Acoustic analysis of the vocal tract during vowel production by finite-difference time-domain method

The vocal tract shape is three-dimensionally complex. For accurate acoustic analysis, a finite-difference time-domain method was introduced in the present study. By this method, transfer functions of the vocal tract for the five Japanese vowels were calculated from three-dimensionally reconstructed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. The calculated transfer functions were compared with those obtained from acoustic measurements of vocal tract physical models precisely constructed from the same MRI data. Calculated transfer functions agreed well with measured ones up to 10 kHz. Acoustic effects of the piriform fossae, epiglottic valleculae, and inter-dental spaces were also examined. They caused spectral changes by generating dips. The amount of change was significant for the piriform fossae, while it was almost negligible for the other two. The piriform fossae and valleculae generated spectral dips for all the vowels. The dip frequencies of the piriform fossae were almost stable, while those of the valleculae varied among vowels. The inter-dental spaces generated very small spectral dips below 2.5 kHz for the high and middle vowels. In addition, transverse resonances within the oral cavity generated small spectral dips above 4 kHz for the low vowels.     

Application of the Generalized Differential Quadrature Method in Solving Burgers'Equations

The aim of this paper is to obtain numerical solutions of the one-dimensional, two-dimensional and coupled Burgers' equations through the generalized differential quadrature method (GDQM). The polynomial-based differential quadrature (PDQ) method is employed and the obtained system of ordinary differential equations is solved via the total variation diminishing Runge-Kutta (TVD-RK) method. The numerical solutions are satisfactorily coincident with
the exact solutions. The method can compete against the methods applied in the literature.     

An output-feedback adaptive actuator failure compensation controller for systems with unknown state delays

This paper presents an output-feedback adaptive controller for a class of linear systems with unknown time-varying state delay and in the presence of actuator failures. We consider a common type of actuator failure in which some unknown system inputs may be stuck at some unknown fixed values and at unknown time instants. The adaptive controller is designed based on SPR–Lyapunov approach for relative degree one and two cases. Closed-loop system stability and asymptotic output tracking are proved using suitable Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional for each case. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed results.     

A novel scheme for nonlinear displacement-dependent dampers

In this paper, a novel scheme for nonlinear displacement-dependent (NDD) damper is introduced. The damper is attached to a simple mass-spring-damper vibration system. The vibration system equipped with a NDD damper is mathematically modeled and the nonlinear governing differential equation of the system is derived. To obtain the displacement of the system, the approximate analytical solution of the governing equation is elaborated using the multiple scales method. The advised approximate analytical algorithm is performed for several case studies and is also verified by the numerical fourth-order Runge?CKutta method. In addition, the performance of the NDD damper is analyzed and compared with the performance of the traditional linear damper. It is found that the proposed NDD damper scheme along with the multiple scales method is not only feasible for vibration reduction but also yields satisfactory response performance rather than the existing traditional linear damper.     

Synchronization of unified chaotic system by sliding mode/mixed <Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis><Subscript>2</Subscript>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis><Subscript>∞</Subscript> control

This paper deals with the synchronization of uncertain unified chaotic system in the presence of two kinds of disturbances, white noise and bounded power signal. A sliding mode controller (SMC) is established to guarantee the sliding motion. Moreover, a proportional-integral (PI) switching surface is used to determine the performance of the system in the sliding motion. Also, by using a mixed H ₂/H _∞ approach, the effect of external disturbances on the sliding motion is reduced. The necessary parameters of constructing controller and switching surface are found via semidefinite programming (SDP) which can be solved effectively by a standard software. Finally, a numerical simulation is presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Spin transfer torque in the semiconductor/ferromagnetic structure in the presence of Rashba effect

Spin transfer torque in magnetic structure occurs when the transverse component of the spin current that flows from the nonmagnetic medium to ferromagnetic medium is absorbed by the interface. In this paper, considering the Rashba effect on the semiconductor region, we discuss the spin transfer torque in semiconductor/ferromagnetic structure and obtain the components of spin-current density for two models:(i) single electron and(ii) the distribution of electrons. We show that no matter whether the difference in Fermi surface between semiconductor and Fermi spheres for the up and down spins in ferromagnetic increases, the transmission probability decreases. The obtained results for the values used in this article illustrate that Rashba effect increases the difference in Fermi sphere between semiconductor and Fermi sphere for the up and down spins in ferromagnetic. The results also show that the Rashba effect, brings an additional contribution to the components of spin transfer torque, which does not exist in the absence of the Rashba interaction. Moreover, the Rashba term has also different effects on the transverse components of the spin torque transfer.     

A Timoshenko beam reduced order model for shape tracking with a slender mechanism

We consider a flexible bio-inspired slender mechanism, modeled as a Timoshenko beam. It is coupled to the environment by a continuous distribution of compliant elements. We derive a reduced order model by projecting the governing partial differential equations along the linear modal basis of the Timoshenko beam. The coupling with the substrate allows us to formulate the problem in a control framework, and eventually to treat the system as a sensor to reconstruct the profile of the substrate through the deformation of the body. The coupling is modeled in the framework of two parameters elastic foundations. The convergence of the reduced order model with increasing number of basis functions is addressed in a suitable H¹ error norm. A closed loop force control is simulated for shape morphing when the system is coupled with a smooth substrate.     

An Analytical Solution for 1-D Non-Darcy Flow Through Slanting Coarse Deposits

In this paper, an analytical solution to solve 1-D partial differential equation is presented for fully developed turbulent flow through highly permeable sloping deposited porous medium. The present solution will be applicable for a wide range of slopes varying from zero to relatively steep slopes. To confirm the solution, the analytical results have been validated using two sets of experimental data including rounded and crushed material. To see the compatibility of solution, a Darcy-based form of the solution is derived and compared with proposed solution and experimental data. The results showed a satisfactory agreement with experimental records from water surface profiles through rock cavities for both rounded and crushed rock materials. Finally, it may be concluded that the proposed solution could be used to analyze water surface profiles and normal depth in such slanting permeable porous media. This solution provides a reliable realization of the flow profiles in porous materials which are widely used in open-channel flow concepts.     

Non-affine minimum variance controller design by inverse modeling procedure

The minimum variance lower bound (MVLB) represents the best achievable controller capability in the variance sense. Realization of MVLB for nonlinear systems confronts some difficulties. To realize the MVLB, in this paper, a nonlinear non-affine generalized minimum variance controller is designed. The situations in which the model is not in hand, accurate, or invertible are addressed. Moreover, in order to design minimum variance controller for nonlinear structures, inverse of the system is modeled; then, the controller parameters are tuned by a recursive optimization algorithm. The most classical recursive algorithms are gradient-based. In this paper, a relationship between gradient of the controller with that of the system model is derived by inverse lemma. Therefore, the recursive algorithm is free of any need for the gradient of the system model. Finally, an experimental test on four-tank benchmark processes is used to clarify the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.     

Composition and in vitro antibacterial activity of essential oils from four Satureja species growing in Iran

The composition and in?vitro antibacterial activity of essential oils from four Satureja species (S. bachtiarica, S. khuzistanica, S. mutica and S. rechingeri) growing in Iran were determined. According to the results of GC-FID and GC-MS analysis, all oil samples were principally composed of phenolic constituents (carvacrol and/or thymol) with the percentages ranging from 41.2% (S. bachtiarica) to 77.7% (S. rechingeri). Determining antibacterial activities by the disc diffusion method against two Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacteria revealed the maximum activity against Bacillus cereus with a range of minimum inhibitory concentration values from 0.25 to 1?mg?mL(-1) and minimum bactericidal concentration values from 0.5 to 1?mg?mL(-1). The oils of S. khuzistanica and S. rechingeri appeared to be more active in general than those of other species. In conclusion, the essential oils of studied Satureja species have the potential to be considered as alternatives for synthetic food preservatives.