A robust multi-model predictive controller for distributed parameter systems

12 páginas, 6 figurasIn this work a robust nonlinear model predictive controller for nonlinear convection–diffusion-reaction systems is presented. The controller makes use of a collection of reduced order approximations of the plant (models) reconstructed on-line by projection methods on proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) basis functions. The model selection and model update step is based on a sufficient condition that determines the maximum allowable process-model mismatch to guarantee stable control performance despite process uncertainty and disturbances. Proofs on the existence of a sequence of feasible approximations and control stability are given. Since plant approximations are built on-line based on actual measurements, the proposed controller can be interpreted as a multi-model nonlinear predictive control (MMPC). The performance of the MMPC strategy is illustrated by simulation experiments on a problem that involves reactant concentration control of a tubular reactor with recycle.This work has been also partially founded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (SMART-QC, AGL2008-05267-C03-01), the FP7 CAFE project (KBBE-2007-1-212754), the Project PTDC/EQU-ESI/73458/2006 from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and PI grant 07/IN.1/I1838 by Science Foundation Ireland. Also, the authors acknowledge financial support received by a collaborative grant GRICES-CSIC.Peer reviewe

A robust multi-model predictive controller for distributed parameter systems

12 páginas, 6 figurasIn this work a robust nonlinear model predictive controller for nonlinear convection–diffusion-reaction systems is presented. The controller makes use of a collection of reduced order approximations of the plant (models) reconstructed on-line by projection methods on proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) basis functions. The model selection and model update step is based on a sufficient condition that determines the maximum allowable process-model mismatch to guarantee stable control performance despite process uncertainty and disturbances. Proofs on the existence of a sequence of feasible approximations and control stability are given. Since plant approximations are built on-line based on actual measurements, the proposed controller can be interpreted as a multi-model nonlinear predictive control (MMPC). The performance of the MMPC strategy is illustrated by simulation experiments on a problem that involves reactant concentration control of a tubular reactor with recycle.This work has been also partially founded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (SMART-QC, AGL2008-05267-C03-01), the FP7 CAFE project (KBBE-2007-1-212754), the Project PTDC/EQU-ESI/73458/2006 from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and PI grant 07/IN.1/I1838 by Science Foundation Ireland. Also, the authors acknowledge financial support received by a collaborative grant GRICES-CSIC.Peer reviewe

Identification of predictive factors of the degree of adherence to the Mediterranean diet through machine-learning techniques

[Abstract] Food consumption patterns have undergone changes that in recent years have resulted in serious health problems. Studies based on the evaluation of the nutritional status have determined that the adoption of a food pattern-based primarily on a Mediterranean diet (MD) has a preventive role, as well as the ability to mitigate the negative effects of certain pathologies. A group of more than 500 adults aged over 40 years from our cohort in Northwestern Spain was surveyed. Under our experimental design, 10 experiments were run with four different machine-learning algorithms and the predictive factors most relevant to the adherence of a MD were identified. A feature selection approach was explored and under a null hypothesis test, it was concluded that only 16 measures were of relevance, suggesting the strength of this observational study. Our findings indicate that the following factors have the highest predictive value in terms of the degree of adherence to the MD: basal metabolic rate, mini nutritional assessment questionnaire total score, weight, height, bone density, waist-hip ratio, smoking habits, age, EDI-OD, circumference of the arm, activity metabolism, subscapular skinfold, subscapular circumference in cm, circumference of the waist, circumference of the calf and brachial area.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI17/01826Xunta de Galicia; ED431G/01Xunta de Galicia; ED431D 2017/16Xunta de Galicia; ED431D 2017/23Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2018/4

Towards predictive models in food engineering: Parameter estimation dos and don'ts

1 póster.-- 29th EFFoST International Conference, 10-12 November 2015, Athens, GreeceRigorous, physics based, modeling is at the core of computer aided food process engineering. Models often require the values of some, typically unknown, parameters (thermo-physical properties, kinetic constants, etc). Therefore, parameter estimation from experimental data is critical to achieve desired model predictive properties. Unfortunately, it must be admitted that often experiment design and modeling are fully separated tasks: experiments are not designed for the purpose of modeling and models are usually derived without paying especial attention to available experimental data or experimentation capabilities. When, at some point, the parameter estimation problem is put on the table, modelers use available experimental data to ``manually'' tune the unknown parameters. This results in inaccurate parameter estimates, usually experiment dependent, with the implications this has in model validation. This work takes a new look into the parameter estimation problem in food process modeling. First the common pitfalls in parameter estimation are described. Second we present the theoretical background and the numerical techniques to define a parameter estimation protocol to iteratively improve model predictive capabilities. This protocol includes: reduced order modeling, structural and practical identifiability analyses, data fitting with global optimization methods and optimal experimental design. And, to finish, we illustrate the performance of the proposed protocol with an example related to the thermal processing of packaged foods. The model was experimentally validated in the IIM-CSIC pilot plantThe authors acknowledge financial support from the EU (Project SPECTRAFISH), Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Project ISFORQUALITY) and CSIC (Project CONTROLA)Peer reviewe

A model for the biochemical degradation of inosine monophosphate in hake (Merluccius merluccius)

7 páginas, 3 tablas, 3 figuras, 1 apéndiceATP-derived products are typically used as early indicators of fish quality loss during storage. In this work, we explore different biochemical routes that are potentially relevant in contributing to nucleotide degradation in hake (Merluccius merluccius). A major motivation of this study is to get more insight on the biochemical degradation mechanisms of nucleotide catabolites in hake muscle at fish storage and transport conditions. This requires the identification of its relevant pathways. To that purpose, different degradation routes proposed in the literature are considered and a mathematical model for the degradation process is derived. First order kinetics are assumed for all the reactions and temperature dependence is taken into account through the Arrhenius equation. Unknown model parameters, namely activation energies and pre-exponential Arrhenius coefficients, are estimated via fitting to experimental data. From the estimation results, relevant routes are identified. The kinetic study is performed on sterile fish juice to avoid coupling with microbial degradation mechanisms or possible interferences of the food matrix that might hide biochemical interactions. The proposed scheme adequately describes biochemical changes in nucleotide catabolites under variable temperature profiles. It also reveals a pathway which at least seems relevant for nucleotide degradation in hakeThe authors acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Projects ISFORQUALITY AGL2012-39951-C02-01, PIE 201230E042 and RESISTANCE DPI2014-54085-JIN)Peer reviewe

Spitzer Observations of Spacecraft Target 162173 (1999 JU3)

Near-Earth asteroid 162173 (1999 JU3) is the primary target of the Hayabusa-2 sample return mission, and a potential target of the Marco Polo sample return mission. Earth-based studies of this object are fundamental to these missions. We present a mid-infrared spectrum (5-38 microns) of 1999 JU3 obtained with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope in May 2008. These observations place new constraints on the surface properties of this asteroid. To fit our spectrum we used the near-Earth asteroid thermal model (NEATM) and the more complex thermophysical model (TPM). However, the position of the spin-pole, which is uncertain, is a crucial input parameter for constraining the thermal inertia with the TPM; hence, we consider two pole orientations. In the extreme case of an equatorial retrograde geometry we derive a lower limit to the thermal inertia of 150 J/m^2/K/s^0.5. If we adopt the pole orientation of Abe et al. (2008a) our best-fit thermal model yields a value for the thermal inertia of 700+/-200 J/m^2/K/s^0.5 and even higher values are allowed by the uncertainty in the spectral shape due to the absolute flux calibration. The lower limit to the thermal inertia, which is unlikely but possible, would be consistent with a fine regolith similar to wthat is found for asteroid 433 Eros. However, the thermal inertia is expected to be higher, possibly similar to or greater than that on asteroid 25143 Itokawa. Accurately determining the spin-pole of asteroid 162173 will narrow the range of possible values for its thermal inertia.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; to be published as a Letter in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Las glauconitas de la plataforma continental gallega: indicadores geoquímicos del grado de evolución.

La interpretación estratigráfica de unidades que contienen glauconita requiere de una adecuada caracterización del grado de evolución, definido a partir del concepto de madurez (Amorosi, 1995). Su utilización es útil para determinar la duración de periodos asociados a bajas tasas de sedimentación o para caracterizar condiciones paleoceanográficas y paleoambientales en la interfase sedimento-agua del mar. En este tipo de estudios se asume implícitamente que la glauconita actúa como un sistema abierto, susceptible de continuos cambios en la estequiometría, como resultado del intercambio de cationes con el agua del mar que, a su vez, inducen reajustes estructurales. La determinación del grado de evolución de glauconitas está asociada habitualmente a la presencia de determinados marcadores, algunos de tipo cualitativo como es el color o bien asociados a la variación de alguna de sus propiedades físicas, como es la susceptibilidad magnética o composicionales y estructurales, como son la determinación del contenido en K+ o la distancia entre las reflexiones 001, 020 en diagramas de difracción de rayos X. Sin embargo, una caracterización adecuada del proceso evolutivo en glauconita que pueda ser aplicada de forma general debe ser capaz de establecer una relación precisa entre los cambios químicos con el medio durante el proceso de creci 233 S. Fernández-Bastero et al. Las glauconitas de la plataforma continental gallega... miento y la tendencia hacia una mayor estabilidad termodinámica, conectada con modificaciones estructurales, desde una etapa inicial de formación, casi amorfa, hasta alcanzar los últimos términos de la solución sólida, más ordenados. En este sentido, este trabajo se ha planteado con una doble finalidad: en una primera etapa se ha determinado la variabilidad composicional en glauconitas de la plataforma continental gallega y en segundo lugar, estos valores han sido comparados con la variabilidad estructural al objeto de establecer patrones de comportamiento durante las diferentes etapas del proceso evolutivo. El desarrollo de este estudio está basado en el análisis cuantitativo de los diagramas de difracción de rayos X de 50 muestras de sedimento superficial, mediante el método de Rietveld. Con este fin, se ha desarrollado una aplicación particular de este procedimiento de análisis, basada en el ajuste simultáneo de los factores de ocupación para las distintas sustituciones en lugares tetraédricos y octaédricos, así como en las intercapas de la estructura. De este modo, las modificaciones en la estequiometría, inducidas por los procesos de intercambio catiónico entre la superficie mineral y el agua del mar se pueden relacionar con cambios estructurales asociados a las diferentes etapas del proceso evolutivo. Como resultado de este análisis, ha sido posible la elaboración de mapas de contenido geoquímico que reflejan la distribución espacial, tanto para la variabilidad composicional como para la cristalinidad en las glauconitas asociadas a sedimentos superficiales de la plataforma continental gallega

Laser re-irradiation of palladium nanoparticles for antibacterial applications

Bacterial resistant infections represent the second leading cause of mortality worldwide, being responsible for almost the 14% of the global deaths according to figures of 2019. Nanoparticles of noble metals have received special attention because of their outstanding bactericidal activity, that is intrinsically linked to their physico-chemical properties, an asset that makes them an appealing alternative to combat resistant microorganisms. So as to optimize their applications within the biomedical field, it becomes relevant to develop and employ means to influence and act upon nanoparticles’ physico-chemical characteristics. In this research, palladium nanoparticles were synthesized via laser ablation. A nanosecond Nd:YVO4 laser operating at 532 nm was employed to ablate a palladium target immersed in deionized water in order to obtain the colloidal suspension. Then, the previous suspension was passed twice through a re-irradiation system to narrow the size and size distribution of palladium nanoparticles. Bacterial assays with Staphylococcus aureus revealed an effect of size on the bactericidal behaviour of palladium nanoparticles.This work was partially supported by the Government of Spain (PID2020-117900RB-I00 (MCI/AEI/FEDER, UE), EQC2018-004315-P (AEI/FEDER UE), FPU21/04488), Xunta de Galicia (ED431C 2019/23) and University of Vigo (Margarita Salas Postdoc Fellowship Program, M. Fernández Arias & P. Pou-Álvarez)

Experiment for Analysing the Impact of Financial Events on Twitter

Twitter, as the heart of publicly accessible Social Media, is one of the currently used platforms to share financial information and is a valuable source of information for different roles in the financial market. For all these roles, the quality analysis of Twitter as a source of financial information is essential to take decisions. The work in this paper is aligned with the ongoing work of the authors to a solution for irregularity monitoring in the financial market by harnessing data in online social media. To do so, the permeability of a variety of social media data feeders to financial irregularities should be analysed. That is the case of the experiment in this paper by putting the focus on Twitter microblogging platform and checking if this general purpose social media is permeable to a specific financial event. For this, we detail the analysis of Twitter permeability to a specific event in the past few months: the announcement about the merge of Tesco and Booker to create a UK’s Leading Food Business on the 27th January 2017. Both companies Tesco PLC and Booking Group PLC are listed in the main market of LSE (London Stock Exchange). Our findings provide promising evidences to address the problem of real-time detection of irregularities in the financial market via Twitter according to the volume (as a sign of the importance of the irregularity) and to other features (as signs of the potential origin causing the irregularity)

Feeding Habits of the Invasive Weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) in the Gulf of Cadiz

Weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) has been present in Iberian waters since at least 2011, when it was first recorded in the Guadalquivir estuary. Little is known about the preferences and feeding strategies of weakfish outside of its native range; therefore, in this work, we carried out a comprehensive study between March 2021 and September 2021 to elucidate these matters. In total, the stomach contents of 300 fish were examined. The fish were collected in spring and summer in the Gulf of Cadiz (Spain), with individuals caught ranging from 185 to 590 mm in total length. Due to the sampling period and size range of individuals, ontogenic and seasonal (spring–summer) variations in the diet were also explored. Overall, fish and crustaceans were the dominant groups consumed by weakfish. The European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) and caramote prawn (Penaeus kerathurus) were the most abundant prey in each group. While no differences were found in the percentage of occurrence of fish in the non-empty stomachs analyzed in spring and summer (83%), a small increase was found in the percentage of occurrence of crustaceans from spring (20%) to summer (29%). In addition, the analysis of the results also suggested that weakfish of smaller sizes feed more on crustaceans, while bigger individuals feed mainly on fish. Our findings indicate that weakfish is a fully carnivorous species with a preference for fish. All this is in line with the diet and strategy that weakfish exhibits in its native area and with the first assessment made with the existing population in the Sado Estuary (Portugal). In recent years, due to the appearance of non-native species, there is increasing concern among local fishermen and the local authorities about the reduction in captures of certain species such as Penaeus kerathurus; therefore, this study could help researchers to understand the role of weakfish concerning this matter. The present study contributes to the ecological knowledge about this species in the Iberian Peninsula and the Gulf of Cadiz, helping the local authorities to establish, if needed, an appropriate management program to cope with this recently introduced species