INTEGRAL timing and localization performance

In this letter we report on the accuracy of the attitude, misalignment, orbit and time correlation which are used to perform scientific analyses of the INTEGRAL data. The boresight attitude during science pointings has an accuracy of 3 arcsec. At the center of the field, the misalignments have been calibrated leading to a location accuracy of 4 to 40 arcsec for the different instruments. The spacecraft position is known within 10 meters. The relative timing between instruments could be reconstructed within 10 microsec and the absolute timing within 40 microsec.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in A+A letters, INTEGRAL special issu

Systematic comparison of monoclonal versus polyclonal antibodies for mapping histone modifications by ChIP-seq.

BackgroundThe robustness of ChIP-seq datasets is highly dependent upon the antibodies used. Currently, polyclonal antibodies are the standard despite several limitations: They are non-renewable, vary in performance between lots and need to be validated with each new lot. In contrast, monoclonal antibody lots are renewable and provide consistent performance. To increase ChIP-seq standardization, we investigated whether monoclonal antibodies could replace polyclonal antibodies. We compared monoclonal antibodies that target five key histone modifications (H3K4me1, H3K4me3, H3K9me3, H3K27ac and H3K27me3) to their polyclonal counterparts in both human and mouse cells.ResultsOverall performance was highly similar for four monoclonal/polyclonal pairs, including when we used two distinct lots of the same monoclonal antibody. In contrast, the binding patterns for H3K27ac differed substantially between polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. However, this was most likely due to the distinct immunogen used rather than the clonality of the antibody.ConclusionsAltogether, we found that monoclonal antibodies as a class perform equivalently to polyclonal antibodies for the detection of histone post-translational modifications in both human and mouse. Accordingly, we recommend the use of monoclonal antibodies in ChIP-seq experiments

Isolated Disease of the Proximal Left Anterior Descending Artery Comparing the Effectiveness of Percutaneous Coronary Interventions and Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

ObjectivesThis study sought to systematically compare the effectiveness of percutaneous coronary intervention and coronary artery bypass surgery in patients with single-vessel disease of the proximal left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery.BackgroundIt is uncertain whether percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery provides better clinical outcomes among patients with single-vessel disease of the proximal LAD.MethodsWe searched relevant databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane from 1966 to 2006) to identify randomized controlled trials that compared outcomes for patients with single-vessel proximal LAD assigned to either PCI or CABG.ResultsWe identified 9 randomized controlled trials that enrolled a total of 1,210 patients (633 received PCI and 577 received CABG). There were no differences in survival at 30 days, 1 year, or 5 years, nor were there differences in the rates of procedural strokes or myocardial infarctions, whereas the rate of repeat revascularization was significantly less after CABG than after PCI (at 1 year: 7.3% vs. 19.5%; at 5 years: 7.3% vs. 33.5%). Angina relief was significantly greater after CABG than after PCI (at 1 year: 95.5% vs. 84.6%; at 5 years: 84.2% vs. 75.6%). Patients undergoing CABG spent 3.2 more days in the hospital than those receiving PCI (95% confidence interval: 2.3 to 4.1 days, p < 0.0001), required more transfusions, and were more likely to have arrhythmias immediately post-procedure.ConclusionsIn patients with single-vessel, proximal LAD disease, survival was similar in CABG-assigned and PCI-assigned patients; CABG was significantly more effective in relieving angina and led to fewer repeat revascularizations

Planck pre-launch status : The Planck mission

Peer reviewe

Planck early results I : The Planck mission

Peer reviewe

A Novel Method for Learning Policies from Variable Constraint Data

Many everyday human skills can be framed in terms of performing some task subject to constraints imposed by the environment. Constraints are usually unobservable and frequently change between contexts. In this paper, we present a novel approach for learning (unconstrained) control policies from movement data, where observations come from movements under different constraints. As a key ingredient, we introduce a small but highly effective modification to the standard risk functional, allowing us to make a meaningful comparison between the estimated policy and constrained observations. We demonstrate our approach on systems of varying complexity, including kinematic data from the ASIMO humanoid robot with 27 degrees of freedom, and present results for learning from human demonstration

Foraging, Feeding, Energetics, and Environment: Interactions Between Physiology and Ecology of Gila Monsters

The ecology of Gila monsters (Heloderma suspectum) is largely related to the endurance of unpredictable resource availability, and to the tolerance of predictably harsh environmental conditions. Gila monsters use a novel suite of behavioral, physiological and morphological adaptations to overcome the vagaries of their desert habitat, and as a result, they survive by interacting with their environment in unique ways that would seem impossible for other species.This dissertation investigates the physiological and ecological consequences of the unique ways in which Gila monsters interact with their environment. Each chapter analyzes different aspects of how individuals acquire, process, store, and use essential food and water resources, while simultaneously managing the constraints and opportunities provided by the environment.Chapter one is a laboratory study that investigates the thermal preferences of Gila monsters, the effects of feeding on body temperature selection, and the ability of individuals to physiologically control heat exchange. These investigations set the stage for the ecological importance of body temperature regulation, and also provide a baseline by which to appropriately measure behavioral thermoregulation.Chapter two explores the importance of temperature regulation by Gila monsters in the field. The physical limitations imposed by the thermal environment are used as a framework to analyze trade-offs between foraging activity and thermoregulation. In order to forage, lizards must nearly always tolerate thermal conditions that are outside of their preferred range, but in doing so, they sacrifice their ability to thermoregulate and risk reduced performance.Chapter three examines the influences of body temperature regulation and activity on the use of energy and water. The magnitude of energy use is measured directly, and specific components of energy partitioning are modeled mathematically to yield seasonal and annual energy budgets for Gila monsters in southern Nevada. These analyses are then extended to a larger geographic scale, and the effects of both environmental variation (temperature) and individual variation (body mass) are used to simulate differences in resting energy use between four ecologically distinct populations of Gila monsters.Each of these chapters takes an eco-physiological approach to investigating the interactions between Gila monsters and their environment. While in some ways Gila monsters may seem maladapted to desert life, I show how they use specific behavioral and physiological strategies to overcome environmental limitations

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One key problem to achieve a dynamically stable walking motion with biped robots is to measure and control the actual state of the robot with respect to its environment. Dynamically stable walking on unstructured terrain and fast walking can only be achieved with an orientation sensor. The control system of the biped robot “Johnnie” is designed such that the orientation of the upper body is controlled throughout all phases of the gait pattern. Furthermore, a sophisticated measurement and control of the foot torques has been implemented. In this way, the interaction forces and torques between robot and environment are controlled and tilting of the foot is avoided. KEY WORDS—sensors, biped robot, control, dynamic stability, walking 1