Optimal and Robust Feedback Controller Estimation for a Vibrating Plate using Subspace Model Identification

This paper presents a method to estimate the H2 optimal and a robust feedback controller by means of Subspace Model Identification using the internal model control (IMC) approach. Using IMC an equivalent feed forward control problem is obtained, which is solved by the Causal Wiener filter for the H2 optimal controller. The robust variant, called the Cautious Wiener filter, optimizes the average performance w.r.t. probabilistic model errors. The identification of the Causal and Cautious Wiener filters are control-relevant. The method is illustrated by experiments on a 4-inputs 4-outputs vibrating plate with additional mass variation

Optimizing dual energy cone beam CT protocols for preclinical imaging and radiation research

Objective: The aim of this work was to investigate whether quantitative dual-energy CT (DECT) imaging is feasible for small animal irradiators with an integrated cone-beam CT (CBCT) system. Methods: The optimal imaging protocols were determined by analyzing different energy combinations and dose levels. The influence of beam hardening effects and the performance of a beam hardening correction (BHC) were investigated. In addition, two systems from different manufacturers were compared in terms of errors in the extracted effective atomic numbers (Z(eff)) and relative electron densities (rho(e)) for phantom inserts with known elemental compositions and relative electron densities. Results: The optimal energy combination was determined to be 50 and 90kVp. For this combination, Z(eff) and r rho(e) can be extracted with a mean error of 0.11 and 0.010, respectively, at a dose level of 60cGy. Conclusion: Quantitative DECT imaging is feasible for small animal irradiators with an integrated CBCT system. To obtain the best results, optimizing the imaging protocols is required. Well-separated X-ray spectra and a sufficient dose level should be used to minimize the error and noise for Z(eff) and rho(e). When no BHC is applied in the image reconstruction, the size of the calibration phantom should match the size of the imaged object to limit the influence of beam hardening effects. No significant differences in Z(eff) and rho(e) errors are observed between the two systems from different manufacturers. Advances in knowledge: This is the first study that investigates quantitative DECT imaging for small animal irradiators with an integrated CBCT system

Structure of the specific combining ability between two species of Eucalyptus. I. RAPD data

International audienceWithin the context of the reciprocal recurrent selection scheme developed in 1989 by CIRAD-Fore t on Eucalyptus, RAPD essays were performed to assess the genetic diversity in the two species E. urophylla and E. grandis. The molecular markers were split into two parts: the speciÞc markers (present with di¤erent fre- quencies in the two species) and the common markers (present with similar frequencies in the two species). The study analyses the structure of genetic diversity within and between the two species of Eucalyptus. Dif- ferent genetic distances are worked out for use in pre- diction equations of the individual tree trunk volume of hybrids at 38 months. Each distance is expressed as the sum of the general genetic distance and the speciÞc genetic distance. The general genetic distance based on the double presence plus the double absence of bands seems to be an interesting co-variate to use in a factor regression model. Through this model the distance calculated between species explains the general com- bining ability (GCA) and the speciÞc combining ability (SCA) of the phenotypic character with a global coe¦c- ient of determination of 81.6

Structure of the specific combining ability between two species of Eucalyptus. II. A clustering approach and a multiplicative model

International audienceThe Eucalyptus breeding program of URPPI (a partnership between CIRAD-Fore t, Centre National de la Recherche Forestie re du Congo, and Unite dÕAforestation Industrielle du Congo) consists of a re- ciprocal recurrent selection scheme developed in the Congo between the two species Eucalyptus urophylla and Eucalyptus grandis. Two approaches are proposed in order to model and predict the speciÞc combining ability (SCA) between these species. The clustering ap- proach uses a simultaneous clustering procedure of the two species based on SCA and reveals heterotic groups coherent with the geographical origins of E. urophylla genotypes. The second approach uses a multiplicative model to partition the SCA into three multiplicative terms explaining 95% of the interactio

The politics of international redistribution: Explaining public support for fiscal transfers in the EU

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.As a consequence of the Eurozone crisis and the creation of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the prospect of a transfer union has become a particularly contested aspect of European integration. How should one understand the public backlash against fiscal transfers? And, what explains voter preferences for international transfers more generally? Using data from the 2014 European Elections Study (EES), this article describes the first cross-national analysis of voters’ preferences on international transfers. The analysis reveals a strong association between voters’ non-economic cultural orientations (i.e., their cosmopolitanism) and their position on transfers. At the same time, it is found that voters’ economic left-right orientations are crucial for a fuller understanding of the public conflict over transfers. This counters previous research that finds economic left-right orientations to be of little explanatory value. This study demonstrates that the association between economic left-right orientations and preferences for international transfers is conditional on a person's social class. Among citizens in a high-income class an economically left-leaning position is associated with support for transfers, whereas it is associated with opposition to transfers among citizens in a low-income class

Nosocomial infective endocarditis: should the definition be extended to 6 months after discharge

ABSTRACTBecause the microbiology and patient population of infective endocarditis (IE) have evolved, the traditional definition of nosocomial IE may require revision. The question of whether this definition should be extended to 6 months after discharge was explored, and a high rate of episodes with nosocomial pathogens (coagulase-negative staphylococci) and a low rate of episodes with community pathogens (streptococci) in the extended nosocomial group were found. Therefore, modification of the traditional definition is proposed, distinguishing between early (as traditionally described) and late nosocomial IE (IE in association with a significant invasive procedure performed during a hospitalization between 8 weeks and 6 months before the onset of symptoms)

Gene flow estimation with microsatellites in a Malagasy seed orchard of Eucalyptus grandis

International audienceEucalyptus grandis has a mixed-mating repro- ductive system. Malagasy Eucalyptus seed orchards were established 15 years ago with two aims both based on panmixia: open-pollinated seed production and genetic improvement. The panmixia hypothesis has never been confirmed in the seed orchard. From a seedling seed- orchard stand comprising 349 trees and using data obtained with six selected microsatellite markers, pater- nity analysis was performed for 724 offspring collected on 30 adult trees. Paternity assignment, based on exclu- sion procedures and likelihood-ratio method, was achieved with high accuracy; the exclusion probability value was 0.997. The outcrossing rate was very high (96.7%). More than 50% of potential male trees (199 out of 349) in the seed orchard contributed to pollination for 440 offspring of 30 progenies (8.6% of the basic population). The pollination rate from outside the seed orchard was high (39.2%), but might be due to the small size of this seed orchard. This study showed that "panmixia-like pollination" can be assume

Anisoplanatic adaptive optics in parallelized laser scanning microscopy

Inhomogeneities in the refractive index of a biological microscopy sample can introduce phase aberrations, severely impairing the quality of images. Adaptive optics can be employed to correct for phase aberrations and improve image quality. However, conventional adaptive optics can only correct a single phase aberration for the whole field of view (isoplanatic correction) while, due to the highly heterogeneous nature of biological tissues, the sample induced aberrations in microscopy often vary throughout the field of view (anisoplanatic aberration), limiting significantly the effectiveness of adaptive optics. This paper reports on a new approach for aberration correction in laser scanning confocal microscopy, in which a spatial light modulator is used to generate multiple excitation points in the sample to simultaneously scan different portions of the field of view with completely independent correction, achieving anisoplanatic compensation of sample induced aberrations, in a significantly shorter time compared to sequential isoplanatic correction of multiple image subregions. The method was tested in whole Drosophila brains and in larval Zebrafish, each showing a dramatic improvement in resolution and sharpness when compared to conventional isoplanatic adaptive optics