VON-FOERSTER'S CONJECTURE—TRIVIAL MACHINES AND ALIENATION IN SYSTEMS

In this paper, we demonstrate how the proper modelling of general systems allows us to address the question of how the actions of many independent but inter-connected agents contribute to a global behaviour. In particular, we apply the techniques of information theory to probabilistic automata to formalize and prove what has come to be known as the ?Von-Foerster conjecture”.

In the first part of this paper we describe Von-Foerster's conjecture in its historical context. In the second part we restate it using formal definitions and we prove it.     

Agar-Gel Immunodiffusion Test for Rapid Identification of Pollock Surimi in Raw Meat Products

A test for the rapid identification of raw pollock surimi (TRIPS) was developed. This was an adaptation of previously developed field screening agar-gel immunodiffusion tests for speciation of meat products. It was specific for Alaska pollock surimi at 2% concentration and other surimis at higher concentrations, showed detectable sensitivity to surimi in meat at 2–4%, and was 100% accurate in detection in laboratory trials.     

THE EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON MICROBIAL GROWTH IN ORANGE JUICE

Model functions were fitted (correlation coefficient [r], from 0.9258 to 0.9999) to the experimental microbial growth data in orange juice stored at 0, 4, 10 and 15C. The models predicted a microbial population of about 5.3 log cfu/mL after 15.5 days (0C) and that it would take 12.7 days to reach a microbial population of 6.0 log cfu/mL (4C). The first derivative of the microbial growth model function (10C) indicated a growth rate of about 0.5 log cfu/mL/day (day 1). The lag phase period at 0 and 4C was 9.5 and 2.8 days, respectively. The shelf life of orange juice (time to reach 6 log cfu/mL) determined experimentally was 17.9, 12.7 and 3 days and 10 h at 0, 4, 10 and 15C, respectively. Three shelf‐life predictive models were developed (r = from 0.9436 to 0.9999). The predictions of shelf life by the “algebraic” model were identical to those determined experimentally. This was also true for the relative rate of spoilage (RRS) model at 0 and 15C. On the other hand, the RRS model underestimated the shelf life of orange juice at 4 and 10C. The modified exponential model overestimated (at 0, 10 and 15C) and underestimated (at 4C) the shelf life of orange juice. An Arrhenius “split” plot with a break point at 7.6C depicted the effect of temperature on the rate of development of microbial generations. The absolute value of the slope of each portion, of the Arrhenius plot, above and below the break point was 12.5 and 4.5, respectively. The slope of the Arrhenius slope for the temperature range below the break point (7.6C) indicated a slower microbial growth.     

Antibacterial Effect of Tertiary Butylhydroquinone Against Two Genera of Gram Positive Cocci

The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) against Pediococcus pentosaceus in a bacteriological medium was 15 μg/ml for 10³ to 10⁵ cells/ml and 20 μg/ml for 10⁶ cells/ml. Heat stress and sodium chloride were each synergistic to the inhibitory effect of TBHQ. Production of both L and D lactic acid was inhibited by TBHQ. Fermentation of sucrose was totally inhibited by 5 μg/ml TBHQ as compared to 10 μg/ml TBHQ for L-arabinose, D-galactose and maltose and to 15 μg/ml TBHQ for glucose. TBHQ (50 μg/ml) did not inhibit growth of 1.2 × 10³ cells of S. aureus z-88, but 30 μg/ml totally inhibited growth of 3.0 × 10³ cells of S. aureus 100 for 36 hr. TBHQ (100 μg/ml) was bactericidal against the latter strain. TBHQ (10–50 μg/ml) slightly inhibited production of nonheat treated nuclease but had little or no effect on heat treated nuclease of S. aureus z-88.     

Optimal flow path design of unidirectional AGV systems

This paper describes an alternative formulation of the AGV flow path layout (FPL) problem which was first formulated by Gaskins and Tanchoco (1987) as a zero-one integer programming problem. A computationally efficient procedure is proposed which is based on the branch-and-bound technique. An algorithm for satisfying the reachability condition for nodes in the AGV flow path network is also presented. A simple illustrative example is discussed to demonstrate the procedure, and a more complex problem is also given.     

Polygon plate-cutting with a given order

This note is a complement to the paper by Hoeft and Palekar [1] which describes the problem of cutting polygonal shapes from large plates of metal or glass. More specifically, we focus on polynomial time solvability for a number of subproblems of the more general plate-cutting problem. A primary result of this note is the polynomial time solvability for the plalecutting problem with a given order and convex polygons.