On a Ratio of Functions of Exponential Random Variables and Some Applications

Consider L independent and identically distributed exponential random variables (r.vs) X-1, X-2 ,..., X-L and positive scalars b(1), b(2) ,..., b(L). In this letter, we present the probability density function (pdf), cumulative distribution function and the Laplace transform of the pdf of the composite r.v Z = (Sigma(L)(j=1) X-j)(2) / (Sigma(L)(j=1) b(j)X(j)). We show that the r.v Z appears in various communication systems such as i) maximal ratio combining of signals received over multiple channels with mismatched noise variances, ii)M-ary phase-shift keying with spatial diversity and imperfect channel estimation, and iii) coded multi-carrier code-division multiple access reception affected by an unknown narrow-band interference, and the statistics of the r.v Z derived here enable us to carry out the performance analysis of such systems in closed-form.

Use of wetland buffer areas to reduce nitrogen transport from forested catchments: Retention capacity, emissions of N2O and CH4 and vegetation composition dynamics

The use of buffer areas in forested catchments has been actively researched during the last 15 years; but until now, the research has mainly concentrated on the reduction of sediment and phosphorus loads, instead of nitrogen (N). The aim of this thesis was to examine the use of wetland buffer areas to reduce the nitrogen transport in forested catchments and to investigate the environmental impacts involved in their use. Besides the retention capacity, particular attention was paid to the main factors contributing to the N retention, the potential for increased N2O emissions after large N loading, the effects of peatland restoration for use as buffer areas on CH4 emissions, as well as the vegetation composition dynamics induced by the use of peatlands as buffer areas. To study the capacity of buffer areas to reduce N transport in forested catchments, we first used large artificial loadings of N, and then studied the capacity of buffer areas to reduce ammonium (NH4-N) export originating from ditch network maintenance areas in forested catchments. The potential for increased N2O emissions were studied using the closed chamber technique and a large artificial N loading at five buffer areas. Sampling for CH4 emissions and methane-cycling microbial populations were done on three restored buffer areas and on three buffers constructed on natural peatlands. Vegetation composition dynamics was studied at three buffer areas between 1996 and 2009. Wetland buffer areas were efficient in retaining inorganic N from inflow. The key factors contributing to the retention were the size and the length of the buffer, the hydrological loading and the rate of nutrient loading. Our results show that although the N2O emissions may increase temporarily to very high levels after a large N loading into the buffer area, the buffer areas in forested catchments should be viewed as insignificant sources of N2O. CH4 fluxes were substantially higher from buffers constructed on natural peatlands than from the restored buffer areas, probably because of the slow recovery of methanogens after restoration. The use of peatlands as buffer areas was followed by clear changes in plant species composition and the largest changes occurred in the upstream parts of the buffer areas and the wet lawn-level surfaces, where the contact between the vegetation and the through-flow waters was closer than for the downstream parts and dry hummock sites. The changes in the plant species composition may be an undesired phenomenon especially in the case of the mires representing endangered mire site types, and therefore the construction of new buffer areas should be primarily directed into drained peatland areas.

A geodesic constant method for computing high-frequency mutual coupling between antennas on general quadric cylinders

A Geodesic Constant Method (GCM) is outlined which provides a common approach to ray tracing on quadric cylinders in general, and yields all the surface ray-geometric parameters required in the UTD mutual coupling analysis of conformal antenna arrays in the closed form. The approach permits the incorporation of a shaping parameter which permits the modeling of quadric cylindrical surfaces of desired sharpness/flatness with a common set of equations. The mutual admittance between the slots on a general parabolic cylinder is obtained as an illustration of the applicability of the GCM.

Generation of Flat and Curved Membranes by Inverse-BAR Domain Proteins

Biological membranes are tightly linked to the evolution of life, because they provide a way to concentrate molecules into partially closed compartments. The dynamic shaping of cellular membranes is essential for many physiological processes, including cell morphogenesis, motility, cytokinesis, endocytosis, and secretion. It is therefore essential to understand the structure of the membrane and recognize the players that directly sculpt the membrane and enable it to adopt different shapes. The actin cytoskeleton provides the force to push eukaryotic plasma membrane in order to form different protrusions or/and invaginations. It has now became evident that actin directly co-operates with many membrane sculptors, including BAR domain proteins, in these important events. However, the molecular mechanisms behind BAR domain function and the differences between the members of this large protein family remain largely unresolved. In this thesis, the structure and functions of the I-BAR domain family members IRSp53 and MIM were thoroughly analyzed. By using several methods such as electron microscopy and systematic mutagenesis, we showed that these I-BAR domain proteins bind to PI(4,5)P2-rich membranes, generate negative membrane curvature and are involved in the formation of plasma membrane protrusions in cells e.g. filopodia. Importantly, we characterized a novel member of the BAR-domain superfamily which we named Pinkbar. We revealed that Pinkbar is specifically expressed in kidney and epithelial cells, and it localizes to Rab13-positive vesicles in intestinal epithelial cells. Remarkably, we learned that the I-BAR domain of Pinkbar does not generate membrane curvature but instead stabilizes planar membranes. Based on structural, mutagenesis and biochemical work we present a model for the mechanism of the novel membrane deforming activity of Pinkbar. Collectively, this work describes the mechanism by which I-BAR domain proteins deform membranes and provides new information about the biological roles of these proteins. Intriguingly, this work also gives evidence that significant functional plasticity exists within the I-BAR domain family. I-BAR proteins can either generate negative membrane curvature or stabilize planar membrane sheets, depending on the specific structural properties of their I-BAR domains. The results presented in this thesis expand our knowledge on membrane sculpting mechanisms and shows for the first time how flat membranes can be generated in cells.

Elämän ja entisyyden maisemat : Kolgujev nenetsien arjessa, muistelussa ja kerronnassa

The dissertation discusses the conceptions of place and landscape amongst Nenets living on the island of Kolguyev or being of Kolguyev descent. The conceptions are examined through the everyday life of the community, oral recollections and narration that unfold meanings related to the island. The research material has been collected in ethnographic fieldwork in 2000 2005. The duration of individual fieldworks varies from two weeks to three months and their total duration is nearly six months. The fieldwork has been conducted both on the island and in the city of Nar yan-Mar. The main methods have been participant observation and recorded and unrecorded informal interviews. In addition to the field work data, archive materials, travel accounts, and other historical texts by outsiders about Kolguyev or the Nenets living in the European side of Russia have been used as a research material. The analysis is based on the idea of the place as a meeting point of the physical features, experiences in them and collective narration about them. The concept sense of place is used to describe the interaction of these three. Lived space manifests individual s or collective sense of place. The places form different kinds of networks of meanings which are called landscapes. Hot spots are places where different meanings accumulate. Furthermore, the material is analysed using the concepts of Tale World and Story Realm by Katherine Young. The Tale World is a realm created during the Story Realm, i.e. the event of narrations. The Tale Worlds are true as such but become evaluated in the Story Realm. The Tale Worlds are seen to arise both from the physical features of a place and from oral tradition, but at the same time these worlds give meanings to the place. The Tale Worlds are one of the central ingredients for the sense of place. One of the most central hot spots in Kolguyev is the arok harbour, where most of the themes of the pre-Soviet Tale Worlds are placed: trade and interaction with the Russians, rituals of the popular religion and arrival of the first Nenets to the island. arok is also part of the landscape of the coast where the meetings of Nenets and the other(s) are generally connected. Furthermore, arok is connected to the network of amans graves but also more generally to the landscape of collective sacred and sacrificial places. Another hot spot is the population centre of Bugrino which unfolds through the evaluations of the Tale Worlds. It also is the centre of the everyday life of the community studied. The Tale Worlds of the radiant past fastens on the population centre which is described through the negative models within the genre of litany. Sacred places, that represent the possibility to meet the Otherworld or mark places were encounters with the Otherworld have taken place, generate many kinds of landscapes in the island. They fasten on the graves of the amans, sirtya tradition, and to collective sacred places with their associations. The networks are not closed systems but are given meanings and new associations continuously in narration and recollection. They form multi-level and significant landscapes which reflect the fastening of the Kolguyev Nenets in the tundra of the island. In the research material the holy places and the popular religiousness are emphasised which is one of the most significant research results. It can be seen to reflect collective resistance and the questioning of the atheistic propaganda of the Soviet years. The narration and the recollection often refer also to the discourse of the anti-religious propaganda or use its strategies. The centrality of the holy places is also based on the tenacity of the religious Tale Worlds and sense of place and to the collective significance of the religion in general.

A homotopy approach for stabilizing single-input systems with control structure constraints

A linear state feedback gain vector used in the control of a single input dynamical system may be constrained because of the way feedback is realized. Some examples of feedback realizations which impose constraints on the gain vector are: static output feedback, constant gain feedback for several operating points of a system, and two-controller feedback. We consider a general class of problems of stabilization of single input dynamical systems with such structural constraints and give a numerical method to solve them. Each of these problems is cast into a problem of solving a system of equalities and inequalities. In this formulation, the coefficients of the quadratic and linear factors of the closed-loop characteristic polynomial are the variables. To solve the system of equalities and inequalities, a continuous realization of the gradient projection method and a barrier method are used under the homotopy framework. Our method is illustrated with an example for each class of control structure constraint.

Compensator for constant relative stability in process control systems

Process control systems are designed for a closed-loop peak magnitude of 2dB, which corresponds to a damping coefficient () of 0.5 approximately. With this specified constraint, the designer should choose and/or design the loop components to maintain a constant relative stability. However, the manipulative variable in almost all chemical processes will be the flow rate of a process stream. Since the gains and the time constants of the process will be functions of the manipulative variable, a constant relative stability cannot be maintained. Up to now, this problem has been overcome either by selecting proper control valve flow characteristics or by gain scheduling of controller parameters. Nevertheless, if a wrong control valve selection is made then one has to account for huge loss in controllability or eventually it may lead to an unstable control system. To overcome these problems, a compensator device that can bring back the relative stability of the control system was proposed. This compensator is similar to a dynamic nonlinear controller that has both online and offline information on several factors related to the control system. The design and analysis of the proposed compensator is discussed in this article. Finally, the performance of the compensator is validated by applying it to a two-tank blending process. It has been observed that by using a compensator in the process control system, the relative stability could be brought back to a great extent despite the effects of changes in manipulative flow rate.

Optimal explicit guidance of multistage launch vehicle along three-dimensional trajectory

Details of an efficient optimal closed-loop guidance algorithm for a three-dimensional launch are presented with simulation results. Two types of orbital injections, with either true anomaly or argument of perigee being free at injection, are considered. The resulting steering-angle profile under the assumption of uniform gravity lies in a canted plane which transforms a three-dimensional problem into an equivalent two-dimensional one. Effects of thrust are estimated using a series in a recursive way. Encke's method is used to predict the trajectory during powered flight and then to compute the changes due to actual gravity using two gravity-related vectors. Guidance parameters are evaluated using the linear differential correction method. Optimality of the algorithm is tested against a standard ground-based trajectory optimization package. The performance of the algorithm is tested for accuracy, robustness, and efficiency for a sun-synchronous mission involving guidance for a multistage vehicle that requires large pitch and yaw maneuver. To demonstrate applicability of the algorithm to a range of missions, injection into a geostationary transfer orbit is also considered. The performance of the present algorithm is found to be much better than others.

Human Ecology in India Some Historical Perspectives

Before the spread of extensive settled cultivation, the Indian subcontinent would have been inhabited by territorial hunter–gatherers and shifting cultivators with cultural traditions of prudent resource use. The disruption of closed material cycles by export of agricultural produce to centres of non-agricultural population would have weakened these traditions. Indeed, the fire-based sacrificial ritual and extensive agricultural settlements might have catalysed the destruction of forests and wildlife and the suppression of tribal peoples during the agricultural colonization of the Gangetic plains. Buddhism, Jainism and later the Hindu sects may have been responses to the need for a reassertion of ecological prudence once the more fertile lands were brought under cultivation. British rule radically changed the focus of the country's resource use pattern from production of a variety of biological resources for local consumption to the production of a few commodities largely for export. The resulting ecological squeeze was accompanied by disastrous famines and epidemics between the 1860s and the 1920s. The counterflows to tracts of intensive agriculture have reduced such disasters since independence. However, these are quite inadequate to balance the state-subsidized outflows of resources from rural hinterlands. These imbalances have triggered serious environmental degradation and tremendous overcrowding of the niche of agricultural labour and marginal cultivator all over the country.

A New Approach to the Problem of Scattering of Water Waves by Vertical Barriers

Using a modified Green's function technique the two well-known basic problems of scattering of surface water waves by vertical barriers are reduced to the problem of solving a pair of uncoupled integral equations involving the “jump” and “sum” of the limiting values of the velocity potential on the two sides of the barriers in each case. These integral equations are then solved, in closed form, by the aid of an integral transform technique involving a general trigonometric kernel as applicable to the problems associated with a radiation condition.

Compression of Weighted Graphs

We propose to compress weighted graphs (networks), motivated by the observation that large networks of social, biological, or other relations can be complex to handle and visualize. In the process also known as graph simplication, nodes and (unweighted) edges are grouped to supernodes and superedges, respectively, to obtain a smaller graph. We propose models and algorithms for weighted graphs. The interpretation (i.e. decompression) of a compressed, weighted graph is that a pair of original nodes is connected by an edge if their supernodes are connected by one, and that the weight of an edge is approximated to be the weight of the superedge. The compression problem now consists of choosing supernodes, superedges, and superedge weights so that the approximation error is minimized while the amount of compression is maximized. In this paper, we formulate this task as the 'simple weighted graph compression problem'. We then propose a much wider class of tasks under the name of 'generalized weighted graph compression problem'. The generalized task extends the optimization to preserve longer-range connectivities between nodes, not just individual edge weights. We study the properties of these problems and propose a range of algorithms to solve them, with dierent balances between complexity and quality of the result. We evaluate the problems and algorithms experimentally on real networks. The results indicate that weighted graphs can be compressed efficiently with relatively little compression error.

Electrostatic Field Analysis of Electrooptic Devices

We describe a Finite Difference Method for the determination of the electrostatic field in a multilayered electrooptic device. The Laplace equation is solved, assuming a suitable closed area, by taking into account the different permittivities of the various layers. The effect of a higher permittivity in the guiding layer has been explicitly considered. As a practical example, we calculate the phase shift of a guided optical wave within an electrooptic modulator. A review of the various methods in use for the field analysis is given. Some criteria for the selection of the appropriate method are also mentioned.

Making Sense of Value and Value Co-Creation in Service Logic

In order to further develop the logic of service, value creation, value co-creation and value have to be formally and rigorously defined, so that the nature, content and locus of value and the roles of service providers and customers in value creation can be unambiguously assessed. In the present article, following the underpinning logic of value-in-use, it is demonstrated that in order to achieve this, value creation is best defined as the customer’s creation of value-in-use. The analysis shows that the firm’s and customer’s processes and activities can be divided into a provider sphere, closed for the customer, and a customer sphere, closed for the firm. Value creation occurs in the customer sphere, whereas firms in the provider sphere facilitate value creation by producing resources and processes which represent potential value or expected value-in use for their customers. By getting access to the closed customer sphere, firms can create a joint value sphere and engage in customers’ value creation as co-creators of value with them. This approach establishes a theoretically sound foundation for understanding value creation in service logic, and enables meaningful managerial implications, for example as to what is required for co-creation of value, and also further theoretical elaborations.

Role of population transfer under strong probe conditions in electromagnetically induced transparency

We analyze theoretically the phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency (UT) under conditions where the probe laser is not in the usual weak limit. We consider the effects in both three-level and four-level systems, which are either closed or open (due to losses to an external metastable level). We find that the EIT dip almost disappears in a closed three-level system but survives in an open system. In four-level systems, there is a narrow enhanced-absorption peak (EITA) at line center, which has applications as an optical clock. The peak converts to an EIT dip in a closed system, but again survives in an open system. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Non-linearity in piezo-fiber reinforced composites: an asymptotic approach

An asymptotically correct analysis is developed for Macro Fiber Composite unit cell using Variational Asymptotic Method (VAM). VAM splits the 3D nonlinear problem into two parts: A 1D nonlinear problem along the length of the fiber and a linear 2D cross-sectional problem. Closed form solutions are obtained for the 2D problem which are in terms of 1D parameters.