Covalent attachment of single-stranded DNA to carbon paste electrode modified by activated carboxyl groups

A new method of the electrode modification and DNA immobilization for a biosensor is reported. Outer layer of a conventional carbon paste electrode (CPE) was modified with carboxyl groups by mixing stearic acid with the paste. Single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid was attached to the modified electrode through a linker - ethylenediamine. Immobilization process was performed in the presence of activators - water soluble 1-ethyl-3(3′-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide (EDC) and N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide (NHS). Stearic acid concentration and other experimental parameters of the procedure were optimized. Covalent immobilization of DNA on the electrode surface exhibits some advantages as compared to simple adsorption mainly due to the fact that nucleic acid chains are bound to an electrode surface by one end only and it ensures structural flexibility and increases hybridization without DNA leakage. Modified electrode with immobilized (21-mer) oligonucleotide as a specific probe was successfully applied in preliminary investigations for the detection of bar gene commonly used in genetically modified food.     

Early and late results of surgical treatment in patients with primary mediastinal germ cell tumors]

A group of 37 patients--20 (54%) men and 17 (46%) women--aged 2-65, mean 31.6 years, was treated between 1978 and 1995 for different kinds of primary mediastinal germ cell tumours. In 14 (37.8%) of them a mature solid teratoma was diagnosed, in 13 (35.1%)--dermoid cyst, in 5 (13.5%)--malignant teratoma, in 1 (2.7%)--immature teratoma, in 4 (10.8%)--seminoma. Mediastinal tumour was removed completely in 30 (81.1%) patients, partially in 7 (18.9%). Out of 37 patients, 3 (8.1%) died during postoperative time. Out of 26 patients discharged after surgical removal of mature teratomas, all are alive and have been followed-up for 10 years (17 patients) or 5 years (6 patients). Out of 8 discharged after surgical removal of malignant neoplasm, 3 are alive and all of them had primary mediastinal seminoma. One of them has survived 17 years after complete resection, and two patients--7.5 years and 2 years after partial resection and radiotherapy. Mean survival time is 4 years and 2 months for all patients with malignant neoplasm.     

Studies on some properties of poly(phenylene sulphide)

Poly(phenylene sulphide) was synthesized by a direct method. Benzene and elemental sulphur were used as substrates, and aluminium chloride as a catalyst. The obtained final product was characterized by IR, VIS-UV, wide angle X-ray and mass spectroscopy, thermal, and elemental analyses. On the base of the analytical methods the molecular structure of the obtained polymer was discussed.     

A Geometric Approach to Solving Problems of Control Constraints: Theory and a DAE Framework

The paper deals with controlled mechanical systems in which the number of control inputs is equal to the number of desired system outputs, and is smaller than the number of degrees of freedom of the system. The determination of control input strategy that force the underactuated system to complete the partly specified motion is a challenging problem. In the present formulation, the outputs (performance goals), expressed in terms of system states, are treated as constraints on the system—called control or program constraints as distinct from contact constraints in the classical sense, and a mathematical resemblance of the inverse control problem to the constrained system dynamics is exploited. However, while the reactions of contact constraints act in the directions orthogonal to the respective constraint manifold, the available control reactions may have arbitrary directions with respect to the program constraint manifold, and in the extreme may be tangent. A specific methodology must then be developed to find the solution of such singular problems, related to a class of control tracking problems such as position control of elastic joint robots, control of cranes, and aircraft control in prescribed trajectory flight. The governing equations of the problem arise as a set of differential-algebraic equations (DAEs), and an effective method for solving the DAEs, based on backward Euler method, is proposed. The open-loop control formulation obtained this way is then extended by a closed-loop control law to provide stable tracking of the required reference trajectories in the presence of perturbations. Some examples of applications of the theory and results of numerical simulations are reported.     

Optimization of evaporative fluid coolersOptimisation des refroidisseurs de liquide évaporatifs

In the paper the optimization of geometrical and operating parameters for evaporative fluid coolers has been presented. The algorithm of optimizational calculations contains:

• the mathematical model of heat and mass transfer in evaporative fluid coolers;

• model of operating costs based, among others, on the Zalewski–Gryglaszewski relations developed by the authors for evaluation of air pressure drops in the heat exchanger;

• model of evaporative heat exchangers production costs.

Optimization problem formulated for non-linear objective functions with inequality and equality constraints has been solved using Schittkowski's method based on quadratic programming. Two optimization problems have been considered. A solution to the first problem consists in the design of a heat exchanger with such geometrical parameters which ensure its maximum heat capacity at minimal total costs. A result to the second optimization problem are such thermal and flow parameters which will ensure minimum operating costs.The results of optimization calculations presented in the paper are accompanied by their experimental verification.     

The EuQoS system: a solution for QoS routing in heterogeneous networks [Quality of Service based Routing Algorithms for Heterogeneous Networks]

EuQoS is the acronym for "end-to-end quality of service support over heterogeneous networks", which is a European research project aimed at building an entire QoS framework, addressing all the relevant network layers, protocols, and technologies. This framework, which includes the most common access networks (xDSL, UMTS, WiFi, and LAN) is being prototyped and tested in a multidomain scenario throughout Europe, composing what we call the EuQoS system. In this article we present the novel QoS routing mechanisms that are being developed and evaluated in the framework of this project. The preliminary performance results validate the design choices of the EuQoS system, and confirm the potential impact this project is likely to have in the near future     

The use of Path Tracking Method for determining the tortuosity field in a porous bed

The article is related to a computational method of obtaining the geometric tortuosity in granular beds, i.e. polydisperse beds consisting of spherical or quasi-spherical particles, freely distributed in the 3D space. The main aim is to show a new way of calculating two-dimensional tortuosity distribution in the plane perpendicular to the chosen direction in the space (interpreted as the main flow direction) by the use of own computational algorithm, the so-called Path Tracking Method (PTM). This way links the ability of the PTM to analyze relatively large granular beds due to low demand for computing power and the possibility of obtaining the tortuosity distribution in the space. Although this distribution is only 2D (there is only one value for every discrete point in the plane perpendicular to the main flow direction), it may be useful for estimation of the local pressure drops in fluid flows through granular bed. To reach the aim, the PTM has been improved and its application here is shown in a new context.     

Positive real control of two-dimensional systems: Roesser models and linear repetitive processes

This paper considers the problem of positive real control for two-dimensional (2-D) discrete systems described by the Roesser model and also discrete linear repetitive processes, which are another distinct sub-class of 2-D linear systems of both systems theoretic and applications interest. The purpose of this paper is to design a dynamic output feedback controller such that the resulting closed-loop system is asymptotically stable and the closed-loop system transfer function from the disturbance to the controlled output is extended strictly positive real. We first establish a version of positive realness for 2-D discrete systems described by the Roesser state space model, then a sufficient condition for the existence of the desired output feedback controllers is obtained in terms of four LMIs. When these LMIs are feasible, an explicit parameterization of the desired output feedback controllers is given. We then apply a similar approach to discrete linear repetitive processes represented in their equivalent 1-D state-space form. Finally, we provide numerical examples to demonstrate the applicability of the approach.     

Extruded tellurite glass optical fiber preforms

The extrusion behavior of tellurite glass in the supercooled liquid region was investigated. Good extrusion formability was observed under low strain rates at various temperatures in the glass transformation region investigated. Tube and holey fiber (HF) preforms were fabricated from tellurite glass billets using a laboratory press. In particular, the results for three-spoke HF design and round tube preforms with composition 75TeO₂·20ZnO·5Na₂O (TZN) are presented. The extruded preforms with precise geometrical features, an excellent surface quality and no crystallization were achieved in the temperatures range from 344 to 360 °C and at ram speeds ranging from 0.002 to 0.01 mm/s. Discrete shear bands were observed in the preforms, increasing in number and/or becoming better defined with increasing load and ram speed. Fewer shear bands were present when increasing the extrusion temperature from 344 to 360 °C. Thus, subsequent extrudates were successfully fabricated free of shear bands, providing good optical homogeneity that yielded solid and holey fibers that could provide much improved optical performance.     

Methods for constraint violation suppression in the numerical simulation of constrained multibody systems – A comparative study

Multibody systems are frequently modeled as constrained systems, and the arising governing equations incorporate the closing constraint equations at the acceleration level. One consequence of accumulation of integration truncation errors is the phenomenon of violation of the lower-order constraint equations by the numerical solutions to the governing equations. The constraint drift usually tends to increase in time and may spoil reliability of the simulation results. In this paper a comparative study of three methods for constraint violation suppression is presented: the popular Baumgarte’s constraint violation stabilization method, a projective scheme for constraint violation elimination, and a novel scheme patterned after that proposed recently by Braun and Goldfarb [D.J. Braun, M. Goldfarb, Eliminating constraint drift in the numerical simulation of constrained dynamical systems, Comput. Meth. Appl. Mech. Engrg., 198 (2009) 3151–3160]. The methods are confronted with respect to simplicity in applications, numerical effectiveness and influence on accuracy of the constraint-consistent motion.