Abstract

Abstract
A vector-valued impulsive control problem is considered whose dynamics, defined by a differential inclusion, are such that the vector fields associated with the singular term do not satisfy the so called Frobenius condition. A concept of proper solution based on a reparametrization procedure is adopted which enables the derivation of optimality conditions of the Hamilton-Jacobi type. These conditions are obtained by taking a limit of those for an appropriate sequence of auxiliary "standard" optimal control problems approximating the original one. Copyright (C) 2001 IFAC.

Abstract
The increasing concentration of nitrite in groundwater, rivers and lakes brings serious risks to the public health and to the environment. The aim of this work was the development of an optical biosensor for quantifying nitrite based on the activity of cytochrome cd(1) nitrite reductase immobilised in controlled pore glass (CPG) beads. The developed biosensor operates by measuring the optical reflectance of nitrite reductase, which shows spectroscopic changes when nitrite reversibly binds to the reduced form and oxidises the enzyme. The optimisation of the immobilisation procedure showed that the immobilisation efficiency is highly dependent on the pH, being very low at basic pH, and that the maximum capacity of the CPG for the immobilisation of cd(1) was estimated in 57 +/- 10 mg cd(1)/g CPG. The CPG/cd(1) specific activity remained stable at 4degreesC, decreasing only 10% in 15 days. No observed effects of the immobilisation on the enzyme characteristics were detected, regarding both the red/ox absorbance spectra and the enzyme specific activity, since the red/ox spectra are in good agreement with similar ones obtained for cd(1) in solution, and the specific activity at time zero (0.6 mu moles of NO2- reduced min(-1) mg of protein(-1)) is similar to that found for the soluble enzyme. The biosensor shows a sensitive response to increasing concentrations of nitrite in solution, especially at 460 nm, at which it showed higher sensitivity. The corresponding detection limit of 0.93 muM is well below the maximum admissible concentration imposed by European Community norms, of 2.2 muM.

Abstract
In this work a wavelength multiplexing concept was demonstrated for frequency based self-referenced fibre optic intensity sensors relying on the utilisation of Bragg gratings and WDM couplers. The experimental results obtained showed a fairly good agreement with those predicted from the theory. It turned out that the system had negligible crosstalk between the two sensors. The resolution obtained for the sensors was found to be ˜0.05 dBvHz. It should be emphasised, that the sensing concept described in this work is particularly favourable in terms of the minimisation of system noise. This happens because what is monitored is the amplitude of two sinewaves, i.e., the detection bandwidth can be made as narrow as practically feasible, with the consequent decrease of the system noise level. The power budget of the sensing network can be improved if shorter lengths of delay fibre are used, with the penalty, however, of working with higher frequencies. On the other hand, if the reflectivity of the FBGs is optimised, the power received by the detectors will increase correspondingly. Finally, a proper choice of the coupling coefficient of the couplers in the reflective ladder topology will have a strong impact on the optical power levels reaching the detector unit. © 2002 IEEE.

Abstract
Fieldbus networks aim at the interconnection of field devices such as sensors, actuators and small controllers. Therefore, they are an effective technology upon which distributed computer-controlled systems (DCCS) can be built. DCCS impose strict timeliness requirements to the communication network. In essence, by timeliness requirements we mean that traffic must be sent and received within a bounded interval, otherwise a timing fault is said to occur. P-NET is a multi-master fieldbus standard based on a virtual token passing scheme. In P-NET each master is allowed to transmit only one message per token visit, which means that in the worst-case the communication response time could be derived considering that the token is fully utilized by all stations. However, such analysis can be proved to be quite pessimistic. In this paper, we propose a more sophisticated P-NET timing analysis model, which considers the actual token utilization by different masters. The major contribution of this model is to provide a less pessimistic, and thus more accurate, analysis for the evaluation of the worst-case communication response time in P-NET fieldbus networks.

Abstract
Epileptic seizures induce, in many situations, non-coordinated movement in the patient's body. This movement is relevant for seizure identification. Nevertheless, quantification of this information has not been an object of much attention of scientific community. In this paper, we present our efforts in developing a new approach to quantify movement of patients during epileptic seizures. We present a new method to extract the course of the quantified movement of different parts of the body of epileptic patients during seizures. This information constitutes a quantified movement pattern for each seizure that can be compared with clinical "standard" movement patterns and may help clinicians in the seizure classification.