Funnel control for a moving water tank

We study tracking control for a moving water tank system, which is modelled using the Saint-Venant equations. The output is given by the position of the tank and the control input is the force acting on it. For a given reference signal, the objective is to achieve that the tracking error evolves within a prespecified performance funnel. Exploiting recent results in funnel control we show that it suffices to show that the operator associated with the internal dynamics of the system is causal, locally Lipschitz continuous and maps bounded functions to bounded functions. To show these properties we consider the linearized Saint-Venant equations in an abstract framework and show that it corresponds to a regular well-posed linear system, where the inverse Laplace transform of the transfer function defines a measure with bounded total variation.Comment: 11 page

Altered microRNA and target gene expression related to Tetralogy of Fallot

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in guiding development and maintaining function of the human heart. Dysregulation of miRNAs has been linked to various congenital heart diseases including Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), which represents the most common cyanotic heart malformation in humans. Several studies have identified dysregulated miRNAs in right ventricular (RV) tissues of TOF patients. In this study, we profiled genome-wide the whole transcriptome and analyzed the relationship of miRNAs and mRNAs of RV tissues of a homogeneous group of 22 non-syndromic TOF patients. Observed profiles were compared to profiles obtained from right and left ventricular tissue of normal hearts. To reduce the commonly observed large list of predicted target genes of dysregulated miRNAs, we applied a stringent target prediction pipeline integrating probabilities for miRNA-mRNA interaction. The final list of disease-related miRNA-mRNA pairs comprises novel as well as known miRNAs including miR-1 and miR-133, which are essential to cardiac development and function by regulating KCNJ2, FBN2, SLC38A3 and TNNI1. Overall, our study provides additional insights into post-transcriptional gene regulation of malformed hearts of TOF patients

Therapeutic hypothermia for encephalopathic newborns with congenital heart defect: A cross-sectional survey on current practices and opinions in Germany

BACKGROUND Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) reduces neonatal mortality and long-term neurodevelopmental impairment in infants with moderate-to-severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) caused by perinatal asphyxia. There is an increasing trend to apply TH in other indications and populations, such as infants with mild HIE or neonates with congenital heart defects (CHD), even though there is little evidence to support or refute this. OBJECTIVE The aim of this survey was to analyze practice variations with respect to TH use in neonates with CHD and to assess expert opinions on this topic across tertiary neonatal departments in Germany. METHODS/DESIGN A web-based survey was sent to all tertiary neonatal departments in Germany. The questionnaire contained 32 multiple-choice questions. The survey inquired current practices on TH in newborns with CHD and expert opinions on various clinical scenarios. MAIN RESULTS A total 80 (51.3%) neonatal departments partially completed the survey, and 69 (44.2%) respondents filled out the whole questionnaire. All 80 (100.0%) departments perform TH. TH is offered by 76 (95.0%) respondents to encephalopathic newborns with simple CHD. In infants with critical/complex CHD, TH is offered after perinatal asphyxial HIE and in newborns with encephalopathy after severe acidosis associated with cardiac complications by 25 (31.3%), or 17 (22.1%) respondents, respectively, whereas a clear majority of centers reject TH in these infants. Unclear effects of TH on any ongoing prostaglandin therapy (57.6 and 52.3%, respectively), an increased risk for adverse reactions during TH (51.6 and 52.3%, respectively) and lack of evidence (33.3 and 53.8%, respectively) are the most frequently cited reasons for not performing TH in these infants. The majority of experts from neonatal departments providing comprehensive care for neonates with severe CHD support the initiation of TH in encephalopathic neonates. DISCUSSION The considerable heterogeneity in the use of TH in neonates with CHD emphasizes the need for further research to optimize treatment strategies for these patients

Combined Cyclosporin A and Hypothermia Treatment Inhibits Activation of BV-2 Microglia but Induces an Inflammatory Response in an Ischemia/Reperfusion Hippocampal Slice Culture Model

Introduction: Hypothermia attenuates cerebral ischemia-induced neuronal cell death associated with neuroinflammation. The calcineurin inhibitor cyclosporin A (CsA) has been shown to be neuroprotective by minimizing activation of inflammatory pathways. Therefore, we investigated whether the combination of hypothermia and treatment with CsA has neuroprotective effects in an oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R) injury model in neuronal and BV-2 microglia monocultures, as well as in an organotypic hippocampal slice culture (OHSC). Methods: Murine primary neurons, BV-2 microglia, and OHSC were pretreated with CsA and exposed to 1 h OGD (0.2% O2) followed by reperfusion at normothermia (37°C) or hypothermia (33.5°C). Cytotoxicity was measured by lactate dehydrogenase and glutamate releases. Damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), and cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRBP) were detected in cultured supernatant by western blot analysis. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin-1α and -1β (IL-1α/IL1-β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP1), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), glia activation factors ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba1), and transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) gene expressions were analyzed by RT-qPCR. Results: Exposure to OGD plus 10 μM CsA was sufficient to induce necrotic cell death and subsequent release of DAMPs in neurons but not BV-2 microglia. Moreover, OGD/R-induced secondary injury was also observed only in the neurons, which was not attenuated by cooling and no increased toxicity by CsA was observed. BV-2 microglia were not sensitive to OGD/R-induced injury but were susceptible to CsA-induced toxicity in a dose dependent manner, which was minimized by hypothermia. CsA attenuated IL-1β and Iba1 expressions in BV-2 microglia exposed to OGD/R. Hypothermia reduced IL-1β and iNOS expressions but induced TNF-α and Iba1 expressions in the microglia. However, these observations did not translate to the ex vivo OHCS model, as general high expressions of most cytokines investigated were observed. Conclusion: Treatment with CsA has neurotoxic effects on primary neurons exposed to OGD but could inhibit BV-2 microglia activation. However, CsA and hypothermia treatment after ischemia/reperfusion injury results in cytotoxic neuroinflammation in the complex ex vivo OHSC

Does an adequate team climate for learning predict team effectiveness and innovation potential? A psychometric validation of the Team Climate questionnaire for Learning in an organizational context

This paper reports the application and psychometric validation of a multi-dimensional measure of team climate for learning in a multinational organization. The research project aimed at extending previous findings at Aston Business School, using the English 33-item version of Brodbeck's Team Climate questionnaire for Learning to assess the factors that facilitate team learning in a business context and analyze its relationship to group performance, support for innovation and different effectiveness criteria chosen by the organization we cooperated with. Data concerning the TCL, the level of group development as a related process, and measures of group performance, innovation and effectiveness were gathered from 119 participants belonging to 18 work groups of the organization's headquarters and three subsidiaries in Germany, Switzerland and Belgium. The undertaken studies were carried out using a cross-sectional and correlated design. The assessment tool proved to have good psychometric properties, providing an adequate reliability, validity and power of prediction regarding team performance (R² = .81), support for innovation (R² = .69) and team effectiveness (e.g. R² = .59 as regards to the keeping of deadlines). Potential benefits derived from the application of the presented measure, limitations of the current research project and future perspectives are discussed

Balloon valvuloplasty of aortic valve stenosis in childhood: early and medium term results

Background: Isolated aortic valve stenosis in childhood is treated by balloon valvuloplasty. The role of independent risk factors for the outcome remains unclear. Material and methods: We analysed the early and medium term outcome of balloon valvuloplasty in isolated aortic valve stenosis in 44 pediatric patients with isolated, severe aortic valve stenosis at an age younger than 18 years, who received a primary balloon valvuloplasty during the last 5 years in our institution. We evaluated the type of aortic valve morphology, age, clinical status, and myocardial function at the time of the intervention as independent risk factor. Results: A significant early relief of the pressure gradient across the aortic valve (P < 0.001) after balloon valvuloplasty was found. This was independent of the aortic valve morphology. Two neonates with a highly stenotic tricuspid aortic valve and severely compromised haemodynamics died within the first 30 days after the intervention. During medium term follow up (mean 22.5 months) we observed a functional deterioration for the stenosis as well as for the insufficiency of the aortic valve. "Symptoms before intervention” is an independent risk factors (P < 0.001) for valvuloplasty failure. Patients at an "age at intervention ≤ 28 days” (P = 0.02) and patients with "reduced myocardial systolic function” (P = 0.01) had a shorter time to reintervention. Conclusions: The type of aortic valve morphology only has a weak predictive value for the outcome of balloon valvuloplasty during medium term follow up. Critical ill neonates with an impaired myocardial function are at a higher risk for valvuloplasty failur

Towards the Healing Car: Investigating the Potential of Psychotherapeutic In-vehicle Interventions

The globally increasing prevalence and incident rates of mental diseases is one of the most serious public health challenges according to the World Health Organization. Today, treatment is based on professional therapies which require a high amount of financial resources and personnel effort, however IT-supported interventions in ubiquitous devices promise help and a new leverage beyond traditional therapies. We identify the car as a space for new treatments since drivers often have time and the environment in the automobile is highly controlled. In-vehicle information systems can reach people in their daily routine and could introduce innovative prevention measures. In this research in progress paper, we address the open question how the car can improve a driver’s affective state while driving. First, we thoroughly describe the design of a study we conducted to motivate other researchers for this topic. Second, we analyse 631 completed interventions collected in a 2-month field study with 10 drivers. First analyses indicate that we can positively influence the short-term affective state of drivers with at least one of ourintervention types. We provide first practical examples of how to reach the masses of everyday drivers