Fair and Sparse Solutions in Network-Decentralized Flow Control

We proposed network-decentralized control strategies, in which each actuator can exclusively rely on local information, without knowing the network topology and the external input, ensuring that the flow asymptotically converges to the optimal one with respect to the p -norm. For 1 < p < ∞ , the flow converges to a unique constant...

A multistationary loop model of ALS unveils critical molecular interactions involving mitochondria and glucose metabolism

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a poor-prognosis disease with puzzling pathogenesis and inconclusive treatments. We develop a mathematical model of ALS based on a system of interactive feedback loops, focusing on the mutant SOD1^G93A mouse. Misfolded mutant SOD1 aggregates in motor neuron (MN) mitochondria and triggers a...

Checking Structural Stability of BDC-Decomposable Systems via Convex Optimisation

In this letter we show how the problem of assessing structural local stability of BDC-decomposable systems, left open in recent literature, can be solved via convex optimisation. First we give a simple test, based on a sufficient condition, that requires checking the strict co-positivity of a multivariate polynomial. Then we provide a...

BDC-Decomposition for global influence analysis

In biochemical networks, the steady-state input-output influence is the sign of the output steady-state variation due to a persistent positive input perturbation; if the sign does not depend on the value of the strictly positive system parameters, the influence is structural. As recently shown for small perturbations, when the linearized...

Network-decentralised optimisation and control: An explicit saturated solution

This paper proposes a decentralised explicit (closed-form) iterative formula that solves convex programming problems with linear equality constraints and interval bounds on the decision variables. In particular, we consider a team of decision agents, each setting the value of a subset of the variables, and a team of information agents, in...

The joint network/control design of platooning algorithms can enforce guaranteed safety constraints

Vehicular networks supporting cooperative driving are among the most interesting and challenging ad-hoc networks. Platooning, or the act of coordinating a set of vehicles through an ad-hoc network, promises to improve traffic safety, and at the same time reduce congestion and pollution. The design of the control system for this application is...

A switched model for mixed cooperative-competitive social dynamics

A multi-agent continuous-time nonlinear model of social behaviour allowing for both competition and cooperation is presented and analysed. The state of each agent is represented by its payoff, which the agent aims at maximising. The role of control variables is played by the model parameters, which account for the agents' decisions to either...

Analysis of coupled genetic oscillators with delayed positive feedback interconnections

Genetic oscillators have a fundamental role in the regulation not only of intracellular, but also of intercellular functions: for instance, in the segmentation clock, the synchronised oscillation of neighbouring cells generates spatial travelling waves that induce segmentation of precursors of the vertebral column. To investigate this type of...

Acoustic target tracking through a cluster of mobile agents

This paper discusses the problem of tracking a moving target by means of a cluster of mobile agents that is able to sense the acoustic emissions of the target, with the aim of improving the target localization and tracking performance with respect to conventional fixed-array acoustic localization. We handle the acoustic part of the problem by...

Loop analysis of blood pressure/volume homeostasis

We performed a mathematical analysis of the dynamic control loops regulating the vasomotor tone of vascular smooth muscle, blood volume, and mean arterial pressure, which involve the arginine vasopressin (AVP) system, the atrial natriuretic peptide system (ANP), and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). Our loop analysis of the AVP...

A bounded complementary sensitivity function ensures topology-independent stability of homogeneous dynamical networks

This paper investigates the topology-independent stability of homogeneous dynamical networks, composed of interconnected equal systems. Precisely, dynamical systems with identical nominal transfer function F(s) are associated with the nodes of a directed graph, whose arcs account for their dynamic interactions, described by a common nominal...

A robust saturated strategy for n-player prisoner's dilemma

We study diffusion of cooperation in an n-population game in continuous time. At each instant, the game involves n random individuals, one from each population. The game has the structure of a prisoner's dilemma, where each player can choose a continuous decision variable associated with the probability of cooperating or defecting. We turn...

Control-theoretic methods for biological networks

Feedback is both a pillar of control theory and a pervasive principle of nature. For this reason, control-theoretic methods are powerful to analyse the dynamic behaviour of biological systems and mathematically explain their properties, as well as to engineer biological systems so that they perform a specific task by design. This paper...

Fault isolation for large scale discrete-time systems based on implicit set representation

To detect faults in a system we can adopt an observer, designed for the healthy system, and monitor the discrepancy between actual and expected behaviour of the residual (difference between the system output and its estimate). To isolate faults, we can compute the invariant sets associated with each fault, and their projection in the residual...

Polyhedral Lyapunov functions structurally ensure global asymptotic stability of dynamical networks iff the Jacobian is non-singular

For a vast class of dynamical networks, including chemical reaction networks (CRNs) with monotonic reaction rates, the existence of a polyhedral Lyapunov function (PLF) implies structural (i.e., parameter-free) local stability. Global structural stability is ensured under the additional assumption that each of the variables (chemical species...

A joint network/control design for cooperative automatic driving

Cooperative automatic driving, or platooning, is a promising solution to improve traffic safety, while reducing congestion and pollution. The design of a control system for this application is a challenging, multi-disciplinary problem, as cooperation between vehicles is obtained through wireless communication. So far, control and network...

Biometric palmprint verification: A dynamical system approach

Most of the existing techniques for palmprint recognition rely on metrics, typically based on static functions, which evaluate the distance between a pair of features. In this paper, we propose a new technique for palmprint verification based on a dynamical system approach for principal palm lines matching. The proposed dynamic algorithm is...