Piloted Simulation of Various Synthetic Vision Systems Terrain Portrayal and Guidance Symbology Concepts for Low Altitude En-Route Scenario

In support of the NASA Aviation Safety Program's Synthetic Vision Systems Project, a series of piloted simulations were conducted to explore and quantify the relationship between candidate Terrain Portrayal Concepts and Guidance Symbology Concepts, specific to General Aviation. The experiment scenario was based on a low altitude en route flight in Instrument Metrological Conditions in the central mountains of Alaska. A total of 18 general aviation pilots, with three levels of pilot experience, evaluated a test matrix of four terrain portrayal concepts and six guidance symbology concepts. Quantitative measures included various pilot/aircraft performance data, flight technical errors and flight control inputs. The qualitative measures included pilot comments and pilot responses to the structured questionnaires such as perceived workload, subjective situation awareness, pilot preferences, and the rare event recognition. There were statistically significant effects found from guidance symbology concepts and terrain portrayal concepts but no significant interactions between them. Lower flight technical errors and increased situation awareness were achieved using Synthetic Vision Systems displays, as compared to the baseline Pitch/Roll Flight Director and Blue Sky Brown Ground combination. Overall, those guidance symbology concepts that have both path based guidance cue and tunnel display performed better than the other guidance concepts

Evolution of decreased sensitivity to azole fungicides in western European populations of Plenodomus lingam (cause of Phoma leaf spot / stem canker on oilseed rape)

Plenodomus lingam (Leptosphaeria maculans) and P. biglobosus (L. biglobosa) are related fungal pathogens causing Phoma leaf spot and stem canker, an internationally damaging disease of oilseed rape (Brassica napus) and other brassicas. In Europe, fungicides used for disease management are mainly sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) inhibitors (DMIs/azoles); quinone outside inhibitors (QoIs), and succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs) are also used. Decreased DMI sensitivity has emerged in Australian and eastern European P. lingam populations. Decreased sensitivity is mediated by promoter inserts in CYP51 resulting in target site overexpression. In the present study, based on in vitro sensitivity testing, we report decreased DMI (prothioconazole-desthio and mefentrifluconazole) sensitivity in modern western European isolates of P. lingam (collected 2022-23) compared to baseline historical (1992-2005) isolates. Around 85% of the modern western European P. lingam isolates collected, for which the CYP51 promoter region was sequenced, carried a promoter insert but target site alterations were not detected. Six different CYP51 promoter inserts were identified, with a 237 bp fragment of the Sahana transposable element most frequently detected. Inserts were typically associated with a 3 to 10 fold decrease in sensitivity to the DMIs tested. In contrast to P. lingam, PCR screening revealed that CYP51 promoter inserts were absent in modern western European P. biglobosus isolates (collected 2021-23). The combined data indicate P. lingam isolates lacking an insert were similarly (or slightly more) sensitive to the DMIs tested for P. biglobosus, whereas those carrying an insert were slightly less sensitive than P. biglobosus. No clear evidence for substantive sensitivity shifts to the QoI (pyraclostrobin) or SDHI (boscalid) fungicides tested was obtained for either Plenodomus species

Sense and Avoid for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems

The ability for small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) to safely operate beyond line of sight is of great interest to consumers, businesses, and scientific research. In this work, we investigate Sense and Avoid (SAA) algorithms for sUAS encounters using three 4k cameras for separation distances between 200m and 2000m. Video is recorded of different sUAS platforms designed to appear similar to expected air traffic, under varying weather conditions and flight encounter scenarios. University partners and NASA both developed SAA methods presented in this report

PROPHECY—a yeast phenome database, update 2006

Connecting genotype to phenotype is fundamental in biomedical research and in our understanding of disease. Phenomics—the large-scale quantitative phenotypic analysis of genotypes on a genome-wide scale—connects automated data generation with the development of novel tools for phenotype data integration, mining and visualization. Our yeast phenomics database PROPHECY is available at . Via phenotyping of 984 heterozygous diploids for all essential genes the genotypes analysed and presented in PROPHECY have been extended and now include all genes in the yeast genome. Further, phenotypic data from gene overexpression of 574 membrane spanning proteins has recently been included. To facilitate the interpretation of quantitative phenotypic data we have developed a new phenotype display option, the Comparative Growth Curve Display, where growth curve differences for a large number of mutants compared with the wild type are easily revealed. In addition, PROPHECY now offers a more informative and intuitive first-sight display of its phenotypic data via its new summary page. We have also extended the arsenal of data analysis tools to include dynamic visualization of phenotypes along individual chromosomes. PROPHECY is an initiative to enhance the growing field of phenome bioinformatics

Role of substrate quality on the performance of semipolar (11 2 - 2) InGaN light-emitting diodes

We compare the optical properties and device performance of unpackaged InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well light-emitting diodes (LEDs) emitting at ∼430 nm grown simultaneously on a high-cost small-size bulk semipolar (11 2 - 2) GaN substrate (Bulk-GaN) and a low-cost large-size (11 2 - 2) GaN template created on patterned (10 1 - 2) r-plane sapphire substrate (PSS-GaN). The Bulk-GaN substrate has the threading dislocation density (TDD) of ∼ and basal-plane stacking fault (BSF) density of 0 cm-1, while the PSS-GaN substrate has the TDD of ∼2 × 108cm-2 and BSF density of ∼1 × 103cm-1. Despite an enhanced light extraction efficiency, the LED grown on PSS-GaN has two-times lower internal quantum efficiency than the LED grown on Bulk-GaN as determined by photoluminescence measurements. The LED grown on PSS-GaN substrate also has about two-times lower output power compared to the LED grown on Bulk-GaN substrate. This lower output power was attributed to the higher TDD and BSF density

Deterministic Classifiers Accuracy Optimization for Cancer Microarray Data

The objective of this study was to improve classification accuracy in cancer microarray gene expression data using a collection of machine learning algorithms available in WEKA. State of the art deterministic classification methods, such as: Kernel Logistic Regression, Support Vector Machine, Stochastic Gradient Descent and Logistic Model Trees were applied on publicly available cancer microarray datasets aiming to discover regularities that provide insights to help characterization and diagnosis correctness on each cancer typology. The implemented models, relying on 10-fold cross-validation, parameterized to enhance accuracy, reached accuracy above 90%. Moreover, although the variety of methodologies, no significant statistic differences were registered between them, at significance level 0.05, confirming that all the selected methods are effective for this type of analysis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A MicroRNA Next-Generation-Sequencing Discovery Assay (miND) for Genome-Scale Analysis and Absolute Quantitation of Circulating MicroRNA Biomarkers

The plasma levels of tissue-specific microRNAs can be used as diagnostic, disease severity and prognostic biomarkers for chronic and acute diseases and drug-induced injury. Thereby, the combination of diverse microRNAs into biomarker signatures using multivariate statistics seems especially powerful from the perspective of tissue and condition specific microRNA shedding into the plasma. Although next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology enables one to analyse circulating microRNAs on a genome-scale level, it suffers from potential biases (e.g., adapter ligation bias) and lacks absolute transcript quantitation as well as tailor-made quality controls. In order to develop a robust NGS discovery assay for genome-scale quantitation of circulating microRNAs, we first evaluated the sensitivity, repeatability and ligation bias of four commercially available small RNA library preparation protocols. The protocol from RealSeq Biosciences was selected based on its performance and usability and coupled with a novel panel of exogenous small RNA spike-in controls to enable quality control and absolute quantitation, thus ensuring comparability of data across independent NGS experiments. The established microRNA Next-Generation-Sequencing Discovery Assay (miND) was validated for its relative accuracy, precision, analytical measurement range and sequencing bias and was considered fit-for-purpose for microRNA biomarker discovery. Summarized, all these criteria were met, and thus, our analytical platform is considered fit-for-purpose for microRNA biomarker discovery from biofluids in the setting of any diagnostic, prognostic or patient stratification need. The established miND assay was tested on serum, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), synovial fluid (SF) and extracellular vesicles (EV) extracted from cell culture medium of primary cells and proved its potential to be used across different sample types

Severe Airway Epithelial Injury, Aberrant Repair and Bronchiolitis Obliterans Develops after Diacetyl Instillation in Rats

Bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) is a fibrotic lung disease that occurs in a variety of clinical settings, including toxin exposures, autoimmunity and lung or bone marrow transplant. Despite its increasing clinical importance, little is known regarding the underlying disease mechanisms due to a lack of adequate small animal BO models. Recent epidemiological studies have implicated exposure to diacetyl (DA), a volatile component of artificial butter flavoring, as a cause of BO in otherwise healthy factory workers. Our overall hypothesis is that DA induces severe epithelial injury and aberrant repair that leads to the development of BO. Therefore, the objectives of this study were 1) to determine if DA, delivered by intratracheal instillation (ITI), would lead to the development of BO in rats and 2) to characterize epithelial regeneration and matrix repair after ITI of DA.Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with a single dose of DA (125 mg/kg) or sterile water (vehicle control) by ITI. Instilled DA resulted in airway specific injury, followed by rapid epithelial regeneration, and extensive intraluminal airway fibrosis characteristic of BO. Increased airway resistance and lung fluid neutrophilia occurred with the development of BO, similar to human disease. Despite rapid epithelial regeneration after DA treatment, expression of the normal phenotypic markers, Clara cell secretory protein and acetylated tubulin, were diminished. In contrast, expression of the matrix component Tenascin C was significantly increased, particularly evident within the BO lesions.We have established that ITI of DA results in BO, creating a novel chemical-induced animal model that replicates histological, biological and physiological features of the human disease. Furthermore, we demonstrate that dysregulated epithelial repair and excessive matrix Tenacin C deposition occur in BO, providing new insights into potential disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets

Building Science Gateways for Analysing Molecular Docking Results Using a Generic Framework and Methodology

Molecular docking and virtual screening experiments require large computational and data resources and high-level user interfaces in the form of science gateways. While science gateways supporting such experiments are relatively common, there is a clearly identified need to design and implement more complex environments for further analysis of docking results. This paper describes a generic framework and a related methodology that supports the efficient development of such environments. The framework is modular enabling the reuse of already existing components. The methodology, which proposes three techniques that the development team can use, is agile and encourages active participation of end-users. Based on the framework and methodology, two prototype implementations of science-gateway-based docking environments are presented and evaluated. The first system recommends a receptor-ligand pair for the next docking experiment, and the second filters docking results based on ligand properties