Yang Zhu

Actuator and sensor delays are among the most common dynamic phenomena in engineering practice, and when disregarded, they render controlled systems unstable. Over the past sixty years, predictor feedback has been a key tool for compensating such delays, but conventional predictor feedback algorithms assume that the delays and other parameters of a given system are known. When incorrect parameter values are used in the predictor, the resulting controller may be as destabilizing as without the delay compensation.Delay-Adaptive Linear Control develops adaptive predictor feedback algorithms equipped with online estimators of unknown delays and other parameters. Such estimators are designed as nonlinear differential equations, which dynamically adjust the parameters of the predictor. The design and analysis of the adaptive predictors involves a Lyapunov stability study of systems whose dimension is infinite, because of the delays, and nonlinear, because of the parameter estimators. This comprehensive book solves adaptive delay compensation problems for systems with single and multiple inputs/outputs, unknown and distinct delays in different input channels, unknown delay kernels, unknown plant parameters, unmeasurable finite-dimensional plant states, and unmeasurable infinite-dimensional actuator states.Presenting breakthroughs in adaptive control and control of delay systems, Delay-Adaptive Linear Control offers powerful new tools for the control engineer and the mathematician.

This book addresses the molecular mechanisms of food allergies and related control strategies. To do so, it covers a broad range of topics, including: the basic immunology of food allergies, including crosstalk between gut mucosal immunity and allergens; types of food allergens, structure of food allergen epitopes and cross-reactivity; detection and quantification methods for food allergens; in vitro and in vivo models for evaluating allergenicity; novel food processing methods for the development of hypoallergenic foods; bioactive natural compounds and functional foods for alleviating allergic reactions; modulation of the microbiota in food allergies and use of probiotics in allergic response regulation; and risk assessment and control strategies for food allergens. The information provided will enable food scientists/specialists to design safer and more functional food products, and will help regulatory agencies identify and label food allergens (and thus help consumers avoid allergic reactions). It will help clinicians and public health investigators prevent or treat outbreaks of food allergies, and will provide food producers and processors, as well as government inspectors, with valuable insights into evaluation, risk assessment and control strategies for allergens. Lastly, it will benefit upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in food science and safety, public health, medicine, nutrition and related fields.