Advanced Transport Operating System (ATOPS) control display unit software description

The software created for the Control Display Units (CDUs), used for the Advanced Transport Operating Systems (ATOPS) project, on the Transport Systems Research Vehicle (TSRV) is described. Module descriptions are presented in a standardized format which contains module purpose, calling sequence, a detailed description, and global references. The global reference section includes subroutines, functions, and common variables referenced by a particular module. The CDUs, one for the pilot and one for the copilot, are used for flight management purposes. Operations performed with the CDU affects the aircraft's guidance, navigation, and display software

Direct Method for Calculating Temperature-Dependent Transport Properties

We show how temperature-induced disorder can be combined in a direct way with first-principles scattering theory to study diffusive transport in real materials. Excellent (good) agreement with experiment is found for the resistivity of Cu, Pd, Pt (and Fe) when lattice (and spin) disorder are calculated from first principles. For Fe, the agreement with experiment is limited by how well the magnetization (of itinerant ferromagnets) can be calculated as a function of temperature. By introducing a simple Debye-like model of spin disorder parameterized to reproduce the experimental magnetization, the temperature dependence of the average resistivity, the anisotropic magnetoresistance and the spin polarization of a Ni$_{80}$Fe$_{20}$ alloy are calculated and found to be in good agreement with existing data. Extension of the method to complex, inhomogeneous materials as well as to the calculation of other finite-temperature physical properties within the adiabatic approximation is straightforward.Comment: Accepted as a Rapid Communication in Physical Review

A revision of the genus Strongylodesma Lévi (Porifera: Demospongiae: Latrunculiidae) with descriptions of four new species

The sponge genus Strongylodesma is reviewed and redefined, and now accommodates eight closely related species. The type species of Strongylodesma Le´vi is redescribed and an additional two new species are described from the Indo-Pacific: S. novaecaledoniae sp. nov. and S. tongaensis sp. nov. Several specimens previously identified as species of Batzella (Poecilosclerida: Chondropsidae) have been re-assigned to Strongylodesma, as the new species S. purpureus sp. nov. and S. nigra sp. nov. With the description here of new species from the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Atlantic, the biogeographical distribution of Strongylodesma now appears to be generally tropical with a subtropical South African component, whereas previously it was only known from South Africa. Although species of Strongylodesma have not previously been recorded from the intermediate locations (Western Indian Ocean, South-east Asia, central west Pacific, and New Zealand), re-evaluation here will facilitate more readily the recognition of taxa in these intermediate regions, if they exist, in the future. The species are not widespread, except perhaps along the south-east coast of South Africa, and where they occur they are not abundant. Species occur over a wide depth range, from the intertidal in Tsitsikamma, South Africa, to 140 m in the Caribbean

Mirror Symmetry for open r-spin invariants

We show that a generating function for open $r$-spin enumerative invariants produces a universal unfolding of the polynomial $x^r$. Further, the coordinates parametrizing this universal unfolding are flat coordinates on the Frobenius manifold associated to the Landau-Ginzburg model $(\mathbb{C},x^r)$ via Saito-Givental theory. This result provides evidence for the same phenomenon to occur in higher dimension, proven in a sequel paper.Comment: 11 page

Application of Time-to-Event Methods in the Assessment of Safety in Clinical Trials

Since randomized controlled trials (RCT) are typically designed and powered for efficacy rather than safety, power is an important concern in the analysis of the effect of treatment on the occurrence of adverse events (AE). These outcomes are often time-to-event outcomes which will naturally be subject to right-censoring due to early patient withdrawals. In the analysis of the treatment effect on such an outcome, gains in efficiency, and thus power, can be achieved by exploiting covariate information. We apply the targeted maximum likelihood methodology to the estimation of treatment specific survival at a fixed end point for right-censored survival outcomes. This approach provides a method for covariate adjustment, that under no or uninformative censoring, does not require any additional parametric modeling assumptions, and, under informative censoring, is consistent under consistent estimation of the censoring mechanism or the conditional hazard for survival. Thus, the targeted maximum likelihood estimator has two important advantages over the Kaplan-Meier estimator: 1) It exploits covariates to improve efficiency, and 2) It is consistent in the presence of informative censoring. These properties are demonstrated through simulation studies. Extensions to the methodology are provided for non randomized post-market safety studies and also for the inclusion of time-dependent covariates

Covariate Adjustment in Randomized Trials with Binary Outcomes: Targeted Maximum Likelihood Estimation

Covariate adjustment using linear models for continuous outcomes in randomized trials has been shown to increase efficiency and power over the unadjusted method in estimating the marginal effect of treatment. However, for binary outcomes, investigators generally rely on the unadjusted estimate as the literature indicates that covariate-adjusted estimates based on logistic regression models are less efficient. The crucial step that has been missing when adjusting for covariates is that one must integrate/average the adjusted estimate over those covariates in order to obtain the marginal effect. We apply the method of targeted maximum likelihood estimation (MLE), as presented in van der Laan and Rubin (2006), to obtain estimators for the marginal effect using covariate adjustment for binary outcomes. We show that the covariate adjustment in randomized trials using logistic regression models can be mapped, by averaging over the covariate(s), to obtain a fully robust and efficient estimator of the marginal effect, which equals the targeted maximum likelihood estimator (MLE). We present simulation studies that show the targeted MLE increases efficiency and power over the unadjusted method, particularly for smaller sample sizes, even when the regression model is mis-specified

Slow releasing artificial tears for contact lens wearers with dry eyes

Thirteen contact lens patients with an objective and/or subjective diagnosis of dry eye were given a non-medicated (hydroxypropyl cellulose) slow releasing artificial tear (SR-AT). After two weeks of daily use, a majority of the patients reported positive results, including two patients with giant papillary conjunctivitis (GPC) and one with nocturnal lagophthalmos. It appears that this ocular insert may be beneficial for diagnosing the dry eye problems of contact lens wearers as well as non-contact lens wearers that are due to insufficient hydration and lubrication at the conjunctival/corneal and contact lens interface

Production of ethyl acetate from pyrolysis of lignin model compound guaiacylglycerol-β-guaiacyl using TGA-MS

Due to the complex chemical structure of lignin, the fundamental chemistry underlying its pyrolysis behaviour is poorly understood. A detailed knowledge of this chemistry would allow for the construction of detailed predictive chemical kinetic models, which could be used to maximise the efficiency of the pyrolysis process. Lignin is comprised of three monolignols, guaiacyl, p-hydroxyphenyl and syringyl. These are joined together by aryl ether linkages of which β-O-4 is the most common, representing approximately 50% of the linkages found in lignin.[1] In this study, pyrolysis (20oC/minute heating rate) was carried out on a lignin model compound, guaiacylglycerol-β-guaiacyl ether (GGE). GGE is composed of two guaiacyl subunits connected by a β-O-4 linkage, making it broadly representative of the lignin motif and as such an important lignin model compound. A detailed understanding of the thermal degradation of GGE under pyrolysis conditions will provide valuable information of the role of the β-O-4 linkage in lignin. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Case report of spuriously low sodium and calcium in a 36-year-old male in primary care

An unseparated serum specimen for a 36-year-old male was received from primary care. The specimen arrived in the laboratory at Cork University Hospital one day after collection, as documented on the paper request card, and was promptly centrifuged. Analysis was delayed for three days due to operational constraints and serum indices were run at the same time as the biochemical analyses. Results showed a moderately haemolysed specimen with remarkably low concentrations of both sodium (119 mmol/L) and total calcium (1.15 mmol/L), with all other parameters within their appropriate reference intervals (RIs). The complete report was released electronically and both sodium and calcium results were phoned to, and acknowledged by, the requesting general practitioner (GP). Discussion between the medical scientists and clinical biochemist on duty raised the possibility that the specimen was significantly older than initially thought. Further discussion of results with the GP clarified that the documented time of collection corresponded with specimen receipt by the courier, rather than the time of phlebotomy. Thus, the specimen was 7 days old when received in the laboratory and 10 days old when analysed. This case illustrates the dangers of multiple convergent preanalytical errors. Laboratories should be mindful of the stability of analytes in unseparated blood and unusual patterns of results which might suggest a specimen is “old”, and that this may coexist with erroneous request information. Any potential adverse effects on patient care were prevented in this case by laboratory vigilance

Southwest Utah Turfgrass Management Calendar

This is a calendar for turfgrass management for southwest Utah and includes guidelines for seeding, overseeding, sodding, fertilization, mowing, aeration, weed control, and irrigation