bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Towards a model for integrative medicine in Swedish primary care
Authors: Sundberg Tobias , Halpin Jeremy , Warenmark Anders , Falkenberg Torkel
Published: July 2007

Background

Collaboration between providers of conventional care and complementary therapies (CTs) has gained in popularity but there is a lack of conceptualised models for delivering such care, i.e. integrative medicine (IM). The aim of this paper is to describe some key findings relevant to the development and implementation of a proposed model for IM adapted to Swedish primary care.

Methods

Investigative procedures involved research group and key informant meetings with multiple stakeholders including general practitioners, CT providers, medical specialists, primary care administrators and county council representatives. Data collection included meeting notes which were fed back within the research group and used as ongoing working documents. Data analysis was made by immersion/crystallisation and research group consensus. Results were categorised within a public health systems framework of structures, processes and outcomes.

Results

The outcome was an IM model that aimed for a patient-centered, interdisciplinary, non-hierarchical mix of conventional and complementary medical solutions to individual case management of patients with pain in the lower back and/or neck. The IM model case management adhered to standard clinical practice including active partnership between a gate-keeping general practitioner, collaborating with a team of CT providers in a consensus case conference model of care. CTs with an emerging evidence base included Swedish massage therapy, manual therapy/naprapathy, shiatsu, acupuncture and qigong.

Conclusion

Despite identified barriers such as no formal recognition of CT professions in Sweden, it was possible to develop a model for IM adapted to Swedish primary care. The IM model calls for testing and refinement in a pragmatic randomised controlled trial to explore its clinical effectiveness.
Complexes with FeIII2(μ-O)(μ-OH) Core Surrounded by Hydrogen-Bonding Interaction
Authors: Honda Yasutaka , Arii Hidekazu , Okumura Takeshi , Wada Akira , Funahashi Yasuhiro , Ozawa Tomohiro , Jitsukawa Koichiro , Masuda Hideki
Published: July 2007

Three new complexes with FeIII2(μ-O)(μ-OH) core surrounded with one, two, and three amino groups, that is, (6-amino-2-pyridylmethyl)bis(pyridylmethyl)amine (MAPA), bis(6-amino-2-pyridylmethyl)(pyridylmethyl)amine (BAPA), and tris(6-amino-2-pyridylmethyl)amine (TAPA), which act as hydrogen-bonding sites, were synthesized and characterized by electronic absorption spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. Their structural bond parameters, Fe–N(pyridine), Fe–N(amine), and Fe–μ-O(H) bonds, Fe···Fe distance, and Fe–O–Fe angle, could be explained in terms of a combination of two conflicting interactions between NH2 and μ-O(H) groups, that is, a steric repulsion and a hydrogen-bonding interactions. The LMCT bands of μ-O to iron(III) may be affected by hydrogen-bonding interactions between NH and μ-O(H) groups, which are discussed in connection with the formation processes of compound Q and compound X in sMMO and RNR-R2, respectively.
Effects of Electrolytes on the Redox Potential and the Rate of the CO Dissociation Reaction of Trinuclear Ruthenium Monocarbonyl Complexes Self-Assembled on an Au(111) Electrode Surface
Authors: Michi Takayuki , Abe Masaaki , Matsuno Junzo , Uosaki Kohei , Sasaki Yoichi
Published: July 2007

Densely packed redox-active self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of monocarbonyl triruthenium complexes [Ru3(μ3-O)(μ-CH3COO)6(CO)(mpy)(C10PY)] (1) (mpy, 4-methylpyridine; C10PY, {(NC5H4)CH2NHC(O)(CH2)10S–}2), [Ru3(μ3-O)(μ-CH3COO)6(CO)(μ-C10PY)] (2), and [{Ru3(μ3-O)(μ-CH3COO)6(CO)(mpy)}2(μ-C10PY)] (3) have been constructed on an Au(111) electrode surface. They were characterized by infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS), spectroscopic ellipsometry, and contact angle measurement as well as cyclic voltammetry. Redox potential of the SAMs of 1 at the interface of aqueous electrolyte solutions shifted negatively as the concentration of HClO4 increased from 0.01 to 1.0 mol dm−3 with the slope of 0.059 V/decade and as the electrolyte was changed from H2SO4 (0.79 V vs. Ag|AgCl) to HNO3 (0.69 V) and HClO4 (0.59 V) at a fixed concentration of 0.1 mol dm−3. No significant difference in the redox potential was observed between the acid and its sodium salt. The effect is explained, as previously reported for the ferrocenylalkanethiol and non-carbonyl triruthenium SAMs, in terms of the effective ion pair formation in the order ClO4− > NO3− > SO42−. The rate of the CO dissociation reaction of the complex in the SAMs (complete within a few minutes at room temperature) that occurs in the oxidation state of Ru3III,III,III was not very sensitive to the applied electrode potential (0.6–0.8 V), but increased by ca. 2.5 times as the concentration of HClO4 (0.01–1.0 mol dm−3) was lowered, and by ca. one-order of magnitude as the electrolyte anions was changed from ClO4− to SO42− and NO3−.
Factors affecting the use of space by two rodent species in Brazilian Atlantic forest
Authors: Bergallo Helena Godoy , Magnusson William E.
Published: July 2007

The main purpose of this study was to determine whether the maximum
distance traveled and home range area of Nectomys squamipes and Oryzomys
russatus differ between sexes, breeding seasons and species. We also evaluated
whether rainfall and food availability influenced the maximum distance traveled.
Rats were trapped monthly from February 1993 to January 1995 in an
area of Atlantic forest, Brasil. Maximum distance traveled by N. squamipes
was not related to mass and was longer during the breeding season for males.
There were no differences between seasons in the distances traveled by
O. russatus, but larger males traveled further. Food availability and rainfall
had no effect on the distance traveled by each species. Home ranges of male
N. squamipes were larger than those of females during the breeding season,
but home ranges did not differ between the sexes in O. russatus. Differences
between the two species in movement may be related to differences in mating
systems, which are probably promiscuous in N. squamipes and monogamous
in O. russatus.
Co3O4 Nanostructures with Different Morphologies and their Field‐Emission Properties
Authors: Varghese B. , Teo C. H. , Zhu Y. , Reddy M. V. , Chowdari B. V. R. , Wee A. T. S. , Tan V. B. C. , Lim C. T. , Sow C.‐H.
Published: July 2007

We report an efficient method to synthesize vertically aligned Co3O4 nanostructures on the surface of cobalt foils. This synthesis is accomplished by simply heating the cobalt foils in the presence of oxygen gas. The resultant morphologies of the nanostructures can be tailored to be either one‐dimensional nanowires or two‐dimensional nanowalls by controlling the reactivity and the diffusion rate of the oxygen species during the growth process. A possible growth mechanism governing the formation of such nanostructures is discussed. The field‐emission properties of the as‐synthesized nanostructures are investigated in detail. The turn‐on field was determined to be 6.4 and 7.7 V μm–1 for nanowires and nanowalls, respectively. The nanowire samples show superior field‐emission characteristics with a lower turn‐on field and higher current density because of their sharp tip geometry and high aspect ratio.
Lanthanide Class of a Trinuclear Enantiopure Helical Architecture Containing Chiral Ligands: Synthesis, Structure, and Properties
Authors: Lama Marco , Mamula Olimpia , Kottas Gregg S. , Rizzo Fabio , De Cola Luisa , Nakamura Asao , Kuroda Reiko , Stoeckli‐Evans Helen
Published: July 2007

The pinene‐bipyridine carboxylic derivatives (+)‐ and (−)‐HL, designed to form configurationally stable lanthanide complexes, proved their effectiveness as chiral building blocks for the synthesis of lanthanide‐containing superstructures. Indeed a self‐assembly process takes place with complete diastereoselectivity between the enantiomerically pure ligand L−and LnIIIions (La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er), thus leading to the quantitative formation of a trinuclear supramolecular architecture with the general formula [Ln3(L)6(μ3‐OH)(H2O)3](ClO4)2(abbreviated as tris(Ln[L]2)). This class ofC3‐symmetrical compounds was structurally characterized in the solid state and solution. Electrospray (ES) mass spectrometric and1H NMR spectroscopic analyses indicated that the trinuclear species are maintained in solution (CH2Cl2) and are stable in the investigated concentration range (10−2–10−6 m). The photophysical properties of the ligand HL and its tris(Ln[L]2) complexes were studied at room temperature and 77 K, thus demonstrating that the metal‐centered luminescence is well sensitized both for the visible and near‐IR emitters. The chiroptical properties of tris(Ln[L]2) complexes were investigated by means of circular dichroism (CD) and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL). A high CD activity is displayed in the region of π–π* transitions of bipyridine. CPL spectra of tris(Eu[(+)‐L]2) and tris(Tb[(+)‐L]2) present large dissymmetry factorsgemfor the sensitive transitions of EuIII(5D0→7F1,gem=−0.088) and TbIII(5D4→7F5,gem=−0.0806). The self‐recognition capabilities of the system were tested in the presence of artificial enantiomeric mixtures of the ligand.1H NMR spectra identical to those of the enantiomerically pure complexes and investigations by CD spectroscopic analysis reveal an almost complete chiral self‐recognition in the self‐assembly process, thus leading to mixtures of homochiral trinuclear structures.
Phase 2 study of erlotinib in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Thomas Melanie B. , Chadha Romil , Glover Katrina , Wang Xuemei , Morris Jeffrey , Brown Thomas , Rashid Asif , Dancey Janet , Abbruzzese James L.
Published: July 2007

BACKGROUND.

Growth factor overexpression, including epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression, is common in hepatocellular cancers. Erlotinib is a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor with specificity for EGFR. The primary objective of this study was to determine the proportion of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients treated with erlotinib who were alive and progression‐free (PFS) at 16 weeks of continuous treatment.

METHODS.

Patients with unresectable HCC, no prior systemic therapy, performance status (PS) of 0, 1, or 2, and Childs‐Pugh (CP) cirrhosis A or B received oral erlotinib 150 mg daily for 28‐day cycles. Tumor response was assessed every 2 cycles by using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST; National Cancer Institute Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, Bethesda, Md) criteria. Patients accrued to either “low” or “high” EGFR expression cohorts; each cohort had stopping rules applied when there was a lack of efficacy.

RESULTS.

Forty HCC patients were enrolled. Median age was 64 years (range, 33–83 years), sex distribution was 32 males and 8 females, performance scores were 40% PS 0, 55% PS 1, Childs‐Pugh distribution was 75% A and 20% B. There were no complete or partial responses; however, 17 of 40 patients achieved stable disease at 16 weeks of continuous therapy. The PFS at 16 weeks was 43%, and the median overall survival (OS) was 43 weeks (10.75 months). No patients required dose reductions of erlotinib. No correlation between EGFR expression and outcome was found.

CONCLUSIONS.

Results of this study indicated that single‐agent erlotinib is well tolerated and has modest disease‐control benefit in HCC, manifested as modestly prolonged PFS and OS when compared with historical controls. Cancer 2007. Published 2007 by the American Cancer Society.
Reactive Plasma‐Aided RF Sputtering Deposition of Hydroxyapatite Bio‐implant Coatings
Authors: Long J. , Sim L. , Xu S. , Ostrikov K.
Published: July 2007

The plasma‐assisted RF sputtering deposition of a biocompatible, functionally graded calcium phosphate bioceramic on a Ti6Al4 V orthopedic alloy is reported. The chemical composition and presence of hydroxyapatite (HA), CaTiO3, and CaO mineral phases can be effectively controlled by the process parameters. At higher DC biases, the ratio [Ca]/[P] and the amount of CaO increase, whereas the HA content decreases. Optical emission spectroscopy suggests that CaO+ is the dominant species that responds to negative DC bias and controls calcium content. Biocompatibility tests in simulated body fluid confirm a positive biomimetic response evidenced by in‐growth of an apatite layer after 24 h of immersion.
Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Growth of Thin A‐C:H Films Under Additional Ion Bombardment: Influence of the Growth Species and the Ar+ Ion Kinetic Energy
Authors: Neyts E. , Eckert M. , Bogaerts A.
Published: July 2007

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are used to investigate the growth of thin, amorphous, hydrogenated carbon films for conditions corresponding to an argon/acetylene expanding thermal plasma with additional ion bombardment. It is shown that the hydrocarbon growth species determines the final structure of the film, in particular how the Ar+ ions contribute to the growth process. Attention is focused on how the Ar+ ion energy and flux influence the morphology of the films, the hydrogen content, the density, and the carbon coordination in the films due to a knock‐on penetration mechanism.
Two optimized combination assays to examine apoptosis pathways in clinical samples
Authors: Hollier Mark , Whistler Toni , Dawson Carolyn , Vernon Suzanne D.
Published: July 2007

Background:

A consequence of a number of diseases is an alteration in apoptosis. Currently, there is no single assay that measures the main stages of apoptosis, requiring that multiple assays be performed. This hinders studies on clinical samples that have limited cell numbers. Our objective was to combine and optimize assays that target specific stages of apoptosis for use in a typical clinical blood sample.

Methods:

Two flow cytometric assays were developed for use on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) collected in two 8‐ml tubes from a single draw. One measures caspase‐12 activity, the level of active caspase‐3 and DNA fragmentation. The second assesses depolarization of the mitochondria and phosphatidylserine externalization. Cell populations present within the samples were determined by flow cytometry. Apoptosis was validated by ELISA.

Results:

Each assay was optimized for use with cell numbers and sample volumes typical of clinical blood samples. Each combination assay effectively distinguished apoptotic from nonapoptotic blood cells.

Conclusions:

This combined optimized method comprised of two independent assays makes it possible to assay the major pathways of apoptosis in addition to determining the blood cell subsets that are affected. Published 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Over expression of glutamate cysteine ligase increases cellular resistance to H2O2‐induced DNA single‐strand breaks
Authors: Shi Shengli , Hudson Francesca N. , Botta Dianne , McGrath Monica B. , White Collin C. , Neff‐LaFord Haley D. , Dabrowski Michael J. , Singh Narendra P. , Kavanagh Terrance J.
Published: July 2007

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) can cause single strand DNA breaks (ssDNA) in cells when the mechanisms normally in place to reduce it are overwhelmed. Such mechanisms include catalase, glutathione peroxidases (GPx), and peroxiredoxins. The relative importance of these enzymes in H2O2 reduction varies with cell and tissue type. The role of the GPx cofactor glutathione (GSH) in oxidative defense can be further understood by modulating its synthesis. The first and rate‐limiting enzyme in GSH synthesis is glutamate‐cysteine ligase (GCL), which has a catalytic subunit (Gclc) and a modifier subunit (Gclm). Using mouse hepatoma cells we evaluated the effects of GCL over expression on H2O2‐induced changes in GSH and ssDNA break formation with the single cell gel electrophoresis assay (SCG or comet assay), and the acridine orange DNA unwinding flow cytometry assay (AO unwinding assay). Cells over expressing GCL had higher GSH content than control cells, and both SCG and AO unwinding assays revealed that cells over expressing GCL were significantly more resistant to H2O2‐induced ssDNA break formation. Furthermore, using the AO unwinding assay, the prevalence of H2O2‐induced breaks in different phases of the cell cycle was not different, and the degree of protection afforded by GCL over expression was also not cell cycle phase dependant. Our results support the hypothesis that GCL over expression enhanced GSH biosynthesis and protected cells from H2O2‐induced DNA breaks. These results also suggest that genetic polymorphisms that affect GCL expression may be important determinants of oxidative DNA damage and cancer. © 2007 International Society for Analytical Cytology
Application of complex kalman filter to NMR spectroscopy
Authors: Nishiyama Kiyoshi , Mita Tutomu
Published: July 2007

The Fourier transform NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy is used widely at present as a noninvasive method in the structural analysis of macromolecules in organic chemistry and in the metabolic study of tissue and cells in biochemistry. We believe, however, that the Fourier transform is not adequate in the determination of the density distribution of the nucleus. the NMR signal contains essentially the relaxation (a kind of damping) phenomena, but the Fourier transform does not take this fact into consideration. Consequently, the obtained NMR spectrum is degraded both in intensity and resolution, providing apparent nucleus density distribution which is different from the true value. This paper proposes an estimation of the NMR spectrum, which positively takes the relaxation phenomenon into consideration. the method is derived by extending the Kalman filter to the complex stochastic system and applying the result to the NMR signal represented by the complex stochastic system. the proposed method is applied to the NMR signal of proton (1H) obtained from mayonnaise in 2[T] static magnetic field. the result is compared with the NMR spectrum obtained by the Fourier transform, and it is shown that the resolution and the intensity are improved drastically.
Analysis and minimization of roundoff noise in separable denominator multidimensional digital filters
Authors: Zhao Qiangfu , Kawamata Masayuki , Higuchi Tatsuo
Published: July 2007

This paper studies the analysis and minimization of roundoff noise in separable denominator multidimensional (SD M‐D) digital filters on the basis of state‐space representations. First, the roundoff noise in SD M‐D digital filters is analyzed and the l2‐norm dynamic range constraint is discussed. Using the results, a synthesis method of optimal realizations (with respect to roundoff noise) is proposed. Further, the simple relation between balanced realizations and optimal realizations of SD M‐D digital filters is obtained and an efficient method for synthesizing optimal realizations from balanced realizations is proposed. In addition, this paper also proves that optimal realizations are free of overflow oscillations under zero input conditions. Finally, the synthesis procedure is illustrated by a numerical example.
Design and analysis of low‐sensitivity all‐pole low‐pass switched capacitor filters
Authors: Inoue Takahiro , Ueno Fumio
Published: July 2007

All‐pole switched capacitor filters (SCFs) having a zero worst‐case sensitivity of amplitude response in their passband are proposed, together with their approximate and exact design methods. In the approximate design method, a normalized doubly terminated LC ladder filter which satisfies given specification is used for an analog reference filter. the LDI s‐a transformation is applied to the equations representing this circuit. Stable equations representing the approximated circuit are obtained by replacing the terminal resistances with frequency‐ dependent cosine‐function resistances. the design is carried out based on these equations. In the exact design method, a doubly terminated unit‐element filter which satisfies specifications is used as a reference filter. From its lumped‐element equivalent circuit using two kinds of complex‐frequency variables, equations in the same form as those of the foredescribed approximated circuit are obtained. the SCFs are designed based on these equations.

In this paper, first, a general Circuitstructure in which the minimum worst‐case sensitivity of amplitude response in the passband can be zero is shown. Based on this, formulas of the approximate and exact designs of an all‐pole low‐pass SCF circuit are given. As an example, the design of a third‐order all‐pole low‐pass SCF is shown. the proposed SCF is compared with a typical conventional SCF, and excellence of the former, such as a low element sensitivity, is demonstrated.
Stopping rules based on a posteriori probability for every pattern and every stage
Authors: Suzuki Joe , Matsushima Toshiyasu , Hirasawa Shigeichi , Inazumi Hiroshige
Published: July 2007

The algorithms for pattern recognition systems considering the observation cost from the viewpoint of the system, can be re duced to the problems of stopping rule in which we must determine when the observation should be stopped. As the stopping rule in the Bayesian pattern recognition, methods based on DP search first given by K. S. Fu et al. is known to be the optimum in the sense of the minimum risk. A problem in those methods is that an exponential amount of data must be stored in memory for each observation stage, which is hard to realize. This paper discusses the new class of stopping rules, where the optimum thresholds based on a posteriori probability are chosen for each pattern and for each stage. the proposed method is not applicable to the problem where the patterns have strong correlations in the observed values along each dimension, but it can realize almost the same performance from the viewpoint of the minimum risk, while eliminating the number of parameters to be stored. the method also provides a model for the conventional method to set the border for the likelihood ratio when the a priori probabilities of the patterns are distributed uniformly.
A simplification of computation for optimal control problems using fixed‐point theorem
Authors: Shidama Yasunari , Ohta Toyomi , Yamaura Hiroo
Published: July 2007

This paper proposes a first‐order algorithm for unconstrained nonlinear optimal control problems based on the fixed point theorem. the method has the following features: (a) the algorithm is simple; (b) unlike second‐order algorithms, the choice of the first approximation is less critical; and (c) unlike gradient methods, experimental selections of parameters during iterative calculations are not required. This paper also describes the conditions of convergence of the algorithm in the space of continuous functions, and the optimality of a solution derived.
An error analysis of an approximation method for band‐limited signals using minimum energy signal‐existence of the optimum number of sampling points and its estimation
Authors: Uyematsu Tomohiko , Sakaniwa Kohichi , Kishi Genya
Published: July 2007

For an approximation problem of band‐limited signals, “minimum energy signal” is defined as a band‐limited waveform with minimum energy that takes the specified sample valueas at the given sampling points.

By using minimum energy signals, we have already reported a new approximation method for band‐limited signals. In the proposed method, sampling points are selected from a given time interval so as to minimize the square error between the original and the approximation signals. However, when this approximation method is realized with a digital hardware or a digital computer, there are round‐off noises in sample values due to the finite word length of the hardware system. Thus, to employ our proposed approximation method in practice, it is essentially important to analyze the effect of this round‐off noise.

In this paper, some properties of minimum energy signals are investigated when the sample values of the signal are quantized to fit a finite word length of the hardware, i.e., a fixed‐point of floating point format. Also, it is shown that an optimum number of sampling points may exist when the proposed approximation method is applied to signals with noise. Moreover, by considering the effect of noise in advance, we propose a method to estimate the optimum number of sampling point as well as to determine the statistically optimum sampling points.
An optimal symbolic reliability expression using spanning trees for source‐to‐all‐terminal systems
Authors: Noda Takashi , Higashiyama Youichi , Ariyoshi Hiromu , Shirakawa Isao
Published: July 2007

In the probabilistic graph, SAT reliability may be defined as the probability that there exists at least one path consisting only of successful edges from s (source vertex) to every other vertex. The SDP method enumerates Boolean product terms corresponding to each of the minimal sets of edges (tree or cutset) whose success or failure results in successful or failed graph operation. The method then generates the reliability formula by transforming a Boolean sum of products into an equivalent form in which all terms are disjoint. However, this method has disadvantages in that in the process of transformation an intermediate product term should be compared with partially formed disjoint terms to determine the term to be retained or dropped, and the amount of computation time is dominated by the number of comparisons.

This paper defines an optimal SAT reliability formula which is the one with a minimal number of product terms. Next, the expected property and ordering of the minimal sets for generating the optimal formula are discussed and some conditions are presented to obtain an optimal one whose number of terms is equal to the number of minimal sets. Furthermore, this paper proposes an optimal method which has a fundamental operation to enumerate spanning trees by edge reductions (open‐ or short‐circuiting) and derives an optimal formula such that the number of terms in the SAT reliability formula is equal to the number of spanning trees and each term of the formula can be determined from a spanning tree and its particular chords without use of Boolean algebra. Since every term is determined directly without comparisons at a time when a tree is generated, it seems to result in less computation time and remarkable saving of the memory space compared with the SDP method using a set of minimal cutsets.
Bandpass magnitude and delay approximations using digital transfer functions
Authors: Yamaguchi Yasuhiro , Tomiyama Shigenori , Takebe Tsuyoshi
Published: July 2007

This paper proposes a method to approximate transfer functions of magnitude and delay digital equalizers for transmission channels with bandpass characteristics. In this method, an extrapolation band is added to the equalization band on the unit circle on the z‐plane, and the resulting extended approximation band is mapped on the overall unit circle on the auxiliary complex plane.

In the magnitude equalization, the all‐pole type transfer function is used for the approximation to have a loss from the extended approximated band. On the auxiliary complex plane, the desired characteristics are squared and inverted. Then the extrapolation characteristics are determined, and the inverted desired characteristics are expanded into Fourier cosine series. This series is transformed inversely into the z‐plane to determine the denominator of the transfer function. If the extrapolation characteristics are determined improperly, the resulting transfer functions may become unrealizable.

This paper proposes a method of determining the extrapolation characteristics so that it always gives realizable transfer functions. In the delay equalization using the auxiliary complex plane, the approximation cannot be performed in a straightforward manner. In the proposed method, the delay characteristics are treated graphically and the inverted characteristics are expanded into Fourier cosine series. After inverse transformation into the z‐plane, the inverse of the series is expanded into the Fourier series and truncated in some length to give the transfer function.
Modular feedbacks of discrete event systems with arbitrary control patterns
Authors: Ushio Toshimitsu
Published: July 2007

The modular feedback design is the following method. When a control specification in a discrete event system is given by conjunction and disjunction of a finite number of predicates, a feedback is designed for each predicate, and the whole feedback is constructed by product and sum of the component feedbacks. By this design method, the state feedback can easily be reconstructed when the control specification is modified. This paper considers the model proposed by Golaszew‐ski and Ramadge, and we derive a condition under which the control invariance of the component predicates implies the control invariance of their conjunction and disjunction. Moreover, we derive a condition under which the unique existence of maximally and minimally permissive feedback for each component predicate implies that for the conjunction and disjunction. Finally, the derived result is applied to control of a manufacturing system.
An approach to channel routing problem using neural networks
Authors: Shimamoto Takashi , Sakamoto Akio
Published: July 2007

A model for neural network was proposed by Hopfield et al., and when applied to a traveling salesperson problem, which is known to be an NP‐complete problem, good results were obtained. This neural network is a minimal value of an energy function which has a kinetic stable point. When we express constraints and objective functions of objective combinatorial problems in forms of energy functions, neural networks having the energy functions provide solutions to the problems. Thus we applied a solution due to neural networks to the channel routing problem which is known as a method for automatic routing within LSI.

This paper reports an outline of a neural network and the idea of an energy function for the channel routing problem, its application as a decision problem and a simple compaction method for optimization, and several results of computer simulation.
Complex linear prediction method based on positive frequency domain
Authors: Shimamura Tetsuya , Takahashi Shin‐Ichi
Published: July 2007

This paper proposes a linear prediction method using the analytic signal which occupies half the bandwidth of the real signal. Consequently, the order is halved in the proposed method, thereby reducing drastically the computational complexity. The proposed method gives a stable solution for a finite word‐length operation, and the obtained reflection coefficient has a low coefficient sensitivity. These are both useful properties in the synthesis of speech.
An electronic circuit experiment on bifurcation and chaos in phase‐locked loop circuits
Authors: Endo Tetsuro , Imai Masao
Published: July 2007

When a phase‐locked loop having an FM‐modulated input signal loses synchronization, the voltage‐controlled oscillator output may produce a random signal with continuous and broad spectrum. It has been proved already that the reason for this phenomenon is related to the existence of the homoclinic orbits which give rise to the so‐called horseshoe chaos.

In this paper, various subharmonic solutions originating from the bifurcation of the periodic solution of 2nd type (associated with the asynchronous solution) are observed, both by an electronic circuit experiment and by a computer simulation. This confirms the results of computer‐generated bifurcation diagrams obtained previously.

As a result, it has been clarified by actual experiment that the bifurcation diagrams obtained heretofore are correct, and, moreover, the period doubling cascade route to chaos and the intermittency route to chaos on the experimentally generated Poincaré map have been confirmed.
Application of numerical schemes admitting symmetries
Authors: Maeda Shigeru
Published: July 2007

This paper shows that when a single‐step numerical method to integrate ordinary differential equations admits some symmetries, an infinite number of numerical solutions can be obtained from a single one without a further numerical experiment. When this property is obtained, trajectories to be integrated numerically can be confined in advance, which may lead to a reduction in the number of experiments.

Here, by symmetry is meant invariance of difference equations under an action of a Lie group. However, it is not necessarily easv to judge if a scheme admits a symmetry.

This paper illustrates a combination of a backward Euler method and a forward one, whereby a symmetry is attached automatically to any invariant (first integral). Kepler motion is treated as an example. For this system, the integration scheme introduced here conserves three angular momenta which produce a symmetry composed of all threedimensional rotations.

By means of this symmetry group, one numerical solution produces a three‐parameter solution by way of linear transformations. It is shown also that the numerical values calculated directly by the scheme and those obtained from another solution by means of a symmetry agree with each other with sufficient accuracy.
AND‐inverse detecting circuit for the combinatorial logic circuits
Authors: Tsuiki Shigeya , Haga Takahiro
Published: July 2007

This paper studies an error‐detecting hardware scheme for combinatorial logic circuits (herein called the coincidence scheme). Compared with the softward scheme, the hardware scheme has several merits such as: (1) simultaneous detection of the errors when they occur doing usual operations; and (2) the possibility of detecting the intermittent faults, etc.

However, the detecting circuit must be sufficiently smaller than the logic circuit, because if the errors in the detecting circuit cannot be neglected, the detecting signal may be meaningless. For such a small detecting circuit, an AND‐Inverse detecting circuit is proposed which is a special case of the coincidence scheme and also a variation of the conventional Inverse scheme. The AND‐Inverse detecting circuit can be constructed only by 2 AND and 1 EXOR elements except NOT elements. Also, it can detect any stuck‐at faults at the input and/or output points. To clarify such features, we compare it with the Inverse detecting circuit from three measures such as: (1) detecting ability, (2) detecting rate, and (3) redundancy.
A solution for the shortest time path problem with time‐windows of arrival and departure time constraints
Authors: Hohzaki Ryusuke , Fujii Susumu , Sandoh Hiroakl
Published: July 2007

The number of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) installed in factories has been increasing annually. It is essential to avoid such interference among AGVs as deadlocks or blockages for efficient operation of many AGVs in a transfer system.

This study considers the routing problem in which a certain AGV is requested to arrive at a given destination as soon as possible without any interference. This problem is formulated as a shortest time path problem with time‐windows on nodes and arcs of a transfer network. Time‐windows are constraints on the arrival and departure time of the requested AGV to avoid interference.

In previous studies, time‐windows were dealt with as constraints only for the departure time. Therefore their solution algorithm cannot be applied in this problem. We propose a solution algorithm based on a branch‐and‐bound method.
A time‐varying parameter estimation of a minimum realization ARMA lattice model
Authors: Nakagaki Atsushi , Miyanaga Yoshikazu , Tochinai Koji
Published: July 2007

This paper proposes a time‐varying parameter estimation of a minimum realization ARMA lattice model. The model consists of four types of elementary sections. Since each elementary section has only a design parameter after normalization, its characteristics can be represented more compactly. To estimate time‐varying characteristics, several methods with the constant weighting factor have been proposed.

This paper shows the limits of the methods using the constant weighting factor and proposes an estimation method with a new variable weighting factor. The new method directly weights observed signals and can arbitrarily change the weighting factor at any time.
Speaker‐independent speech recognition using a neural prediction model
Authors: Iso Ken‐Ichi , Watanabe Takao
Published: July 2007

This paper proposes a speech recognition system based on the pattern prediction using neural network. In the proposed system, an independent nonlinear predictor composed of a series of multilayer perceptrons (MLP) is prepared for each class which is the object of recognition. The temporal structure of the speech pattern, especially the temporal correlation structure between feature vector sequence, is represented by the nonlinear mapping between the input and the output, and is utilized as the important feature in the recognition.

On the other hand, the variation of the temporal structure of the speech pattern, due to the difference of speakers and the fluctuation of the utterance, is normalized by the dynamic programming. As the training algorithm to determine the MLP parameters composing each predictor, an iterative algorithm combining the dynamic programming and the error backpropagation is proposed, together with the proof for the convergence. A speaker independent isolated digit recognition experiment is executed to examine the basic operation of the proposed system. The parameters are estimated in a satisfactory way even from a small number of training data, and it is indicated that a high recognition performance is realized.
Stability analysis of random access scheme by lyapunov function
Authors: Wang Xiangyi , Onozato Yoshikuni , Hokanishi Hisato , Noguchi Shoichi
Published: July 2007

The analysis of stability in the communication system is a very basic problem in the design of the system. However, the analysis is, in general, complex and difficult.

This paper discusses a simple and direct method of analysis for the stability of the communication system, and the result is applied to the computer network with a random access scheme. In the stability analysis of the random access scheme, the stability of the equilibrium state and the structural stability of the system must be analyzed.

To provide an integrated analysis for those problems, a method based on the Lyapunov method is proposed. The communication system is regarded as a dynamical system and the state equation is derived. Then the Lyapunov function is used to analyze the stability. ALOHA CSMA and AA/TDMA systems are considered as application examples of the proposed method, and sufficient conditions are obtained for those communication systems to be stable.
Tomographic image reconstruction from incomplete cone beam projections by the method of convex projections
Authors: Kudo Hiroyuki , Saito Tsuneo
Published: July 2007

This paper proposed an effective algorithm for reconstruction of 3‐D CT images from incomplete cone beam projections. The 3‐D object can be exactly reconstructed if and only if there exists at least one point source on every plane intersecting the object. When such a condition is met, the 3‐D radon transform and its subsequent inverse transform enable the recovery and reconstruction of the original object structure. If such a condition is not met, then the incomplete measurement data prevent the exact reconstruction of the object. However, the missing data can be estimated by means of projection onto convex sets (POCS) in the 3‐D radon transform domain for signal restoration. Simulation results indicate that the method proposed herein can significantly reduce the degradation of the reconstruction caused by incomplete data.
Identification of nonlinear dynamical system by piecewise‐linear system
Authors: Nakamura Akira , Hamada Nozomu
Published: July 2007

A piecewise‐linear function is a multidimensional one that is developed from the approximation of a broken line in one dimension, and it is well used for simple representation of nonlinear systems. This paper proposes a method of nonlinear dynamical system identification using a piecewise‐linear system by input and output data. The parameter identification scheme with adaptive observers used in a linear system is applied. This method estimates unobservable state variables and identifies parameters simultaneously using a state variable filter. To derive adaptive laws that identify parameters of a piecewise‐linear system, the continuity condition of the parameters of piecewiselinear systems on the decomposition boundaries in the state space is considered.
Maximum likelihood estimation with a weibull‐superimposed‐type model and its application to failure pattern analysis of a ground device of shinkansen atc
Authors: Fukuoka Hiroshi
Published: July 2007

The bathtub curve has been represented as a composite curve, where the failure pattern consists of separate initial, chance and wear‐out periods. On the other hand, some electronic system is regarded as a “system composed of subsystems whose failure patterns are different from each other”. It may happen that the failure pattern of the whole device of such a system is of a bathtub type. This paper discusses failure pattern analysis, where such a situation is modeled as a “superimposed process” of nonhomogeneous Poisson processes and proposes a computational algorithm for the maximum likelihood estimation of its parameters, where the failure pattern of the subsystems follows the Weibull processes. The results of numerical experiments indicate that this method derives an accurate solution efficiently and in a stable way. As an application to the practical problem, the model is used to analyze the failure pattern of the ground device of the Shinkansen (bullet train) automatic train control system (ATC). The failure patterns of some kinds of components are revealed, which have never been analyzed due to their complexity.
A novel design of an FIR filter with a hierachical structure and its LSI implementation
Authors: Nakamura Shogo , Kawahashi Akiyoshi , Horio Yoshihiko , Kotani Makoto , Kadowaki Yukio
Published: July 2007

This paper describes a novel design of a linear‐phase FIR filter and its hardware. The proposed filter has a hierarchical building block structure of tapped‐cascaded lower‐order subfilters. Since this architecture can reduce the sensitivity of the rounded filter coefficients, an effective high‐speed processing of the subfilter can be performed by using adders instead of multipliers. Also, identical subfilters are arranged regularly so that the architecture is suitable for LSI implementation. Another important feature is that the design of the higher‐order FIR filter can be replaced with that of the lower‐order subfilter. An LSI implementation of about a 45‐order FIR filter also is described.
Visualization of the three‐dimensional structure of absorbed power of electromagnetic waves–a synthetic paste phantom containing a nonionic surface active agent and measurement of its physical properties
Authors: Miyakawa Michio , Yamaura Itsuo
Published: July 2007

This paper considers the means of research for the biological effect on electromagnetic irradiation such as the electromagnetic environmental problem. The physical model for the biological system, i.e., phantom, together with the quantitative knowledge about its construction, is described.

A function of the phantom is that it can visualize in a three‐dimensional way, the region where the temperature exceeded a certain value. The phantom has electrical constants similar to those of the biological system with known physical (electrical and thermal) properties. For this purpose, the phantom composed of the synthetic paste is considered. It has the property that the material becomes white and opeque due to the segregation of the surface active agent when the temperature exceeds a certain level.

The electrical and thermal properties of the material are measured. A quantitative evaluation is made of the density of the added material in the construction of the tissue‐equivalent phantom, as well as the dependencies of physical properties on the added salt.

A method of constructing the phantom according to the purpose and application is described. As a result of a series of measurements, it is demonstrated that the biological phantom of any shape with the tissue‐equivalent electrical and thermal properties, can be realized for any frequency by the commercial paste plus salt.
An area‐minimum synthesis method based on topology decomposition of multistage complex MOS gates
Authors: Dai Zhi‐Jian , Asada Kunihiro
Published: July 2007

This paper combines a new topology decomposition method of multistage MOS complex gates and the optimization technique for the transistor size. A method of automatic synthesis for the optimal circuit topology and the transistor size is proposed for a set of given finite topologies and for the given load capacitance and the maximum specified delay time.

The procedure starts from the single‐stage complex logic circuit which is synthesized by the circuit synthesis program MoSyn [1]. By iterating the process called “cut,” the multistage circuit is constructed while restricting the number of transistors on the conduction path at the transistor circuit‐level. Then, the transistor size in the circuit is optimized for the several obtained multistage circuits using the two‐stage transistor size optimization method (MoSiz) [2, 3]. The area occupied by each circuit is evaluated.

Finally, the circuit with the smallest circuit area is selected as the optimal solution. Circuit designs are actually attempted for several examples. Compared to the worst‐case circuit under the same load and delay conditions, the area is improved by 10 to 80 percent. It is verified that the optimal circuit topology depends on the given load capacitance and delay time.
Recursive least‐square algorithm with ud factorization by fixed‐point arithmetic
Authors: Tsubokawa Hiroshi , Tsujii Shigeo , Kubota Hajime
Published: July 2007

It is known that a recursive least‐square (RLS) algorithm with UD factorization equivalent to the (standard) RLS algorithm can be realized by using the systolic array proposed by Kung. In general, in constructing a special hardware, the wordlength of a processor is related to the arithmetic processing speed and the area of the hardware. Therefore, an important subject is how to shorten the wordlength of processors used in the systolic array executing the RLS method with UD factorization.

The authors have already carried out an operational error analysis in finite wordlength floating‐point arithmetic and described that this algorithm can be executed with short arithmetic wordlength. If the algorithm can be executed with short arithmetic wordlength also in the fixed‐point arithmetic, then we can expect improved operational processing speed and simpler hardware structure compared to the special hardware of the floating‐point arithmetic mode.

Thus, this paper describes an RLS method by finite wordlength fixed‐point arithmetic with UD factorization and evaluates the operational error. Then the evaluation of convergence values and number of updates of the algorithm are shown analytically. Finally, the appropriateness of theoretical analysis results of convergence values and the number of updates are confirmed by computer simulations.