1,181 research outputs found
Evolutionary design of a full-envelope full-authority flight control system for an unstable high-performance aircraft
The use of an evolutionary algorithm in the framework of H1 control theory is being considered as a means for synthesizing controller gains that minimize a weighted combination of the infinite norm of the sensitivity function (for disturbance attenuation requirements) and complementary sensitivity function (for robust stability requirements) at the same time. The case study deals with a complete full-authority longitudinal control system for an unstable high-performance jet aircraft featuring (i) a stability and control augmentation system and (ii) autopilot functions (speed and altitude hold). Constraints on closed-loop response are enforced, that representing typical requirements on airplane handling qualities, that makes the control law synthesis process more demanding. Gain scheduling is required, in order to obtain satisfactory performance over the whole flight envelope, so that the synthesis is performed at different reference trim conditions, for several values of the dynamic pressure, used as the scheduling parameter. Nonetheless, the dynamic behaviour of the aircraft may exhibit significant variations when flying at different altitudes, even for the same value of the dynamic pressure, so that a trade-off is required between different feasible controllers synthesized at different altitudes for a given equivalent airspeed. A multiobjective search is thus considered for the determination of the best suited solution to be introduced in the scheduling of the control law. The obtained results are then tested on a longitudinal non-linear model of the aircraft
Future large-scale water-Cherenkov detector
MEMPHYS (MEgaton Mass PHYSics) is a proposed large-scale water-Cherenkov
experiment to be performed deep underground. It is dedicated to nucleon decay
searches and the detection of neutrinos from supernovae, solar, and atmospheric
neutrinos, as well as neutrinos from a future beam to measure the CP violating
phase in the leptonic sector and the mass hierarchy. This paper provides an
overview of the latest studies on the expected performance of MEMPHYS in view
of detailed estimates of its physics reach, mainly concerning neutrino beams
Study of the performance of a large scale water-Cherenkov detector (MEMPHYS)
MEMPHYS (MEgaton Mass PHYSics) is a proposed large-scale water Cherenkov
experiment to be performed deep underground. It is dedicated to nucleon decay
searches, neutrinos from supernovae, solar and atmospheric neutrinos, as well
as neutrinos from a future Super-Beam or Beta-Beam to measure the CP violating
phase in the leptonic sector and the mass hierarchy. A full simulation of the
detector has been performed to evaluate its performance for beam physics. The
results are given in terms of "Migration Matrices" of reconstructed versus true
neutrino energy, taking into account all the experimental effects.Comment: Updated after JCAP's referee's comment
Ranking and Repulsing Supermartingales for Reachability in Probabilistic Programs
Computing reachability probabilities is a fundamental problem in the analysis
of probabilistic programs. This paper aims at a comprehensive and comparative
account on various martingale-based methods for over- and under-approximating
reachability probabilities. Based on the existing works that stretch across
different communities (formal verification, control theory, etc.), we offer a
unifying account. In particular, we emphasize the role of order-theoretic fixed
points---a classic topic in computer science---in the analysis of probabilistic
programs. This leads us to two new martingale-based techniques, too. We give
rigorous proofs for their soundness and completeness. We also make an
experimental comparison using our implementation of template-based synthesis
algorithms for those martingales
A hepatic scaffold from decellularized liver tissue: Food for thought
Allogeneic liver transplantation is still deemed the gold standard solution for end-stage organ failure; however, donor organ shortages have led to extended waiting lists for organ transplants. In order to overcome the lack of donors, the development of new therapeutic options is mandatory. In the last several years, organ bioengineering has been extensively explored to provide transplantable tissues or whole organs with the final goal of creating a three-dimensional growth microenvironment mimicking the native structure. It has been frequently reported that an extracellular matrix-based scaffold offers a structural support and important biological molecules that could help cellular proliferation during the recellularization process. The aim of the present review is to underline the recent developments in cell-on-scaffold technology for liver bioengineering, taking into account: (1) biological and synthetic scaffolds; (2) animal and human tissue decellularization; (3) scaffold recellularization; (4) 3D bioprinting; and (5) organoid technology. Future possible clinical applications in regenerative medicine for liver tissue engineering and for drug testing were underlined and dissected
Microenvironment in neuroblastoma: Isolation and characterization of tumor-derived mesenchymal stromal cells
Background: It has been proposed that mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) promote tumor progression by interacting with tumor cells and other stroma cells in the complex network of the tumor microenvironment. We characterized MSCs isolated and expanded from tumor tissues of pediatric patients diagnosed with neuroblastomas (NB-MSCs) to define interactions with the tumor microenvironment. Methods: Specimens were obtained from 7 pediatric patients diagnosed with neuroblastoma (NB). Morphology, immunophenotype, differentiation capacity, proliferative growth, expression of stemness and neural differentiation markers were evaluated. Moreover, the ability of cells to modulate the immune response, i.e. inhibition of phytohemagglutinin (PHA) activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and natural killer (NK) cytotoxic function, was examined. Gene expression profiles, known to be related to tumor cell stemness, Wnt pathway activation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and tumor metastasis were also evaluated. Healthy donor bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSC) were employed as controls. Results: NB-MSCs presented the typical MSC morphology and phenotype. They showed a proliferative capacity superimposable to BM-MSCs. Stemness marker expression (Sox2, Nanog, Oct3/4) was comparable to BM-MSCs. NB-MSC in vitro osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation was similar to BM-MSCs, but NB-MSCs lacked adipogenic differentiation capacity. NB-MSCs reached senescence phases at a median passage of P7 (range, P5-P13). NB-MSCs exhibited greater immunosuppressive capacity on activated T lymphocytes at a 1:2 (MSC: PBMC) ratio compared with BM-MSCs (p = 0.018). NK cytotoxic activity was not influenced by co-culture, either with BM-MSCs or NB-MSCs. Flow-cytometry cell cycle analysis showed that NB-MSCs had an increased number of cells in the G0-G1 phase compared to BM-MSCs. Transcriptomic profiling results indicated that NB-MSCs were enriched with EMT genes compared to BM-MSCs. Conclusions: We characterized the biological features, the immunomodulatory capacity and the gene expression profile of NB-MSCs. The NB-MSC gene expression profile and their functional properties suggest a potential role in promoting tumor escape, invasiveness and metastatic traits of NB cancer cells. A better understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying the interactions between NB cells and NB-derived MSCs should shed new light on potential novel therapeutic approaches
Transition between terrestrial-submerged walking and swimming revealed by Early Permian amphibian trackways and a new proposal for the nomenclature of compound trace fossils
Exceptionally preserved Early Permian tetrapod trackways from the Orobic Basin (Central-Western Southern Alps) offer a unique opportunity to investigate in detail locomotion in fossil vertebrates that lived on continental European landmasses. Herein are reported the results of a study on several tetrapod trackways that display a large variety of behavioral, gait and substrate related extramorphologies. They clearly document the transition from terrestrial-underwater walking to swimming and are assigned to the compound ichnotaxon Batrachichnus C Lunichnium. The use of the "C" symbol is here introduced for the first time as nomenclatural indication of a Compound trace. Producers were probably small-sized temnospondyl or lepospondyl (microsaurs) amphibians. Comparisons with living urodelan anatomy and mechanics provide evidence for conservatism of locomotor mechanics in evolutionary history among amphibians. The derived model for locomotor kinematics in Early Permian amphibians provides a reference for interpreting transitional land-to-water trackways. The shift from walking to swimming behavior in early tetrapods, as in extant urodelan amphibians, is described as a complex balance between different dynamics
Thermodynamics of Chemical Waves
Chemical waves constitute a known class of dissipative structures emerging in
reaction-diffusion systems. They play a crucial role in biology, spreading
information rapidly to synchronize and coordinate biological events. We develop
a rigorous thermodynamic theory of reaction-diffusion systems to characterize
chemical waves. Our main result is the definition of the proper thermodynamic
potential of the local dynamics as a nonequilibrium free energy density and
establishing its balance equation. This enables us to identify the dynamics of
the free energy, of the dissipation, and of the work spent to sustain the wave
propagation. Two prototypical classes of chemical waves are examined. From a
thermodynamic perspective, the first is sustained by relaxation towards
equilibrium and the second by nonconservative forces generated by chemostats.
We analytically study step-like waves, called wavefronts, using the
Fisher-Kolmogorov equation as representative of the first class and oscillating
waves in the Brusselator model as representative of the second. Given the
fundamental role of chemical waves as message carriers in biosystems, our
thermodynamic theory constitutes an important step toward an understanding of
information transfers and processing in biology.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure
Oscillation threshold of a clarinet model: a numerical continuation approach
This paper focuses on the oscillation threshold of single reed instruments.
Several characteristics such as blowing pressure at threshold, regime
selection, and playing frequency are known to change radically when taking into
account the reed dynamics and the flow induced by the reed motion. Previous
works have shown interesting tendencies, using analytical expressions with
simplified models. In the present study, a more elaborated physical model is
considered. The influence of several parameters, depending on the reed
properties, the design of the instrument or the control operated by the player,
are studied. Previous results on the influence of the reed resonance frequency
are confirmed. New results concerning the simultaneous influence of two model
parameters on oscillation threshold, regime selection and playing frequency are
presented and discussed. The authors use a numerical continuation approach.
Numerical continuation consists in following a given solution of a set of
equations when a parameter varies. Considering the instrument as a dynamical
system, the oscillation threshold problem is formulated as a path following of
Hopf bifurcations, generalizing the usual approach of the characteristic
equation, as used in previous works. The proposed numerical approach proves to
be useful for the study of musical instruments. It is complementary to
analytical analysis and direct time-domain or frequency-domain simulations
since it allows to derive information that is hardly reachable through
simulation, without the approximations needed for analytical approach
Audio 3D e ancoraggio sonoro per l'esplorazione multimodale di ambienti virtuali
Questo lavoro presenta un sistema interattivo audio-aptico di ausilio all\u2019orientamento e alla mobilita per soggetti non ` vedenti, e un esperimento soggettivo volto a studiare i meccanismi cognitivi nella rappresentazione spaziale in assenza di informazione visuale. Si presenta in particolare un esperimento di riconoscimento di oggetti, che investiga il ruolo dell\u2019informazione auditiva spaziale dinamica integrata con feedback aptico, in un semplice ambiente virtuale. Tale informazione e strutturata come una \u201cancora ` sonora\u201d, erogata in cuffia tramite tecniche di rendering 3D binaurale del suono (in particolare tramite Head-Related Transfer Functions, o HRTF, opportunamente personalizzate). I risultati sperimentali relativi al tempo di riconoscimento da parte dei soggetti mostrano una relazione tra la posizione dell\u2019ancora sonora e la forma dell\u2019oggetto riconosciuto. Inoltre, un\u2019analisi qualitativa delle traiettorie di esplorazione suggerisce l\u2019insorgere di modifiche comportamentali tra le condizioni monomodale e multimodale
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