Ares I Flight Control System Overview

This paper describes the control challenges posed by the Ares I vehicle, the flight control system design and performance analyses used to test and verify the design. The major challenges in developing the control system are structural dynamics, dynamic effects from the powerful first stage booster, aerodynamics, first stage separation and large uncertainties in the dynamic models for all these. Classical control techniques were employed using innovative methods for structural mode filter design and an anti-drift feature to compensate for translational and rotational disturbances. This design was coded into an integrated vehicle flight simulation and tested by Monte Carlo methods. The product of this effort is a linear, robust controller design that is easy to implement, verify and test

Estudio ambiental de la actividad minera artesanal no metalica, en la concesion minera Roca Blanca Sagitario, Rioja –2009

A global, national and regional levels, the nonmetallic mineral is being exploited by informal without any permission, and is but without their respective Environmental Management Plan, bringing first loss impacts on soil, landscape aesthetics in flora and fauna and others. That is why this research study entitled "ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY OF THE NON- TRADITIONAL METAL MINING ACTIVITY IN THE WHITE ROCK MINING CONCESSION SAGITTARIUS, RIOJA -2009" town center located within the Rural, Yacu Tambo district of Rioja was developed using as relevant regulatory issues governing this activity. For the realization of the project was initially made the screening process based on the general project data, then a brief description of the project and the environmental characteristics of the environment, identifying significant environmental impacts, using the rating criteria for components affected environment, and helping to take mitigation measures proposed by the category i belonging to the project. A description of the various stages that includes the project like construction, operation, maintenance and post closure closure, then is a description of the environment variables by reference to the climate, physiography and topography, geology, geomorphology, soil and water resources. It was the identification of environmental impacts using leopold matrix components which relate to the stages of the project valuing the impacts according to the chart scale, the activity that generates the greatest impact is the stage of non-metallic mineral extraction, raw material confitillo is according to the phase of operation that allows a modification of the geomorphology, physiography, relief, gas generation and sediment particles. Concludes by proposing measures to prevent, control and mitigation, contingency plans, monitoring plan and measures of closure and post closure.A nivel mundial, nacional y regional, el mineral no metálico viene siendo explotado por informales sin contar con ningún permiso, y es mas sin contar con su respectivo Plan de Manejo Ambiental, trayendo consigo primeros impactos en la perdida del suelo, la estética del paisaje, en flora y fauna y otros Es por ello que el presente estudio de investigación titulado “ESTUDIO AMBIENTAL DE LA ACTIVIDAD MINERA ARTESANAL NO METALICA, EN LA CONCESION MINERA ROCA BLANCA SAGITARIO, RIOJA –2009” ubicado dentro del centro poblado Rural, Tambo Yacu, Distrito de Rioja se desarrollo tomando como referencia los aspectos normativos que rigen esta actividad Para la realización del proyecto se hizo inicialmente el proceso de cribado tomando como base los datos generales del proyecto, para luego hacer una breve descripción del proyecto y las características ambientales del entorno, identificando los impactos ambientales significativos, utilizando los Criterios de calificación para los componentes ambientales afectados, y así tomar propuestas de medidas de mitigación según la categoría I al que pertenece el proyecto. Se presenta la descripción de las distintas etapas que comprende el proyecto como son construcción, operación, mantenimiento y cierre post cierre, posteriormente se hace una descripción del ambiente tomando como referencia las variables clima, fisiografía y relieve, geología, geomorfología, suelo y recurso hídrico Se hizo la identificación de impactos ambientales utilizando la matriz de leopold donde se relaciono los componentes con las etapas del proyecto valorizando los impactos según la tabla escalar, la actividad que genera mayor impacto es la etapa de extracción de minerales no metálicos, de la materia prima confitillo, está en función a la fase de operación que permite una modificación de la geomorfología, fisiografía, relieve, generación de gases y partículas sedimentarias Finalmente se proponen las medidas de prevención, control y mitigación, Plan de contingencia, Plan de monitoreo y Medidas de cierre y post cierreTesi

PLASER: Pronunciation Learning via Automatic Speech Recognition

PLASER is a multimedia tool with instant feedback designed to teach English pronunciation for high-school students of Hong Kong whose mother tongue is Cantonese Chinese. The objective is to teach correct pronunciation and not to assess a student's overall pronunciation quality. Major challenges related to speech recognition technology include: allowance for non-native accent, reliable and corrective feedbacks, and visualization of errors

Trajectory of long-term outcome in severe pediatric diffuse axonal injury: An exploratory study

Introduction: Pediatric severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of disability and death. One of the classic pathoanatomic brain injury lesions following severe pediatric TBI is diffuse (multifocal) axonal injury (DAI). In this single institution study, our overarching goal was to describe the clinical characteristics and long-term outcome trajectory of severe pediatric TBI patients with DAI.Methods: Pediatric patients (<18 years of age) with severe TBI who had DAI were retrospectively reviewed. We evaluated the effect of age, sex, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, early fever ≥ 38.5°C during the first day post-injury, the extent of ICP-directed therapy needed with the Pediatric Intensity Level of Therapy (PILOT) score, and MRI within the first week following trauma and analyzed their association with outcome using the Glasgow Outcome Score—Extended (GOS-E) scale at discharge, 6 months, 1, 5, and 10 years following injury.Results: Fifty-six pediatric patients with severe traumatic DAI were analyzed. The majority of the patients were >5 years of age and male. There were 2 mortalities. At discharge, 56% (30/54) of the surviving patients had unfavorable outcome. Sixty five percent (35/54) of surviving children were followed up to 10 years post-injury, and 71% (25/35) of them made a favorable recovery. Early fever and extensive DAI on MRI were associated with worse long-term outcomes.Conclusion: We describe the long-term trajectory outcome of severe pediatric TBI patients with pure DAI. While this was a single institution study with a small sample size, the majority of the children survived. Over one-third of our surviving children were lost to follow-up. Of the surviving children who had follow-up for 10 years after injury, the majority of these children made a favorable recovery

Is Chytridiomycosis an Emerging Infectious Disease in Asia?

The disease chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has caused dramatic amphibian population declines and extinctions in Australia, Central and North America, and Europe. Bd is associated with >200 species extinctions of amphibians, but not all species that become infected are susceptible to the disease. Specifically, Bd has rapidly emerged in some areas of the world, such as in Australia, USA, and throughout Central and South America, causing population and species collapse. The mechanism behind the rapid global emergence of the disease is poorly understood, in part due to an incomplete picture of the global distribution of Bd. At present, there is a considerable amount of geographic bias in survey effort for Bd, with Asia being the most neglected continent. To date, Bd surveys have been published for few Asian countries, and infected amphibians have been reported only from Indonesia, South Korea, China and Japan. Thus far, there have been no substantiated reports of enigmatic or suspected disease-caused population declines of the kind that has been attributed to Bd in other areas. In order to gain a more detailed picture of the distribution of Bd in Asia, we undertook a widespread, opportunistic survey of over 3,000 amphibians for Bd throughout Asia and adjoining Papua New Guinea. Survey sites spanned 15 countries, approximately 36° latitude, 111° longitude, and over 2000 m in elevation. Bd prevalence was very low throughout our survey area (2.35% overall) and infected animals were not clumped as would be expected in epizootic events. This suggests that Bd is either newly emerging in Asia, endemic at low prevalence, or that some other ecological factor is preventing Bd from fully invading Asian amphibians. The current observed pattern in Asia differs from that in many other parts of the world

Psychosocial impact of undergoing prostate cancer screening for men with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

OBJECTIVES: To report the baseline results of a longitudinal psychosocial study that forms part of the IMPACT study, a multi-national investigation of targeted prostate cancer (PCa) screening among men with a known pathogenic germline mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. PARTICPANTS AND METHODS: Men enrolled in the IMPACT study were invited to complete a questionnaire at collaborating sites prior to each annual screening visit. The questionnaire included sociodemographic characteristics and the following measures: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Impact of Event Scale (IES), 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36), Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate Cancer, Cancer Worry Scale-Revised, risk perception and knowledge. The results of the baseline questionnaire are presented. RESULTS: A total of 432 men completed questionnaires: 98 and 160 had mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, respectively, and 174 were controls (familial mutation negative). Participants' perception of PCa risk was influenced by genetic status. Knowledge levels were high and unrelated to genetic status. Mean scores for the HADS and SF-36 were within reported general population norms and mean IES scores were within normal range. IES mean intrusion and avoidance scores were significantly higher in BRCA1/BRCA2 carriers than in controls and were higher in men with increased PCa risk perception. At the multivariate level, risk perception contributed more significantly to variance in IES scores than genetic status. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to report the psychosocial profile of men with BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations undergoing PCa screening. No clinically concerning levels of general or cancer-specific distress or poor quality of life were detected in the cohort as a whole. A small subset of participants reported higher levels of distress, suggesting the need for healthcare professionals offering PCa screening to identify these risk factors and offer additional information and support to men seeking PCa screening

No Reliable Association between Runs of Homozygosity and Schizophrenia in a Well-Powered Replication Study

It is well known that inbreeding increases the risk of recessive monogenic diseases, but it is less certain whether it contributes to the etiology of complex diseases such as schizophrenia. One way to estimate the effects of inbreeding is to examine the association between disease diagnosis and genome-wide autozygosity estimated using runs of homozygosity (ROH) in genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism arrays. Using data for schizophrenia from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (n = 21,868), Keller et al. (2012) estimated that the odds of developing schizophrenia increased by approximately 17% for every additional percent of the genome that is autozygous (β = 16.1, CI(β) = [6.93, 25.7], Z = 3.44, p = 0.0006). Here we describe replication results from 22 independent schizophrenia case-control datasets from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (n = 39,830). Using the same ROH calling thresholds and procedures as Keller et al. (2012), we were unable to replicate the significant association between ROH burden and schizophrenia in the independent PGC phase II data, although the effect was in the predicted direction, and the combined (original + replication) dataset yielded an attenuated but significant relationship between Froh and schizophrenia (β = 4.86,CI(β) = [0.90,8.83],Z = 2.40,p = 0.02). Since Keller et al. (2012), several studies reported inconsistent association of ROH burden with complex traits, particularly in case-control data. These conflicting results might suggest that the effects of autozygosity are confounded by various factors, such as socioeconomic status, education, urbanicity, and religiosity, which may be associated with both real inbreeding and the outcome measures of interest

Age at first birth in women is genetically associated with increased risk of schizophrenia

Prof. Paunio on PGC:n jäsenPrevious studies have shown an increased risk for mental health problems in children born to both younger and older parents compared to children of average-aged parents. We previously used a novel design to reveal a latent mechanism of genetic association between schizophrenia and age at first birth in women (AFB). Here, we use independent data from the UK Biobank (N = 38,892) to replicate the finding of an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women, and to estimate the genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in women stratified into younger and older groups. We find evidence for an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women (P-value = 1.12E-05), and we show genetic heterogeneity between younger and older AFB groups (P-value = 3.45E-03). The genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in the younger AFB group is -0.16 (SE = 0.04) while that between schizophrenia and AFB in the older AFB group is 0.14 (SE = 0.08). Our results suggest that early, and perhaps also late, age at first birth in women is associated with increased genetic risk for schizophrenia in the UK Biobank sample. These findings contribute new insights into factors contributing to the complex bio-social risk architecture underpinning the association between parental age and offspring mental health.Peer reviewe

Genetic correlation between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and schizophrenia

A. Palotie on työryhmän Schizophrenia Working Grp Psychiat jäsen.We have previously shown higher-than-expected rates of schizophrenia in relatives of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), suggesting an aetiological relationship between the diseases. Here, we investigate the genetic relationship between ALS and schizophrenia using genome-wide association study data from over 100,000 unique individuals. Using linkage disequilibrium score regression, we estimate the genetic correlation between ALS and schizophrenia to be 14.3% (7.05-21.6; P = 1 x 10(-4)) with schizophrenia polygenic risk scores explaining up to 0.12% of the variance in ALS (P = 8.4 x 10(-7)). A modest increase in comorbidity of ALS and schizophrenia is expected given these findings (odds ratio 1.08-1.26) but this would require very large studies to observe epidemiologically. We identify five potential novel ALS-associated loci using conditional false discovery rate analysis. It is likely that shared neurobiological mechanisms between these two disorders will engender novel hypotheses in future preclinical and clinical studies.Peer reviewe

Mapping genomic loci implicates genes and synaptic biology in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia has a heritability of 60-80%1, much of which is attributable to common risk alleles. Here, in a two-stage genome-wide association study of up to 76,755 individuals with schizophrenia and 243,649 control individuals, we report common variant associations at 287 distinct genomic loci. Associations were concentrated in genes that are expressed in excitatory and inhibitory neurons of the central nervous system, but not in other tissues or cell types. Using fine-mapping and functional genomic data, we identify 120 genes (106 protein-coding) that are likely to underpin associations at some of these loci, including 16 genes with credible causal non-synonymous or untranslated region variation. We also implicate fundamental processes related to neuronal function, including synaptic organization, differentiation and transmission. Fine-mapped candidates were enriched for genes associated with rare disruptive coding variants in people with schizophrenia, including the glutamate receptor subunit GRIN2A and transcription factor SP4, and were also enriched for genes implicated by such variants in neurodevelopmental disorders. We identify biological processes relevant to schizophrenia pathophysiology; show convergence of common and rare variant associations in schizophrenia and neurodevelopmental disorders; and provide a resource of prioritized genes and variants to advance mechanistic studies