Design of Robust Fuzzy Sliding-Mode Controller for a Class of Uncertain Takagi-Sugeno Nonlinear Systems

This paper presents the fuzzy design of sliding mode control (SMC) for nonlinear systems with uncertainties, which can be represented by a Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) model. There exist the parameter uncertainties in both state and input matrices, as well as the matched external disturbance. The key feature of this work is the great ability of the controller to deal with systems without assuming that the control matrices of each local T-S model to be same and knowing the priori information of the upper norm-bounds of uncertainties. A sufficient condition for the existence of the desired fuzzy SMC is obtained by solving a set of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The reachability of the specified sliding surface is proven. A numerical example is illustrated in order to show the validity of the proposed scheme

Bioflocculants Produced by Gram-positive Bacillus xn12 and Streptomyces xn17 for SwineWastewater Application

Strains xn12 and xn17 were isolated from activated sludge from a local hoggery, and preliminarily identified as Gram-positive Bacillus and Streptomyces, respectively. Their flocculating activities were mainly in the extracellular materials, and their components were mainly non-ketose polysaccharides, not proteins. Their flocculating efficiencies were over 95 % under the optimal conditions for production of xn12 and xn17 as follows: initial pH 5; inoculum volume 0.5 mL, 1.0 mL, respectively; cultivating temperature 30 °C; and cultivation time 4.5 days and 1.5 days, respectively. Each of the xn12 and xn17 had strong thermal stability under 30–80 °C. The optimal removal efficiency of turbidity for xn12 and xn17 in swine wastewater was 82 %, 87 %, respectively, their turbidity removal efficiencies were better than polyaluminium chloride alone, and that of COD was 42 %, 46 %, respectively

Molecular evidence of the haploid origin in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) with Aegilops kotschyi cytoplasm and whole genome expression profiling after haploidization

Aegiolops kotschyi cytoplasmic male sterile system often results in part of haploid plants in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). To elucidate the origin of haploid, 235 wheat microsatellite (SSR) primers were randomly selected and screened for polymorphism between haploid (2n = 3x = 21 ABD) and its parents, male-sterile line YM21 (2n = 6x = 42 AABBDD) and male fertile restorer YM2 (2n = 6x = 42 AABBDD). About 200 SSR markers yielded clear bands from denatured PAGE, of which 180 markers have identifiable amplification patterns, and 20 markers (around 8%) resulted in different amplification products between the haploid and the restorer, YM2. There were no SSR markers that were found to be distinguishable between the haploid and the male sterile line YM21. In addition, different distribution of HMW-GS between endosperm and seedlings from the same seeds further confirmed that the haploid genomes were inherited from the maternal parent. After haploidization, 1.7% and 0.91% of total sites were up- and down-regulated exceeding twofold in the shoot and the root of haploid, respectively, and most of the differentially expressed loci were up/down-regulated about twofold. Out of the sensitive loci in haploid, 94 loci in the shoot, 72 loci in the root can be classified into three functional subdivisions: biological process, cellular component and molecular function, respectively

Time-delayed model of immune response in plants

In the studies of plant infections, the plant immune response is known to play an essential role. In this paper we derive and analyse a new mathematical model of plant immune response with particular account for post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS). Besides biologically accurate representation of the PTGS dynamics, the model explicitly includes two time delays to represent the maturation time of the growing plant tissue and the non-instantaneous nature of the PTGS. Through analytical and numerical analysis of stability of the steady states of the model we identify parameter regions associated with recovery and resistant phenotypes, as well as possible chronic infections. Dynamics of the system in these regimes is illustrated by numerical simulations of the model

Simulated sunlight-induced inactivation of tetracycline resistant bacteria and effects of dissolved organic matter

The transmission of antibiotic resistance in surface water has attracted much attention due to its increasing threat to human health. The role of sunlight irradiation and the effect of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on the transmission of antibiotic resistance are still unclear. In this study, photo-inactivation of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) was investigated using antibiotic resistant E. coli (AR E. coli) that contained the tetracycline resistance gene (Tc-ARG) as a representative. The results showed that AR E. coli underwent significant photo-inactivation due to the membrane damage induced by direct irradiation and by the generated reactive oxygen species. Simulated sunlight irradiation specifically suppressed the expression of tetracycline resistance, which is attributed to the destruction of tetracycline-specific efflux pump. Tetracycline inhibited the photo-inactivation of AR E. coli due to its selective pressure on tetracycline resistant E. coli and competitive light absorption effect. Suwannee River fulvic acid (SRFA), a representative DOM, promoted the inactivation of AR E. coli and further inhibited the expression of tetracycline resistance gene due to the generation of its excited triplet state, singlet oxygen, and hydroxyl radical. The extracellular Tc-ARG also underwent fast photodegradation under light irradiation and in the presence of SRFA, which leads to the decrease of its transformation efficiency. This study provided insight into the sunlight-induced inactivation of ARB, which is of significance for understanding the transmission of tetracycline resistance in surface water.Environmental Biolog

Optical fiber refractive index sensor with low detection limit and large dynamic range using a hybrid fiber interferometer

A refractive index (RI) fiber sensor with low detection limit but large dynamic range is proposed and demonstrated using an exposed core microstructured optical fiber. The exposed-core fiber is highly birefringent due to its asymmetry and also supports multimode propagation; thus, can be used simultaneously as a Mach-Zehnder and Sagnac interferometer. The Mach-Zehnder interference is significantly more phase sensitive to RI due to a longer effective path length difference. This leads to a lower detection limit compared to that for the Sagnac interferometer, which has a larger free spectral range that allows the dynamic range of the RI measurement to be extended. By combining these two interferometers, the proposed sensor achieves a detection limit of as low as 6.02 × 10⁻⁶ refractive index units (RIU) while maintaining a large dynamic range from 1.3320 to 1.3465 RIU. The proposed sensor also has the advantages of biocompatibility, low cost, high stability, small size, ability to operate remotely and to be fabricated.Xuegang Li, Stephen C. Warren-Smith, Heike Ebendorff-Heidepriem, Ya-nan Zhang, and Linh V. Nguye

Development of a metal-free black phosphorus/graphitic carbon nitride heterostructure for visible-light-driven degradation of indomethacin

The development of affordable and efficient technologies for the removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) from water has recently been the subject of extensive attention. In this study, a black phosphorus/graphitic carbon nitride (BP-g-C3N4) heterostructure is fabricated as an extremely active metal-free photocatalyst via a newly-developed exfoliation strategy. The BP-g-C3N4 shows an 11 times better decomposition rate of a representative PPCPs-type pollutant, indomethacin (IDM), compared to the widely used P25 TiO2 under real-sunlight illumination. Also, its visible-light activity is even better than that of the best photocatalysts previously developed, but only consumes 1/10-1/4 of the catalyst. The results show that BP performs a cocatalyst-like behavior to catalyze the generation of reactive oxygen species, thus speeding up the decomposition of IDM. In addition, the BP-g-C3N4 photocatalyst also exhibits excellent IDM removal efficiency in authentic water matrices (tap water, surface water, and secondarily treated sewage effluent). Large-scale application demonstration under natural sunlight further reveals the practicality of BP-g-C3N4 for real-world water treatment operations. Our work will open up new possibilities in the development of purely metal-free photocatalysts for "green" environmental remediation applications. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Environmental Biolog

Direct Measurements of the Branching Fractions for D0→K−e+νeD^0 \to K^-e^+\nu_e and D0→π−e+νeD^0 \to \pi^-e^+\nu_e and Determinations of the Form Factors f+K(0)f_{+}^{K}(0) and f+π(0)f^{\pi}_{+}(0)

The absolute branching fractions for the decays $D^0 \to K^-e ^+\nu_e$ and $D^0 \to \pi^-e^+\nu_e$ are determined using $7584\pm 198 \pm 341$ singly tagged $\bar D^0$ sample from the data collected around 3.773 GeV with the BES-II detector at the BEPC. In the system recoiling against the singly tagged $\bar D^0$ meson, $104.0\pm 10.9$ events for $D^0 \to K^-e ^+\nu_e$ and $9.0 \pm 3.6$ events for $D^0 \to \pi^-e^+\nu_e$ decays are observed. Those yield the absolute branching fractions to be $BF(D^0 \to K^-e^+\nu_e)=(3.82 \pm 0.40\pm 0.27)$ and $BF(D^0 \to \pi^-e^+\nu_e)=(0.33 \pm 0.13\pm 0.03)$. The vector form factors are determined to be $|f^K_+(0)| = 0.78 \pm 0.04 \pm 0.03$ and $|f^{\pi}_+(0)| = 0.73 \pm 0.14 \pm 0.06$. The ratio of the two form factors is measured to be $|f^{\pi}_+(0)/f^K_+(0)|= 0.93 \pm 0.19 \pm 0.07$.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Measurements of the observed cross sections for e+e−→e^+e^-\to exclusive light hadrons containing π0π0\pi^0\pi^0 at s=3.773\sqrt s= 3.773, 3.650 and 3.6648 GeV

By analyzing the data sets of 17.3, 6.5 and 1.0 pb$^{-1}$ taken, respectively, at $\sqrt s= 3.773$, 3.650 and 3.6648 GeV with the BES-II detector at the BEPC collider, we measure the observed cross sections for $e^+e^-\to \pi^+\pi^-\pi^0\pi^0$, $K^+K^-\pi^0\pi^0$, $2(\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0)$, $K^+K^-\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0\pi^0$ and $3(\pi^+\pi^-)\pi^0\pi^0$ at the three energy points. Based on these cross sections we set the upper limits on the observed cross sections and the branching fractions for $\psi(3770)$ decay into these final states at 90% C.L..Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

Thermodynamic properties of thin films of superfluid 3He-A

The pairing correlations in superfluid He-3 are strongly modified by quasiparticle scattering off a surface or an interface. We present theoretical results and predictions for the order parameter, the quasiparticle excitation spectrum and the free energy for thin films of superfluid He-3. Both specular and diffuse scattering by a substrate are considered, while the free surface is assumed to be a perfectly reflecting specular boundary. The results are based on self-consistent calculations of the order parameter and quasiparticle excitation spectrum at zero pressure. We obtain new results for the phase diagram, free energy, entropy and specific heat of thin films of superfluid He-3.Comment: Replaced with an updated versio