Human-in-the-Loop Model Predictive Control of an Irrigation Canal

Until now, advanced model-based control techniques have been predominantly employed to control problems that are relatively straightforward to model. Many systems with complex dynamics or containing sophisticated sensing and actuation elements can be controlled if the corresponding mathematical models are available, even if there is uncertainty in this information. Consequently, the application of model-based control strategies has flourished in numerous areas, including industrial applications [1]-[3].Junta de Andalucía P11-TEP-812

Enhancement handling performance of 4-wheels drive electrical vehicle using advanced control technique

[Abstract] Electric vehicles (EVs) are gaining attention because they are environmentally friendly. Also, EVs can use in-hub motors, which can be independently controlled, improving maneuverability and allowing to set more ambitious control goals. In this paper, the lateral motion of an EV is controlled using the direct yaw control (DYC) method. The proposed controller uses the yaw moment produced by the longitudinal forces of the tires to stabilize the vehicle motion during critical cornering conditions to improve vehicle handling characteristics. The designed controllers, based on a linear model of the vehicle compute the optimal coupled traction/braking torque of the four in-wheel motors. By using unequal torque distribution, a restoring yaw moment can be generated in order to improve vehicle stability. Two controllers (PID and MPC) were designed to generate the moment required to achieve vehicle stability . The MPC outperforms PID regarding reduction of side slip angle and yaw rate.Financial support for this research was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Scince and Innovation (Grant no.IJC2018-035395-I).Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación; IJC2018-035395-

Left wind forward in football (soccer). Khinanthropometry and footprint analysis

Kinanthropometry is the study of size, shape, proportionality, body composition, biological maturation and body function with the objective of understanding the process of growth, exercise, sport performance and nutrition. It has been accepted measurements in the right side of the subject as equivalent of the overall sportsman. Right and left side variations therefore have not been sufficiently studied, particularly in left handed football players. Materials and Methods: Analysis of 5 professional footballers from the C.D. Leganés, S.A.D. was carried, being left dominant and by their team position considered as left wing forwards. The method selected to study kinanthropometric variables was established by Heath-Carter and followed by the ISAK-GREC (International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry and Grupo Español de Cineantropometría-Spanish Group of Kinanthropometry-). Footprint obtained by the simplified Hernandez-Corvo methodology, being classified as: flat, flat-normal, normal, normal-high arch, high arch, strong high arch and extreme high arch, prior and subsequent to a football match. Informed consent attained as established by local legislation. Statistics analysed by t-Student with a significance of 95% (p<0.05) and the results processed by the PC statistical software SPSS 11.5. Results: Football players have a mean height of 174.02 cm. and a mean weight of 75.32 Kg. Right foot mean length is 24.84 cm. and left foot mean length is 24.96 cm., while right foot mean width is 9.73 cm. and left foot mean width is 9.60 cm.; the footprint varies from normal prior to match to normal- high arch after the game, whereas left foot remains normal-high arch all along. Total number of lesions accounted for 9 sprains in the right ankle and 12 sprains in left ankle, 1 anterior cruciate ligament rupture and 1 menisectomy in the right knee with 1 interior lateral ligament rupture and 1 menisectomy in the left knee. Discussion: Data in variation of right and left side related to football is missing in international bibliography, which may be important due to the fact of the general belief in football environment that left dominant footballers are of better technique and therefore will have more chance of success in a world ruled by financial interests. Notice to analysis remarks the fact whereas the mean left foot is longer than the mean right foot, the mean right foot is wider than the mean left foot. Statistical significant differences arise between left and right footprint prior and subsequent to a football match, associated to statistical significant changes in various anthropometric measurements: ileospinal, throcanteric and tibial heights; total superior extremity, arm, forearm, hand, thigh, leg and foot lengths; subescapular, axillary, ileocrestal, supraspinal, thigh, leg and abdominal skinfolds; epicondyle of humerus diameter and ankle perimeter. Conclusion: 1) Footprint modifies with football practice. 2) Footprint differs in a football player in left and right feet prior and subsequent to a football match, associated with statistical discrepancies between various right and left kinanthropometric variables. 3) Broader population must be studied to better value the repercussion of football practice in footprint. 4) Research must be completed in order to analyse modification in right handed football players. 5) Research must be completed in order to analyse modification of footprint because of sport practice. 6) Research must be completed to observe differences with similar population detailing in certain sportive gestures (running, jumping, swimming, etc.)

Estimación del grado de desarrollo de la composición corporal en deportistas púberes y prepúberes

Un valioso elemento en la vigilancia de la salud pediátrica es la gráfica de recimiento, que relaciona en curvas de percentil la edad con el peso y la talla. Bastante útiles en edades preescolares, son poco representativas de los cambios producidos en etapas adolescentes en las que se añade al crecimiento normal, los cambios fisiológicos propios del desarrollo puberal y factores ambientales tales como la practica de actividades deportivas, que pueden inducir un desarrollo diferente de cada componente corporal. Aplicando el método antropométrico se calcula la composición corporal de 300 escolares entre 10 y 15 años, estudiando el fraccionamiento del peso corporal en 4 componentes. Los objetivos del presente estudio son: conocer cómo cambian los distintos componentes corporales durante las etapas preadolescente y adolescente de los individuos que realizan deporte extraescolar y obtener gráficas de crecimiento para cada componente similares a las existentes para la correlación edad/peso, edad/talla, peso/talla aceptadas por la OMS y de idéntico manejo, que muestren las variables en percentiles por edad, no en términos de proporción del peso total, sino en valor absoluto para cada componente, de modo que permitan monitorizar el desarrollo de cada individuo, resultando así de utilidad en la práctica clínica diaria.Los resultados de la artroplastia de codo han mejorado sustancialmente coincidiendo con el mejor conocimiento de la biomecánica del codo. El diseño y los resultados clínicos de las prótesis de codo se basan en un conocimiento preciso de la cinemática, los estabilizadores y las fuerzas que atraviesan esta articulación.A valuable element in the vigilance of the pediatric health is the graph of growth which relates in curves of percentile the age with the weight and the height. Very useful in preschool ages, they are not very representative in the changes of the adolescent stages in which, to the normal growth, it adds the physiologic changes characteristic of the development puberal and environmental factors just as practice of sport activities that can induce a different development in each corporal component. Applying the anthropometric method, the body composition of 300 scholars, between 10 and 15 years old, is calculated, studying the division of the corporal mass according to four compartment model. The objectives of the present study are: to know the change of the different corporal components during the preadolescent and adolescent stages of the people whom practice extra-school sport and to obtain graphics of growth for each component similar to the existent ones for the correlation age/weight, age/height, weight/height accepted by the WHO and of identical handling that show the variables in percentiles for age, not in terms of proportion of the total weight, but in absolute value for each component, so they allow to monitor the development of each person, being that utility in the everyday clinical practice

Architectural Features of Streetscapes and Aging in Cameron County, Texas: Preliminary Results

The impact of architectural features in urban settings reveals priorities for its residents and the integration of social and natural environments. It has been estimated that 23% of global deaths to the environments in which people live. We aim to characterize the most prevalent architectural features of Cameron County, Texas streetscapes and analyze their role in health promotion and healthy aging

Using Cartesian Coordinate Systems to Create, Classify, and Retrieve Biomedical Time-Series: Applications to 24-hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring

Background: Ambulatory Blood Pressure Measurement (ABPM) allows physicians to monitor blood pressure variability under everyday living conditions and predicts clinical outcomes better than conventional blood-pressure measurement. ABPM can demonstrate mean arterial pressure (MAP) behavior over 24 hours relevant to clinical practice, such as nocturnal hypertension or increased blood pressure variability. We hypothesized that individuals with the same cardiovascular health status would have the same MAP signal (MAPs) waveform. Methods: This study reutilizes a data subset from the IDACO Consortium to create 24-hour MAPs. We assigned all the MAPs to data matrix X, performed principal components analysis (PCA) to X, and calculated the percentage of the total variance explained by each of the 82 principal components (PC). The first three PC explained 85.03%, 9.47%, and 5.50% of the total variance. We used every MAP signal\u27s first three PC scores as their three-dimensional Euclidean Space (x, y, z) coordinates and assigned them to matrix C. Then, we calculated hierarchical clusters of the rows of C with Ward\u27s linkage minimum variance algorithm and a Euclidian metric and encoded this information on the agglomerative hierarchical cluster tree Z. We determined the gap statistic in Z to obtain the optimal number of clusters. We created seven agglomerative clusters from the linkages stored in Z, using Ward’s distance as the criterion for defining the clusters. Finally, we plotted and colored the mapped MAPs by their assigned cluster number at the locations specified by their (x, y, z) coordinates. Results: The MAPs cartesian representations show that MAPs with similar waveforms cluster in the same three-dimensional Euclidean subspace. These patterns identified individuals with dipping and non-dipping blood pressure behavior, which is relevant to clinical management. Conclusions: Mapping a set of physiological signals into a Euclidian space creates a mathematical formalism that provides a statistical framework to classify physiological signals by their waveform. By applying our method to existing electrophysiological and physiological databases, we can cluster any biomedical time-series (blood pressure, ECG, EEG, EMG, patch-clamp, single-unit recordings, etc.) by physiologic or pathological waveform, so further epidemiological and genetic studies can be conducted on the subjects or tissue samples sharing similar patterns

24-Hour Blood Pressure Variability Assessed by Average Real Variability: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background-—Although 24-hour blood pressure (BP) variability (BPV) is predictive of cardiovascular outcomes independent of absolute BP levels, it is not regularly assessed in clinical practice. One possible limitation to routine BPV assessment is the lack of standardized methods for accurately estimating 24-hour BPV. We conducted a systematic review to assess the predictive power of reported BPV indexes to address appropriate quantification of 24-hour BPV, including the average real variability (ARV) index. Methods and Results-—Studies chosen for review were those that presented data for 24-hour BPV in adults from meta-analysis, longitudinal or cross-sectional design, and examined BPV in terms of the following issues: (1) methods used to calculate and evaluate ARV; (2) assessment of 24-hour BPV determined using noninvasive ambulatory BP monitoring; (3) multivariate analysis adjusted for covariates, including some measure of BP; (4) association of 24-hour BPV with subclinical organ damage; and (5) the predictive value of 24-hour BPV on target organ damage and rate of cardiovascular events. Of the 19 assessed studies, 17 reported significant associations between high ARV and the presence and progression of subclinical organ damage, as well as the incidence of hard end points, such as cardiovascular events. In all these cases, ARV remained a significant independent predictor (P Conclusions-—Current evidence suggests that ARV index adds significant prognostic information to 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring and is a useful approach for studying the clinical value of BPV