A pivot nonlinearity compensation by use of variable structure estimator for hard disk drives

This paper discusses robust seeking control of hard disk drives by the use of a variable structure multi-rate estimator (VSME). Compensation of pivot nonlinearity is one concern in the design of the seeking control, systems. Pivot nonlinearity is subject to uncertainties, and is difficult to deal with by a linear controller. The VSME estimates a class of uncertain disturbances and nonlinearities and yields compensation current through the linear feedback gain, which reduces the residual vibration and error during settling. Several experiments were carried out on several drives including a 3.5 in. 7,200 rpm drive. These experiments confirmed that the off-track probability after settling, which is defined by the number of seek failures over all trials, is much reduced to less than 1% when the drive is operated under a special temperature condition that increases pivot nonlinearity while the corresponding performance of a conventional linear controller is 12%. The seek failure is defined as the case when the position cannot be maintained within ±2.5% of a track pitch for a certain duration after track seeking mode.     

Design and testing of track-following controllers for dual-stage servo systems with PZT actuated suspensions

 This paper discusses the design and testing of two track-following controllers for dual-stage servo systems in hard disk drives. The first controller is designed using the μ-synthesis multivariable robust optimal controller design methodology. The second is designed using classical single-input-single-output (SISO) frequency shaping design techniques, based on sensitivity transfer functions decoupling of the dual-stage actuator. The controllers were implemented and tested on a disk drive with a PZT actuated suspension based dual-stage servo system. The position error signal (PES) for the servo system was obtained by measuring the slider displacement using an LDV and injecting simulated track runout. In the experiment, both designs achieved a track-mis-registration (TMR) less than 10 nm. Received: 25 July 2001/Accepted: 1 November 2001     

The implementation of a 2-core, multi-threaded itanium family processor

The design of the high end server processor code named Montecito incorporated several ambitious goals requiring innovation. The most obvious being the incorporation of two legacy cores on-die and at the same time reducing power by 23%. This is an effective 325% increase in MIPS per watt which necessitated a holistic focus on power reduction and management. The next challenge in the implementation was to ensure robust and high frequency circuit operation in the 90-nm process generation which brings with it higher leakage and greater variability. Achieving this goal required new methodologies for design, a greatly improved and tunable clock system and a better understanding of our power grid behavior all of which required new circuits and capabilities. The final aspect of circuit design improvement involved the I/O design for our legacy multi-drop system bus. To properly feed the two high frequency cores with memory bandwidth we needed to ensure frequency headroom in the operation of the bus. This was achieved through several innovations in controllability and tuning of the I/O buffers which are discussed as well.     

Flight controller design for uncertain and nonlinear plants with pilot compensation

Nonlinear quantitative feedback theory (QFT) is used to design a flight control system for the nonlinear model of the YF-16 aircraft (A/C) with C* as the controlled output. The resulting closed loop stability augmentation system (SAS), P_e(S), becomes part of the outer loop containing the pilot. The Neal-Smith pilot model for a compensatory tracking task is used to develop a technique which allows the designer to synthesize compensation in the outer loop, which includes a free compensator F_p(S). The latter is chosen to minimize pilot workload, increase system bandwidth, and improve handling qualities ratings as per the Neal–Smith criteria, for the tracking task. The available pilot compensation abilities are then available for further increasing of system bandwidth to improve overall capabilities. This approach can be used at the early stages of flight control design, thus saving time and money over the current practice. Simulations in the time and frequency domains demonstrate that the desired performance is attained.     

Solution structure of the heparin-binding domain of vascular endothelial growth factor

Tricorn protease was previously described as the core enzyme of a modular proteolytic system displaying multicatalytic activity. Here we elucidate the mode of cooperation between Tricorn and its interacting factors, and we identify two additional factors, F2 and F3, closely related aminopeptidases of 89 kDa. In conjunction with these three factors, Tricorn degrades oligopeptides in a sequential manner, yielding free amino acids. We have been able to reconstitute a proteolytic pathway comprising the proteasome, Tricorn, and its interacting factors, F1, F2, and F3, which converts proteins efficiently into amino acids. Therefore, it is quite likely that Tricorn also acts in vivo downstream of the proteasome and, in cooperation with its interacting factors, completes protein catabolic pathways.     

Swyer James syndrome following Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia: report of one case

Systemic vasculopathy in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 is rare. We describe a case of unusual cerebral and renal involvement in a young, 29-year-old patient, who died of a cerebral ischemic attack one year after our observation.     

Purification and partial characterization of candidate antidiuretic hormone water channel proteins of M(r) 55,000 and 53,000 from toad urinary bladder

Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) increases toad bladder granular cell apical membrane osmotic water permeability (Pf) by insertion of cytoplasmic vesicles containing water channels into the apical membrane. Termination of ADH stimulation results in endocytosis of water channel-containing membrane. In previous work, we have purified water channel-containing vesicles and demonstrated that they contain 12 major protein bands when analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). On the basis of vectorial labeling studies of granular cells and purified vesicles, we have proposed previously that vesicle proteins of 55, 53, and 17 kDa are ADH water channel components. In this report, we have purified and analyzed these three proteins using a combination of SDS-PAGE, peptide mapping, amino acid composition, and amino-terminal analyses. The 55- and 53-kDa proteins are distinct protein species possessing a high degree of structural similarity. Both possess a large content of cysteine. The 17-kDa protein appears to be a proteolytic fragment of the 53-kDa protein. None of these three proteins is phosphorylated or contains large amounts of covalently linked carbohydrate. ADH-elicited Pf is inhibited by the organic mercurial reagent fluorescein mercuric acetate (FMA). Exposure of water channel-containing vesicles to FMA labels selectively four vesicle proteins of 92, 55, 53, and 29 kDa while reducing vesicle Pf by 82%. The combination of FMA and 2-mercaptoethanol or exposure to another mercurial reagent, n-ethylmaleimide, does not inhibit vesicle Pf. Together, these data provide additional evidence for the role of the 55- and 53-kDa proteins as components of the ADH water channel. These candidate ADH water channel proteins are distinct from a 28-kDa candidate water channel protein (CHIP 28) isolated recently from human erythrocyte membranes and kidney proximal tubule by Agre and co-workers (Preston, G. M., Carroll, T. P., Guggino, W. B., and Agre, P. (1992) Science 256, 385-387).     

Motor function of the proximal stomach and visceral perception in gastro-oesophageal reflux disease

Oxytocin (OT) is present in the mammalian testis and has been shown to play a role in the modulation of seminiferous tubule contractility and steroidogenesis. However, stage-specific effects of the peptide have not been previously investigated. In this study, computer-assisted analysis and time-lapse videomicrography were used to investigate basal contractility and the response to OT of seminiferous tubules at specific stages of the spermatogenic cycle. Adult rat testes were placed in fresh oxygenated DMEM F12 medium, decapsulated, and the tubules gently teased apart. Stages were identified by transillumination and a 10 mm section of tubule at each of stages IV-V, VII-VIII and XIII-I was placed in a microslide chamber and perifused with medium. After a control period of 3 h, OT (2 nM) was given for 1 h, followed by another control period of 1 h. The experiment was repeated using tubules from different rats and data were analysed to give arbitrary units of tubule contractility. Contractility was observed in all the tubules studied and the contractile activity was shown to vary depending on the stage of the spermatogenic cycle. Mean basal contractility at stages VII-VIII, the time when sperm are shed from the epithelium, was significantly lower than that at stages IV-V and XIII-I. The response of the tubules to OT was also stage-dependent, with the peptide producing the largest increases in contractile activity at stages VII-VIII and having no effect at stages IV-V. We postulate that these stage-specific differences in basal and OT-stimulated contractility may be important in co-ordinating the movement of developing germ cells towards the lumen of the seminiferous epithelium and in the process of spermiation.