State-space model identification and feedback control of unsteady aerodynamic forces

Unsteady aerodynamic models are necessary to accurately simulate forces and develop feedback controllers for wings in agile motion; however, these models are often high dimensional or incompatible with modern control techniques. Recently, reduced-order unsteady aerodynamic models have been developed for a pitching and plunging airfoil by linearizing the discretized Navier-Stokes equation with lift-force output. In this work, we extend these reduced-order models to include multiple inputs (pitch, plunge, and surge) and explicit parameterization by the pitch-axis location, inspired by Theodorsen's model. Next, we investigate the na\"{\i}ve application of system identification techniques to input--output data and the resulting pitfalls, such as unstable or inaccurate models. Finally, robust feedback controllers are constructed based on these low-dimensional state-space models for simulations of a rigid flat plate at Reynolds number 100. Various controllers are implemented for models linearized at base angles of attack $\alpha_0=0^\circ, \alpha_0=10^\circ$, and $\alpha_0=20^\circ$. The resulting control laws are able to track an aggressive reference lift trajectory while attenuating sensor noise and compensating for strong nonlinearities.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figure

Acrylamide formation in potato products

End of Project ReportAcrylamide, a substance classified as a potential carcinogen, occurs in heated starchy foods at concentrations many times in excess of levels permitted in drinking water. Early surveys indicated that levels of acrylamide in potato products such as French fries and potato crisps were the highest of the foodstuffs investigated. The present project addressed this issue by determining levels of acrylamide precursors (asparagine and reducing sugars) in raw potatoes and levels of acrylamide in (i) potato products from different storage regimes, (ii) spot-sampled potatoes purchased from a local supermarket, (iii) samples that received pre-treatments and were fried at different temperatures and (iv) French fries reheated in different ovens.A risk assessment of the estimated acrylamide intake from potato products for various cohorts of the Irish population was also conducted

Status Report on Acrylamide in Potato Products

End of Project ReportThis status report was conducted as part of Task 1 of a research project (RMIS No. 5265) on the development and quantification of acrylamide in potatoes and potato products funded under the Food Institutional Research Measure (FIRM) of the Department of Agriculture and Food as part of the National Development Plan. Teagasc acknowledges the support of theDepartment of Agriculture and FoodAcrylamide is a toxin that can potentially occur in high concentrations in heated starchy foods especially potato products such as crisps and french fries. In model systems isotopic substitution studies have demonstrated that acrylamide is formed via the Maillard type reaction between the amino acid aspargine and a carbonyl source such as the reducing sugars glucose and fructose. Levels of acrylamide in cooked potato products are primarily influenced by the levels of reducing sugars in the product and this in turn is influenced by storage time, temperature and variety of potato used. During cooking acrylamide formation begins to occur at temperatures above 100°C and increases up to temperatures of 220°C but decreases thereafter due to thermal degradation of the compound. Risk assessment studies on acrylamide intakes have been conducted in a number of countries and mg/kg body weight daily intakes have been estimated to be between 0.2-0.8. Adequate analytical techniques exist for quantification of acrylamide in potato and are mainly based around liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) techniquesDepartment of Agriculture, Food and the Marin

Modern sedative agents and techniques used in dentistry for patients with special needs: A review

According to the World Health Organisation, approximately 1.3 billion people worldwide experience substantial disability due to physical, mental or sensory impairment. People with special needs require special consideration and more time or altered delivery methods when receiving dental treatments. Various factors, such as patients' lack of cooperation, cognitive impairment and complex medical status, may lead dental practitioners to recommend conscious sedation. Several pharmacological agents and administrative routes are available, which achieve varying levels of sedation ranging from minimal to deep. Pre-operative assessment and careful case selection are necessary to determine the appropriate sedative agent, route of administration and level of sedation for each patient. Thus, a thorough understanding of the pharmacokinetics, risks and benefits, and implications of various sedatives available for PSN is essential to achieve the desired clinical outcomes. This review critically presents the considerations associated with the use of various sedative agents for PSN in dentistry. Considerations include patients' pre-anaesthesia medical comorbidities, cardiorespiratory adverse effects and cooperativeness, and the viable alternative treatment modalities

Fitting a 3D Morphable Model to Edges: A Comparison Between Hard and Soft Correspondences

We propose a fully automatic method for fitting a 3D morphable model to single face images in arbitrary pose and lighting. Our approach relies on geometric features (edges and landmarks) and, inspired by the iterated closest point algorithm, is based on computing hard correspondences between model vertices and edge pixels. We demonstrate that this is superior to previous work that uses soft correspondences to form an edge-derived cost surface that is minimised by nonlinear optimisation.Comment: To appear in ACCV 2016 Workshop on Facial Informatic

The Infestation of Fungus Cultures by Mites.(Its Nature and Control, together with some Remarks on the toxic Properties of Pyridine.)

RESP-33

Utilizing stimulated Raman scattering microscopy to study intracellular distribution of label-free ponatinib in live cells

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy represents a powerful method for imaging label-free drug dis-tribution with high resolution. SRS was applied to image label-free ponatinib with high sensitivity and speci-ficity in live human chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cell lines. This was achieved at biologically relevant, na-nomolar concentrations; allowing determination of ponatinib uptake and sequestration into lysosomes during the development of acquired drug resistance and an improved understanding of target engagement