Stability of phases in （Ba,Gd）MnO3 solid solution system

The existing phases in BaxGd1-xMnO3 solid solution system （0≤x≤ 1） were studied by analyzing the detailed crystal structure of each composition from the results of the Rietveld method using powder X-ray diffraction data. For a small substitution of Ba for Gd （0≤x〈0. 1）, the orthorhombic phase with a perovskite type structure （Pnma space group） was stably formed and this fact was supported by the electron diffraction data. There existed an intermediate phase of Ba0.33Gd0.67MnO3, which was characterized as the tetragonal phase with perovskite structure. The composition range of this phase was narrow and almost line compound. Between the regions of these phases, there existed two-phase region. There was also a two-phase region between the intermediate tetragonal phase and BaMnO3. Measurement of electrical conductivities of these orthorhombic solid solutions and tetragonal phases showed semiconducting behaviors for both phases and the existence of the phase transition at high temperature for the orthorhombic phase, The transition temperature decreased as the Ba content increased.     

Iron ion-exchanged zeolite: the most active catalyst at 473 K for selective reduction of nitrogen monoxide by ethene in oxidizing atmosphere

Among various metal ion-exchanged zeolites, metal loading alumina, and oxides, iron ion-exchanged mordenite was the most active for the selective reduction of nitrogen monoxide to nitrogen by ethene in the presence of oxygen at the temperature as low as 473 K. The catalytic activities of iron ion-exchanged zeolites depended on the zeolite structure and the iron ion exchange level. The effects of the zeolite structure are in the order of MOR > FER > MFI > Y > LTL at 473 K. The activity of iron ion-exchanged mordenite increased with the increment in the exchange level and levelled off above about 60%.     

Computational complexity of randomized algorithms for solving parameter-dependent linear matrix inequalities

Randomized algorithms are proposed for solving parameter-dependent linear matrix inequalities and their computational complexity is analyzed. The first proposed algorithm is an adaptation of the algorithms of Polyak and Tempo [(Syst. Control Lett. 43(5) (2001) 343)] and Calafiore and Polyak [(IEEE Trans. Autom. Control 46 (11) (2001) 1755)] for the present problem. It is possible however to show that the expected number of iterations necessary to have a deterministic solution is infinite. In order to make this number finite, the improved algorithm is proposed. The number of iterations necessary to have a probabilistic solution is also considered and is shown to be independent of the parameter dimension. A numerical example is provided.     

An Improvement of Herbrand＇s Theorem and Its Application to Model Generation Theorem Proving

This paper presents an improvement of Herbrand＇s theorem. We propose a method for specifying a subuniverse of the Herbrand universe of a clause set S for each argument of predicate symbols and function symbols in S. We prove that a clause set S is unsatisfiable if and only if there is a finite unsatisfiable set of ground instances of clauses of S that are derived by only instantiating each variable, which appears as an argument of predicate symbols or function symbols, in S over its corresponding argument＇s sub-universe of the Herbrand universe of S. Because such sub-universes are usually smaller （sometimes considerably） than the Herbrand universe of S, the number of ground instances may decrease considerably in many cases. We present an algorithm for automatically deriving the sub-universes for arguments in a given clause set, and show the correctness of our improvement. Moreover, we introduce an application of our approach to model generation theorem proving for non-range-restricted problems, show the range-restriction transformation algorithm based on our improvement and provide examples on benchmark problems to demonstrate the power of our approach.     

I—SATCHMORE：An Improvement of A—SATCHMORE

This paper presents an improvement of A-SATCHMORE (SATCHMORE with Availability).A-SATCHMORE incorporates relevancy testing and availability checking into SATCHMO to prune away irrelevant forward chaining.However ,considering every consequent atom of those non-Horn clauses being derivable,A-SATCHMORE may suffer from a potential explosion of the search space when some of such consequent atoms are actually underivable.This paper introduces a solution for this problem and shows its correctness.     

Perfect and subperfect regulation in linear multivariable control systems

This paper is concerned with the synthesis of a high-gain feedback control, called perfect regulation (p.r.), for linear multivariable systems with external signals. The existence condition for p.r. is derived, in which the minimum phase property plays an essential role. The use of an observer is discussed for achieving p.r. under restricted state observation. Some asymptotically ideal feedback properties are demonstrated, such as the complete desensitization, the complete servo performance with decoupling and the complete disturbance rejection, which formulate the loop-tightness for multivariable systems. A design method for applying p.r. to non-minimum phase systems, called subperfect regulation (s.p.r.), is proposed based on the factorization of the plant transfer function matrix into the minimum phase part and the totally non-minimum phase part. It is a multivariable extension of a well-known design technique for scalar systems to overcome the difficulty of phase non-minimality. Computational procedures for p.r. and s.p.r. are discussed. An illustrative example is shown.     

Detection of oligosaccharides labeled with cyanine dyes using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

The sensitivity of oligosaccharides in mass spectrometry lags far behind that of peptides. This is a critical factor in realizing the high-throughput analysis of posttranslational modifications in proteomics. We here described that hydrazide derivatives of cyanine dyes (Cy3, Cy5) with a positive charge made excellent labeling reagents for the detection of oligosaccharides by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry. Cy3-labeled standard N-glycan could be detected at 200 amol on the MALDI target plate in reflectron mode without any purification procedures after the labeling reaction, which may meet the level of sensitivity required in proteome research. Despite the general recognition that the production of signals of oligosaccharides under MALDI conditions would be highly dependent on the matrix, most of the known N-glycans from chicken ovalbumin could be detected upon Cye derivatization nearly independent of the kind of matrix tested (e.g., nor-harman, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid and alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid) without spoiling the signal strength. Postsource decay afforded simple spectra mainly consisting of Y-type fragment ions, thus simplifying the sequence analysis. In-source decay afforded a similar fragmentation pattern only when acidic matrixes were used. In addition, this derivatization technique was successfully applied to the profiling of N-glycans of gel-separated glycoproteins.     

Microwave Dielectric Study on Water Structure and Physical Properties of Aqueous Systems Using Time Domain Reflectometry with Flat-End Cells

Microwave dielectric measurements were performed in the frequency range from 1 mHz up to 30 GHz using a time domain reflectometry (TDR) method for emulsions and gels. Flat-end sample cells have been used in the TDR measurement to contact a small spot of the surface of those viscoelastic and solid samples without any destruction. Relaxation processes due to various water structures were observed for these aqueous systems. Relaxation parameters thus obtained offer information about these water structures and amounts. The relaxation strength obtained from the high frequency process due to free water can be an adequate measure of water content in spite of some ambiguities for different water structures in some materials. Comparisons of actual water contents in emulsion with those estimated from the relaxation strength indicate that water structure is affected by the interaction between water and micelle. Unfreezable water observed in DNA gel under the freezing point consists of bound water and a fraction of free water. Bound water molecules are still unfreezable to keep the double helical structure of DNA, when the fraction of free water is frozen at lower temperatures. These water structures determine physical properties of moist materials. TDR measuring technique with the flat-end cell is effective to investigate water structures in viscoelastic moist materials and to evaluate physical properties and structures of complex molecular systems.     

Molecular Signatures of Natural Killer Cells in CMV-Associated Anterior Uveitis,A New Type of CMV-Induced Disease in Immunocompetent Individuals

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) causes clinical issues primarily in immune-suppressed conditions. CMV-associated anterior uveitis (CMV-AU) is a notable new disease entity manifesting recurrent ocular inflammation in immunocompetent individuals. As patient demographics indicated contributions from genetic background and immunosenescence as possible underlying pathological mechanisms, we analyzed the immunogenetics of the cohort in conjunction with cell phenotypes to identify molecular signatures of CMV-AU. Among the immune cell types, natural killer (NK) cells are main responders against CMV. Therefore, we first characterized variants of polymorphic genes that encode differences in CMV-related human NK cell responses (Killer cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptors (KIR) and HLA class I) in 122 CMV-AU patients. The cases were then stratified according to their genetic features and NK cells were analyzed for human CMV-related markers (CD57, KLRG1, NKG2C) by flow cytometry. KIR3DL1 and HLA class I combinations encoding strong receptor–ligand interactions were present at substantially higher frequencies in CMV-AU. In these cases, NK cell profiling revealed expansion of the subset co-expressing CD57 and KLRG1, and together with KIR3DL1 and the CMV-recognizing NKG2C receptor. The findings imply that a mechanism of CMV-AU pathogenesis likely involves CMV-responding NK cells co-expressing CD57/KLRG1/NKG2C that develop on a genetic background of KIR3DL1/HLA-B allotypes encoding strong receptor–ligand interactions.