Terminal control in flat systems

The article considers the application of dynamical feedback control to a special class of nonlinear dynamical systems — so-called flat systems. Flat system, linearizing output, and Lie-Backlund isomorphism are among the concepts reviewed. A man-machine algorithm is proposed for solving the terminal control problem for an arbitrary flat system with known linearizing outputs. __________ Translated from Nelineinaya Dinamika i Upravlenie, No. 3, pp. 191–200, 2003.     

Activation of cells in a cavitation flow

A cavitation flow in an expanding nozzle is numerically simulated. The cavitation activation of cells is studied experimentally.     

Magnetic structure and transport properties of atomically disordered crystals of two-dimensional manganites La2−2x Sr1+2x Mn2O7

The magnetic structure and transport properties of partially disordered crystals of two-dimensional manganites La_2?2x Sr_1+2x Mn₂O₇ (x = 0.3, 0.4) are studied over a wide range of temperatures. The crystals are transformed into an atomically disordered state under irradiation with fast neutrons at a dose of 2 × 10¹⁹ cm^?2. The average concentration of substitutional defects in the crystal is ≈4%. It is found that substitutional defects are responsible for the transition of these manganites from the ferromagnetic metal state to the insulator state with a spin glass structure. The results obtained are discussed in terms of the ratio between the kinetic energy of charge carriers and the exchange energy of localized spins.     

Temperature modulated DSC study of the kinetics of free radical isothermal network polymerization

Temperature modulated differential scanning calorimetry (TMDSC) is used to study the kinetics of the free radical isothermal polymerization of triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA). Azo-bis-isobutironitrile was used as initiator. The polymerization’s temperature is lower than the final glass transition temperature of the polymer network. The measurement of the average heat flow released and the heat capacity during the reaction allows identifying the different stages of the reaction. The presence of double peaks in the heat flow is ascribed to the autoacceleration. The influence of temperature, measuring conditions and oxygen are described. Vitrification is detected by the drop in heat capacity. It occurs at increasing conversion rates for increasing temperatures. After vitrification, the diffusion-controlled reaction continues.     

A potentiometric DNA sensor for determining autoimmune antibodies to DNA

A new technique is proposed for detecting interactions between DNA and DNA autoimmune antibodies using a potentiometric sensor based on a glassy-carbon electrode modified with polyaniline and native DNA from chicken erythrocytes. It is shown that the DNA-antibody interaction changes the rate of polyaniline doping in transferring the DNA sensor from an alkaline (pH 7.5) solution, which is optimum for the immunochemical reaction, to an acidic (pH 3.0) solution. The dynamics of the variation of the DNA sensor potential depends on the titer of antibodies and their origin. The dependence of the DNA sensor signal on the dilution of the blood sera from systemic lupus erythematosus and autoimmune thyroiditis patients shows that DNA antibodies can be diagnosed by the characteristic maximum in the dilution curve found in the range of serum dilutions from 1: 20 to 1: 50.     

Polarization dynamics of longitudinally monomode bipolarized microchip solid-state lasers

This paper is devoted to the polarization dynamics of a longitudinally monomode bipolarized Nd:YAG laser: the low-frequency polarization dynamics of a microchip laser is studied experimentally and theoretically. The intensities and the relaxation oscillation spectrum of orthogonally polarized modes versus the direction of pump polarization is observed. A phase-sensitive model of a longitudinally monomode bipolarized solid-state laser with linear polarized diode laser pump is developed to account for the experimental observations.     

Improved modeling and solution methods for the multi-resource routing problem

This paper presents modeling and solution method improvements for the Multi-Resource Routing Problem (MRRP) with flexible tasks. The MRRP with flexible tasks is used to model routing and scheduling problems for intermodal drayage operations in which two resources (tractors and trailers) perform tasks to transport loaded and empty equipment. Tasks may be either well defined, in which both the origin and the destination of a movement are given, or flexible, in which the origin or the destination is chosen by the model. This paper proposes methods to effectively manage the number of options considered for flexible tasks (either feasible origins for a known destination or feasible destinations for a known origin). This modeling change generates sufficient options to allow for low-cost solutions while maintaining reasonable computational effort. We also propose a new solution method that uses randomized route generation. Computational results from test cases show that these changes improve the quality of solutions by at least 5% in the test cases as compared to methods from previous studies.