Apollo guidance, navigation, and control: Candidate configuration trade study, Stellar-Inertial Measurement System (SIMS) for an Earth Observation Satellite (EOS)

The ten candidate SIMS configurations were reduced to three in preparation for the final trade comparison. The report emphasizes subsystem design trades, star availability studies, data processing (smoothing) methods, and the analytical and simulation studies at subsystem and system levels from which candidate accuracy estimates will be presented

Video augmentation to support video-based learning

Multimedia content and video-based learning are expected to take a central role in the post-pandemic world. Thus, providing new advanced interfaces and services that further exploit their potential becomes of paramount importance. A challenging area deals with developing intelligent visual interfaces that integrate the knowledge extracted from multimedia materials into educational applications. In this respect, we designed a web-based video player that is aimed to support video consumption by exploiting the knowledge extracted from the video in terms of concepts explained in the video and prerequisite relations between them. This knowledge is used to augment the video lesson through visual feedback methods. Specifically, in this paper we investigate the use of two types of visual feedback, i.e. an augmented transcript and a dynamic concept map (map of concept's flow), to improve video comprehension in the first-watch learning context. Our preliminary findings suggest that both the methods help the learner to focus on the relevant concepts and their related contents. The augmented transcript has an higher impact on immediate comprehension compared to the map of concepts' flow, even though the latter is expected to be more powerful to support other tasks such as exploration and in-depth analysis of the concepts in the video

Topic Maps e XTM per l'e-learning

Topic Maps are a methodology whose aim is describing knowledge structures and associating them with information resources. XML Topic Maps (XTM) is an XML-based encoding scheme to represent topic maps and similar knowledge structures (e.g. semantic networks, associative networks, concept maps, mind maps, etc.). In this paper Topic Maps and XTM are proposed as a knowledge representation system to be exploited in e-learning environments for a suited integration with semantic web technologies. They may be a useful tool to facilitate the design of learning contents and their delivery in diverse contexts. After a short survey of the Topic Maps standardization process, in this paper key elements and characteristics of TM and XTM paradigm are described. Then it is briefl y discussed about Topic Maps applications in e-learning context and also a short survey of related works is presente

Analytical Model of Thermo-electrical Behaviour in Superconducting Resistive Core Cables

High field superconducting Nb$_{3}$Sn accelerators magnets above 14 T, for future High Energy Physics applications, call for improvements in the design of the protection system against resistive transitions. The longitudinal quench propagation velocity (vq) is one of the parameters defining the requirements of the protection. Up to now vq has been always considered as a physical parameter defined by the operating conditions (the bath temperature, cooling conditions, the magnetic field and the over all current density) and the type of superconductor and stabilizer used. It is possible to enhance the quench propagation velocity by segregating a percent of the stabilizer into the core, although keeping the total amount constant and tuning the contact resistance between the superconducting strands and the core. Analytical model and computer simulations are presented to explain the phenomenon. The consequences with respect to minimum quench energy are evidenced and the strategy to optimize the cable designed is discussed

Electrical and Magnetic Performance of the LHC Short Straight Sections

The Short Straight Section (SSS) for the Large Hadron Collider arcs, containing in a common cryostat the lattice quadrupoles and correction magnets, have now entered series production. The foremost features of the lattice quadrupole magnets are a two-in-one structure containing two 56 mm aperture, two-layers coils wound from 15.1 mm wide NbTi cables, enclosed by the stainless steel collars and ferromagnetic yoke, and inserted into the inertia tube. Systematic cryogenic tests are performed at CERN in order to qualify these magnets with respect to their cryogenic and electrical integrity, the quench performance and the field quality in all operating conditions. This paper reports the main results obtained during tests and measurements in superfluid helium. The electrical characteristics, the insulation measurements and the quench performance are compared to the specifications and expected performances for these magnets. The field in the main quadrupole is measured using three independent systems: 10-m long twin rotating coils, an automatic scanner, and single stretched wire. A particular emphasis is given to the integrated transfer function which has a spread of around 12 units rms in the production and is a critical issue. The do-decapole harmonic component, which required trimming through a change in coil shims, is also discussed. Finally, the magnetic axis measurements at room temperature and at 1.9 K, providing the nominal vertical shift for installation are reported

Warm and Cold Magnetic and Mechanical Alignment Tests of LHC Short Straight Sections

This paper contains a summary of the results of the magnetic and mechanical alignment tests performed at CERN on the first 111 arc Short Straight Sections. These include the mechanical axis of the Cold Bore Tube at room temperature, the magnetic axis of main quadrupoles and correctors at both room and cryogenic temperature, and the field direction of the main quadrupoles. The measurements show that the quality of the assemblies is generally within the requirements for the machine

Gemcitabine and docetaxel in relapsed and unresectable high-grade osteosarcoma and spindle cell sarcoma of bone

BACKGROUND: Few new compounds are available for relapsed osteosarcoma. We retrospectively evaluated the activity of gemcitabine (G) plus docetaxel (D) in patients with relapsed high-grade osteosarcoma and high-grade spindle cell sarcoma of bone (HGS). METHODS: Patients receiving G 900 mg/m(2) d 1, 8; D 75 mg/m(2) d 8, every 21 days were eligible. Primary end-point: progression-free survival (PFS) at 4 months; secondary end-point: overall survival (OS) and response rate. RESULTS: Fifty-one patients were included, with a median age of 17 years (8–71), 26 (51 %) were pediatric patients. GD line of treatment: 2nd in 14 patients, ≥3rd in 37. 25 (49 %) patients had metastases limited to lungs, 26 (51 %) multiple sites. Histology: 40 (78 %) osteosarcoma, 11 (22 %) HGS. Eight (16 %) patients achieved surgical complete response (sCR2) after GD. Four-month PFS rate was 46 %, and significantly better for patients with ECOG 0 (ECOG 0: 54 % vs ECOG 1: 43 % vs ECOG 2: 0 %; p = 0.003), for patients undergoing metastasectomy after GD (sCR2 75 % vs no-sCR2 40 %, p = 0.02) and for osteosarcoma (osteosarcoma 56 % vs HGS 18 %; p = 0.05), with no differences according to age, line of treatment, and pattern of metastases. Forty-six cases had RECIST measurable disease: 6 (13 %) patients had a partial response (PR), 20 (43 %) had stable disease (SD) and 20 (43 %) had progressive disease (PD). The 1-year OS was 30 %: 67 % for PR, 54 % for SD and 20 % for PD (p = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: GD is an active treatment for relapsed high-grade osteosarcoma, especially for ECOG 0 patients, and should be included in the therapeutic armamentarium of metastatic osteosarcoma

Plasma Physics

Contains reports on eight research projects.U. S. Atomic Energy Commission (Contract AT(30-1)-1842)U. S. Navy (Office of Naval Research) under Contract Nonr-1841(42

The Clinical Impact of Methotrexate-Induced Stroke-Like Neurotoxicity in Paediatric Departments: An Italian Multi-Centre Case-Series

Introduction: Stroke-like syndrome (SLS) is a rare subacute neurological complication of intrathecal or high-dose (≥500 mg) Methotrexate (MTX) administration. Its clinical features, evoking acute cerebral ischaemia with fluctuating course symptoms and a possible spontaneous resolution, have elicited interest among the scientific community. However, many issues are still open on the underlying pathogenesis, clinical, and therapeutic management and long-term outcome. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical, radiological and laboratory records of all patients diagnosed with SLS between 2011 and 2021 at 4 National referral centers for Pediatric Onco-Hematology. Patients with a latency period that was longer than 3 weeks between the last MTX administration of MTX and SLS onset were excluded from the analysis, as were those with unclear etiologies. We assessed symptom severity using a dedicated arbitrary scoring system. Eleven patients were included in the study. Results: The underlying disease was acute lymphoblastic leukemia type B in 10/11 patients, while fibroblastic osteosarcoma was present in a single subject. The median age at diagnosis was 11 years (range 4–34), and 64% of the patients were women. Symptoms occurred after a mean of 9.45 days (± 0.75) since the last MTX administration and lasted between 1 and 96 h. Clinical features included hemiplegia and/or cranial nerves palsy, paraesthesia, movement or speech disorders, and seizure. All patients underwent neuroimaging studies (CT and/or MRI) and EEG. The scoring system revealed an average of 4.9 points (± 2.3), with a median of 5 points (maximum 20 points). We detected a linear correlation between the severity of the disease and age in male patients. Conclusions: SLS is a rare, well-characterized complication of MTX administration. Despite the small sample, we have been able to confirm some of the previous findings in literature. We also identified a linear correlation between age and severity of the disease, which could improve the future clinical management