In this paper, we study output feedback leader-follower consensus problem for multiagent systems subject to external disturbances and time delays in both input and output. First, we consider the linear case and a novel predictor-based extended state observer is designed for each follower with relative output information of the neighboring agents. Then, leader-follower consensus protocols are proposed which can compensate the delays and disturbances efficiently. In particular, the proposed observer and controller do not contain any integral term of the past control input and hence are easy to implement. Consensus analysis is put in the framework of Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals and sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee that the consensus errors converge to zero asymptotically. Then, the results are extended to nonlinear multiagent systems with nonlinear disturbances. Finally, the validity of the proposed design is demonstrated through a numerical example of network-connected unmanned aerial vehicles.

Background Primary glomerulonephritis (GN) is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and frequently progresses into end stage renal diseases (ESRDs). Shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL) has been implicated in the CKD susceptibility and diminished kidney function, however, it is unclear whether the variants in telomerase genes contribute to risk to GN/CKD/ESRD. Here we address this issue by determining their association with the genetic variants of rs12696304 at the telomerase RNA component (TERC) and rs2736100 at the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) loci. Methods The study includes 769 patients (243 primary GN-derived CKD and 526 ESRD cases) and sex-/age-matched healthy controls. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood of both controls and patients. Genotyping of rs12696304 and rs2736100 variants was carried out using PCR-based assays. Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) was determined using quantitative PCR (qPCR). Results A significantly higher frequency of TERC rs12696304 G allele was observed in patients and associated with increased disease risk (C vs G: OR = 1.334, 95% CI 1.112–1.586, P = 0.001; CC + GC vs GG: OR = 1.334, 95% CI 1.122–1.586, P = 0.001). Further analyses showed that such significant differences were only present between female controls and patients (C vs G: OR = 1.483, 95% CI 1.140–1.929, P = 0.003; CC + GC vs CC: OR = 1.692, 95% CI 1.202–2.383, P = 0.003), but not males. There were no differences in rs2736100 variants between controls and patients, but female ESRD patients carried significantly higher C allele frequencies than did female controls (A vs C: OR = 1.306, 95% CI 1.005–1.698, P = 0.046; AA vs CC: OR = 1.781, 95% CI 1.033–3.070, P = 0.037). There was no difference in LTL between controls and patients. Conclusions Our results reveal that the TERC rs12696304 and TERT rs2736100 polymorphisms, but not LTL per se, contribute to GN/CDK/ESRD risk.

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BACKGROUND: Vibrio parahaemolyticus causes not only various diseases in aquaculture animals but also seafood-borne illness in humans. Outer membrane proteins (OMPs) are species-specific proteins found in bilayer membranes of gram-negative bacteria. Egg yolk immunoglobulin (IgY) has been reported to serve as oral administration of antibodies against bacteria and virus. RESULTS:The present research extracted and identified OMPs from V. parahaemolyticus, and then the extracted OMPs were used to immunize hens to obtain specific IgY. The efficacy of IgY against V. parahaemolyticus were investigated in vitro and in vivo. The specific IgY effectively inhibited the growth of V. parahaemolyticus in liquid medium rather than Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Specific IgY antibodies were incorporated into extruded food pellets and fed to bacteria-challenged white pacific shrimp to observe the anti-bacterial effect in vivo. The bacterial loads in muscles of V. parahaemolyticus infected shrimp fed with specific IgY-included diets were significantly fewer than those fed with non-specific IgY-included diets. The superoxide dismutase activities in muscles of infected shrimp fed with specific IgY-included diets were significantly higher than the control group. CONCLUSION:The results suggested that the specific IgY effectively inhibited the growth of V. parahaemolyticus and introduced passive immunity to shrimp. Industry OMPs did not show significant inhibitory effect on S. aureus and E. coli (Figs 4 and 5). Effect of IgY on the bacterial load in muscle of infected shrimpThe bacterial loads in muscles of shrimp infected by V. parahaemolyticus under different feeding strategy were observed after J Sci Food Agric 2019; 99: 2565-2571