This paper introduces a novel bang–bang sliding control of a class of single-input bilinear systems. The sliding function is chosen via the well-known pole-assignment method for linear time-invariant systems. Importantly, the bang–bang sliding control generates a reaching-and-sliding region and a stable-sliding region, each expressed by a set of linear inequalities. Both regions comprise the eq...

BACKGROUND Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common among surgical patients. The STOP-Bang questionnaire is a validated screening tool with a high sensitivity. However, its moderate specificity may yield fairly high false positive rate. We hypothesized that the specific combinations of predicting factors in the STOP-Bang questionnaire would improve its specificity. METHODS After research ethic...

We generalize previous work on inhomogeneous pre-big bang cosmology by including the effect of non-trivial moduli and antisymmetric-tensor/axion fields. The general quasi-homogeneous asymptotic solution—as one approaches the big bang singularity from perturbative initial data—is given and its range of validity is discussed, allowing us to give a general quantitative estimate of the amount of in...

The recent search for a stochastic background of gravitational waves with LIGO interferometers has produced a new upper bound on the amplitude of this background in the 100 Hz region. We investigate the implications of the current and future LIGO results on pre-Big-Bang models of the early Universe, determining the exclusion regions in the parameter space of the minimal pre-Big Bang scenario. A...

The focus of this paper is on the design of time optimal control profiles for flexible structures subject to deflection constraints. The benchmark floating oscillator is used to illustrate the variation in the structure of the control profile as a function of permissible deflection. The transition from a 5 switch bang-bang to a 7 switch bang-bang to finally, a 7 switch profile which includes no...