Fault-accommodation with intelligent sensors

Optimal sensor fault-accommodation is considered for faults modelled by an increase in measurement noise. This noise is taken to be bounded and its probabilistic properties unknown. It is assumed that intelligent (e.g. self-validating) instrumentation is in use and estimates of the noise bounds are available. The fault-tolerant controller is designed to optimize a noise rejection and a nominal reference tracking index and leads to a mixed norm minimization problem (l₁/l₂). We exploit known results and a particular feedback configuration to show that it is possible to optimize simultaneously without a trade-off the two performance indices. The results are applied to systems where the presence of auxiliary measurements allows for an optimal fault-accommodation strategy. Using properties of the optimal solution, we define a factorization for the optimal controller alternative to the Youla parametrization, leading to an algorithm which is optimal, transparent and efficient.     

Fooling anti-virus systems

Anti-virus (AV) products and other fingerprint-based systems are typical of the applications used to enforce security. AV products are probably the first step that most organizations take to protect their systems and enhance security. Many small to medium organizations rely almost entirely on AV products.     

John Bissell Carroll (1916-2003).

Memorializes John Bissell (Jack) Carroll, an early leader in the development of psycholinguistics and a dominant contributor to psychometrics and the study of individual differences in cognitive abilities. His seminal work in evaluating foreign language proficiencies across multiple cultures combined his expertise in psycholinguistics with that in psychometrics and defined fundamental issues in the study of language acquisition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Maximum Entropy Approach for Collaborative Filtering

Collaborative filtering (CF) involves predicting the preferences of a user for a set of items given partial knowledge of the user's preferences for other items, while leveraging a database of profiles for other users. CF has applications e.g. in predicting Web sites a person will visit and in recommending products. Fundamentally, CF is a pattern recognition task, but a formidable one, often involving a huge feature space, a large data set, and many missing features. Even more daunting is the fact that a CF inference engine must be capable of predicting any (user-selected) items, given any available set of partial knowledge on the user's other preferences. In other words, the model must be designed to solve any of a huge (combinatoric) set of possible inference tasks. CF techniques include memory-based, classification-based, and statistical modelling approaches. Among these, modelling approaches scale best with large data sets and are the most adept at handling missing features. The disadvantage of these methods lies in the statistical assumptions (e.g. feature independence), which may be unjustified. To address this shortcoming we propose a new model-based CF method, based on the maximum entropy principle. For the MS Web application, the new method is demonstrated to outperform a number of CF approaches, including naive Bayes and latent variable (cluster) models, support vector machines (SVMs), and the (Pearson) correlation method.     

Interfacial effects of surface-active agents under zinc pressure leach conditions

Liquid sulfur-zinc sulfate solution interfacial tensions and liquid sulfur-zinc sulfate solution-zinc sulfide (marmatite) contact angles were measured in the absence and presence of surface-active agents. Interfacial tensions measured varied between 54 ± 1 mN/m in the surfactant-free system and 20 ± 1 mN/m in the presence of a surfactant. The liquid sulfur-zinc sulfide mineral-zinc sulfate solution contact angle varies between 80 ± 5 deg, in the absence of any surfactant, and 148 ± 5 deg, depending on the surfactant used. The surface-active agents were used as dispersants for sulfur in bench-scale zinc pressure-leaching experiments. The observed extent of zinc extraction depends on the surfactant and varies from 40 to 96 pct.     

Evaluation of a system of wind tunnels for field studies of ammonia loss from grassland through volatilisation

Rates of ammonia (NH₃) loss from a ryegrass sward measured using a system of small wind tunnels were compared with concurrent measurements made using a micrometeorological mass balance method. Measurements were made during two experiments within a circular plot (radius 10m) treated with urea at a rate of 200kgNha^?1. In the first experiment, air speed through the tunnels was adjusted as necessary to maintain a value of approximately 1ms^?1. This value differed on most occasions from the mean ambient wind speed which was measured at a height of 250mm and which ranged from 0.61 to 2.95ms^?1. Rates of loss measured using the wind tunnels differed by a factor of between two and five from those measured using the mass balance method; there was no consistent pattern in the differences between the rates of loss. The total losses of NH₃ measured during 15 days were equivalent to 49.1 and 30.2kg Nha^?1 for the mass balance and wind tunnel methods, respectively. In the second experiment, air speed through the tunnels was adjusted as necessary to maintain a value as close as possible to the mean ambient wind speed measured at a height of 250mm. Rates of NH₃ loss measured using the two methods did not differ significantly; total losses of NH₃ during 17 days were equivalent to 96.9 and 101kg Nha^?1 for the mass balance and wind tunnel methods, respectively. The difference between the findings of the two experiments could be attributed to the direct effect of air speed through the tunnels rather than to differences between ambient temperatures and those inside the tunnels. During and following periods of rain the rates of loss measured using the tunnels were up to six times greater than those observed with the mass balance method. Rates of loss measured by the two methods became similar again when the tunnels were moved following rain. The study demonstrates that enclosures can be designed and operated to provide reliable measurements of the rate of NH₃ loss from grassland. Potential applications of the two methods are discussed.     

Confidentiality in psychotherapy: History, issues, and research.

Discusses ethical guidelines of the American Psychological Association regarding confidentiality in psychotherapy. Possible inconsistencies between these guidelines and privileged communication are explored. It is asserted that additional research is needed to determine the implications for psychotherapy of the ethical limitations to confidentiality and the legal restrictions on privileged communication. The relevance of moral philosophy to issues of confidentiality is considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigation of iron oxide reduction by TEM

An “environmental cell” located in a high voltage transmission electron microscope has been used to study the reduction of single crystal iron oxides by hydrogen and hydrogen-argon mixtures. The cell enables a direct observation of the solid during reaction, thus permitting the nucleation and growth of solid reaction products to be observed. Hematite was reduced at temperatures in the range 387 to 610°C with gas pressures up to 5.3 kP. Reduction with pure hydrogen was considerably faster than when argon was present. Lath magnetite which rapidly transforms to porous magnetite and thence (more slowly) to porous iron was observed. The reduction of magnetite and of wustite single crystals was observed in the temperature range 300 to 514°C using both hydrogen and hydrogen-argon mixtures at gas pressures up to 6.6 kP. Incubation periods were found for magnetite reduction; during these periods faceted pits formed in the oxide. Iron formed in the early stages was epitaxial with the host magnetite; at later stages the epitaxy was lost and fissures frequently formed in the metal. The morphology of the iron differed between the gas mixtures. Disproportionation accompanied the reduction of wustite, producing intermediate polycrystalline magnetite despite reducing conditions. The disproportionation appeared to be promoted by the reduction reaction. For both oxides, reduction in the hydrogen-argon mixture was slower than in pure hydrogen.     

Some nitrosoamino acids in bacon adipose tissue and their contribution to the total N-nitroso compound concentration

Zusammenfassung Der Gehalt an Nitrosoaminosäuren und ihr Anteil an den Gesamt-N-Nitrosoverbindungen im Fettgewebe von rohem Schinkenspeck wurde untersucht. In 80% der Proben wurde ein Gehalt an Nitrosoaminosäuren von bis zu 0,2 mg/kg festgestellt. Scheinbare Gesamt-N-Nitrosoverbindungen waren in allen Proben in einer Konzentration von 0,4 bis 3,7 mg (N-NO)/kg vorhanden. Die eigentlichen Nitrosoaminosäuren machen nur etwa 1% der scheinbaren Gesamt-N-Nitrosoverbindungen aus. Die Mehrzahl der scheinbaren Gesamt-N-Nitrosoverbindungen im Fettgewebe findet sich im nichtlöslichen Bindegewebe, wobei der verbleibende Rest chloroformlöslich ist.Summary The levels of nitrosoamino acids and apparent total N-nitroso compounds in the adipose tissue of raw bacon have been examined. Nitrosoamino acids were detected in 80% of the samples in levels of up to 0.2 mg/kg. Apparent total N-nitroso compounds were present in all samples in concentrations of between 0.4 and 3.7 mg (N-NO)/kg. Nitrosoamino acids accounted for approximately only 1 % of the apparent total N-nitroso compounds. The majority of the apparent total N-nitroso compounds in the adipose tissue were associated with the insoluble connective tissue fraction, with the remainder present as chloroform soluble species.

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Einige Nitrosoaminosäuren im fettgewebe von Schinkenspeck und ihr anteil an der Konzentration der Gesamt-N-Nitrosoverbindungen