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Background Despite studies confirming that patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) present with dyslipidaemia, the associations between IBD and the serum lipid profile have not been determined. The present study aimed to investigate the causal relationship between the serum lipid profile and IBD risk and elucidate the nature of the interactions between them.Methods Two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR) analysis was performed to investigate the causal links between total cholesterol (TC), total triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), apolipoprotein A (Apo A), apolipoprotein B (Apo B) and lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) and IBD. The study was carried out using the R TwoSampleMR and Mendelian randomisation packages.Results All MR methods, including the weighted median, weighted mode, inverse-variance weighted model, MR-PRESSO, contamination mixture and MR Egger, supported a null causal relationship between TG, TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, Apo A, Apo B and Lp(a) and between IBD, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Null causal effects of lipid indices on IBD were validated through independent genome-wide association studies (GWAS), indicating that the findings are robust.Conclusion Our findings suggest that none of the seven lipid indices may be a potential risk factor for the onset of IBD. However, additional research is needed since our MR analyses cannot assess the potential non-linear causal relationship between serum lipids and IBD.

This paper develops the systematic procedure for designing of iterative learning control (ILC) algorithms through the differential repetitive process setting. This means that the proposed approach can be directly applied to plants with differential dynamics and allows to satisfy the additional requirements on the resulting dynamics. In particular, the proposed design procedure enforces a required frequency attenuation over a finite frequency range and includes regional pole constraints. Additionally, an important result extension to the plants with relative degree greater than unity is presented. The sufficient conditions for the existence of the controllers are derived in terms of linear matrix inequalities, which are immediately extended to deal with time varying uncertainties. Finally, the simulations for a typical actuator of tracking servo system prove that the design is effective and brings some advantages when compared to the existing alternatives.

This paper puts forward a PD-type iterative learning control algorithm for a class of discrete spatially interconnected systems with unstructured uncertainty. By lifting and changing the variable of discrete space model, the uncertain spatially interconnected systems is converted into equivalent singular system, and the general state space model is derived in view of singular system theory. Then, the state error and output error information are used to design the iterative learning control law, transforming the controlled system into an equivalent repetitive process model. Based on the stability theory of repetitive process, sufficient condition for the stability of the system along the trial is given in the form of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is verified by the simulation of ladder circuits.

This paper studies a robust iterative learning control design for discrete linear repetitive processes in the finite frequency domain. Firstly, the state-space model of the iterative learning process is deduced. Then the dynamic performance condition of the control system in the finite frequency domain is derived by combining it with the stability theory of discrete linear repetitive processes. The system performances in the finite frequency domain are then transformed into the corresponding solutions of the linear matrix inequality by using the generalised KYP lemma. Finally, an integrated state feedback PD-type iterative learning control strategy is proposed. The robust control problem with norm-bounded uncertainty and convex polyhedral uncertainty are also considered in this paper. The simulation of the injection velocity in injection molding verified that the proposed methods in this paper are more effective than the P-type state feedback iterative learning control algorithm.

A delayed three-species food chain system with two types of functional response, Holling type and Beddington-DeAngelis type, is investigated. By analyzing the distribution of the roots of the associated characteristic equation, we get the sufficient conditions for the stability of the positive equilibrium and the existence of Hopf bifurcation. In particular, using the normal form theory and center manifold theorem, the properties of Hopf bifurcation such as direction and stability are determined. Finally, numerical simulations are given to substantiate the theoretical results.

A delayed SIQR computer virus model is considered. It has been observed that there exists a critical value of delay for the stability of virus prevalence by choosing the delay as a bifurcation parameter. Furthermore, the properties of the Hopf bifurcation such as direction and stability are investigated by using the normal form method and center manifold theory. Finally, some numerical simulations for supporting our theoretical results are also performed.

Due to the lack of powerful model description methods, the identification of Hammerstein systems based on the non-uniform input-output dataset remains a challenging problem. This paper introduces a time-varying backward shift operator to describe periodically non-uniformly sampled-data Hammerstein systems, which can simplify the structure of the lifted models using the traditional lifting technique. Furthermore, an auxiliary model-based multi-innovation stochastic gradient algorithm is presented to estimate the parameters involved in the linear and nonlinear blocks. The simulation results confirm that the proposed algorithm is effective and can achieve a high estimation performance.

This paper addresses the problem of P-type iterative learning control for a class of multiple-input multiple-output linear discrete-time systems, whose aim is to develop robust monotonically convergent control law design over a finite frequency range. It is shown that the 2 D iterative learning control processes can be taken as 1 D state space model regardless of relative degree. With the generalized Kalman-Yakubovich-Popov lemma applied, it is feasible to describe the monotonically convergent conditions with the help of linear matrix inequality technique and to develop formulas for the control gain matrices design. An extension to robust control law design against systems with structured and polytopic-type uncertainties is also considered. Two numerical examples are provided to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

A predator-prey system with two delays and stage-structure for both the predator and the prey is considered. Sufficient conditions for the local stability and the existence of periodic solutions via Hopf bifurcation with respect to both delays are obtained by analyzing the distribution of the roots of the associated characteristic equation. Specially, the direction of the Hopf bifurcation and the stability of the periodic solutions bifurcating from the Hopf bifurcation are determined by applying the normal form theory and center manifold argument. Some numerical simulations for justifying the theoretical analysis are also provided.

By incorporating the time delay due to the period that computers use antivirus software to clean the virus into the SLBRS model a delayed SLBRS computer virus model is proposed in this paper. The dynamical behaviors which include local stability and Hopf bifurcation are investigated by regarding the delay as bifurcating parameter. Specially, direction and stability of the Hopf bifurcation are derived by applying the normal form method and center manifold theory. Finally, an illustrative example is also presented to testify our analytical results.

An SEIQRS model for the transmission of malicious objects in computer network with two delays is investigated in this paper. We show that possible combination of the two delays can affect the stability of the model and make the model bifurcate periodic solutions under some certain conditions. For further investigation, properties of the periodic solutions are studied by using the normal form method and center manifold theory. Finally, some numerical simulations are given to justify the theoretical results.

Hopf bifurcation of a delayed predator-prey system with prey infection and the modified Leslie-Gower scheme is investigated. The conditions for the stability and existence of Hopf bifurcation of the system are obtained. The state feedback and parameter perturbation are used for controlling Hopf bifurcation in the system. In addition, direction of Hopf bifurcation and stability of the bifurcated periodic solutions of the controlled system are obtained by using normal form and center manifold theory. Finally, numerical simulation results are presented to show that the hybrid controller is efficient in controlling Hopf bifurcation.

This paper is concerned with a computer virus model with two delays. Its dynamics are studied in terms of local stability and Hopf bifurcation. Sufficient conditions for local stability of the positive equilibrium and existence of the local Hopf bifurcation are obtained by regarding the possible combinations of the two delays as a bifurcation parameter. Furthermore, explicit formulae for determining direction of the Hopf bifurcation and stability of the bifurcating periodic solutions are obtained by using the normal form method and center manifold theory. Finally, some numerical simulations are presented to support the theoretical results.

A four-dimensional recurrent neural network with two delays is considered. The main result is given in terms of local stability and Hopf bifurcation. Sufficient conditions for local stability of the zero equilibrium and existence of the Hopf bifurcation with respect to both delays are obtained by analyzing the distribution of the roots of the associated characteristic equation. In particular, explicit formulae for determining the direction of the Hopf bifurcation and the stability of the bifurcating periodic solutions are established by using the normal form theory and center manifold theory. Some numerical examples are also presented to verify the theoretical analysis.

This paper is concerned with a Holling type III predator-prey system with stage structure for the prey population and two time delays. The main result is given in terms of local stability and bifurcation. By choosing the time delay as a bifurcation parameter, sufficient conditions for the local stability of the positive equilibrium and the existence of periodic solutions via Hopf bifurcation with respect to both delays are obtained. In particular, explicit formulas that can determine the direction of the Hopf bifurcation and the stability of the bifurcating periodic solutions are established by using the normal form method and center manifold theorem. Finally, numerical simulations supporting the theoretical analysis are also included.

A modified Holling-Tanner predator-prey system with multiple delays is investigated. By analyzing the associated characteristic equation, the local stability and the existence of periodic solutions via Hopf bifurcation with respect to both delays are established. Direction and stability of the periodic solutions are obtained by using normal form and center manifold theory. Finally, numerical simulations are carried out to substantiate the analytical results.

The College English Test (CET), designed in accordance with the requirements of the National College English Teaching Syllabus and as a result of the need for China's reform and its open-door policy in the 1980s, is the world's largest language test administered nationwide. Owing to its scientific approach, consistent marking, rigorous administration and comparable scores, the CET, now well-established as a large-scale standardised EFL test, is held in high esteem by language testers and teachers inside and outside China and well received by the public. This paper begins with a review of the CET from the perspective of its development, score interpretation and test validation. The paper moves on to an in-depth analysis of the test content, test format, and candidates' performances on each component with a view to presenting readers with an overview of the proficiency of the CET test-takers. The paper then discusses the issue of reform of the CET as a response to the pressing social need for college and university graduates with a stronger communicative competence in English. After a brief analysis of the challenges facing the CET, the paper concludes with a section on the way forward for the CET to meet the ever-changing needs of society.