Training a molecular automaton to play a game

Research at the interface between chemistry and cybernetics has led to reports of 'programmable molecules', but what does it mean to say 'we programmed a set of solution-phase molecules to do X'? A survey of recently implemented solution-phase circuitry indicates that this statement could be replaced with 'we pre-mixed a set of molecules to do X and functional subsets of X'. These hard-wired mixtures are then exposed to a set of molecular inputs, which can be interpreted as being keyed to human moves in a game, or as assertions of logical propositions. In nucleic acids-based systems, stemming from DNA computation, these inputs can be seen as generic oligonucleotides. Here, we report using reconfigurable nucleic acid catalyst-based units to build a multipurpose reprogrammable molecular automaton that goes beyond single-purpose 'hard-wired' molecular automata. The automaton covers all possible responses to two consecutive sets of four inputs (such as four first and four second moves for a generic set of trivial two-player two-move games). This is a model system for more general molecular field programmable gate array (FPGA)-like devices that can be programmed by example, which means that the operator need not have any knowledge of molecular computing methods.     

Optimal FIR filter for suppression of power line frequency component

In this paper a design technique for multiband FIR filter for DC and power line frequency component suppression is described. The digital filter has a linear phase characteristic and equiripple amplitude characteristic in the passband. The amplitude characteristic of this filter satisfies the alternation theorem and consequently has the lowest complexity in obtaining a prescribed maximum deviation in the passband and the fastest possible rate of attenuation near the cutoff frequency. In this sense this filter is optimal. Closed-form expressions for direct calculation of filter coefficients, cutoff frequency and maximal passband attenuation are derived.     

Shallow water acoustic networks

Underwater acoustic networks are generally formed by acoustically connected ocean bottom sensor nodes, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and surface stations that serve as gateways and provide radio communication links to on-shore stations. The quality of service of such networks is limited by the low bandwidth of acoustic transmission channels, high latency resulting from the slow propagation of sound, and elevated noise levels in some environments. The long-term goal in the design of underwater acoustic networks is to provide for a self-configuring network of distributed nodes with network links that automatically adapt to the environment through selection of the optimum system parameters. This article considers several aspects in the design of shallow water acoustic networks that maximize throughput and reliability while minimizing power consumption     

An adaptive e-questionnaire for measuring user perceived portal quality

In this paper we describe an adaptive e-questionnaire system that can be used for measuring user feedback concerning the quality of portals and e-services. The proposed system applies three axes of adaptation: based on real-time feedback from users through questionnaires, based on problems encountered by the user and based on metadata of the pages visited by the user. The system is based on a model for adaptive quality measurement (MAQM), which comprises different ontologies including concepts regarding the quality of portal and e-services, the questions and questionnaires, the portal characteristics (e.g. page types), the user behavior and the user-encountered problems. The results of evaluating the system’s usefulness in an e-government portal are indicative of the value added of our approach. The user experience associated with the quality assessment process is improved and the portal provider gets better feedback in terms of quantity and quality.     

Composite adaptive finite-time fuzzy control for switched nonlinear systems with preassigned performance

This article investigates the composite adaptive fuzzy finite-time prescribed performance control issue of switched nonlinear systems subject to the unknown external disturbance and performance requirement. First, by utilizing the compensation and prediction errors, the piecewise switched composite parameter update law is employed to improve the approximation accuracy of the unknown nonlinearity. Then, the improved fractional-order filter and error compensation signal are introduced to cope with the influences caused by the explosive calculation and filter error, respectively. Meanwhile, the effect of the compound disturbances consisting of the unknown disturbances and approximation errors is reduced appropriately by designing the piecewise switched nonlinear disturbance observer. Moreover, stability analysis results prove that the proposed preassigned performance control scheme not only ensures that all states of the closed-loop system are practical finite-time bounded, but also that the tracking error converges to a preassigned area with a finite time. Ultimately, the simulation examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.     

Book Reviews: Web Service-Oriented Project Development from Different Perspectives

A review of Perspectives on Web Services: Applying SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI to Real-World Projects by Olaf Zimmermann, Mark R. Tomlinson, and Stefan Peuser.     

Equalization and clock recovery for a 2.5-10-Gb/s 2-PAM/4-PAM backplane transceiver cell

A folded multitap transmitter equalizer and multitap receiver equalizer counteract the losses and reflections present in the backplane environment. A flexible 2-PAM/4-PAM clock data recovery circuit uses select transitions for receive clock recovery. Bit-error rate less than 10/sup -15/ and power equal to 40 mW/Gb/s has been measured when operating over a 20-in backplane with two connectors at 10 Gb/s.     

Conduction Mechanisms in Multiferroic Multilayer BaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>/NiFe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>/BaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> Memristors

Memristive devices and materials are extensively studied as they offer diverse properties and applications in digital, analog and bio-inspired circuits. In this paper, we present an important class of memristors, multiferroic memristors, which are composed of multiferroic multilayer BaTiO₃/NiFe₂O₄/BaTiO₃ thin films, fabricated by a spin-coating deposition technique on platinized Si wafers. This cost-effective device shows symmetric and reproducible current–voltage characteristics for the actuating voltage amplitude of ±10 V. The origin of the conduction mechanism was investigated by measuring the electrical response in different voltage and temperature conditions. The results indicate the existence of two mechanisms: thermionic emission and Fowler–Nordheim tunnelling, which alternate with actuating voltage amplitude and operating temperature.     

Surface resistivity estimation by scanning surface potential microscopy

Nickel was sputter deposited on a glass with a thin film thickness of 600 nm under either in an argon atmosphere or under a partial pressure of nitrogen of either 1.3 x 10(-4) or 4 x 10(-4) mbar. Atomic force microscopy and scanning surface potential microscopy (SSPM) were used to study the morphology and to estimate the surface resistivity of the obtained Ni thin films taking into account surface-roughness effects. For the three samples investigated, the surface resistivity values as estimated using SSPM were in good agreement with the results obtained by standard four-point probe measurements.