Metamodelling of multivariable engine models for real-time flight simulation.

Sophisticated real-time distributed flight simulation environments may be constructed from a wide range of modelling and simulation tools. In this way accuracy, detail and model flexibility may be incorporated into the simulator. Distributed components may be constructed by a wide range of methods, from high level environments such as Matlab, through coded environments such as C or Fortran to hardware-in-the- loop. In this paper the Response Surface Methodology is combined with a hyper-heuristic (evolutionary algorithm) and applied to the representation of computationally intensive non-linear multivariable engine modelling. The paper investigates the potential for metamodelling (models of models) dynamic models which were previously too slow to be included in multi-component, high resolution real-time simulation environments. A multi-dimensional gas turbine model with five primary control inputs, six environmental inputs and eleven outputs is considered. An investigation has been conducted to ascertain to what extent these systems can be approximated by response surfaces with experiments which have been designed by hyper-heuristics as a first step towards automatic modelling methodology

Structural dynamics verification facility study

The need for a structural dynamics verification facility to support structures programs was studied. Most of the industry operated facilities are used for highly focused research, component development, and problem solving, and are not used for the generic understanding of the coupled dynamic response of major engine subsystems. Capabilities for the proposed facility include: the ability to both excite and measure coupled structural dynamic response of elastic blades on elastic shafting, the mechanical simulation of various dynamical loadings representative of those seen in operating engines, and the measurement of engine dynamic deflections and interface forces caused by alternative engine mounting configurations and compliances

Myosin VIIA is required for aminoglycoside accumulation in cochlear hair cells.

Myosin VIIA is expressed by sensory hair cells and has a primary structure predicting a role in membrane trafficking and turnover, processes that may underlie the susceptibility of hair cells to aminoglycoside antibiotics. [3H]Gentamicin accumulation and the effects of aminoglycosides were therefore examined in cochlear cultures of mice with different missense mutations in the myosin VIIA gene, Myo7a, to see whether myosin VIIA plays a role in aminoglycoside ototoxicity. Hair cells from homozygous mutant Myo7a(sh1) mice, with a mutation in a non-conserved region of the myosin VIIA head, respond rapidly to aminoglycoside treatment and accumulate high levels of gentamicin. Hair cells from homozygous mutant Myo7a(6J) mice, with a mutation at a highly conserved residue close to the ATP binding site of the myosin VIIA head, do not accumulate [3H]gentamicin and are protected from aminoglycoside ototoxicity. Hair cells from heterozygotes of both alleles accumulate [3H]gentamicin and respond to aminoglycosides. Although aminoglycoside uptake is thought to be via apical surface-associated endocytosis, coated pit numbers on the apical membrane of heterozygous and homozygous Myo7a(6J) hair cells are similar. Pulse-chase experiments with cationic ferritin confirm that the apical endocytotic pathway is functional in homozygous Myo7a(6J) hair cells. Transduction currents can be recorded from both heterozygous and homozygous Myo7a(6J) hair cells, suggesting it is unlikely that the drug enters via diffusion through the mechanotransducer channel. The results show that myosin VIIA is required for aminoglycoside accumulation in hair cells. Myosin VIIA may transport a putative aminoglycoside receptor to the hair cell surface, indirectly translocate it to sites of membrane retrieval, or retain it in the endocytotic pathway

Major epidemiological changes in sudden infant death syndrome : a 20-year population-based study in the UK

Background Results of case-control studies in the past 5 years suggest that the epidemiology of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has changed since the 1991 UK Back to Sleep campaign. The campaign's advice that parents put babies on their back to sleep led to a fall in death rates. We used a longitudinal dataset to assess these potential changes. Methods Population-based data from home visits have been collected for 369 consecutive unexpected infant deaths (300 SIDS and 69 explained deaths) in Avon over 20 years (1984—2003). Data obtained between 1993 and 1996 from 1300 controls with a chosen “reference” sleep before interview have been used for comparison. Findings Over the past 20 years, the proportion of children who died from SIDS while co-sleeping with their parents, has risen from 12% to 50% (p<0·0001), but the actual number of SIDS deaths in the parental bed has halved (p=0·01). The proportion seems to have increased partly because the Back to Sleep campaign led to fewer deaths in infants sleeping alone—rather than because of a rise in deaths of infants who bed-shared, and partly because of an increase in the number of deaths in infants sleeping with their parents on a sofa. The proportion of deaths in families from deprived socioeconomic backgrounds has risen from 47% to 74% (p=0·003), the prevalence of maternal smoking during pregnancy from 57% to 86% (p=0·0004), and the proportion of pre-term infants from 12% to 34% (p=0·0001). Although many SIDS infants come from large families, first-born infants are now the largest group. The age of infants who bed-share is significantly smaller than that before the campaign, and fewer are breastfed. Interpretation Factors that contribute to SIDS have changed in their importance over the past 20 years. Although the reasons for the rise in deaths when a parent sleeps with their infant on a sofa are still unclear, we strongly recommend that parents avoid this sleeping environment. Most SIDS deaths now occur in deprived families. To better understand contributory factors and plan preventive measures we need control data from similarly deprived families, and particularly, infant sleep environments

Proton-Induced X-Ray Emission Spectrometry in Archaeology

Proton-induced x-ray emission (PIXE) spectrometry is fast developing a reputation as a powerful analytical tool in the study of a range of ancient materials, including bronze, iron, gold, glass, faience, and smelting slag. PIXE data allows determination of the primary constituents which would indicate their recipe of production and determine their bulk physical properties (e.g., color of a glass, brittleness in a metal), and of a wide range of trace elements which may indicate the source of raw material s from which an artifact was constituted. Over the past seven years, PIXE spectrometry\u27s primary advantage over other recognized methods now being applied in archaeological research (particularly, xrf spectrometry and SEM/EDAX) - -that protons induce very little bremsstrahlung and therefore contribute very little to spectrum background during analysis has been much enhanced through the use of various kinds of selective filters in the detection system that heavily suppress the x-ray signal of dominant element(s) in the artifact\u27s matrix (Cu in bronze, Si and Ca in glass, etc.). PIXE detection limits are kept exceptionally low (usually in the 10 ppm to 100 ppm range), because the selective filters almost entirely eliminate secondary background effects arising from response inertia in the detection system\u27s electronics. Archaeological applications of the PIXE method, as reviewed here, now cover both the Old World, the New World, ancient Asia and Polynesia, and a time-span of the 5th millennium B.C. through to the 19th century A.D

Leptoproduction of J/psi

We study leptoproduction of $J/\psi$ at large $Q^2$ within the nonrelativistic QCD (NRQCD) factorization formalism. The cross section is dominated by color-octet terms that are of order $\alpha_s$. The color-singlet term, which is of order $\alpha^2_s$, is shown to be a small contribution to the total cross section. We also calculate the tree diagrams for color-octet production at order $\alpha^2_s$ in a region of phase space where there is no leading color-octet contribution. We find that in this regime the color-singlet contribution dominates. We argue that non-perturbative corrections arising from diffractive leptoproduction, higher twist effects, and higher order terms in the NRQCD velocity expansion should be suppressed as $Q^2$ is increased. Therefore, the color-octet matrix elements $$and$$ can be reliably extracted from this process. Finally, we point out that an experimental measurement of the polarization of leptoproduced $J/\psi$ will provide an excellent test of the NRQCD factorization formalism.Comment: 33 pages latex. 10 figures. Uses revtex, epsf, and rotate macros. This paper is also available via the UW phenomenology archives at http://phenom.physics.wisc.edu/pub/preprints

Chromosome 9p deletion in clear cell renal cell carcinoma predicts recurrence and survival following surgery

BACKGROUND: Wider clinical applications of 9p status in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) are limited owing to the lack of validation and consensus for interphase fluorescent in situ hybridisation (I-FISH) scoring technique. The aim of this study was to analytically validate the applicability of I-FISH in assessing 9p deletion in ccRCC and to clinically assess its long-term prognostic impact following surgical excision of ccRCC. METHODS: Tissue microarrays were constructed from 108 renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tumour paraffin blocks. Interphase fluorescent in situ hybridisation analysis was undertaken based on preset criteria by two independent observers to assess interobserver variability. 9p status in ccRCC tumours was determined and correlated to clinicopathological variables, recurrence-free survival and disease-specific survival. RESULTS: There were 80 ccRCCs with valid 9p scoring and a median follow-up of 95 months. Kappa statistic for interobserver variability was 0.71 (good agreement). 9p deletion was detected in 44% of ccRCCs. 9p loss was associated with higher stage, larger tumours, necrosis, microvascular and renal vein invasion, and higher SSIGN (stage, size, grade and necrosis) score. Patients with 9p-deleted ccRCC were at a higher risk of recurrence (P=0.008) and RCC-specific mortality (P=0.001). On multivariate analysis, 9p deletion was an independent predictor of recurrence (hazard ratio 4.323; P=0.021) and RCC-specific mortality (hazard ratio 4.603; P=0.007). The predictive accuracy of SSIGN score improved from 87.7% to 93.1% by integrating 9p status to the model (P=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Loss of 9p is associated with aggressive ccRCC and worse prognosis in patients following surgery. Our findings independently confirm the findings of previous reports relying on I-FISH to detect 9p (CDKN2A) deletion

On the response surface methodology and designed experiments for computationally intensive distributed aerospace simulations

Distributed real-time simulation is the focus of intense development with complex systems being represented by individual component simulations interacting as a coherent model. Commercial off the shelf (COTS) and Freeware real-time software exists to provide data communication channels between he components subject to adequate system bandwidth. However, if the individual models are too computationally intensive to run in real-time, then the performance of the real-time simulation architecture is compromised. In this paper, model representations are developed from dynamic simulation by the Response surface Methodology, allowing complex systems to be included in a real-time environment. A Permanent Magnet AC motor drive simulation with model reference control for a more electric aircraft application is examined as a candidate for inclusion in a realtime simulation environment

Quantitative proteomics in resected renal cancer tissue for biomarker discovery and profiling

&lt;b&gt;Background:&lt;/b&gt;  Proteomics-based approaches for biomarker discovery are promising strategies used in cancer research. We present state-of-art label-free quantitative proteomics method to assess proteome of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) compared with noncancer renal tissues.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Methods:&lt;/b&gt;  Fresh frozen tissue samples from eight primary RCC lesions and autologous adjacent normal renal tissues were obtained from surgically resected tumour-bearing kidneys. Proteins were extracted by complete solubilisation of tissues using filter-aided sample preparation (FASP) method. Trypsin digested proteins were analysed using quantitative label-free proteomics approach followed by data interpretation and pathways analysis.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Results:&lt;/b&gt;  A total of 1761 proteins were identified and quantified with high confidence (MASCOT ion score threshold of 35 and P-value &#60;0.05). Of these, 596 proteins were identified as differentially expressed between cancer and noncancer tissues. Two upregulated proteins in tumour samples (adipose differentiation-related protein and Coronin 1A) were further validated by immunohistochemistry. Pathway analysis using IPA, KOBAS 2.0, DAVID functional annotation and FLink tools showed enrichment of many cancer-related biological processes and pathways such as oxidative phosphorylation, glycolysis and amino acid synthetic pathways.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Conclusions:&lt;b&gt;  Our study identified a number of differentially expressed proteins and pathways using label-free proteomics approach in RCC compared with normal tissue samples. Two proteins validated in this study are the focus of on-going research in a large cohort of patients.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt

Non-Markovian Dynamics and Entanglement of Two-level Atoms in a Common Field

We derive the stochastic equations and consider the non-Markovian dynamics of a system of multiple two-level atoms in a common quantum field. We make only the dipole approximation for the atoms and assume weak atom-field interactions. From these assumptions we use a combination of non-secular open- and closed-system perturbation theory, and we abstain from any additional approximation schemes. These more accurate solutions are necessary to explore several regimes: in particular, near-resonance dynamics and low-temperature behavior. In detuned atomic systems, small variations in the system energy levels engender timescales which, in general, cannot be safely ignored, as would be the case in the rotating-wave approximation (RWA). More problematic are the second-order solutions, which, as has been recently pointed out, cannot be accurately calculated using any second-order perturbative master equation, whether RWA, Born-Markov, Redfield, etc.. This latter problem, which applies to all perturbative open-system master equations, has a profound effect upon calculation of entanglement at low temperatures. We find that even at zero temperature all initial states will undergo finite-time disentanglement (sometimes termed "sudden death"), in contrast to previous work. We also use our solution, without invoking RWA, to characterize the necessary conditions for Dickie subradiance at finite temperature. We find that the subradiant states fall into two categories at finite temperature: one that is temperature independent and one that acquires temperature dependence. With the RWA there is no temperature dependence in any case.Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures, v2 updated references, v3 clarified results and corrected renormalization, v4 further clarified results and new Fig. 8-1