On equivalence classes in iterative learning control

This paper advocates a new approach to study the relation between causal iterative learning control (ILC) and conventional feedback control. Central to this approach is the introduction of the set of admissible pairs (of operators) defined with respect to a family of iterations. Considered are two problem settings: standard ILC, which does not include a current cycle feedback (CCF) term and CCF-ILC, which does. By defining an equivalence relation on the set of admissible pairs, it is shown that in the standard ILC problem there exists a bijective map between the induced equivalence classes and the set of all stabilizing controllers. This yields the well-known Youla parameterization as a corollary. These results do not extend in full generality to the case of CCF-ILC; though gain every admissible pair defines a stabilizing equivalent controller, the converse is no longer true in general

Waveguide mode imaging and dispersion analysis with terahertz near-field microscopy

Propagation of terahertz waves in hollow metallic waveguides depends on the waveguide mode. Near-field scanning probe terahertz microscopy is applied to identify the mode structure and composition in dielectric-lined hollow metallic waveguides. Spatial profiles, relative amplitudes, and group velocities of three main waveguide modes are experimentally measured and matched to the HE11, HE12, and TE11 modes. The combination of near-field microscopy with terahertz time-resolved spectroscopy opens the possibility of waveguide mode characterization in the terahertz band

Promise Theory and the Alignment of Context, Processes, Types, and Transforms

Promise Theory concerns the 'alignment', i.e. the degree of functional compatibility and the 'scaling' properties of process outcomes in agent-based models, with causality and intentional semantics. It serves as an umbrella for other theories of interaction, from physics to socio-economics, integrating dynamical and semantic concerns into a single framework. It derives its measures from sets, and can therefore incorporate a wide range of descriptive techniques, giving additional structure with predictive constraints. We review some structural details of Promise Theory, applied to Promises of the First Kind, to assist in the comparison of Promise Theory with other forms of physical and mathematical modelling, including Category Theory and Dynamical Systems. We explain how Promise Theory is distinct from other kinds of model, but has a natural structural similarity to statistical mechanics and quantum theory, albeit with different goals; it respects and clarifies the bounds of locality, while incorporating non-local communication. We derive the relationship between promises and morphisms to the extent that this would be a useful comparison

Learning alliances: An approach for building multistakeholder innovation systems

Millions of dollars are spent each year on research and development (R&D) initiatives in an attempt to improve rural livelihoods in the developing world, but rural poverty remains an intractable problem in many places. There are many reasons for this; one being the limited collective learning that occurs between researchers, development workers, donors, policymakers and private enterprise. As a result, useful research results do not reach the poor, lessons learned do not influence research, and donor and policy agendas are less relevant than they could be. This Brief describes how the Rural Agroenterprise Development Project of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) is addressing the problem. Through building learning alliances that engage multiple stakeholders in processes of innovation, the initiative is enhancing learning and improving effectiveness in rural enterprise development

Learning Timbre Analogies from Unlabelled Data by Multivariate Tree Regression

This is the Author's Original Manuscript of an article whose final and definitive form, the Version of Record, has been published in the Journal of New Music Research, November 2011, copyright Taylor & Francis. The published article is available online at http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09298215.2011.596938

Effect of Diurnal Convection on Trapped Thermal Plasma in the Outer Plasmasphere

A kinetic, multi‐species model of the plasmasphere is constructed that includes the effect of convection and corotation electric fields on trapped particles in drifting flux tubes. The resulting morphology of the outer plasmasphere is significantly different from the morphology obtained using the assumption of diffusive equilibrium. The difference is due primarily to the contraction and expansion of the region of velocity space accessible to the trapped particles, and has implications for the interpretation of remote sensing experiments

Better implementation of improvements in chronic care

We know more about the effectiveness of chronic care itself than we know about how to implement these effective practices and care models. The result of this mismatch is that too often the implementation of inherently good innovations fails. Luckily, this is recognised as a problem and we are beginning to use methods which combine implementation with research so that we can more quickly improve care and learn about what works best for whom and where. This report presents a synthesis of what a diverse group of experts across the European Union see as research priorities to speed up and spread improvements to chronic care. It will contribute to the future EU Research Agenda and also seeks to stimulate research funding for rigorous and timely implementation research in chronic care. But it is also of immediate use to improvers and researchers across Europe for the insights and discussions about implementation, chronic care and improvement science and practice

Restoration of critically endangered elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) populations using larvae reared from wild-caught gametes

AbstractElkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) populations provide important ecological functions on shallow Caribbean reefs, many of which were lost when a disease reduced their abundance by more than 95% beginning in the mid-1970s. Since then, a lack of significant recovery has prompted rehabilitation initiatives throughout the Caribbean. Here, we report the first successful outplanting and long-term survival of A. palmata settlers reared from gametes collected in the field. A. palmata larvae were settled on clay substrates (substrate units) and either outplanted on the reef two weeks after settlement or kept in a land-based nursery. After 2.5 years, the survival rate of A. palmata settlers outplanted two weeks after settlement was 6.8 times higher (3.4%) than that of settlers kept in a land-based nursery (0.5%). Furthermore, 32% of the substrate units on the reef still harbored one or more well-developed recruit compared to 3% for substrate units kept in the nursery. In addition to increasing survival, outplanting A. palmata settlers shortly after settlement reduced the costs to produce at least one 2.5-year-old A. palmata individual from $325 to$13 USD. Thus, this study not only highlights the first successful long-term rearing of this critically endangered coral species, but also shows that early outplanting of sexually reared coral settlers can be more cost-effective than the traditional approach of nursery rearing for restoration efforts aimed at rehabilitating coral populations