Real-Time Fault Management for Large-Scale Systems

Aprion knowledge of failure modes of a system is an indispensable information for design of robust decentralized hierarchical control schemes. In particular inclusion of system faults as part of the process under control provides greater flexibility for self diagnosis and maintenance of real-time systems. By assigning discrete states to the process under control, an artificial consciousness can be created within the controller which allows the controller to exercise selective actions for each given discrete state. This concept has been implemented to control the utility systems of the Space Station Laboratory Simulator

Flow shear suppression of turbulence using externally driven ion Bernstein and Alfven waves

The utilization of externally-launched radio-frequency waves as a means of active confinement control through the generation of sheared poloidal flows is explored. For low-frequency waves, kinetic Alfven waves are proposed, and are shown to drive sheared E {times} B flows as a result of the radial variation in the electromagnetic Reynolds stress. In the high frequency regime, ion Bernstein waves are considered, and shown to generate sheared poloidal rotation through the pondermotive force. In either case, it is shown that modest amounts of absorbed power ({approximately} few 100 kW) are required to suppress turbulence in a region of several cm radial width

Data on using macro invertebrates to investigate the biological integrity of permanent streams located in a semi-arid region

Abstract The aquatic ecosystems are continuously endangered due to variety of hazardous chemicals containing different toxic agents which can be emitted from anthropogenic sources. Besides the increasing of human population, various kinds of contaminants enter into the surface water resources. The aim of the present study was to investigate the abundance and diversity of macro invertebrates in two permanent streams located in the northern part of Tehran. The biological integrity of the streams was determined by manual sampling approach at five points. The distances between the sampling points were at least 2 km. The bio indicator organisms, organic pollution, and dissolved oxygen were measured. The different types of benthic invertebrates such as riffle beetle, midge and caddish fly larvae, dragon fly, may fly and stone fly nymph, riffle beetle adult, pyralid caterpillar, leech, and pouch snail were identified. It can be concluded that, the identified benthic macro invertebrates can be served as appropriate biological indicator in the studied area. Keywords Biological integrity Tehran Macro invertebrate

Hyalomma anatolicum as the main infesting tick in an important livestock rearing region, central area of iran

Background: This study was carried out to determine the infestation of domestic ruminants to ticks in an important livestock-rearing region, located in central part of Iran. Methods: Ticks were collected from cattle, sheep, and goats and then were identified with appropriate identification keys to species level in two different ecological regions of plains and mountain in 4 seasons in 2015. Results: Totally 492 ticks from cattle, sheep, and goats in 34 herds were collected. Totally, 18.53 of domestic animals were infected by ticks. All ticks were belonged to family Ixodidae and classified into three genera and six species comprising Hyalomma anatolicum (38.83), Hy. Asiaticum (23.37), Hy. marginatum (2.85), Hy. sp. (3.45), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (14.02) and Haemaphysalis sulcata (10.98). Sex ratio of the collected specimens showed 241 (48.99) male, 219 (44.51) female and 32 (6.5) nymph Conclusion: Studied area is important for production of livestock and dairy products. Annually, many livestock products are exported to other parts from this region; therefore, it is very important to identify the infection rate of tick-borne diseases as well as safety factors on livestock. © 2018, Iranian Journal of Public Health. All rights reserved

Hyalomma anatolicum as the main infesting tick in an important livestock rearing region, central area of iran

Background: This study was carried out to determine the infestation of domestic ruminants to ticks in an important livestock-rearing region, located in central part of Iran. Methods: Ticks were collected from cattle, sheep, and goats and then were identified with appropriate identification keys to species level in two different ecological regions of plains and mountain in 4 seasons in 2015. Results: Totally 492 ticks from cattle, sheep, and goats in 34 herds were collected. Totally, 18.53 of domestic animals were infected by ticks. All ticks were belonged to family Ixodidae and classified into three genera and six species comprising Hyalomma anatolicum (38.83), Hy. Asiaticum (23.37), Hy. marginatum (2.85), Hy. sp. (3.45), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (14.02) and Haemaphysalis sulcata (10.98). Sex ratio of the collected specimens showed 241 (48.99) male, 219 (44.51) female and 32 (6.5) nymph Conclusion: Studied area is important for production of livestock and dairy products. Annually, many livestock products are exported to other parts from this region; therefore, it is very important to identify the infection rate of tick-borne diseases as well as safety factors on livestock. © 2018, Iranian Journal of Public Health. All rights reserved

Mosaic trisomy 22 in a 4-year-old boy with congenital heart disease and general hypotrophy: A case report

Background: Trisomy 22 mosaicism is a rare autosomal anomaly with survival compatibility. Recognition of the complete trisomy 22 which is incompatible with life from the mosaic form is critical for genetic counseling. Affected mosaic cases have prevalent clinical presentations such as webbed neck, developmental delay, abnormal ears, cardiac disorders, and microcephaly. Phenotype of these patients is milder than full chromosomal aneuploidy, and the severity of the phenotype depends on the count of trisomic cells. We describe a 4-year-old boy with mosaic trisomy 22 from healthy parents and no family history of any genetic disorders in the pedigree. Method and Results: The patient had determined dysmorphic clinical features including facial asymmetry, cleft palate, gastroenteritis, hydronephrosis, developmental delay, genital anomalies, dysplastic toenails, flattened nasal bridge, congenital heart defect, hearing loss, cryptorchidism, and hypotonic muscle. He is the first reported with hypothyroidism and larynx wall thickness in worldwide and the first with atrial septal defect (ASD) from Iran. Chromosomal analyses using G-banding indicated a de novo Mos 47,XY,+22(6)/46,XY(44) karyotype with no other chromosomal structural changes. Conclusions: Our observations confirm the importance of cytogenetic analyses for determining the cause of congenital anomalies and provide a useful genetic counseling. In addition, due to the fact that some of mosaic trisomy 22 features are unavoidable such as CHD and general hypotrophy, we suggest including echocardiography test for early diagnosis during the clinical assessment. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

The ability of analysts’ recommendations to predict optimistic and pessimistic forecasts

Previous researches show that buy (growth) companies conduct income increasing earnings management in order to meet forecasts and generate positive forecast Errors (FEs). This behavior however, is not inherent in sell (non-growth) companies. Using the aforementioned background, this research hypothesizes that since sell companies are pressured to avoid income increasing earnings management, they are capable, and in fact more inclined, to pursue income decreasing Forecast Management (FM) with the purpose of generating positive FEs. Using a sample of 6553 firm-years of companies that are listed in the NYSE between the years 2005–2010, the study determines that sell companies conduct income decreasing FM to generate positive FEs. However, the frequency of positive FEs of sell companies does not exceed that of buy companies. Using the efficiency perspective, the study suggests that even though buy and sell companies have immense motivation in avoiding negative FEs, they exploit different but efficient strategies, respectively, in order to meet forecasts. Furthermore, the findings illuminated the complexities behind informative and opportunistic forecasts that falls under the efficiency versus opportunistic theories in literature

Characteristics of the TFTR limiter H-mode: The transition, ELMs, transport and confinement

H-Modes obtained through transitions from the supershot regime have been studied on TFTR. The characteristics of these H-modes are similar to those found on other tokamaks with one main exception, the density prof:des can be highly peaked. In the best cases the enhanced confinement in the core of the initial supershot is retained in the H-mode phase, while the confinement in a broad edge region is enhanced. Thus in TFTR, all of the important physics of H-modes such as transitions, enhanced edge confinement, ELMs and other phenomena are studied in a large circular limiter tokamak with the added feature of centrally peaked density profiles and the advantage of an extensive set of diagnostics. The threshold power for the transition is found to be a linear function of plasma current. Transitions and ELMs are affected by the mix of co-and counter-neutral beam injection (NBI) and by perturbations introduced by pellet injection, gas puffing, and current ramping before and during NBI. Fluctuations near both transition and ELM events have been characterized. High frequency magnetic fluctuations in the range {ge} 100--250 kHz usually decrease during the transition. Microwave scattering spectra of density fluctuations in the plasma edge show a feature at high frequency during the H-mode, which is not observed in the plasma core and which is consistent with an edge poloidal rotation velocity, V{sub {theta}}, of {approximately} 10{sup 4} m/s. The fluctuations begin at the transition, propagate in the direction of electron diamagnetic drift, and have modulation correlated with ELMs. Several TFTR H-modes showed a modest improvement in confinement over that of the supershots from which they originated, and an understanding of these may eventually lead to a plasma with the combined advantages of both the supershot and the H-mode. The characteristics and physics of the TFTR H-modes are considered relative to other tokamaks and in light of various theoretical studies

Microenvironmental Modulation of Decorin and Lumican in Temozolomide-Resistant Glioblastoma and Neuroblastoma Cancer Stem-Like Cells

The presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) or tumor-initiating cells can lead to cancer recurrence in a permissive cell–microenvironment interplay, promoting invasion in glioblastoma (GBM) and neuroblastoma (NB). Extracellular matrix (ECM) small leucine-rich proteoglycans (SLRPs) play multiple roles in tissue homeostasis by remodeling the extracellular matrix (ECM) components and modulating intracellular signaling pathways. Due to their pan-inhibitory properties against receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), SLRPs are reported to exert anticancer effects in vitro and in vivo. However, their roles seem to be tissue-specific and they are also involved in cancer cell migration and drug resistance, paving the way to complex different scenarios. The aim of this study was to determine whether the SLRPs decorin (DCN) and lumican (LUM) are recruited in cell plasticity and microenvironmental adaptation of differentiated cancer cells induced towards stem-like phenotype. Floating neurospheres were generated by applying CSC enrichment medium (neural stem cell serum-free medium, NSC SFM) to the established SF-268 and SK-N-SH cancer cell lines, cellular models of GBM and NB, respectively. In both models, the time-dependent synergistic activation of DCN and LUM was observed. The highest DCN and LUM mRNA/protein expression was detected after cell exposure to NSC SFM for 8/12 days, considering these cells as SLRP-expressing (SLRP+) CSC-like. Ultrastructural imaging showed the cellular heterogeneity of both the GBM and NB neurospheres and identified the inner living cells. Parental cell lines of both GBM and NB grew only in soft agar + NSC SFM, whereas the secondary neurospheres (originated from SLRP+ t8 CSC-like) showed lower proliferation rates than primary neurospheres. Interestingly, the SLRP+ CSC-like from the GBM and NB neurospheres were resistant to temozolomide (TMZ) at concentrations >750 μM. Our results suggest that GBM and NB CSC-like promote the activation of huge quantities of SLRP in response to CSC enrichment, simultaneously acquiring TMZ resistance, cellular heterogeneity, and a quiescent phenotype, suggesting a novel pivotal role for SLRP in drug resistance and cell plasticity of CSC-like, allowing cell survival and ECM/niche modulation potential.This study was supported by Fundació la Marató TV3, Project n° 111431