Trajectory optimization by a direct descent process

The problem considered is that of trajectory optimization using step-by-step descent to minimum cost along the direction of the cost gradient with respect to the control. Using a hybrid computer, the gradient is computed di rectly as the response to nearly impulsive control perturba tions. A method is presented for computing the gradient when several terminal constraints are enforced. Examples of application of the method are presented. It is concluded that the direct gradient computation method has some significant advantages over other methods.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68738/2/10.1177_003754976801100308.pd

Example of function optimization via hybrid computation

Iterative techniques for function optimization have been considered extensivezy for use in all-digital computation. Relatively little has been done to take advantage of the much higher integration speed of hybrid computation systems. This paper demonstrates application of one simple procedure in a hybrid envi ronment and compares the results to those obtained by an efficient digital procedure. Even though a much more efficient procedure was used on the digital, time-saving factors between 8 and 2 were obtained via the simpler hybrid implementation. Since the dollar cost of the hybrid is much less than that of the digital, the hybrid has a large advantage per solution.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68324/2/10.1177_003754977302100204.pd

Resonant X ray photoelectron spectroscopy identification of atomic contributions to valence states

Valence electronic structure is crucial for understanding and predicting reactivity. Valence non resonant Xray photoelectron spectroscopy NRXPS provides a direct method for probing the overall valence electronic structure. However, it is often difficult to separate the varying contributions to NRXPS; for example, contributions of solutes in solvents or functional groups in complex molecules. In this work we show that valence resonant X ray photoelectron spectroscopy RXPS is a vital tool for obtaining atomic contributions to valence states. We combine RXPS with NRXPS and density functional theory calculations to demonstrate the validity of using RXPS to identify atomic contributions for a range of solutes both neutral and ionic and solvents both molecular solvents and ionic liquids . Furthermore, the one electron picture of RXPS holds for all of the closed shell molecules ions studied, although the situation for an open shell metal complex is more complicated. Factors needed to obtain a strong RXPS signal are investigated in order to predict the types of systems RXPS will work best for; a balance of element electronegativity and bonding type is found to be important. Additionally, the dependence of RXPS spectra on both varying solvation environment and varying local covalent bonding is probed. We find that RXPS is a promising fingerprint method for identifying species in solution, due to the spectral shape having a strong dependence on local covalency but a weak dependence on solvation environmen

Global data set of long-term summertime vertical temperature profiles in 153 lakes

peer reviewedClimate change and other anthropogenic stressors have led to long-term changes in the thermal structure, including surface temperatures, deepwater temperatures, and vertical thermal gradients, in many lakes around the world. Though many studies highlight warming of surface water temperatures in lakes worldwide, less is known about long-term trends in full vertical thermal structure and deepwater temperatures, which have been changing less consistently in both direction and magnitude. Here, we present a globally-expansive data set of summertime in-situ vertical temperature profiles from 153 lakes, with one time series beginning as early as 1894. We also compiled lake geographic, morphometric, and water quality variables that can influence vertical thermal structure through a variety of potential mechanisms in these lakes. These long-term time series of vertical temperature profiles and corresponding lake characteristics serve as valuable data to help understand changes and drivers of lake thermal structure in a time of rapid global and ecological change. © 2021, The Author(s)

Highly-parallelized simulation of a pixelated LArTPC on a GPU

The rapid development of general-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU) is allowing the implementation of highly-parallelized Monte Carlo simulation chains for particle physics experiments. This technique is particularly suitable for the simulation of a pixelated charge readout for time projection chambers, given the large number of channels that this technology employs. Here we present the first implementation of a full microphysical simulator of a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) equipped with light readout and pixelated charge readout, developed for the DUNE Near Detector. The software is implemented with an end-to-end set of GPU-optimized algorithms. The algorithms have been written in Python and translated into CUDA kernels using Numba, a just-in-time compiler for a subset of Python and NumPy instructions. The GPU implementation achieves a speed up of four orders of magnitude compared with the equivalent CPU version. The simulation of the current induced on 10^3 pixels takes around 1 ms on the GPU, compared with approximately 10 s on the CPU. The results of the simulation are compared against data from a pixel-readout LArTPC prototype

Spontaneous mitochondrial depolarizations are independent of SR Ca2+ release

The mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) underlies many mitochondrial functions, including Ca2+ influx into the mitochondria, which allows them to serve as buffers of intracellular Ca2+. Spontaneous depolarizations of ΔΨm, flickers, have been observed in isolated mitochondria and intact cells using the fluorescent cationic lipophile tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester (TMRE), which distributes across the inner mitochondrial membrane in accordance with the Nernst equation. Flickers in cardiomyocytes have been attributed to uptake of Ca2+ released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) via ryanodine receptors in focal transients called Ca2+ sparks. We have shown previously that an increase in global Ca2+ in smooth muscle cells causes an increase in mitochondrial Ca2+ and depolarization of ΔΨm. Here we sought to determine whether flickers in smooth muscle cells are caused by uptake of Ca2+ released focally in Ca2+ sparks. High-speed three-dimensional imaging was used to monitor ΔΨm in freshly dissociated myocytes from toad stomach that were simultaneously voltage clamped at 0 mV to ensure the cytosolic TMRE concentration was constant and equal to the low level in the bath (2.5 nM). This approach allows quantitative analysis of flickers as we have previously demonstrated. Depletion of SR Ca2+ not only failed to eliminate flickers but rather increased their magnitude and frequency somewhat. Flickers were not altered in magnitude or frequency by ryanodine or xestospongin C, inhibitors of intracellular Ca2+ release, or by cyclosporin A, an inhibitor of the permeability transition pore. Focal Ca2+ release from the SR does not cause flickers in the cells employed here