Controllability distributions and systems approximations: a geometric approach

Given a nonlinear system we determine a relation at an equilibrium between controllability distributions defined for a nonlinear system and a Taylor series approximation of it. The value of such a relation is appreciated if we recall that the solvability conditions as well as the solutions to some control synthesis problems can be stated in terms of geometric concepts like controlled invariant (controllability) distributions. The relation between these distributions at the equilibrium will help us to decide when the solvability conditions of this kind of problems are equivalent for the nonlinear system and its approximatio

Controllability distributions and systems approximations: a geometric approach

Given a nonlinear system, a relation between controllability distributions defined for a nonlinear system and a Taylor series approximation of it is determined. Special attention is given to this relation at the equilibrium. It is known from nonlinear control theory that the solvability conditions as well as the solutions to some control synthesis problems can be stated in terms of geometric concepts like controlled invariant (controllability) distributions. By dealing with a k-th Taylor series approximation of the system, the authors are able to decide when the solvability conditions of these kinds of problem are equivalent for the nonlinear system and its approximation. Some cases when the solution obtained from the approximated system is an approximation of an exact solution for the original problem are distinguished. Some examples illustrate the result

Nonlinear disturbance decoupling and linearization: a partial interpretation of integral feedback

The relation between the solvability of the disturbance decoupling problem for a nonlinear system and its linearization around a working point is investigated. It turns out that generically the solvability of the disturbance decoupling via regular dynamic state feedback is preserved under linearization. This result gives a partial interpretation of introducing integral action in classical PID-control applied to nonlinear systems. The theory is illustrated by means of a worked example

Steel bar counting from images with machine learning

Counting has become a fundamental task for data processing in areas such as micro-biology, medicine, agriculture and astrophysics. The proposed SA-CNN-DC (Scale Adaptive— Convolutional Neural Network—Distance Clustering) methodology in this paper is designed for automated counting of steel bars from images. Its design consists of two Machine Learning techniques: Neural Networks and Clustering. The system has been trained to count round and squared steel bars, obtaining an average detection accuracy of 98.81% and 98.57%, respectively. In the steel industry, counting steel bars is a time consuming task which highly relies on human labour and is prone to errors. Reduction of counting time and resources, safety and productivity of employees and high confidence of the inventory are some of the advantages of the proposed methodology in a steel warehouse

Tracking rates of ecotone migration due to salt-water encroachment using fossil mollusks in coastal South Florida

We determined the rate of migration of coastal vegetation zones in response to salt-water encroachment through paleoecological analysis of mollusks in 36 sediment cores taken along transects perpendicular to the coast in a 5.5 km2 band of coastal wetlands in southeast Florida. Five vegetation zones, separated by distinct ecotones, included freshwater swamp forest, freshwater marsh, and dwarf, transitional and fringing mangrove forest. Vegetation composition, soil depth and organic matter content, porewater salinity and the contemporary mollusk community were determined at 226 sites to establish the salinity preferences of the mollusk fauna. Calibration models allowed accurate inference of salinity and vegetation type from fossil mollusk assemblages in chronologically calibrated sediments. Most sediments were shallow (20–130 cm) permitting coarse-scale temporal inferences for three zones: an upper peat layer (zone 1) representing the last 30–70 years, a mixed peat-marl layer (zone 2) representing the previous ca. 150–250 years and a basal section (zone 3) of ranging from 310 to 2990 YBP. Modern peat accretion rates averaged 3.1 mm yr)1 while subsurface marl accreted more slowly at 0.8 mm yr)1. Salinity and vegetation type for zone 1 show a steep gradient with freshwater communities being confined west of a north–south drainage canal constructed in 1960. Inferences for zone 2 (pre-drainage) suggest that freshwater marshes and associated forest units covered 90% of the area, with mangrove forests only present along the peripheral coastline. During the entire pre-drainage history, salinity in the entire area was maintained below a mean of 2 ppt and only small pockets of mangroves were present; currently, salinity averages 13.2 ppt and mangroves occupy 95% of the wetland. Over 3 km2 of freshwater wetland vegetation type have been lost from this basin due to salt-water encroachment, estimated from the mollusk-inferred migration rate of freshwater vegetation of 3.1 m yr)1 for the last 70 years (compared to 0.14 m yr)1 for the pre-drainage period). This rapid rate of encroachment is driven by sea-level rise and freshwater diversion. Plans for rehydrating these basins with freshwater will require high-magnitude re-diversion to counteract locally high rates of sea-level rise

Health related quality of life scales in women diagnosed with gynecological and breast cancer: The role of resilience. A systematic review

Objective: Resilience and health-related quality of life are factors to be valued today in all types of patients for their relationship to well-being and health. Any stressful situation can significantly impact quality of life and resilience and there are numerous scales to rate these aspects. The main objective of this review is to describe the most used health-related quality of life and resilience scales in gynecological and breast cancer patients to highlight the limitations. Data sources: A review of literature in Pubmed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Database and Google Scholar was carried out to identify articles on health-related quality of life in oncological patients published in English between 2000 and 2020. Methods of study selection: The review was done following the PRISMA guidelines. Tabulation: A total of 460 papers were identified using MeSH terms but finally, according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, we evaluated 41. Integration and results: Questionnaires have a good performance to quantify quality of life and resilience in oncological patients in general. However, most publications were not focused on patients with gynecological cancer. Conclusions: Due to the particularities of the group of patients with gynecologic and breast cancer secondary to their treatment significantly affecting several areas and domains, it is necessary to validate specific scales for them in order to offer these patients the correct management of their disease at all levels. The role of resilience, premature and iatrogenic menopause and mutilating surgeries are essential to understand the uniqueness of health-related quality of life in gynecological and breast cancer patients. ©2021 The Author(s)

Thermal impact from a thermoelectric power plant on a tropical coastal lagoon

Tropical coastal areas are sensitive ecosystems to climate change, mainly due to sea level rise and increasing water temperatures. Furthermore, they may be subject to numerous stresses, including heat releases from energy production. The Urias coastal lagoon (SE Gulf of California), a subtropical tidal estuary, receives cooling water releases from a thermoelectric power plant, urban and industrial wastes, and shrimp farm discharges. In order to evaluate the plant thermal impact, we measured synchronous temperature time series close to and far from the plant. Furthermore, in order to discriminate the thermal pollution impact from natural variability, we used a high-resolution hydrodynamic model forced by, amongst others, cooling water release as a continuous flow (7.78 m3 s?1) at 6 °C overheating temperature. Model results and field data indicated that the main thermal impact was temporally restricted to the warmest months, spatially restricted to the surface layers (above 0.6 m) and distributed along the shoreline within ?100 m of the release point. The methodology and results of this study can be extrapolated to tropical coastal lagoons that receive heat discharges.<br/

Variability in concentrations of potentially toxic elements in urban parks from six European cities

Use of a harmonised sampling regime has allowed comparison of concentrations of copper, chromium, nickel, lead and zinc in six urban parks located in different European cities differing markedly in their climate and industrial history. Wide concentrations ranges were found for copper, lead and zinc at most sites, but for chromium and nickel a wide range was only seen in the Italian park, where levels were also considerably greater than in other soils. As might be expected, the soils from older cities with a legacy of heavy manufacturing industry (Glasgow, Torino) were richest in potentially toxic elements (PTEs); soils from Ljubljana, Sevilla and Uppsala had intermediate metal contents, and soils from the most recently established park, in the least industrialised city (Aveiro), displayed lowest concentrations. When principal component analysis was applied to the data, associations were revealed between pH and organic carbon content; and between all five PTEs. When pH and organic carbon content were excluded from the PCA, a distinction became clear between copper, lead and zinc (the "urban" metals) on the one hand, and chromium and nickel on the other. Similar results were obtained for the surface (0-10 cm depth) and sub-surface (10-20 cm depth) samples. Comparisons with target or limit concentrations were limited by the existence of different legislation in different countries and the fact that few guidelines deal specifically with public-access urban soils intended for recreational use

Posttranscriptional Regulation of 14q32 microRNAs by RNA Binding Proteins CIRBP and HADHB during Vascular Regeneration after Ischemia:Posttranscriptional regulation of 14q32 microRNAs

After induction of ischemia in mice, 14q32 microRNAs are regulated in three distinct temporal patterns. These expression patterns, as well as basal expression levels, are independent of the microRNA genes’ order in the 14q32 locus. This implies that posttranscriptional processing is a major determinant of 14q32 microRNA expression. Therefore, we hypothesized that RNA binding proteins (RBPs) regulate posttranscriptional processing of 14q32, and we aimed to identify these RBPs. To identify proteins responsible for this posttranscriptional regulation, we used RNA pull-down SILAC mass spectrometry (RP-SMS) on selected precursor microRNAs. We observed differential binding of cold-inducible RBP (CIRBP) and hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase trifunctional multienzyme complex subunit beta (HADHB) to the precursors of late-upregulated miR-329-3p and unaffected miR-495-3p. Immunohistochemical staining confirmed expression of both CIRBP and HADHB in the adductor muscle of mice. Expression of both CIRBP and HADHB was upregulated after hindlimb ischemia in mice. Using RBP immunoprecipitation experiments, we showed specific binding of CIRBP to pre-miR-329 but not to pri-miR-329. Finally, using CRISPR/Cas9, we generated HADHB−/− 3T3 cells, which display reduced expression of miR-329 and miR-495 but not their precursors. These data suggest a novel role for CIRBP and HADHB in posttranscriptional regulation of 14q32 microRNAs. Keywords: microRNA, 14q32, microRNA cluster, miR-329, miR-495, HADHB, CIRBP, RNA binding proteins, ischemia, hindlimb ischemia mode