Remote Tracking via Encoded Information for Nonlinear Systems

The problem addressed in this paper is to control a plant so as to have its output tracking (a family of) reference commands generated at a remote location and transmitted through a communication channel of finite capacity. The uncertainty due to the presence of the communication channel is counteracted by a suitable choice of the parameters of the regulator

About the Existence of Locally Lipschitz Output Feedback Stabilizers for Nonlinear Systems

International audienceIn this paper we complement some results of [L. Marconi, L. Praly, and A. Isidori, SIAM J. Control Optim., 45 (2007), pp. 2277–2298] by presenting a sufficient condition under which the output feedback controller proposed in that paper can be designed to be locally Lipschitz. The condition in question consists in a regularity property of the observable part of an autonomous system with output that generates the control input in a steady state. The work has been deliberately written to be an addendum to [L. Marconi, L. Praly, and A. Isidori, SIAM J. Control Optim., 45 (2007), pp. 2277–2298], to which the reader is referred for notation and main results

Robust Asymptotic Stabilization of Nonlinear Systems With Non-Hyperbolic Zero Dynamics

International audienceWe present a general tool to handle the presence of zero dynamics which are asymptotically but not locally exponentially stable in problems of robust nonlinear stabilization by output feedback. We show how it is possible to design locally Lipschitz stabilizers under conditions which only rely upon a partial detectability assumption on the controlled plant, by obtaining a robust stabilizing paradigm which is not based on design of observers and separation principles. The main design idea comes from recent achievements in the field of output regulation and specifically in the design of nonlinear internal models

Redes neurais e análise estatística para classificação de mapas topográficos da córnea baseados em coeficientes de Zernike: uma comparação quantitativa

PURPOSE: The main goal of this study was to develop and compare two different techniques for classification of specific types of corneal shapes when Zernike coefficients are used as inputs. A feed-forward artificial Neural Network (NN) and discriminant analysis (DA) techniques were used. METHODS: The inputs both for the NN and DA were the first 15 standard Zernike coefficients for 80 previously classified corneal elevation data files from an Eyesys System 2000 Videokeratograph (VK), installed at the Departamento de Oftalmologia of the Escola Paulista de Medicina, São Paulo. The NN had 5 output neurons which were associated with 5 typical corneal shapes: keratoconus, with-the-rule astigmatism, against-the-rule astigmatism, "regular" or "normal" shape and post-PRK. RESULTS: The NN and DA responses were statistically analyzed in terms of precision ([true positive+true negative]/total number of cases). Mean overall results for all cases for the NN and DA techniques were, respectively, 94% and 84.8%. CONCLUSION: Although we used a relatively small database, results obtained in the present study indicate that Zernike polynomials as descriptors of corneal shape may be a reliable parameter as input data for diagnostic automation of VK maps, using either NN or DA.OBJETIVOS: Nosso principal objetivo neste trabalho foi de desenvolver e comparar duas técnicas diferentes para classificação de superfícies corneanas. Uma rede neural artificial alimentada adiante e análise descriminante foram as técnicas de classificação comparadas neste trabalho. MÉTODOS: As entradas para ambos os métodos de classificação foram os primeiros 15 coeficientes de Zernike para 80 córneas mensuradas anteriormente em um topógrafo Eyesys instalado no Departamento de Oftalmologia da Escola Paulista de Medicina - UNIFESP. A rede neural tem 5 saídas que foram associados aos cinco casos típicos contidos na base de dados: ceratocone, astigmatismo a favor da regra, astigmatismo contra a regra, formato "regular" ou "normal" e pós-PRK. RESULTADOS: Os resultados de ambos os métodos foram estatisticamente analisados em termos de precisão. Os resultados gerais para ambos os métodos de redes neurais e análise discriminante foram 94% e 84,8%, respectivamente. CONCLUSÃO: Embora tenha-se utilizado uma base de dados relativamente pequena, os resultados obtidos aqui indicam que os polinômios de Zernike podem ser um parâmetro de entrada para classificação de diferentes formatos de córnea, tanto para uso com redes neurais ou análise discriminante

Evidence for the involvement of lipid rafts localized at the ER-mitochondria associated membranes in autophagosome formation

Mitochondria-associated membranes (MAMs) are subdomains of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that interact with mitochondria. This membrane scrambling between ER and mitochondria appears to play a critical role in the earliest steps of autophagy. Recently, lipid microdomains, i.e. lipid rafts, have been identified as further actors of the autophagic process. In the present work, a series of biochemical and molecular analyses has been carried out in human fibroblasts with the specific aim of characterizing lipid rafts in MAMs and to decipher their possible implication in the autophagosome formation. In fact, the presence of lipid microdomains in MAMs has been detected and, in these structures, a molecular interaction of the ganglioside GD3, a paradigmatic “brick” of lipid rafts, with core-initiator proteins of autophagy, such as AMBRA1 and WIPI1, was revealed. This association seems thus to take place in the early phases of autophagic process in which MAMs have been hypothesized to play a key role. The functional activity of GD3 was suggested by the experiments carried out by knocking down ST8SIA1 gene expression, i.e., the synthase that leads to the ganglioside formation. This experimental condition results in fact in the impairment of the ER-mitochondria crosstalk and the subsequent hindering of autophagosome nucleation. We thus hypothesize that MAM raft-like microdomains could be pivotal in the initial organelle scrambling activity that finally leads to the formation of autophagosome. Introduction The interaction of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) with mito- chondria occurs via certain subdomains of the ER, named mitochondria-associated membranes (MAMs), which allow membrane “scrambling” between these organelles and contrib- utes to the complex series of ER functions.1-3 Indeed, several regions of close apposition between the ER and mitochondria were detected by studies carried out several years ago.4,5 How- ever, since these studies provided only ultrastructural observa- tions, these reports remained neglected for a long time. In particular, while morphological evidence of the physical juxta- position between ER and mitochondria was described since 1959,6 it was experimentally proven only 30 y later. In fact, ana- lyzing ER fractions copurified with mitochondria in velocity sedimentation assays, mainly from rat liver cells, it was observed that mitochondria can tightly be associated with ele- ments of the ER and that the communication and intermixing between ER and mitochondria can be mediated by MAMs.7-12 These works also showed that these cosedimenting fractions were enriched in enzymes responsible for the synthesis of lipids. These findings suggested that MAMs could act as sites