323 research outputs found
Active Control of Low-Speed Fan Tonal Noise Using Actuators Mounted in Stator Vanes: Part III Results
A test program to demonstrate simplification of Active Noise Control (ANC) systems relative to standard techniques was performed on the NASA Glenn Active Noise Control Fan from May through September 2001. The target mode was the m = 2 circumferential mode generated by the rotor-stator interaction at 2BPF. Seven radials (combined inlet and exhaust) were present at this condition. Several different error-sensing strategies were implemented. Integration of the error-sensors with passive treatment was investigated. These were: (i) an in-duct linear axial array, (ii) an induct steering array, (iii) a pylon-mounted array, and (iv) a near-field boom array. The effect of incorporating passive treatment was investigated as well as reducing the actuator count. These simplified systems were compared to a fully ANC specified system. Modal data acquired using the Rotating Rake are presented for a range of corrected fan rpm. Simplified control has been demonstrated to be possible but requires a well-known and dominant mode signature. The documented results here in are part III of a three-part series of reports with the same base title. Part I and II document the control system and error-sensing design and implementation
Cognitive testing for dementia is adversely affected by administration in a foreign location
BACKGROUND: It is colloquially considered that cognitive tests can be adversely affected by administration in a foreign location. However, a definitive demonstration of this is lacking in the literature. To determine whether or not this is the case, we compared the results of cognitive testing in a familiar versus foreign environment by single test administrator of individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer\u27s disease randomized to placebo in a multi-site clinical study.
FINDINGS: Cognitive tests were administered to 6 long-term residents of an assisted living facility at their residence (the Familiar cohort). The identical tests were administered to a newly admitted resident and to 2 community-dwelling individuals who drove to the administrator\u27s office for the first time (the Foreign cohort). Secondary testing was administered 3 months later at the same respective locations. Caregivers of participants completed reports of mood, behavior and activities of daily living. The Familiar cohort performed equally well at both visits. The Foreign cohort performed significantly worse than the Familiar cohort at baseline. They improved statistically, and matched Familiar cohort performance, by their second visit. Caregiver reports for both cohorts were unchanged between visits.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the notion that a foreign location can adversely affect performance on cognitive tests, and therefore support cognitive testing in a familiar location
Increase of the Density, Temperature and Velocity of Plasma Jets driven by a Ring of High Energy Laser Beams
Supersonic plasma outflows driven by multi-beam, high-energy lasers, such as
Omega and NIF, have been and will be used as platforms for a variety of
laboratory astrophysics experiments. Here we propose a new way of launching
high density and high velocity, plasma jets using multiple intense laser beams
in a hollow ring formation. We show that such jets provide a more flexible and
versatile platform for future laboratory astrophysics experiments. Using high
resolution hydrodynamic simulations, we demonstrate that the collimated jets
can achieve much higher density, temperature and velocity when multiple laser
beams are focused to form a hollow ring pattern at the target, instead of
focused onto a single spot. We carried out simulations with different ring
radii and studied their effects on the jet properties. Implications for
laboratory collisionless shock experiments are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, Accepted to HED
Formation of Pillars at the Boundaries between H II Regions and Molecular Clouds
We investigate numerically the hydrodynamic instability of an ionization
front (IF) accelerating into a molecular cloud, with imposed initial
perturbations of different amplitudes. When the initial amplitude is small, the
imposed perturbation is completely stabilized and does not grow. When the
initial perturbation amplitude is large enough, roughly the ratio of the
initial amplitude to wavelength is greater than 0.02, portions of the IF
temporarily separate from the molecular cloud surface, locally decreasing the
ablation pressure. This causes the appearance of a large, warm HI region and
triggers nonlinear dynamics of the IF. The local difference of the ablation
pressure and acceleration enhances the appearance and growth of a multimode
perturbation. The stabilization usually seen at the IF in the linear regimes
does not work due to the mismatch of the modes of the perturbations at the
cloud surface and in density in HII region above the cloud surface. Molecular
pillars are observed in the late stages of the large amplitude perturbation
case. The velocity gradient in the pillars is in reasonably good agreement with
that observed in the Eagle Nebula. The initial perturbation is imposed in three
different ways: in density, in incident photon number flux, and in the surface
shape. All cases show both stabilization for a small initial perturbation and
large growth of the second harmonic by increasing amplitude of the initial
perturbation above a critical value.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. high resolution
figures available upon reques
Magnetohydrodynamic scaling: From astrophysics to the laboratory
During the last few years, considerable progress has been made in simulating astrophysical phenomena in laboratory experiments with high-power lasers. Astrophysical phenomena that have drawn particular interest include supernovae explosions; young supernova remnants; galactic jets; the formation of fine structures in late supernovae remnants by instabilities; and the ablation-driven evolution of molecular clouds. A question may arise as to what extent the laser experiments, which deal with targets of a spatial scale of ∼100 μm and occur at a time scale of a few nanoseconds, can reproduce phenomena occurring at spatial scales of a million or more kilometers and time scales from hours to many years. Quite remarkably, in a number of cases there exists a broad hydrodynamic similarity (sometimes called the “Euler similarity”) that allows a direct scaling of laboratory results to astrophysical phenomena. A discussion is presented of the details of the Euler similarity related to the presence of shocks and to a special case of a strong drive. Constraints stemming from the possible development of small-scale turbulence are analyzed. The case of a gas with a spatially varying polytropic index is discussed. A possibility of scaled simulations of ablation front dynamics is one more topic covered in this paper. It is shown that, with some additional constraints, a simple similarity exists. © 2001 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71174/2/PHPAEN-8-5-1804-1.pd
The time scale for the transition to turbulence in a high Reynolds number, accelerated flow
An experiment is described in which an interface between materials of different density is subjected to an acceleration history consisting of a strong shock followed by a period of deceleration. The resulting flow at this interface, initiated by the deposition of strong laser radiation into the initially well characterized solid materials, is unstable to both the Richtmyer–Meshkov (RM) and Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instabilities. These experiments are of importance in their ability to access a difficult experimental regime characterized by very high energy density (high temperature and pressure) as well as large Reynolds number and Mach number. Such conditions are of interest, for example, in the study of the RM/RT induced mixing that occurs during the explosion of a core-collapse supernova. Under these experimental conditions, the flow is in the plasma state and given enough time will transition to turbulence. By analysis of the experimental data and a corresponding one-dimensional numerical simulation of the experiment, it is shown that the Reynolds number is sufficiently large (Re>105)(Re>105) to support a turbulent flow. An estimate of three key turbulence length scales (the Taylor and Kolmogorov microscales and a viscous diffusion scale), however, shows that the temporal duration of the present flow is insufficient to allow for the development of a turbulent inertial subrange. A methodology is described for estimating the time required under these conditions for the development of a fully turbulent flow. © 2003 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70243/2/PHPAEN-10-3-614-1.pd
Tardive Dyskinesia in Relation to Estimated Dopamine D2 Receptor Occupancy in Patients with Schizophrenia: Analysis of the CATIE data
Objective
The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between antipsychotic-induced tardive dyskinesia (TD) and estimated dopamine D2 receptor occupancy levels in patients with schizophrenia, using the dataset from the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials in Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE).
Methods
The dataset from 218 subjects (risperidone, N=78; olanzapine, N=100; ziprasidone, N=40) who presented with a score of zero on the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) at baseline in Phase 1 of the CATIE study, and remained for ≥6 months, was used. Peak and trough dopamine D2 receptor occupancy levels on the day of the AIMS assessment at the endpoint were estimated from plasma antipsychotic concentrations, using population pharmacokinetic analysis and our D2 prediction model. The estimated dopamine D2 receptor occupancy levels were compared between patients who presented an AIMS score of ≥2 at endpoint and those with a score of zero, using the Mann-Whitney U test.
Results
Estimated dopamine D2 receptor occupancy levels at trough were significantly higher in subjects who developed involuntary movements (N=23) than those who did not (N=195) (71.7±14.4% vs. 64.3±19.3%, p<0.05) while no significant difference was found in the estimated peak D2 receptor occupancy between them (75.4±8.7% vs. 72.1±9.9%, p=0.07). When the analyses were separately conducted for the three drugs, there were no significant differences in estimated peak or trough D2 occupancy although the values were consistently numerically higher among those developing involuntary movements.
Conclusion
Greater dopamine D2 receptor blockade with antipsychotics at trough might increase the risk of tardive involuntary movements although this finding needs to be replicated in larger trials
A review of astrophysics experiments on intense lasers
Astrophysics has traditionally been pursued at astronomical observatories and on theorists’ computers. Observations record images from space, and theoretical models are developed to explain the observations. A component often missing has been the ability to test theories and models in an experimental setting where the initial and final states are well characterized. Intense lasers are now being used to recreate aspects of astrophysical phenomena in the laboratory, allowing the creation of experimental testbeds where theory and modeling can be quantitatively tested against data. We describe here several areas of astrophysics—supernovae, supernova remnants, gamma-ray bursts, and giant planets—where laser experiments are under development to test our understanding of these phenomena. © 2000 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71013/2/PHPAEN-7-5-1641-1.pd
Laboratory Astrophysics White Paper (based on the 2010 NASA Laboratory Astrophysics Workshop in Gatlinberg, Tennessee, 25-28 October 2010)
The purpose of the 2010 NASA Laboratory Astrophysics Workshop (LAW) was, as given in the Charter from NASA, "to provide a forum within which the scientific community can review the current state of knowledge in the field of Laboratory Astrophysics, assess the critical data needs of NASA's current and future Space Astrophysics missions, and identify the challenges and opportunities facing the field as we begin a new decade". LAW 2010 was the fourth in a roughly quadrennial series of such workshops sponsored by the Astrophysics Division of the NASA Science Mission Directorate. In this White Paper, we report the findings of the workshop
Dopamine D2/3 occupancy of ziprasidone across a day : a within-subject PET study
Rationale
Ziprasidone is an atypical antipsychotic recommended to be administered twice daily.
Objectives
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether occupancy of the dopamine D2/3 receptors by ziprasidone is maintained across a day employing a within subject design.
Methods
Positron emission tomography (PET) scans with [11C]-raclopride were performed in 12 patients with schizophrenia while treated with ziprasidone 60 mg twice daily. Each patient completed [11C]-raclopride PET scans at 5, 13 and 23 h after the last dose of ziprasidone. Dopamine D2/3 receptor occupancy was estimated with reference to binding potential data of 44 age- and sex-matched control subjects in the caudate, putamen and ventral striatum.
Results
Eleven scans were available at each time point, and the mean occupancies at 5-, 13- and 23-h scans were 66, 39 and 2 % in the putamen; 62, 35 and −6 % in the caudate; and 68, 47 and 11 % in the ventral striatum, respectively. The time-course of receptor occupancy across the regions indicated an occupancy half-life of 8.3 h. The serum level of ziprasidone associated with 50 % D2/3 receptors occupancy was estimated to be 204 nmol/L (84 ng/ml). Prolactin levels were highest at 5-h post-dose and none showed hyperprolactinemia at 23-h scans.
Conclusions
The absence of ziprasidone striatal D2/3 receptor binding 23 h after taking 60 mg under steady-state conditions is consistent with its peripheral half-life. The results support our earlier report that ziprasidone 60 mg administered twice daily appears to be the minimal dose expected to achieve therapeutic central dopamine D2/3 receptor occupancy (i.e. 60 %).peer-reviewe
- …