Proposal to encode modern Bamum in the BMP of the UCS

This is a proposal to encode the modern Bamum script in the international character encoding standard Unicode. The script was published in Unicode Standard version 5.2 in October 2009. The script was developed between 1896 and 1910, primarily by King Ibrahim Njoya of the Bamum Kingdom. The script went through six stages; the modern version, contained in this proposal, is a simplified version of the historic script (which was separately proposed in and published in Unicode 6.0)

Proposal for encoding additional Bamum characters in the SMP of the UCS

This is a proposal to encode the historic characters of the Bamum script in the international character encoding standard Unicode. This set of extensions, which appear in the Bamum Supplement block, was published in Unicode Standard version 6.0 in October 2010. The Bamum scripts developed through a series of phases. The characters in this proposal were used to write the Bamum language of the Cameroon in the earlier phases of the script. (The modern orthography uses characters in the main Bamum block and were proposed in .

Modélisation, Supervision et optimisation du déroulement d'un procédé médical - CHIP

National audienceLa Chimio-Hyperthermie Intra-péritonéale (CHIP) s'est révélée comme un traitement efficace et intéressant pour les cancers d'origine digestive. L'association de l'hyperthermie et de la chimiothérapie a prouvé ses résultats cytotoxiques indéniables pour les cellules cancéreuses. Cependant l'application de cette technique à ventre fermé ne garantit pas une homogénéité de la répartition de la température et du médicament dans la cavité abdominale. Cet article porte essentiellement sur la modélisation de l'aspect thermique de la CHIP et propose un outil de supervision en temps réel et in vivo du processus. Un modèle adaptatif, permettant de simuler la température de sortie de la cavité abdominale est présenté et validé à l'aide de données réelles, acquises in vivo au cours de plusieurs CHIP réalisées au sein des Centres hospitaliers - partenaires du projet de recherche : CH Lyon-Sud (CHLS), CHU Bellevue (Saint-Etienne)

A reverse genetic screen in Drosophila using a deletion-inducing mutagen

We report the use of the cross-linking drug hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA), which introduces small deletions, as a mutagen suitable for reverse genetics in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. A compatible mutation-detection method based on resolution of PCR fragment-length polymorphisms on standard DNA sequencers is implemented. As the spectrum of HMPA-induced mutations is similar in a variety of organisms, it should be possible to transfer this mutagenesis and detection procedure to other model systems

Performance of an R-410A Room Air Conditioner Modified for Use with R-1234ze

This paper presents the results of a senior design project that challenged a team of undergraduate students to reduce the environmental impact of a room air conditioner (RAC) by reducing its energy consumption and/or use of high-GWP refrigerants. Over the course of an academic year, the team was able to investigate, design, model, evaluate, and build a prototype improved RAC. The team began by reviewing literature on approaches that have been proposed to meet or exceed existing energy efficiency and refrigerant selection regulations. Based on these findings and the specified needs of the project sponsor, the team evaluated the appropriateness of different concepts for improving the existing R-410A RAC design and decided to pursue modifications to adapt the unit for R-1234yf. The first step in the redesign process was to develop a thermodynamic model of the existing system. Because very little information was known about the performance of the individual components in the existing RAC, some rough performance estimates were obtained through measurements. The model of the existing system was then modified to provide the same cooling capacity as the original unit but using R-1234yf, and a replacement compressor was selected based on the model results. After the replacement compressor and resized capillary tubes were installed in the RAC, the team was asked to test the prototype unit using R-1234ze instead of R-1234yf. Therefore, the model was modified to predict the cooling capacity of the unit using R-1234ze as the working fluid. The unit was tested using an environmental chamber to simulate the outdoor air conditions and a large room as the indoor environment. Although this setup could not ensure steady-state operation, air temperature measurements indicated that the room temperature did not vary more than 1.5°F over 12 minutes of RAC operation. The cooling capacity calculated based on experimental measurements agreed within 3% of the model predictions. While the team was able to modify the RAC to operate with R-1234ze and was able to predict the unit’s performance with reasonable accuracy, the modifications required a significantly larger compressor and capillary tubes. Therefore, the project clearly illustrated that fitting within the space and weight constraints of window units presents a significant challenge to implementing R-1234ze in RACs

Impact of Extreme Heat Events on Emergency Department Visits in North Carolina (2007–2011)

Extreme heat is the leading cause of w eather-related mortality in the U.S. Extreme heat also affects human health through heat stress and can exacerbate underlying medical conditions that lead to increased morbidity and mortality. In this study, data on emergency department (ED) visits for heat-related illness (HRI) and other selected diseases were analyzed during three heat events across North Carolina from 2007 to 2011. These heat events were identified based on the issuance and verification of heat products from local National Weather Service forecast offices (i.e. Heat Advisory, Heat Watch, and Excessive Heat Warning). The observed number of ED visits during these events were compared to the expected number of ED visits during several control periods to determine excess morbidity resulting from extreme heat. All recorded diagnoses were analyzed for each ED visit, thereby providing insight into the specific pathophysiological mechanisms and underlying health conditions associated with exposure to extreme heat. The most common form of HRI was heat exhaustion, while the percentage of visits with heat stroke was relatively low (65 years of age) were at greatest risk for HRI during the early summer heat event (8.9 visits per 100,000), while young and middle age adults (18–44 years of age) were at greatest risk during the mid-summer event (6.3 visits per 100,000). Many of these visits were likely due to work-related exposure. The most vulnerable demographic during the late summer heat event was adolescents (15–17 years of age), which may relate to the timing of organized sports. This demographic also exhibited the highest visit rate for HRI among all three heat events (10.5 visits per 100,000). Significant increases (p < 0.05) in visits with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases were noted during the three heat events (3–8 %). The greatest increases were found in visits with hypotension during the late summer event (23 %) and sequelae during the early summer event (30 %), while decreases were noted for visits with hemorrhagic stroke during the middle and late summer events (13–24 %) and for visits with aneurysm during the early summer event (15 %). Significant increases were also noted in visits with respiratory diseases (5–7 %). The greatest increases in this category were found in visits with pneumonia and influenza (16 %), bronchitis and emphysema (12 %), and COPD (14 %) during the early summer event. Significant increases in visits with nervous system disorders were also found during the early summer event (16 %), while increases in visits with diabetes were noted during the mid-summer event (10 %)

Joint reconstruction of galaxy clusters from gravitational lensing and thermal gas I. Outline of a non-parametric method

We present a method to estimate the lensing potential from massive galaxy clusters for given observational X-ray data. The concepts developed and applied in this work can easily be combined with other techniques to infer the lensing potential, e.g. weak gravitational lensing or galaxy kinematics, to obtain an overall best fit model for the lensing potential. After elaborating on the physical details and assumptions the method is based on, we explain how the numerical algorithm itself is implemented with a Richardson-Lucy algorithm as a central part. Our reconstruction method is tested on simulated galaxy clusters with a spherically symmetric NFW density profile filled with gas in hydrostatic equilibrium. We describe in detail how these simulated observational data sets are created and how they need to be fed into our algorithm. We test the robustness of the algorithm against small parameter changes and estimate the quality of the reconstructed lensing potentials. As it turns out we achieve a very high degree of accuracy in reconstructing the lensing potential. The statistical errors remain below 2.0% whereas the systematical error does not exceed 1.0%.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures. To appear in A&

Reconstructing the projected gravitational potential of galaxy clusters from galaxy kinematics

We develop a method for reconstructing the two-dimensional, projected gravitational potential of galaxy clusters from observed line-of-sight velocity dispersions of cluster galaxies. It is the third of an intended series of papers aiming at a unique reconstruction method for cluster potentials combining lensing, X-ray, Sunyaev-Zel'dovich and kinematic data. The observed galaxy velocity dispersions are deprojected using the Richardson-Lucy algorithm. The obtained radial velocity dispersions are then related to the gravitational potential by using the tested assumption of a polytropic relation between the effective galaxy pressure and the density. Once the gravitational potential is obtained in three dimensions, projection along the line-of-sight yields the two-dimensional potential. For simplicity we adopt spherical symmetry and a known profile for the anisotropy parameter of the galaxy velocity dispersions. We test the method with a numerically simulated galaxy cluster and galaxies identified therein. We extract a projected velocity-dispersion profile from the simulated cluster and pass it through our algorithm, showing that the deviation between the true and the reconstructed gravitational potential is less then 10% within approximately 1.2 Mpc/h from the cluster centre.Comment: 8 pages, submitted to A&

Ranking of Tornado Outbreaks across the United States and Their Climatological Characteristics

The calendar year 2011 was an extraordinary year for tornadoes across the United States, as it marked the second highest annual number of tornadoes since 1950 and was the deadliest tornado year since 1936. Most of the fatalities in 2011 occurred in a series of outbreaks, highlighted by a particularly strong outbreak across the southeastern United States in late April and a series of outbreaks over the Great Plains and Midwest regions in late May, which included a tornado rated as a category 5 event on the enhanced Fujita scale (EF5) that devastated the town of Joplin, Missouri. While most tornado-related fatalities often occur in outbreaks, very few studies have examined the climatological characteristics of outbreaks, particularly those of varying strength. In this study a straightforward metric to assess the strength, or physical magnitude, of tornado outbreaks east of the Rocky Mountains from 1973 to 2010 is developed. This measure of outbreak strength, which integrates the intensity of tornadoes [Fujita (F)/EF-scale rating] over their distance traveled (pathlength), is more highly correlated with injuries and fatalities than other commonly used variables, such as the number of significant tornadoes, and is therefore more reflective of the potential threat of outbreaks to human life. All outbreaks are then ranked according to this metric and their climatological characteristics are examined, with comparisons made to all other tornadoes not associated with outbreaks. The results of the ranking scheme are also compared to those of previous studies, while the strongest outbreaks from 2011 are ranked among other outbreaks in the modern record, including the April 1974 Super Outbreak