25,814 research outputs found
Display/control requirements for automated VTOL aircraft
A systematic design methodology for pilot displays in advanced commercial VTOL aircraft was developed and refined. The analyst is provided with a step-by-step procedure for conducting conceptual display/control configurations evaluations for simultaneous monitoring and control pilot tasks. The approach consists of three phases: formulation of information requirements, configuration evaluation, and system selection. Both the monitoring and control performance models are based upon the optimal control model of the human operator. Extensions to the conventional optimal control model required in the display design methodology include explicit optimization of control/monitoring attention; simultaneous monitoring and control performance predictions; and indifference threshold effects. The methodology was applied to NASA's experimental CH-47 helicopter in support of the VALT program. The CH-47 application examined the system performance of six flight conditions. Four candidate configurations are suggested for evaluation in pilot-in-the-loop simulations and eventual flight tests
Contemporary splinting practice in the UK for adults with neurological dysfunction: A cross-sectional survey
This article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Aim: To explore the contemporary splinting practice of UK occupational therapists and physiotherapists for adults with neurological dysfunction.
Method: Cross-sectional online survey of members of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Neurology and College of Occupational Therapists Specialist Section Neurological Practice.
Results: Four hundred and twenty therapists completed the survey. Contracture management is the most common rationale for therapists splinting adults with neurological dysfunction. Other shared therapeutic goals of splinting include maintaining muscle and joint alignment, spasticity management, function, pain management and control of oedema. Considerable clinical uncertainty was uncovered in practice particularly around wearing regimens of splints. Most therapists have access to locally-derived splinting guidelines, which may contribute to this diversity of practice.
Conclusions: This study provides a unique insight into aspects of contemporary splinting practice among UK therapists, who belong to a specialist neurological professional network and work in a number of different health-care settings with adults who have a neurological condition. Study findings show a wide variation in splinting practice, thereby indicating a potential need for national guidance to assist therapists in this area of clinical uncertainty. Further research is required to establish best practice parameters for splinting in neurological rehabilitation
Development of a cobalt-tungsten ferromagnetic, high-temperature, structural alloy
Cobalt-tungsten ferromagnetic, high temperature structural alloy for rotor applications in space power generator
The magnetoresistance tensor of La(0.8)Sr(0.2)MnO(3)
We measure the temperature dependence of the anisotropic magnetoresistance
(AMR) and the planar Hall effect (PHE) in c-axis oriented epitaxial thin films
of La(0.8)Sr(0.2)MnO(3), for different current directions relative to the
crystal axes, and show that both AMR and PHE depend strongly on current
orientation. We determine a magnetoresistance tensor, extracted to 4th order,
which reflects the crystal symmetry and provides a comprehensive description of
the data. We extend the applicability of the extracted tensor by determining
the bi-axial magnetocrystalline anisotropy in our samples
Stellar Polarimetry: Where Are We and Where Are We Going?
On the final day of the Stellar Polarimetry conference, participants split up
into three "breakout sessions" to discuss the future of the field in the areas
of instrumentation, upcoming opportunities, and community priorities. This
contribution compiles the major recommendations arising from each breakout
session. We hope that the polarimetric community will find these ideas useful
as we consider how to maintain the vitality of polarimetry in the coming years.Comment: 7 pages, published in proceedings of "Stellar Polarimetry: From Birth
to Death" (Madison, WI, June 2011
Display/control requirements for VTOL aircraft
Quantative metrics were determined for system control performance, workload for control, monitoring performance, and workload for monitoring. Pilot tasks were allocated for navigation and guidance of automated commercial V/STOL aircraft in all weather conditions using an optimal control model of the human operator to determine display elements and design
Comparative genomics approaches accurately predict deleterious variants in plants
Recent advances in genome resequencing have led to increased interest in prediction of the functional consequences of genetic variants. Variants at phylogenetically conserved sites are of particular interest, because they are more likely than variants at phylogenetically variable sites to have deleterious effects on fitness and contribute to phenotypic variation. Numerous comparative genomic approaches have been developed to predict deleterious variants, but the approaches are nearly always assessed based on their ability to identify known disease-causing mutations in humans. Determining the accuracy of deleterious variant predictions in nonhuman species is important to understanding evolution, domestication, and potentially to improving crop quality and yield. To examine our ability to predict deleterious variants in plants we generated a curated database of 2,910 Arabidopsis thaliana mutants with known phenotypes. We evaluated seven approaches and found that while all performed well, their relative ranking differed from prior benchmarks in humans. We conclude that deleterious mutations can be reliably predicted in A. thaliana and likely other plant species, but that the relative performance of various approaches does not necessarily translate from one species to another
Molecular dissection of the mechanism by which EWS/FLI expression compromises actin cytoskeletal integrity and cell adhesion in Ewing sarcoma.
Ewing sarcoma is the second-most-common bone cancer in children. Driven by an oncogenic chromosomal translocation that results in the expression of an aberrant transcription factor, EWS/FLI, the disease is typically aggressive and micrometastatic upon presentation. Silencing of EWS/FLI in patient-derived tumor cells results in the altered expression of hundreds to thousands of genes and is accompanied by dramatic morphological changes in cytoarchitecture and adhesion. Genes encoding focal adhesion, extracellular matrix, and actin regulatory proteins are dominant targets of EWS/FLI-mediated transcriptional repression. Reexpression of genes encoding just two of these proteins, zyxin and α5 integrin, is sufficient to restore cell adhesion and actin cytoskeletal integrity comparable to what is observed when the EWS/FLI oncogene expression is compromised. Using an orthotopic xenograft model, we show that EWS/FLI-induced repression of α5 integrin and zyxin expression promotes tumor progression by supporting anchorage-independent cell growth. This selective advantage is paired with a tradeoff in which metastatic lung colonization is compromised
Phase operators, phase states and vector phase states for SU(3) and SU(2,1)
This paper focuses on phase operators, phase states and vector phase states
for the sl(3) Lie algebra. We introduce a one-parameter generalized oscillator
algebra A(k,2) which provides a unified scheme for dealing with su(3) (for k <
0), su(2,1) (for k > 0) and h(4) x h(4) (for k = 0) symmetries. Finite- and
infinite-dimensional representations of A(k,2) are constructed for k < 0 and k
> 0 or = 0, respectively. Phase operators associated with A(k,2) are defined
and temporally stable phase states (as well as vector phase states) are
constructed as eigenstates of these operators. Finally, we discuss a relation
between quantized phase states and a quadratic discrete Fourier transform and
show how to use these states for constructing mutually unbiased bases
- …