Progress Towards Modeling the Ablation Response of NuSil-Coated PICA

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Entry, Descent and Landing Instrumentation (MEDLI) collected in-flight data largely used by the ablation community to verify and validate physics-based models for the response of the Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) material [1-4]. MEDLI data were recently used to guide the development of NASAs high-fidelity material response models for PICA, implemented in the Porous material Analysis Toolbox based on OpenFOAM (PATO) software [5-6]. A follow-up instrumentation suite, MEDLI2, is planned for the upcoming Mars 2020 mission [7] after the large scientific impact of MEDLI. Recent analyses performed as part of MEDLI2 development draw the attention to significant effects of a protective coating to the aerothermal response of PICA. NuSil, a silicone-based overcoat sprayed onto the MSL heatshield as contamination control, is currently neglected in PICA ablation models. To mitigate the spread of phenolic dust from PICA, NuSil was applied to the entire MSL heatshield, including the MEDLI plugs. NuSil is a space grade designation of the siloxane copolymer, primarily used to protect against atomic oxygen erosion in the Low Earth Orbit environment. Ground testing of PICA-NuSil (PICA-N) models all exhibited surface temperature jumps of the order of 200 K due to oxide scale formation and subsequent NuSil burn-off. It is therefore critical to include a model for the aerothermal response of the coating in ongoing code development and validation efforts

Drone Control Using Electroencephalogram Signals

In this project, we present the development of a system that can control a drone using a headset sensor that detects electroencephalographic (EEG) waves from the drone’s pilot when he/she performs facial gestures. The drone is controlled using specific facial expressions which are recorded using a commercial EEG headband, the OpenBCI EEG headband (fig. 2). The EEG headband uses electrodes to read the electric potentials from the brain. The EEG signals were recorded and analyzed using the OpenBCI GUI software. The data files recorded from the EEG headband were exported to Matlab to perform the signal conditioning, feature extraction, and design and training of the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) that was used to classify the facial gestures. For each data recording, three statistical values were computed: the standard deviation, root mean squared and mode. These values were used as the features for each facial gesture. The feature extraction data were used as the inputs to the ANN. The input to train an ANN consisted of a 9x45 array generated from the pilot performing fifteen recordings of each facial gesture. The target matrix was a 3x45 size, this is 3 classes and 45 recordings. The Neural Net Pattern Recognition tool from Matlab was used for the implementation of the ANN. After the ANN was trained to classify the 3 facial gestures, the output of the ANN was used to control the drone. The drone used in this project was a palm sized DJI Tello drone. Three facial gestures were selected to control the motion of the drone as follows: raising eyebrows, hard blinking and looking right. Results of the ANN training yielded a 97% accuracy in the classification of the facial gestures

Remarks Concerning the Study of Four-Jet Events from Hadronic Decays of the Z0

The angular correlations of four-jet events from hadronic decays of the Z0 have been studied in the past mainly to extract from them the fundamental constants of quantum chromodynamics called colour factors. Previous studies have used all the available phase-space in order to maximize statistics. In this note we want to point out the possibility that significant differences between experiment and theory in restricted regions of phase-space might have escaped detection. Such differences could be a harbinger of the existence of new particles. Some preliminary results are presented.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Obsessive passion: a compensatory response to unsatisfied needs

The present research investigated the role of two sources of psychological need satisfaction (inside and outside a passionate activity) as determinants of harmonious (HP) and obsessive (OP) passion. Four studies were carried out with different samples of young and middle-aged adults (e.g., athletes, musicians; total N=648). Different research designs (cross-sectional, mixed, longitudinal) were also used. Results showed that only a rigid engagement in a passionate activity (OP) was predicted by low levels of need satisfaction outside the passionate activity (in an important life context or in life in general), whereas both OP and a more favorable and balanced type of passion, HP were positively predicted by need satisfaction inside the passionate activity. Further, OP led to negative outcomes, and HP predicted positive outcomes. These results suggest that OP may represent a form of compensatory striving for psychological need satisfaction. It appears important to consider two distinct sources of need satisfaction, inside and outside the passionate activity, when investigating determinants of optimal and less optimal forms of activity engagemen

Altered miRNA processing disrupts brown/white adipocyte determination and associates with lipodystrophy

miRNAs are important regulators of biological processes in many tissues, including the differentiation and function of brown and white adipocytes. the endoribonuclease dicer is a major component of the miRNA-processing pathway, and in adipose tissue, levels of dicer have been shown to decrease with age, increase with caloric restriction, and influence stress resistance. Here, we demonstrated that mice with a fat-specific KO of dicer develop a form of lipodystrophy that is characterized by loss of intra-abdominal and subcutaneous white fat, severe insulin resistance, and enlargement and whitening of interscapular brown fat. Additionally, KO of dicer in cultured brown preadipocytes promoted a white adipocyte-like phenotype and reduced expression of several miRNAs. Brown preadipocyte whitening was partially reversed by expression of miR-365, a miRNA known to promote brown fat differentiation; however, introduction of other miRNAs, including miR-346 and miR-362, also contributed to reversal of the loss of the dicer phenotype. Interestingly, fat samples from patients with HIV-related lipodystrophy exhibited a substantial downregulation of dicer mRNA expression. Together, these findings indicate the importance of miRNA processing in white and brown adipose tissue determination and provide a potential link between this process and HIV-related lipodystrophy.NIHEllison FoundationJoslin Diabetes and Endocrinology Research Center coresMary K. Iacocca ProfessorshipAcademy of FinlandSigrid Juselius FoundationFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Harvard Univ, Sch Med, Joslin Diabet Ctr, Sect Integrat Physiol & Metab, Boston, MA 02115 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biophys, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Program Mol Biol, São Paulo, BrazilAstraZeneca R&D, Cardiovasc & Metab Dis iMed, Molndal, SwedenUniv Helsinki, Dept Med, Helsinki, FinlandMinerva Fdn, Inst Med Res, Helsinki, FinlandUniv Massachusetts, Sch Med, Program Mol Med, Worcester, MA USAMassachusetts Gen Hosp, Program Nutr Metab, Boston, MA 02114 USAHarvard Univ, Sch Med, Boston, MA USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biophys, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Program Mol Biol, São Paulo, BrazilNIH: DK082659NIH: DK033201NIH: AI060354NIH: DK040561NIH: U24-DK093000Joslin Diabetes and Endocrinology Research Center cores: DK036836FAPESP: 2010/52557-0Web of Scienc

Status of the Super-B factory Design

The SuperB international team continues to optimize the design of an electron-positron collider, which will allow the enhanced study of the origins of flavor physics. The project combines the best features of a linear collider (high single-collision luminosity) and a storage-ring collider (high repetition rate), bringing together all accelerator physics aspects to make a very high luminosity of 10$^{36}$ cm$^{-2}$ sec$^{-1}$. This asymmetric-energy collider with a polarized electron beam will produce hundreds of millions of B-mesons at the $\Upsilon$(4S) resonance. The present design is based on extremely low emittance beams colliding at a large Piwinski angle to allow very low $\beta_y^\star$ without the need for ultra short bunches. Use of crab-waist sextupoles will enhance the luminosity, suppressing dangerous resonances and allowing for a higher beam-beam parameter. The project has flexible beam parameters, improved dynamic aperture, and spin-rotators in the Low Energy Ring for longitudinal polarization of the electron beam at the Interaction Point. Optimized for best colliding-beam performance, the facility may also provide high-brightness photon beams for synchrotron radiation applications