Application of decomposition techniques to the preliminary design of a transport aircraft

A nonlinear constrained optimization problem describing the preliminary design process for a transport aircraft has been formulated. A multifaceted decomposition of the optimization problem has been made. Flight dynamics, flexible aircraft loads and deformations, and preliminary structural design subproblems appear prominently in the decomposition. The use of design process decomposition for scheduling design projects, a new system integration approach to configuration control, and the application of object-centered programming to a new generation of design tools are discussed

Reversing Chromatin Accessibility Differences that Distinguish Homologous Mitotic Metaphase Chromosomes

BACKGROUND: Chromatin-modifying reagents that alter histone associating proteins, DNA conformation or its sequence are well established strategies for studying chromatin structure in interphase (G1, S, G2). Little is known about how these compounds act during metaphase. We assessed the effects of these reagents at genomic loci that show reproducible, non-random differences in accessibility to chromatin that distinguish homologous targets by single copy DNA probe fluorescence in situ hybridization (scFISH). By super-resolution 3-D structured illumination microscopy (3D-SIM) and other criteria, the differences correspond to \u27differential accessibility\u27 (DA) to these chromosomal regions. At these chromosomal loci, DA of the same homologous chromosome is stable and epigenetic hallmarks of less accessible interphase chromatin are present. RESULTS: To understand the basis for DA, we investigate the impact of epigenetic modifiers on these allelic differences in chromatin accessibility between metaphase homologs in lymphoblastoid cell lines. Allelic differences in metaphase chromosome accessibility represent a stable chromatin mark on mitotic metaphase chromosomes. Inhibition of the topoisomerase IIα-DNA cleavage complex reversed DA. Inter-homolog probe fluorescence intensity ratios between chromosomes treated with ICRF-193 were significantly lower than untreated controls. 3D-SIM demonstrated that differences in hybridized probe volume and depth between allelic targets were equalized by this treatment. By contrast, DA was impervious to chromosome decondensation treatments targeting histone modifying enzymes, cytosine methylation, as well as in cells with regulatory defects in chromatid cohesion. These data altogether suggest that DA is a reflection of allelic differences in metaphase chromosome compaction, dictated by the localized catenation state of the chromosome, rather than by other epigenetic marks. CONCLUSIONS: Inhibition of the topoisomerase IIα-DNA cleavage complex mitigated DA by decreasing DNA superhelicity and axial metaphase chromosome condensation. This has potential implications for the mechanism of preservation of cellular phenotypes that enables the same chromatin structure to be correctly reestablished in progeny cells of the same tissue or individual

A Secondary Student Instructional Support Team (ASSIST): Teachers Face the Challenge of Student Diversity

The writers discuss the challenges related to instructing a diverse secondary-level student population. Many elementary and middle school teachers are benefiting from working collaboratively toward common instructional goals. Through collaboration, general and special education teachers can better address the content area needs of the individual students, foster a greater sense of shared responsibility for educating a heterogeneous population of students, increase communication across professional disciplines, enlarge the knowledge base and teaching repertoire of participants, and establish rewarding and long-lasting professional relationships. The concept of A Secondary Student Instructional Support Team (ASSIST) provides a realistic means for implementing the “class within a class” model that can better serve a heterogeneous student population. ASSIST is generally made up of teachers of various subject areas as well as one or more specialists. Placement of special needs students happens within and across team-taught classes. This is consistent with block scheduling options and facilitates the establishment of a positive attachment to team-mediated instruction. In addition, ASSIST can give students a mix of direct and indirect instructional support

Search for physics beyond the standard model using multilepton signatures in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

A search for physics beyond the standard model in events with at least three leptons and any number of jets is presented. The data sample corresponds to 35 pb^(−1) of integrated luminosity in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. A number of exclusive multileptonic channels are investigated and standard model backgrounds are suppressed by requiring sufficient missing transverse energy, invariant mass inconsistent with that of the Z boson, or high jet activity. Control samples in data are used to ascertain the robustness of background evaluation techniques and to minimise the reliance on simulation. The observations are consistent with background expectations. These results constrain previously unexplored regions of supersymmetric parameter space

Measurement of the Inclusive Jet Cross Section in pp Collisions at √s = 7 TeV

The inclusive jet cross section is measured in pp collisions with a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider using the CMS experiment. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 34  pb^(-1). The measurement is made for jet transverse momenta in the range 18–1100 GeV and for absolute values of rapidity less than 3. The measured cross section extends to the highest values of jet p_T ever observed and, within the experimental and theoretical uncertainties, is generally in agreement with next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD prediction

Measurement of the inclusive Z cross section via decays to tau pairs in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV

The first measurement of inclusive Z → τ^+ τ^− production in pp collisions at the LHC is presented, in the final states μ + hadrons, e + hadrons, e + μ, and μ + μ. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 36 pb^(−1) collected with the CMS detector. The measured cross section is σ (pp → ZX) × B (Z → τ^+ τ^−) = 1.00 ± 0.05(stat.) ± 0.08(syst.) ± 0.04(lumi.)nb, which is in good agreement with the next-to-next-to-leading order QCD prediction and improves on previous measurements in the Z → e^+e^− and μ^+ μ^− channels. The reconstruction efficiency for hadronic τ decays is determined with a precision of 7%

Long-range and short-range dihadron angular correlations in central PbPb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV

First measurements of dihadron correlationsfor charged particles are presented for central PbPb collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 2.76TeV over a broad range in relative pseudorapidity (∆η) and the full range of relative azimuthal angle (∆ϕ). The data were collected with the CMS detector, at the LHC. A broadening of the away-side (∆ϕ ≈ π) azimuthal correlation is observed at all ∆η, as compared to the measurements in pp collisions. Furthermore, long-range dihadron correlations in ∆η are observed for particles with similar ϕ values. This phenomenon, also known as the “ridge”, persists up to at least |∆η| = 4. For particles with transverse momenta (pT) of2-4 GeV/c, the ridge is found to be most prominent when these particles are correlated with particles of pT = 2-6 GeV/c, and to be much reduced when paired with particles of pT = 10-12 GeV/c