The Minimal Controllability Problem for structured systems

This paper considers the Minimal Controllability Problem (MCP), {\em i.e.} the problem of controlling a linear system with an input vector having as few non-zero entries as possible. We focus on structured systems which represent an interesting class of parameter dependent linear systems and look for structural controllability properties based on the sparsity pattern of the input vector. We show first that the MCP is solvable when a rank condition is satisfied and show that generically one non-zero entry in the input vector is sufficient to achieve controllability when there is no specific system structure. We give, according to the fixed zero/non-zero pattern of the state matrix entries, the minimum number and the possible location of non-zero entries in the input vector to ensure generic controllability. The analysis based on graph tools provides with a simple polynomial MCP solution and highlights the structural mechanisms that make it useful to act on some variables to ensure controllability

Quasi-Likelihood Estimation for Ornstein-Uhlenbeck Diffusion Observed at Random Time Points

2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 60J60, 62M99.In this paper, we study the quasi-likelihood estimator of the drift parameter θ in the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck diffusion process, when the process is observed at random time points, which are assumed to be unobservable. These time points are arrival times of a Poisson process with known rate. The asymptotic properties of the quasi-likelihood estimator (QLE) of θ, as well as those of its approximations are also elucidated. An extensive simulation study of these estimators is also performed. As a corollary to this work, we obtain the quasi-likelihood estimator iteratively in the deterministic framework with non-equidistant time points.The first and third authors greatly appreciate the support of the Naturel Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for this research

Robust observer design for time-delay systems: a Riccati equation approach

summary:In this paper, a method for $H_\infty$ observer design for linear systems with multiple delays in state and output variables is proposed. The designing method involves attenuating of the disturbance to a pre-specified level. The observer design requires solving certain algebraic Riccati equation. An example is given in order to illustrate the proposed method

Control of distributed delay systems with uncertainties: a generalized Popov theory approach

summary:The paper deals with the generalized Popov theory applied to uncertain systems with distributed time delay. Sufficient conditions for stabilizing this class of delayed systems as well as for $\gamma$-attenuation achievement are given in terms of algebraic properties of a Popov system via a Liapunov–Krasovskii functional. The considered approach is new in the context of distributed linear time-delay systems and gives some interesting interpretations of $H^\infty$ memoryless control problems in terms of Popov triplets and associated objects. The approach is illustrated via numerical examples. Dedicated to Acad. Vlad Ionescu, in memoriam

On delay-dependent robust stability under model transformation of some neutral systems

summary:This paper focuses on the delay-dependent robust stability of linear neutral delay systems. The systems under consideration are described by functional differential equations, with norm bounded time varying nonlinear uncertainties in the "state" and norm bounded time varying quasi-linear uncertainties in the delayed "state" and in the difference operator. The stability analysis is performed via the Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional approach. Sufficient delay dependent conditions for robust stability are given in terms of the existence of positive definite solutions of LMIs

Endogenous IL-33 Accelerates Metacestode Growth during Late-Stage Alveolar Echinococcosis.

During the course of the infectious disease alveolar echinococcosis (AE), the larval stage of Echinococcus multilocularis develops in the liver, where an initial Th1/Th17 immune response may allow its elimination in resistant individuals. In patients susceptible to infection and disease, the Th2 response initiates later, inducing tolerance to the parasite. The role of interleukin 33 (IL-33), an alarmin released during necrosis and known to drive a Th2 immune response, has not yet been described during AE. Wild-type (WT) and IL-33-/- C57BL/6J mice were infected by peritoneal inoculation with E. multilocularis metacestodes and euthanized 4 months later, and their immune response were analyzed. Immunofluorescence staining and IL-33 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were also performed on liver samples from human patients with AE. Overall, metacestode lesions were smaller in IL-33-/- mice than in WT mice. IL-33 was detected in periparasitic tissues, but not in mouse or human serum. In infected mice, endogenous IL-33 modified peritoneal macrophage polarization and cytokine profiles. Th2 cytokine concentrations were positively correlated with parasite mass in WT mice, but not in IL-33-/- mice. In human AE patients, IL-33 concentrations were higher in parasitic tissues than in distant liver parenchyma. The main sources of IL-33 were CD31+ endothelial cells of the neovasculature, present within lymphoid periparasitic infiltrates together with FOXP3+ Tregs. In the murine model, periparasitic IL-33 correlated with accelerated parasite growth putatively through the polarization of M2-like macrophages and release of immunosuppressive cytokines IL-10 and transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1). We concluded that IL-33 is a key alarmin in AE that contributes to the tolerogenic effect of systemic Th2 cytokines. IMPORTANCE Infection with the metacestode stage of Echinococcus multilocularis, known as alveolar echinococcosis, is the most severe cestodosis worldwide. However, less than 1% of exposed individuals, in which the immune system is unable to control the parasite, develop the disease. The factors responsible for this interindividual variability are not fully understood. In this in vivo study comparing wild-type and IL-33-/- infected mice, together with data from human clinical samples, we determined that IL-33, an alarmin released following tissue injury and involved in the pathogenesis of cancer and asthma, accelerates the progression of the disease by modulating the periparasitic microenvironment. This suggests that targeting IL-33 could be of interest for the management of patients with AE, and that IL-33 polymorphisms could be responsible for increased susceptibility to AE

The role of the melanoma gene MC1R in Parkinson disease and REM sleep behavior disorder

The MC1R gene, suggested to be involved in Parkinson disease (PD) and melanoma, was sequenced in PD patients (n=539) and controls (n=265) from New-York, and PD patients (n=551), rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) patients (n=351) and controls (n=956) of European ancestry. Sixty-eight MC1R variants were identified, including 7 common variants with frequency>0.01. None of the common variants was associated with PD or RBD in the different regression models. In a meta-analysis with fixed-effect model, the p.R160W variant was associated with an increased risk for PD (OR=1.22, 95%CI 1.02-1.47, p=0.03) but with significant heterogeneity (p=0.048). Removing one study that introduced the heterogeneity resulted in nonsignificant association (OR=1.11, 95%CI 0.92-1.35, p=0.27, heterogeneity p=0.57). Rare variants had similar frequencies in patients and controls (10.54% and 10.15%, respectively, p=0.75), and no cumulative effect of carrying more than one MC1R variant was found. The current study does not support a role for the MC1R p.R160W and other variants in susceptibility for PD or RBD

LINGO1 Variants in the French-Canadian Population

Essential tremor (ET) is a complex genetic disorder for which no causative gene has been found. Recently, a genome-wide association study reported that two variants in the LINGO1 locus were associated to this disease. The aim of the present study was to test if this specific association could be replicated using a French-Canadian cohort of 259 ET patients and 479 ethnically matched controls. Our genotyping results lead us to conclude that no association exists between the key variant rs9652490 and ET (Pcorr = 1.00)

The dementia-associated APOE ε4 allele is not associated with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder

The present study aimed to examine whether the APOE ε4 allele, associated with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and possibly with dementia in Parkinson's disease (PD), is also associated with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD). Two single nucleotide polymorphisms, rs429358 and rs7412, were genotyped in RBD patients (n = 480) and in controls (n = 823). APOE ε4 allele frequency was 0.14 among RBD patients and 0.13 among controls (OR = 1.11, 95% CI: 0.88-1.40, p = 0.41). APOE ε4 allele frequencies were similar in those who converted to DLB (0.14) and those who converted to Parkinson's disease (0.12) or multiple system atrophy (0.14, p = 1.0). The APOE ε4 allele is neither a risk factor for RBD nor it is associated with conversion from RBD to DLB or other synucleinopathies