Modeling and control of a CLC resonant dual active bridge

This paper proposes a linear large signal state-space model for a phase controlled CLC (Capacitor Inductor Capacitor) Resonant Dual Active Bridge (RDAB). The proposed model is useful for fast simulation and for the estimation of state variables under large signal variation. The model is also useful for control design because the slow changing dynamics of the dq variables are relatively easy to control. Simulation results of the proposed model are presented and compared to the simulated circuit model to demonstrate the proposed model's accuracy. This proposed model was used for the design of a Proportional-Integral (PI) controller and it has been implemented in the circuit simulation to show the proposed models usefulness in control design.

Activation of membrane-bound proteins and receptor systems: A link between tissue kallikrein and the KLK-related peptidases

The 15 members of the kallikrein-related serine peptidase (KLK) family have diverse tissue-specific expression profiles and roles in a range of cellular processes, including proliferation, migration, invasion, differentiation, inflammation and angiogenesis that are required in both normal physiology as well as pathological conditions. These roles require cleavage of a range of substrates, including extracellular matrix proteins, growth factors, cytokines as well as other proteinases. In addition, it has been clear since the earliest days of KLK research that cleavage of cell surface substrates is also essential in a range of KLK-mediated cellular processes where these peptidases are essentially acting as agonists and antagonists. In this review we focus on these KLK-regulated cell surface receptor systems including bradykinin receptors, proteinase-activated receptors, as well as the plasminogen activator, ephrins and their receptors, and hepatocyte growth factor/Met receptor systems and other plasma membrane proteins. From this analysis it is clear that in many physiological and pathological settings KLKs have the potential to regulate multiple receptor systems simultaneously; an important issue when these peptidases and substrates are targeted in disease.

Memory and Epileptogenesis in Complex Biological and Simulated Systems

Oscillations of neural activity may bind widespread cortical areas into a neural representation that encodes disparate aspects of an event. In order to test this theory we have turned to data collected from complex partial epilepsy (CPE) patients with chronically implanted depth electrodes. Data from regions critical to word and face information processing was analyzed using spectral coherence measurements. Similar analyses of intracranial EEG (iEEG) during seizure episodes display HippoCampal Formation (HCF)—NeoCortical (NC) spectral coherence patterns that are characteristic of specific seizure stages (Klopp et al. 1996). We are now building a computational memory model to examine whether spatio-temporal patterns of human iEEG spectral coherence emerge in a computer simulation of HCF cellular distribution, membrane physiology and synaptic connectivity. Once the model is reasonably scaled it will be used as a tool to explore neural parameters that are critical to memory formation and epileptogenesis.

Career counseling : joint contributions of contextual action theory and the systems theory framework

The influence of constructivism and the ongoing drive for convergence, both of career theories and between theory and practice, have been key drivers in the career development literature for two decades (Patton, International Handbook of Career Guidance, 2008). Both contextual action theory and systems theory are derived from the root metaphor of contextualism, which has been proffered as a worldview to assist scientists and practitioners in organizing day-to-day experiential data. This chapter identifies the theoretical contributions of the Systems Theory Framework (STF) (Patton and McMahon, Career development and systems theory: A new development, 1999, Career psychology in South Africa, 2006) and Contextual Action Theory (Young and Valach, The future of career, 2000, Journal of Vocational Behavior 64:499–514, 2004; Young et al., Career choice and development, 1996, Career choice and development, 2002), each of which has advanced thinking in theory integration and in the integration between theory and practice in the career development and counseling field. Young et al. (Career development in childhood and adolescence, 2007) noted the connections between the Patton and McMahon systems theory approach and the contextual action theory approach and these connections will be highlighted in terms of the application of these theoretical developments to practice in career counseling, with a particular focus on the commonalities between the two approaches and what counselors can learn from each of them. In particular, this chapter will discuss common conceptual understandings and practice dimensions.

Dragline modelling and control

Electric walking draglines are physically large and powerful machines used in the mining industry. However with the addition of suitable sensors and a controller a dragline can be considered as a numerically controlled machine or robot which can then perform parts of the operating cycle automatically. This paper presents an analysis of the electromechanical system necessary precursor to automatic control

Modeling and control of a robotic power line inspection vehicle

Power line inspection is a vital function for electricity supply companies but it involves labor-intensive and expensive procedures which are tedious and error-prone for humans to perform. A possible solution is to use an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with video surveillance equipment to perform the inspection. This paper considers how a small, electrically driven rotorcraft conceived for this application could be controlled by visually tracking the overhead supply lines. A dynamic model for a ducted-fan rotorcraft is presented and used to control the action of an Air Vehicle Simulator (AVS), consisting of a cable-array robot. Results show how visual data can be used to determine, and hence regulate in closed loop, the simulated vehicle’s position relative to the overhead lines.

Duty and control in intermediary copyright liability: An Australian perspective

In the internet age, copyright owners are increasingly looking to online intermediaries to take steps to prevent copyright infringement. Sometimes these intermediaries are closely tied to the acts of infringement; sometimes – as in the case of ISPs – they are not. In 2012, the Australian High Court decided the Roadshow Films v iiNet case, in which it held that an Australian ISP was not liable under copyright’s authorization doctrine, which asks whether the intermediary has sanctioned, approved or countenanced the infringement. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 directs a court to consider, in these situations, whether the intermediary had the power to prevent the infringement and whether it took any reasonable steps to prevent or avoid the infringement. It is generally not difficult for a court to find the power to prevent infringement – power to prevent can include an unrefined technical ability to disconnect users from the copyright source, such as an ISP terminating users’ internet accounts. In the iiNet case, the High Court eschewed this broad approach in favor of focusing on a notion of control that was influenced by principles of tort law. In tort, when a plaintiff asserts that a defendant should be liable for failing to act to prevent harm caused to the plaintiff by a third party, there is a heavy burden on the plaintiff to show that the defendant had a duty to act. The duty must be clear and specific, and will often hinge on the degree of control that the defendant was able to exercise over the third party. Control in these circumstances relates directly to control over the third party’s actions in inflicting the harm. Thus, in iiNet’s case, the control would need to be directed to the third party’s infringing use of BitTorrent; control over a person’s ability to access the internet is too imprecise. Further, when considering omissions to act, tort law differentiates between the ability to control and the ability to hinder. The ability to control may establish a duty to act, and the court will then look to small measures taken to prevent the harm to determine whether these satisfy the duty. But the ability to hinder will not suffice to establish liability in the absence of control. This article argues that an inquiry grounded in control as defined in tort law would provide a more principled framework for assessing the liability of passive intermediaries in copyright. In particular, it would set a higher, more stable benchmark for determining the copyright liability of passive intermediaries, based on the degree of actual, direct control that the intermediary can exercise over the infringing actions of its users. This approach would provide greater clarity and consistency than has existed to date in this area of copyright law in Australia.

Design and control of MIRA: A lightweight climbing robot for ship inspection

The inspection of marine vessels is currently performed manually. Inspectors use tools (e.g. cameras and devices for non-destructive testing) to detect damaged areas, cracks, and corrosion in large cargo holds, tanks, and other parts of a ship. Due to the size and complex geometry of most ships, ship inspection is time-consuming and expensive. The EU-funded project INCASS develops concepts for a marine inspection robotic assistant system to improve and automate ship inspections. In this paper, we introduce our magnetic wall–climbing robot: Marine Inspection Robotic Assistant (MIRA). This semiautonomous lightweight system is able to climb a vessels steel frame to deliver on-line visual inspection data. In addition, we describe the design of the robot and its building subsystems as well as its hardware and software components.

Sensors and control for mining robotics

This paper discusses some of the sensing technologies and control approaches available for guiding robot manipulators for a class of underground mining tasks including drilling jumbos, bolting arms, shotcreters or explosive chargers. Data acquired with such sensors, in the laboratory and underground, is presented.

The effects of prediction, understanding, and control: A test of the stress antidote model

A study was undertaken to examine further the effects of perceived work control on employee adjustment. On the basis of the stress antidote model, it was proposed that high levels of prediction, understanding, and control of work-related events would have direct, indirect, and interactive effects on levels of employee adjustment. These hypotheses were tested in a short-term longitudinal study of 137 employees of a large retail organization. The stress antidote measures appeared to be indirectly related to employee adjustment, via their effects on perceptions of work stress. There was weak evidence for the proposal that prediction, understanding, and control would buffer the negative effects of work stress. Additional analyses indicated that the observed effects of prediction, understanding, and control were independent of employees' generalized control beliefs. However, there was no support for the proposal that the effects of the stress antidote measures would be dependent on employees' generalized control beliefs.

Pedagogical practices and support systems of inclusion: Empirical evidence from Chinese societies

China has a massive population of children with disabilities. To address the special needs of these children, special/inclusive education in China has developed dramatically since the early 1980s onwards. This Special Issue puts together seven empirical studies emerging from the Chinese societies. These studies analyse inclusive discourses embedded in the education policy documents; scrutinise professional competence of inclusive education teachers; evaluate inclusive education practices in physical education, mathematics education, and job-related social skills education provided to students with disabilities; debate the required in-class support for inclusive education teachers; and discuss the social attitudes towards people with disabilities. The foci, methods and theories vary across the seven studies, while their aims converge. These studies are seeking best possible approaches and best available resources that facilitate inclusion. Knowledge built and lessons learned from these studies will provide implications for future inclusive education practices in China and beyond.

Profiles of illicit drug use during annual key holiday and control periods in Australia: Wastewater analysis in an urban, a semi-rural and a vacation area

AIMS: To examine changes in illicit drug consumption between peak holiday season (23 December-3 January) in Australia and a control period two months later in a coastal urban area, an inland semi-rural area and an island populated predominantly by vacationers during holidays. DESIGN: Analysis of representative daily composite wastewater samples collected from the inlet of the major wastewater treatment plant in each area. SETTING: Three wastewater treatment plants. PARTICIPANTS: Wastewater treatment plants serviced approximately 350, 000 persons in the urban area, 120,000 in the semi-rural area and 1100-2400 on the island. MEASUREMENTS: Drug residues were analysed using liquid chromatography coupled to a tandem mass spectrometer. Per capita drug consumption was estimated. Changes in drug use were quantified using Hedges' g. FINDINGS: During the holidays, cannabis consumption in the semi-rural area declined (g = -2.8) as did methamphetamine (-0.8), whereas cocaine (+1.5) and ecstasy (+1.6) use increased. In the urban area, consumption of all drugs increased during holidays (cannabis +1.6, cocaine +1.2, ecstasy +0.8 and methamphetamine +0.3). In the vacation area, methamphetamine (+0.7), ecstasy (+0.7) and cocaine (+1.1) use increased, but cannabis (-0.5) use decreased during holiday periods. CONCLUSIONS: While the peak holiday season in Australia is perceived as a period of increased drug use, this is not uniform across all drugs and areas. Substantial declines in drug use in the semi-rural area contrasted with substantial increases in urban and vacation areas. Per capita drug consumption in the vacation area was equivalent to that in the urban area, implying that these locations merit particular attention for drug use monitoring and harm minimisation measures.