Outdoor attractancy of males ofMatsucoccus josephi (Homoptera: Matsucoccidae) andElatophilus hebraicus (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) to synthetic female sex pheromone ofMatsucoccus josephi

The active component of the sex pheromone ofMatsucoccus josephi is (2E,6E,8E)-5,7-dimethyl-2,6,8-decatrien-4-one; the chemical is also a powerful kairomone of adult males and females of the bugElatophilus hebraicus the principal predator ofM. josephi. The presence of theZ isomer (2E,6Z,8E)-5,7-dimethyl-2,6,8-decatrien-4-one does not interfere with the attractancy of the activeE component forM. josephi males or the bug. Our results show a clear dose-response between trap catch ofM. josephi males andE. hebraicus. Conversely, increasing amounts of theZ isomer in the mixture did not affect the attraction of the scale insect males or the bug. The catch ofM. josephi males did not differ significantly among traps of different color, and was significantly higher with traps attached to the tree trunk than those suspended between trees. Comparison of the catch ofM. josephi among the three forests and between pine species suggests that the level of infestation ofPinus halepepsis andPinus brutia ssp.brutia is similar, despite the fact that the latter pine is resistant to the scale insect. Both sexes ofE. hebraicus were trapped in much lower numbers at the more infested sites. This may be related to interference with the activity ofE. hebraicus due to deterioration and drying of parts of the tree crowns and heavy colonization by generalist predators in injured trees.     

Role of primary and secondary protein structure in neurotransmitter receptor activation mechanisms

A proton transfer triggered by a ligand interacting with thereceptor had been suggested as the initial step in the activationof a receptor for the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxy-tryptamine;5-HT). To evaluate the role of the receptor macromolecule inmodulating the primary molecular event in ligand-mediated activation,the process of proton transfer was analysed in the environmentof a protein model for the 5-HT receptor. In the absence ofa detailed receptor structure, the enzyme actinidin was chosenas the model for the receptor based on criteria obtained fromstructure-activity considerations on the ligands. The firstsimulation of a mechanism for receptor activation was performedon this model using methods of theoretical chemistry to studythe effect of specific structural elements. The premise is thatthe role of the elements of secondary structure of soluble proteins(e.g. actinidin) in determining structure-function relationsin these macromolecules is maintained when these elements arepart of membrane-bound receptor proteins. Results from the calculationsof the effects of the six alpha helices of actinidin on theproton transfer process from the imidazolium side chain of His162 to the thiol side chain of Cys 25 in the protein show thatthe helices contribute in different ways to modulate the energyof proton transfer. The largest helix, Al, opposes the protontransfer through the effect of the helix dipole. The chargedresidues (primary structure) in helix A3 favor the proton transfer,and mask the effect of its helix dipole (secondary structure)which opposes the transfer. The direction of the proton transfersimulated for the activation mechanism is opposite to that assumedin the catalytic process of the thiol protease, and the entireprotein environment opposes the transfer. This supports thespecific role of the ligand in triggering the proton transferas a response to its binding.     

On tracing reactive systems

We present a rich and highly dynamic technique for analyzing, visualizing, and exploring the execution traces of reactive systems. The two inputs are a designer’s inter-object scenario-based behavioral model, visually described using a UML2-compliant dialect of live sequence charts (LSC), and an execution trace of the system. Our method allows one to visualize, navigate through, and explore, the activation and progress of the scenarios as they “come to life” during execution. Thus, a concrete system’s runtime is recorded and viewed through abstractions provided by behavioral models used for its design, tying the visualization and exploration of system execution traces to model-driven engineering. We support both event-based and real-time-based tracing, and use details-on-demand mechanisms, multi-scaling grids, and gradient coloring methods. Novel model exploration techniques include semantics-based navigation, filtering, and trace comparison. The ideas are implemented and tested in a prototype tool called the Tracer.     

Modeling and verification of a telecommunication application using live sequence charts and the Play-Engine tool

We apply the scenario-based approach to modeling, via the language of live sequence charts (LSCs) and the Play-Engine tool to a real-world complex telecommunication service, . It allows a user to call for help from a doctor, the fire brigade, a car maintenance service, etc. These kinds of services are built on top of an embedded platform, using both new and existing service components, and their complexity stems from their distributed architecture, the various time constraints they entail, and their rapidly evolving underlying systems. A well known problem in this class of telecommunication applications is that of feature interaction, whereby a new feature might cause problems in the execution of existing features. Our approach provides a methodology for high-level modeling of telecommunication applications that can help in detecting feature interaction at early development stages. We exhibit the results of applying the methodology to the specification, animation and formal verification of the Depannage service.

Synthesis from scenario-based specifications

We consider the problem of the automatic generation of reactive systems from specifications given in the scenario-based language of live sequence charts (LSCs). We start by extending the language so that it becomes more suitable for synthesis. We then translate a system specification given in the language into a two-player game between the system and the environment. By solving the game, we generate a winning strategy for the system, which corresponds to a correct implementation of the specification. We also define two notions of system correctness, and show how each can be synthesized.     

Experimental validation of a type-2 fuzzy logic controller for energy management in hybrid electrical vehicles

The aim of this paper is to present experimental validation results of an energy management system for hybrid electrical vehicles based on type-2 fuzzy logic. The energy management system (EMS) is designed by extracting knowledge from several experts using surveys. The consideration of interval type-2 fuzzy sets enables modeling the uncertainty in the answers of the experts. The validation of the EMS is performed on a real-scale heavy duty vehicle equipped with different energy sources such as batteries, fuel cell system and ultracapacitors. Experimental results are strong evidence that type-2 fuzzy logic is wide adapted for performing the energy management in hybrid electrical vehicles.     

Influence of the key parameters on the dynamic behavior of the hydrogen absorption by LaNi5

The optimal design of hydride tanks is a major technological issue for the rapid development of this technology. In this paper, a two-dimensional model of a closed metal–hydrogen reactor is presented. The temperature and the pressure temporal evolutions within the reactor as a function of time are reported. In order to determine the parameters to optimize a fast kinetic and optimal heat exchange, the impact of the supply pressure, the porosity and the dynamic viscosity have been studied. The results show that the effect of these parameters are key-factors for an optimized tank design.     

Design and nonlinear servo control of MEMS mirrors and their performance in a large port-count optical switch

In this paper, we demonstrate full closed-loop control of electrostatically actuated double-gimbaled MEMS mirrors and use them in an optical cross-connect. We show switching times of less than 10 ms and optical power stability of better than 0.2 dB. The mirrors, made from 10-/spl mu/m-thick single-crystal silicon and with a radius of 400-450 /spl mu/m, are able to tilt to 8/spl deg/ corresponding to 80% of touchdown angle. This is achieved using a nonlinear closed-loop control algorithm, which also results in a maximum actuation voltage of 85 V, and a pointing accuracy of less than 150 /spl mu/rad. This paper will describe the MEMS mirror and actuator design, modeling, servo design, and measurement results.     

On the Complexity of Verifying Concurrent Transition Systems

In implementation verification, we check that an implementation is correct with respect to a specification by checking whether the behaviors of a transition system that models the program's implementation correlate with the behaviors of a transition system that models its specification. In this paper, we investigate the effect of concurrency on the complexity of implementation verification. We consider trace-based and tree-based approaches to the verification of concurrent transition systems, with and without fairness. Our results show that in almost all cases the complexity of the problem is exponentially harder than that of the sequential case. Thus, as in the model-checking verification methodology, the state-explosion problem cannot be avoided.