Selection and control of limb posture for stability.

Impedance control can be used to stabilize the limb against both instability and unpredictable perturbations. Limb posture influences motor noise, energy usage and limb impedance as well as their interaction. Here we examine whether subjects use limb posture as part of a mechanism to regulate limb stability. Subjects performed stabilization tasks while attached to a two dimensional robotic manipulandum which generated a virtual environment. Subjects were instructed that they could perform the stabilization task anywhere in the workspace, while the chosen postures were tracked as subjects repeated the task. In order to investigate the mechanisms behind the chosen limb postures, simulations of the neuro-mechanical system were performed. The results indicate that posture selection is performed to provide energy efficiency in the presence of force variability.

Gelatin nanofiber-reinforced alginate gel scaffolds for corneal tissue engineering.

A severe shortage of donor cornea is now an international crisis in public health. Substitutes for donor tissue need to be developed to meet the increasing demand for corneal transplantation. Current attempts in designing scaffolds for corneal tissue regeneration involve utilization of expensive materials. Yet, these corneal scaffolds still lack the highly-organized fibrous structure that functions as a load-bearing component in the native tissue. This work shows that transparent nanofiber-reinforced hydrogels could be developed from cheap, non-immunogenic and readily available natural polymers to mimic the cornea's microstructure. Electrospinning was employed to produce gelatin nanofibers, which were then infiltrated with alginate hydrogels. Introducing electrospun nanofibers into hydrogels improved their mechanical properties by nearly one order of magnitude, yielding mechanically robust composites. Such nanofiber-reinforced hydrogels could serve as alternatives to donor tissue for corneal transplantation.

Imaging the failure of a rock-fill dam following liquefaction

Rock-fill dams are popular in developing countries due to their ease of construction and use of local materials. They are used to store water and to provide flood defences. The presence of such dams in earthquake-prone regions poses risks, particularly from ground liquefaction. In this paper, results from physical model tests on dams with different configurations are presented. Model dams with impermeable cores including sheet pile walls and clay cores were tested and the effect of reservoir water was investigated. High-speed photography was used to capture the response of the model dams allowing the movement of foundation soil below the dam to be established. It is concluded that the stiffness of the impermeable core has a significant influence on the ultimate deformation of the dam. The presence of reservoir water led to increased downstream movements of the dam and differential settlements between the upstream and downstream sides.

Current research in embankment dam engineering at imperial college London

This paper gives a short introduction to two research streams in embankment dam engineering underway at Imperial College London. The first is the modelling of embankment dam behaviour during earthquakes and the second is an investigation into the susceptibility of granular filters to internal erosion. The research motivation, methods and expected outcomes of each stream are discussed.

Quantitative structure-property relationship study on reductive dehalogenation of selected halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbons in sediment slurries

In this study, by the use of partial least squares (PLS) method and 26 quantum chemical descriptors computed by PM3 Hamiltonian, a quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) model was developed for reductive dehalogenation rate constants of 13 halogenated aliphatic compounds in sediment slurry under anaerobic conditions. The model can be used to explain the dehalogenation mechanism. Halogenated aliphatic compounds with great energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (E-lumo), total energy (TE), electronic energy (EE), the smallest bond order of the carbon-halogen bonds (BO) and the most positive net atomic charges on an atom of the molecule (q(+)) values tend to be reductively dehalogenated slow, whereas halogenated aliphatic compounds with high values of molecular weight (Mw), average molecular polarizability (a) and core-core repulsion energy (CCR) values tend to be reductively dehalogenated fastest. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Self-aligned current aperture in native oxidized AlInAs buried heterostructure InGaAsP/InP distributed feedback laser

A InGaAsP/InP self-aligned, native oxidized buried heterostructure (BH) distributed feedback (DFB) laser is proposed. It is as easy to process as the ridge waveguide DFB laser and has superior performance. The current aperture can be easily controlled without selective regrowth. The laser exhibits a low threshold of 5.0 mA with 36 dB side mode suppression ratio at the emission wavelength of 1.562 mu m. It emits in a single lobe with full width at half maximum angles of 33.6 degrees and 42.6 degrees for the lateral and vertical fields, respectively. Its beam is more circular than that of the as-grown BH laser because the lower refractive index of oxide compared to the as-grown layer and results in a larger lateral optical confinement. Its characteristic temperature (T-0) is 50 K at room temperature but increases in value at the higher temperature range. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)00812-3].

Face recognition based on PCA and multi-degree of freedom neurons

An algorithm of PCA face recognition based on Multi-degree of Freedom Neurons theory is proposed, which based on the sample sets' topological character in the feature space which is different from "classification". Compare with the traditional PCA+NN algorithm, experiments prove its efficiency.

一个改进的可动态调节的机密性策略模型

试图提出一个模型,它能为有效处理网络安全对象提供支持.改进Amon ott的动态调整规则,使需要动态改变的量减少,从而使一个系统调用级的原子操作需要伴随的附加量的操作和存储减少,提高模型在系统中的实用性.通过把当前安全级变成敏感标签范围而增加模型在系统实现中的灵活性,能有效控制IPC对象.为此,把Amon ott动态地调整当前敏感标签的规则推广为动态地调整敏感标签范围的规则,这把Bell为处理网络情况而把主体的当前安全级变成敏感标签范围的工作与Amon ott的工作有机地结合起来,同时,参考实际中使用的系统GEMSOS和DG/UX及安全原型微内核系统Fluke,引入了单级实体、多级实体以及专用于进程的访问模式,并给出了它们应满足的不变量及限制性条件.另外,在参考原型系统TMach对IPC对象的某些处理方式的基础上,提出了使动态特征非常明显的IPC对象得到合理、有效管理的机制,同时还分析了ABLP实施方法中存在的一些不当之处.提出了一个新的机密性策略模型DBLP的模型不变量,限制性条件及变量类型和常量,并分析了一些限制性条件的合理性,它可以有效应用于系统设计。

A Radial Stub Test Circuit for Microwave Power Devices

With the principles of microwave circuits and semiconductor device physics, two microwave power device test circuits combined with a test fixture are designed and simulated, whose properties are evaluated by a parameter network analyzer within the frequency range from 3 to 8GHz. The simulation and experimental results verify that the test circuit with a radial stub is better than that without. As an example, a C-band AlGaN/GaN HEMT microwave power device is tested with the designed circuit and fixture. With a 5.4GHz microwave input signal, the maximum gain is 8.75dB, and the maximum output power is 33.2dBm.

带内同频道数字音频广播关键技术进展

基于编码正交频分复用的数字音频广播（DAB）具有鲁棒性高和激光唱盘（CD）音质等优良性能，带内同频道（IBOC）制式的DAB能够在已有的模拟广播频道内同播模拟和数字两种信号，完全兼容现有的模拟接收机，以较低成本实现向全数字化DAB的平滑过渡。作者论述了FM IBOC DAB的频谱分析，综述了混合模式FM IBOC DAB的发射（接收）机的基本结构和感知音频编码、前向纠错编码、OFDM、第一邻频道干扰消除、时间延迟分集和音频混合等关键技术，提出了发展我国的IBOC DAB的一些建议。