Positive observer design for positive Markovian jump systems with partly known transition rates

The paper is concerned with positive observer design for positive Markovian jump systems with partly known transition rates. By applying a linear co-positive type Lyapunov-Krasovskii function, a sufficient condition is proposed to ensure the stochastic stability of the error positive system and the existence of the positive observer, which is computed in linear programming. Finally, an example is given to demonstrate the validity of the main results.     

Tunable water-based lubrication behavior of alkyl- and fluoroalkyl-silanes

In this paper,we report the tribological properties of self-assembled molecular(SAM) films of fluoroalkylsilanes and non-fluoroalkylsilanes,with different chain-lengths,adsorbed on Si substrate surfaces by covalent bonds.The SAM films were characterized using a universal ball-disk experimental tester in aqueous solutions.The substrate surface was examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),and the SAM films adsorbed on the Si surfaces were inspected by contact angle measurements and XPS.Lubrication studies revealed that several kinds of fluoroalkylsilanes had similar friction coefficients;the small differences were attributed to the chain flexibility.In contrast,differences in the aqueous lubrication properties of SAM films of non-fluoroalkylsilanes were clearly identified.It is suggested that substitution with fluorine atoms and the surface affinities of fluoroalkylsilanes contributed to redistribution of surface changes,causing variations in lubrication behaviors.     

Continuity of solution mappings for parametric generalized set-valued weak vector equilibrium problems

This paper obtains some stability results for parametric generalized set-valued weak vector equilibrium problem. Under new assumptions, which do not contain any information about solution mappings, the authors establish the continuity of the solution mapping to a parametric generalized set-valued weak vector equilibrium problem without monotonicity. These results extend and improve some results in the literature. Some examples are given to illustrate the results.     

Magnetoresistance of the thin film ferromagnetic nanoconstrictions

The magnetoresistance and I-V characteristics at different temperatures of the thin film ferromagnetic nanoconstrictions of variable width (from 20 to 250 nm) and 10 nm thicknesses, fabricated by electron beam lithography and vacuum thin film deposition are compared. The magnetoresistance and resistance of the thin film ferromagnetic nanoconstrictions are not related to the width of the nanoconstrictions. Instead the resistance of the local nano-region in the middle of the thin film ferromagnetic nanoconstriction has only a minor role compared to that of the two microscale thin film ferromagnetic electrodes, which contribute the majority of the measured resistance. The magnetoresistances of the thin film ferromagnetic nanoconstrictions and a 0.2 cm × 0.8 cm thin ferromagnetic film deposited under the same conditions were also compared; the thin film ferromagnetic nanoconstrictions have higher magnetoresistances than the thin ferromagnetic film, which implies that the measured magnetoresistance of the thin film ferromagnetic nanoconstrictions comes mainly from the local nano-region in their centers. In conclusion, the measured magnetoresistance of the whole sample is similar to the anisotropic magnetoresistance, because the resistance of the two microscale thin film ferromagnetic electrodes is much higher than that of the local nano-region in the middle of the samples. Comparing the experimental results for the thin film ferromagnetic nanoconstrictions and the thin ferromagnetic film reveals that the magnetoresistance of the local nano-region in the middle of the sample is much higher than that of the two microscale thin film ferromagnetic electrodes attached to it.     

Chiral pyrrolidine-azole conjugates: Simple and efficient asymmetric organocatalysts for Michael addition to nitrostyrenes

Simple pyrrolidine-azole conjugates have been synthesized and found to be efficient catalysts for asymmetric Michael addition to nitrostyrenes. The identified optimal catalysts, pyrrolidine-azoles 2, 8 and 13, could catalyze the asymmetric Michael addition of a range of Michael donors and nitrostyrenes in high yields (up to 99%) and excellent stereoselectivities (up to 99:1 dr and 97% ee).     

Identification of susceptibility genes loci associated with type 2 diabetes

In this study, we selected 10 susceptible SNPs loci to investigate their contribution to susceptibility to type 2 diabetes in Han Chinese among Hubei population. We genotyped SNPs rs5219, rs1801282, rs1470579, rs1111875, rs1081661, rs7754840, rs4506565, rs13266634, rs4402960, and rs5643981 by using the method of polymerase chain reaction-ligase detection reaction (PCR-LDR). In a case-control study, we have genotyped the 10 candidate susceptibility SNP loci, and here, we reported that the SNP rs5219 in KCNJ1...     

Synthesis and photo-responsive behaviors of hollow polyazobenzene micro-spheres

By means of distillation precipitation polymerization, the silica-hybrid particles with polyazobenzene shell (PAzo@SiO₂) micro-spheres were prepared with 6-(4-methoxy-4′-oxy-azobenzene) hexyl methacrylate (Azo-M) as monomer, divinylbenzene (DVB) as cross-linker, and ~250 nm vinylated sol-gel silica particles as template. Hollow polyazobenzene microspheres were further developed after selective removal of the silica cores with HF solution. When the content of DVB related to Azo-M is 20 wt%, the acetonitrile is 200 mL, and the polymerization time is 4.5 h, the hollow PAzo microspheres with about 20 nm shell are successfully fabricated. These hollow PAzo microspheres have excellent reversible photoisomerization, and their first-order rate constant of trans-cis isomerization only decreases 11.8% compared with homopolymer of azobenzene (Homo-PAzo).     

Sequence similarity analysis of non-self CTL epitopes and mouse proteins using sequence alignment

This research analyzed amino acid sequence similarity between non-self T cell epitopes recognized by mouse antibodies and mouse proteins. Using sequence alignment,we found that only 8 of 1 108 epitopes are highly similar to mouse protein sequences. The result shows that non-self T cell epitopes are not similar or have little similarity to mouse protein sequences. Furthermore,reviewing the related literature,we also found that the eight epitopes would trigger immune responses in some particular environment,which are ignored by T cells in normal condition. The result suggests that no or low-similarity peptide vaccines can reduce the chance of collateral cross-reactions and enhance the antigen-specific immune response to vaccine.