Closely Spaced Roots and Defectiveness in Second-Order Systems

When two closely spaced eigenvalues merge the associated eigenvectors can either (1) form a subspace where every vector in the span is an eigenvector or (2) coalesce into a single eigenvector. In the second alternative the repeated eigenvalue is associated with a bifurcation point in the eigenvector space and the system is said to be defective. In defective systems a set of coordinates that uncouple the dynamics does not exist and the closest thing possible is the basis of eigenvectors and generalized eigenvectors (sometimes called power vectors) that lead to the Jordan form. Although true defectiveness does not occur in practice, because eigenvalues are never exactly repeated, one anticipates that the features associated with defective conditions will have a bearing on the behavior of systems that are perturbed versions of defective ones. In viscously damped second order systems with symmetric matrices the potential for defectiveness is determined by the structure of the damping. This paper focuses on identification of conditions connecting the damping matrix with defectiveness. A numerical example of a two degree-of-freedom system that varies from being classically damped, to nonclassical, to defective, depending on the position of a dashpot, is used to illustrate the features of the eigensolution as defectiveness is approached.     

State Estimation in Structural Systems with Model Uncertainties

This paper presents an observer designed under the assumption that differences between predicted and measured outputs arise from discrepancies between the real structural system and the nominal model used to represent it. The observer gain is independent of the assumed model error parametrization and proves to be the transpose of the state to output matrix of a state space formulation. The estimated state with the proposed observer is shown to be identical to that obtained by exciting the nominal model with the known input while adjusting the measured portion of the state to match the measurements at the start of every step. Numerical experiments suggest that the proposed observer can provide state estimates that are substantially more accurate than results predicted by projecting the measurements in a truncated modal space.     

Model reference adaptive control with unknown relative degree

This work presents an indirect, model reference adaptive control for minimum phase linear systems of arbitrary relative degree. Global stability of the closed-loop system is proved in spite of bounded disturbances and asympotic tracking is achieved in the ideal case.     

Development of Wide-Spectrum Hybrid Bacteriocins for Food Biopreservation

The food industry demands new procedures and methods to produce minimally processed, ready to eat food with intact nutritional, taste, and flavor properties. The biopreservation and the use of both bacteriocins produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and bacteriocinogenic strains as an alternative to substitute chemical antimicrobial for food preservation became increasingly important in the last two decades. When the new proposed natural preservatives techniques are applied, probiotics food can be obtained and, simultaneously, foodborne pathogens and spoilage contaminants can diminish. However, bacteriocins produced by LAB have a narrow antibacterial spectrum and are inactive against Gram-negative bacteria like Salmonella and the emergent enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. Knowing the mechanism of action and the structural features of microcins synthesized by Gram-negative bacteria and with potent antimicrobial activity against the mentioned microorganism, the proposal is to obtain hybrid peptides (microcin–bacteriocin) with broad antimicrobial spectrum. This review explains how the inability of bacteriocins to cross the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria unable them to act on the bacteria. It will also be discussed how a hybrid bacteriocin can be obtained.     

Color evolution during a coating process of pharmaceutical tablet cores by random spraying

Placebo white tablet cores (lactose anhydrous [47.6%], corn starch [23.8%], microcrystalline cellulose [19.1%], polyvinylpyrrolidone [7.9%], magnesium stearate [0.8%], and talcum powder [0.8%]) were coated with a colorant (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose [8% w/v], titanium dioxide [0.2% w/v], FD&C yellow No. 6 with aluminum lacquer [0.8% w/v], polyethylene glycol 4000 [0.4% w/v], and purified water [q.s.p. 100 mL]) using a random spraying method during 130 minutes. During the coating process, batches of 21 samples were extracted every 10 minutes and measured with a DigiEye imaging system. The initial cores showed very similar and uniform colors (Mean Color Difference from the Mean [MCDM] of 0.8 CIELAB units), but partially coated tablets showed lower uniformity (MCDM below 2.0 CIELAB units). There was a high color variability (MCDM about 4.0 CIELAB units) among tablets of the same batch in the period between 10 and 30 minutes, which decreased as the coating process progressed, until achieving a final acceptable value (MCDM below 2.0 CIELAB units). During the coating process, L^* decreased, C^*_ab strongly increased, and h _ab remained nearly constant (disregarding results at 0 and 10 minutes). CIELAB and CIEDE2000 color differences (mainly chroma differences) with respect to the initial color of the tablets were modeled as a function of time by exponential functions with three coefficients. The color change in the interval from 90 to 130 minutes (4.3 CIELAB units, or 2.6 CIEDE2000 units), may be considered negligible bearing in mind the color variability in the batches of 21 samples and typical values of visual color thresholds.     

Continuous and cyclic oxidation of T91 ferritic steel under steam

The oxidation behaviour of T91 ferritic steel in steam has been studied under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions within a temperature range between 575 and 700 °C. Isothermal treatments resulted in parabolic oxidation kinetics. Three clearly defined oxide layers constituted the oxide scales. The innermost layer was a (Fe,Cr)₃O₄. The intermediate layer was porous magnetite (Fe₃O₄) followed by a compact thinner layer of hematite (Fe₂O₃). Under non-isothermal conditions the oxide scales were irregular and evidently cracked. An increase of the oxidation temperature produces an acceleration of the oxidation process, causing an increase of the oxide scale thickness that depends on the temperature increase and the exposure time.     

A process for the complete fractionation of baker's yeast

A process for the preparation of yeast-derived food additives was developed. The four products obtained, yeast protein concentrate (YPC), cell-wall protein (CWP), semi-pure glucomannan (SPG) and yeast extract, compared well with similar products, present in the current market, with respect to functional properties. YPC and CWP exhibited improved water-holding and oil-binding properties over those of soy-protein isolate (SPI). The emulsifying capacity was very close to that observed in commercial samples. A one-step alkaline extraction enhanced the functional properties of primary yeast glycan to match traditional food hydrocolloid sources. SPG showed oil-binding properties significantly greater than commercial glucomannan.     

Many suspensions,many problems: a review of self-suspending tasks in real-time systems

Real-Time Systems - In general computing systems, a job (process/task) may suspend itself whilst it is waiting for some activity to complete, e.g., an accelerator to return data. In...