Unknown input observer for state affine systems: A necessary and sufficient condition

The problem of designing an unknown input observer for linear systems and its application to fault detection is widely studied in the literature. For nonlinear systems, only subclasses of nonlinear systems and sufficient conditions have been stated. In this paper an unknown input observer design for state affine systems is considered. Based on the geometric approach, a necessary and sufficient condition is given for the existence of an unknown input observer.     

Building ubiquitous QoC-aware applications through model-driven software engineering

As every-day mobile devices can easily be equipped with multiple sensing capabilities, ubiquitous applications are expected to exploit the richness of the context information that can be collected by these devices in order to provide the service that is the most appropriate to the situation of the user. However, the design and implementation of such context-aware ubiquitous appplications remain challenging as there exist very few models and tools to guide application designers and developers in mastering the complexity of context information. This becomes even more crucial as context is by nature imperfect. One way to address this issue is to associate to context information meta-data representing its quality. We propose a generic and extensible design process for context-aware applications taking into account the quality of context (QoC). We demonstrate its use on a prototype application for sending flash sale offers to mobile users. We present extensive performance results in terms of memory and processing time of both elementary context management operations and the whole context policy implementing the Flash sale application. The cost of adding QoC management is also measured and appears to be limited to a few milliseconds. We show that a context policy with 120 QoC-aware nodes can be processed in less than 100 ms on a mobile phone. Moreover, a policy of almost 3000 nodes can be instantiated before exhausting the resources of the phone. This enables very rich application scenarios enhancing the user experience and will favor the development of new ubiquitous applications.     

Free poset algebras and combinatorics of cones

In Free poset Boolean algebra F(P ), uniqueness of normal form of non-zero elements is proved and the notion of support of a non-zero element is, therefore, well defined. An Inclusion–Exclusion-like formula is given by defining, for each non-zero element x, using support of x ∈F(P ) in a very natural way.      

On the transformation of nonlinear dynamical systems into the extended nonlinear observable canonical form

This article deals with the transformation of a class of nonlinear systems into an extended nonlinear observable canonical form (ENOCF) by dynamic extension. The dynamic extension is obtained by adding auxiliary dynamics and virtual outputs to the original system, thus giving rise to a higher dimensional system in an extended state space. Sufficient geometrical conditions to guarantee the existence of a local diffeomorphism which allow the transformation of the extended system into the ENOCF are given. In particular, an algorithm that permits us to compute such a diffeomorphism is derived.     

Anisotropie des proprietes electriques de l'oxyde de fer Fe2O3α

The electrical conductivity and the thermoelectric power of trivalent iron oxide α-Fe₂O₃, studied in the crystallographic plane (001) and along the [001] axis, have shown typical anisotropic behaviour.In the same material, the existence of two electronic transitions at 2.14 and 2.50 eV respectively has been found after optical absorption measurements.At high temperature (T > 1020 K) the electrical conductivity has an essentially intrinsic origin, and is practically independent of the oxygen pressure, while the extrinsic contribution predominates below 720 K.According to the model developped for the interpretation of the above experimental results, the peculiar behaviour of the electrical conductivity results from variations in the mobility of the carriers, depending on the electronic levels they are likely to occupy. These levels were identified as the results of a split in the t_2g orbitals of iron under the influence of the rhombohedral. distortion of the crystal field.Furthermore, the anisotropy of mobility is strongly dependent on the magnetic order below Néel temperature.

Résumé

L'étude de la conductivité électrique et du pouvoir thermoélectrique de l'oxyde de fer Fe₂O₃α, effectuée selon la direction cristallographique [001] et dans le plan (001), a révélé une grande anisotropie de comportement. Sur le même matériau des mesures d'absorption optique ont montré l'existence de deux transitions électroniques, à 2,14 et 2,50 eV respectivement.Prenant en compte l'ensemble de ces résultats un modèle a été proposé pour expliquer les propriétés du matériau à diverses températures et sous différentes pressions partielles d'oxygène.A température élevée (T > 1020 K) la conductivité électrique, pratiquement indépendante de la pression d'oxygène, est à forte dominante intrinsèque. En revanche, à basse température (T < 720 K), la conductivité est d'origine extrinsèque.La diversité des mécanismes de conduction observés peut s'expliquer par l'existence de porteurs dont la mobilité varie suivant les niveaux d'énergie qu'ils occupent. Ces niveaux résultent de l'éclatement des orbitales t_2g du fer dû à la distorsion rhomboédrique du champ cristallin.Les mobilités anisotropes sont fortement affectées par l'ordre magnétique au-dessous de la température de Néel.     

Removal of metal ions in aqueous solutions by organic polymers: use of a polydiphenylamine resin

Adsorption of Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions on a polydiphenylamine resin prepared at a strongly oxidizing controlled potential of 3.2 V (vs. ECS) was studied in aqueous solutions. The optimum sorption conditions were determined. The optimum pH for the removal of metal ions was between 4 and 6 for Ni(II), 6 for Cu(II) and Pb(II) and 5 for Zn(II) and Cd(II). The total sorption capacity of the resin was 57.3 mg g⁻¹ for Ni(II), 23 mg g⁻¹ for Cu(II), 36.9 mg g⁻¹ for Zn(II), 19 mg g⁻¹ for Pb(II) and 24.5 mg g⁻¹ for Cd(II). The sorption capacity was compared with other conventional chelating polymers. The sorption kinetics was fairly rapid, as apparent from the loading half time (t_1/2) values, indicating a better accessibility of the chelating sites. The study of the selectivity of the metal ions in the binary solutions shows that the resin presents a higher affinity for the ions of nickel (II).     

Incidence structures and Stone–Priestley duality

We observe that if R: = (I,ρ, J) is an incidence structure, viewed as a matrix, then the topological closure of the set of columns is the Stone space of the Boolean algebra generated by the rows. As a consequence, we obtain that the topological closure of the collection of principal initial segments of a poset P is the Stone space of the Boolean algebra Tailalg (P) generated by the collection of principal final segments of P, the so-called tail-algebra of P. Similar results concerning Priestley spaces and distributive lattices are given. A generalization to incidence structures valued by abstract algebras is considered.      

A DNA microarray for fission yeast: minimal changes in global gene expression after temperature shift

Completion of the fission yeast genome sequence has opened up possibilities for post-genomic approaches. We have constructed a DNA microarray for genome-wide gene expression analysis in fission yeast. The microarray contains DNA fragments, PCR-amplified from a genomic DNA template, that represent > 99% of the 5000 or so annotated fission yeast genes, as well as a number of control sequences. The GenomePRIDE software used attempts to design similarly sized DNA fragments corresponding to gene regions within single exons, near the 3'-end of genes that lack homology to other fission yeast genes. To validate the design and utility of the array, we studied expression changes after a 2 h temperature shift from 25 degrees C to 36 degrees C, conditions widely used when studying temperature-sensitive mutants. Obligingly, the vast majority of genes do not change more than two-fold, supporting the widely held view that temperature-shift experiments specifically reveal phenotypes associated with temperature-sensitive mutants. However, we did identify a small group of genes that showed a reproducible change in expression. Importantly, most of these corresponded to previously characterized heat-shock genes, whose expression has been reported to change after more extreme temperature shifts than those used here. We conclude that the DNA microarray represents a useful resource for fission yeast researchers as well as the broader yeast community, since it will facilitate comparison with the distantly related budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To maximize the utility of this resource, the array and its component parts are fully described in On-line Supplementary Information and are also available commercially.