Mode Matching Analysis of a Tapered Coaxial Tip in a Parallel-Plate Waveguide

A tapered coaxial tip in a parallel plate waveguide is investigated. A boundary-value problem of electromagnetic scattering from a tapered coaxial monopole is solved rigorously based on the Fourier transform, eigenfunction expansion, and mode matching. Scattering parameters are represented in a series and computed to understand the behavior of the scattering in terms of the coaxial tip geometry.     

Optimal and reinforced robustness designs of fuzzy variable structure tracking control for a piezoelectric actuator system

In this paper, a piezoelectric actuator (PEA) system is approximated by N subsystems, which are described by pulse transfer functions. The approximation error between the PEA system and the fuzzy linear pulse transfer function system is represented by additive nonlinear time-varying uncertainties in every subsystem. First, a dead-beat to the switching surface for every ideal subsystem is designed. It is called the "variable structure tracking control". The output disturbance of the ith subsystem is caused by the approximation error of fuzzy-model and the interaction dynamics resulting from other subsystems. In general, it is not small. Then, the H/sup /spl infin//-norm of the sensitivity function between the switching surface and the output disturbance is minimized. It is the "optimal robustness". Although the effect of the output disturbance is attenuated, a better performance can be reinforced by a switching control which is based on the Lyapunov redesign. This is the final step for the robustness design of control, which is "reinforced robustness". The stability of the overall system is verified by Lyapunov stability theory. Experimental work of a PEA system was carried out to confirm the validity of the proposed control.     

Temperament in Childhood Predicts Body Mass in Adulthood: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.

This study examined associations of temperament at ages 6 to 12 with body-mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) at ages 24 to 30 years. The participants were 619 men and women derived from the population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study. Temperament was operationalized as (negative) emotionality, sociability, and activity. High emotionality predicted increased BMI, independently of WC, and independently of childhood and adulthood risk factors for adult obesity. None of the temperament dimensions had any associations with WC after controlling for BMI. The findings suggest that temperamental difficulty in childhood may be a useful risk indicator for general body mass in adulthood, and the mechanisms relating temperament with body mass should be further explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Technology for testing nondeterministic client/server database applications

The execution of a client/server application involving database access requires a sequence of database transaction events (or, T-events), called a transaction sequence (or, T-sequence). A client/server database application may have nondeterministic behavior in that multiple executions thereof with the same input may produce different T-sequences. We present a framework for testing all possible T-sequences of a client/server database application. We first show how to define a T-sequence in order to provide sufficient information to detect race conditions between T-events. Second, we design algorithms to change the outcomes of race conditions in order to derive race variants, which are prefixes of other T-sequences. Third, we develop a prefix-based replay technique for race variants derived from T-sequences. We prove that our framework can derive all the possible T-sequences in cases where every execution of the application terminates. A formal proof and an analysis of the proposed framework are given. We describe a prototype implementation of the framework and present experimental results obtained from it.     

Minimal forbidden subwords

Motivated by a study of similar problems stated for factors of words, we study forbidden subwords of a language or a word. A procedure for obtaining the set of all words avoiding a given set of subwords is presented. On the other hand, an algorithm for computing the set of minimal forbidden subwords for a word is given. The case of a two-letter alphabet appears to be particularly interesting and it is considered separately.     

Mapping rule-based systems onto multicomputers using simulated annealing

In this paper, we present a static load balancing method for mapping production rules in an expert system onto processors of a message-passing multicomputer. The method uses simulated annealing to achieve a nearly optimal allocation of production rules onto processor nodes. The approach balances the initial rule distribution to avoid higher communication demand among processor nodes at run time. A formal mapping model is developed and a new cost function is defined for the annealing process. New heuristic swap functions and cooling policies are provided to ensure the quality of the annealing process. A software load balancing package, SIMAL, was implemented on a SUN workstation to carry out the benchmark experiments. The overhead associated with this mapping method is O(m In m), where m is the number of rules in the production system. Two benchmark production systems, Toru-waltz and Tourney, are mapped onto a hypercube computer with 32 nodes. Experimental benchmark results verify the effectiveness of the rule mapping method. The method can be applied for distributed artificial intelligence processing or for the parallel execution of cooperating expert systems on a message-passing multicomputer.     

Highly ordered microstructures of poly(styrene-b-isoprene) block copolymers induced by solution meniscus

Microstructures of hundreds of micron thick poly(styrene-block-isoprene) copolymer films solution-cast in a cylindrical tube with the solvent evaporation controlled were investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and optical microscope (OM). In a block copolymer with cylindrical polyisoprene microdomains, the orientation of the cylinders was varied along radial direction of the cylindrical tube. Highly aligned hexagonal arrays of in-plane polyisoprene cylinders were formed with their cylindrical axis parallel to the circumference of the tube in the regimes close to the wall edge. In contrast randomly ordered microdomains were observed at the center of the tube. We have also found that the orientation depends on the solvent evaporation rate and an intermediate rate (∼2.3 nL/s) provides the best orientation. In the case of a block copolymer with a bicontinuous double gyroid structure, we obtained a globally ordered microstructure where [111] crystallographic direction was parallel to the circumference of the tube. For both block copolymers, the area of highly ordered arrays of nanoscopic domains is over 1 mm². Development of the orientation was explained by coupling two orthogonal fields: (1) The flow of a solution induced by strong capillary force at a meniscus between the cylindrical tube wall and the block copolymer solution and (2) the solvent evaporation.     

Disc filtration for separation of flocs from a moving bed bio-film reactor.

A Discfilter with 10 and 18 microm filter openings, respectively, was placed in parallel to a flotation plant for separation of biological flocs from a post-denitrifying Kaldnes Moving Bed Process, the last treatment step at the municipal wastewater treatment plant at Sj?unda, Malm?, Sweden. The effluent concentrations from the 10 and 18 microm filter were 2-5 and 2-8 mg SS L(-1), respectively, which is comparable to, or better than, the flotation plant. Comparison with experiences from activated sludge plants shows that the Discfilter works especially well after the Kaldnes process. Particle size distribution (PSD) studies show that particles larger than the filter openings of 10 and 18 microm are separated with approximately 90% efficiency, whereas most of the smaller particles pass the filter. This fact indicates that the major particle separation mechanism is physical blocking. These findings point to the possibility of improving the prediction of the separation efficiency by combining measurements of turbidity and suspended solids with particle size analysis.     

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