Studies on the temporal,structural,and interacting features of the clubroot resistance gene Rcr1 using CRISPR/Cas9-based systems

Clubroot disease is a severe threat to Brassica crops globally,particularly in western Canada.Genetic resistance,achieved through pyramiding clubroot resistance(CR)genes with different modes of action,is the most important strategy for managing the disease.However,studies on the CR gene functions are quite limited.In this study,we have conducted investigations into the temporal,structural,and interacting features of a newly cloned CR gene,Rcr1,using CRISPR/Cas9 technology.For temporal functionality,we developed a novel CRISPR/Cas9-based binary vector,pHHIGR-Hsp18.2,to deliver Rcr1 into a susceptible canola line(DH12075)and observed that early expression of Rcr1 is critical for conferring resistance.For structural functionality,several independent mutations in specific domains of Rcr1 resulted in loss-offunction,highlighting their importance for CR phenotype.In the study of the interacting features of Rcr1,a cysteine protease gene and its homologous allele in canola were successfully disrupted via CRISPR/Cas9 as an interacting component with Rcr1 protein,resulting in the conversion from clubroot resistant to susceptible in plants carrying intact Rcr1.These results indicated an indispensable role of these two cysteine proteases in Rcr1-mediated resistance response.This study,the first of its kind,provides valuable insights into the functionality of Rcr1.Further,the new vector p HHIGR-Hsp18.2 demonstrated an inducible feature on the removal of add-on traits,which should be useful for functional genomics and other similar research in brassica crops.

Practical Prescribed Time Tracking Control With Bounded Time-Varying Gain Under Non-Vanishing Uncertainties

This paper investigates the prescribed-time control(PTC) problem for a class of strict-feedback systems subject to non-vanishing uncertainties. The coexistence of mismatched uncertainties and non-vanishing disturbances makes PTC synthesis nontrivial. In this work, a control method that does not involve infinite time-varying gain is proposed, leading to a practical and global prescribed time tracking control solution for the strict-feedback systems, in spite of both the mismatched and nonvanishing uncertainties. Different from methods based on control switching to avoid the issue of infinite control gain that involves control discontinuity at the switching point, in our method a softening unit is exclusively included to ensure the continuity of the control action. Furthermore, in contrast to most existing prescribed-time control works where the control scheme is only valid on a finite time interval, in this work, the proposed control scheme is valid on the entire time interval. In addition, the prior information on the upper or lower bound of gi is not in need,enlarging the applicability of the proposed method. Both the theoretical analysis and numerical simulation confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithm.

Iterative Learning Control for Discrete-time Stochastic Systems with Quantized Information

An iterative learning control (ILC) algorithm using quantized error information is given in this paper for both linear and nonlinear discrete-time systems with stochastic noises. A logarithmic quantizer is used to guarantee an adaptive improvement in tracking performance. A decreasing learning gain is introduced into the algorithm to suppress the effects of stochastic noises and quantization errors. The input sequence is proved to converge strictly to the optimal input under the given index. Illustrative simulations are given to verify the theoretical analysis. © 2014 Chinese Association of Automation.

Weak Serializable Concurrency Control in Distributed Real-Time Database Systems

Most of the proposed concurrency control protocols for real time database systems are based on serializability theorem. Owing to the unique characteristics of real time database applications and the importance of satisfying the timing constraints of transactions, serializability is too strong as a correctness criterion and not suitable for real time databases in most cases. On the other hand, relaxed serializability including epsilon serializability and similarity serializability can allow more real time transactions to satisfy their timing constraints, but database consistency may be sacrificed to some extent. We thus propose the use of weak serializability(WSR) that is more relaxed than conflicting serializability while database consistency is maintained. In this paper, we first formally define the new notion of correctness called weak serializability. After the necessary and sufficient conditions for weak serializability are shown, corresponding concurrency control protocol WDHP(weak serializable distributed high priority protocol) is outlined for distributed real time databases, where a new lock mode called mask lock mode is proposed for simplifying the condition of global consistency. Finally, through a series of simulation studies, it is shown that using the new concurrency control protocol the performance of distributed real time databases can be greatly improved.

Robust H_∞ Stabilization of Uncertain Linear Time-Delay System with Delayed/Undelayed State Feedback Controllers

This paper focuses on the H∞ controller design for linear systems with time-varying delays and norm-bounded parameter perturbations in the system state and control/disturbance. On the existence of delayed/undelayed full state feedback controllers, we present a sufficient condition and give a design method in the form of Riccati equation. The controller can not only stabilize the time-delay system, but also make the H∞ norm of the closed-loop system be less than a given bound. This result practically generalizes the related results in current literature.

PD-like finite time controller with simple structure for satellite attitude control

A finite time controller with PD-like structure for satellite attitude control is proposed in this paper.The controller is constructed with simple structure based on standard PD controller.The fractional order term is designed hence system could both have strong robustness and finite time convergence rate,and the advantage of finite time control and PD control is combined in this paper.System convergence rate is discussed by Lyapunov method,and the constraint on control parameters is given by implementing the coupled term of angular velocity and attitude quaternion.Moreover,the accuracy at steady stage depending on control parameters is given hence system could converge to this field within finite time.System stability and performance is demonstrated by numerical simulation results.

Reinforcement⁃Learning⁃Based Appointed⁃Time Prescribed Performance Attitude Control for Rigid Spacecraft

This paper addresses a geometric control algorithm for the attitude tracking problem of the rigid spacecraft modeled on SO(3).Considering the topological and geometric properties of SO(3),we introduced a smooth positive attitude error function to convert the attitude tracking issue on SO(3)into the stabilization counterpart on its Lie algebra.The error transformation technique was further utilized to ensure the assigned transient and steady state performance of the attitude tracking error with the aid of a well⁃designed assigned⁃time performance function.Then,using the actor⁃critic(AC)neural architecture,an adaptive reinforcement learning approximator was constructed,in which the actor neural network(NN)was utilized to approximate the unknown nonlinearity online.A critic function was introduced to tune the next phase of the actor neural network operation for performance improvement via supervising the system performance.A rigorous stability analysis was presented to show that the assigned system performance can be achieved.Finally,the effectiveness and feasibility of the constructed control strategy was verified by the numerical simulation.

Effect of Sludge Retention Time on Nitrite Accumulation in Real-time Control Biological Nitrogen Removal Sequencing Batch Reactor

In this study,four sequencing batch reactors(SBR),with the sludge retention time(SRT)of 5,10,20 and 40 d,were used to treat domestic wastewater,and the effect of SRT on nitrite accumulation in the biological nitrogen removal SBR was investigated.The real-time control strategy based on online parameters,such as pH,dissolved oxygen(DO)and oxidation reduction potential(ORP),was used to regulate the nitrite accumulation in SBR. The model-based simulation and experimental results showed that with the increase of SRT,longer time was needed to achieve high level of nitritation.In addition,the nitrite accumulation rate(NAR)was higher when the SRT was relatively shorter during a 112-day operation.When the SRT was 5 d,the system was unstable with the mixed liquor suspended solids(MLSS)decreased day after day.When the SRT was 40 d,the nitrification process was significantly inhibited.SRT of 10 to 20 d was more suitable in this study.The real-time control strategy combined with SRT control in SBR is an effective method for biological nitrogen removal via nitrite from wastewater.

Impact angle control over composite guidance law based on feedback linearization and finite time control

The impact angle control over guidance(IACG) law against stationary targets is proposed by using feedback linearization control(FLC) and finite time control(FTC). First, this paper transforms the kinematics equation of guidance systems into the feedbackable linearization model, in which the guidance law is obtained without considering the impact angle via FLC. For the purpose of the line of sight(LOS) angle and its rate converging to the desired values, the second-order LOS angle is considered as a double-integral system. Then, this paper utilizes FTC to design a controller which can guarantee the states of the double-integral system converging to the desired values. Numerical simulation illustrates the performance of the IACG, in contrast to the existing guidance law.

Time delay control of hydraulic manipulators with continuous nonsingular terminal sliding mode

For the position tracking control of hydraulic manipulators,a novel method of time delay control(TDC) with continuous nonsingular terminal sliding mode(CNTSM) was proposed in this work.Complex dynamics of the hydraulic manipulator is approximately canceled by time delay estimation(TDE),which means the proposed method is model-free and no prior knowledge of the dynamics is required.Moreover,the CNTSM term with a fast-TSM-type reaching law ensures fast convergence and high-precision tracking control performance under heavy lumped uncertainties.Despite its considerable robustness against lumped uncertainties,the proposed control scheme is continuous and chattering-free and no pressure sensors are required in practical applications.Theoretical analysis and experimental results show that faster and higher-precision position tracking performance is achieved compared with the traditional CNTSM-based TDC method using boundary layers.

Weighted Time-Based Global Hierarchical Path Planning in Dynamic Environment

A weighted time-based global hierarchical path planning method is proposed to obtain the global optimal path from the starting point to the destination with time optimal control. First, the grid-or graph-based modeling is performed and the environment is divided into a set of grids or nodes. Then two time-based features of time interval and time cost are presented. The time intervals for each grid are built, during each interval the condition of the grid remains stable, and a time cost of passing through the grid is defined and assigned to each interval. Furthermore, the weight is introduced for taking both time and distance into consideration, and thus a sequence of multiscale paths with total time cost can be achieved. Experimental results show that the proposed method can handle the complex dynamic environment, obtain the global time optimal path and has the potential to be applied to the autonomous robot navigation and traffic environment.

Two-echelon inventory model with service level constraint and controllable lead time sensitive to order quantity

The decision-making and optimization of two-echelon inventory coordination were analyzed with service level constraint and controllable lead time sensitive to order quantity.First,the basic model of this problem was established and based on relevant analysis,the original model could be transformed by minimax method.Then,the optimal order quantity and production quantity influenced by service level constraint were analyzed and the boundary of optimal order quantity and production quantity was given.According to this boundary,the effective method and tactics were put forward to solve the transformed model.In case analysis,the optimal expected total cost of two-echelon inventory can be obtained and it was analyzed how service level constraint and safety factor influence the optimal expected total cost of two-echelon inventory.The results show that the optimal expected total cost of two-echelon inventory is constrained by the higher constraint between service level constraint and safety factor.

Chaos detection and control in a typical power system

In this paper, a new chaotic system is introduced. The proposed system is a conventional power network that demonstrates a chaotic behavior under special operating conditions. Some features such as Lyapunov exponents and a strange attractor show the chaotic behavior of the system, which decreases the system performance. Two different controllers are proposed to control the chaotic system. The first one is a nonlinear conventional controller that is simple and easy to construct, but the second one is developed based on the finite time control theory and optimized for faster control. A MATLAB-based simulation verifies the results.

A hybrid proportional navigation based two-stage impact time control guidance law

To improve applicability and adaptability of the impact time control guidance(ITCG) in practical engineering, a twostage ITCG law with simple but effective structure is proposed based on the hybrid proportional navigation, namely, the pureproportional-navigation and the retro-proportional-navigation.For the case with the impact time error less than zero, the first stage of the guided trajectory is driven by the retro-proportionalnavigation and the second one is driven by the pure-proportionalnavigation. When the impact time error is greater than zero, both of the stages are generated by the pure-proportional-navigation but using different navigation gains. It is demonstrated by twoand three-dimensional numerical simulations that the proposed guidance law at least has comparable results to existing proportional-navigation-based ITCG laws and is shown to be advantageous in certain circumstances in that the proposed guidance law alleviates its dependence on the time-to-go estimation, consumes less control energy, and adapts itself to more boundary conditions and constraints. The results of this research are expected to be supplementary to the current research literature.

A Novel Computerized Water Level Control System of PWR Steam Generator of Nuclear Power Plant

This paper presents a novel method to solve old problem of water level control system of pressurized water reactor (PWR) steam generator (SG) of nuclear power plant (NPP) .The level control system of SG plays an important role which effects the reliablity,safty,cost of SG and its mathematical models have been solved.A model of the conventional controller is presented and the existing problems are discussed. A novel rule based realtime control technique is designed with a computerized water level control (CWLC) system for SG of PWR NPP.The performance of this is evaluated for full power reactor operating conditions by applying different transient conditions of SG′s data of Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant (QNPP).

Investigation on interaction and characteristics of traffic flows in urban elevated road-ramp-ground road system

The rapid development of the automobile industry and the relative lag of the road construction have constituted a prominent contradiction all over the world, particularly, in most of large cities. To cope with it, elevated roads have been built in many cities both at home and abroad. However, traffic jams frequently appear on elevated roads immediately after the completion of their construction. The awkward situation mainly results from the planning bug or the unsuitable control, apart from drastic increase in transportation demand. Elevated roads,

Adaptive sliding mode control of modular self-reconfigurable spacecraft with time-delay estimation

The reconstruction control of modular self-reconfigurable spacecraft (MSRS) is addressed using an adaptive sliding mode control (ASMC) scheme based on time-delay estimation (TDE) technology. In contrast to the ground, the base of the MSRS is floating when assembled in orbit, resulting in a strong dynamic coupling effect. A TED-based ASMC technique with exponential reaching law is designed to achieve high-precision coordinated control between the spacecraft base and the robotic arm. TDE technology is used by the controller to compensate for coupling terms and uncertainties, while ASMC can augment and improve TDE’s robustness. To suppress TDE errors and eliminate chattering, a new adaptive law is created to modify gain parameters online, ensuring quick dynamic response and high tracking accuracy. The Lyapunov approach shows that the tracking errors are uniformly ultimately bounded (UUB). Finally, the on-orbit assembly process of MSRS is simulated to validate the efficacy of the proposed control scheme. The simulation results show that the proposed control method can accurately complete the target module’s on-orbit assembly, with minimal perturbations to the spacecraft’s attitude. Meanwhile, it has a high level of robustness and can effectively eliminate chattering.

Adaptive Control of MIMO Mechanical Systems with Unknown Actuator Nonlinearities Based on the Nussbaum Gain Approach

This paper investigates MIMO mechanical systems with unknown actuator nonlinearities. A novel Nussbaum analysis tool for MIMO systems is established such that unknown time-varying control coefficients are tackled. In contrast to existing literatures on continuous-time systems, the newly-developed Nussbaum tool focuses on extending the traditional Nussbaum result from one dimensional case to the multiple one. Specifically, not only the multiple unknown input coefficients are extended to the time-varying, but also the limitation of the prior knowledge of coefficients' upper and lower bounds is removed. Furthermore, an adaptive robust controller associated with the proposed tool is presented. The asymptotic tracking of MIMO mechanical systems is guaranteed with the help of the Lyapunov Theorem. Finally, a simulation example is provided to examine the validity of the proposed scheme. © 2014 Chinese Association of Automation.

A new wide area damping controller design method considering signal transmission delay to damp interarea oscillations in power system

Wide area damping controller(WADC) is usually utilized to damp interarea low frequency oscillation in power system. However, conventional WADC design method neglects the influence of signal transmission delay and damping performance of WADC designed by the conventional method may deteriorate or even has no effect when signal transmission delay is beyond delay margin, an index that denotes delay endurance degree of power system. Therefore, a new design method for WADC under the condition of expected damping factor and required signal transmission delay is presented in this work. An improved delay margin with less conservatism is derived by adopting a new Lyapunov-Krasovskii function and more compact bounding technique on the derivative of Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional. The improved delay margin, which constructs the correlation of damping factor and signal transmission delay, can be used to design WADC. WADC designed by the proposed method can ensure that power system satisfies expected damping factor when WADC input signal is delayed within delay margin. Satisfactory test results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Control system design of hybrid fuel cell city bus

This paper introduced the design of the hybrid powertrain of the Fuel Cell City Bus demonstrated in 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The configuration of the hybrid fuel cell powertrain was introduced. The safety of hydrogen storage and delivery system, the hydrogen leakage alarm system were developed. The real-time distributed control and diagnosis system based on the Time Trigger Controller Area Network （TTCAN） with 10 ms basic control period was developed. The concept and implementation of processor （or controller） monitor and process （or task） monitor technique based on the TYCAN were applied in this paper. The fault tolerant control algorithm of the fuel cell engine and the battery man- agement system were considered. The demonstration experience verified that the fault tolerant control was very important for the fuel cell city bus.