3,370 research outputs found
Multivariable norm optimal iterative learning control with auxiliary optimization
No full textThe paper describes a substantial extension of Norm Optimal Iterative Learning Control (NOILC) that permits tracking of a class of finite dimensional reference signals whilst simultaneously converging to the solution of a constrained quadratic optimization problem. The theory is presented in a general functional analytical framework using operators between chosen real Hilbert spaces. This is applied to solve problems in continuous time where tracking is only required at selected intermediate points of the time interval but, simultaneously, the solution is required to minimize a specified quadratic objective function of the input signals and chosen auxiliary (state) variables. Applications to the discrete time case, including the case of multi-rate sampling, are also summarized. The algorithms are motivated by practical need and provide a methodology for reducing undesirable effects such as payload spillage, vibration tendencies and actuator wear whilst maintaining the desired tracking accuracy necessary for task completion. Solutions in terms of NOILC methodologies involving both feedforward and feedback components offer the possibilities of greater robustness than purely feedforward actions. Robustness of the feedforward implementation is discussed and the work is illustrated by experimental results from a robotic manipulator
FIGURE 1. Parahellenia trongduyii. A. Rhizome with a terminal bud. B. Leafy shoot. C. Nodes with leaf bases. D in Taxonomic studies on Parahellenia (Costaceae) in Vietnam: a new species, P. trongduyii, and a new combination, P. candida
No full textFIGURE 1. Parahellenia trongduyii. A. Rhizome with a terminal bud. B. Leafy shoot. C. Nodes with leaf bases. D. Node with an axillary bud. E. Inflorescence with flowers. F. Bract, bracteole, ovary and calyx. G. Flower. H. Flower (calyx, corolla lobes and labellum removed). I. Longitudinal section of a flower. J. Corolla lobes (abaxial and adaxial views). K. Stamen and labellum. L. Longitudinal sections of a fruit. M. Stamen (abaxial and adaxial views). N. Stamen (lateral view). O. Stigma (from left to right: lateral view, abaxial view and adaxial view). Drawn by Mr. D.H. Cui from the type V.C. Nguyen & V.K. Nguyen CD 01.Published as part of Chen, Juan, Nguyen, Van Canh, Nguyen, Van Khuong, Nguyen, Khang Sinh, Nuraliev, Maxim S. & Xia, Nianhe, 2023, Taxonomic studies on Parahellenia (Costaceae) in Vietnam: a new species, P. trongduyii, and a new combination, P. candida, pp. 72-80 in Phytotaxa 583 (1) on page 75, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.583.1.7, http://zenodo.org/record/760919
Dendrelaphis binhi Nguyen & Nguyen & Le & Nguyen & Vo & Vo & Che & Murphy 2023, sp. nov.
No full text<i>Dendrelaphis binhi</i> sp. nov. <p> <b>Holotype.</b> ITBCZ 6663, adult male, collected from Tuy Phong, Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam; coordinates 11 o 12’36.2”N, 108 o 41’43.2”E; elevation 34 m a.s.l. by S.N. Nguyen and L. T. Nguyen, on 23 July 2018 (Figs. 3 & 4).</p> <p> <b>Paratypes.</b> Seven specimens: ITBCZ 6664, ITBCZ 6666 (adult females), ITBCZ 6665 (subadult male), collected by the same collectors, on the same date and site as the holotype; ITBCZ 6681 (adult male), collected from Tuy Phong, Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam, coordinates 11 o 13’03.3”N, 108 o 39’10.2”E, elevation 39 m a.s.l. by S.N. Nguyen and L. T. Nguyen, on 26 July 2018; ITBCZ 5944-6 (adult females), collected from Thuan Nam, Ninh Thuan Province, Vietnam; coordinates 11 o 19’18.4”N, 108 o 56’46.6”E; elevation 105 m a.s.l. by S.N. Nguyen and D.H. V. Nguyen, on 13 April 2017 (Figs. 3–5).</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis.</b> <i>Dendrelaphis binhi</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> is distinguished from all of its congeners by a combination of the following morphological characters: medium sized bronzeback snake (largest TL 936 mm in female); one long supralabial entering orbit; body scale smooth, 13 rows on neck and midbody, 9–11 before vent; vertebral scale row slightly enlarged; ventrals 154–158 in males and 161–170 in females; subcaudals 105 or 106 in males and 95–102 in females; 18 or 19 maxillary teeth, posterior teeth shorter than the others; hemipenis spinose, reaching 10 th or 11 th SC, with a tiny papilla; cloacal plate divided; dorsum bright brown with a white stripe along the lower flank.</p> <p> <b>Description of holotype</b>. Adult male; head elongate (HL/HW = 1.99), distinct from neck; body elongate, SVL 495 mm; tail long (TaL/TL = 0.305), 217 mm in length; eye quite large with round pupil, eye diameter shorter than snout length (ED/SnL: 0.76) (Table 3).</p> <p> <i>Head scalation</i>. Dorsal head scales smooth, abutting along midline rather than overlapping; rostral broader than high, visible from above, touching nasals, internasals and 1 st supralabial on both sides; supralabials 8/8, first fours small, the 5 th bordering eye on both sides, the 6 th small and triangle shaped, the 7 th and 8 th distinct larger than the 6 th and the first fours; 1/1 loreal, much longer than high (2.0 mm length vs. 0.8 mm height), touching nasal, internasal, prefrontal, preocular and the 2 nd and 3 rd supralabials; 1/1 preocular; 2/2 postoculars; 2+2/2+2 temporals; suture between internasals as long as that between prefrontals; frontal bell-shaped, widened anteriorly and much narrowed posteriorly (5.6 mm length, 3.6 mm width); parietals longer than frontal (6.5 mm vs. 5.6 mm length), bordered laterally by upper temporals and postocular and anteriorly by frontal and supraoculars; 10/10 infralabials, first pair medially in contact with each other, first five in contact with anterior chin shield, the 6 th largest and touching posterior chin shield; posterior chin shields slightly longer than anterior ones (5.1 mm vs. 4.9 mm) (Fig. 4A).</p> <p> <i>Body scalation.</i> Dorsal scales smooth, in 13-13-9 rows; lateral scales, except for the outer row, disposed obliquely; vertebral scale row slightly enlarged, narrower than the outer row of scales; scale row reductions from 13 to 11 at ventrals 89 and 90 and from 11 to 9 at ventrals 96 and 99; ventrals 158, with a suture-like lateral keel; cloacal plate divided; subcaudals 106, all paired; terminal caudal scale forming a pointed cap.</p> <p> <i>Dentition.</i> Maxillary teeth 18, continuously, the posterior teeth slightly smaller than the others.</p> <p> <i>Hemipenis.</i> Hemipenis unforked, reaching 11 th SC, spinose throughout, except for the apical naked area. The spines in the terminal half of the organ are largest. Sulcus spermaticus single, extending to tip, the sulcus lip prominent. On the apical naked area, there is a tiny lobule with small spines (Fig. 4B&C).</p> <p> <i>Coloration</i>. In life, dorsal and lateral parts of the body and tail bronze-brown, laterally this color extends to the upper half of the second scale row; upper part of head olive, lip and lower parts of the head and neck yellow; iris orange on the upper part and black on anterior, posterior, and lower parts of the eye; concealed parts of lateral scales light blue; a black temporal streak extending from eye to neck; a bright vertebral stripe on the anterior part of dorsum; two lateral stripes: a white one on the lower half of the second scale row and the upper half of the outer row and the second stripe is pale brown occurring on the lower half of the outer row and the edge of ventral scale; anterior part of the body with a series of black blotches at the suture between the lateral edge of ventral and the outer row, these blotches are less distinct or absent on the middle and posterior parts of the body; ventral white. In preservation, color faded but the pattern remained, all yellow parts becoming white.</p> <p> <b>Variation.</b> Paratypes ITBCZ 6665 and ITBCZ 5945 have 7 and 9 supralabials on the right side, respectively; paratypes ITBCZ 5945 and ITBCZ 5946 have 11 dorsal scale rows before vent; paratype ITBCZ 5946 has a short suture on the lower margin of the 5 th supralabial on both sides; paratype ITBCZ 5945 has the upper half of the second dorsal row black forming a black longitudinal line (Fig. 3E); lip and lower parts of head and neck yellow in all specimens collected in July in Tuy Phong, Binh Thuan Province but white in all snakes collected in April in Thuan Nam, Ninh Thuan Province. Table 3 summarizes variation in size and scalation of type series.</p> <p> <b>Sexual dimorphism.</b> Male has fewer ventral scales (V 154–158 in 3 males, 161–170 in 5 females) and slightly longer relative tail (TaL/TL 0.305–0.309 in 2 adult males; 0.277–0.297 in 5 adult females).</p> <p> <b>Etymology.</b> We name the new species in honor of Dr. Ngô Văn Bὶnh, a Vietnamese herpetologist who passed away suddenly in 2023 at the age of 49 by a serious stroke. We recommend “Binh’s Bronzeback Snake” and “Rắn leo cây bὶnh” as the common English and Vietnamese names of the new species, respectively.</p> <p> <b>Distribution.</b> The new species is currently known from Thuan Nam, Ninh Thuan Province and Tuy Phong, Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam (Fig. 1).</p> <p> <b>Field notes.</b> All specimens were collected at night, between 7:00 PM and 11:00 PM, while sleeping on brushes at about 1–2 m above ground. The habitat in Thuan Nam, Ninh Thuan Province is a coastal hill with brushes and granite outcrops (Fig. 5B) and the habitat in Tuy Phong, Binh Thuan Province is an agricultural area with scattered large brushes. The holotype was collected on a large brush group together with paratypes ITBCZ 6664 and ITBCZ 6665 and with two other individuals of <i>Ahaetulla fusca</i> (Dumeril, Bibron & Dumeril). Gravid paratype ITBCZ 5946 has three eggs.</p> <p> <b>Comparisons.</b> <i>Dendrelaphis binhi</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> differs morphologically from all congeners in Indochina as follows: from <i>D. biloreatus</i> (Wall, 1908) by having fewer ventrals (154–170 vs. 187–199), fewer subcaudals (95–106 vs. 139–145), one (vs. two) supralabial entering the eye, and vertebral scale row slightly enlarged (vs. strongly enlarged) (Smith 1943); from <i>D. caudolineatus</i> by having fewer ventrals in males (154–158 vs. 171–180), fewer ventrals in females (161–170 vs. 171–185), one (vs. two) supralabial entering the eye, and absence (vs. presence) of black longitudinal stripes along the entire length of the body (Rooijen & Vogel 2012); from <i>D. cyanochloris</i> (Wall, 1921) by having fewer midbody scale rows (13 vs. 15), fewer ventrals (154–170 vs. 181–206), fewer subcaudals (95–106 vs. 135–157), one (vs. two) supralabial entering the eye, and vertebral scale row slightly enlarged (vs. strongly enlarged) (Rooijen & Vogel 2008; Jiang <i>et al</i>. 2020); from <i>D. formosus</i> by having fewer midbody scale rows (13 vs. 15), fewer ventrals (154–170 vs. 172–194), fewer subcaudals (95–106 vs. 142–162), and one (vs. two) supralabial entering the eye (Jiang <i>et al</i>. 2020); from <i>D. haasi</i> by having fewer midbody scale rows (13 vs. 15), one (vs. two) supralabial entering the eye, and vertebral scale row slightly enlarged (vs. strongly enlarged) (Das 2015); from <i>D. kopsteini</i> Vogel & Van Rooijen, 2007 by having fewer midbody scale rows (13 vs. 15), one (vs. two) supralabial entering the eye, and vertebral scale row slightly enlarged (vs. strongly enlarged) (Vogel & Rooijen 2007); from <i>D. ngansonensis</i> by having fewer subcaudals (95–106 vs. 117–153), one (vs. two or three) supralabial entering the eye, vertebral scale row slightly enlarged (vs. strongly enlarged), fewer maxillary teeth (18 or 19 vs. 24 or 25), and shorter hemipenis (extending to SC 10 or 11 vs. SC 18) (Ziegler & Vogel 1999; Jiang <i>et al</i>. 2020); from <i>D. nigroserratus</i> Vogel, Rooijen & Hauser, 2012 by having fewer midbody scale rows (13 vs. 15), fewer ventrals (154–170 vs. 197– 204), fewer subcaudals (95–106 vs. 148–152), one (vs. three) supralabial entering the eye, and vertebral scale row slightly enlarged (vs. strongly enlarged) (Vogel <i>et al</i>. 2012); from <i>D. pictus</i> by having fewer midbody scale rows (13 vs. 15), fewer subcaudals (95–106 vs. 113–148), fewer maxillary teeth (18 or 19 vs. 23–28), one (vs. two or three) supralabial entering the eye, and vertebral scale row slightly enlarged (vs. strongly enlarged) (Smith 1943; Vogel & Rooijen 2008); from <i>D. striatus</i> by having fewer midbody scale rows (13 vs. 15), one (vs. two or three) supralabial entering the eye, and absence (vs. presence) of black oblique bars laterally on the body (Ziegler & Vogel 1999; Vogel & Rooijen 2007); from <i>D. subocularis</i> by having fewer dorsal scale rows at neck (13 vs. 15) and at midbody (13 vs. 15), and fewer maxillary teeth (18 or 19 vs. 21–23) (Smith 1943; Rooijen & Vogel 2010); from <i>D. tristis</i> by having fewer midbody scale rows (13 vs. 15), fewer subcaudals (95–106 vs. 108–145), one (vs. two) supralabial entering the eye, and longer hemipenis (extending to SC 10 or 11 vs. SC 8) (Smith 1943); from <i>D. vogeli</i> by having fewer midbody scale rows (13 vs. 15), one (vs. two) supralabial entering the eye, fewer ventrals (154–170 vs. 193–197), fewer subcaudals (95–106 vs. 130–135), and vertebral scale row slightly enlarged (vs. strongly enlarged) (Jiang <i>et al</i>. 2020); and from <i>D. walli</i> Vogel & Rooijen, 2011 by having fewer ventrals (154–170 vs. 193–197), fewer subcaudals (95–106 vs. 130–135), one (vs. two) supralabial entering the eye, and vertebral scale row slightly enlarged (vs. strongly enlarged) (Vogel & Rooijen 2011).</p>Published as part of <i>Nguyen, Sang Ngoc, Nguyen, Vu Dang Hoang, Le, Manh Van, Nguyen, Luan Thanh, Vo, Thi-Dieu-Hien, Vo, Ba Dinh, Che, Jing & Murphy, Robert W., 2023, A new snake of the genus Dendrelaphis Boulenger, 1890 (Squamata: Colubridae) from the coastal area of southern Vietnam, pp. 130-144 in Zootaxa 5318 (1)</i> on pages 136-139, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5318.1.6, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/8158335">http://zenodo.org/record/8158335</a>
Accelerated norm-optimal iterative learning control
No full textThis paper proposes a novel technique for accelerating the convergence of the previously published norm-optimal iterative learning control (NOILC) methodology. The basis of the results is a formal proof of an observation made by the first author, namely that the NOILC algorithm is equivalent to a successive projection algorithm between linear varieties in a suitable product Hilbert space. This leads to two proposed accelerated algorithms together with well-defined convergence properties. The results show that the proposed accelerated algorithms are capable of ensuring monotonic error norm reductions and can outperform NOILC by more rapid reductions in error norm from iteration to iteration. In particular, examples indicate that the approach can improve the performance of NOILC for the problematic case of non-minimum phase systems. Realisation of the algorithms is discussed and numerical simulations are provided for comparative purposes and to demonstrate the numerical performance and effectiveness of the proposed methods
Room temperature ammonia gas sensor based on p-type-like V2O5 nanosheets towards food spoilage monitoring
No full textGas sensors play an important role in many areas of human life, including the monitoring of production processes, occupational safety, food quality assessment, and air pollution monitoring. Therefore, the need for gas sensors to monitor hazardous gases, such as ammonia, at low operating temperatures has become increasingly important in many fields. Sensitivity, selectivity, low cost, Citation: Van Duy, L.; Nguyet, T.T.; Le, D.T.T.; Van Duy, N.; Nguyen, H.; Biasioli, F.; Tonezzer, M.; Di Natale, C.; Hoa, N.D. Room Temperature AmmoniaGasSensor Based on p-Type-like V2O5 Nanosheets towards Food Spoilage Monitoring. Nanomaterials 2023, 13, 146. https:// doi.org/10.3390/nano13010146 Academic Editors: Sergei Kulinich and Li Hai Received: 17 November 2022 Revised: 23 December 2022 Accepted: 24 December 2022 Published: 28 December 2022 Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). and ease of production are crucial characteristics for creating a capillary network of sensors for the protection of the environment and human health. However, developing gas sensors that are not only efficient but also small and inexpensive and therefore integrable into everyday life is a difficult challenge. In this paper, we report on a resistive sensor for ammonia detection based on thin V2O5 nanosheets operating at room temperature. The small thickness and porosity of the V2O5 nanosheets give the sensors good performance for sensing ammonia at room temperature (RT), with a relative change of resistance of 9.4% to 5 ppm ammonia (NH3) and an estimated detection limit of 0.4 ppm. The sensor is selective with respect to the seven interferents tested; it is repeatable and stable over the long term (four months). Although V2O5 is generally an n-type semiconductor, in this case the nanosheets show a p-type semiconductor behavior, and thus a possible sensing mechanism is proposed. The device’s performance, along with its size, low cost, and low power consumption, makes it a good candidate for monitoring freshness and spoilage along the food supply chai
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The Life and Work of D.H. Hyers, 1913-1997
No full textThe following is a sketch of the life and work of Donald Holmes Hyers, Professor Emeritus from the University of Southern California. The theorem put forth by Hyers in 1941 concerning linear functional equations has gained a great deal of interest over the past two decades. Hundreds of articles have been written citing his works, many of which have furthered the theorem. This paper contains a brief description of Hyers’ theorem, a biographical essay and an extensive bibliography of Hyers’ work and works citing the Hyers theorem or the D.H. Hyers–S.M. Ulam–Th.M. Rassias theorem or related subjects of almost the last three decades. The author of this paper is the grandson of D.H. Hyers
Numerical analysis of multigroup neutron flux in a bare fast reactor
No full textThis study consists of the development of a computer program to
numerically solve the space and energy dependent multigroup neutron
diffusion equations in a bare homogeneous fast reactor core or reactor
material assembly.
The resulting program is unique in that it was designed for future
use by Naval Postgraduate School students undertaking experimental
studies in neutron diffusion with limited time to determine numerical
solutions for verification of their results
.
The equations are solved iteratively in cylindrical geometry using
a point successive overrelaxation technique. Convergence between
-6
successive iterations was less than 10 after fifty iterations.
The program was tested using ANL three group data. Flux shapes
and energy spectra were determined for a typical fast reactor core
and for a solid iron cylinder with a source at its center. The program
was also used to determine criticality.
Computation times were from one to ten minutes with less than
15 OK words of core storage using the IBM 360/67.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.Lieutenant, United States Navyhttp://archive.org/details/numericalnalysis109451583
Key Mediators Reducing Socioeconomic Inequality in Early Childhood Caries
No full textOnlinePublObjectives: Socioeconomic status (SES) has a significant effect on the burden of early childhood caries (ECC), yet addressing SES disparities remains challenging. This study aimed to identify and quantify the most impactful mediator linking SES effect to the occurrence of ECC using advanced causal mediation analysis, to inform targeted interventions that reduce SES-related disparities in ECC. Methods: Data were drawn from the Study of Mothers’ and Infants’ Life Events, a cohort of 2,182 mother–child dyads recruited from Adelaide’s 3 largest public hospitals (2013–2014). Baseline questionnaires captured family SES, while ECC clinical indicators were assessed at age 5 y. Three mediation pathways linking SES and ECC were examined including dietary intake represented by free sugar intake (FSI); oral hygiene practices, including toothbrushing habits and plaque presence; and dental visiting patterns. Mediation effects were quantified as natural indirect effects (NIE) using causal mediation analysis based on the counterfactual framework, with validation via 5-fold cross-validation to ensure robustness. Results: FSI was the only pathway with a significant mediation effect. Each 1-standard-deviation increase or decrease in SES was associated with a corresponding 6% reduction or increase in ECC risk at age 5 y through the mediating effect of FSI at age 2 y. The NIE of FSI accounted for 52% of SES’s total effect on ECC. In contrast, oral hygiene and dental visiting patterns showed no significant mediation effects. Conclusions: Reducing early childhood FSI could mitigate half of SES-related disparities in ECC. Targeted interventions focusing on FSI reduction hold promise for lowering ECC risk, with future research needed to evaluate their effectiveness. Knowledge Transfer Statement: Clinicians and policymakers should prioritize nutrition education and sugar reduction initiatives as key components of early prevention in pediatric dentistry, especially for low-SES populations. Incorporating FSI screening into routine visits enables medical and dental practitioners to educate caregivers on the impact of free sugars on dental health.A.T.M. Dao, L.G. Do, N. Stormon, H.V. Nguyen, D.H. H
Enhancing Socioeconomic Status Prediction for Cavities: A Hybrid Method
No full textSocioeconomic status (SES) measures one’s access to social resources across various dimensions. Traditionally, studies on SES commonly use principal component analysis (PCA), a data-driven method, to condense these dimensions into components, typically selecting the first component to represent SES. However, PCA may lack specificity for particular outcomes. Decision tree analysis (DTA), a knowledge-driven approach that identifies outcome-specific dimensions, may address PCA’s weaknesses but might not comprehensively capture SES. This study hypothesized that combining DTA and PCA to create SES predictors could enhance predictive accuracy more than using PCA alone could. It also explored whether the DTA-PCA combination, incorporating only significant loading indicators (SLIs) of the first component, could simplify SES predictors without compromising predictive accuracy. The study analyzed 12 SES indicators from the Study of Mothers’ and Infants’ Life Events Affecting Oral Health (SMILE) birth cohort study, involving 2,182 children. Five SES composites were created: 1 solely from DTA-identified indicators and 2 pairs combining values from either the entire first PCA component or SLIs with and without DTA. These composites served as predictors for predicting dental caries in 5 predictive models. Model accuracy was evaluated using root mean squared error with 5-fold cross-validation. SES composites derived from the DTA-PCA combination demonstrated superior predictive accuracy compared with those from the PCA-only approach. By incorporating only SLIs, this hybrid method generated SES predictors that not only outperformed those using the entire first component but also demonstrated noninferiority relative to the DTA-only method. This approach offers a promising framework for developing SES composites to predict dental caries, potentially improving the precision of predictive models. In addition, this method offers a practical framework for creating composite predictors from multi-item measurements across various outcomes. For future research using this method, a 3-step process is recommended: (1) identify relevant items using DTA, (2) determine their weights through PCA, and (3) generate a composite using the SLIs.A.T.M. Dao, L.G. Do, N. Stormon, H.V. Nguyen, and D.H. H
The treatment of Italy and Italians in D.H. Lawrence's writings
No full textThis thesis was scanned from the print manuscript for digital preservation and is copyright the author.
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