Attitude Estimation and Control Using Linear-Like Complementary Filters: Theory and Experiment

This paper proposes new algorithms for attitude estimation and control based on fused inertial vector measurements using linear complementary filters principle. First, n-order direct and passive complementary filters combined with TRIAD algorithm are proposed to give attitude estimation solutions. These solutions which are efficient with respect to noise include the gyro bias estimation. Thereafter, the same principle of data fusion is used to address the problem of attitude tracking based on inertial vector measurements. Thus, instead of using noisy raw measurements in the control law a new solution of control that includes a linear-like complementary filter to deal with the noise is proposed. The stability analysis of the tracking error dynamics based on LaSalle's invariance theorem proved that almost all trajectories converge asymptotically to the desired equilibrium. Experimental results, obtained with DIY Quad equipped with the APM2.6 auto-pilot, show the effectiveness and the performance of the proposed solutions.Comment: Submitted for Journal publication on March 09, 2015. Partial results related to this work have been presented in IEEE-ROBIO-201

Étude expérimentale sur l’élimination des nitrates par adsorption sur des argiles activées et non activées de la sebkha d’Oran

Les procédés d’adsorption qui font l’objet de cette étude, tendent à se développer rapidement et sont principalement utilisés pour l’élimination de composés polluants. Cette technique a montré de grandes capacités de dépollution des eaux usées, surtout industrielles. Mais, sa performance et son efficacité dépendent d’une façon prépondérante de la nature de l’adsorbant. En pratique, l’adsorbant le plus courant utilisé est le charbon actif, mais, sa performance est limitée face aux composés polaires et nécessite une régénération complexe et coûteuse. Ceci a encouragé d’autres travaux de recherche qui ont réalisé que l’argile possède, à l’état brut, des propriétés adsorbantes. Cette étude s’inscrit dans cette perspective. Nous, testerons comme matériau adsorbant, l’argile de la zone non saturée de la sebkha d’Oran pour deux états brute et traité. Nous avons déterminé les paramètres d’équilibre et les cinétiques des réactions. Les meilleurs résultats ont été obtenus pour un temps d’activation de 60 minutes pour les argiles brutes. On enregistre donc que le fond de la sebkha est une zone non polluée, ce qui a été déjà confirmé par BASKW HANSHAWB et Hassani [1], qui ont résolu que ces argiles, peuvent fonctionner comme un fi1tre, qui empêchent le passage des éléments chargés.Mots-clés : argile, adsorption, dépollution, nitrate, cinétique, isotherme

Estimating generalized of global impacts to water quality on soil characteristics in basin of the Great Sebkha of Oran

In basin of the Great Sebkha of Oran, water deficit linked to climate semi-aridity has forced farmers to resort to the use of underground water of poor quality, which considered as the major cause of soil degradation. The alluvial aquifer waters are particularly characterized by higher relatively concentration in dissolved salts when compared them with other aquifers of the same system. Generally, the salinity of the water increases from upstream to downstream in the direction of the Sebkha (Boualla et al. in Water Supply 17(6):1801–1812, 2017). Assessment of soil quality has become the basic work for agricultural sustainable development. The aim of this paper is to evaluate soil properties in great Sebkha of Oran basin. Geo-referred soil samples were collected from ten-component analysis, and different soils were analysed for different physical and chemical attributes. Our study focuses on mineralogical analysis and geochemical prospecting using soil chemical data. Eleven indicators were selected to constitute data to assess the soil quality: sieve analysis, classification, cation exchange capacity, pH, soil organic matter, conductivity, gypsum, nature of the oxide content, nutrients (NO$_{3}$-N, NH$_{4}$-N, PO$_{4}$-P), anions content (SO4$^{2-}$, Cl$^{-}$) and mineralogical analysis. Conclusively, process and mechanism of soil quality need deep research

Characterization of groundwater quality in Oran Sebkha basin

Growing populations and increasing industrialization causes increase in living standard, which result in decrease in the quality of water and may put stresses on natural waters by impairing both the quality of the water and the hydrological budget. This research aimed at determining the origin of the chemical elements of groundwater from the Oran Sebkha basin. It applied the inverse geochemical modeling to derive the sources of variation in the hydrochemistry. Fifty five (55) water samples were selected from different point in Oran Sebkha basin for sampling purpose in July 2011. Physico-chemical parameters such as pH and electric conductivity were measured in situ. Moreover, chloride, sulfate, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, were measured in the laboratory. Inverse geochemical models of the statistical groups were developed using PHREEQC to elucidate the chemical reactions controlling water chemistry. The inverse geochemical modeling demonstrated that relatively few phases are required to derive water chemistry in the area. In a broad sense, the reactions responsible for the hydrochemical evolution in the area fall into three categories: (1) dissolution of evaporite minerals; (2) precipitation of carbonate minerals; and (3) weathering reactions of silicate minerals. The high values of the physico-chemical parameters of water obtained in the present study sites indicate a variation in the physico-chemical parameters and demonstrated that relatively few phases are required to derive water chemistry in the area. Range of values were found as pH (5.1-7.6), conductivity (720-15820 μS cm-1), chloride (994-7810 mg l-1), sulfate (6.1-112.4 mg l-1), alkalinity (421-19962 mg l-1), calcium (80-680 mg l-1), magnesium (212.4-4525 mg l-1), sodium (124.2-4687.4 mg l-1) and potassium (0.9-42.5 mg l-1).Key words: Physico-chemical parameters, water, Sebkha

Magnetic exchange interactions in Mn doped ZnSnAs₂ chalcopyrite

Accurate ab initio full-potential augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) electronic calculations within generalized gradient approximation have been performed for Mn doped ZnSnAs₂ chalcopyrites, focusing on their electronic and magnetic properties as a function of the geometry related to low Mn-impurity concentration and the spin magnetic alignment (i.e., ferromagnetic vs antiferromagnetic). As expected, Mn is found to be a source of holes and localized magnetic moments of about 4 µB per Mn atom are calculated which are sufficiently large. The defect calculations are firstly performed by replacing a single cation (namely Zn and Sn) with a single Mn atom in the pure chalcopyrite ZnSnAs₂ supercell, and their corresponding formation energies show that the substitution of a Sn atom (rather than Zn) by Mn is strongly favored. Thereafter, a comparison of total energy differences between ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) are given. Surprisingly, the exchange interaction between a Mn pairs is found to oscillate with the distance between them. Consequently, the AFM alignment is energetically favored in Mn-doped ZnSnAs₂ compounds, except for low impurity concentration associated with lower distances between neighboring Mn impurities, in this case the stabilization of FM increases. Moreover, the ferromagnetic alignment in the Mn-doped ZnSnAs₂ systems behaves half-metallic; the valence band for majority spin orientation is partially filled while there is a gap in the density of states for the minority spin orientation. This semiconducting gap of ~1 eV opened up in the minority channel and is due to the large bonding–antibonding splitting from the p–d hybridization. Our findings suggest that the Mn-doped ZnSnAs₂ chalcopyrites could be a different class of ferromagnetic semiconductors

Etude Ethnobotanique Sur L’utilisation De Mentha Pulegium, Mentha Piperita Et Pelargonium Graveolens Au Nord Du Maroc (Taounate) Et Évaluation De Leur Pouvoir Antimicrobien

Traditional medicine has always occupied an important place in Moroccan traditions medication, Taounate region is concrete example. Thus, this survey aims to highlight the different uses of Mentha pulegium, Mentha piperita and Pelargonium graveolens in Taounate city during April month 2017, and to evaluate their antimicrobial potency against Staphylococcus epidermidis and Acinetobacter baumannii by microdilution method. A questionnaire was used with residents, herbalists and phytotherapists. The results showed that these three plants are used mainly for their therapeutic virtues; precisely against digestive disorders representing the most cited diseases for Mentha piperita (51%), respiratory diseases for Mentha pulegium (50%) and dermatological conditions for Pelargonium graveolens(44%). The majority of remedies are prepared by decoction (56%) from leaves (71%) and usually orally administered (68%) as herbal tea (58%). Cure rate is 41% with 53% health improvement. In addition, the essential oils of these studied plants exhibited strong inhibitory effect against all tested microorganisms with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 0.01562% to 1% (v/v)

Chronic Nicotine Modifies Skeletal Muscle Na,K-ATPase Activity through Its Interaction with the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor and Phospholemman

Our previous finding that the muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) and the Na,K-ATPase interact as a regulatory complex to modulate Na,K-ATPase activity suggested that chronic, circulating nicotine may alter this interaction, with long-term changes in the membrane potential. To test this hypothesis, we chronically exposed rats to nicotine delivered orally for 21–31 days. Chronic nicotine produced a steady membrane depolarization of ∼3 mV in the diaphragm muscle, which resulted from a net change in electrogenic transport by the Na,K-ATPase α2 and α1 isoforms. Electrogenic transport by the α2 isoform increased (+1.8 mV) while the activity of the α1 isoform decreased (−4.4 mV). Protein expression of Na,K-ATPase α1 or α2 isoforms and the nAChR did not change; however, the content of α2 subunit in the plasma membrane decreased by 25%, indicating that its stimulated electrogenic transport is due to an increase in specific activity. The physical association between the nAChR, the Na,K-ATPase α1 or α2 subunits, and the regulatory subunit of the Na,K-ATPase, phospholemman (PLM), measured by co-immuno precipitation, was stable and unchanged. Chronic nicotine treatment activated PKCα/β2 and PKCδ and was accompanied by parallel increases in PLM phosphorylation at Ser63 and Ser68. Collectively, these results demonstrate that nicotine at chronic doses, acting through the nAChR-Na,K-ATPase complex, is able to modulate Na,K-ATPase activity in an isoform-specific manner and that the regulatory range includes both stimulation and inhibition of enzyme activity. Cholinergic modulation of Na,K-ATPase activity is achieved, in part, through activation of PKC and phosphorylation of PLM

Activation of AMP-activated protein kinase rapidly suppresses multiple pro-inflammatory pathways in adipocytes including IL-1 receptor-associated kinase-4 phosphorylation

yesInflammation of adipose tissue in obesity is associated with increased IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α secretion and proposed to contribute to insulin resistance. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) regulates nutrient metabolism and is reported to have anti-inflammatory actions in adipose tissue, yet the mechanisms underlying this remain poorly characterised. The effect of AMPK activation on cytokine-stimulated proinflammatory signalling was therefore assessed in cultured adipocytes. AMPK activation inhibited IL-1β-stimulated CXCL10 secretion, associated with reduced interleukin-1 receptor associated kinase-4 (IRAK4) phosphorylation and downregulated MKK4/JNK and IKK/IκB/NFκB signalling. AMPK activation inhibited TNF-α-stimulated IKK/IκB/NFκB signalling but had no effect on JNK phosphorylation. The JAK/STAT3 pathway was also suppressed by AMPK after IL-6 stimulation and during adipogenesis. Adipose tissue from AMPKα1−/− mice exhibited increased JNK and STAT3 phosphorylation, supporting suppression of these distinct proinflammatory pathways by AMPK in vivo. The inhibition of multiple pro-inflammatory signalling pathways by AMPK may underlie the reported beneficial effects of AMPK activation in adipose tissue.British Heart Foundatio