Efficient frequency-transient co-simulation of coupled heat-electromagnetic problems

Background: With the recent advent of inductive charging systems all major automotive manufacturers develop concepts to wirelessly charge electric vehicles. E¿cient designs require virtual prototyping that accounts for electromagnetic and thermal ¿elds. The coupled simulations can be computationally very costly. This is because of the high frequencies in the electromagnetic part. This paper derives a mixed frequency-transient model as approximation to the original problem. We propose a co-simulation such that the electromagnetic part is simulated in the frequency domain while the thermal part resists in time domain. Results: The iteration scheme for the frequency-transient model is convergent for low frequency and high frequency excitation. For su¿cient high frequencies the iteration exhibits a quadratic convergence rate. Conclusions: The frequency-transient model is very e¿cient for coupled heat-electromagnetic simulations since typically the time scales di¿er by several orders of magnitude. For medium frequencies large time steps can be chosen. The analysis shows, that for high frequencies the convergence rate improves further

A Distinct Layer of the Medulla Integrates Sky Compass Signals in the Brain of an Insect

Mass migration of desert locusts is a common phenomenon in North Africa and the Middle East but how these insects navigate is still poorly understood. Laboratory studies suggest that locusts are able to exploit the sky polarization pattern as a navigational cue. Like other insects locusts detect polarized light through a specialized dorsal rim area (DRA) of the eye. Polarization signals are transmitted through the optic lobe to the anterior optic tubercle (AOTu) and, finally, to the central complex in the brain. Whereas neurons of the AOTu integrate sky polarization and chromatic cues in a daytime dependent manner, the central complex holds a topographic representation of azimuthal directions suggesting a role as an internal sky compass. To understand further the integration of sky compass cues we studied polarization-sensitive (POL) neurons in the medulla that may be intercalated between DRA photoreceptors and AOTu neurons. Five types of POL-neuron were characterized and four of these in multiple recordings. All neurons had wide arborizations in medulla layer 4 and most, additionally, in the dorsal rim area of the medulla and in the accessory medulla, the presumed circadian clock. The neurons showed type-specific orientational tuning to zenithal polarized light and azimuth tuning to unpolarized green and UV light spots. In contrast to neurons of the AOTu, we found no evidence for color opponency and daytime dependent adjustment of sky compass signals. Therefore, medulla layer 4 is a distinct stage in the integration of sky compass signals that precedes the time-compensated integration of celestial cues in the AOTu

Identification of Eps15 as Antigen Recognized by the Monoclonal Antibodies aa2 and ab52 of the Wuerzburg Hybridoma Library against Drosophila Brain

The Wuerzburg Hybridoma Library against the Drosophila brain represents a collection of around 200 monoclonal antibodies that bind to specific structures in the Drosophila brain. Here we describe the immunohistochemical staining patterns, the Western blot signals of one- and two-dimensional electrophoretic separation, and the mass spectrometric characterization of the target protein candidates recognized by the monoclonal antibodies aa2 and ab52 from the library. Analysis of a mutant of a candidate gene identified the Drosophila homolog of the Epidermal growth factor receptor Pathway Substrate clone 15 (Eps15) as the antigen for these two antibodies

Coupled heat-electromagnetic simulation of inductive charging stations for electric vehicles

Coupled electromagnetic-heat problems have been studied for induction or inductive heating, for dielectric heating, for testing of corrosion, for detection of cracks, for hardening of steel, and more recently for inductive charging of electric vehicles. In nearly all cases a simple co-simulation is made where the electromagnetic problem is solved in the frequency domain (and which thus is assumed to be linear) and the heat equation in the time domain. One exchanges data after each time step (or after some change in the heat pro¿le). However, the coupled problem is non-linear in the heat variable. In this paper we propose to split the time domain in windows in which we solve the electromagnetics problem in frequency domain. We strengthen the coupling by iterations, for which we prove convergence. By this we obtain a higher accuracy, which will allow for larger time steps and also for higher order time integration. This fully exploits the multirate behavior of the coupled system. An industrial example illustrates the analysis

Efficient frequency-transient co-simulation of coupled heat-electromagnetic problems

Background With the recent advent of inductive charging systems all major automotive manufacturers develop concepts to wirelessly charge electric vehicles. Efficient designs require virtual prototyping that accounts for electromagnetic and thermal fields. The coupled simulations can be computationally very costly. This is because of the high frequencies in the electromagnetic part. This paper derives a mixed frequency-transient model as approximation to the original problem. We propose a co-simulation such that the electromagnetic part is simulated in the frequency domain while the thermal part remains in time domain. Results The iteration scheme for the frequency-transient model is convergent for high frequency excitation. The error bound improves quadratically with increasing frequency. Conclusions The frequency-transient model is very efficient for coupled heat-electromagnetic simulations since the time scales typically differ by several orders of magnitude. The time steps of the full system can be chosen according to the heat subsystem only

Aglomerular hemipteran antennal lobes – Basic neuroanatomy of a small nose

We have compared the basic organization of the primary olfactory centre, the antennal lobe (AL), in 4 hemipteran species representing the 2 major lineages in this order. The Homoptera were represented by the psyllid Trioza apicalis and its aphid relatives the grain aphid Sitobion avenae Fabricius and the rose-grain aphid Metopolophium dirhodum Walker, whereas the Heteroptera were represented by the pentatomid stink bug Euschistus heros Fabricius. The olfactory systems of psyllids and aphids are generally very small, with low numbers of afferents in comparison to other insect groups, and the smallest described so far belongs to T. apicalis, comprising less than 50 olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). Originally, we tried to estimate numbers of olfactory glomeruli in the AL of T. apicalis, which in insects generally correspond closely to the number of different types of ORNs. Neither immunocytochemical staining nor anterograde staining of ORNs revealed any glomerular structures in the ALs of T. apicalis or the 2 aphids that were included for comparison. In contrast, the ALs of the pentatomid stink bug E. heros displayed numerous distinct and well-delineated glomeruli, showing that aglomerular ALs are not typical of all insects within the order Hemiptera. Glomeruli are hallmark features of olfactory lobes in many different phyla, and the absence of glomerular structures in psyllids and aphids appears to be unique in insects that depend on olfactory orientation

Evaluation of prognostic factors and role of participation in a randomized trial or a prospective registry in pediatric and adolescent nonmetastatic medulloblastoma: a report from the HIT 2000 trial

Purpose We aimed to compare treatment results in and outside of a randomized trial and to confirm factors influencing outcome in a large retrospective cohort of nonmetastatic medulloblastoma treated in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. Methods and Materials Patients with nonmetastatic medulloblastoma (n = 382) aged 4 to 21 years and primary neurosurgical resection between 2001 and 2011 were assessed. Between 2001 and 2006, 176 of these patients (46.1%) were included in the randomized HIT SIOP PNET 4 trial. From 2001 to 2011 an additional 206 patients were registered to the HIT 2000 study center and underwent the identical central review program. Three different radiation therapy protocols were applied. Genetically defined tumor entity (former molecular subgroup) was available for 157 patients. Results Median follow-up time was 7.3 (range, 0.09-13.86) years. There was no difference between HIT SIOP PNET 4 trial patients and observational patients outside the randomized trial, with 7 years progression-free survival rates (PFS) of 79.5% ± 3.1% versus 78.7% ± 3.1% (P = .62). On univariate analysis, the time interval between surgery and irradiation (≤ 48 days vs ≥ 49 days) showed a strong trend to affect PFS (80.4% ± 2.2% vs 64.6% ± 9.1%; P = .052). Furthermore, histologically and genetically defined tumor entities and the extent of postoperative residual tumor influenced PFS. On multivariate analyses, a genetically defined tumor entity wingless-related integration site-activated vs non-wingless-related integration site/non-SHH, group 3 hazard ratio, 5.49; P = .014) and time interval between surgery and irradiation (hazard ratio, 2.2; P = .018) were confirmed as independent risk factors. Conclusions Using a centralized review program and risk-stratified therapy for all patients registered to the study center, outcome was identical for patients with nonmetastatic medulloblastoma treated on and off the randomized HIT SIOP PNET 4 trial. The prognostic values of prolonged time to RT and genetically defined tumor entity were confirmed