Autonomous prealignment of a docking mechanism

Proposed future space exploration, such as lunar and Martian expeditions, will require autonomous docking of space vehicles. One proposed candidate method of autonomous docking utilizes a actively controlled parallel manipulator. Operation of the proposed docking manipulator can be segmented into four successive events: prealignment, capture/latching, attenuation, and structural rigidization. This paper discusses the development and testing of a digitally controlled, six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF), parallel manipulator for the prealignment segment of a docking spacecraft

Comparison of Risk of Recrudescent Fever in Children With Kawasaki Disease Treated With Intravenous Immunoglobulin and Low-Dose vs High-Dose Aspirin

Importance: Timely initiation of intravenous immunoglobulin plus aspirin is necessary for decreasing the risk of recrudescent fever and coronary artery abnormalities in children with Kawasaki disease (KD). The optimal dose of aspirin, however, remains unclear. Objective: To evaluate whether initial treatment with low-dose compared with high-dose aspirin in children with KD is associated with an increase in fever recrudescence. Design, Setting, and Participants: A retrospective cohort study of 260 children with KD at Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis, Indiana, between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2018, was conducted. Children aged 0 to 18 years with a first episode of KD, identified by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision and International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision diagnosis codes treated within 10 days of symptom onset with high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin plus aspirin were eligible. Patients who received an alternative diagnosis, experienced a second episode of KD, did not receive intravenous immunoglobulin plus aspirin for initial treatment, were not treated within 10 days of symptoms, or had incomplete records were excluded. Exposures: High-dose (≥10 mg/kg/d) or low-dose (<10 mg/kg/d) aspirin therapy. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was recrudescent fever necessitating retreatment of KD. The secondary outcomes were coronary artery abnormalities and hospital length of stay. Results: Among the 260 patients included, the median (interquartile range) age was 2.5 (1.6-4.3) years, 103 (39.6%) were girls, 166 (63.8%) were non-Hispanic white, 57 (21.9%) were African American, 22 (8.5%) were Asian, 11 (4.2%) were Hispanic, and 4 (1.5%) were of unknown race/ethnicity. One hundred-forty-two patients (54.6%) were treated with low-dose aspirin. There was no association between recrudescent fever and aspirin dose, with 39 children (27.5%) having recrudescent fever in the low-dose group compared with 26 children (22.0%) in the high-dose group (odds ratio [OR], 1.34; 95% CI, 0.76-2.37; P = .31), with similar results after adjusting for potential confounding variables (OR, 1.63; 95% CI, 0.89-2.97; P = .11). In a subset analysis of 167 children with complete KD, however, there was nearly a 2-fold difference in the odds of recrudescent fever with low-dose aspirin (OR, 1.87; 95% CI, 0.82-4.23; P = .14), although this difference did not reach statistical significance. In addition, no association was identified between treatment group and coronary artery abnormalities (low-dose, 7.4% vs high-dose, 9.4%; OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.48-1.55; P = .62) or median (interquartile range) length of stay (3 [3-5] days for both groups; P = .27). Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, low-dose aspirin for the initial treatment of children with KD was not associated with fever recrudescence or coronary artery abnormalities. Given the potential benefits, further study of low-dose aspirin to detect potentially clinically relevant outcome differences is warranted to inform treatment decisions and guideline development

Free-surface/vorticity interaction

The unsteady flow phenomena resulting from the interaction of wakes and vortices with the free surface are of particular importance in naval hydrodynamics. Ship and submarine wakes produce a three-dimensional complex signature, comprised of a narrow dark band bordered by two bright lines in synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) images. The dark band signifies the suppression of waves at the Bragg frequency as a consequence of the interaction between the free surface and the imposed vorticity. In the present investigation, the vorticity field is provided by a single tip vortex generated by an airfoil. The results, obtained with an LDV, have shown that the free surface redistributes part or all of the normal turbulent kinetic energy into streamwise and spanwise components. The turbulent kinetic energy first decreases sharply with increasing vertical distance from the vortex and then remains nearly constant within a thin layer below the 'roughened' free surface. The results explain the longevity of the structures and lend further credence to the simulation of near-surface structures via vortex- or contour-dynamics.http://archive.org/details/freesurfacevorti1094539925Lieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

The Virgo Alignment Puzzle in Propagation of Radiation on Cosmological Scales

We reconsider analysis of data on the cosmic microwave background on the largest angular scales. Temperature multipoles of any order factor naturally into a direct product of axial quantities and cosets. Striking coincidences exist among the axes associated with the dipole, quadrupole, and octupole CMB moments. These axes also coincide well with two other axes independently determined from polarizations at radio and optical frequencies propagating on cosmological scales. The five coincident axes indicate physical correlation and anisotropic properties of the cosmic medium not predicted by the conventional Big Bang scenario. We consider various mechanisms, including foreground corrections, as candidates for the observed correlations. We also consider whether the propagation anomalies may be a signal of ``dark energy'' in the form of a condensed background field. Perhaps {\it light propagation} will prove to be an effective way to look for the effects of {\it dark energy}.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figures, minor changes, no change in result or conclusions. to appear in IJMP

Vascular Flora of Hooper Branch Savanna Nature Preserve, Iroquois County, Illinois

INHS Technical Report prepared for Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Division of Natural Heritag

Model Systems for the Study of Kidney Development: Use of the Pronephros in the Analysis of Organ Induction and Patterning

AbstractMost vertebrate organs, once formed, continue to perform the function for which they were generated until the death of the organism. The kidney is a notable exception to this rule. Vertebrates, even those that do not undergo metamorphosis, utilize a progression of more complex kidneys as they grow and develop. This is presumably due to the changing conditions to which the organism must respond to retain what Homer Smith referred to as our physiological freedom. To quote, “Recognizing that we have the kind of blood we have because we have the kind of kidneys we have, we must acknowledge that our kidneys constitute the major foundation of our physiological freedom. Only because they work the way they do has it become possible for us to have bones, muscles, glands, and brains. Superficially, it might be said that the function of the kidneys is to make urine; but in a more considered view one can say that the kidneys make the stuff of philosophy itself” (“From Fish to Philosopher,” Little, Brown and Co., Boston, 1953). Different kidneys are used to make the stuff of philosophy at different stages of development depending on the age and needs of the organism, rather than the usual approach of simply making embryonic organs larger as the animal grows. Although evolution has provided the higher vertebrates with complex adult kidneys, they continue to utilize simple kidneys in embryogenesis. In lower vertebrates with simple adult kidneys, even more simple versions are used during early developmental stages. In this review the anatomy, development, and gene expression patterns of the embryonic kidney, the pronephros, will be described and compared to the more complex kidney forms. Despite some differences in anatomy, similar developmental pathways seem to be responsible for the induction and the response to induction in both evanescent and permanent kidney forms. Gene expression patterns can, therefore, be added to the morphological and functional data indicating that all forms of the kidney are closely related structures. Given the similarities between the development of simple and complex kidneys, the embryonic kidneys may be an ideal model system in which to investigate the genesis of multicomponent organ systems

Year 2015 Results and Final Analysis of Trends Following Five Years of Vegetation Monitoring in 20 Constructed Bioswales Along Interstate 294,Touhy Avenue to Lake-Cook Road, Cook County, IL

This report documents the vegetation parameters relevant to the performance standards in bioswales from sample data collected in June and September 2015, the final year of monitoring. Species composition, diversity (based on species richness and species density), percent cover, and floristic quality from 2015 sample data are described and compared to previous sample data. Vegetation trends from the 2011 baseline are examined and a comparison is made between the baseline and 2015 final sample data.Illinois State Toll Highway Authorityunpublishednot peer reviewe

Vegetation Changes from 2009 to 2015 in Prairie and Old Field Habitats following Restoration at the North Chicago Wetland Mitigation Site, Lake County, Illinois

This report focuses on results from vegetation monitoring in terrestrial plant communities during 2015 and examines and compares trends among Reference Prairie, Transect Prairie, and Old Field habitats. There are five main questions: 1. What are the site-level comparative trends in species composition, total richness, and floristic quality and, for Old Field and Prairie habitats (combining Reference Prairie and Transect Prairie habitats), what are the changes in species composition and abundance? 2. Based on 2015 sample data, are there significant between-subjects (vegetation types) differences with regard to ground layer and shrub/sapling parameters (e.g., composition, species richness, diversity, and cover - see Methods for full list and parameter definitions)?1 3. Are there significant within-subjects (year) differences in these parameters since the 2009 baseline data for each vegetation type and when (what year) do the differences occur?4. What are the between-subjects and within-subjects interactions (i.e., vegetation type x sample year) for selected vegetation parameters since 2009? 5. As a summary evaluation, how do baseline species composition, structure, and diversity patterns compare to the 2015 final sample?unpublishednot peer reviewe