A model of driver steering control incorporating the driver's sensing of steering torque

Steering feel, or steering torque feedback, is widely regarded as an important aspect of the handling quality of a vehicle. Despite this, there is little theoretical understanding of its role. This paper describes an initial attempt to model the role of steering torque feedback arising from lateral tyre forces. The path-following control of a nonlinear vehicle model is implemented using a time-varying model predictive controller. A series of Kalman filters are used to represent the driver's ability to generate estimates of the system states from noisy sensory measurements, including the steering torque. It is found that under constant road friction conditions, the steering torque feedback reduces path-following errors provided the friction is sufficiently high to prevent frequent saturation of the tyres. When the driver model is extended to allow identification of, and adaptation to, a varying friction condition, it is found that the steering torque assists in the accurate identification of the friction condition. The simulation results give insight into the role of steering torque feedback arising from lateral tyre forces. The paper concludes with recommendations for further work. © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

Role of RNA polymerase IV in plant small RNA metabolism.

In addition to the three RNA polymerases (RNAP I-III) shared by all eukaryotic organisms, plant genomes encode a fourth RNAP (RNAP IV) that appears to be specialized in the production of siRNAs. Available data support a model in which dsRNAs are generated by RNAP IV and RNA-dependent RNAP 2 (RDR2) and processed by DICER (DCL) enzymes into 21- to 24-nt siRNAs, which are associated with different ARGONAUTE (AGO) proteins for transcriptional or posttranscriptional gene silencing. However, it is not yet clear what fraction of genomic siRNA production is RNAP IV-dependent, and to what extent these siRNAs are preferentially processed by certain DCL(s) or associated with specific AGOs for distinct downstream functions. To address these questions on a genome-wide scale, we sequenced approximately 335,000 siRNAs from wild-type and RNAP IV mutant Arabidopsis plants by using 454 technology. The results show that RNAP IV is required for the production of >90% of all siRNAs, which are faithfully produced from a discrete set of genomic loci. Comparisons of these siRNAs with those accumulated in rdr2 and dcl2 dcl3 dcl4 and those associated with AGO1 and AGO4 provide important information regarding the processing, channeling, and functions of plant siRNAs. We also describe a class of RNAP IV-independent siRNAs produced from endogenous single-stranded hairpin RNA precursors.

Theoretical model for dicke superradiance in a semiconductor laser device

A theoretical model for Dicke superradiance (SR) in diode lasers is proposed using the travelling wave method with a spatially resolved absorber and spectrally resolved gain. The role of electrode configuration and optical bandwidth are compared and contrasted as a route to enhance femtosecond pulse power. While pulse duration can be significantly reduced through careful absorber length specification, stability is degraded. However an increased spectral gain bandwidth of up to 150 nm is predicted to allow pulsewidth reductions of down to 10 fs and over 500-W peak power without further degradation in pulse stability. © 2011 IEEE.