Observer-based control design for switched affine systems and applications to DC-DC converters

This paper deals with the problem of establishing a state estimator for switched affine systems. For that matter, a modification on the Luenberger observer is proposed, the switched Luenberger observer, whose idea is to design one output gain matrix for each mode of the original system. The efficiency of the proposed method relies on a simplification on estimation error which is proved always valid, guaranteeing the estimation error to asymptotically converge to zero, for any initial state and switching law. Next, a dynamic output-dependent switching law is formulated. Then, design methodologies using linear matrix inequalities are proposed, which, to the authors's knowledge, have not yet been applied to this problem. Finally, observers for DC-DC converters are designed and simulated as application examples. © 2013 Brazilian Society for Automatics - SBA.

Public-private contracts: analysis and formulae for sustainability: development and applications in Mexico

Includes bibliography

Regionalised poverty lines: general comments and applications for Brazil

Includes bibliography

Guías y principios que podrían ser usados para un acuerdo legal regional = Principles and guidelines which may be used for a regional legal agreement

Incluye Bibliografía

Survey of the needs for technical assistance and the ability to provide such: a discussion of the survey findings and of the principles and mechanism of technical co-operation among developing countries

Includes bibliography

Information and communication technologies in health care: enabling projects and applications in Chile

Includes bibliography

Mapas topográficos: metadados e as regras de catalogação para o acesso eficiente à informação geográfica

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A new deformation of W-infinity and applications to the two-loop WZNW and conformal affine Toda models

We construct a centerless W-infinity type of algebra in terms of a generator of a centerless Virasoro algebra and an abelian spin 1 current. This algebra conventionally emerges in the study of pseudo-differential operators on a circle or alternatively within KP hierarchy with Watanabe's bracket. Construction used here is based on a spherical deformation of the algebra W ∞ of area preserving diffeomorphisms of a 2-manifold. We show that this deformation technique applies to the two-loop WZNW and conformal affine Toda models, establishing henceforth W ∞ invariance of these models.

Stability, purification, and applications of bromelain: a review

Bromelain is a cysteine protease found in pineapple tissue. Due to its anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities, as well as its ability to induce apoptotic cell death, bromelain has proved useful in several therapeutic areas. The market for this protease is growing, and several studies exploring various properties of this molecule have been reported. This review aims to compile this data, and summarize the main findings on bromelain in the literature to date. The physicochemical properties and stability of bromelain under different conditions are discussed. Several studies on the purification of bromelain from crude extracts using a wide range of techniques such as liquid-liquid extractions by aqueous two-phase system, ultrafiltration, precipitation, and chromatography, have been reported. Finally, the various applications of bromelain are presented. This review therefore covers the main properties of bromelain, aiming to provide an up-to-date compilation of the data reported on this enzyme.

Bamboo as sustainable material used in design and civil construction: species, management, characterization and applications

The use of bamboo as construction and raw material for producing products can be considered a feasible alternative to the abusive use of steel, concrete and oil byproducts. Its use can also reduce the pressure on the use of wood from native and planted forests. Although there are thousands of bamboo species spread about the world and Brazil itself has hundreds of native species, the use and basic knowledge of its characteristics and applications are still little known and little disseminated. This paper's main objective is to introduce the species, the management phases, the physical and mechanical characteristics and the experiences in using bamboo in design and civil construction as per the Bamboo Project implemented at UNESP, Bauru campus since 1994. The results are divided into: a) Field activities - description of the technological species of interest, production chain flows, types of preservative treatments and clump management practices for the development, adaptation and production of different species of culms; b) Lab experiments - physical and mechanical characterization of culms processed as laminated strips and as composite material (glue laminated bamboo – glubam); c) Uses in projects - experiences with natural bamboo and glubam in design, architecture and civil construction projects. In the final remarks, the study aims to demonstrate, through practical and laboratory results, the material's multi-functionality and the feasibility in using bamboo as a sustainable material.

HIGH TEMPERATURE RARE EARTH COMPOUNDS: SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND APPLICATIONS IN DEVICE FABRICATION

As the area of nanotechnology continues to grow, the development of new nanomaterials with interesting physical and electronic properties and improved characterization techniques are several areas of research that will be remain vital for continued improvement of devices and the understanding in nanoscale phenomenon. In this dissertation, the chemical vapor deposition synthesis of rare earth (RE) compounds is described in detail. In general, the procedure involves the vaporization of a REClx (RE = Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho) in the presence of hydride phase precursors such as decaborane and ammonia at high temperatures and low pressures. The vapor-liquid-solid mechanism was used in combination with the chemical vapor deposition process to synthesize single crystalline rare earth hexaboride nanostructures. The crystallographic orientation of as-synthesized rare earth hexaboride nanostructures and gadolinium nitride thin films was controlled by judicious choice of specific growth substrates and modeled by analyzing x-ray diffraction powder patterns and crystallographic models. The rare earth hexaboride nanostructures were then implemented into two existing technologies to enhance their characterization capabilities. First, the rare earth hexaboride nanowires were used as a test material for the development of a TEM based local electrode atom probe tomography (LEAP) technique. This technique provided some of the first quantitative compositional information of the rare earth hexaboride systems. Second, due to the rigidity and excellent conductivity of the rare earth hexaborides, nanostructures were grown onto tungsten wires for the development of robust, oxidation resistant nanomanipulator electronic probes for semiconductor device failure analysis.

A relaxed constant positive linear dependence constraint qualification and applications

In this work we introduce a relaxed version of the constant positive linear dependence constraint qualification (CPLD) that we call RCPLD. This development is inspired by a recent generalization of the constant rank constraint qualification by Minchenko and Stakhovski that was called RCRCQ. We show that RCPLD is enough to ensure the convergence of an augmented Lagrangian algorithm and that it asserts the validity of an error bound. We also provide proofs and counter-examples that show the relations of RCRCQ and RCPLD with other known constraint qualifications. In particular, RCPLD is strictly weaker than CPLD and RCRCQ, while still stronger than Abadie's constraint qualification. We also verify that the second order necessary optimality condition holds under RCRCQ.