Computationally Efficient Nonlinear One-and Two-Track Models for Multitrailer Road Vehicles

This paper presents nonlinear mathematical models of one-and two-track multitrailer vehicles. We derive nonlinear equations of motion in the form of a system of implicit ordinary differential equations (ODEs) by using Lagrangian mechanics. The system of ODEs has the minimum number of states and equations that enables efficient computations yet maintains the most important nonlinear vehicle dynamic behavior and allows actuator coordination and energy consumption evaluation. As examples, we build different models of a 4-unit long combination vehicle, i.e., two-track 11-axle and single-track 6-axle nonlinear models as well as a linear single-track 6-axle model. We compare the performance of these models to experimental data of different driving maneuvers. The nonlinear single-track model demonstrates close dynamic behavior to the experiment, which makes it an efficient alternative to the two-track model. The vehicle equations can be generated automatically by using the code provided in this paper and subsequently used for conducting frequency analysis, evaluating energy consumption, deriving performance measures from simulations, and facilitating optimal control applications that involve combined steering, braking and propulsion control

Pengembangan Aplikasi Penilaian Kinerja Guru untuk Meningkatkan Profesionalisme Guru di SMA Negeri 3 Sragen

AbstrakPenilaian tentang kinerja guru semakin penting untuk mengetahui tingkat profesionalisme guru.  Lembaga pendidikan  harus mengetahui faktor-faktor apa saja yang mempengaruhi kinerja guru. Hasil analisis akan bermanfaat untuk pengembangan SDM (Sumber Daya Manusia) guru secara optimal yang sangat diperlukan untuk memajukan mutu  pendidikan. Guru memerlukan perhatian khusus dari pemerintah dan masyarakat oleh karena itu pemerintah mengatur peningkatan kualitas tenaga pendidik atau guru secara nasional melalui Undang-undang No 20 Tahun 2003 tentang sistem pendidikan Nasional. Sistem PKG (Penilaian Kinerja Guru) masih dilaksanakan secara konvensional yang sangat berperpengaruh pada profesionalisme guru. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk membangun aplikasi Penilaian Kinerja Guru yang dapat meningkatkan kinerja dan profesionalisme guru. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode Research and Development yang terdiri dari 10 tahap yang telah dimodifikasi menghasilkan aplikasi PKG yang sesuai untuk meningkatkan profesionalisme guru. Hasil pengembangan berupa aplikasi Penilaian Kinerja Guru berbasis komputer yang memuat komponen- komponen penilaian yang terdiri atas kompetensi kepribadian, kompetensi pedagogik, kompetensi profesional, kompetensi sosial dan hasil rekap penilaian yang mampu meningkatkan profesionalisme guru secara maksimal. Kata kunci: kinerja; profesionalisme; PKG; kompetensi; research and development

F.A.R.O.G. FORUM, Vol. 3 No. 6

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/francoamericain_forum/1011/thumbnail.jp

Database for exploration of functional context of genes implicated in ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer (OC) is becoming the most common gynecological cancer in developed countries and the most lethal gynecological malignancy. It is also the fifth leading cause of all cancer-related deaths in women. The identification of diagnostic biomarkers and development of early detection techniques for OC largely depends on the understanding of the complex functionality and regulation of genes involved in this disease. Unfortunately, information about these OC genes is scattered throughout the literature and various databases making extraction of relevant functional information a complex task. To reduce this problem, we have developed a database dedicated to OC genes to support exploration of functional characterization and analysis of biological processes related to OC. The database contains general information about OC genes, enriched with the results of transcription regulation sequence analysis and with relevant text mining to provide insights into associations of the OC genes with other genes, metabolites, pathways and nuclear proteins. Overall, it enables exploration of relevant information for OC genes from multiple angles, making it a unique resource for OC and will serve as a useful complement to the existing public resources for those interested in OC genetics. Access is free for academic and non-profit users and database can be accessed at http://apps.sanbi.ac.za/ddoc/

Polysaccharides from Agaricus bisporus and Agaricus brasiliensis show similarities in their structures and their immunomodulatory effects on human monocytic THP-1 cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mushroom polysaccharides have traditionally been used for the prevention and treatment of a multitude of disorders like infectious illnesses, cancers and various autoimmune diseases. Crude mushroom extracts have been tested without detailed chemical analyses of its polysaccharide content. For the present study we decided to chemically determine the carbohydrate composition of semi-purified extracts from 2 closely related and well known basidiomycete species, i.e. <it>Agaricus bisporus </it>and <it>A. brasiliensis </it>and to study their effects on the innate immune system, in particular on the <it>in vitro </it>induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines, using THP-1 cells.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Mushroom polysaccharide extracts were prepared by hot water extraction and precipitation with ethanol. Their composition was analyzed by GC-MS and NMR spectroscopy. PMA activated THP-1 cells were treated with the extracts under different conditions and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines was evaluated by qPCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Semi-purified polysaccharide extracts of <it>A. bisporus </it>and <it>A. brasiliensis </it>(= <it>blazei</it>) were found to contain (1→6),(1→4)-linked α-glucan, (1→6)-linked β-glucan, and mannogalactan. Their proportions were determined by integration of ¹H-NMR signs, and were considerably different for the two species. <it>A. brasiliensis </it>showed a higher content of β-glucan, while <it>A. bisporus </it>presented mannogalactan as its main polysaccharide. The extracts induced a comparable increase of transcription of the pro-inflammatory cytokine genes IL-1β and TNF-α as well as of COX-2 in PMA differentiated THP-1 cells. Pro-inflammatory effects of bacterial LPS in this assay could be reduced significantly by the simultaneous addition of <it>A. brasiliensis </it>extract.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The polysaccharide preparations from the closely related species <it>A. bisporus </it>and <it>A. brasiliensis </it>show major differences in composition: <it>A. bisporus </it>shows high mannogalactan content whereas <it>A. brasiliensis </it>has mostly β-glucan. Semi-purified polysaccharide extracts from both <it>Agaricus </it>species stimulated the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and enzymes, while the polysaccharide extract of <it>A. brasiliensis </it>reduced synthesis of these cytokines induced by LPS, suggesting programmable immunomodulation.</p

What are the beliefs of pediatricians and dietitians regarding complementary food introduction to prevent allergy?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The timing of complementary food introduction is controversial. Providing information on the timing of dietary introduction is crucial to the primary prevention of food allergy. The American Academy of Pediatrics offers dietary recommendations that were updated in 2008.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>Identify the recommendations that general pediatricians and registered dietitians provide to parents and delineate any differences in counselling.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A 9-item survey was distributed to pediatricians and dietitians online and by mail. Information on practitioner type, gender, length of practice and specific recommendations regarding complementary food introduction and exposure was collected.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>181 surveys were returned with a 54% response rate from pediatricians. It was not possible to calculate a meaningful dietitian response rate due to overlapping email databases. 52.5% of all respondents were pediatricians and 45.9% were dietitians. The majority of pediatricians and dietitians advise mothers that peanut abstinence during pregnancy and lactation is unnecessary. Dietitians were more likely to counsel mothers to breastfeed their infants to prevent development of atopic dermatitis than pediatricians. Hydrolyzed formulas for infants at risk of developing allergy were the top choice of formula amongst both practitioners. For food allergy prevention, pediatricians were more likely to recommend delayed introduction of peanut and egg, while most dietitians recommended no delay in allergenic food introduction.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In the prophylaxis of food allergy, pediatricians are less aware than dietitians of the current recommendation that there is no benefit in delaying allergenic food introduction beyond 4 to 6 months. More dietitians than pediatricians believe that breastfeeding decreases the risk of atopic dermatitis. Practitioners may benefit from increased awareness of current guidelines.</p

Measurement of CP-violation asymmetries in D0 to Ks pi+ pi-

We report a measurement of time-integrated CP-violation asymmetries in the resonant substructure of the three-body decay D0 to Ks pi+ pi- using CDF II data corresponding to 6.0 invfb of integrated luminosity from Tevatron ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV. The charm mesons used in this analysis come from D*+(2010) to D0 pi+ and D*-(2010) to D0bar pi-, where the production flavor of the charm meson is determined by the charge of the accompanying pion. We apply a Dalitz-amplitude analysis for the description of the dynamic decay structure and use two complementary approaches, namely a full Dalitz-plot fit employing the isobar model for the contributing resonances and a model-independent bin-by-bin comparison of the D0 and D0bar Dalitz plots. We find no CP-violation effects and measure an asymmetry of ACP = (-0.05 +- 0.57 (stat) +- 0.54 (syst))% for the overall integrated CP-violation asymmetry, consistent with the standard model prediction.Comment: 15 page

Leukocytospermia and sperm preparation - a flow cytometric study

Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2009 Nov 19;7:12

Effect of Audiovisual Training on Monaural Spatial Hearing in Horizontal Plane

The article aims to test the hypothesis that audiovisual integration can improve spatial hearing in monaural conditions when interaural difference cues are not available. We trained one group of subjects with an audiovisual task, where a flash was presented in parallel with the sound and another group in an auditory task, where only sound from different spatial locations was presented. To check whether the observed audiovisual effect was similar to feedback, the third group was trained using the visual feedback paradigm. Training sessions were administered once per day, for 5 days. The performance level in each group was compared for auditory only stimulation on the first and the last day of practice. Improvement after audiovisual training was several times higher than after auditory practice. The group trained with visual feedback demonstrated a different effect of training with the improvement smaller than the group with audiovisual training. We conclude that cross-modal facilitation is highly important to improve spatial hearing in monaural conditions and may be applied to the rehabilitation of patients with unilateral deafness and after unilateral cochlear implantation