Hardware-in-the-Loop Testing of Safety-Relevant Functions in the Context of ISO 26262

International audienceHardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation is today an integral part in the vehicle development process as a method for testing electronic control unit (ECU) software. HIL simulation is used for all aspects of development, naturally including safety-relevant functions and systems. This applies to all test tasks (from function testing to release tests, testing a single ECU or an ECU network, and so on) and also to different vehicle domains: The drivetrain, vehicle dynamics, driver assistance systems, interior/comfort systems and infotainment are all tested by HIL simulation.This paper describes the role of HIL simulation in the development of safety-relevant systems. It explains the requirements defined by ISO 26262 for HIL testing and for HIL systems used in developing safety-relevant systems, and how these requirements can be met

A Monte Carlo Event Generator for W Off-shell Pair Production including Higher Order Electromagnetic Radiative Corrections

We present the Monte Carlo event generator {\tt WOPPER} for pair production of $W$'s and their decays at high energy $e^+e^-$ colliders. {\tt WOPPER} includes the effects from finite $W$ width and focusses on the calculation of higher order electromagnetic corrections in the leading log approximation including soft photon exponentiation and explicit generation of exclusive hard photons.Comment: Contribution to the Second Workshop -- Munich, Annecy, Hamburg: $e^+e^-$ Collisions at 500~GeV: The Physics Potential, November 20, 1992, to April 3, 1993. LaTeX, 6 pages + 4 uuencoded EPS figures, IKDA 93/28, SI-93-

An Objective Method to Assess and Recommend Exertion and Exercise Targets for Return to Play Post concussion

Introduction. Concussions are of significant concern for athletic trainers, and there is a critical need to objectively and safely allow an athlete to return to play. In sports the objective is return as safely and soon as possible. Exertion is a consideration regarding progressing an athlete back to play. The ability to exert in cardiovascular and strength and conditioning contexts are two critical steps in most return to play protocols. Being able to make objective recommendations is urgently needed, as trial and error leads to unnecessary risk of eliciting symptoms and/or causing setbacks. Objective. The object of this paper is to present the athletic trainer with data associated with a methodology that can be used to aid in designing a cardiovascular and strength training program post concussion. This objective measure does not rely on subjective patient reports of symptoms and utilizes a reflex based assessment method. Description. The transient exertion related carotid (TERC) murmur is a murmur that is heard at the carotid arteries during exercise. It normally is heard at around a heart rate of 150, but is heard at lower heart rates in patients who have sustained a concussion. Listening for the TERC murmur during a cardiovascular and strength training assessment can be used to provide information to the athletic trainer about safer target heart rates or safer lifting strategies post-concussion. We present data concerning 71 athletes (mean age 20.8 years) who were assessed for cardiovascular conditioning and body weight assessment. With 73% of the cardio assessment subjects, a TERC murmur was detected at a heart rate of 127.2 bpm (± 16 SD). For the strength assessment 42.1% had a TERC murmur. Clinical advantages. The clinical advantage of the TERC murmur is that it can be utilized by any athletic trainer trained to take a blood pressure. It provides objective information concerning safe target heart rates that will allow an athletic trainer to recommend appropriate exercise prescriptions. The TERC murmur assessment can also be used to help guide strength training protocols to facilitate safe return. Being able to safely recommend a means by which an athlete can recommence their training (cardiovascular and/or strength training) may accelerate return to play as well as aid in keeping the athlete happy, healthy and engaged

Supercurrent interference in HgTe Josephson junctions

Wires made of topological insulators (TI) are a promising platform for searching for Majorana bound states. These states can be probed by analyzing the fractional ac Josephson effect in Josephson junctions with the TI wire as a weak link. An axial magnetic field can be used to tune the system from trivial to topologically nontrivial. Here we investigate the oscillations of the supercurrent in such wire Josephson junctions as a function of the axial magnetic field strength and different contact transparencies. Although the current flows on average parallel to the magnetic field we observe h/2e, h/4e- and even h/8e-periodic oscillations of the supercurrent in samples with lower contact transparencies. Corresponding tight-binding transport simulations using a Bogoliubov-de Gennes model Hamiltonian yield the supercurrent through the Josephson junctions, showing in particular the peculiar h/4e-periodic oscillations observed in experiments. A further semiclassical analysis based on Andreev-reflected trajectories connecting the two superconductors allows us to identify the physical origin of these oscillations. They can be related to flux-enclosing paths winding around the TI-nanowire, thereby highlighting the three-dimensional character of the junction geometry compared to common planar junctions

Tau Interaction with Tubulin and Microtubules: From Purified Proteins to Cells

International audienceMicrotubules (MTs) play an important role in many cellular processes and are dynamic structures regulated by an important network of microtubules-associated proteins, MAPs, such as Tau. Tau has been discovered as an essential factor for MTs formation in vitro, and its region implicated in binding to MTs has been identified. By contrast, the affinity, the stoichiometry, and the topology of Tau-MTs interaction remain controversial. Indeed, depending on the experiment conditions a wide range of values have been obtained. In this chapter, we focus on three biophysical methods, turbidimetry, cosedimentation assay, and Förster Resonance Energy Transfer to study Tau-tubulin interaction both in vitro and in cell. We highlight precautions that must be taken in order to avoid pitfalls and we detail the nature of the conclusions that can be drawn from these methods about Tau-tubulin interaction

Discharge of meteoric water in the Eastern Norwegian Sea since the Last Glacial Period

Submarine groundwater discharge could impact the transport of critical solutes to the ocean. However, its driver(s), significance over geological time scales, and geographical coverage are poorly understood. We characterize a submarine groundwater seep from the continental slope off northern Norway where substantial amount of meteoric water was detected. We reconstruct the seepage history from textural relationships and U‐Th geochronology of authigenic minerals. We demonstrate how glacial‐interglacial dynamics have promoted submarine groundwater circulation more than 100 km offshore and result in high fluxes of critical solutes to the ocean. Such cryosphere‐hydrosphere coupling is likely common in the circum‐Arctic implying that future decay of glaciers and permafrost in a warming Arctic is expected to attenuate such a coupled process and thus decreases the export of critical solutes

Three Repeat Isoforms of Tau Inhibit Assembly of Four Repeat Tau Filaments

Tauopathies are defined by assembly of the microtubule associated protein tau into filamentous tangles and classified by the predominant tau isoform within these aggregates. The major isoforms are determined by alternative mRNA splicing of exon 10 generating tau with three (3R) or four (4R) ∼32 amino acid imperfect repeats in the microtubule binding domain. In normal adult brains there is an approximately equimolar ratio of 3R and 4R tau which is altered by several disease-causing mutations in the tau gene. We hypothesized that when 4R and 3R tau isoforms are not at equimolar ratios aggregation is favored. Here we provide evidence for the first time that the combination of 3R and 4R tau isoforms results in less in vitro heparin induced polymerization than with 4R preparations alone. This effect was independent of reducing conditions and the presence of alternatively spliced exons 2 and 3 N-terminal inserts. The addition of even small amounts of 3R to 4R tau assembly reactions significantly decreased 4R assembly. Together these findings suggest that co-expression of 3R and 4R tau isoforms reduce tau filament assembly and that 3R tau isoforms inhibit 4R tau assembly. Expression of equimolar amounts of 3R and 4R tau in adult humans may be necessary to maintain proper neuronal microtubule dynamics and to prevent abnormal tau filament assembly. Importantly, these findings indicate that disruption of the normal equimolar 3R to 4R ratio may be sufficient to drive tau aggregation and that restoration of the tau isoform balance may have important therapeutic implications in tauopathies