Electrochemical protein chip with arrayed immunosensors with antibodies immobilized in a plasma-polymerized film

An electrochemical protein chip was microfabricated. A thin-film three-electrode system, including an array of 36 platinum working electrodes, a set of thin-film Ag/AgCl electrodes, and platinum auxiliary electrodes, was integrated on a glass substrate. Capture antibodies were immobilized in a 4.5-nm-thick double layer of a hexamethyldisiloxane plasma-polymerized film. Because of their highly cross-linked network structure, the capture antibodies could be firmly immobilized. No nonspecific adsorption was observed during a series of procedures to detect target proteins, and electrochemical cross talk between neighboring sites was negligible. The sandwich immunoassay was conducted on a single chip using model proteins, alpha-1-fetoprotein and beta2-microglobulin. A distinct current increase following the oxidation of hydrogen peroxide produced by the enzymatic reaction of glucose oxidase was observed, which indicates that the capture proteins could actually bind the target proteins. Two kinds of protein were detected independently on multiple sites with respective capture antibodies.     

Terahertz radiation from a shallow incidence-angle InAs emitter in a magnetic field irradiated with femtosecond laser pulses

The optimized incidence angle and magnetic field direction geometry of an InAs terahertz radiation emitter irradiated with femtosecond laser pulses in a magnetic field is reported. The optimum geometric layout is the magnetic field direction parallel to the semiconductor surface and at an incidence angle that is slightly larger than the Brewster angle. Additionally, we also observed a center frequency shift of terahertz radiation spectrum by changing the incidence angle of the excitation laser.     

A self-organizing map with twin units capable of describing a nonlinear input-output relation applied to speech code vector mapping

This paper describes a new type of self-organizing map (SOM) with twin units as opposed to the single unit type conventional SOM proposed by Kohonen. The present self-organizing map with twin units (TW-SOM) can describe a nonlinear input-output relation with high accuracy. It is applied to voice conversion problem from bone conduction voice to air conduction voice (nonlinear code vector mapping), and its superiority over the conventional method using Linde-Buzo-Gray (LBG) algorithm is discussed. The tone quality of the converted voice is examined not only from the quantization distortion viewpoint, but also from the auditory sensation viewpoint through actual listening tests. The enhancement of the tone quality was experimentally confirmed.     

Switching Phenomena between Laminar and Turbulent Flows of Superfluid 4He Generated by a Vibrating Wire

We have investigated the turbulence transition of the superfluid ⁴He flow generated by a vibrating wire. For a 1.2-kHz vibrating wire, we observed intermittent switchings between laminar and turbulent flows. The switching rate decreases with increasing temperature above 100 mK, until no occurrence of the switchings at 350 mK. For a 2.4-kHz vibrating wire, we find that the switching rate is much lower than that of the 1.2-kHz vibrating wire even at low temperatures. This result indicates that a mechanism causing the switchings is influenced by the temperature and the oscillation frequency of the superfluid flow.     

Animated interface agent applying atms-based multimodal input interpretation

Two requirements should be met in order to develop a practical multimodal interface system , i . e ., ( 1 ) integration of delayed arrival of data and ( 2 ) elimination of ambiguity in recognition results of each modality . This paper presents an efficient and generic methodology for interpretation of multimodal input to satisfy these requirements . The proposed methodology can integrate delayed - arrival data satisfactorily and efficiently interpret multimodal input that contains ambiguity . In the input interpretation the multimodal interpretation process is regarded as hypothetical reasoning , and the control mechanismof interpretation is formalized by applying the assumption - based truth maintenance system ( ATMS ). The proposed method is applied to an interface agent system that accepts multimodal input consisting of voice and direct indication gesture on a touch display . The systemcommunicates to the user through a human - like interface agent's three - dimensional motion image with facial expressions , gestures , and a synthesized voice .     

Analysis of four change detection algorithms in bi-temporal space with a case study

Although change detection algorithms for temporal remote sensing images have been compared using various datasets, there is no general agreement on their performance for separating change and no-change. This study compared image differencing, image ratioing, image regression, and principal component analysis (PCA) from a mathematical perspective. Error analysis showed that no-change pixels with errors are expected to be located within an error zone in bi-temporal space. Bi-temporal space consists of two temporal axes of target pixel values observed successively. All algorithms confine a no-change area to a zone delineating change and no-change pixels in the space. Image ratioing defines a fan-like sector as a no-change area, generally unsuitable for change detection. The other algorithms confine a no-change area to a strip-like zone. Image differencing defines a no-change zone with a fixed slope, leading to its inability to specify flexibly the error zone that varies with different conditions. In the examined case, image regression and standardized PCA (SPCA) achieved the best performance for change detection, followed by PCA, image differencing, and image ratioing.     

Design of a memory‐based prefilter supplementing a robust PID control system

For systems with uncertainties, lots of PID parameter tuning methods have been proposed from the view point of the robust stability theory. However, the control performance becomes conservative using robust PID controllers. In this paper, a new two‐degree‐of‐freedom (2DOF) controller, which can improve the tracking properties, is proposed for nonlinear systems. According to the proposed method, the prefilter is designed as the PD compensator whose control parameters are tuned by the idea of a memory‐based modeling (MBM) method. Since the MBM method is a type of local modeling methods for nonlinear systems, PD parameters can be tuned adequately in an online manner corresponding to nonlinear properties. Finally, the effectiveness of the newly proposed control scheme is numerically evaluated on a simulation example. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society     

Optimizing dock configuration and staffing in decentralized receiving

In manufacturing facilities, shipping and receiving traditionally have been concentrated in one or two areas of the building. The widespread introduction of just-in-time shipping policies in US manufacturing companies during the past 15 years, as well as the common use of decentralized receiving in the Japanese automobile industry, has motivated the consideration (and occasionally the adoption) of dock configurations to support decentralized receiving (also known as perimeter receiving). By providing multiple access points along the perimeter of the building, decentralized receiving generally reduces the time and cost associated with moving purchased parts to the locations within the facility where they are used, but also results in increased cost of construction, maintenance, and operation for docks and associated truck access/egress, as well as additional interior floorspace requirements. We develop an optimization-based procedure to determine which of several possible dock areas to construct, how many doors or gates each should have, how many unloading and internal material handling staff should be assigned to each group, and which inbound materials each group should handle. We consider the amortized cost of constructing and equipping the docks, the amortized cost of material handling equipment to support the unloaders and material handlers, the cost of operating the material handling equipment, and labor costs for both unloading and internal material handling.     

Improved fracture toughness and fatigue life of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composite due to incorporation of rubber nanoparticles

In this study, core–shell rubber (CSR) nanoparticles with approximate particle size of 35 nm were used as a modifier for the epoxy polymer. The effects of various CSR contents in the epoxy matrix on mode I interlaminar fracture toughness, tensile strength, and fatigue life of the carbon fabric reinforced epoxy (CF/EP) composites were investigated. The experimental results showed that the mode I interlaminar fracture toughness at crack initiation and propagation significantly improved by 71.21 and 58.47 %, respectively, when 8.0 wt% CSR was dispersed in the epoxy matrix. The fatigue life of the modified CF/EP composites at all of CSR contents dramatically increased 75–100 times longer than that of the unmodified CF/EP composites at high cycle fatigue while tensile strength slightly increased by about 10 %. Field emission scanning electron microcopy (FESEM) observations of the fracture surfaces were conducted to explain failure mechanisms of CSR addition to the CF/EP composites. The evidences of the rubber nanoparticle debonding, plastic void growth, and microshear banding were credited for delaying the onset of matrix crack, and reducing the crack growth rate, as a result, attributed to increase in the mechanical properties of the CF/EP composites.