 500 kHz and an RF output power of 40 mW     

Noise suppression characteristics of InP-based monolithically integrated guided wave balanced photodiodes

Measurements were made of the noise suppression and signal enhancement properties of dual In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As-InP metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodiodes integrated with a leaky mode In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As waveguide directional coupler, and an electro-optic phase shifter. The experiments were done with a 1.3- mu m laser as the local oscillator. A noise suppression of 11 dB and signal enhancement of 1.3 dB were recorded for the MSM photodiodes.<>     

Considerations for the development of radiation resistant devices and VLSI circuits

The impact of radiation on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) silicon technology is discussed with a focus on Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS). Effects of total dose, transient radiation, single event phenomena, and neutron fluence on devices and circuits are presented. General approaches to mitigating radiation effects are put forth. With proper considerations, VLSI CMOS can be enhanced to achieve several orders-of-magnitude increase in radiation tolerance.     

The Instant Controlled Pressure Drop Process as a New Post-harvesting Treatment of Paddy Rice: Impacts on Drying Kinetics and End Product Attributes

The instant controlled pressure drop (DIC) process was used as a post-harvesting treatment, followed by hot air drying and shade polishing. DIC treatment, which is carried out at P = 0.4–0.6 MPa, has many advantages in terms of processing time (not exceeding 30 s) and drying kinetics (about 3 h instead of 1 day under standard 50 °C hot air flow conditions). Shade polishing gives high quality rice with a whole-grain yield of 68-70% rather than the usual 52-60%. A tasting evaluation was carried out by an international panel and the rice was found to be perfect after a cooking time of 6 min, with an overcooked time of 18 min as against 17 min and 20 min, respectively, for conventional products. The shaded shelf life of the final product is much longer than 18–24 months.     

Determination of shelf life of concentrated yogurt (labneh) produced by in-bag straining of set yogurt using hazard analysis

Strained yogurt, labneh, produced by straining cow's milk set yogurt in cloth bags, was stored at 5, 15, and 25 degrees C, and changes in microbial counts, pH, titratable acidity, percentage of free whey, and sensory attributes were monitored during storage. Counts of total aerobes, psychrotrophic yeasts, yeasts and molds, and lactic acid bacteria, except in samples stored at 25 degrees C, increased irrespective of storage temperature. The pH of samples decreased, titratable acidity and percentage of free whey increased, and texture defects were detected at a later stage than flavor changes during storage. Shelf-life data of labneh was adequately described by the Weibull distribution. The nominal shelf life determined using sensory changes and yeast counts as failure criteria ranged from 8.5 to 10.5, 4.7 to 5.8 and 2.3 to 2.7 d at 5, 15 and 25 degrees C, respectively. Q10 (shelf life at T degrees C/shelf life at T+10 degrees C) for flavor quality loss was 1.98 at 5 degrees C, and the corresponding activation energy was 11.3 kcal/mol.     

Statistical analysis of decay of organophosphorus and pyrethroid insecticides and carbaryl on paddy rice, maize, sunflowers and field peas

A model is developed to describe the decay of seven insecticides on stored paddy rice, maize, sunflowers and peas, and is shown to be more precise than each of six literature models on pesticide decay. It relates residues (R), as a ratio of applied concentration (R(0)), to time after insecticide application (t), modifying the usual first-order kinetics equation lnR=lnR(0)-kt by assuming that the rate constant k has a mixture of values according to a gamma distribution with mean K. The resulting equation is lnR=lnR(0)-Kcln(1+t/c), where c is a constant determined empirically. For large c, this model reduces to the first-order model with K=k. The parameter K is further modelled as linear in temperature for maize and rice. The rate of loss of protectants was found not to be seriously affected by co-application with other insecticides, and this is a useful finding for future studies on rates of loss of grain protectants. The apparent rate of loss was also not seriously affected by the method of analysis, whether by gas chromatography or high-performance liquid chromatography, and this finding supports previous validation of the methods.