Optimal control of switching systems

This paper considers an optimal control problem for a switching system. For solving this problem we do not make any assumptions about the number of switches nor about the mode sequence, they are determined by the solution of the problem. The switching system is embedded into a larger family of systems and the optimization problem is formulated for the latter. It is shown that the set of trajectories of the switching system is dense in the set of trajectories of the embedded system. The relationship between the two sets of trajectories (1) motivates the shift of focus from the original problem to the more general one and (2) underlies the engineering relevance of the study of the second problem. Sufficient and necessary conditions for optimality are formulated for the second optimization problem. If they exist, bang-bang-type solutions of the embedded optimal control problem are solutions of the original problem. Otherwise, suboptimal solutions are obtained via the Chattering Lemma.     

A Time-Delay Control Approach for a Stereo Vision Based Human-Machine Interaction System

In this paper, an approach to control a 6-DoF stereo camera for the purpose of actively tracking the face of a human observer in the context of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) is proposed. The main objective in the presented work is to cope with the critical time-delay introduced by the computer vision algorithms used to acquire the feedback variable within the control system. In the studied HRI architecture, the feedback variable is represented by the 3D position of a human subject. We proposed a predictive control method which is able to handle the high time-delay inserted by the vision elements into the control system of the stereo camera. Also, along with the predictive control approach, a novel 3D nose detection algorithm is suggested for the computation of the feedback variable. The performance of the implemented platform is given through experimental results.     

Atmospheric pressure plasma enhanced synthesis of flame retardant cellulosic materials

Flame retardant cellulosic materials have been produced using a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) network coating. SiO₂ network armor was prepared through hydrolysis and condensation of the precursor tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), prior coating the substrates, and was cross linked on the surface of the substrates using atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) technique. Because of protection effects of the SiO₂ network armor, the cellulosic based fibers exhibit enhanced thermal properties (characterized by TGA and DSC) and improved flame retardant (proven by ASTM D1230‐99). Furthermore, the surface analysis (XPS and SEM) confirmed the presence of the SiO₂ network attached to the substrates even after intense ultrasound washes. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Screening of Molecular Virulence Markers in Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strains Isolated from Clinical Infections

Staphylococcus (S.) aureus and Pseudomonas (Ps.) aeruginosa are two of the most frequently opportunistic pathogens isolated in nosocomial infections, responsible for severe infections in immunocompromised hosts. The frequent emergence of antibiotic-resistant S. aureus and Ps. aeruginosa strains has determined the development of new strategies in order to elucidate the different mechanisms used by these bacteria at different stages of the infectious process, providing the scientists with new procedures for preventing, or at least improving, the control of S. aureus and Ps. aeruginosa infections. The purpose of this study was to characterize the molecular markers of virulence in S. aureus and Ps. aeruginosa strains isolated from different clinical specimens. We used multiplex and uniplex PCR assays to detect the genes encoding different cell-wall associated and extracellular virulence factors, in order to evaluate potential associations between the presence of putative virulence genes and the outcome of infections caused by these bacteria. Our results demonstrate that all the studied S. aureus and Ps. aeruginosa strains synthesize the majority of the investigated virulence determinants, probably responsible for different types of infections.     

Large-scale optical-field measurements with geometric fibre constructs

Optical fields are measured using sequential arrangements of optical components such as lenses, filters, and beam splitters in conjunction with planar arrays of point detectors placed on a common axis. All such systems are constrained in terms of size, weight, durability and field of view. Here a new, geometric approach to optical-field measurements is presented that lifts some of the aforementioned limitations and, moreover, enables access to optical information on unprecedented length and volume scales. Tough polymeric photodetecting fibres drawn from a preform are woven into light-weight, low-optical-density, two- and three-dimensional constructs that measure the amplitude and phase of an electromagnetic field on very large areas. First, a three-dimensional spherical construct is used to measure the direction of illumination over 4pi steradians. Second, an intensity distribution is measured by a planar array using a tomographic algorithm. Finally, both the amplitude and phase of an optical wave front are acquired with a dual-plane construct. Hence, the problem of optical-field measurement is transformed from one involving the choice and placement of lenses and detector arrays to that of designing geometrical constructions of polymeric, light-sensitive fibres.     

Hybrid Androgen Receptor Inhibitors Outperform Enzalutamide and EPI-001 in in vitro Models of Prostate Cancer Drug Resistance

Androgen receptor targeted therapies for prostate cancer have serious limitations in advanced stages of the disease. While resistance to the FDA-approved enzalutamide is extensively documented, novel therapies based on epichlorohydrin scaffolds (EPI) are currently in clinical trials, but display suboptimal pharmacokinetics. Herein, we report the synthesis and biological characterisation of a novel class of compounds designed through covalently linking enzalutamide and EPI-001 through various triazole based linkers. The compounds display an 18 to 53 fold improvement in the cell killing potency towards C4-2b prostate cancer (PCa) cells compared to the gold standards of therapy, enzalutamide and EPI-001. The most promising compounds were proven to exhibit their toxicity exclusively through androgen receptor (AR) mediated pathways. This work sets the basis for the first class of hybrid AR inhibitors which successfully combine two drug moieties – EPI-001 and enzalutamide – into the same molecule.     

Nanoscale Controlled Oxidation of Liquid Metals for Stretchable Electronics and Photonics

Liquid metals based on gallium have attracted considerable attention for soft and bioelectronics, thanks to their excellent combination of stretchability and conductivity. Nevertheless, owing to their large surface tension, these materials are notoriously difficult to pattern and shape into thin continuous films, or nanoscale 2D architectures, hindering practical use in systems with reduced dimensions. Herein, thanks to fine control in both substrate surface state and oxidation dynamics, a process for producing stretchable gallium-based conducting films with percolation down to 90 nm thickness is presented. By further combining this process with lithography, it is also demonstrated that the approach enables, for the first time, stable stretchable gallium-based optical metasurfaces with tunable resonance in the infrared. It is shown that oxygen partial pressure during evaporation determines the initial film percolation via an interplay between oxidation and dewetting. With this approach, conducting films with relative resistance change as low as 3% over 50% strain, with an excellent stability over 15k cycles are also demonstrated. Tunable soft optical metasurfaces with sub-micrometer feature sizes are also realized, paving the way toward a novel paradigm in soft electronics and photonics.     

Eco-efficient Separation of Mono- and Dichloroacetic Acid by Thermally Coupled Extractive Distillation

Due to its high reactivity, monochloroacetic acid (MCA) is an essential intermediate used in the manufacturing of a wide variety of chemicals. Its industrial production process is highly energy- and capital-intensive, requiring costly purification steps to remove dichloroacetic acid (DCA) impurities. Here, an innovative eco-efficient process for MCA-DCA separation is proposed based on extractive distillation in a fully thermally coupled system (a dividing-wall column (DWC) or an equivalent side-rectifier configuration) using a new effective solvent: diethylene glycol dipentylether. The design was optimized by performing sensitivity analyses and varying key operating and design parameters. The study proves that separating MCA-DCA by an extractive DWC (or thermally coupled) is feasible, efficient, controllable, economic, and sustainable.