In this paper we consid~r the des~gn of robust controllers with closed-loop poles constrained to lie in specified regions in the left half complex plane The paper focuses In part~cular on hyperbolic and horizontal strip regions The hyperbolic region places a lower bound on the damping ratio whereas the horizontal strip region places an upper bound on the natural frequency of the closed-loop sys...

Gas holdup, mixing, liquid circulation and gas–liquid oxygen transfer were characterized in a large (∼1.5 m3) draft-tube airlift bioreactor agitated with Prochem® hydrofoil impellers placed in the draft-tube. Measurements were made in water and in cellulose fiber slurries that resembled broths of mycelial microfungi. Use of mechanical agitation generally enhanced mixing performance and the oxyg...

The extent of biological CO2 fixation was evaluated for outdoor cultures of the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. ATCC 33047. Culture conditions were optimized indoors in bubble-column photochemostats operating in continuous mode, subjected to irradiance cycles mimicking the light regime outdoors. Highest values achieved for CO2 fixation rate and biomass productivity were 1 and 0.6 g L(-1) day(-1), r...

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of proximal tubular epithelial cells (PTECs) into myofibroblasts contributes to the establishment of fibrosis that leads to end stage renal disease. FGF-2 induces EMT in PTECs. Because the interaction between FGF-2 and its receptor is mediated by heparan sulfate (HS) and syndecans, we speculated that a deranged HS/syndecans regulation impairs FGF-2 ac...