Quadrotor Aggressive Deployment, Using a Quaternion-based Spherical Chattering-free Sliding-mode Controller

International audienceThis paper introduces a non-conventional approach for autonomous multi-rotor UAV deployment, in which a quadro-tor is aggressively launched through the air with its motors turned off. A continuous quaternion attitude trajectory is proposed to safely recover the vehicle into hover mode. Then, an operator then could take the command or continue a desired mission in autonomous mode. The controller is a chattering-free sliding mode algorithm based on the geometrical properties of quaternions and axis-angle rotations. Lyapunov theory is used to analyze the system stability. The proposed methodology is validated in real world indoor and outdoor experiments

El módulo y el sistema: celosías funcionales en el complejo de la Hidrola en Escombreras

This paper presents a detailed analysis of a building as unique as it is unknown or forgotten: the thermal power station built by Hidroeléctrica Española in Escombreras, Cartagena, in the mid-1950s, designed by the architect Fernando Urrutia and the engineer Carlos Jaureguizar. And it does so from a double point of view: on the one hand, by contextualising the building within the industrial and architectural context of the time, to which it responds with a perfect modernity that is at the same time pragmatic and monumental. On the other hand, by focusing on a meticulous constructive, geometric and aesthetic analysis of perhaps its most unique element, the very ingenious functional grid (as the architect calls it) that defines its facades with a prefabricated modular skin that gives it a unique personality and a disturbing contemporaneity.Este artículo presenta un detallado análisis de un edificio tan singular como prematuramente olvidado: la Central térmica que Hidroeléctrica Española construye en Escombreras, Cartagena, a mediados de los años cincuenta, bajo proyecto del arquitecto Fernando Urrutia y el ingeniero Carlos Jaureguizar. Y lo hace desde un doble punto de vista: de una parte, contextualiza el edificio en el marco industrial y arquitectónico del momento, al que ofrece una respuesta de una perfecta modernidad, a la vez pragmática y monumental, que debe ser puesta en valor. De otra, centrándose en un meticuloso análisis constructivo, geométrico y estético de, quizás, su elemento más singular, la muy ingeniosa celosía funcional (así la denomina el arquitecto) que construye sus fachadas mediante una piel modular prefabricada y que la dota de una personalidad única y de una contemporaneidad inquietante

Distributed path planning for controlling a fleet of UAVs : application to a team of quadrotors

International audienc

Microwave-assisted autohydrolysis of avocado seed for the recovery of antioxidant phenolics and glucose

This study describes the valorization of avocado seed (AS) within a green biorefinery concept using microwave-assisted autohydrolysis. After the treatment at temperatures of 150–230 ◦C for 5 min, the resulting solid and liquor were characterized. The temperature of 220 ◦C led to the simultaneous optimal values of antioxidant phenolics/flavonoids (42.15 mg GAE/g AS, 31.89 RE/g AS, respectively) and glucose + glucooligosaccharides (38.82 g/L) in the liquor. Extraction with ethyl acetate allowed the recovery of the bioactive compounds while maintaining the polysaccharides in the liquor. The extract was rich in vanillin (99.02 mg/g AS) and contained several phenolic acids and flavonoids. The solid phase and the phenolic-free liquor were subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis to produce glucose, reaching values of 9.93 and 105 g glucose/L, respectively. This work demonstrates that microwave-assisted autohydrolysis is a promising technology to obtain fermentable sugars and antioxidant phenolic compounds from avocado seeds following a biorefinery scheme.Universidade de Vigo/CISUGXunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2017/62-GRCXunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431F 2020/03Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B-2022-020Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades | Ref. FPU21/02446Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades | Ref. FJC2021-046978-IMinisterio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades | Ref. RYC2018-024846-IMinisterio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades | Ref. RYC2018-026177-

A Randomized Trial. Comparing Herniorrafia Modifield Desarda Repair and Hernioplastia Lichtenstein Repair for Inguinal Hernia. (Study of 1242 Patients)

Introduction: The objective of this study is to compare the outcomes of Modified Desarda repair no mesh and Lichtenstein repair for inguinal hernia. Patients and Methods: This is a prospective randomized controlled trial study of 1242 patients having 1313 hernias operated from January 2008 to December 2018. 640 patients were operated using Lichtenstein repair and 602 using Desarda repair. The variables like age, sex, location, type of hernia, tolerance to local anesthesia, duration of surgery, pain on the first, third and fifth day, hospital stay, complications, re-explorations, morbidity and time to return to normal activities were analyzed. Follow up period was from 1-10 years (median 6.5 years). Results: There were no significant differences regarding age, sex, location, type of hernia, and pain in both the groups. The operation time was 52 minutes in Modified Desarda group and 42 minutes in the Lichtenstein group that is significant (p<0.05). The recurrence was 0.0 % in Modified Desarda group and 0.3 % in Lichtenstein group. But, there were 8 cases of infection to the polypropylene mesh in the Lichtenstein group, 2 of this required re-exploration. The morbidity was also significantly more in Lichtenstein group (7,0 %) as compared to Modified Desarda group (3.6 %). The mean time to return to work in the Modified Desarda group was 8.26 days while a mean of 12.58 days was in the Lichtenstein group. The mean hospital stay was 29 hrs. in Modified Desarda group while it was 49 hours in the Lichtenstein group in those patients who were hospitalized. Conclusions: Modified Desarda repair scores significantly over the Lichtenstein repair in all respects including re-explorations and morbidity. Modified Desarda repair is a better choice as compared with Lichtenstein repair

Infographic. How does exercise treatment compare with antihypertensive medications?

High systolic blood pressure (SBP) remains the major cause of premature death globally despite advances in pharmacological treatment.1 2 The global direct medical costs associated with hypertension treatment are estimated at $370 billion/year worldwide, with the healthcare savings from effective management of this condition projected at about$100 billion/year.3 Unfortunately, relatively little attention is given to non-pharmacological strategies, including structured exercise interventions. A recent network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published in the BJSM4 aimed to compare the effects of exercise interventions and medications on SBP. We highlight the key findings of this network meta-analysis that are particularly relevant for clinical practice and health policy.Sin financiación12.022 JCR (2019) Q1, 1/85 Sport Sciences3.712 SJR (2019) Q1, 48/2754 Medicine (miscellaneous), 1/284 Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, 1/207 Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation, 2/125 Sports ScienceNo data IDR 2019UE

Circadian rhythms have significant effects on leaf-to-canopy scale gas exchange under field conditions

Background Molecular clocks drive oscillations in leaf photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, and other cell and leaf-level processes over ~24 h under controlled laboratory conditions. The influence of such circadian regulation over whole-canopy fluxes remains uncertain; diurnal CO2 and H2O vapor flux dynamics in the field are currently interpreted as resulting almost exclusively from direct physiological responses to variations in light, temperature and other environmental factors. We tested whether circadian regulation would affect plant and canopy gas exchange at the Montpellier European Ecotron. Canopy and leaf-level fluxes were constantly monitored under field-like environmental conditions, and under constant environmental conditions (no variation in temperature, radiation, or other environmental cues). Results We show direct experimental evidence at canopy scales of the circadian regulation of daytime gas exchange: 20–79 % of the daily variation range in CO2 and H2O fluxes occurred under circadian entrainment in canopies of an annual herb (bean) and of a perennial shrub (cotton). We also observed that considering circadian regulation improved performance by 8–17 % in commonly used stomatal conductance models. Conclusions Our results show that circadian controls affect diurnal CO2 and H2O flux patterns in entire canopies in field-like conditions, and its consideration significantly improves model performance. Circadian controls act as a ‘memory’ of the past conditions experienced by the plant, which synchronizes metabolism across entire plant canopies