Optimal Control of Diffusion Processes with Terminal Constraint in Law

Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications - The trade-off between the fuel consumption and drag coefficient makes the investigations of drag reduction of utmost importance. In this paper, the...     

Exact Distribution of the Distances between Any Occurrences of a Set of Words

The distribution of the distance between two (or more) successive occurrences of a specific word in a random sequence of letters is known under different models. In this paper, a more general problem is studied: the distribution of the distance between two (or more) successive occurrences of any word of a given set under a Markov model for the sequence. The generating function and a recurrence for obtaining the probabilities are given. These results are applied to study the distribution of the "CHI" motif in the genome sequence of Haemophilus influenzae.     

Back to the Local Score in the Logarithmic Case: A Direct and Simple Proof

Let X ₁, ... , X _n be a sequence of i.i.d. integer valued random variables and H _n the local score of the sequence. A recent result shows that H _n is actually the maximum of an integer valued Lindley process. Therefore known results about the asymptotic distribution of the maximum of a weakly dependent process, give readily the expected result about the asymptotic behavior of the local score in the logarithmic case, with a simple way for computing the needed constants. Genomic sequence scoring is one of the most important applications of the local score. An example of an application of the local score on protein sequences is therefore given in the paper.     

An experimental design approach to optimise the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from rainfall water using stir bar sorptive extraction and high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection

Stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) followed by HPLC-fluorescence detection (FLD) was optimised for analysing 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from water samples, especially rainfall water with low PAH content. The literature data described widely different experimental conditions for the extraction of PAHs by SBSE. A chemometric approach was therefore used to evaluate the statistically influential and/or interacting factors, among those described in the literature, and to find the best extraction and desorption conditions. Among six factors studied in a 2(6-2) fractional factorial design, only sample volume, extraction time and the interaction between both of them had significant effects on the PAH extraction recoveries. Optimal sample volume of 10 mL and extraction time of 140 min were obtained with a response surface design. For the desorption conditions, a Box-Behnken design showed that desorption time, temperature and PAH concentrations had significant effects. The best conditions were two successive desorptions with 100 microL of acetonitrile for 25 min at 50 degrees C. The optimised method was repeatable (RSD< or =5.3% for 50 ng L(-1) spiked water and < or =12.8% for 5 ng L(-1) spiked water), linear (R(2)> or =0.9956), with quantitative absolute recoveries (> or =87.8% for 50 ng L(-1) spiked water), and with the LOD between 0.2 and 1.5 ng L(-1). The optimised method was successfully applied to six-rainfall water samples collected in a suburban area. The total PAHs concentrations studied ranged from 31 to 105.1 ng L(-1). Seasonal variation was observed and on average three PAHs were at the highest concentrations (phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene).     

Ion channeling studies of KTaO3:Nb

Ion channeling measurements have been performed on KTaO₃:Nb (KTN) in order to check the position of Nb relative to the tantalum site. No evidence for “off-center” Nb was found in the limit of experimental accuracy. In addition, the carbon content of the samples was measured and large concentrations were found (?300 p.p.m. weight). Possible relationship between Nb location and carbon presence is discussed.     

Optical and structural properties of rare earth doped GaN quantum dots

We have studied the structural and optical properties of GaN quantum dots (QDs) doped with Tm and Eu. It has been found that the morphology of the dots was affected by the presence of the rare earth atoms. Differences in incorporation have also been pointed out, Eu being located inside the QDs while Tm is more likely to be found at the interface between GaN QDs and AlN matrix. Intense and sharp Eu- and Tm-related transition lines are observed in the photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence spectra of doped QDs, with no thermal quenching between 20 and 300 K. They exhibit a saturation effect with increasing excitation power, independently of the temperature. It is tentatively proposed that some transition lines in GaN:Tm QDs could be induced by the presence of the internal electric field.