Learning control in spatial coordinates for the path-following of autonomous vehicles

We prove the existence of a P-type (proportional-type) space-learning control, which, on the basis of a kinematic third order nonlinear model of an autonomous nonholonomic vehicle and by a proper choice of the proportional control gain, guarantees asymptotic tracking of planar curves whose uncertain curvature is L$L$-periodic in the curvilinear abscissa. The behavior of a human driver, who repetitively learns the correct action from the past experience in the space, is mathematically reproduced. A stability analysis is presented while simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented approach.     

Ion‐exchange resins. II. Acrylamide crosslinked copolymers as precursors for some ion exchangers

Crosslinked copolymers of acrylamide (AA) and ethylacrylate and some ion exchangers derived from them containing either primary amine groups, obtained by the Hofmann degradation of the amide groups, or carboxylic groups, obtained by the alkaline hydrolysis of the ester groups, were studied. Divinylbenzene and N,N′‐methylenebisacrylamide were used as crosslinkers. The starting copolymers and the corresponding ion exchangers were characterized by IR spectroscopy, swelling behavior, and thermogravimetric analysis. The ion‐exchanger properties were correlated with the crosslinker nature and the chemical reactions performed on the AA copolymers. The average molecular weight between two crosslinks, determined from the swelling data in water, was compared with that calculated on the basis of the copolymerization stoichiometry only for the carboxylic cation exchangers. In this way, the preservation of the crosslink density after the hydrolysis was revealed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 2701–2707, 2003     

Occurrence patterns of alien freshwater turtles in a large urban pond ‘Archipelago’ (Rome,Italy): Suggesting hypotheses on root causes

The patterns of the occurrence and distribution of alien freshwater turtle species in an urban pond archipelago (Rome, Italy) were analysed, with the aim of exploring the role of a set of factors (type of ponds, landscape context, size area, distance from the nearest road) with a generalized linear model approach. A total of 311 ponds subdivided in three types (fountains, small basins, lakes) embedded in different landscape contexts (public parks, private parks, urban areas) at differing distances from the nearest road were sampled. Six non‐native freshwater turtle species in 31 sites were recorded (9.97%). Lakes exhibited the highest occurrence rates of alien freshwater turtles, compared to small basins and fountains. Freshwater turtle species in urbanized areas were only observed in parks (both public and private). In both the public and private parks, the lakes exhibited the highest percentage of occupied sites, with fountains being the lowest. A direct and significant relationship was observed between pond size and species richness. The distance from the nearest road did not appear to affect species richness. A first interpretation of the data from this study facilitated the postulation of two a posteriori hypotheses that should be tested, as follows: (i) the causal process of turtle release is random, and the rate of extinction (and recapture) is higher in smaller ponds, thus producing the observed pattern; and (ii) the turtle release is not random, and people actively select the ponds they consider more suitable for their pet animals. In this study, it appears the lakes were perceived by those who abandon their pets as the most ecologically suitable habitats among other pond types to accommodate the different species of turtles. Knowledge of people's attitudes in regard to releasing pet animals also might assist managers of public green spaces to develop strategies aimed to preserve local biodiversity, and to educate the public about the conservation issue represented by the alien species.     

Carbohydrate type and amount alter intravascular processing and catabolism of plasma lipoproteins in guinea pigs

To test the effects of exchanging dietary complex and simple carbohydrate for fat calories on lipoprotein metabolism, guinea pigs were fed two different fat/carbohydrate ratios: 2.5∶58% (w/w) or 25∶29% (w/w) with either sucrose or starch as the carbohydrate source. Animals fed high-fat had higher plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and hepatic cholesterol concentrations than animals fed low-fat diets (P<0.01). The cholesteryl ester content per particle was higher, and the number of triacylglycerol (TAG) molecules was lower in very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and LDL from animals fed high-fat diets. Intake of high-fat/sucrose resulted in higher plasma LDL concentrations than intake of high-fat/starch, and animals fed low-fat/starch had the highest plasma TAG concentrations associated with VLDL particles containing more TAG molecules, as well as a TAG-enriched LDL. The activity of plasma lecithin cholesteryl:acyl transferase (LCAT) was highest in animals fed high-fat/sucrose, and heart lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity was higher in animals fed high-fat diets. Hepatic apoprotein B/E (apo B/E) receptor number (B_max) was increased 21% with low-fat diets (P<0.01). These results suggest that the hypercholesterolemia induced by high-fat and by sucrose intake are associated with a higher plasma LCAT activity which results in a cholesteryl ester-enriched VLDL which, by the action of LPL, might be more readily converted to LDL through the delipidation cascade leading to downregulation of hepatic apo B/E receptors. The hypertriglyceridemia associated with low-fat intake may result from increased production of VLDL TAG, which would explain the increased TAG content and the higher TAG/CE ratio of VLDL from animals fed the low-fat/starch diet.     

Good Enough is Good Enough: Overcoming Disaster Response Organizations’ Slow Social Media Data Adoption

Organizations that respond to disasters hold unreasonable standards for data arising from technology-enabled citizen contributions. This has strong negative potential for the ability of these responding organizations to incorporate these data into appropriate decision points. We argue that the landscape of the use of social media data in crisis response is varied, with pockets of use and acceptance among organizations. In this paper we present findings from interviews conducted with representatives from large international disaster response organizations concerning their use of social media data in crisis response. We found that emergency responders already operate with less than reliable, or “good enough,” information in offline practice, and that social media data are useful to responders, but only in specific crisis situations. Also, responders do use social media, but only within their known community and extended network. This shows that trust first begins with people and not data. Lastly, we demonstrate the barriers used by responding organizations have gone beyond discussions of trustworthiness and data quality to that of more operational issues.     

SIVR epidemic model with stochastic perturbation

We propose a stochastic disease model where vaccination is included and such that the immunity is permanent. The existence, uniqueness, and positivity of the solution and the stability of the disease-free equilibrium are studied.     

The influence of the preparing conditions of SiO2 supported Cp2ZrCl2 catalyst on ethylene polymerization

In this work, ethylene was polymerized by using Cp₂ZrCl₂ supported on silica pretreated with methylaluminoxane (MAO) as the catalyst system. The influence of the conditions for the preparation of the heterogeneous catalyst, such as temperature, washing method of the catalytic solid, MAO and metallocene concentration in the support treatment, time of MAO, and metallocene immobilization on the support, type of alkylaluminum used in the support pretreatment, and calcination temperature of the support were investigated. Aluminum and zirconium content fixed on the silica surface were determined by inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy. Polymer characteristics were determined by gel permeation chromatography and differential scanning calorimetry. According to the results, the activity of some supported catalysts were far higher than with the homogeneous system. Moreover, polyethylene with very high molecular weights were also obtained and with molecular weight distribution larger than those produced with the homogeneous precursor. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 2054–2061, 2002     

Effect of nonionic detergents on lipoxygenase catalysis

In many studies on lipoxygenase catalysis, nonionic detergents are used to obtain an optically transparent solution of the fatty acid substrate. In order to resolve some controversies that exist with regard to the interpretation of kinetic data obtained with solutions containing nonionic detergents, a systematic investigation was undertaken into the effects of Lubrol, Tween-20 and Triton X-100 (0–0.8 g/L) on the kinetics of linoleate (2.5–110 μM) dioxygenation, catalyzed by lipoxygenase-1 or lipoxygenase-2 from soybean, at pH 9 or 10, at 25°C. Under most conditions, it was found that the detergents slowed down the reaction. However, at high linoleate concentrations, where substrate inhibition of lipoxygenase is significant, small amounts of detergent increased the dioxygenation rate. In a quantitative analysis of the results, a kinetic model in which the incorporation of linoleate in the detergent micelles is formulated as a simple reversible equilibrium, and in which both lipoxygenase-1 and-2 interact with free linoleate, but not with linoleate incorporated in the micelles, appeared to be sufficient to predict experimental results over a wide range of experimental conditions. According to this model, the changes in the dioxygenation kinetics caused by the presence of nonionic detergents are similar (but not equal) to those caused by competitive inhibitors. The conclusions that monomeric, nonmicellar linoleate is the preferred substrate for lipoxygenase and that the observed inhibition and stimulation are solely due to changes in the effective linoleate concentration strongly corroborate the earlier observations by Galpin and Allen [Biochim. Biophys. Acta 488 (1977), 392–401].     

The effect of cooling rate on the impact performance and dynamic mechanical properties of rotationally molded metallocene catalyzed linear low density polyethylene

This article examines changes to the morphology of rotationally molded metallocene catalyzed linear low density polyethylene brought about by varying the cooling rate during processing. These changes in morphology lead to variations in the impact performance, which is reflected in the dynamic mechanical characteristics of the materials. Various analytical techniques are used in an attempt to explain the differences in impact behavior. Slow cooling is shown to result in high crystallinity, and in the formation of large spherulites, which in turn is detrimental to the impact performance of the material, particularly at low temperatures. The high crystallinity corresponds with a shift in the β transition of the material to a higher temperature, and is shown to result in a higher brittle–ductile transition. A case study was also carried out on samples from a finished part provided by an industrial molder, one section of which failed in a brittle manner when impact tested while the other failed in a ductile manner. Microscopy results showed that the brittle material had large spherulites at the inside surface, while the ductile material showed incipient degradation at this surface, which has previously been shown to be of benefit to impact strength in rotationally molded parts. Dynamic mechanical studies again showed a β transition at a higher temperature in the brittle samples. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 1963–1971, 2006     

Characterization of poly(diethoxyphosphazene) by size exclusion chromatography and viscometry

Two samples of poly(diethoxyphosphazene) (PDEP) having very different molecular weights have been studied by viscometry and size exclusion chromatography in THF solution. The results obtained, together with light scattering data of these samples, allow the calculation of the Mark-Houwink constants a=0.65 and K=2.5 10^-4 in THF at 25°C. The method of calculation employed takes into account the great polydispersity of the samples. The characteristic ratio of the unperturbed dimensions was also calculated giving C_n = r²_o/n² 18, a value slightly higher than those previously reported for poly(dihexoxyphosphazene), C_n13 and poly (dichlorophosphazene), C_n13.5.