Stability, L1-gain analysis and asynchronous L1-gain control of uncertain discrete-time switched positive linear systems with dwell time

In this paper, the stability, L₁-gain analysis and asynchronous L₁-gain control problems of uncertain discrete-time switched positive linear systems (DSPLSs) with dwell time are investigated. First, several convex and non-convex conditions on dwell time stability of DSPLSs with interval and polytopic uncertainties are presented, and the relation between these conditions is revealed. Then, via a switched dwell-time-dependent co-positive Lyapunov functions (SDTLFs) approach, convex sufficient conditions on L₁-gain analysis and asynchronous L₁-gain control of DSPLSs with interval uncertainties are derived. Meanwhile, via the switched parameter-dwell-time-dependent co-positive Lyapunov functions (SPDTLFs) approach, the L₁-gain analysis and asynchronous L₁-gain controller design problems of DSPLSs with polytopic uncertainties are also solved. The stability and L₁-gain analysis results are given in terms of linear programming (LP). The controller design results are presented in terms of bilinear programming (BP), which can be solved with the help of iterative algorithm. At last, both numerical and practical examples are provided to show the effectiveness of the results.     

Adaptive event-triggered H∞ fuzzy filtering for interval type-2 T–S fuzzy-model-based networked control systems with asynchronously and imperfectly matched membership functions

This paper is concerned with the network-based H_∞ fuzzy filtering for non-linear systems with parameter uncertainties under a novel adaptive discrete event-triggered communication scheme (DETCS). Based on interval type-2 (IT2) Takagi–Sugeno (T–S) fuzzy model, the non-linear systems with parameter uncertainties are represented as a class of IT2 T–S fuzzy systems. In the design process, a novel adaptive DETCS is proposed to reduce the usage of system resources and adapt the variation of plant output, and a novel networked IT2 T–S fuzzy filter is applied to improve the flexibility of filter design. By employing the time-delay systems modeling method, the filtering-error-system is modeled as a class of interval time-varying delayed IT2 T–S fuzzy systems with asynchronously and imperfectly matched membership functions, and further conditionally expressed as a favorable form. Then, some relaxed stability criteria are established to determine that this class of delayed IT2 T–S fuzzy systems is asymptotically stable with a prescribed H_∞ disturbance attenuation performance. Also, the co-design of parameter matrices of adaptive DETCS and filter is implemented. Finally, two numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Direct projection to latent variable space for fault detection

Partial least squares (PLSs) often require many latent variables (LVs) T to describe the variations in process variables X correlated with quality variables Y, which are obtained via the traditional nonlinear iterative PLS (NIPALS) optimal solution based on (X, Y). Total projection to latent structures (T-PLSs) performs further decomposition to extract LVs T_y directly related to Y from T, which are obtained by the PCA optimal solution based on the predicted value of Y. Inspired by T-PLS, combined with practical process characteristics, two fault detection approaches are proposed in this paper to solve problems encountered by T-PLS. Without the NIPALS, (X, Y) are projected into the latent variable space determined by main variations of Y directly. Furthermore, the structure and characteristics of several modified methods in statistical analysis are studied based on calculation procedures of solving PCA, PLS and T-PLS optimization problems, and the geometric significance of the T-PLS model is demonstrated in detail. Simulation analysis and case studies both indicate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.     

H∞ finite-time control for switched nonlinear discrete-time systems with norm-bounded disturbance

Finite-time stability concerns the boundness of system during a fixed finite-time interval. For switched systems, finite-time stability property can be affected significantly by switching behavior; however, it was neglected by most previous research. In this paper, the problems of finite-time stability analysis and stabilization for switched nonlinear discrete-time systems are addressed. First, sufficient conditions are given to ensure a class of switched nonlinear discrete-time system subjected to norm bounded disturbance finite-time bounded under arbitrary switching, and then the results are extended to H_∞ finite-time boundness of switched nonlinear discrete-time systems. Finally based on the results on finite-time boundness, the state feedback controller is designed to H_∞ finite-time stabilize a switched nonlinear discrete-time system. A numerical design example is given to illustrate the proposed results within this paper.     

An optimization methodology of susceptance variation using lead-lag controller for grid connected FSIG based wind generator system

In wind power system, low frequency oscillations are observed due to imbalance between mechanical input and electrical output. Hence, variable susceptance controllers are being adopted to mitigate these oscillations. However, improper modulation of control parameters also leads to system instability. Therefore, we propose an optimization methodology for mitigating low frequency oscillations in wind power generation system. To visualize our methodology, we use a lead-lag type variable susceptance controller for fixed speed induction generator (FSIG) based wind generation system. Then, we optimize gain and time constants of lead-lag controller using three optimization algorithms: particle swarm optimization (PSO), genetic algorithm (GA), and flower pollination algorithm (FPA). Later, we perform non-linear time domain simulation and quantitative analysis to find average fitness, standard deviation, run time, and iteration number for these optimization algorithms. Moreover, non-parametric statistical analysis, such as Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests are employed for identifying statistically significant differences among these algorithms.     

Modal vibration decomposition method and its application on multi-mode vibration control of high-speed railway car bodies

The vibration of a railway car body is a superposition of the vibrations of its various modes. It is typically easy to obtain the physical vibration of the car body using sensors in an in situ or a simulated test vehicle. However, it is difficult to determine the modal vibration of the body and its contribution. There are no effective multi-mode vibration control methods for the car bodies. This study proposes a modal vibration decomposition method (MVDM) based on singular value decomposition (SVD) and least squares fitting (LSF). Accordingly, the physical vibration of a railway car body is decomposed into modal vibrations. A method for calculating the modal contribution factor (MCF) is presented, and the dominant flexible modes of the car body are determined and considered the target for the vibration control method. Several pieces of equipment are considered as dynamic vibration absorbers (DVAs) to control the multi-mode vibration of the car body using the dynamic vibration absorption theory and determine the installation parameters of the individual equipment. Finally, the effectiveness of vibration control is verified through dynamic simulations. The results demonstrate the effective decomposition of the physical vibration of the car body into various modal vibrations using the MVDM. This provides accurate data for the MCF calculation and determination of the flexible modes of the car body. The proposed method reduces the vibration of the target modes and improves the ride quality of the railway vehicle. At the optimal damping ratio, the vibration of the DVA-based equipment itself is acceptable. This allows for multi-mode vibration control without requiring extensive modification to the car body structure or suspension system parameters of the vehicle.     

Effective top-k computation with term-proximity support

Modern web search engines are expected to return the top-k results efficiently. Although many dynamic index pruning strategies have been proposed for efficient top-k computation, most of them are prone to ignoring some especially important factors in ranking functions, such as term-proximity (the distance relationship between query terms in a document). In our recent work [Zhu, M., Shi, S., Li, M., & Wen, J. (2007). Effective top-k computation in retrieving structured documents with term-proximity support. In Proceedings of 16th CIKM conference (pp. 771–780)], we demonstrated that, when term-proximity is incorporated into ranking functions, most existing index structures and top-k strategies become quite inefficient. To solve this problem, we built the inverted index based on web page structure and proposed the query processing strategies accordingly. The experimental results indicate that the proposed index structures and query processing strategies significantly improve the top-k efficiency. In this paper, we study the possibility of adopting additional techniques to further improve top-k computation efficiency. We propose a Proximity-Probe Heuristic to make our top-k algorithms more efficient. We also test the efficiency of our approaches on various settings (linear or non-linear ranking functions, exact or approximate top-k processing, etc.).     

New robust delay-dependent stability and H∞ analysis for uncertain Markovian jump systems with time-varying delays

This paper deals with the problems of robust delay-dependent stability and H_∞ analysis for Markovian jump linear systems with norm-bounded parameter uncertainties and time-varying delays. In terms of linear matrix inequalities, an improved delay-range-dependent stability condition for Markovian jump systems is proposed by constructing a novel Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional with the idea of partitioning the time delay, and a sufficient condition is derived from the H_∞ performance. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate efficiency and reduced conservatism of the results in this paper.     

Controllability and extensions

Control problems in Hilbert spaces are treated in a measure-theoretical framework; instead of dealing with a set of admissible trajectory-control pairs, a set of measures defined by the boundary conditions and the differential equations of the problem are considered. The concept of weak controllability is introduced; a system has this property if every pair of initial and final points, (t_a,x_a) and (t_b,x_b) can be weakly joined; this is possible if a set of linear equalities involving measures has a solution. In turn, this is shown to be equivalent to the possibility of extending a linear functional in a positive manner. Necessary and sufficient conditions for controllability are derived, and applied to the study of a finite-dimensional system with the control appearing linearly.     

Novel antimicrobial activity of a dichloromethane extract obtained from red seaweed Ceramium rubrum (Hudson) (Rhodophyta: Florideophyceae) against Yersinia ruckeri and Saprolegnia parasitica,agents that cause diseases in salmonids

BackgroundEnteric red mouth disease and Saprolegniasis, which are caused by the bacteria Yersinia ruckeri and the oomycete Saprolegnia parasitica, respectively, are important illnesses that affect salmonid farming. Sanitary problems in farms are addressed by the prevention of disease outbreaks or by the treatment of diseases with chemicals. Environmental and governmental restrictions, toxicity and high treatment costs limit the use of drugs. Marine organisms, such as algae, sponges and corals, have developed an antimicrobial defense strategy based on the production of bioactive metabolites. Among these organisms, seaweeds offer a particularly rich source of potential new drugs. Hence, many pharmacologically active substances have been isolated from seaweeds. In the Ceramium genus, Ceramium rubrum has been emphasized by several authors for its antimicrobial properties. Based on this background, the present study focused on the antimicrobial activity of a lipophilic extract of C. rubrum on Y. ruckeri and S. parasitica.ResultsThe alga, collected from the Pacific coast of Chile, underwent an ethanol extraction, and the concentrated extract was partitioned between water and dichloromethane. From the dichloromethane extract, fatty acids, fatty acid esters, one hydrocarbon and phytol were identified by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. The antimicrobial study showed that the whole extract was more active than the individual components, which suggests a strong synergistic effect among the components.ConclusionsThese results may constitute a basis for promising future applied research that could investigate the use of C. rubrum seaweed as a source of antimicrobial compounds against fish pathogens.     

On the dynamic stability of an axially oscillating beam

Dynamic problems of axially moving materials as exemplified by strings in textile industry and band saws, belts and chains in mechanical machinery have recently received some attention (1–15). In the present study, the parametric resonance of an axially accelerated beam is investigated. The beam which has encastré ends is subjected to a periodic root force as shown in Fig. 1. The object of the investigation is to identify regions of instability of this system for various combinations of the excitation frequency and amplitude of the axial oscillations.     

Uniform separable differential operators with parameters

In this paper we study boundary value problems for anisotropic partial differential-operator equations with parameters. The principal part of the appropriate differential operators are not self-adjoint. Several conditions for the uniform separability in weighted Banach-valued L_p-spaces are given. Sharp estimates for the resolvent of the corresponding differential operator are obtained. In particular the positivity and R-positivity of these operators are established. As an application we study the separability of degenerate DOEs, maximal regularity for degenerate abstract parabolic problem with parameters, the uniform separability of finite and infinite systems for degenerate anisotropic partial differential equations with parameters.     

Developing voice-based information sharing services to bridge the information divide in marginalized communities: A study of farmers using IBM’s spoken web in rural India

Farming communities in developing countries like India are victims of the information divide. Voice-based information sharing services (VISS) can bridge this divide and help farmers address a range of challenges by exchanging knowledge with their peers. An analysis of in-depth phone interviews with farmers in remote, rural Gujarat, India, reveals four stages for developing a VISS for marginalized communities in developing countries. The four stages are: identify gatekeepers to seed the VISS, expand the VISS by building on existing communities of practice, share information, and incentivize members to sustain the VISS. The VISS in this study is based on IBM’s Spoken Web platform, which enables even illiterate and semi-literate farmers to seek, share, use, and benefit from information using feature mobile phones. Research contributions and practical implications of the study are discussed at the end.     

Deformation of red blood cells using acoustic radiation forces

Acoustic radiation forces have been used to manipulate cells and bacteria in a number of recent microfluidic applications. The net force on a cell has been subject to careful investigation over a number of decades. We demonstrate that the radiation forces also act to deform cells. An ultrasonic standing wave field is created in a 0.1 mm glass capillary at a frequency of 7.9 MHz. Using osmotically swollen red-blood cells, we show observable deformations up to an aspect ratio of 1.35, comparable to deformations created by optical tweezing. In contrast to optical technologies, ultrasonic devices are potentially capable of deforming thousands of cells simultaneously. We create a finite element model that includes both the acoustic environment of the cell, and a model of the cell membrane subject to forces resulting from the non-linear aspects of the acoustic field. The model is found to give reasonable agreement with the experimental results, and shows that the deformation is the result of variation in an acoustic force that is directed outwards at all points on the cell membrane. We foresee applications in diagnostic devices, and in the possibility of mechanically stimulating cells to promote differentiation and physiological effects.     

Red blood cell dynamics in polymer brush-coated microcapillaries: A model of endothelial glycocalyx in vitro

The confined flow of red blood cells (RBCs) in microvasculature is essential for oxygen delivery to body tissues and has been extensively investigated in the literature, both in vivo and in vitro. One of the main problems still open in microcirculation is that flow resistance in microcapillaries in vivo is higher than that in vitro. This discrepancy has been attributed to the glycocalyx, a macromolecular layer lining the inner walls of vessels in vivo, but no direct experimental evidence of this hypothesis has been provided so far. Here, we investigate the flow behavior of RBCs in glass microcapillaries coated with a polymer brush (referred to as “hairy” microcapillaries as opposed to “bare” ones with no coating), an experimental model system of the glycocalyx. By high-speed microscopy imaging and image analysis, a velocity reduction of RBCs flowing in hairy microcapillaries as compared to bare ones is indeed found at the same pressure drop. Interestingly, such slowing down is larger than expected from lumen reduction due to the polymer brush and displays an on-off trend with a threshold around 70 nm of polymer brush dry thickness. Above this threshold, the presence of the polymer brush is associated with an increased RBC deformation, and RBC velocity is independent on polymer brush thickness (at the same pressure drop). In conclusion, this work provides direct support to the hypothesis that the glycocalyx is the main factor responsible of the higher flow resistance found in microcapillaries in vivo.     

Reliable H∞ control on saturated linear Markov jump system with uncertain transition rates and asynchronous jumped actuator failure

This paper is concerned with reliable H_∞?control for saturated linear Markov jump systems with uncertain transition rates and asynchronous jumped actuator failure. The actuator failures are assumed to occur randomly under the Markov process with a different jumping mode from the system jumping mode. In considering the mixed-mode-dependent state feedback controller, both H_∞ stochastic stability analysis for closed-loop system with completely accessible transition rates and uncertain transition rates are investigated. Moreover, based on the obtained stability conditions, the H_∞?control problems are investigated, and the controller gains can be obtained by solving a convex optimization problem with minimizing H_∞ performance as objective and linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) as constraints. The problem of designing state feedback controllers such that the estimate of the domain of attraction is enlarged is also formulated and solved as an optimization problem with LMI constraints. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed results.     

Dissipativity analysis and synthesis of a class of nonlinear systems with time-varying delays

In this paper, new results are established for the delay-independent and delay-dependent problems of dissipative analysis and state-feedback synthesis for a class of nonlinear systems with time-varying delays with polytopic uncertainties. This class consists of linear time-delay systems subject to nonlinear cone-bounded perturbations. Both delay-independent and delay-dependent dissipativity criteria are established as linear matrix inequality-based feasibility tests. The developed results in this paper for the nominal system encompass available results on H_∞ approach, passivity and positive realness for time-delay systems as special cases. All the sufficient stability conditions are cast. Robust dissipativity as well as dissipative state-feedback synthesis results are also derived. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the theoretical developments.     

Optimal nonuniform distributed networks

Techniques developed in the Sturm—Liouville problem and its Inverse problem are well known in solving the analysis and synthesis problems of non-uniform distributed networks (or NUDN) (1)-(6), (15). However, very few practical results have been obtained from the theory, especially as regards the synthesis part of the problem. In this paper, we show that the chain matrix of an inhomogeneous ladder network (or IHLN) of N sections has undergone exactly the limit process of first-order difference equation approximation of the corresponding differential equation converges to the chain matrix of the corresponding NUDN uniformly on every compact subset of p = z(s)y(s) plane. Therefore an optimal NUDN is proven to be either symmetrical or antimetrical (7). Specifically, a class of optimal NUDN which is optimal on every subinterval of [O,L] has closed-form solutions, and is proven to be both symmetrical and antimetrical.