Extended state observer-based adaptive dynamic surface prescribed performance control for electro-hydraulic actuators with uncertainties.

For Electro-Hydraulic Actuators (EHA) with parametric uncertainties and mismatched and matched disturbances, most existing robust adaptive control strategies can achieve only uniformly ultimately bounded tracking errors. An Extended-State-Observer (ESO) based asymptotic control scheme is proposed by incorporating the prescribed performance control into the backstepping framework to ensure satisfied tracking performance and anti-disturbance ability of EHA systems. A novel ESO is designed to acquire an asymptotic estimation without prior bounds of the mismatched disturbance and its derivatives.

Two new geranylphenylacetate glycosides from the barks of Cinnamomum cassia.

Two new glycosides, cinnacassides F (1) and G (2), with a rare geranylphenylacetate carbon skeleton, were isolated from the barks of Cinnamomum cassia, along with three known analogues, cinnacassides A (3), B (4) and C (5). The structures of the new compounds were elucidated on the basis of extensive NMR spectroscopic analyses and chemical method. Compounds 1-5 were investigated for their immunomodulatory activities, and compounds 1, 3 and 4 showed differential immunosuppressive activities against murine lymphocytes.

Expression and clinical implication of S100A12 in gastric carcinoma.

S100 protein family has been implicated in multiple stages of tumorigenesis and progression in which S100A12 is one of the subtypes. However, the role of S100A12 in gastric carcinoma (GC) has not been elucidated yet. This study was aimed to investigate the expression of S100A12 in GC tissues and evaluate the clinical significance of S100A12 in GC patients.

Fabrication of Alginate/Calcium Carbonate Hybrid Microparticles for Synergistic Drug Delivery.

A hybrid drug delivery system coloaded with different drugs for synergistic drug delivery was developed. Alginate/calcium carbonate (CaCO3) hybrid microparticles (MPs) were fabricated via a facile coprecipitation method under mild conditions without using any organic solvent and surfactant. Due to the incorporation of negatively charged alginate chains onto the surface, the obtained hybrid MPs with spherical morphology showed good colloidal stability in an aqueous solution.

Betaine protects against high-fat-diet-induced liver injury by inhibition of high-mobility group box 1 and Toll-like receptor 4 expression in rats.

Background And Objectives: Previous studies have shown that betaine prevents alcohol-induced liver injury and improves liver function. The purpose of this study was to investigate the hepatoprotective effects of betaine on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and to observe changes of HMGB1/TLR4 signaling.

Methods: Thirty rats were randomly divided into control, model, and betaine groups.

In situ formation of thermosensitive PNIPAAm-based hydrogels by Michael-type addition reaction.

To investigate the possibility of in situ thermosensitive hydrogel formation via Michael-type addition reaction, we designed and prepared thiol- and vinyl-modified poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm)-based copolymers. When the solutions of these two kinds of PNIPAAm-based copolymers were mixed at physiological temperature (37 degrees C), a physical gelation resulting from the hydrophobic aggregation of PNIPAAm based copolymers and chemical cross-linking between thiol and vinyl functional groups or so-called chemical gelation occurred, resulting in the formation of a three-dimensional hydrogel. Because all the gelations were performed at a high temperature (above LCSTs of the PNIPAAm based copolymers), these in situ formed hydrogels presented heterogeneous network structures, resulting in an improved thermosensitivity in comparison with the conventional one.