Bearing-Constrained Leader-Follower Formation of Single-Integrators With Disturbance Rejection: Adaptive Variable-Structure Approaches.

This article studies the problem of stabilizing a leader-follower formation specified by a set of bearing constraints while disturbed by some unknown uniformly bounded disturbances. A set of leaders are positioned at their desired positions while each follower is modeled by a single integrator with an additive time-varying disturbance. Adaptive variable-structure control laws using displacements or only bearing vectors are applied to stabilize the desired formation.

Data-driven prediction of the shear capacity of ETS-FRP-strengthened beams in the hybrid 2PKT-ML approach.

A new approach that combines analytical two-parameter kinematic theory (2PKT) with machine learning (ML) models for estimating the shear capacity of embedded through-section (ETS)-strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) beams is proposed. The 2PKT was first developed to validate its representativeness and confidence against the available experimental data of ETS-retrofitted RC beams. Given the deficiency of the test data, the developed 2PKT was utilized to generate a large data pool with 2643 samples.

A randomised trial evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of the novel single oral dose typhoid vaccine M01ZH09 in healthy Vietnamese children.

Background: The emergence of drug resistant typhoid fever is a major public health problem, especially in Asia. An oral single dose typhoid vaccine would have major advantages. M01ZH09 is a live oral single dose candidate typhoid vaccine containing Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (Ty2 aroC(-)ssaV(-)) ZH9 with two independently attenuating deletions.

Avian influenza A (H5N1) in 10 patients in Vietnam.

Background: Recent outbreaks of avian influenza A (H5N1) in poultry throughout Asia have had major economic and health repercussions. Human infections with this virus were identified in Vietnam in January 2004.

Methods: We report the clinical features and preliminary epidemiologic findings among 10 patients with confirmed cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) who presented to hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Vietnam, in December 2003 and January 2004.

Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine against multidrug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Vietnam: randomised clinical trial.

Background: Southeast Asia has the most resistant malaria parasites in the world, which severely limits treatment options. There is general acceptance that to combat resistance, combinations of antimalarial drugs that include an artemisinin derivative should be used, and, if possible, these should be formulated in a single tablet.

Methods: We did a pilot randomised study in a tertiary referral hospital in Vietnam to compare the efficacy of 3-day regimens of dihydroartemisinin-trimethoprim-piperaquine (DHA-TP total dose 4.