Optimal trajectory planning for a UAV glider using atmospheric thermals

An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Glider (UAV glider) uses atmospheric energy in its different forms to remain aloft for extended flight durations. This UAV glider\u27s aim is to extract atmospheric thermal energy and use it to supplement its battery energy usage and increase the mission period. Given an infrared camera identified atmospheric thermal of known strength and location; current wind speed and direction; current battery level; altitude and location of the UAV glider; and estimating the expected altitude gain from the thermal, is it possible to make an energy efficient based motivation to fly to an atmospheric thermal so as to achieve UAV glider extended flight time? For this work, an infrared thermal camera aboard the UAV glider takes continuous forward-looking ground images of hot spots . Through image processing a candidate atmospheric thermal strength and location is estimated. An Intelligent Decision Model incorporates this information with the current UAV glider status and weather conditions to provide an energy-based recommendation to modify the flight path of the UAV glider. Research, development, and simulation of the Intelligent Decision Model is the primary focus of this work. Three models are developed: (1) Battery Usage Model, (2) Intelligent Decision Model, and (3) Altitude Gain Model. The Battery Usage Model comes from the candidate flight trajectory, wind speed & direction and aircraft dynamic model. Intelligent Decision Model uses a fuzzy logic based approach. The Altitude Gain Model requires the strength and size of the thermal and is found a priori

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationHospital readmission of pediatric populations with mental or psychiatric illness who have received a prior inpatient experience is a public health concern. Unfortunately, there are many researchers, practitioners, or policy makers who do not recognize this readmission issue as a public health concern. The nonrecognition maybe primarily because little research has been done about pediatric psychiatric readmission and especially predictors of such readmissions. There is a need to identify predictors of these readmissions to assist practitioners and researchers to design interventions that could be used to minimize these readmissions. In this study, we use data from an academic psychiatric hospital, namely the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute (UNI), to explore predictors of pediatric readmissions. These data are for those children and adolescents who were inpatients between 1999 and 2010. We begin with a description of pediatric inpatients seen at an academic psychiatric hospital. The description includes variables such as: the most common diagnoses of the admitted patients, sex and age break down, the hospital length of stay, readmission patterns, discharge dispositions, and the most common ways that patients' care is paid for. The description is necessary to identify the independent variables that are used in the major part of the study of identifying the predictors of readmission. Logistic regression models are used in the second part of the study with readmission as the dependent variable. The third part of the study includes use of iv Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves and Statistical Control Processes to further investigate the association between hospital length of stay and readmission. The major findings of the study are that the diagnosis is the major predictor of the readmissions. The influence of other independent variables significantly decreases with the introduction of the specific diagnosis. For the majority of the diagnoses, increase or decrease of length of stay does not predict readmissions. To understand psychiatric illness and readmission among pediatric populations, diagnoses should be viewed individually and not all categorized as if they were one disease

The Discovery and Development of Thienopyrimidines as Inhibitors of Helicobacter pylori

The rate of successful treatment for Helicobacter pylori infections, with the clarithromycin triple therapy, is only 75%. The triple therapy, which consists of a proton pump inhibitor and two broad-spectrum antibiotics such as clarithromycin and amoxicillin, is becoming less effective due to the rise of strains with resistance against these antibiotics. In the search for narrow spectrum drugs for the treatment of H. pylori infections, a high-throughput screen was performed to identify selective compounds against H. pylori. This screen revealed two selective and structurally related thienopyrimidines. Structure-activity relationship of the thienopyrimidines against H. pylori was examined through the synthesis of 27 analogs, efforts that merged elements of the two scaffolds. The resulting leads, including compound 25, demonstrate high potency with an acceptable cytotoxicity profile against the human FaDu cells. Mode of action studies were performed by the generation and sequencing of resistant mutants. These experiments identified H. pylori’s respiratory Complex I as the putative target of the series, with the amino acid changes found in the NuoD subunit. Lead compounds demonstrated efficacy in an ex vivo model but not in the in vivo studies in a H. pylori murine infection model, suggesting further optimization of the pharmacological properties is required for this series. A scaffold hopping exercise was performed to discover novel scaffolds with improved ADME properties. The pyrrolopyrimidine 56 emerged with good anti-H. pylori activity, an improved solubility and is less bound to human plasma protein. Lead optimization efforts are ongoing, to realize proof of concept of this series of compounds in the in vivo efficacy studies

Training on understanding, communicating, and using the downscaled seasonal forecast

This report describes a one-day workshop that presented new downscaled seasonal climate forecasts and a brief training program on how to understand, communicate and use new format with farmer groups. It builds on and extends the previous PICSA training workshops by (a) shifting from the use of station rainfall data to merged gridded data, and (b) introducing experimental seasonal forecasts presented as shifted probability distributions. The workshop began with an introduction to downscaled forecasts in probability-of-exceedance format, and discussion of plans to make these forecasts available through the Meteo-Rwanda maprooms. Key concepts were explained, and their equivalent terms in Kinyarwanda were discussed. Participants were led through an interactive process of eliciting collective memory of rainfall in recent years, developing a time-series graph based on the past 5 years of rainfall data, and then sorting the time series into a probability-of-exceedance graph. Instruction and a breakout group exercise taught participants to interpret probability-of-exceedance graphs. A discussion about El Niño was used to introduce the concept of a seasonal forecast, build confidence that there is a physical basis for seasonal forecasting, reinforce the probabilistic nature of seasonal forecast, and prepare participants to accept the new seasonal forecast format. Showing a probability-of-exceedance graph for El Niño against the probability-of-exceedance for all years is the final step to preparing intermediaries, or the farmers they serve, to understand the new seasonal forecast format. Downscaled forecasts of September-December 2016 total rainfall showed a weak to moderate probability shift towards dryer conditions. The presentation of the current forecast was followed by a discussion of the approach that was presented in the workshop, how the forecast system performs, and how to present the historical and forecast information to farmers. The workshop ended with discussion of action plans for using the new forecasts for project communication and planning activities in the four target districts

Histoire et mémoire en Afrique orientale et centre orientale

José Kagabo, maître de conférences Compte rendu non communiqué

Histoire et mémoire en Afrique orientale et centre-orientale

José Kagabo, maître de conférences Récits et représentations du passé, construction du contemporain Le séminaire s’est attaché d’abord à une recension des principaux genres de récits concernant le passé des pays et peuples de la région dite aujourd’hui des Grands lacs, ensuite à en comparer les caractéristiques. Il est apparu que dans la majeure partie des cas, il s’agit de mythes et légendes qui mettent en scène des héros auxquels ces récits attribuent le rôle fondateur à la fois d’ancêtre é..

Regards croisés sur une diaspora éclatée

Cet article situe la présence indienne en Afrique orientale et centre orientale dans le cadre de l’expansion arabo-swahili du xixe siècle et de l’insertion de cette région dans la dynamique du capitalisme international à la veille des colonisations du xxe siècle.Este artigo situa a presença indiana na África oriental e centro oriental no quadro da expansão arabo-swahili do século xix e da inserção da região na dinâmica do capitalismo internacional que precede as colonizações do século xx.This article maps out the Indian presence in East and Central-East Africa against the background of Arab-Swahili expansion in the 19th Century and of this region’s insertion into the dynamics of international capitalism in the period that preceded the 20th Century colonizations

Histoire et mémoire en Afrique orientale et centre-orientale

José Kagabo, maître de conférences Compte rendu non communiqu

Histoire et mémoire en Afrique orientale et centre-orientale

José Kagabo, maître de conférences Enquête judiciaire, preuve par le récit autobiographique et (ré)écriture de l’histoire Depuis plus de quinze ans après sa perpétration, le génocide des Tutsi au Rwanda fait l’objet d’une littérature foisonnante : témoignages de rescapés ou d’observateurs externes, rapports d’enquêtes parlementaires ou d’organisations internationales, investigations d’organisations civiques ou humanitaires, mais aussi d’essais pamphlétaires visant à récuser le savoir accumulé..