Institut Polytechnique des Sciences Avancées

The paper investigates whether the premium consumers are willing to pay for an eco-labelled product is driven by selfish or altruistic motives. Using an incentive-compatible experiment with both a within- and a between-subject design, we study the effect on this premium of information stating that eco-friendly products do not necessarily lead to higher private benefits. We find that this information does not affect buying prices in the within-subject experiment. This suggests that consumers’ willingness to pay for the eco-labelled product does not derive from perceived higher taste or safety attributes but from other motives. These results are confirmed in the between-subject design where we find that information affects buying prices for the eco-friendly product but also for the control product in the between-subject experiment.

Saturn is orbited by dozens of moons, and the intricate dynamics of this complex system provide clues about its formation and evolution. Tidal friction within Saturn causes its moons to migrate outwards, driving them into orbital resonances that pump their eccentricities or inclinations, which in turn leads to tidal heating of the moons. However, in giant planets, the dissipative processes that determine the tidal migration timescale remain poorly understood. Standard theories suggest an orbital expansion rate inversely proportional to the power 11/2 in distance1, implying negligible migration for outer moons such as Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Here, we use two independent measurements obtained with the Cassini spacecraft to measure Titan’s orbital expansion rate. We find that Titan rapidly migrates away from Saturn on a timescale of roughly ten billion years, corresponding to a tidal quality factor of Saturn of Q ≃ 100, which is more than a hundred times smaller than most expectations. Our results for Titan and five other moons agree with the predictions of a resonance-locking tidal theory2, sustained by excitation of inertial waves inside the planet. The associated tidal expansion is only weakly sensitive to orbital distance, motivating a revision of the evolutionary history of Saturn’s moon system. In particular, it suggests that Titan formed much closer to Saturn and has migrated outward to its current position. Titan is migrating away from Saturn on a much shorter timescale than expected, lending support to the resonance-locking tidal theory. This result motivates a revision of the evolutionary history of Saturn’s moon system and may be relevant to other giant planets.

Abstract The T2K experiment presents new measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters using $$19.7(16.3)\times 10^{20}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>19.7</mml:mn> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>(</mml:mo> <mml:mn>16.3</mml:mn> <mml:mo>)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:msup> <mml:mn>10</mml:mn> <mml:mn>20</mml:mn> </mml:msup> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> protons on target (POT) in (anti-)neutrino mode at the far detector (FD). Compared to the previous analysis, an additional $$4.7\times 10^{20}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>4.7</mml:mn> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:msup> <mml:mn>10</mml:mn> <mml:mn>20</mml:mn> </mml:msup> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> POT neutrino data was collected at the FD. Significant improvements were made to the analysis methodology, with the near-detector analysis introducing new selections and using more than double the data. Additionally, this is the first T2K oscillation analysis to use NA61/SHINE data on a replica of the T2K target to tune the neutrino flux model, and the neutrino interaction model was improved to include new nuclear effects and calculations. Frequentist and Bayesian analyses are presented, including results on $$\sin ^2\theta _{13}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msup> <mml:mo>sin</mml:mo> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>θ</mml:mi> <mml:mn>13</mml:mn> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> and the impact of priors on the $$\delta _{\textrm{CP}}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>δ</mml:mi> <mml:mtext>CP</mml:mtext> </mml:msub> </mml:math> measurement. Both analyses prefer the normal mass ordering and upper octant of $$\sin ^2\theta _{23}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msup> <mml:mo>sin</mml:mo> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>θ</mml:mi> <mml:mn>23</mml:mn> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> with a nearly maximally CP-violating phase. Assuming the normal ordering and using the constraint on $$\sin ^2\theta _{13}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msup> <mml:mo>sin</mml:mo> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>θ</mml:mi> <mml:mn>13</mml:mn> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> from reactors, $$\sin ^2\theta _{23}=0.561^{+0.021}_{-0.032}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msup> <mml:mo>sin</mml:mo> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>θ</mml:mi> <mml:mn>23</mml:mn> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0</mml:mn> <mml:mo>.</mml:mo> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mn>561</mml:mn> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.032</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.021</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> using Feldman–Cousins corrected intervals, and $$\varDelta {}m^2_{32}=2.494_{-0.058}^{+0.041}\times 10^{-3}~\text {eV}^2$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>Δ</mml:mi> <mml:mrow/> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mi>m</mml:mi> <mml:mn>32</mml:mn> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:msubsup> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> <mml:mo>.</mml:mo> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mn>494</mml:mn> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.058</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.041</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:msup> <mml:mn>10</mml:mn> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mn>3</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> <mml:mspace/> <mml:msup> <mml:mtext>eV</mml:mtext> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:msup> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> using constant $$\varDelta \chi ^{2}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>Δ</mml:mi> <mml:msup> <mml:mi>χ</mml:mi> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:msup> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> intervals. The CP-violating phase is constrained to $$\delta _{\textrm{CP}}=-1.97_{-0.70}^{+0.97}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>δ</mml:mi> <mml:mtext>CP</mml:mtext> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mo>.</mml:mo> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mn>97</mml:mn> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.70</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.97</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> using Feldman–Cousins corrected intervals, and $$\delta _{\textrm{CP}}=0,\pi $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>δ</mml:mi> <mml:mtext>CP</mml:mtext> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0</mml:mn> <mml:mo>,</mml:mo> <mml:mi>π</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> is excluded at more than 90% confidence level. A Jarlskog invariant of zero is excluded at more than $$2\sigma $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> <mml:mi>σ</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> credible level using a flat prior in $$\delta _{\textrm{CP}},$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow>

Summary— The cellulose‐protein fibrils, which constitute by far the bulk of the fibrous fraction of the sea peach tunic ( Halocynthia papillosa ), were structurally and chemically characterized, either in situ or after extraction procedures, with the use of classical electron microscoy combined with diffraction contrast imaging and electron diffraction, histochemistry, affinity cytochemistry and chemical analysis. These fibrils exhibit a cross‐sectional shape close to a parallelogram. The cyrstallites forming their core, with lateral dimensions ranging from roughly 5 to 20 nm, are composed of native cellulose of higher crystallinity than that of plant cellulose. They are associated with acid mucopolysaccharidés (amps) and proteins which form a coating material appearing as a continuous sheath enveloping the axial crystallite in the cuticular layer or as patches more‐or‐less periodically distributed around and along the fibre axis in the fundamental layer. Tunicin, the alkali‐insoluble fibrous fraction, is not pure cellulose, yielding only 22–60% of its dry weight as glucose equivalents, depending on the tunical layer. It is suggested that in addition to the high degree of crystallinity of the tunical cellulose, the presence of a significant amount of coating material composed of amino acids and proteoglycans firmly linked to cellulose molecules contributes to tunicin's high resistance to hydrolysis.

The global concern over the environmental protection and bio‐sustainability of plastic waste materials has prompted a vibrant search for renewable and biodegradable polymers in the academia and industrial sectors. Amidst other biopolymers, poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is identified as the most promising thermoplastic aliphatic polyester. PLA is derived from agricultural products with unique physical and mechanical properties that are comparable with the conventional petroleum‐derived polymers. Yet, some of the properties are insufficient for advanced materials applications. Rigid nanoparticles are incorporated in the PLA matrix to alleviate its properties for specific high‐performance applications. Here, we report various approaches of preparing functional PLA nanocomposites with emphasis on the strengths and weaknesses of each of the methods, as well as the achieved properties enhancement for a targeted application. Designing high‐performance PLA nanocomposite involves careful selection of the most appropriate nanofillers or combinations of nanofillers, preparation technique and processing parameters. Besides multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) and montmorillonite (MMT) that are prominent as nucleating agents to achieve high thermal and mechanical properties, other nanofillers like silver nanoparticles (AgNP) play critical roles in improving antibacterial and high‐performance properties of PLA.

This work revisits recent results on maximal multiplicity induced-dominancy for spectral values in reduced-order time-delay systems and extends it to the general class of second-order retarded differential equations. A parametric multiplicity-induced-dominancy property is characterized, allowing to a delayed stabilizing design with reduced complexity. As a matter of fact, the approach is merely a delayed-output-feedback where the candidates’ delays and gains result from the manifold defining the maximal multiplicity of a real spectral value, then, the dominancy is shown using the argument principle. Sensitivity of the control design with respect to the parameters uncertainties/variation is discussed. Various reduced order examples illustrate the applicative perspectives of the approach.

The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) controls numerous physiological traits: dormancy and germination of seeds, senescence and resistance to abiotic stresses. In order to get more insight into the role of protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) in ABA signalling, we obtained eight homozygous T-DNA insertion lines in Arabidopsis thaliana PTP genes. One mutant, named phs1-3, exhibited a strong ABA-induced inhibition of germination as only 26% of its seeds germinated after 3 days instead of 92% for the Columbia (Col-0) line. Genetic and molecular analyses of phs1-3 showed that it bears a unique T-DNA insertion in the promoter of the gene and that the mutation is recessive. PHS1 expression in the mutant is about half that of the Col-0 line. The upregulation of two ABA-induced genes (At5g06760, RAB18) and the downregulation of two ABA-repressed genes (AtCLC-A, ACL) are enhanced in the phs1-3 mutant compared with the wild-type. The 'in planta' aperture of phs1-3 stomata is reduced and the inhibition of the light-induced opening of stomata by ABA is stronger in phs1-3 leaves than in Col-0 leaves. Finally, PHS1 expression is upregulated in the presence of ABA in both phs1-3 and Col-0 but more intensively in the mutant. Thus, phs1-3 is hypersensitive to ABA. Taken together, these results show that PHS1, which encodes a dual-specificity PTP, is a negative regulator of ABA signalling.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of zolpidem 1 0 mg, a new imidazopyridine hypnotic drug, on sleep and respiratory patterns at a simulated altitude of 4,000 meters. Eight male subjects spent three nights in a decompression chamber. The first study night was spent at the ambient pressure corresponding to sea level. The two other nights were spent at a simulated altitude of 4,000 meters with either zolpidem or a placebo in random order according to a double-blind, crossover design. All subjects showed periodic breathing (PB) during sleep at simulated high altitude. Furthermore, altitude was associated with decreases in total sleep time (TST), slow-wave sleep (SWS), and REM sleep, and with significant increases in Stage 1 duration and in the arousal index. Most arousals were synchronous with the hyperpneic phase of PB. The main finding of our study is that zolpidem improved sleep characteristics at high altitude, inducing a decrease in sleep onset latency (placebo, 22 +/- 12 min versus zolpidem, 10 +/- 6 min), an increase in SWS duration (placebo, 46 +/- 28 min versus zolpidem, 69 +/- 28 min), and a reduction in the arousal index during SWS (placebo, 7.4 +/- 4.1 per h versus zolpidem: 2.4 +/- 1.0 per h). Furthermore, none of the respiratory parameters were significantly affected by zolpidem in any sleep stage. In conclusion, zolpidem improved sleep quality at high altitude without adversely affecting respiration.

A standard approach in analyzing dynamical systems consists in identifying and understanding the eigenvalues bifurcations when crossing the imaginary axis. Efficient methods for crossing imaginary roots identification exist. However, to the best of the author's knowledge, the multiplicity of such roots was not deeply investigated. In recent papers by the authors [1], [2], it is emphasized that the multiplicity of the zero spectral value can exceed the number of the coupled scalar delay-differential equations and a constructive approach Vandermonde-based allowing to an adaptive bound for such a multiplicity is provided. Namely, it is shown that the zero spectral value multiplicity depends on the system structure (number of delays and number of non zero coefficients of the associated quasipolynomial) rather than the degree of the associated quasipolynomial [3]. This technical note extends the constructive approach in investigating the multiplicity of crossing imaginary roots jω where ω ≠ 0 and establishes a link with a new class of functional confluent Vandermonde matrices. A symbolic algorithm for computing the LU-factorization for such matrices is provided. As a byproduct of the proposed approach, a bound sharper than the Polya-Szegö generic bound arising from the principle argument is established.

Context. Quaoar is a classical trans-Neptunian object (TNO) with an area-equivalent diameter of 1100 km and an orbital semi-major axis of 43.3 astronomical units. Based on stellar occultations observed between 2018 and 2021, an inhomogeneous ring (Q1R, i.e., Quaoar’s first ring) has been detected around this body. Aims. A new stellar occultation by Quaoar was observed on August 9, 2022, with the aim of improving Quaoar’s shape models and the physical parameters of Q1R, while searching for additional material around the body. Methods. The occultation provided nine effective chords across Quaoar, pinning down its size, shape, and astrometric position. Large facilities, such as Gemini North and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), were used to obtain high acquisition rates and signal-to-noise ratios. The light curves were also used to characterize the Q1R ring (radial profiles and orbital elements). Results. Quaoar’s elliptical fit to the occultation chords yields the limb with an apparent semi-major axis of 579.5 ± 4.0 km, apparent oblateness of 0.12 ± 0.01, and area-equivalent radius of 543 ± 2 km. Quaoar’s limb orientation is consistent with Q1R and Weywot orbiting in Quaoar’s equatorial plane. The orbital radius of Q1R is refined to a value of 4057 ± 6 km. The radial opacity profile of the more opaque ring profile follows a Lorentzian shape that extends over 60 km, with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of ∼5 km and a peak normal optical depth of 0.4. Besides the secondary events related to the already reported rings, new secondary events detected during the August 2022 occultation in three different data sets are consistent with another ring around Quaoar with a radius of 2520 ± 20 km, assuming the ring is circular and co-planar with Q1R. This new ring has a typical width of 10 km and a normal optical depth of ∼0.004. Just as Q1R, it also lies outside Quaoar’s classical Roche limit.

The diastereomeric hemicryptophane oxidovanadium(V) complexes (P)-(S,S,S)-3 and (M)-(S,S,S)-4 have been synthesized. (1)H and (51)V NMR spectra in solution are consistent with the formation of Lambda and Delta forms of the propeller-like vanatrane moiety, leading to two diastereomeric conformers for each complex: that is, (P)-(S,S,S-Lambda)-3/(P)-(S,S,S-Delta)-3 and (M)-(S,S,S-Lambda)-4/(M)-(S,S,S-Delta)-4. The Lambda/Delta ratio is rather temperature-insensitive but strongly dependent on the solvent (the de of (M)-(S,S,S)-4 changes from 0 in benzene to 92 % in DMSO). The solvent therefore controls the preferential clockwise or anticlockwise orientation of the propeller-like atrane unit. The energy barriers for the Lambdaright arrow over left arrowDelta equilibrium were determined by NMR experiments, and the highest DeltaG( not equal) value (103.7 kJ mol(-1)) was obtained for (P)-(S,S,S)-3, much higher than those reported for other atrane derivatives. This is attributed to the constraints arising from the cage structure. Determination of the activation parameters provides evidence for a concerted, rather than a stepwise, interconversion mechanism with entropies (DeltaS( not equal)) of -243 and -272 J mol(-1) K(-1) for (P)-(S,S,S)-3 and (M)-(S,S,S)-4, respectively. The molecular structure of the (P)-(S,S,S-Lambda)-3 isomer was solved by X-ray diffraction and shows a distorted structure with one of the linkers located in the CTV cavity. Complementary quantum chemical calculations were carried out to obtain the energy-minimized structures of (P)-(S,S,S)-3 and (M)-(S,S,S)-4. Our density functional theory calculations suggest that the (P)-(S,S,S-Lambda)-3 is favored, in agreement with experimental data. For the M series, a similar strategy was used to extract molecular structures and relative energies. As in the case of the P diastereomer, the Lambda form dominates over the Delta one.

ABSTRACT In control dough, endogenous wheat lipase was inactive, because the triacylglycerol (TAG), 1,2‐diacylglycerol (DAG 1,2 ), and 1,3‐diacylglycerol (DAG 1,3 ) fractions of nonpolar lipids were not affected by mixing. Conversely, the free fatty acid (FFA) and monoacylglycerol (MAG) fractions decreased, mainly due to the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) catalyzed by wheat lipoxygenase. Addition of exogenous lipase to flour (15 lipase units [LU] per gram of dry matter) resulted in substantial modification of nonpolar lipids during dough mixing. Due to the 1,3 specificity of the lipase used in this experiment, the TAG and DAG 1,3 fractions decreased, whereas the MAG and FFA fractions increased. The DAG 1,2 fraction increased at the beginning of mixing and decreased after 40 min of mixing. Moreover, part of the PUFA released by lipase activity was oxidized by wheat lipoxygenase, resulting in major losses of PUFA. Conversely, the net content of the saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (SMUFA) remained constant, because the free SMUFA content increased primarily at the expense of the esterified forms. For a constant mixing time of 20 min, increasing the amount of lipase added to dough (from 2.5 to 25 LU/g of dry matter) resulted in a linear decrease in the TAG fraction and a linear increase in the SMUFA content in the FFA fraction. At the same time, the PUFA content of the FFA fraction increased only for additions of lipase to flour of &gt;5 LU/g of dry matter, due to partial oxidation by wheat lipoxygenase.

Abstract Object GRB 221009A is the brightest gamma-ray burst (GRB) detected in more than 50 yr of study. In this paper, we present observations in the X-ray and optical domains obtained by the GRANDMA Collaboration and the Insight Collaboration. We study the optical afterglow with empirical fitting using the GRANDMA+HXMT-LE data sets augmented with data from the literature up to 60 days. We then model numerically using a Bayesian approach, and we find that the GRB afterglow, extinguished by a large dust column, is most likely behind a combination of a large Milky Way dust column and moderate low-metallicity dust in the host galaxy. Using the GRANDMA+HXMT-LE+XRT data set, we find that the simplest model, where the observed afterglow is produced by synchrotron radiation at the forward external shock during the deceleration of a top-hat relativistic jet by a uniform medium, fits the multiwavelength observations only moderately well, with a tension between the observed temporal and spectral evolution. This tension is confirmed when using the augmented data set. We find that the consideration of a jet structure (Gaussian or power law), the inclusion of synchrotron self-Compton emission, or the presence of an underlying supernova do not improve the predictions. Placed in the global context of GRB optical afterglows, we find that the afterglow of GRB 221009A is luminous but not extraordinarily so, highlighting that some aspects of this GRB do not deviate from the global known sample despite its extreme energetics and the peculiar afterglow evolution.

In this paper, which is a direct continuation and generalization of the recent works by the authors [17, 35], we show the validity of the generic multiplicity-induced-dominancy property for a general class of linear functional differential equations with a single delay, including the retarded as well as the neutral cases. The result is based on an appropriate integral representation of the corresponding characteristic quasipolynomial functions involving some appropriate degenerate hypergeometric functions.

Context. The Centaur (10199) Chariklo has the first ring system discovered around a small object. It was first observed using stellar occultation in 2013. Stellar occultations allow sizes and shapes to be determined with kilometre accuracy, and provide the characteristics of the occulting object and its vicinity. Aims. Using stellar occultations observed between 2017 and 2020, our aim is to constrain the physical parameters of Chariklo and its rings. We also determine the structure of the rings, and obtain precise astrometrical positions of Chariklo. Methods. We predicted and organised several observational campaigns of stellar occultations by Chariklo. Occultation light curves were measured from the datasets, from which ingress and egress times, and the ring widths and opacity values were obtained. These measurements, combined with results from previous works, allow us to obtain significant constraints on Chariklo’s shape and ring structure. Results. We characterise Chariklo’s ring system (C1R and C2R), and obtain radii and pole orientations that are consistent with, but more accurate than, results from previous occultations. We confirm the detection of W-shaped structures within C1R and an evident variation in radial width. The observed width ranges between 4.8 and 9.1 km with a mean value of 6.5 km. One dual observation (visible and red) does not reveal any differences in the C1R opacity profiles, indicating a ring particle size larger than a few microns. The C1R ring eccentricity is found to be smaller than 0.022 (3 σ ), and its width variations may indicate an eccentricity higher than ~0.005. We fit a tri-axial shape to Chariklo’s detections over 11 occultations, and determine that Chariklo is consistent with an ellipsoid with semi-axes of 143.8 −1.5 +1.4 , 135.2 −2.8 +1.4 , and 99.1 −2.7 +5.4 km. Ultimately, we provided seven astrometric positions at a milliarcsecond accuracy level, based on Gaia EDR3, and use it to improve Chariklo’s ephemeris.

Abstract In this article we consider the ‐stabilization of n th‐order linear time‐invariant dynamical systems using multiplicity‐induced‐dominancy ‐based controller design in the presence of delays in the input or the output channels. A sufficient condition is given for the dominancy of a real root with multiplicity at least and at least n using an integral factorization of the corresponding characteristic function. A necessary condition for ‐stabilizability is analyzed utilizing the property that the derivative of a ‐stable quasipolynomial is also ‐stable under certain conditions. Sufficient and necessary conditions are given for systems with real‐rooted open‐loop characteristic function: the delay intervals are determined where the conditions for dominancy and ‐stabilizability are satisfied. The efficiency of the proposed controller design is shown in the case of a multilink inverted pendulum.

BACKGROUND: Sleep disturbance (SD) is an important part of the burden of atopic dermatitis (AD), but patient-reported outcomes that are easy to understand and interpret in the target population have been lacking. A daily, single-item, self-reported SD 11-point numerical rating scale (NRS) was recently developed to assess SD for patients with moderate-to-severe AD, but its psychometric properties have not yet been described. OBJECTIVES: To assess the psychometric properties of the SD NRS in patients with moderate-to-severe AD. METHODS: The psychometric properties of the SD NRS were assessed using data from a phase IIb clinical trial in 218 adults with moderate-to-severe AD. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability of the SD NRS was substantial to almost perfect (interclass correlation 0·66-1·00) in participants who had stable SD or stable pruritus scores over 1 week. Baseline correlations were moderate to large (r > 0·30) between SD NRS and pruritus or sleep loss scores, but were small (r = -0·11 to 0·17) between SD NRS and EQ-5D-3L index and visual analogue scores, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Scoring Atopic Dermatitis, and Investigator's Global Assessment. The SD NRS could discriminate groups of participants in the expected direction according to different quality-of-life scores but not according to different clinician-reported disease severity scores. SD NRS scores significantly decreased as sleep loss, itch and quality-of-life scores improved. Analysis of meaningful change suggested a 2-5-point improvement as the initial range of responder definition in the SD NRS score. CONCLUSIONS: The SD NRS is a reliable, valid and responsive measure of SD in adults with moderate-to-severe AD.

We contribute to the perturbation theory of nonlinear eigenvalue problems in three ways. First, we extend the formula for the sensitivity of a simple eigenvalue with respect to a variation of a parameter to the case of multiple nonsemisimple eigenvalues, thereby providing an explicit expression for the leading coefficients of the Puiseux series of the emanating branches of eigenvalues. Second, for a broad class of delay eigenvalue problems, the connection between the finite-dimensional nonlinear eigenvalue problem and an associated infinite-dimensional linear eigenvalue problem is emphasized in the developed perturbation theory. Finally, in contrast to existing work on analyzing multiple eigenvalues of delay systems, we develop all theory in a matrix framework, i.e., without reduction of a problem to the analysis of a scalar characteristic quasi-polynomial.

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This paper presents a mathematical model for simulation of the human cardiovascular response to lower body negative pressure (LBNP) up to -40 mmHg both under normal conditions and when arterial baroreflex sensitivity or leg blood capacity (LBC) is altered. Development of the model assumes that the LBNP response could be explained solely on the bases of 1) blood volume redistribution, 2) left ventricular end-diastolic filling, 3) interaction between left ventricle and peripheral circulation, and 4) modulations of peripheral resistances and heart rate by arterial and cardiopulmonary baroreflexes. The model reproduced well experimental data obtained both under normal conditions and during complete autonomic blockade; thus it is validated for simulation of the cardiovascular response from 0 to -40 mmHg LBNP. We tested the ability of the model to simulate the changes in LBNP response due to a reduction in LBC. To assess these changes experimentally, six healthy men were subjected to LBNP of -15, -30, and -38 mmHg with and without wearing elastic compression stockings. Stockings significantly reduced LBC (from 3.9 +/- 0.3 to 1.8 +/- 0.4 ml/100 ml tissue at -38 mmHg LBNP; P < 0.01) and attenuated the change in heart rate (from 23 +/- 4 to 8 +/- 3% at -38 mmHg LBNP; P < 0.05). The model accurately reproduced this result. The model is useful for assessing the influence of LBC or other parameters such as arterial baroreflex sensitivity in diminishing the orthostatic tolerance of humans after spaceflight, bed rest, or endurance training.