Existence of Carathe/spl acute/odory solutions in nonlinear systems with discontinuous switching feedback controllers

In this note, we consider the existence of a Carathe/spl acute/odory solution in a single-input-single-output nonlinear system with a discontinuous switching feedback controller. The main contribution is to show that if the nonlinear system can be transformed into a global normal form, then we can specify the value of the discontinuous switching feedback controller on the switching hypersurface so that the closed-loop system has a Carathe/spl acute/odory solution.     

Purification and partial characterization of 76 kDa transglutaminase in the egg envelope (chorion) of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

Transglutaminase (TGase), responsible for crosslinking between proteins, is known to be localized exclusively in the egg envelope (chorion) of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, and probably participates in the post-fertilization chorion hardening. We purified the TGase from unfertilized egg chorions by sequential chromatography using SP-Sepharose, Q-Sepharose, and TSK-gel G3000SWXL columns. The purified enzyme was a monomeric protein having the molecular mass of 76 kDa. It promoted incorporation of monodansyl-cadaverine into chorion protein and catalyzed the polymerization of chorion subunit proteins. The effect of various reagents suggested that the chorion TGase is a Ca2+-dependent SH-enzyme similar to the well-characterized TGases of various animals. The highest activity was observed at pH 6.0. The amines examined in the present study inhibited the TGase activity of the purified enzyme. However, they did not necessarily cause effective inhibition of its activity. These properties of the chorion TGase were essentially consistent with our previous observations on polymerization of chorion proteins, resulting in chorion hardening. We compared the amino acid composition of the purified TGase with those of the previously characterized TGases of fishes, such as chum salmon and red sea bream. The results suggest that the chorion 76 kDa TGase is not homologous with those liver TGases in terms of amino acid composition.     

ERCP and CT findings of ectopic drainage of the common bile duct into the duodenal bulb

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate ERCP and CT findings of ectopic drainage of the common bile duct into the duodenal bulb. CONCLUSION: Although rare, the diagnosis of ectopic drainage of the common bile duct into the duodenal bulb is important to prevent inadvertent damage during biliary tract or gastric surgery and to clarify the cause of chronic peptic ulcers.     

Substrate-induced conformational change in a trimeric ornithine transcarbamoylase

The crystal structure of Escherichia coli ornithine transcarbamoylase (OTCase, EC 2.1.3.3) complexed with the bisubstrate analog N-(phosphonacetyl)-L-ornithine (PALO) has been determined at 2.8-A resolution. This research on the structure of a transcarbamoylase catalytic trimer with a substrate analog bound provides new insights into the linkages between substrate binding, protein-protein interactions, and conformational change. The structure was solved by molecular replacement with the Pseudomonas aeruginosa catabolic OTCase catalytic trimer (Villeret, V., Tricot, C., Stalon, V. & Dideberg, O. (1995) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92, 10762-10766; Protein Data Bank reference pdb 1otc) as the model and refined to a crystallographic R value of 21.3%. Each polypeptide chain folds into two domains, a carbamoyl phosphate binding domain and an L-ornithine binding domain. The bound inhibitor interacts with the side chains and/or backbone atoms of Lys-53, Ser-55, Thr-56, Arg-57, Thr-58, Arg-106, His-133, Asn-167, Asp-231, Met-236, Leu-274, Arg-319 as well as Gln-82 and Lys-86 from an adjacent chain. Comparison with the unligated P. aeruginosa catabolic OTCase structure indicates that binding of the substrate analog results in closure of the two domains of each chain. As in E. coli aspartate transcarbamoylase, the 240s loop undergoes the largest conformational change upon substrate binding. The clinical implications for human OTCase deficiency are discussed.     

基于非线性规划的指数自回归模型的辨识

讨论了指数自回归模型的辨识问题，证明了该模型最小二乘估计的目标函数的非凸性，并给出了使该函数为凸的条件，最后给出了辨识该模型的算法及该算法的收敛性，并以数值例子加以说明。     

Growth and characterization of hot-wall epitaxial CdTe on (111) HgCdTe and CdZnTe substrates

Thin CdTe films were deposited by hot-wall epitaxy (HWE) on (111) HgCdTe and CdZnTe substrates at temperatures from about 140 to 335°C. X-ray rocking curves were used to show that crystal quality of the CdTe (111)B films improved as substrate temperature increased from 140 to about 250°C. Rocking curve values for full width at half maximum (FWHM) decreased from 2–4 degrees at 140–150°C to less than 100 arc-s at 250°C, and a FWHM of 59 arc-s was the lowest value observed near 250°C. The FWHM of the HWE CdTe was found to be insensitive to growth rate below about 400Å/min, but increased to four degrees at 1250Å/min. X-ray diffraction confirmed that films grown on the B-face at higher temperatures were epitaxial, but contained a significant volume fraction, 35% to 50%, of rotational in-plane twins. Electron microscopy confirmed a coarse twin density, and photoluminescence spectra showed an absence of excitonic emission in the HWE films. Simultaneous growth on two (111) HgCdTe substrates with different surface polarities between 230°C and 335°C showed that deposition rate on the A-face decreased relative to that on the B-face as temperature increased. Films grown on the B-face exhibited better surface morphologies than those grown on the A-face.     

Feasibility study on the use of polyallyldiglycol-carbonate cell dishes in TUNEL assay for alpha particle radiobiological experiments

In the present work, we have studied the feasibility of a method based on polyallyldiglycol-carbonate (PADC) films to investigate the effects of alpha particles on HeLa cervix cancer cells. Thin PADC films with thickness of about 20 μm were prepared from commercially available CR-39 films by chemical etching to fabricate custom-made petri dishes for cell culture, which could accurately record alpha particle hit positions. A special method involving “base tracks” for aligning the images of cell nuclei and alpha particle hits has been proposed, so that alpha particle transversals of cell nuclei can be visually counted. Radiobiological experiments were carried out to induce DNA damages, with the TdT-mediated dUTP Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL) fluorescence method employed to detect DNA strand breaks. The staining results were investigated by flow cytometer. The preliminary results showed that more strand breaks occurred in cells hit by alpha particles with lower energies. Moreover, large TUNEL positive signals were obtained even with small percentages of cells irradiated and TUNEL signals were also obtained from non-targeted cells. These provided evidence for the bystander effect.     

新经济增长理论对我国人力资本发展的借鉴

新经济增长理论为人力资本理论注入了新的内容,为各国如何利用人力资本发展经济提供了理论指导。分析了新经济增长理论中有关人力资本的理论,以此对我国经济和人力资本的发展提出了一些借鉴;收益递增模型。     

Corrosion Condition Evaluation at Muddy Creek Bridge

Corrosion rates were measured at the exposed spots of rebars near three corners of Muddy Creek Bridge located in northern West Virginia using a 3LP device. Also, chloride contents of the concrete samples taken from the vicinity of the spots were analyzed using a wet chemical method that had been developed in this study. The average corrosion rate over the three spots was 4.66 mA/m2, which is in the range of corrosion damage possible in 10–15 years. The average chloride content of the concrete over the three spots was 703 parts per million (ppm), which is well above the threshold limit value of 260 ppm. Although the corrosion rate measurement method using a 3LP device is by manual operation, it is found to be reliable and effective, and, thus, recommended for future studies of this kind of research. The wet chemical method developed in this study is found to be effective.