Identification of task model using piecewise affine systems with variable switching points and its application

This paper considers a human‐operated task model based on identification techniques using switched systems expressed by mixed logical dynamical systems. In the system, each subsystem is expressed by a piecewise affine system. For a model to be identified, it is not easy to determine a number of subsystems in advance. In this paper, we propose a simultaneous identification technique which takes into account both a number of subsystems and parameters, so that a piecewise affine model of a human operation can be obtained. In addition, the obtained model is applied to automation. The effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated by simulations and experiments. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 176(1): 46–54, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21079     

Influence of lipase and/or emulsifier addition on the ileal and faecal nutrient digestibility in growing pigs fed diets containing 4% animal fat

Information on the addition of lipase and/or emulsifiers to less digestible or saturated fat sources, such as tallow or other animal fats, used in swine feeding is very limited. Therefore, in a 4 × 4 Latin square design, the effects of adding lipase (0.05% L5, microbial source) and/or an emulsifier (0.3% Lysoforte) on the apparent ileal (AID) and faecal (AFD) digestibility of the main nutrients and fatty acids in particular were studied with four ileal‐cannulated growing pigs (female, initial live weight 20 kg) fed diets containing barley/soybean meal supplemented with 4% animal fat. The fat source contained 35% saturated (S) and 65% unsaturated (U) fatty acids. All diets were free of antibacterial substances (antibiotics, copper sulphate or zinc oxide beyond requirements), in order to avoid interactions between the parameters studied and the gut flora. Lipase addition did not affect the AID or AFD of fat. However, the digestibility of minor fatty acids (C6:0, C14:0) was significantly improved by lipase at both ileal and faecal level. On the other hand, lipase supplementation (P < 0.05) improved the AID of dry matter (DM) and energy as well as the AFD of DM, organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), ash and energy. Addition of an emulsifier did not have any significant influence on the AID or AFD of fat, while the AID values of DM, OM, CP and energy as well as the AFD values of DM, OM, CP and ash were significantly (P < 0.05) improved. Adding lipase in combination with an emulsifier to the diets decreased (P < 0.05) the AID and AFD of fat, with minor effects on the AID and AFD of the non‐fat components of the diet. The lack of improvement in the digestion of fat by exogenous lipase and/or emulsifier may be related to the rather high U/S ratio (0.65:0.35) of the animal fat source used and to the mode of incorporation of the emulsifier (no pre‐dispersion in the fat source). Furthermore, during the trial the diets, stored at room temperature, showed a steady increase in their content of free fatty acids (to more than 700 g kg^?1 fat), due to endogenous lipase activity, leaving less room for upgrading the digestion of animal fat by exogenous lipase and/or emulsifier. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

外源蛋白对大豆油脂体稳定性的影响

通过水提法辅助去离子水洗涤或碱液洗涤,从大豆中分别提取得到富含外源蛋白的粗油脂体（crude oil bodies,COB）和几乎不含外源蛋白的纯油脂体（purified oil bodies,POB）,考察不同环境因素（pH值、Na＋浓度和热处理温度）对COB和POB稳定性的影响,以及油脂体的流变学特性。结果表明：大豆POB中蛋白主要成分为油体蛋白,而COB中除油体蛋白外还含有大量外源蛋白,主要包括大豆球蛋白和β-伴大豆球蛋白。相比于POB（平均粒径（475.06±4.49）nm和Zeta电位（－14.00±1.86）mV）,外源蛋白的存在导致COB具有较高的平均粒径（（552.93±9.40）nm）和较低的Zeta电位（（－35.03±0.60）mV）。大豆COB中蛋白等电点在pH 4.5左右,此pH值也接近大豆球蛋白和β-伴大豆球蛋白等电点,而大豆POB中蛋白等电点位于pH 5.5左右。在不同pH值和Na＋浓度下,大豆POB较COB具有更好的稳定性,这可能是由于大豆COB中外源蛋白的存在使其更易受环境影响而产生静电和疏水作用的改变,从而降低其稳定性,而不同热处理温度对大豆COB和POB稳定性影响不大。此外,大豆COB和POB均具有剪切稀化特性,但COB的黏度高于POB,这进一步证明了外源蛋白的存在对大豆油脂体加工性能的影响,为不同油脂体的产品研发提供思路。     

Contextual effects on reading aloud: Evidence for pathway control.

Recent evidence suggests that the processes responsible for generating a phonological code from print are flexible in skilled readers. An important goal, therefore, is to identify the conditions that lead to changes in how a phonological code is computed. Five experiments are reported that examine whether phonological processes change as predicted by the pathway control hypothesis when reading aloud words and nonwords. Changes in reading processes were assessed by measuring the effect of predictable switches between stimulus categories across trials. The results of the present experiments are argued to be consistent with the pathway control hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optimal portfolio selection in a Lévy market with uncontrolled cash flow and only risky assets

This article considers an investor who has an exogenous cash flow evolving according to a Lévy process and invests in a financial market consisting of only risky assets, whose prices are governed by exponential Lévy processes. Two continuous-time portfolio selection problems are studied for the investor. One is a benchmark problem, and the other is a mean-variance problem. The first problem is solved by adopting the stochastic dynamic programming approach, and the obtained results are extended to the second problem by employing the duality theory. Closed-form solutions of these two problems are derived. Some existing results are found to be special cases of our results.     

Fluctuation of Global Gene Expression by Endogenous miRNA Response to the Introduction of an Exogenous miRNA

Most of the intracellular endogenous microRNAs (endo-miRNAs) are considered to be saturated in Argonaute (Ago) proteins in the RNA-induced silencing complexes (RISCs). When exogenous miRNAs (exo-miRNAs) are introduced into cells, endo-miRNAs in the RISC may be replaced with exo-miRNAs or exo-miRNAs, and endo-miRNAs might also compete for the position in the newly synthesized RISC with each other. This would lead to the fluctuation of global gene expression not only by repression of exo-miRNA target gene expression, but also by the increase of the endo-miRNA target gene expression. In the present study, we quantified the changes in the expression levels of target genes of exo-miRNA and endo-miRNA in the cells transfected with fifteen different exo-miRNAs by microarray experiments. Different exo-miRNAs increased ratios of expression levels of target genes of a given endo-miRNA to different extents, suggesting that the replacement efficiencies might differ according to the exo-miRNA types. However, the increased ratios in the expression levels of each endo-miRNA target genes by the transfection of any particular exo-miRNA were mostly equivalent, suggesting that the endo-miRNAs present in the RISC might be replaced with excessive exo-miRNAs at similar levels, probably because they exist in single-stranded forms in the RISC.     

Orientation ordering of boundary layers and lubricity of oils

A computer model of the adsorption process of lube oil molecules on friction surfaces reveals that carbon monocrystalline coatings with a strongly orientating effect promote the level of molecular orientation in boundary layers contrary to the amorphous ones because there is no essential orientating effect on these layers. The results of lab tribological tests of carbon coatings deposited on steel surfaces in some model oils corroborate that the coatings with a higher level of orientation ability yield better lube properties.     

Amygdala Central Nucleus Function Is Necessary for Learning, but Not Expression, of Conditioned Auditory Orienting.

In Pavlovian appetitive conditioning, rats often acquire 2 classes of conditioned responses: those whose form is determined by the reinforcer, and those whose form is determined by characteristics of the conditioned stimulus (CS). Consistent with the results of previous lesion studies, reversible inactivation of amygdala central nucleus function during pairings of an auditory CS with food prevented the acquisition of conditioned orienting responses specific to auditory CSs, whereas food-related conditioned behaviors were acquired normally. Neither inactivation nor posttraining neurotoxic lesions of the central nucleus affected the expression of previously acquired conditioned orienting. Thus, although the central nucleus is critical to the acquisition of information required for conditioned orienting to auditory cues, it is not needed for maintaining this information for later use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

外源信号物质对肉苁蓉种子萌发体的影响研究

肉苁蓉（Cistanche deserticola Y.C.Ma）是沙生根寄生植物。采用激光扫描共聚焦显微镜（LSCM）,对种子经外源信号物质氟草敏（Norflurazon）、2,6-二甲氧基对苯醌（DMBQ）处理后萌发产生的类胚根状体、初生吸器的细胞形态;Ca2＋浓度、囊泡运输的变化情况进行了观察研究。结果表明,肉苁蓉种子萌发产生的类胚根状体顶部的细胞为多面体,细胞小,排列紧密,内含物较多,中部大多为长方形薄壁细胞,内含物少;经DMBQ处理后类胚根状体细胞的钙离子浓度升高,囊泡运输加强。研究结果为揭示外源信号物质对肉苁蓉寄生影响提供了理论依据。