Adaptive backstepping sliding mode control of flexible ball screw drives with time-varying parametric uncertainties and disturbances.

This paper presents a method to model and design servo controllers for flexible ball screw drives with dynamic variations. A mathematical model describing the structural flexibility of the ball screw drive containing time-varying uncertainties and disturbances with unknown bounds is proposed. A mode-compensating adaptive backstepping sliding mode controller is designed to suppress the vibration. The time-varying uncertainties and disturbances represented in finite-term Fourier series can be estimated by updating the Fourier coefficients through function approximation technique. Adaptive laws are obtained from Lyapunov approach to guarantee the convergence and stability of the closed loop system. The simulation results indicate that the tracking accuracy is improved considerably with the proposed scheme when the time-varying parametric uncertainties and disturbances exist.

Food utilization and growth of cutworm Spodoptera litura Fabricius larvae exposed to nickel, and its effect on reproductive potential.

Food utilization and growth of the 5th and 6th instar Spodoptera litura Fabricius larvae, and its effect on reproduction potential was evaluated by feeding larvae diets with different doses of Ni for 3 generations. Dose-dependent relationships between Ni levels and food consumption and growth were variable with different larval developmental period and Ni exposure duration. RCR, AD and RGR of the 6th instar larvae were much more affected by Ni exposure than those of 5th instar larvae, and the effects were strongest in the 3rd generation. It was found that RCR was significantly stimulated after 1 and 20 mg kg(-1) Ni exposure, while AD was significantly inhibited after 1, 5, 10 and 40 mg kg(-1) Ni exposure. However, lower levels of Ni (≤5 mg kg(-1)) significantly increased and higher levels of Ni (≥10 mg kg(-1)) significantly decreased RGR. In 3 successive generations, 10 mg kg(-1) Ni significantly increased the ECI and ECD of the 5th instar larvae, and 5 mg kg(-1) Ni significantly increased the ECD of the 6th instar larvae. However, ECD were all significantly inhibited with 20 mg kg(-1) Ni exposure. Results also revealed that durations of larvae were shortened at low levels of Ni, but extended at high levels of Ni. Fecundity was inhibited by the highest Ni doses in each generation, while improved by low Ni doses in the 3rd generation. Hatching rates in all treatments were significantly decreased in a Ni dose-dependent manner. Study indicated that effects of Ni on these parameters were predominant with the increasing Ni exposure period.

The effect of dietary nickel on the immune responses of Spodoptera litura Fabricius larvae.

By exposing Spodoptera litura Fabricius larvae to nickel (Ni) in artificial diets for successive three generations, we investigated the impacts of the dietary Ni on growth and immune response of the fifth and sixth instar larvae at 24 h intervals. The time of newly moulted fifth instar larvae was labelled as 0 h. After exposure to 5 mg/kg Ni for two generations, Ni exposure significantly improved larval phenoloxidase activity and encapsulation grade in fifth instar larvae when compared to controls, except for encapsulation grade at 72-120 h in the second generation. However, higher concentrations of Ni (≥10 mg/kg) only significantly reduced encapsulation grade at 72-120 h. In the third generation, insects given higher dietary levels of Ni (≥10 mg/kg) showed lower immune responses and retarded relative growth rate (RGR) compared to controls, but those exposed to lower Ni levels (≤5 mg/kg) had a significantly improved encapsulation grade at 24-72 h. Larvae at lower Ni level (≤5 mg/kg) treatments had significantly higher RGR in comparison with that in controls. There was no significant difference in food relative consumption rate (RCR) and RGR among any treatment of the fifth instar larvae in three successive generations. These results indicated that the type and extent of effects on growth and immune responses of S. litura varied with the Ni concentrations and exposure periods.