Asynchronous sampling for decentralized periodic event-triggered control

Decentralized periodic event-triggered control(DPETC) strategies are an attractive solution for wireless cyber-physical systems where resources such as network bandwidthand sensor power are scarce. This is because these strategieshave the advantage of preventing unnecessary data transmis-sions and therefore reduce bandwidth and energy requirements,however the sensor sampling regime remains synchronous.Typically the action of sampling leads almost immediately toa transmission on an event being detected. If the sampling issynchronous, multiple transmission requests may be raised atthe same time which further leads to bursty traffic patterns.Bursty traffic patterns are critical to the DPETC systemsperformance as the probability of collisions and the amount ofrequested bandwidth resources become high ultimately causingdelays. In this paper, we propose an asynchronous samplingscheme for DPETC. The scheme ensures that at each samplingtime, no more than one transmission request can be generatedwhich prevents the occurrence of network traffic collision.At the same time, for the DPETC system with asynchronoussampling a pre-designed global exponential stability andL2-gain performance can still be guaranteed. We illustrate theeffectiveness of the approach through a numerical example

Propinquity & Perturbation : addressing Cross-National Variation in the Size of the Urban-Rural Divide Regarding Attitudes Towards Immigrants

European attitudes towards immigrants are geographically clustered, with the residents of urban areas tending to view immigrants more favourably than their rural counterparts. This study employs a novel approach to understanding anti-immigration sentiment by addressing cross-national variation in the size of the urban-rural divide of attitudes towards immigrants. By drawing from threat theories, contact theories and social identity perspectives, theoretical mechanisms are proposed to explain how higher national income inequality, native-born unemployment, actual immigrant populations and perceived immigrant populations act distinctly on native urban and rural populations. Using data from Rounds 8 and 9 of the European Social Survey, Eurostat, the Special Eurobarometer 469: Integration of immigrants in the European Union and The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for twelve Western European nations, it was first demonstrated that attitudes towards immigrants indeed differ between rural and urban populations and that these differences vary between countries. Thereupon, it was shown that income inequality and native-born unemployment moderate the influence of urban and rural settings on attitudes towards immigrants. Higher perceived immigrant populations were also found to interact with residential settings, although not as expected. Higher national income inequality, native-born unemployment and perceived immigrant populations are all associated with smaller urban-rural gaps regarding attitudes towards immigrants. By controlling for individual-level demographic variables, these findings offer empirical support for the contextual effects hypothesis. Moreover, these findings translate into strategies that policy makers can employ to mitigate divergent urban and rural attitudes towards immigrants

Magnetic Determination of Hc2H_{c2} under Accurate Alignment in (TMTSF)2_2ClO4_4

Cantilever magnetometry has been used to measure the upper critical magnetic field $H_{c2}$ of the quasi-one dimensional molecular organic superconductor (TMTSF)$_2$ClO$_4$. From simultaneous resistivity and torque magnetization experiments conducted under precise field alignment, $H_{c2}$ at low temperature is shown to reach 5T, nearly twice the Pauli paramagnetic limit imposed on spin singlet superconductors. These results constitute the first thermodynamic evidence for a large $H_{c2}$ in this system and provide support for spin triplet pairing in this unconventional superconductorComment: Submitted July 1, 2003, Accepted December 9, 2003, Physical Review Letter

Possible Triplet Electron Pairing and an Anisotropic Spin Susceptibility in Organic Superconductors (TMTSF)_2 X

We argue that (TMTSF)_2 PF_6 compound under pressure is likely a triplet superconductor with a vector order parameter d(k) \equiv (d_a(k) \neq 0, d_c(k) = ?, d_{b'}(k) = 0); |d_a(k)| > |d_c(k)|. It corresponds to an anisotropic spin susceptibility at T=0: \chi_{b'} = \chi_0, \chi_a \ll \chi_0, where \chi_0 is its value in a metallic phase. [The spin quantization axis, z, is parallel to a so-called b'-axis]. We show that the suggested order parameter explains why the upper critical field along the b'-axis exceeds all paramagnetic limiting fields, including that for a nonuniform superconducting state, whereas the upper critical field along the a-axis (a \perp b') is limited by the Pauli paramagnetic effects [I. J. Lee, M. J. Naughton, G. M. Danner and P. M. Chaikin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 3555 (1997)]. The triplet order parameter is in agreement with the recent Knight shift measurements by I. J. Lee et al. as well as with the early results on a destruction of superconductivity by nonmagnetic impurities and on the absence of the Hebel-Slichter peak in the NMR relaxation rate.Comment: 4 pages, 1 eps figur

Determination of the target nucleosides for members of two families of 16S rRNA methyltransferases that confer resistance to partially overlapping groups of aminoglycoside antibiotics

The 16S ribosomal RNA methyltransferase enzymes that modify nucleosides in the drug binding site to provide self-resistance in aminoglycoside-producing micro-organisms have been proposed to comprise two distinct groups of S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM)-dependent RNA enzymes, namely the Kgm and Kam families. Here, the nucleoside methylation sites for three Kgm family methyltransferases, Sgm from Micromonospora zionensis, GrmA from Micromonospora echinospora and Krm from Frankia sp. Ccl3, were experimentally determined as G1405 by MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry. These results significantly extend the list of securely characterized G1405 modifying enzymes and experimentally validate their grouping into a single enzyme family. Heterologous expression of the KamB methyltransferase from Streptoalloteichus tenebrarius experimentally confirmed the requirement for an additional 60 amino acids on the deduced KamB N-terminus to produce an active methyltransferase acting at A1408, as previously suggested by an in silico analysis. Finally, the modifications at G1405 and A1408, were shown to confer partially overlapping but distinct resistance profiles in Escherichia coli. Collectively, these data provide a more secure and systematic basis for classification of new aminoglycoside resistance methyltransferases from producers and pathogenic bacteria on the basis of their sequences and resistance profiles

Different coordination abilities of 1,7- and 4,7-phenanthroline in the reactions with copper(II) salts: Structural characterization and biological evaluation of the reaction products

The reactions between equimolar amounts of CuX2 (X = NO3− and CF3SO3−) and two aromatic nitrogen-containing heterocycles differing in the position of nitrogen atoms, 1,7- and 4,7-phenanthroline (1,7- and 4,7-phen), were performed in ethanol/methanol at room temperature. When CuX2 salts were mixed with 4,7-phen, two copper(II) complexes, [Cu(NO3)2(4,7-Hphen)2](NO3)2 (1) and [Cu(CF3SO3)(4,7- phen)2(H2O)2]CF3SO3 (2), were formed. On the other hand, in the reaction of CuX2 salts with 1,7-phen, only 1,7-HphenNO3 (3a/b) and 1,7-HphenCF3SO3 (4) were obtained as the final products. The obtained products 1–4 were characterized by spectroscopic and X-ray diffraction techniques. In the copper(II) complexes 1 and 2, the coordination geometry around the Cu(II) ion is distorted octahedral and square pyramidal, respectively. The antimicrobial potential of the copper(II) complexes 1 and 2 and corresponding compounds used for their synthesis were assessed against four different bacterial species and Candida albicans, displaying moderate growth inhibiting activity. The cytotoxic properties of the investigated complexes were also evaluated against the normal human lung fibroblast cell line (MRC-5) indicating moderate, yet more pronounced cytotoxicity than antimicrobial properties

Triplet superconductivity in a one-dimensional ferromagnetic t-J model

In this paper we study the ground state phase diagram of a one-dimensional $t-U-J$ model, at half-filling. In the large-bandwidth limit and for ferromagnetic exchange with easy-plane anisotropy, a phase with gapless charge and massive spin excitations, characterized by the coexistence of triplet superconducting ($TS$) and spin density wave ($SDW^{z}$) instabilities is realized in the ground state. With reduction of the bandwidth, a transition into an insulating phase showing properties of the spin-1/2 XY model takes place. In the case of weakly anisotropic antiferromagnetic exchange the system shows a long range dimerized (Peierls) ordering in the ground state. The complete weak-coupling phase diagram of the model, including effects of the on-site Hubbard interaction, is obtained