Application of robust control in unmanned vehicle flight control system design

The robust loop-shaping control methodology is applied in the flight control system design of the Cranfield A3 Observer unmanned, unstable, catapult launched air vehicle. Detailed linear models for the full operational flight envelope of the air vehicle are developed. The nominal and worst-case models are determined using the v-gap metric. The effect of neglecting subsystems such as actuators and/or computation delays on modelling uncertainty is determined using the v-gap metric and shown to be significant. Detailed designs for the longitudinal, lateral, and the combined full dynamics TDF controllers were carried out. The Hanus command signal conditioning technique is also implemented to overcome actuator saturation and windup. The robust control system is then successfully evaluated in the high fidelity 6DOF non-linear simulation to assess its capability of launch stabilization in extreme cross-wind conditions, control effectiveness in climb, and navigation precision through the prescribed 3D flight path in level cruise. Robust performance and stability of the single-point non-scheduled control law is also demonstrated throughout the full operational flight envelope the air vehicle is capable of and for all flight phases and beyond, to severe launch conditions, such as 33knots crosswind and exaggerated CG shifts. The robust TDF control law is finally compared with the classical PMC law where the actual number of variables to be manipulated manually in the design process are shown to be much less, due to the scheduling process elimination, although the size of the final controller was much higher. The robust control law performance superiority is demonstrated in the non-linear simulation for the full flight envelope and in extreme flight conditions

Characterization of recombinant Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius) insulin

The production of hormones by biotechnological approaches has contributed significantly to treatment of many diseases. DNA recombinant technology has facilitated production of new forms of insulin from many species and mammalian insulin to be used as a therapy for diabetic patients. In this study, proinsulin from Arabian camel was produced and characterized for the first time by recombinanttechnology. Recombinant camel proinsulin was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli to be produced and characterized it in vitro. Camel proinsulin sequence was compared with human insulin sequences. Camel proinsulin is 5.8 kDa in size and includes 87 amino acids with highly conserved domains. Proinsulins are highly conserved enzymes in many mammals; camel proinsulin possesses 87.5% homology to human proinsulin by amino acid sequences. The C peptide chain is made up of a total of 35 amino acids of which 27 amino acids are identical and the remaining are variable. The three dimensional structure of camel proinsulin was deduced for molecule homology studies with human proinsulin. The results suggest that, camel proinsulin cDNA may be used as a specific probe for proinsulin studies with other organisms and may serve biotechnology field as a model for future comparative enzymatic, therapeutic and pharmaceutical studies

Glaucoma and Corneal Transplant Procedures

Glaucoma after corneal transplantation is a leading cause of ocular morbidity after penetrating keratoplasty. The incidence reported is highly variable and a number of etiologic factors have been identified. A number of treatment options are available; surgical intervention for IOP control is associated with a high incidence of graft failure. IOP elevation is less frequently seen following deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty. Descemet's striping-automated endothelial keratoplasty is also associated with postprocedure intraocular pressure elevation and secondary glaucoma and presents unique surgical challenges in patients with preexisting glaucoma surgeries. Glaucoma exists in up to three-quarters of patients who undergo keratoprosthesis surgery and the management if often challenging. The aim of this paper is to highlight the incidence, etiology, and management of glaucoma following different corneal transplant procedures. It also focuses on the challenges in the diagnosis of glaucoma and intraocular pressure monitoring in this group of patients

Error-prone repair induced by mutant DNA methyltransferases.

Organisms utilise cytosine-5 DNA methylation to expand their repertoire of genetic transactions. Structural studies of DNA cytosine-5 methyltransferase have revealed that DNA methyltransferases incorporate nucleotide flipping into their catalytic cycle in order to access the otherwise buried pyrimidine ring from within duplex DNA. Interestingly, substituting the catalytic nucleophile Cys with Gly can produce cytotoxic forms of the bacterial methyltransferases and cause rearrangements in the DNA. In this study the generality of the cytotoxic effect has been studied on both mono and multi-specific methyltransferases. The effect of dimerisation of methyltransferases on the rearrangement event and the specificity of DNA damage have been defined. The involvement of two DNA repair proteins RecA and UmuDC has been studied. The wild type and mutant multispecific methyltransferase (M.SPRI) has been transcribed and translated in vitro and the proteins studied using surface plasmon resonance technique. The experiments described here demonstrate for the first time how a high affinity, catalytically deficient DNA methyltransferase induces error-prone deletions in E.coli

The Effectiveness of Supervision in Solving Problems Facing Teachers of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Jordan

Teachers in all areas of life need supervision, which improves their job performance. This study aimed to recognize the effectiveness of supervision in solving problems facing teachers of students with an autism spectrum disorder in Jordan. The study sample consisted of 140 male and female teachers who were specifically selected. A tool for measuring supervision effectiveness has been developed through 49 items distributed across five domains. The validity and reliability of the tool have been verified. The study results show that the effectiveness of supervision in solving problems facing teachers of students with an autism spectrum disorder in Jordan is medium. The results also indicate that there are no statistically significant differences attributed to the variables of gender, or years of experience. A series of recommendations were given in light of the results such as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Development should implement training programs for teachers of students with autism spectrum disorder to broaden their experience and promote career development

Application of robust control in unmanned vehicle flight control system design

The robust loop-shaping control methodology is applied in the flight control system design of the Cranfield A3 Observer unmanned, unstable, catapult launched air vehicle. Detailed linear models for the full operational flight envelope of the air vehicle are developed. The nominal and worst-case models are determined using the v-gap metric. The effect of neglecting subsystems such as actuators and/or computation delays on modelling uncertainty is determined using the v-gap metric and shown to be significant. Detailed designs for the longitudinal, lateral, and the combined full dynamics TDF controllers were carried out. The Hanus command signal conditioning technique is also implemented to overcome actuator saturation and windup. The robust control system is then successfully evaluated in the high fidelity 6DOF non-linear simulation to assess its capability of launch stabilization in extreme cross-wind conditions, control effectiveness in climb, and navigation precision through the prescribed 3D flight path in level cruise. Robust performance and stability of the single-point non-scheduled control law is also demonstrated throughout the full operational flight envelope the air vehicle is capable of and for all flight phases and beyond, to severe launch conditions, such as 33knots crosswind and exaggerated CG shifts. The robust TDF control law is finally compared with the classical PMC law where the actual number of variables to be manipulated manually in the design process are shown to be much less, due to the scheduling process elimination, although the size of the final controller was much higher. The robust control law performance superiority is demonstrated in the non-linear simulation for the full flight envelope and in extreme flight conditions.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The Effect of the Negotiation Strategy on Value-Based Management among The Principals of Public Schools in Zarqa Governorate

The purpose of this study was to look into the impact of the negotiation strategy on value-based management among principals of government schools in the Directorate of Education in the Ruseifeh District of Zarqa Governorate. The descriptive analytical method was used by the researcher. To collect data, a questionnaire was developed. The study’s sample consists of (156) male and female government school teachers from the directorate of education in the Rusaifa district of Zarqa Governorate. The data was analyzed using the SPSS program. The degree of application of the negotiation strategy with government school directors in the Education Directorate in the Ruseifeh district of Zarqa Governorate is medium, as is the degree of application of administration by values to government school directors, and the presence of a statistically significant effect of the negotiation strategy on value management among government school principals. Based on the findings, the study made several recommendations, the most important of which was to strengthen the role of government school principals in Jordan by increasing interest in implementing the negotiation strategy in managing their educational institutions by fostering a positive interactive environment between principals and teachers; the need for school administrators to monitor the process of implementing decisions pertaining to their educational institution in collaboration with teachers, as well as the need to improve communication skills between management and school personnel in order for the negotiation strategy to be successful. In light of the results, the study recommended several recommendations, most notably the necessity of enhancing the role of government school principals in Jordan by increasing interest in implementing the negotiation strategy in managing their educational institutions by creating a sound interactive environment between principals and teachers; the need for school administrators to follow up the process of implementing decisions pertaining to their educational institution in partnership with teachers, and the need to enhance communication skills between management and school personnel to make the negotiation strategy successful

Cerebralna listerioza u deve na području Qassim u Središnjoj Saudijskoj Arabiji - prikaz slučajaDeva

A she-camel of about 6 years of age with neurological signs was admitted to the University Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Qassim, central Saudi Arabia, for diagnosis and treatment. Clinical examination showed lack of coordination of movements, Parkinson’s-like tremors of the head and lower lip paralysis. No parasite was detected in the stained blood smear, and except for leukocytosis and monocytosis, the result of the complete blood count (CBC) was normal. The results of the liver and kidney function tests were normal. The animal was infused with 4 units of 5% dextrose saline and injected with vitamin B1 and selenium preparations for the nervous manifestations. However, its health deteriorated rapidly and it was on lateral recumbency by the second day of admission. It died after one more day and was necropsied to investigate the cause of death. Postmortem examination showed slight congestion of the liver and the kidneys. The heart, meninges and the brain were congested and haemorrhagic. Histopathological examination showed acute lymphocytic meningeoencephalomyelitis in the medulla oblongata and spinal cord. Micro-abscesses containing neutrophils were seen in the medulla oblongata. Colonies of Listeria monocytogenes were obtained when the brain tissue was cultured in a cold environment. Smears made from the colonies showed Gram positive cocco-bacilli. Listeria monocytogenes was confirmed by PCR on DNA extracted from brain tissue.Deva u dobi od šest godina s neurološkim znakovima bila je radi dijagnoze i liječenja primljena na kliniku Veterinarskog Sveučilišta u Qassimu, Središnja Saudijska Arabija. Kliničkom pretragom ustanovljena je nekoordiniranost pokreta, tremor glave i paraliza donje usne slično kao kod Parkinsonove bolesti. U obojenim razmascima krvi nisu bili ustanovljeni paraziti, a hematološki nalaz bio je normalan osim što je ustanovljena leukocitoza i monocitoza. Nalazi funkcije jetara i bubrega bili su u fi ziološkim granicama. Životinja je dobila infuziju 4 jedinice 5% fiziološke otopine dekstroze s vitaminom B1 i preparatima selena zbog živčanih znakova. Ipak se njezino zdravstveno stanje naglo pogoršavalo te je drugoga dana bespomoćno ležala na boku. Uginula je trećega dana od primitka na kliniku te je razuđena da bi se otkrio uzrok uginuća. Postmortem pretraga pokazala je blagu kongestiju jetara i bubrega. Ustanovljeni su kongestija i krvarenja u srcu, moždanim ovojnicama i mozgu. Patohistološka pretraga pokazala je akutni limfocitni meningoencefalomijelitis u produženoj i kralježničnoj moždini. U produženoj moždini nalazili su se mikroapscesi koji su sadržavali neutrofile. Listeria monocytogenes bila je izdvojena iz moždanoga tkiva uzgojem u hladnim uvjetima. U razmascima kolonija dokazani su grampozitivni kokobacili. Nalaz bakterije Listeria monocytogenes bio je povrđen lančanom reakcijom polimerazom u DNA ekstrahiranoj iz moždanoga tkiva

Sequencing, Analysis, and Annotation of Expressed Sequence Tags for Camelus dromedarius

Despite its economical, cultural, and biological importance, there has not been a large scale sequencing project to date for Camelus dromedarius. With the goal of sequencing complete DNA of the organism, we first established and sequenced camel EST libraries, generating 70,272 reads. Following trimming, chimera check, repeat masking, cluster and assembly, we obtained 23,602 putative gene sequences, out of which over 4,500 potentially novel or fast evolving gene sequences do not carry any homology to other available genomes. Functional annotation of sequences with similarities in nucleotide and protein databases has been obtained using Gene Ontology classification. Comparison to available full length cDNA sequences and Open Reading Frame (ORF) analysis of camel sequences that exhibit homology to known genes show more than 80% of the contigs with an ORF>300 bp and ~40% hits extending to the start codons of full length cDNAs suggesting successful characterization of camel genes. Similarity analyses are done separately for different organisms including human, mouse, bovine, and rat. Accompanying web portal, CAGBASE (http://camel.kacst.edu.sa/), hosts a relational database containing annotated EST sequences and analysis tools with possibility to add sequences from public domain. We anticipate our results to provide a home base for genomic studies of camel and other comparative studies enabling a starting point for whole genome sequencing of the organism

Sequencing, Analysis, and Annotation of Expressed Sequence Tags for \u3ci\u3eCamelus dromedarius\u3c/i\u3e

Despite its economical, cultural, and biological importance, there has not been a large scale sequencing project to date for Camelus dromedarius. With the goal of sequencing complete DNA of the organism, we first established and sequenced camel EST libraries, generating 70,272 reads. Following trimming, chimera check, repeat masking, cluster and assembly, we obtained 23,602 putative gene sequences, out of which over 4,500 potentially novel or fast evolving gene sequences do not carry any homology to other available genomes. Functional annotation of sequences with similarities in nucleotide and protein databases has been obtained using Gene Ontology classification. Comparison to available full length cDNA sequences and Open Reading Frame (ORF) analysis of camel sequences that exhibit homology to known genes show more than 80% of the contigs with an ORF\u3e300 bp and ~40% hits extending to the start codons of full length cDNAs suggesting successful characterization of camel genes. Similarity analyses are done separately for different organisms including human, mouse, bovine, and rat. Accompanying web portal, CAGBASE (http://camel.kacst.edu.sa/), hosts a relational database containing annotated EST sequences and analysis tools with possibility to add sequences from public domain. We anticipate our results to provide a home base for genomic studies of camel and other comparative studies enabling a starting point for whole genome sequencing of the organism