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.     

Enhanced selectivity of the isolation of basic drugs from body fluids by means of extraction minicolumns and sophisticated elution schemes.

The paper presents results and experience obtained in the isolation of a number of basic polar/non-polar solutes (drugs, their metabolites and structural derivatives) from biological samples by using the separation minicolumns Separcol SI and Separcol SI C18 L/T. The aim was to provide insight into some simple procedures yielding optimal selectivity/specificity of the isolation of the studied solutes either by proper selection of the sorbent or by applying sophisticated elution schemes which use to advantage different properties of the eluents/solvents.     

High-quality hydroxyapatite coating on biocompatible materials by laser-assisted laser ablation method

A new method for high-quality hydroxyapatite (HAp) coating is developed, the laser-assisted laser ablation method. In this method, two lasers are used. One is used for ablation of a HAp target. The other, the assist laser, is used to irradiate a Ti substrate surface. The effects of the assist laser irradiation are to anneal the HAp coating and to improve its adhesive strength to the Ti substrate. The quality of the HAp coating depends on the delay time of the assist-laser irradiation. HAp coatings obtained at a delay time of 10 microseconds or more are more amorphous. It was confirmed that the amorphous part of a coating dissolves in simulated body fluid, while the crystalline part does not. The value of the Ca/P ratio in a coating obtained at a delay time of a few microseconds is close to the stoichiometric value. PACS 81.16.Mk     

Effect of carbon content on the microstructure and the cracking susceptibility of Fe-based laser-clad layer

The laser cladding of Fe-based alloys on a medium carbon steel substrate was performed using a CO₂ laser and Ar shielding gas that was blown into a molten pool. The microstructure and cracking susceptibility of the laser-clad layers were studied in terms of carbon additions. Results show that the small change of the carbon content in the alloy powders can obviously change the microstructure and properties of the layers. When the carbon content is in the range of 0.3–0.4 wt.%, the decrease of the carbon content in alloy powders will increase the hardness and toughness of the layers simultaneously under the same process parameters. As a result, crack-free coatings with high hardness can be obtained. As the carbon content increases from 0.2 wt.% to 0.4 wt.%, the segregation ratio of chromium increases, while the segregation ratios of nickel, manganese, and silicon first decrease and then increase. At the same time, a new designing principle concerning the composition and microstructure has been put forward, and the principal mechanisms of strengthening and toughening of the layers are fine-grain strengthening and low carbon martensitic phase transformation strengthening.     

A note on an SOR-like method for augmented systems

Golub et al. (2001, BIT, 41, 71–85) gave a generalizedsuccessive over-relaxation method for the augmented systems.In this paper, the connection between the SOR-like method andthe preconditioned conjugate gradient (PCG) method for the augmentedsystems is investigated. It is shown that the PCG method isat least as accurate (fast) as the SOR-like method. Numericalexamples demonstrate that the PCG method is much faster thanthe SOR-like method.     

Separation in distributive congruence lattices

We define separable sets in algebraic lattices. For a finitely generated congruence distributive variety V \mathcal{V} , we show a close connection between non-separable sets in congruence lattices of algebras in V \mathcal{V} and the structure of subdirectly irreducible algebras in V \mathcal{V} . We apply the general results to some lattice varieties.     

Symmetry of the Barochronous Motions of a Gas

We study the system of nonlinear differential equations which expresses the constancy of the algebraic invariants of the Jacobian matrix for smooth vector fields in three-dimensional space. This system is equivalent to the equations of gas dynamics which describe the barochronous motions of a gas (the pressure and density depend only on the time). We present the results of computation of the admissible local Lie group and construction of the general solution of the system. We mention a few new problems that arise here.