Man-computer roles in space navigation and guidance, phase I

Estimated man-machine requirement computations for space navigation and guidanc

Man-computer role in space navigation and guidance Final report

Man computer roles and hardware requirements for navigation and guidance in deep space manned mission

Breaking degeneracy in jet dynamics: multi-epoch joint modelling of the BL Lac PKS 2155-304

Supermassive black holes can launch powerful jets which can be some of the most luminous multi-wavelength sources; decades after their discovery their physics and energetics are still poorly understood. The past decade has seen a dramatic improvement in the quality of available data, but despite this improvement the semi-analytical modelling of jets has advanced slowly: simple one-zone models are still the most commonly employed method of interpreting data, in particular for AGN jets. These models can roughly constrain the properties of jets but they cannot unambiguously couple their emission to the launching regions and internal dynamics, which can be probed with simulations. However, simulations are not easily comparable to observations because they cannot yet self-consistently predict spectra. We present an advanced semi-analytical model which accounts for the dynamics of the whole jet, starting from a simplified parametrization of Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamics in which the magnetic flux is converted into bulk kinetic energy. To benchmark the model we fit six quasisimultaneous, multi-wavelength spectral energy distributions of the BL Lac PKS 2155-304 obtained by the TANAMI program, and we address the degeneracies inherent to such a complex model by employing a state-of-the-art exploration of parameter space, which so far has been mostly neglected in the study of AGN jets. We find that this new approach is much more effective than a single-epoch fit in providing meaningful constraints on model parameters.Comment: Accepted for publication on MNRA

The relationship between quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C30) and survival in patients with gastro-oesopohageal cancer

It remains unclear whether any aspect of quality of life has a role in predicting survival in an unselected cohort of patients with gastro-oesophageal cancer. Therefore the aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C30), clinico-pathological characteristics and survival in patients with gastro-oesophageal cancer. Patients presenting with gastric or oesophageal cancer, staged using the UICC tumour node metastasis (TNM) classification and who received either potentially curative surgery or palliative treatment between November 1997 and December 2002 (n=152) participated in a quality of life study, using the EORTC QLQ-C30 core questionnaire. On univariate analysis, age (P < 0.01), tumour length (P < 0.0001), TNM stage (P<0.0001), weight loss (P<0.0001), dysphagia score (P<0.001), performance status (P<0.1) and treatment (P<0.0001) were significantly associated with cancer-specific survival. EORTC QLQ-C30, physical functioning (P<0.0001), role functioning (P<0.001), cognitive functioning (P<0.01), social functioning (P<0.0001), global quality of life (P<0.0001), fatigue (P<0.0001), nausea/vomiting (P<0.01), pain (P<0.001), dyspnoea (P<0.0001), appetite loss (P<0.0001) and constipation (P<0.05) were also significantly associated with cancer-specific survival. On multivariate survival analysis, tumour stage (P<0.0001), treatment (P<0.001) and appetite loss (P<0.0001) were significant independent predictors of cancer-specific survival. The present study highlights the importance of quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C30) measures, in particular appetite loss, as a prognostic factor in these patients