[en] Highlights: • A four-atom chain encapsulated into a giant fullerene. • The observed clusterfullerene Y₂C₂@C₁(1660)-C₁₀₈ is computed. • The observed/computed features: near-linear Y₂C₂ with a near-triple CC bond. • The endohedral stability is related to energy gain upon encapsulation. • The encapsulation energy can presently be calculated but not measured. The very recently prepared clusterfullerene Y₂C₂@$C_1$(1660)-C₁₀₈ is computed and the observed structural features are confirmed, including the quasi-linear arrangement of the encapsulate and its near-triple CC bond. Its stability is explained by sizeable encapsulation energy. The endohedral stability is evaluated at both DFT and MP2 levels.

[en] The gyroscopic stabilization domain of a non-conservative Crandall gyropendulum, in the presence of circulatory forces, is obtained through eigenvalue analysis and later by following an orbital-work-balance approach

[en] Gyroscopic stabilization of a linear conservative system, which is statically unstable, can be either improved or destroyed by weak damping and circulatory forces. This is governed by Whitney umbrella singularity of the boundary of the asymptotic stability domain of the perturbed system

No abstract available

[en] The problem of exponential stability for linear system with mixed time-varying delay is investigated. The stability of linear system are proposed with feedback control. Based on the constructing of improved Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals combined with Leibniz-Newton’s formula and by utilizing the integral inequality, new sufficient condition for the stabilization of the systems is first established in terms of LMIs. A numerical example is given to illustrate that the effectiveness of the proposed feedback control. (paper)

[en] The results from the ZaP experiment are consistent with the theoretical predictions of sheared flow stabilization. Z pinches with a sheared flow are generated in the ZaP experiment using a coaxial accelerator coupled to an assembly region. The current sheet in the accelerator initially acts as a snowplow. As the Z pinch forms, plasma formation in the accelerator transits to a deflagration process. The plasma exits the accelerator and maintains the flow in the Z pinch. During the quiescent period in the magnetic mode activity at z=0 cm, a stable Z pinch is seen on the axis of the assembly region. The evolution of the axial velocity profile shows a large velocity shear is measured at the edge of the Z pinch during the quiescent period. The velocity shear is above the theoretical threshold. As the velocity shear decreases towards 0.1kV_A, the predicted stability threshold, the quiescent period ends. The present understanding of the ZaP experiment shows that it may be possible for the Z pinch to operate in a steady state if the deflagration process can be maintained by constantly supplying neutral gas or plasma to the accelerator

[en] This article addresses the problem of robust stability and stabilization for linear fractional-order system with poly-topic and two-norm bounded uncertainties, and focuses particularly on the case of a fractional order α such that 1 < α < 2. First, the robust asymptotical stable condition is presented. Second, the design method of the state feedback controller for asymptotically stabilizing such uncertain fractional order systems is derived. In the proposed approach, linear matrix inequalities formalism is used to check and design. Lastly, two simulation examples are given to validate the proposed theoretical results.

[en] The purpose of this work is to provide a way to improve stability and convergence rate of a price adjustment mechanism that converges to a Walrasian equilibrium. We focus on a discrete tâtonnement based on a two-agent, two-good exchange economy, and we introduce memory, assuming that the auctioneer adjusts prices not only using the current excess demand, but also making use of the past excess demand functions. In particular, we study the effect of computing a weighted average of the current and the previous excess demands (finite two level memory) and of all the previous excess demands (infinite memory). We show that suitable weights’ distributions have a stabilizing effect, so that the resulting price adjustment process converge toward the competitive equilibrium in a wider range of situations than the process without memory. Finally, we investigate the convergence speed toward the equilibrium of the proposed mechanisms. In particular, we show that using infinite memory with fading weights approaches the competitive equilibrium faster than with a distribution of quasi-uniform weights.

[en] In this paper, by using a piece-wise linear feedback controller, we propose an approach to globally stabilize the closed loop Chua's circuit at an invariant set which consists of its equilibria. Moreover, we show that the closed loop Chua's circuit satisfies set stability. This method can also be extended to a general class of Chua's circuits such as Chua's circuit with cubic non-linearity. Simulation results are presented to verify our method

[en] The X-ray crystallographic analysis of anti-FLAG M2 Fab is reported and the implications of the structure on FLAG epitope binding are described as a first step in the development of a tool for the structural and biophysical study of membrane proteins. The inherent difficulties of stabilizing detergent-solubilized integral membrane proteins for biophysical or structural analysis demand the development of new methodologies to improve success rates. One proven strategy is the use of antibody fragments to increase the ‘soluble’ portion of any membrane protein, but this approach is limited by the difficulties and expense associated with producing monoclonal antibodies to an appropriate exposed epitope on the target protein. Here, the stabilization of a detergent-solubilized K⁺ channel protein, KvPae, by engineering a FLAG-binding epitope into a known loop region of the protein and creating a complex with Fab fragments from commercially available anti-FLAG M2 monoclonal antibodies is reported. Although well diffracting crystals of the complex have not yet been obtained, during the course of crystallization trials the structure of the anti-FLAG M2 Fab domain was solved to 1.86 Å resolution. This structure, which should aid future structure-determination efforts using this approach by facilitating molecular-replacement phasing, reveals that the binding pocket appears to be specific only for the first four amino acids of the traditional FLAG epitope, namely DYKD. Thus, the use of antibody fragments for improving the stability of target proteins can be rapidly applied to the study of membrane-protein structure by placing the short DKYD motif within a predicted peripheral loop of that protein and utilizing commercially available anti-FLAG M2 antibody fragments