Efficient parametric excitation walking with delayed feedback control

In passive dynamic walking proposed by McGeer, mechanical energy lost by heel strike is restored by transporting potential energy to kinetic energy as walking down a slope. When energy input is larger as a slope is steeper, the bifurcation of a walking cycle occurs. In the parametric excitation walking, which is to realize passive dynamic-like walking on the level ground, the bifurcation of a walking cycle has also been observed when walking speed is fast. Recently, Asano et al. have shown that bifurcation exerts an adverse influence upon walking performance by using a rimless wheel model. In this paper, we apply the delayed feedback control (DFC), originally used in chaos control, to parametric excitation walking to suppress bifurcation. We show in numerical simulation that the proposed method makes period-two walking to period-one walking, and improves energy efficiency. In addition, the proposed method can generate a sustainable gait in the region where a biped robot cannot walk without DFC. The analyses using a Poincaré map reveal that period-one walking with DFC corresponds to an unstable periodic orbit and reveal that a robot model in this paper satisfies the sufficient condition of applicability of DFC.     

Stochastic Nature in Cellular Processes

The importance of stochasticity in cellular processes is increasingly recognized in both theoretical and experimental studies. General features of stochasticity in gene regulation and expression are briefly reviewed in this article, which include the main experimental phenomena, classification, quantization and regulation of noises. The correlation and transmission of noise in cascade networks are analyzed further and the stochastic simulation methods that can capture effects of intrinsic and extrinsic noise are described.     

Energy estimates for wave equations with time dependent propagation speeds in the Gevrey class

The total energy of the wave equation is conserved with respect to time if the propagation speed is a constant, but this is not true in general for time dependent propagation speeds. Indeed, it is considered in Hirosawa (2007) [3] that the following properties of the propagation speed are crucial for the estimates of the total energy: oscillating speed, difference from the mean, and the smoothness in Cm category. The main purpose of this paper is to derive a benefit of a further smoothness of the propagation speed in the Gevrey class for the energy estimates.     

Spontaneous supersymmetry breaking by large-N matrices

Motivated by supersymmetry breaking in matrix model formulations of superstrings, we present some concrete models, in which the supersymmetry is preserved for any finite N, but gets broken at infinite N, where N is the rank of matrix variables. The models are defined as supersymmetric field theories coupled to some matrix models, and in the induced action obtained after integrating out the matrices, supersymmetry is spontaneously broken only when N is infinity. In our models, the large value of N gives a natural explanation for the origin of small parameters appearing in the field theories which trigger the supersymmetry breaking.     

Scatter search for a real-life heterogeneous fleet vehicle routing problem with time windows and split deliveries in Brazil

In this paper, we consider a real-life heterogeneous fleet vehicle routing problem with time windows and split deliveries that occurs in a major Brazilian retail group. A single depot attends 519 stores of the group distributed in 11 Brazilian states. To find good solutions to this problem, we propose heuristics as initial solutions and a scatter search (SS) approach. Next, the produced solutions are compared with the routes actually covered by the company. Our results show that the total distribution cost can be reduced significantly when such methods are used. Experimental testing with benchmark instances is used to assess the merit of our proposed procedure.     

Evidence for an energy scale for quasiparticle dispersion in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8

Quasiparticle dispersion in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 is investigated with improved angular resolution as a function of temperature and doping. Unlike the linear dispersion predicted by the band calculation, the data show a sharp break in dispersion at 50+/-15 meV binding energy where the velocity changes by a factor of 2 or more. This change provides an energy scale in the quasiparticle self-energy. This break in dispersion is evident at and away from the d-wave node line, but the magnitude of the dispersion change decreases with temperature and with increasing doping.     

Molecular scale imaging of F-actin assemblies immobilized on a photopolymer surface

A photo-immobilization based process is presented for direct imaging of hierarchical assemblies of biopolymers using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The technique was used to investigate the phase behavior of F-actin aggregates as a function of concentration of the divalent cation Mg2+. The data provided direct experimental evidence of a coil-on-coil (braided) structure of F-actin bundles formed at high Mg2+ concentrations. At intermediate Mg2+ concentrations, the data showed the first images of the two-dimensional nematic rafts discovered by recent x-ray studies and theoretical treatments.     

Phase-noise-compensated optical frequency domain reflectometry with measurement range beyond laser coherence length realized using concatenative reference method

A novel type of optical frequency domain reflectometry with a measurement range much longer than the laser coherence length is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. To reduce the influence of laser phase noise, the measurement signal is compensated by using reference signals generated from a single auxiliary interferometer supported by a newly proposed compensation process. The compensation is accomplished numerically with a computer for each section of the delay fiber length in an auxiliary interferometer after only one data acquisition. By using the proposed technique, it is confirmed experimentally that the laser phase noise is well compensated even beyond the coherence length.     

Sustainable Downscaled Catalytic Colorimetric Determination of Manganese in Freshwater Using Smartphone-Based Monitoring Oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-Tetramethylbenzidine by Periodate

A sustainable downscaled procedure using smartphone-based colorimetric determination of manganese (Mn(II)) was developed. This novel Mn(II) determination procedure is proposed using a simple, available microwell-plate platform and a smartphone as a detector. This approach is based on the oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) by periodate using Mn(II) as a catalyst. The catalytic kinetics of Mn(II) under different conditions was investigated to determine the optimum condition where the different catalytic activities of various concentrations of Mn(II) evince. Under the optimum condition, the bluish-green product of oxidized TMB, proportioned to the concentration of Mn(II), was monitored using a smartphone camera, and the color signals were processed using ImageJ Software. The developed procedure showed great selectivity and sensitivity as linearity ranged from 1.8 × 10⁻⁶ to 4.6 × 10⁻⁵ M (0.1 to 2.5 μg/mL). The limits of detection and quantitation were 3.6 × 10⁻⁶ and 1.1 × 10⁻⁵ M (0.2 and 0.6 μg/mL), respectively. The determination of Mn(II) in freshwater samples was demonstrated to assess environmental water quality as an initial model to more easily promote water management according to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs). The intensity of the red could be successfully applied to evaluate Mn(II) in canals and river water with no significant differences compared with the reference method of Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry at a confidence level of 95%.