Robust Speed Control of a Low Damped Electromechanical System Based on CRONE Control: Application to a Four Mass Experimental Test Bench

Robust speed control of a low damped electromechanical system with backlash is studied, controlled load angular speed being not measured. The proposed control strategy combines a Luenberger observer (load angular speed and load torque disturbance estimations) and a robust CRONE controller. The observer provides estimation of the load angular speed and of the disturbance torque applied on the load. Through the computation of only three independent parameters (as many as a PID controller), the CRONE controller permits to ensure the robust speed control of the load in spite of plant parametric variations and speed observation errors. The proposed control strategy is applied to a four mass experimental test bench.     

Synthesis and characterization of a semiflexible liquid crystalline polyester with a broad nematic region

In this paper, we report on the synthesis and detailed characterization of a new semiflexible nematic liquid crystalline polyester which could serve as a 'model' polyester for a variety of physical and physico-chemical investigations. The polymer is a nematic liquid over a wide temperature range-from the glass transition temperature at ∼95°C to the isotropic transition at ∼240°C. We expect this polyester to be particularly useful for studying the effect of flow on the orientation of liquid crystalline polymers, as well as the production and removal of disclinations.     

Effect of stoichiometry on liquid crystalline supramolecular polymers formed with complementary nucleobase pair interactions

We report herein studies on the liquid crystalline behavior of a series of supramolecular materials that contain different ratios of two complementary symmetrically-substituted alkoxy-bis(phenylethynyl)benzene AA- and BB-type monomers. One monomer has thymine units placed at either end of the rigid mesogenic core, while the other has N⁶-(4-methoxybenzoyl)-adenine units placed on the ends. Differential scanning calorimetric and polarized optical microscopy studies have been carried out on these systems. These studies show that the material's behavior is strongly dependent on its thermal history. As a result, the materials can exhibit, on heating, either a liquid crystalline phase, a crystalline phase, or the coexistence of crystalline and liquid crystalline regions. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 5049–5059, 2006     

Action of photoreactivating light on pyrimidine heteroadduct in bacteria

Abstract— In stationary-phase Escherichia coli B/r, photoreactivation (PR) at 313 nm of ultraviolet (u.v.) killing is inefficient compared with PR at 405 nm, and can be explained solely by photoenzymatic reversal of pyrimidine dimers. In Staphylococcus epidermidis, PR shows a maximum at 313 nm, suggesting that this organism shows the Type III PR proposed by Jagger et al.[5] for Streptomyces strains. Reversal of pyrimidine dimers is not sufficient to explain this PR. The mechanism of Type III PR remains unknown. With both S. epidermidis and E. coli B/r, the amount of uracil–thymine heteroadduct in DNA hydrolysates decreases if the cells are given a post-u.v. treatment at 313 nm, but no decrease is observed if the post-u.v. treatment is at 405 nm. The biological significance of this adduct and of its removal is not clear. It may play a role in Type III PR.     

THE EFFECTS OF HOST-CELL REACTIVATION ON ASSAY OF U.V.-IRRADIATED HAEMOPHILUS INFLUENZAE TRANSFORMING DNA

Abstract— The host cell reactivation (HCR) mechanism in Haemophilus influenzae cells is inhibited by sub-microgram concentrations of acriflavine (as is already known to be true for Escherichia coli ). Exposure of these cells to similar concentrations of the drug during bacterial transformation increases the apparent ultraviolet light (u.v.) sensitivity of previously irradiated transforming DNA, indicating a repair of this DNA after uptake by the cells under normal conditions. Repair is inhibited by applying acriflavine at any time up to one hour after competent cells contact the irradiated transforming DNA. The fraction of the u.v. damage repaired by HCR is very different for different genetic markers. Those markers which are most u.v. sensitive when assayed in the absence of acriflavine are most poorly repaired, suggesting that this is the reason for their higher sensitivity. For all markers the fraction of the damage repairable by in vitro photoreactivation is approximately constant, and strongly overlaps the damage repairable by HCR. The degree of HCR achieved can be altered by experimental treatment of the H. influenzae DNA prior to transformation. Thus treatment of irradiated DNA with an enzyme from Micrococcus lysodeikticus –known to attack u.v. damaged, but not undamaged DNA–prevents subsequent intracellular repair of the same u.v. lesions whose repair is inhibited by acriflavine. Similarly, partial replacement of the thymine in transforming DNA by 5-bromouracil (BU) strongly inhibits repair of subsequent u.v. damage. As in bacteriophage, the BU effect is relieved if the u.v. exposure occurs in the presence of cysteamine. It is clear that intracellular repair must be considered in interpreting experiments with u.v.-irradiated transforming DNA.     

Radiochemical methods in nuclear waste management

Radiochemical techniques play an important role in nuclear waste management studies at the Centre for Analytical Research in the Environment. Current research includes the measurement of atmospheric emissions from a reprocessing plant, modelling of environmental pathways, and evaluation of reactor materials for the prediction of releases from ultimate disposal sites. A radiochemical separation procedure has been developed for¹²⁹I, which has been applied to a study of emissions from the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant. Atmospheric emissions, rainfall, grass, milk and wild food are analysed to model the ultimate fate of¹²⁹I. A new procedure has been developed for measuring sub-ppm concentrations of chlorine in archive steel samples as part of programme to produce an inventory of arisings of³⁶Cl from nuclear power stations. The method has been extended to other reactor materials and this paper describes the application of the radiochemical method for Magnox alloys, mild steel and cast iron.     

Mechanism of the aromatic hydroxylation of thiophene by acid-catalyzed peracid oxidation

The oxidation of thiophene (1) with peracids in a strongly acidic environment yielded thiophen-2-one (4) as the product of an apparent direct hydroxylation of the thiophene aromatic ring together with the anticipated thiophene-S-oxide dimers, 2a,b, as the main products. Formation of the latter dimers can be rationalized in a straightforward manner by initial oxidation at the sulfur atom of thiophene (1) to yield thiophene-S-oxide followed by subsequent dimerization in a Diels-Alder type reaction. Trapping experiments in the presence of a competing dienophile indicated that thiophen-2-one (4) did not originate from the monomeric thiophene-S-oxide but was the product of an independent reaction pathway. The extent of thiophen-2-one (4) formation correlated with the acidity of the reaction medium and was suppressed in the presence of water, the latter presumably acting as a competing base. As evidenced by the use of 2,5-dideuterated thiophene (1-D), its mechanism of formation involved a 1,2-hydride shift, a feature commonly described in the peracid-mediated epoxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons and indicative for the occurrence of cationic intermediates. In agreement with all these observations we propose a mechanism involving initial protonation of thiophene followed by nucleophilic attack of the peracid in position 2 of the thiophene ring. Intramolecular epoxidation may lead to the formation of thiophene 2,3-epoxide as a highly reactive intermediate that then undergoes heterolytic ring opening and a 1,2-hydride shift to yield thiophen-2-one (4) after a final, acid-catalyzed, isomerization of the double bond.     

Density-functional theory calculations of optical rotatory dispersion in the nonresonant and resonant frequency regions

The complex linear response function, which can be employed for calculations of second-order molecular properties in regions of strong absorption, is here extended to encompass the mixed electric-dipole-magnetic-dipole polarizability. The mixed electric-dipole-magnetic-dipole polarizability determines the optical rotation and, when absorption is taken into account, the full anomalous optical rotatory dispersion (ORD) spectra of chiral molecules can be calculated using first-principle quantum-chemical methods. Gauge-origin independence of the results is ensured through the use of London atomic orbitals. To illustrate the importance of taking the absorption process properly into account, we here apply this methodology to the study of the anomalous ORD of hydrogen peroxide, 3R-methylcyclohexanone, 4R-1,1-dimethyl-[3]-(1,2)-ferrocenophan-2-on, and the D(2) isomer of the C(84) fullerene.