Architectural issues related to the optical implementation of an EGS network based on embedded control

Free-space optical implementations of switching networks have been proposed to circumvent many of the system-level problems that may be encountered in systems that require many high-density, high-bandwidth connections. The details of a new class of switching network (the EGS network), that is well-suited to free-space implementations, is described. The common control injection problem that plagues most free-space photonic networks, i.e. how can control information from an electronic source be injected into the network for applications that require relatively high network reconfiguration rates, is examined. A new technique for control injection, called embedded control, which permits network operation even with relatively high network reconfiguration rates is also proposed.     

<Superscript>40</Superscript>K activities and potassium concentrations in tobacco samples of Mexican cigarettes

Nine brands of tobacco cigarettes manufactured and distributed in the Mexican market were analyzed by γ-spectrometry to certify their non-artificial radioactive contamination. Since natural occurring radioactive materials (NORM) ⁴⁰K, ²³²Th, ²³⁵U, and ²³⁹U (and decay products from the latter three nuclides) are the main sources for human radiation exposure, the aim of this work was to determine the activity of ⁴⁰K and potassium concentration. Averages of ⁴⁰K and potassium concentration were of 1.29±0.18 Bq·g⁻¹, and 4.0±0.57%. The annual dose equivalents to the whole body from ingestion and inhalation of 26 Bq ⁴⁰K were 0.23 μSv and 15.8 μSv, respectively. The corresponding 50 years committed dose equivalents was 0.23 μSv. The total committed dose to the lungs due to inhalation of ⁴⁰K in tobacco was 16 μSv. Potassium concentrations obtained in this work were in the same range of those obtained by INAA, so showing that the used technique is acute, reproducible, and accessible to laboratories equipped with low background scintillation detectors.     

Feedback stabilization of snap-through buckling in a preloaded two-bar linkage with hysteresis

We study a linearly damped preloaded two-bar linkage that exhibits hysteresis due to the presence of multiple attracting equilibria. The dynamics at the unstable equilibrium, through which a snap-through buckle occurs, are not linearizable due to a solution-dependent singularity. We stabilize the unstable equilibrium using two distinct non-linear controllers. The feedback-linearization controller requires knowledge of the linkage parameters, whereas the robust version of the intrinsic non-linear proportional-derivative controller requires only an upper bound on the stiffness.     

Ahlfors-régularité des quasi-minima de Mumford–Shah

Let be an open set. We consider on Ω the competitors (U,K) for the reduced Mumford–Shah functional, that is to say the Mumford–Shah functional in which the -norm of U term is removed, where K is a closed subset of Ω and U is a function on ΩK with gradient in  . The main result of this paper is the following: there exists a constant c for which, whenever (U,K) is a quasi-minimizer for the reduced Mumford–Shah functional and B(x,r) is a ball centered on K and contained in Ω with bounded radius, the -measure of is bounded above by cr^N−1 and bounded below by c⁻¹r^N−1.     

Large families of mutually embeddable vertex‐transitive graphs

For each infinite cardinal κ, we give examples of 2^κ many non‐isomorphic vertex‐transitive graphs of order κ that are pairwise isomorphic to induced subgraphs of each other. We consider examples of graphs with these properties that are also universal, in the sense that they embed all graphs with smaller orders as induced subgraphs. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 43: 99–106, 2003     

A bio-mechanical model for coupling cell contractility with focal adhesion formation

Focal adhesions (FAs) are large, multi-protein complexes that provide a mechanical link between the cytoskeletal contractile machinery and the extracellular matrix. They exhibit mechanosensitive properties; they self-assemble upon application of pulling forces and dissociate when these forces are decreased. We rationalize this mechano-sensitivity from thermodynamic considerations and develop a continuum framework in which the cytoskeletal contractile forces generated by stress fibers drive the assembly of the FA multi-protein complexes. The FA model has three essential features: (i) the low and high affinity integrins co-exist in thermodynamic equilibrium, (ii) the low affinity integrins within the plasma membrane are mobile, and (iii) the contractile forces generated by the stress fibers are in mechanical equilibrium and change the free energies of the integrins. A general two-dimensional framework is presented and the essential features of the model illustrated using one-dimensional examples. Consistent with observations, the coupled stress fiber and FA model predict that (a) the FAs concentrate around the periphery of the cell; (b) the fraction of the cell covered by FAs increases with decreasing cell size while the total FA intensity increases with increasing cell size; and (c) the FA intensity decreases substantially when cell contractility is curtailed.     

Nonlinear dynamics of charged particles interacting with combined ac-dc electromagnetic fields

A nonlinear Lorenz model describing interactions between charged particles and combined ac-dc electromagnetic fields is studied for various combinations of frequencies, field strengths and relative angle (θ) between the ac and dc magnetic fields. Strong directional effects on the magnitude and location of resonant particle motion are observed when θ is varied and the regular resonance windows in the aligned field (θ = 0) and linear version of the model studied previously by Durney etaal., break up to form irregular and less well pronounced regions of large and small particle displacements when nonlinearities are taken into account. The length of time takne to achieve resonant behaviour also becomes larger and more variable when nonlinearities are present. The possible relevance of these effects to interactions between electromagnetic fields and biological media is briefly discussed.     

A comparison of spin relaxation and local motion between symmetrically and asymmetrically ring-substituted bisphenol units in dissolved polycarbonates

Carbon-13 and proton spin-lattice relaxation times were measured at two field strengths on solutions 10% by weight of two polycarbonates in C₂D₂Cl₄ from ?20 to +120°C. The first polycarbonate is an asymmetrically substituted form with one chlorine on one of the two phenylene aromatic rings of the bisphenol unit, whereas the second polycarbonate is symmetrically substituted with two chlorines on each of the two rings. The nuclear spin relaxation data are interpreted in terms of several local motions likely in these polymers. Segmental motion was described by the Hall–Helfand correlation function. Segmental motion in the monosubstituted polycarbonate is somewhat slower than in unsubstituted polycarbonate, whereas segmental motion in the tetrasubstituted polycarbonate is considerably slower. Phenylene ring rotation is observed in unsubstituted polycarbonate and in the monosubstituted polycarbonate above 40°C. Below 40°C in the monosubstituted species, and at all temperatures in the tetrasubstituted species, ring rotation is replaced by ring libration as the predominant motion contributing to spin lattice relaxation. In addition, the rotational motion of the two types of rings in the asymmetric monosubstituted form are very similar although not identical. The substituted ring is slightly less mobile than the rings of unsubstituted polycarbonate. This indicates a strong coupling of ring motion, although the coupling leads to less than synchronous motion. Methyl group rotation is present in both polymers and is little affected by the various structural modifications.