An architecture for object-oriented intelligent control of power systems in space

A control system for autonomous distribution and control of electrical power during space missions is being developed. This system should free the astronauts from localizing faults and reconfiguring loads if problems with the power distribution and generation components occur. The control system uses an object-oriented simulation model of the power system and first principle knowledge to detect, identify, and isolate faults. Each power system component is represented as a separate object with knowledge of its normal behavior. The reasoning process takes place at three different levels of abstraction: the Physical Component Model (PCM) level, the Electrical Equivalent Model (EEM) level, and the Functional System Model (FSM) level, with the PCM the lowest level of abstraction and the FSM the highest. At the EEM level the power system components are reasoned about as their electrical equivalents, e.g, a resistive load is thought of as a resistor. However, at the PCM level detailed knowledge about the component's specific characteristics is taken into account. The FSM level models the system at the subsystem level, a level appropriate for reconfiguration and scheduling. The control system operates in two modes, a reactive and a proactive mode, simultaneously. In the reactive mode the control system receives measurement data from the power system and compares these values with values determined through simulation to detect the existence of a fault. The nature of the fault is then identified through a model-based reasoning process using mainly the EEM. Compound component models are constructed at the EEM level and used in the fault identification process. In the proactive mode the reasoning takes place at the PCM level. Individual components determine their future health status using a physical model and measured historical data. In case changes in the health status seem imminent the component warns the control system about its impending failure. The fault isolation process uses the FSM level for its reasoning base

Zareena Grewal, Islam is a Foreign Country: American Muslims and the Global Crisis of Authority

Zareena Grewal, Islam is a Foreign Country: American Muslims and the Global Crisis of Authority. New York and London: New York University Press, 2014. 409pp. ISBN: 9781479800568. Adrianos Khalil National and Kapodistrian University of Athens In order to comprehend the importance of Zareena Grewal’s project, as it is analyzed in her work Islam is a Foreign Country: American Muslims and the Global Crisis of Authority, it is detrimental to explore the political, social and religious tensions en..

Untersuchungen zur Zink-modulierten Signaltransduktion in Säugerzellen: Die Auswirkungen von Signalwegen auf die Zinkhomöostase.

Zinc, as a divalent cation, is an essential trace element and fulfils a regulatory function in a frequently growing number of proteins. Because zinc is known to directly regulate and modulate the activity of transcription factors and enzymes as well as playing a crucial role in differentiation, proliferation and apoptotic cell death, a second messenger function for this metal ion has been discussed. For this reason the present work addresses the influence of zinc ions on intracellular signal transduction pathways. Major emphasis was put on enzyme-modulated zinc im- and export mechanisms as well as the initiation of programmed cell death in C6 rat glioma cells. Studies focused on intracellular signal transduction pathways identified phoshodiesterases and the phospholipase C to be involved in cellular zinc in- and efflux. Furthermore the extent of cAMP- and PKA-participation in cellular zinc transport is still questionable but involvement of cGMP, calcium, protein kinase C and G as well as the guanylate cyclase could be excluded in this context. Additionally C6 cells were examined with regard to the existence of a zinc-binding, extracellular cell-surface receptor which is specifically activated by zinc ions and might influence the intracellular zinc homeostasis by releasing calcium ions from cytosolic stores. Studies with C6 cells showed, in contrast to A459 cells (human lung carcinoma cells), no evidence for the so-called zinc-sensing receptor . Methodical results of the present work showed that S-nitroso-compounds have the ability to extract zinc ions from the previously formed zinc/Zinquin-complex. Furthermore the results of chromatographic and spectrographic studies of the PLC-activator m-3M3FBS lead to an exclusion of this component from fluorimetric studies due to its emitted auto-fluorescence and decay induced by UV-light

Bodenheterogenität im Südtiroler Obstanbau unter Bewässerungseinfluss

Die Wasserverfügbarkeit im Boden entscheidet in vielen Klimaregionen der Erde maßgebend über deren landwirtschaftliche Ertragsfähigkeit. Demzufolge kann die Bewässerung in den betroffenen Regionen einen essentiellen und unverzichtbaren Produktionsfaktor darstellen. Etwa 70% des global entnommenen Süßwassers werden für die Bewässerung verwendet. Die Landwirtschaft hat somit einen beachtlichen Anteil am globalen Süßwasserverbrauch, der in Folge des sich abzeichnenden Klimawandels weiter ansteigen wird. Daher nimmt das Thema der landwirtschaftlichen Bewässerung einen zunehmend hohen Stellenwert in aktuellen Diskussionen ein. Die Notwendigkeit und Effizienz künstlicher Bewässerungsanlagen sind jedoch nicht ausschließlich an klimatische Einflussparameter geknüpft. Sie sind vielmehr das Ergebnis komplexer physikalischer Prozesse und zahlreicher Wechselwirkungen, die nicht nur in der Atmosphäre, sondern vor allem auch in der Pedosphäre ablaufen. Damit spielt der Boden durch seine kleinräumige horizontale und vertikale Heterogenität auf der Feld- bis Landschaftsskala eine entscheidende Schlüsselrolle, die aber in der Bewässerungspraxis bisher unzureichend beachtet wird. Dieser Beitrag will einige Ergebnisse aus langjährigen messtechnischen Untersuchungen und geostatistischen Analysen zur Bodenwasserdynamik unter Bewässerungseinfluss aufzeigen und Möglichkeiten der Bewässerungsoptimierung anhand praxis- und modellbasierter Ansätze diskutieren

Genome-wide meta-analysis for Alzheimer's disease cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers

Amyloid-beta 42 (Aβ42) and phosphorylated tau (pTau) levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) reflect core features of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) more directly than clinical diagnosis. Initiated by the European Alzheimer & Dementia Biobank (EADB), the largest collaborative effort on genetics underlying CSF biomarkers was established, including 31 cohorts with a total of 13,116 individuals (discovery n = 8074; replication n = 5042 individuals). Besides the APOE locus, novel associations with two other well-established AD risk loci were observed; CR1 was shown a locus for Aβ42 and BIN1 for pTau. GMNC and C16orf95 were further identified as loci for pTau, of which the latter is novel. Clustering methods exploring the influence of all known AD risk loci on the CSF protein levels, revealed 4 biological categories suggesting multiple Aβ42 and pTau related biological pathways involved in the etiology of AD. In functional follow-up analyses, GMNC and C16orf95 both associated with lateral ventricular volume, implying an overlap in genetic etiology for tau levels and brain ventricular volume

The Patient Typology about deprescribing and medication-related decisions: A quantitative exploration.

This study aimed to test the adequacy of a quantitative measure of our qualitatively-developed Patient Typology - categories of older adults' attitudes towards medicines and medicine decision-making - and identify characteristics associated with each Typology. We conducted secondary data analyses of a subset of survey item measures of adults (≥65 years) who were members of online survey panels in Australia, the UK, the US, and the Netherlands (n=4,688). Multinomial logistic regression analyses assessed associations between demographic, psychosocial, and medication-related measures. Mean age was 71.5 (5) and 47.5% of participants were female. Factors associated with an increased likelihood of identifying with Typology 1 'Attached to medicines' over Typology 2 'Open to deprescribing' were higher positive attitude towards polypharmacy (RRR=1.12, p =<.001) and higher need for certainty (RRR=1.11, p=.039). Factors associated with an increased likelihood of identifying with Typology 3 'Defers (medication decision-making) to others' over Typology 2 were older age (RRR=1.47 per 10-year age increase, p=<.001) and a decreased likelihood of prior deprescribing experience (RRR=0.73, p=.033). This study provides validation of the Typology with large samples from four countries, with the quantitatively-measured typologies generally aligning with the qualitatively-derived categories. Our Patient Typology measure provides a succinct way researchers can assess attitudes towards deprescribing

Inhibition of Rac1 GTPase Decreases Vascular Oxidative Stress, Improves Endothelial Function, and Attenuates Atherosclerosis Development in Mice

Aims: Oxidative stress and inflammation contribute to atherogenesis. Rac1 GTPase regulates pro-oxidant NADPH oxidase activity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, actin cytoskeleton organization and monocyte adhesion. We investigated the vascular effects of pharmacological inhibition of Rac1 GTPase in mice. Methods and Results: We treated wild-type and apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE−/−) mice with Clostridium sordellii lethal toxin (LT), a Rac1 inhibitor, and assessed vascular oxidative stress, expression and activity of involved proteins, endothelial function, macrophage infiltration, and atherosclerosis development. LT-treated wild-type mice displayed decreased vascular NADPH oxidase activity and ROS production. Therapeutic LT doses had no impact on behavior, food intake, body weight, heart rate, blood pressure, vascular and myocardial function, differential blood count, and vascular permeability. ApoE−/− mice were fed a cholesterol-rich diet and were treated with LT or vehicle. LT treatment led to decreased aortic Rac1 GTPase activity, NADPH oxidase activity and ROS production, but had no impact on expression and membrane translocation of NADPH oxidase subunits and RhoA GTPase activity. LT-treated mice showed improved aortic endothelium-dependent vasodilation, attenuated atherosclerotic lesion formation and reduced macrophage infiltration of atherosclerotic plaques. Concomitant treatment of cholesterol-fed ApoE−/− mice with LT, the specific synthetic Rac1 inhibitor NSC 23766 or simvastatin comparably reduced aortic Rac1 activity, NADPH oxidase activity, oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerosis development, and macrophage infiltration. Conclusions: These findings identify an important role of the small GTPase Rac1 in atherogenesis and provide a potential target for anti-atherosclerotic therapy

Serum levels of bone sialoprotein correlate with portal pressure in patients with liver cirrhosis

Liver cirrhosis represents the common end-stage of chronic liver diseases regardless of its etiology. Patients with compensated disease are mostly asymptomatic, however, progression to a decompensated disease stage is common. The available stratification strategies are often unsuitable to identify patients with a higher risk for disease progression and a limited prognosis. SIBLINGs, soluble glycophosphoproteins, are secreted into the blood by immune-cells. While osteopontin, the most prominent member of the SIBLINGs family, has been repeatedly associated with liver cirrhosis, data on the diagnostic and/or prognostic value of bone sialoprotein (BSP) are scarce and partly inconclusive. In this study, we analyzed the diagnostic and prognostic potential of circulating BSP in comparison to other standard laboratory markers in a large cohort of patients with liver cirrhosis receiving transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). Serum levels of BSP were similar in patients with different disease stages and were not indicative for prognosis. Interestingly, BSP serum levels did correlate inversely with portal pressure, as well as its surrogates such as platelet count, the portal vein cross-sectional area and correlated positively with the portal venous velocity. In summary, our data highlight that BSP might represent a previously unrecognized marker for portal hypertension in patients with liver cirrhosis