Miniature Robotic Submarine for Exploring Harsh Environments

The miniature autonomous submersible explorer (MASE) has been proposed as a means of scientific exploration -- especially, looking for signs of life -- in harsh, relatively inaccessible underwater environments. Basically, the MASE would be a small instrumented robotic submarine (see figure) that could launch itself or could be launched from another vehicle. Examples of environments that might be explored by use of the MASE include subglacial lakes, deep-ocean hydrothermal vents, acidic or alkaline lakes, brine lenses in permafrost, and ocean regions under Antarctic ice shelves

Den iranska nationen - Vi och de i kärnkraftskonflikten

Den här uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka vilken iransk identitet som skapas av landets ledning och på så sätt bidra till förståelsen av den iranska politiken. Frågeställningen är: "Hur ser den identitet ut som konstrueras av det iranska ledarskapet genom deras offentliga tal gällande kärnkraftsfrågan?". Frågan besvaras utifrån ett konstruktivistiskt perspektiv och med Laclaus och Mouffes diskursteori som metod. Analysen består av en kartläggning av ekvivalenskedjorna för Vi, "Den iranska nationen", och De Andra, "Irans Fiender". Identiteten som konstitueras av det iranska ledarskapet är starkt positivt laddad och iraniern identifieras bl. a. som muslimsk, moralisk, fredlig, modern, ungdomlig, självständig och rättvis. Detta står i kontrast till de starkt negativt laddade egenskaper som tillskrivs Fienden och som därmed utesluts ur den iranska identiteten

From Napkin to Orbit in 9 Months; The TechEdSat Spacecraft Mission

The TechEdSat spacecraft mission saw one of the fastest turn around times for concept through launch of a CubeSat. On 26 October 2011, John Hines sketched on a brown paper napkin the outline for which components would be in this 1U CubeSat, and how they would be stacked; 269 days later that spacecraft launched from Tanegashima Space Center aboard the HTV-3 ISS resupply mission, with a total development time of only eight months. TechEdSat was among the first of five CubeSats deployed from the ISS. The goals of the TechEdSat mission were to explore the use of the Space Plug-n-Play Architecture (SPA) in a CubeSat, and to evaluate Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) space-to-space communication solutions. TechEdSat featured an array of processors from AC Microtec including four NanoRTU's and the RTULite main processor, all communicating using the SPA-1 protocol. TechEdSat featured two primary payloads: an Iridium 9602 Modem, and a Quake Global Q1000 OrbComm modem. After a successful deployment on 4 October 2012 from the ISS, over 2000 packets of 122 bytes each (250 kB total) were received in the first four months of the mission. In this paper we discuss the challenges to rapid CubeSat development, the experience of having a CubeSat approved for deployment from the ISS, the ongoing results of the mission and lessons learned

Journal Staff

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a key role in regulating mRNA expression, and individual miRNAs have been proposed as diagnostic and therapeutic candidates. The identification of such candidates is complicated by the involvement of multiple miRNAs and mRNAs as well as unknown disease topology of the miRNAs. Here, we investigated if disease-associated miRNAs regulate modules of disease-associated mRNAs, if those miRNAs act complementarily or synergistically, and if single or combinations of miRNAs can be targeted to alter module functions. We first analyzed publicly available miRNA and mRNA expression data for five different diseases. Integrated target prediction and network-based analysis showed that the miRNAs regulated modules of disease-relevant genes. Most of the miRNAs acted complementarily to regulate multiple mRNAs. To functionally test these findings, we repeated the analysis using our own miRNA and mRNA expression data from CD4+ T cells from patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis. This is a good model of complex diseases because of its well-defined phenotype and pathogenesis. Combined computational and functional studies confirmed that miRNAs mainly acted complementarily and that a combination of two complementary miRNAs, miR-223 and miR-139-3p, could be targeted to alter disease-relevant module functions, namely, the release of type 2 helper T-cell (Th2) cytokines. Taken together, our findings indicate that miRNAs act complementarily to regulate modules of disease-related mRNAs and can be targeted to alter disease-relevant functions

Молекуларно-дијагностички методи, ризици и превенција на фамилијарната хиперхолестеролемија

методи, ризици и превенција на фамилијарната хиперхолестеролемија Апстракт Фамилијарната хиперхолестеролемија (FH – Familiar Hypercholesterolemia) претставува генетичко заболување на организмот предизвикана најчесто од мутација во генот за рецепторот за липопротеини со мала густина (LDLR) и аполипопротеин Б генот (apoB). Претставува наследно заболување и како такво се карактеризира со покачени количества на вкупен холестерол и LDL – холестерол, како резултат на присуство на дисфункционални рецептори за LDL – холестерол или недостаток од рецептори за LDL- холестерол во црниот дроб со кои организмот, поточно црниот дроб, би го чистел LDL – холестеролот од циркулацијата во организмот. Пациентите со оваа болест се со голем ризик на многу млада возраст да развијат кардиоваскуларна, цереброваскуларна или периферна васкуларна болест како резултат на атероматозни промени во крвните садови, а со тоа и голем ризик од фатален исход доколку состојбата не се открие и третира соодветно. Во овој истражувачки труд се користени резултатите од лабораториски испитувања од амбулантскиот дневник на ПЗУ ДЛ „Павлина” – Виница, во временски период од две години 2010-2011 година. Трудот има за цел да ја прикаже преваленцата и ризикот од појава на можна хиперхолестеролемија, дефинирана по пол и возраст. Според анализираните резултати, заклучивме дека кај машката популација најмногу пациенти со високи концентрации на холестерол има во возрасната група од 40 до 60 години, додека кај женскиот пол во возрасната групата на жени над 60 години има најмногу пациенти со покачени концентрации на холестерол. Утврдено е и генерациска врска, т.е. покачени концентрации на холестерол во две генерации во една фамилија. Фамилијарната хиперхолестеролемија е болест која е проценето дека е присутна кај најмалку 250 милиони луѓе во светот и е од особена важност нејзината брза и рана детекција. Тоа се прави со помош на клиничко лабораториски методи и критериуми и молекуларно-дијагностички методи за откривање на генетската причина за појава на оваа болест

Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use in early acute respiratory distress syndrome : Insights from the LUNG SAFE study

Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Background: Concerns exist regarding the prevalence and impact of unnecessary oxygen use in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We examined this issue in patients with ARDS enrolled in the Large observational study to UNderstand the Global impact of Severe Acute respiratory FailurE (LUNG SAFE) study. Methods: In this secondary analysis of the LUNG SAFE study, we wished to determine the prevalence and the outcomes associated with hyperoxemia on day 1, sustained hyperoxemia, and excessive oxygen use in patients with early ARDS. Patients who fulfilled criteria of ARDS on day 1 and day 2 of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure were categorized based on the presence of hyperoxemia (PaO2 > 100 mmHg) on day 1, sustained (i.e., present on day 1 and day 2) hyperoxemia, or excessive oxygen use (FIO2 ≥ 0.60 during hyperoxemia). Results: Of 2005 patients that met the inclusion criteria, 131 (6.5%) were hypoxemic (PaO2 < 55 mmHg), 607 (30%) had hyperoxemia on day 1, and 250 (12%) had sustained hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use occurred in 400 (66%) out of 607 patients with hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use decreased from day 1 to day 2 of ARDS, with most hyperoxemic patients on day 2 receiving relatively low FIO2. Multivariate analyses found no independent relationship between day 1 hyperoxemia, sustained hyperoxemia, or excess FIO2 use and adverse clinical outcomes. Mortality was 42% in patients with excess FIO2 use, compared to 39% in a propensity-matched sample of normoxemic (PaO2 55-100 mmHg) patients (P = 0.47). Conclusions: Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use are both prevalent in early ARDS but are most often non-sustained. No relationship was found between hyperoxemia or excessive oxygen use and patient outcome in this cohort. Trial registration: LUNG-SAFE is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02010073publishersversionPeer reviewe

Miniaturized Multifunctional System Architecture for Satellites and Robotics

This thesis describes and evaluates the design of nanospacecraft based on advanced multifunctional microsystems building blocks. These systems bring substantial improvements of the performance of nanosatellites and enable new space exploration, e.g. interplanetary science missions using minute space probes. Microsystems, or microelectromechanical systems, allows for extreme miniaturization using heritage from IC industry. Reducing mass and volume of spacecraft gives large savings in terms of launch costs. Definition and categorization of system and module level features in multifunctional microsystems are used to derive a spacecraft optimization algorithm which is compatible with commonly used concurrent engineering methods. The miniaturization of modules enables modular spacecraft architectures comprising powerful multifunctional microsystems, which are applicable to satellites between 10 and 1000’s of kg. This kind of complete spacecraft architecture has been developed for the NanoSpace-1 technology demonstrator satellite. The spacecraft bus uses multifunctional design to enable distributed intelligence and autonomy, graceful degradation, functional surfaces, and distributed power systems. The increase in performance of the new spacecraft architecture as compared with conventional nanosatellites is orders of magnitudes in terms of power storage, scientific payload mass ratio, pointing stabilization, and long time space operation. This high-performance system-of-microsystems architecture has been successfully employed on two space robotic concepts: a miniaturized submersible vehicle for Jupiter’s Moon Europa and a miniaturized spherical robot. The submersible is enabled by miniaturization of electronics into 3-dimensional, vertically integrated multi-chip-modules together with new interconnection methods. These technologies enabled the submersible vehicle tube-shaped design within 20 cm length and 5 cm diameter. The spherical rover was developed for long range and networked science investigations of interplanetary bodies. The rover weighs 3.5 kg and is shown to endure direct reentry on Mars, which increases the ratio between the landed mobile payload mass and the initial mass in Mars orbit by a factor of 18

Miniaturized Multifunctional System Architecture for Satellites and Robotics

This thesis describes and evaluates the design of nanospacecraft based on advanced multifunctional microsystems building blocks. These systems bring substantial improvements of the performance of nanosatellites and enable new space exploration, e.g. interplanetary science missions using minute space probes. Microsystems, or microelectromechanical systems, allows for extreme miniaturization using heritage from IC industry. Reducing mass and volume of spacecraft gives large savings in terms of launch costs. Definition and categorization of system and module level features in multifunctional microsystems are used to derive a spacecraft optimization algorithm which is compatible with commonly used concurrent engineering methods. The miniaturization of modules enables modular spacecraft architectures comprising powerful multifunctional microsystems, which are applicable to satellites between 10 and 1000’s of kg. This kind of complete spacecraft architecture has been developed for the NanoSpace-1 technology demonstrator satellite. The spacecraft bus uses multifunctional design to enable distributed intelligence and autonomy, graceful degradation, functional surfaces, and distributed power systems. The increase in performance of the new spacecraft architecture as compared with conventional nanosatellites is orders of magnitudes in terms of power storage, scientific payload mass ratio, pointing stabilization, and long time space operation. This high-performance system-of-microsystems architecture has been successfully employed on two space robotic concepts: a miniaturized submersible vehicle for Jupiter’s Moon Europa and a miniaturized spherical robot. The submersible is enabled by miniaturization of electronics into 3-dimensional, vertically integrated multi-chip-modules together with new interconnection methods. These technologies enabled the submersible vehicle tube-shaped design within 20 cm length and 5 cm diameter. The spherical rover was developed for long range and networked science investigations of interplanetary bodies. The rover weighs 3.5 kg and is shown to endure direct reentry on Mars, which increases the ratio between the landed mobile payload mass and the initial mass in Mars orbit by a factor of 18

Allt annat lika - Gruppspecifika rättigheter och kulturella minoriteter

This essay concerns the problematic and highly contested topic of group specific rights for cultural minorities. I ask the question whether group specific rights for cultural minorities can be justified within the context of liberal democracy, and use the tools provided by normative analysis to analyse and provide an answer to this question. I start out with pinpointing the conflict that lies within the basic values of liberal democracy concerning a politics of difference or recognition and the equal treatment of all. Through an analysis and critique of theories put forward mainly by Charles Taylor, Will Kymlicka and Nancy Fraser I argue that a theory of group specific rights for cultural minorities must meet the double demand of, first of all, a dynamic, and reflexive understanding of cultural identity formation and cultural differences, and secondly, a perspective that treats cultural rights as rights based on a claim of justice. I then, based on these requirements and the theory of deliberative democracy, as put forward by Seyla Benhabib, together with an argument concerning equality, argue and come to the conclusion that there is indeed good reasons for adopting group specific rights for some cultural minorities

Software architecture for next generation hyperparallel cyber-physical hardware platforms: challenges and opportunities

ABSTRACT We present what is destined to become the de-facto standard for hardware platforms for next generation cyber-physical systems. Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) is an initiative to harmonize the industry around a common architecture which is easier to program and is an open standard defining the key interfaces for parallel computation. Since HSA is supported by virtually all major players in the silicon market we can conjecture that HSA, with its capabilities and quirks, will highly influence both the hardware and software for next generation cyber-physical systems. In this paper we describe HSA and discuss how its nature will influence architectures of system software and application software. Specifically, we believe that the system software needs to both leverage the hyperparallel nature of HSA while providing predictable and efficient resource allocation to different parallel activities. The application software, on the other hand, should be isolated from the complexity of the hardware architecture but yet be able to efficiently use the full potential of the hyperparallel nature of HSA