Risk-sensitive optimal control for Markov decision processes with monotone cost

The existence of an optimal feedback law is established for the risk-sensitive optimal control problem with denumerable state space. The main assumptions imposed are irreducibility and a near monotonicity condition on the one-step cost function. A solution can be found constructively using either value iteration or policy iteration under suitable conditions on initial feedback law.

The repertoire of protein kinases encoded in the draft version of the human genome: atypical variations and uncommon domain combinations

Background: Phosphorylation by protein kinases is central to cellular signal transduction. Abnormal functioning of kinases has been implicated in developmental disorders and malignancies. Their activity is regulated by second messengers and by the binding of associated domains, which are also influential in translocating the catalytic component to their substrate sites, in mediating interaction with other proteins and carrying out their biological roles. Results: Using sensitive profile-search methods and manual analysis, the human genome has been surveyed for protein kinases. A set of 448 sequences, which show significant similarity to protein kinases and contain the critical residues essential for kinase function, have been selected for an analysis of domain combinations after classifying the kinase domains into subfamilies. The unusual domain combinations in particular kinases suggest their involvement in ubiquitination pathways and alternative modes of regulation for mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases (MAPKKs) and cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)-like kinases. Previously unexplored kinases have been implicated in osteoblast differentiation and embryonic development on the basis of homology with kinases of known functions from other organisms. Kinases potentially unique to vertebrates are involved in highly evolved processes such as apoptosis, protein translation and tyrosine kinase signaling. In addition to coevolution with the kinase domain, duplication and recruitment of non-catalytic domains is apparent in signaling domains such as the PH, DAG-PE, SH2 and SH3 domains. Conclusions: Expansion of the functional repertoire and possible existence of alternative modes of regulation of certain kinases is suggested by their uncommon domain combinations. Experimental verification of the predicted implications of these kinases could enhance our understanding of their biological roles.

Ellipsometry as a Sensitive Technique to Probe film -Substrate Interfaces: Al2O3 on Si(100)

An attempt has been made to study the film-substrate interface by using a sensitive, non- conventional tool. Because of the prospective use of gate oxide in MOSFET devices, we have chosen to study alumina films grown on silicon. Film-substrate interface of alumina grown by MOCVD on Si(100) was studied systematically using spectroscopic ellipsometry in the range 1.5-5.0 eV, supported by cross-sectional SEM, and SIMS. The (ε1,ε2) versus energy data obtained for films grown at 600°C, 700°C, and 750°C were modeled to fit a substrate/interface/film “sandwich”. The experimental results reveal (as may be expected) that the nature of the substrate -film interface depends strongly on the growth temperature. The simulated (ε1,ε2) patterns are in excellent agreement with observed ellipsometric data. The MOCVD precursors results the presence of carbon in the films. Theoretical simulation was able to account for the ellipsometry data by invoking the presence of “free” carbon in the alumina films.

Effect of inorganic ions, H(2)O(2) and pH on the photocatalytic inactivation of Escherichia coli with silver impregnated combustion synthesized TiO(2) catalyst

The photocatalytic antibacterial activity of Ag impregnated combustion synthesized TiO(2) (0.25 g/L) was studied against Escherichia coil in presence of UV irradiation. The effect of various parameters, such as anions, canons, hydrogen peroxide and pH, on the photocatalytic inactivation was investigated. The addition of inorganic ions showed a negative effect on inactivation. Among anions, the presence of chloride ions was observed to have a maximum negative effect and reduced the inactivation considerably. Among cations, the bacterial inactivation reduced significantly in the presence of Ca(2+) ions. Hydrogen peroxide addition in combination with Ag/TiO(2) photocatalysis, however, improved the inactivation. Photocatalysis with high concentration of H(2)O(2) yielded complete bacterial inactivation within few minutes. The photocatalytic inactivation of E. coil was not affected by variation in pH. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Scalable Context-Sensitive Points-To Analysis Using Multi-Dimensional Bloom Filters

Context-sensitive points-to analysis is critical for several program optimizations. However, as the number of contexts grows exponentially, storage requirements for the analysis increase tremendously for large programs, making the analysis non-scalable. We propose a scalable flow-insensitive context-sensitive inclusion-based points-to analysis that uses a specially designed multi-dimensional bloom filter to store the points-to information. Two key observations motivate our proposal: (i) points-to information (between pointer-object and between pointer-pointer) is sparse, and (ii) moving from an exact to an approximate representation of points-to information only leads to reduced precision without affecting correctness of the (may-points-to) analysis. By using an approximate representation a multi-dimensional bloom filter can significantly reduce the memory requirements with a probabilistic bound on loss in precision. Experimental evaluation on SPEC 2000 benchmarks and two large open source programs reveals that with an average storage requirement of 4MB, our approach achieves almost the same precision (98.6%) as the exact implementation. By increasing the average memory to 27MB, it achieves precision upto 99.7% for these benchmarks. Using Mod/Ref analysis as the client, we find that the client analysis is not affected that often even when there is some loss of precision in the points-to representation. We find that the NoModRef percentage is within 2% of the exact analysis while requiring 4MB (maximum 15MB) memory and less than 4 minutes on average for the points-to analysis. Another major advantage of our technique is that it allows to trade off precision for memory usage of the analysis.

A near-singular, flexure jointed, moment sensitive Stewart platform based fore-torque sensor

A force-torque sensor capable of accurate measurement of the three components of externally applied forces and moments is required for force control in robotic applications involving assembly operations. The goal in this paper is to design a Stewart platform based force torque sensor at a near-singular configuration sensitive to externally applied moments. In such a configuration, we show an enhanced mechanical amplification of leg forces and thereby higher sensitivity for the applied external moments. In other directions, the sensitivity will be that of a normal load sensor determined by the sensitivity of the sensing element and the associated electronic amplification, and all the six components of the force and torque can be sensed. In a sensor application, the friction, backlash and other non-linearities at the passive spherical joints of the Stewart platform will affect the measurements in unpredictable ways. In this sensor, we use flexural hinges at the leg interfaces of the base and platform of the sensor. The design dimensions of the flexure joints in the sensor have been arrived at using FEA. The sensor has been fabricated, assembled and instrumented. It has been calibrated for low level loads and is found to show linearity and marked sensitivity to moments about the three orthogonal X, Y and Z axes. This sensor is compatible for usage as a wrist sensor for a robot under development at ISRO Satellite Centre.

Output-Sensitive Construction of Reeb Graphs

The Reeb graph of a scalar function represents the evolution of the topology of its level sets. This paper describes a near-optimal output-sensitive algorithm for computing the Reeb graph of scalar functions defined over manifolds or non-manifolds in any dimension. Key to the simplicity and efficiency of the algorithm is an alternate definition of the Reeb graph that considers equivalence classes of level sets instead of individual level sets. The algorithm works in two steps. The first step locates all critical points of the function in the domain. Critical points correspond to nodes in the Reeb graph. Arcs connecting the nodes are computed in the second step by a simple search procedure that works on a small subset of the domain that corresponds to a pair of critical points. The paper also describes a scheme for controlled simplification of the Reeb graph and two different graph layout schemes that help in the effective presentation of Reeb graphs for visual analysis of scalar fields. Finally, the Reeb graph is employed in four different applications-surface segmentation, spatially-aware transfer function design, visualization of interval volumes, and interactive exploration of time-varying data.

Measurement of probability-distribution functions sensitive technique for the study of conduction phenomena in liquid dielectrics

The paper outlines a technique for sensitive measurement of conduction phenomena in liquid dielectrics. The special features of this technique are the simplicity of the electrical system, the inexpensive instrumentation and the high accuracy. Detection, separation and analysis of a random function of current that is superimposed on the prebreakdown direct current forms the basis of this investigation. In this case, prebreakdown direct current is the output data of a test cell with large electrodes immersed in a liquid medium subjected to high direct voltages. Measurement of the probability-distribution function of a random fluctuating component of current provides a method that gives insight into the mechanism of conduction in a liquid medium subjected to high voltages and the processes that are responsible for the existence of the fluctuating component of the current.

Preparation of a thermally sensitive ammonium perchlorate

The effect of ultrasound on the thermal decomposition behaviour of ammonium perchlorate (AP) has been investigated. It was observed that significant changes in the thermal behaviour of A-P, followed using differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetry, was observed when AP was subjected to power ultrasound in water saturated with oxygen-nitrogen mixture. The decomposition temperature of AP was found to have been lowered by nearly 25degreesC. A similar thermal sensitization was observed in AP when subjected to sonication in the presence of transition metal oxides. Kinetic parameters were calculated for AP, modified AP and catalyzed AP decomposition using non-isothermal kinetics. The activation energy for the decomposition of the sonicated AP samples were found to be lower than normal AP.

Sampling disturbances of soft sensitive clays

Sampling disturbance is unavoidable and hence the laboratory testing most often is on partially disturbed samples. This paper deals with the development of a simple method to assess degree of sample disturbance from the prediction of yield stress due to cementation and comparison of yield stress in compression of partially disturbed sample with reference to a predicted compression path of the clay devoid of any mechanical disturbance. The method uses simple parameters which are normally determined in routine investigations.

PAMAM Dendrimer-Drug Interactions: Effect of pH on the Binding and Release Pattern

Understanding the dendrimer-drug interaction is of great importance to design and optimize the dendrimer-based drug delivery system. Using atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we have analyzed the release pattern of four ligands (two soluble drugs, namely, salicylic acid (Sal), L-alanine (Ala), and two insoluble drugs, namely, phenylbutazone (Pbz) and primidone (Prim)), which were initially encapsulated inside the ethylenediamine (EDA) cored polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer using the docking method. We have computed the potential of mean force (PMF) variation with generation 5 (G5)-PAMAM dendrimer complexed with drug molecules using umbrella sampling. From our calculated PMF values, we observe that soluble drugs (Sal and Ala) have lower energy barriers than insoluble drugs (Pbz and Prim). The order of ease of release pattern for these drugs from G5 protonated PAMAM dendrimer was found to be Ala > Sal > Prim > Pbz. In the case of insoluble drugs (Prim and Pbz), because of larger size, we observe much nonpolar contribution, and thus, their larger energy barriers can be reasoned to van der Waals contribution. From the hydrogen bonding analysis of the four PAMAM drug complexes under study, we found intermolecular hydrogen bonding to show less significant contribution to the free energy barrier. Another interesting feature appears while calculating the PMF profile of G5NP (nonprotonated)-PAMAM Pbz and G5NP (nonprotonated)-PAMAM-Sal complex. The PMF was found to be less when the drug is bound to nonprotonated dendrimer compared to the protonated dendrimer. Our results suggest that encapsulation of the drug molecule into the host PAMAM dendrimer should be carried out at higher pH values (near pH 10). When such complex enters the human body, the pH is around 7.4 and at that physiological pH, the dendrimer holds the drug tightly. Hence the release of drug can occur at a controlled rate into the bloodstream. Thus, our findings provide a microscopic picture of the encapsulation and controlled release of drugs in the case of dendrimer-based host-guest systems.

Quasi-static crack tip fields in rate-sensitive FCC single crystals

In this work, the effects of loading rate, material rate sensitivity and constraint level on quasi-static crack tip fields in a FCC single crystal are studied. Finite element simulations are performed within a mode I, plane strain modified boundary layer framework by prescribing the two term (K-T) elastic crack tip field as remote boundary conditions. The material is assumed to obey a rate-dependent crystal plasticity theory. The orientation of the single crystal is chosen so that the crack surface coincides with the crystallographic (010) plane and the crack front lies along 101] direction. Solutions corresponding to different stress intensity rates K., T-stress values and strain rate exponents m are obtained. The results show that the stress levels ahead of the crack tip increase with K. which is accompanied by gradual shrinking of the plastic zone size. However, the nature of the shear band patterns around the crack tip is not affected by the loading rate. Further, it is found that while positive T-stress enhances the opening and hydrostatic stress levels ahead of crack tip, they are considerably reduced with imposition of negative T-stress. Also, negative T-stress promotes formation of shear bands in the forward sector ahead of the crack tip and suppresses them behind the tip.

In praise of H2O2, the versatile ROS, and its vanadium complexes

Hydrogenperoxide (H2O2) is generated in mitochondria in aerobic cells as a minor product of electron transport, is inhibited selectively by phenolic acids (in animals) or salicylhydroxamate (in plants) and is regulated by hormones and environmental conditions. Failure to detect this activity is due to presence of H2O2-consuming reactions or inhibitors present in the reaction mixture. H2O2 has a role in metabolic regulation and signal transduction reactions. A number of enzymes and cellular activities are modified, mostly by oxidizing the protein-thiol groups, on adding H2O2 in mM concentrations. On complexing with vanadate, also occurring in traces, H2O2 forms diperoxovanadate (DPV), stable at physiological pH and resistant to degradation by catalase. DPV was found to substitute for H2O2 at concentrations orders of magnitude lower, and in presence of catalase, as a substrate for user reaction, horseradish peroxidase (HRP), and in inactivating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. superoxide dismutase (SOD)-sensitive oxidation of NADH was found to operate as peroxovanadate cycle using traces of DPV and decameric vanadate (V-10) and reduces O-2 to peroxide (DPV in presence of free vanadate). This offers a model for respiratory burst. Diperoxovanadate reproduces several actions of H2O2 at low concentrations: enhances protein tyrosine phosphorylation, activates phospholipase D, produces smooth muscle contraction, and accelerates stress induced premature senescence (SIPS) and rounding in fibroblasts. Peroxovanadates can be useful tools in the studies on H2O2 in cellular activities and regulation.

Acidic pH induced STM1485 gene is essential for intracellular replication of Salmonella

During the course of infection, Salmonella has to face several potentially lethal environmental conditions, one such being acidic pH. The ability to sense and respond to the acidic pH is crucial for the survival and replication of Salmonella. The physiological role of one gene (STM1485) involved in this response, which is upregulated inside the host cells (by 90- to 113-fold) is functionally characterized in Salmonella pathogenesis. In vitro, the DSTM1485 neither exhibited any growth defect at pH 4.5 nor any difference in the acid tolerance response. The DSTM1485 was compromised in its capacity to proliferate inside the host cells and complementation with STM1485 gene restored its virulence. We further demonstrate that the surface translocation of Salmonella pathogenicity island-2 (SPI-2) encoded translocon proteins, SseB and SseD were reduced in the DSTM1485. The increase in co-localization of this mutant with lysosomes was also observed. In addition, the DSTM1485 displayed significantly reduced competitive indices (CI) in spleen, liver and mesenteric lymph nodes in murine typhoid model when infected by intra-gastric route. Based on these results, we conclude that the acidic pH induced STM1485 gene is essential for intracellular replication of Salmonella.

Pressure-sensitive paint on a truncated cone in hypersonic flow at incidences

The flow over a truncated cone is a classical and fundamental problem for aerodynamic research due to its three-dimensional and complicated characteristics. The flow is made more complex when examining high angles of incidence. Recently these types of flows have drawn more attention for the purposes of drag reduction in supersonic/hypersonic flows. In the present study the flow over a truncated cone at various incidences was experimentally investigated in a Mach 5 flow with a unit Reynolds number of 13.5�10 6m -1. The cone semi-apex angle is 15° and the truncation ratio (truncated length/cone length) is 0.5. The incidence of the model varied from -12° to 12° with 3° intervals relative to the freestream direction. The external flow around the truncated cone was visualised by colour Schlieren photography, while the surface flow pattern was revealed using the oil flow method. The surface pressure distribution was measured using the anodized aluminium pressure-sensitive paint (AA-PSP) technique. Both top and sideviews of the pressure distribution on the model surface were acquired at various incidences. AA-PSP showed high pressure sensitivity and captured the complicated flow structures which correlated well with the colour Schlieren and oil flow visualisation results. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.