How different are the indicatrixes of the leaves of various woody plant species?

Some researchers assume that the light reflection from leaves is Lambertian, but I verify that some leaves exist showing no Lambertian reflection. One can measure the indicatrixes of leaves of various woody plant species by the use of a goniophotometer. Minnaert constants can be calculated from these indicatrixes for quantitative evaluation. I discuss why light scattering from leaves does not always obey Lambertian law.     

基于演算子的热过程执行机构故障诊断系统设计

This paper proposes an operator based fault detection method for an actuator fault of an aluminum plate thermal process with input constraints. Operator-based robust right coprime factorization (RCF) approach is utilized in this method. After developing a mathematical model of the thermal process, a robust tracking operator system is designed for the process with input constraints. Following this, design of the fault detection system is given by using operator-based robust RCF approach. Finally, experiment is conducted to support the proposed design method.     

Indicatrices of the earth's surface reflection from Landsat MSS data

A method of obtaining an indicatrix or a scattering diagram of the earth's surface is developed. When we regard the earth's surface as a kind of irregular surface, the indicatrix of scattered radiation is a way of effective representation of its surface roughness. The indicatrices of radiation over the sands of a seashore, a downtown area of Tokyo, and some of its suburban areas are obtained from Landsat MSS data. The radiant intensity decreases within the range of 32 degrees to 65 degrees of scattering angles in accordance with the degree of urbanization. Experimental results obtained by a remote sensing simulator are compared with those of Landsat MSS data analysis.     

Conversion Process of Strontium–Titanium Bimetallic Methoxyethoxide Precursor into SrTiO3 via Hydrolysis/Calcination

The conversion of a Sr–Ti bimetallic methoxyethoxide precursor into SrTiO₃ via hydrolysis and/or calcination was investigated. Hydrolysis with various water/metal molar ratios ( r _H; r _H= 0.5, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10) in tetrahydrofuran at reflux resulted in a decrease in the amount of the methoxyethoxyl groups, and the hydrolyzed products were soluble with r _H≤ 2. At r _H≥ 8, SrTiO₃ was crystallized without calcination. Both the hydrolyzed and unhydrolyzed precursors ( r _H= 0, 0.5, 2) were calcined in dry air at 550°–800°C. SrTiO₃ was crystallized on calcination at ≥550°C from amorphous materials with a considerable loss of carbon, which was present as both chars and carbonate ions.     

A novel alcohol resistant metalloproteinase, vimelysin, from vibrio sp. T1800: purification and characterization

We found a novel metalloproteinase, which has high activity at low temperatures and in the presence of organic solvents, in the culture supernatant of a marine bacterium, Vibrio sp. T1800. The metalloproteinase, named vimelysin, was purified from the culture supernatant by three column chromatographies. About 150 mg of purified vimelysin was obtained from 3.3 liters of the culture supernatant with a high yield of 57%. The purified vimelysin showed a single protein band on SDS-PAGE with molecular weight of 38,000. The isoelectric point of vimelysin was 4.3 by isoelectric focusing. The optimum pH of vimelysin was pH 8.0 or pH 6.5 using casein or furylacryloyl-glycyl-leucine amide (FAGLA) as substrates, respectively. The optimum temperature of vimelysin was 50 degrees C when casein was used as a substrate, but it was 15 degrees C when FAGLA was used as a substrate. Interestingly, vimelysin activity was completely retained after 48 h of incubation at 25 degrees C in the presence of 50% ethanol. Moreover, vimelysin showed 40% activity of the control even in the presence of 10% ethanol, while thermolysin showed only 5% activity under the same conditions.     

Experiment on deflector-selector optical switch matrix

An electro-optic switch matrix composed of planar waveguide (free-space) interconnection and deflectors is proposed. The architecture offers one solution for the interconnection problem imposed on an optical switch matrix.<>     

Wavelength conversions between the two silica fibre loss windows at1.31 and 1.55 μm using difference frequency generation

Wavelength conversions between the two silica fibre loss windows at 1.55 and 1.31 μm have been demonstrated, for the first time, using difference frequency generation (DFG) in a periodically domain-inverted LiNbO₃ channel waveguide. The conversion efficiency, which is proportional to pump light power, is -31 dB for a pump light power of only 3.6 mW     

Identification of l-histidine oxidase activity in Achromobacter sp. TPU 5009 for l-histidine determination

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A functional approach for managing ITER operations

ITER is currently the most ambitious project on nuclear fusion research. Its objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of fusion as an energy source for the future. The complexity of the systems required to meet this challenge present many opportunities for omissions or incorrect assumptions. System engineering allows the engineer to deal with such a complexity by developing a Functional Breakdown Structure (FBS). Unlike a Plant Breakdown Structure (PBS), the FBS is a function-oriented tree, not a product-oriented tree. It details operations or activities that have to be performed as needed functions of the architecture, allowing identification of any missing elements, defining the personnel skills required to operate the architecture and managing the machine availability.