Nonlinear adaptive control for bioreactors with unknown kinetics

We consider a control problem for a single bioreaction occurring in a continuous and well-mixed bioreactor, assuming that the bioreaction's kinetics is not represented by a validated model. We develop a nonlinear controller and prove the global asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system towards the equilibrium corresponding to the set point. Since this control law needs the knowledge of some parameters, we derive an adaptive version of the nonlinear controller and prove again the global asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system. Finally, we show the relevance of our approach on a real-life wastewater treatment plant.     

Vectorial languages and linear temporal logic

Determining for a given deterministic complete automaton the sequence of visited states while reading a given word is the core of important problems with automata-based solutions, such as approximate string matching. The main difficulty is to do this computation efficiently. Considering words as vectors and working on them using vectorial operations allows to solve the problem faster than using local operations.

In this paper, we show first that the set of vectorial operations needed by an algorithm representing a given automaton depends on the language accepted by the automaton. We give precise characterizations for star-free, solvable and regular languages using vectorial algorithms. We also study classes of languages associated with restricted sets of vectorial operations and relate them with languages defined by fragments of linear temporal logic.

Finally, we consider the converse problem of constructing an automaton from a given vectorial algorithm. As a byproduct, we show that the satisfiability problem for some extensions of LTL characterizing solvable and regular languages is PSPACE-complete.     

Determinization of Transducers over Infinite Words: The General Case

We consider transducers over infinite words with a Büchi or a Muller acceptance condition. We give characterizations of functions that can be realized by Büchi and Muller sequential transducers. We describe an algorithm to determinize transducers defining functions over infinite words.     

Editorial

Higher-Order and Symbolic Computation -     

Neural mass activity, bifurcations, and epilepsy

In this letter, we propose a general framework for studying neural mass models defined by ordinary differential equations. By studying the bifurcations of the solutions to these equations and their sensitivity to noise, we establish an important relation, similar to a dictionary, between their behaviors and normal and pathological, especially epileptic, cortical patterns of activity. We then apply this framework to the analysis of two models that feature most phenomena of interest, the Jansen and Rit model, and the slightly more complex model recently proposed by Wendling and Chauvel. This model-based approach allows us to test various neurophysiological hypotheses on the origin of pathological cortical behaviors and investigate the effect of medication. We also study the effects of the stochastic nature of the inputs, which gives us clues about the origins of such important phenomena as interictal spikes, interictal bursts, and fast onset activity that are of particular relevance in epilepsy.     

Sturmian Trees

We consider Sturmian trees as a natural generalization of Sturmian words. A Sturmian tree is a tree having n+1 distinct subtrees of height n for each n. As for the case of words, Sturmian trees are irrational trees of minimal complexity.     

MDO: assessment and direction for advancement—an opinion of one international group

This paper is a summary of topics presented and discussed at the 2006 European–U.S. Multidisciplinary Optimization (MDO) Colloquium in Goettingen, Germany, attended by nearly seventy professionals from academia, industry, and government. An attempt is made to accurately reflect the issues discussed by this diverse group, qualified by interest, experience, and accomplishment to present an opinion about the state-of-the-art, trends, and developments in Multidisciplinary Design Optimization. As such, its main purpose is to provide suggestions and stimulus for future research in the field. The predominant content of the colloquium was centered on aerospace, with a few contributions from the automotive industry, and this is reflected in the article. Due to the timeframe that has passed since the conclusion of the workshop, the authors have updated topics where appropriate to reflect observed developments over the past 3 years. Finally, rather than dwelling extensively on past accomplishments and current capabilities in MDO we focus on the needs and identified shortcomings from the colloquium which lead to potential future research directions. A brief MDO background is provided to set the discussion in its proper context.     

Defining and controlling the heterogeneity of a cluster: The Wrekavoc tool

The experimental validation and the testing of solutions that are designed for heterogeneous environments are challenging. We introduce Wrekavoc as an accurate tool for this purpose: it runs unmodified applications on emulated multi-site heterogeneous platforms. Its principal technique consists in downgrading the performance of the platform characteristics in a prescribed way. The platform characteristics include the compute nodes themselves (CPU and memory) and the interconnection network for which a controlled overlay network above the homogeneous cluster is built. In this article we describe the tool, its performance, its accuracy and its scalability. Results show that Wrekavoc is a very versatile tool that is useful to perform high-quality experiments (in terms of reproducibility, realism, control, etc.).