Internal stabilization and external LpL_p stabilization of linear systems subject to constraints

Having studied during the last decade several aspects of several control design problems for linear systems subject to magnitude and rate constraints on control variables, during the last two years the research has broadened to include magnitude constraints on control variables as well as state variables. Recent work by Han et al. (2000), Hou et al. (1998) and Saberi et al. (2002) considered linear systems in a general framework for constraints including both input magnitude constraints as well as state magnitude constraints. In particular, Saberi et al. consider internal stabilization while Han et al. consider output regulation in different frameworks, namely a global, semiglobal, and regional framework. These problems require very strong solvability conditions. Therefore, a main focus for future research should focus on finding a controller with a large domain of attraction and some good rejection properties for disturbances restricted to some bounded se

H2H_2 optimal controllers with observer based architecture for continuous-time systems : separation principle

For a general H2 optimal control problem, at first all Hz optimal measurement feedback controllers are characterized and parameterized, and then attention is focused on controllers with observer based architecture. Both full order as well as reduced order observer based H2 optimal controllers are characterized and parameterized. Also, systematic methods ofdesigning them are presented. An important problem that can be coined as an H2 optimal control problem with simultaneous pole placement, is formulated and solved. That is, since in general there exist many H2 optimal measurement feedback controllers, utilizing such flexibility and freedom, we can solve the problem of simultaneously placing the closed-loop poles at desirable locations whenever possible while still preserving H2 optimality. All the design algorithms developed here are easily computer implementable

Exact, almost and delayed fault detection:an observer based approach

This paper considers the problem of fault detection and isolation in continuous- and discrete-time systems while using zero or almost zero threshold. A number of different fault detection and isolation problems using exact or almost exact disturbance decoupling are formulated. Solvability conditions are given for the formulated design problems together with methods for appropriate design of observer based fault detectors. The l step delayed fault detection problem is also considered for discrete-time systems. Moreover, certain indirect fault detection methods such as unknown input observers, eigenstructure assignment, factorization, and parity equation approaches are generalized by including the almost estimation methods in addition to exact estimation methods

Effect of aerosolized uridine 5′-triphosphate on mucociliary clearance in mild chronic bronchitis

Previous studies show that uridine 5′-triphosphate (UTP), a P2Y2 receptor agonist, is effective at acutely enhancing mucociliary clearance in healthy, nonsmoking adults. UTP solution for inhalation is being developed by Inspire Pharmaceuticals under the compound number INS316. In a double-blind, randomized, crossover, placebo-controlled study we tested the single-dose effect of UTP in chronic smokers with mild chronic bronchitis (n = 15) by measuring the clearance of 99mTc-Fe2O3 particles (4.0 μm mass median aerodynamic diameter [MMAD]) after inhalation of nebulized placebo (0.9% saline) and two doses of UTP (20 and 100 mg in the nebulizer). On each study day, gamma camera scanning was performed over a 2-h period. After an initial deposition scan, subjects inhaled placebo or UTP during the first 20 min of scanning. Analysis of whole lung clearance showed that the retention-time curves for each day were biphasic and that the earliest break point in the average curves occurred at 50 min. Mean particle clearance rate (Clr in %/min) through 50 min for placebo treatment was Clr = 0.65 ± 0.27 whereas treatment with UTP showed Clr significantly increased to 0.95 ± 0.48 and 0.93 ± 0.44 for the 20-mg and 100-mg dose respectively, p &lt0.005 for both as compared with placebo. These data show that mucociliary clearance associated with mild chronic bronchitis is acutely improved with minimal doses of aerosolized UTP, presumably because of its stimulation of ciliary beating and hydration of airway secretions

Germline mutations in an intermediate chain dynein cause primary ciliary dyskinesia

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a genetically heterogeneous, autosomal recessive disorder caused by abnormal ciliary ultrastructure and function, characterized clinically by otosino-pulmonary disease. Mutations in an intermediate chain dynein (DNAI1: IC78) have recently been described in PCD patients, with outer dynein arm (ODA) defects. The aims of the current study were to test for novel DNAI1 mutations in 13 PCD patients with ODA defects (from 7 unrelated families) and to assess genotype/phenotype correlations in patients and family members. A previously reported mutation (219+3insT) was detected in three PCD patients from two families. The opposite allele had the novel missense mutation G1874C (W568S) in both affected individuals from one family, and a nonsense mutation G1875A (W568X) in an affected individual from another family. The tryptophan at position 568 is a highly conserved residue in the WD-repeat region, and a mutation is predicted to lead to abnormal folding of the protein and loss of function. None of these mutations were found in 32 other PCD patients with miscellaneous ciliary defects. Mutations in DNAI1 are causative for PCD with ODA defects, and are likely the genetic origin of clinical disease in some PCD patients with ultrastructural defects in the ODA

Mutations in RSPH1 cause primary ciliary dyskinesia with a unique clinical and ciliary phenotype

Rationale: Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a genetically heterogeneous recessive disorder of motile cilia, but the genetic cause is not defined for all patients with PCD. Objectives: To identify disease-causingmutations in novel genes, we performed exome sequencing, follow-up characterization, mutation scanning, and genotype-phenotype studies in patients with PCD. Methods: Whole-exome sequencing was performed using NimbleGen capture and Illumina HiSeq sequencing. Sanger-based sequencing was used for mutation scanning, validation, and segregation analysis. Measurements and Main Results: We performed exome sequencing on an affected sib-pair with normal ultrastructure in more than 85% of cilia. A homozygous splice-site mutation was detected in RSPH1 in both siblings; parents were carriers. Screening RSPH1 in 413 unrelated probands, including 325 with PCD and 88 with idiopathic bronchiectasis, revealed biallelic loss-of-function mutations in nine additional probands. Five affected siblings of probands in RSPH1 families harbored the familial mutations. The 16 individuals with RSPH1 mutations had some features of PCD; however, nasal nitric oxide levels were higher than in patients with PCD with other gene mutations (98.3 vs. 20.7 nl/min; P , 0.0003). Additionally, individuals with RSPH1 mutations had a lower prevalence (8 of 16) of neonatal respiratory distress, and later onset of daily wet cough than typical for PCD, and better lung function (FEV1), compared with 75 age- and sex-matched PCD cases (73.0 vs. 61.8, FEV1 % predicted; P = 0.043). Cilia from individuals with RSPH1 mutations had normal beat frequency (6.16Hz at 258C), but an abnormal, circular beat pattern. Conclusions: The milder clinical disease and higher nasal nitric oxide in individuals with biallelic mutations in RSPH1 provides evidence of a unique genotype-phenotype relationship in PCD, and suggests that mutations in RSPH1 may be associated with residual ciliary function

H2H_2 optimal controllers with observer based architecture for continuous-time systems : separation principle

For a general H2 optimal control problem, at first all Hz optimal measurement feedback controllers are characterized and parameterized, and then attention is focused on controllers with observer based architecture. Both full order as well as reduced order observer based H2 optimal controllers are characterized and parameterized. Also, systematic methods ofdesigning them are presented. An important problem that can be coined as an H2 optimal control problem with simultaneous pole placement, is formulated and solved. That is, since in general there exist many H2 optimal measurement feedback controllers, utilizing such flexibility and freedom, we can solve the problem of simultaneously placing the closed-loop poles at desirable locations whenever possible while still preserving H2 optimality. All the design algorithms developed here are easily computer implementable

Analysis, design, and performance limitations of H2 optimal filtering in the presence of an additional input with known frequency

In this paper, the inputs are considered to be of two types. The first type of input, as in standard H2 optimal filtering, is a zero mean wide sense stationary white noise, while the second type is a linear combination of sinusoidal signals each of which has an unknown amplitude and phase but known frequency. The generalized H2 optimal filtering problem seeks to find a linear stable filter that estimates a desired output such that the H2 norm of the transfer matrix from the white noise input to the estimation error is minimized subject to the constraint that the mean of the error converges to zero for all initial conditions of the given system and filter and for all possible external sinusoidal signals. The analysis, design, and performance limitations of generalized H2 optimal filters are presented here