Practical aspects of designing for and evaluating structural integrity

The application of procedures for designing and evaluating structural integrity of various construction techniques is discussed. The fatigue performance improvement of the following conditions is described: (1) conical fasteners, (2) hole preparation, (3) interference fit, and (4) interference protection. The application of fatigue tests to determine fail-safe conditions is analyzed

Localisation 2D à l'aide d'un réseau phasé très perturbé.

Dans cet article nous proposons d'améliorer la robustesse des algorithmes d'autocalibration en 2D (gisement et site) à l'aide d'une régularisation. Nous avons introduit un a priori sur le module des gains des capteurs. En effet, lorsque l'on utilise une antenne omnidirectionnelle, nous montrons que l'estimée des gains des obtenue à l'aide des éléments diagonaux de la matrice de corrélation est une information très précieuse. Nous proposons alors deux techniques de régularisation qui exploitent ces résultats. La première, gràce à une contrainte sur la somme des modules exhibe une vitesse de convergence élevée. La seconde exploite chaque contrainte de gain simultanément et nécessite la mise en oeuvre d'une optimisation itérative. De nombreuses simulations viennent confirmer les résultats attendus et montrent les améliorations apportées

Synthesis of Novel Polyhydroxylated Tetrahydropyranopyrroles

The stereoselective access to original polyhydroxylated tetrahydropyranopyrroles is described. The key steps involve an ­inverse-demand Diels-Alder reaction and a ring contraction of a ­pyridazine heterocycle

Dichlorodioxomolybdenum(VI) complexes bearing oxygen-donor ligands as olefin epoxidation catalysts

Treatment of the solvent adduct [MoO2Cl2(THF)2] with either 2 equivalents of N,N-dimethylbenzamide (DMB) or 1 equivalent of N,N'-diethyloxamide (DEO) gave the dioxomolybdenum(vi) complexes [MoO2Cl2(DMB)2] () and [MoO2Cl2(DEO)] (). The molecular structures of and were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Both complexes present a distorted octahedral geometry and adopt the cis-oxo, trans-Cl, cis-L configuration typical of complexes of the type [MoO2X2(L)n], with either the monodentate DMB or bidentate DEO oxygen-donor ligands occupying the equatorial positions trans to the oxo groups. The complexes were applied as homogeneous catalysts for the epoxidation of olefins, namely cis-cyclooctene (Cy), 1-octene, trans-2-octene, α-pinene and (R)-(+)-limonene, using tert-butylhydroperoxide (TBHP) as oxidant. In the epoxidation of Cy at 55 °C, the desired epoxide was the only product and turnover frequencies in the range of ca. 3150-3200 mol molMo(-1) h(-1) could be reached. The catalytic production of cyclooctene oxide was investigated in detail, varying either the reaction temperature or the cosolvent. Complexes and were also applied in liquid-liquid biphasic catalytic epoxidation reactions by using an ionic liquid of the type [C4mim][X] (C4mim = 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium; X = NTf2, BF4 or PF6] as a solvent to immobilise the metal catalysts. Recycling for multiple catalytic runs was achieved without loss of activity

A Novel Method for Learning Policies from Variable Constraint Data

Many everyday human skills can be framed in terms of performing some task subject to constraints imposed by the environment. Constraints are usually unobservable and frequently change between contexts. In this paper, we present a novel approach for learning (unconstrained) control policies from movement data, where observations come from movements under different constraints. As a key ingredient, we introduce a small but highly effective modification to the standard risk functional, allowing us to make a meaningful comparison between the estimated policy and constrained observations. We demonstrate our approach on systems of varying complexity, including kinematic data from the ASIMO humanoid robot with 27 degrees of freedom, and present results for learning from human demonstration

RemoveDebris Mission, In Orbit Operations

International audienceThe RemoveDebris mission has been the first Active Debris Removal (ADR) mission to give in orbit demonstrations of cost effective technologies that can be used to obser ve, capture and dispose of space debris. The craft was launched to the ISS on the 2nd of April 2018, on board a Dragon capsule. From here the satellite was deployed via the NanoRacks Kaber system into an orbit at 405km altitude and has performed key technology demonstrations including the use of a net, a harpoon, vision-based navigation (VBN) and a dragsail in a realistic space operational environment. Two CubeSats have been released by the main platform and used as targets for the net demonstration and for the VBN, whereas the harpoon demonstration has used a target mounted at the end of a boom deployed from the platform. These have been the first ever in-orbit successful demonstrations of technologies for large space debris capture. The dragsail demonstration presented some anomalies, however the lessons learned have already been implemented in new successful dragsails already deployed in space missions. This paper briefly outlines the development of the mission, discussing some of its challenges, and focusses on the various in orbit experiments, describing the operations and overall outcomes

Colonic Biopsies to Assess the Neuropathology of Parkinson's Disease and Its Relationship with Symptoms

The presence of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites (LN) has been demonstrated in the enteric nervous system (ENS) of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. The aims of the present research were to use routine colonoscopy biopsies (1) to analyze, in depth, enteric pathology throughout the colonic submucosal plexus (SMP), and (2) to correlate the pathological burden with neurological and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms.A total of 10 control and 29 PD patients divided into 3 groups according to disease duration were included. PD and GI symptoms were assessed using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part III and the Rome III questionnaire, respectively. Four biopsies were taken from the ascending and descending colon during the course of a total colonoscopy. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed using antibodies against phosphorylated alpha-synuclein, neurofilaments NF 220 kDa (NF) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). The density of LN, labeled by anti-phosphorylated alpha-synuclein antibodies, was evaluated using a quantitative rating score. Lewy pathology was apparent in the colonic biopsies from 21 patients and in none of the controls. A decreased number of NF-immunoreactive neurons per ganglion was observed in the SMP of PD patients compared to controls. The amount of LN in the ENS was inversely correlated with neuronal count and positively correlated with levodopa-unresponsive features and constipation.Analysis of the ENS by routine colonoscopy biopsies is a useful tool for pre-mortem neuropathological diagnosis of PD, and also provides insight into the progression of motor and non-motor symptoms

White matter changes in microstructure associated with a maladaptive response to stress in rats

In today's society, every individual is subjected to stressful stimuli with different intensities and duration. This exposure can be a key trigger in several mental illnesses greatly affecting one's quality of life. Yet not all subjects respond equally to the same stimulus and some are able to better adapt to them delaying the onset of its negative consequences. The neural specificities of this adaptation can be essential to understand the true dynamics of stress as well as to design new approaches to reduce its consequences. In the current work, we employed ex vivo high field diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to uncover the differences in white matter properties in the entire brain between Fisher 344 (F344) and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, known to present different responses to stress, and to examine the effects of a 2-week repeated inescapable stress paradigm. We applied a tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) analysis approach to a total of 25 animals. After exposure to stress, SD rats were found to have lower values of corticosterone when compared with F344 rats. Overall, stress was found to lead to an overall increase in fractional anisotropy (FA), on top of a reduction in mean and radial diffusivity (MD and RD) in several white matter bundles of the brain. No effect of strain on the white matter diffusion properties was observed. The strain-by-stress interaction revealed an effect on SD rats in MD, RD and axial diffusivity (AD), with lower diffusion metric levels on stressed animals. These effects were localized on the left side of the brain on the external capsule, corpus callosum, deep cerebral white matter, anterior commissure, endopiriform nucleus, dorsal hippocampus and amygdala fibers. The results possibly reveal an adaptation of the SD strain to the stressful stimuli through synaptic and structural plasticity processes, possibly reflecting learning processes.We thank Neurospin (high field MRI center CEA Saclay) for providing its support for MRI acquisition. JB was supported by grants from Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM) and Groupe Pasteur Mutualité (GPM). This work was supported by a grant from ANR (SIGMA). This work was performed on a platform of France Life Imaging (FLI) network partly funded by the grant ANR-11-INBS-0006. This work and RM were supported by a fellowship of the project FCT-ANR/NEU-OSD/0258/2012 founded by FCT/MEC (www.fct.pt) and by Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER). AC was supported by a grant from the Fondation NRJ.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio