A study of the effect of projectile orientation on the results of ballistic impact tests as described in the EASA CS-25 regulations for fuel tank access covers

This paper presents the results of an investigation of the ballistic limits and failure modes of AA2024-T351 sheets impacted with cubical projectiles. The experiment/test setup was based on EASA CS-25 regulations for fuel tank access covers. The effect of cube orientation on the ballistic limit and failure modes was considered in detail. A 25% variation in ballistic limit was observed with the lowest ballistic limit (202 m/s) observed for the cubical projectile edge impacted on the target. In the cube face impacts, the ballistic limit was higher (223 m/s), and the highest ballistic limit (254 m/s) was observed for the corner impact. The observed differences in the ballistic limit were due to differences in failure mechanism, which resulted in different localised deformations near the projectile impact point, but also led to differences in global dishing deformation

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

Interaction between FTO gene variants and lifestyle factors on metabolic traits in an Asian Indian population

Background Lifestyle factors such as diet and physical activity have been shown to modify the association between fat mass and obesity–associated (FTO) gene variants and metabolic traits in several populations; however, there are no gene-lifestyle interaction studies, to date, among Asian Indians living in India. In this study, we examined whether dietary factors and physical activity modified the association between two FTO single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs8050136 and rs11076023) (SNPs) and obesity traits and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods The study included 734 unrelated T2D and 884 normal glucose-tolerant (NGT) participants randomly selected from the urban component of the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study (CURES). Dietary intakes were assessed using a validated interviewer administered semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Physical activity was based upon the self-report. Interaction analyses were performed by including the interaction terms in the linear/logistic regression model. Results There was a significant interaction between SNP rs8050136 and carbohydrate intake (% energy) (Pinteraction = 0.04), where the ‘A’ allele carriers had 2.46 times increased risk of obesity than those with ‘CC’ genotype (P = 3.0 × 10−5) among individuals in the highest tertile of carbohydrate intake (% energy, 71 %). A significant interaction was also observed between SNP rs11076023 and dietary fibre intake (Pinteraction = 0.0008), where individuals with AA genotype who are in the 3rd tertile of dietary fibre intake had 1.62 cm lower waist circumference than those with ‘T’ allele carriers (P = 0.02). Furthermore, among those who were physically inactive, the ‘A’ allele carriers of the SNP rs8050136 had 1.89 times increased risk of obesity than those with ‘CC’ genotype (P = 4.0 × 10−5). Conclusions This is the first study to provide evidence for a gene-diet and gene-physical activity interaction on obesity and T2D in an Asian Indian population. Our findings suggest that the association between FTO SNPs and obesity might be influenced by carbohydrate and dietary fibre intake and physical inactivity. Further understanding of how FTO gene influences obesity and T2D through dietary and exercise interventions is warranted to advance the development of behavioral intervention and personalised lifestyle strategies, which could reduce the risk of metabolic diseases in this Asian Indian population

Recent changes and drivers of the atmospheric evaporative demand in the Canary Islands

We analysed recent evolution and meteorological drivers of the atmospheric evaporative demand (AED) in the Canary Islands for the period 1961-2013. We employed long and high-quality time series of meteorological variables to analyse current AED changes in this region and found that AED has increased during the investigated period. Overall, the annual ETo, which was estimated by means of the FAO-56 Penman-Monteith equation, increased significantly by 18.2 mm decade-1 on average, with a stronger trend in summer (6.7 mm decade-1). In this study we analysed the contribution of (i) the aerodynamic (related to the water vapour that a parcel of air can store) and (ii) radiative (related to the available energy to evaporate a quantity of water) components to the decadal variability and trends of ETo. More than 90 % of the observed ETo variability at the seasonal and annual scales can be associated with the variability in the aerodynamic component. The variable that recorded more significant changes in the Canary Islands was relative humidity, and among the different meteorological factors used to calculate ETo, relative humidity was the main driver of the observed ETo trends. The observed trend could have negative consequences in a number of water-depending sectors if it continues in the future

Robotic manipulation for the shoe-packaging process

[EN] This paper presents the integration of a robotic system in a human-centered environment, as it can be found in the shoe manufacturing industry. Fashion footwear is nowadays mainly handcrafted due to the big amount of small production tasks. Therefore, the introduction of intelligent robotic systems in this industry may contribute to automate and improve the manual production steps, such us polishing, cleaning, packaging, and visual inspection. Due to the high complexity of the manual tasks in shoe production, cooperative robotic systems (which can work in collaboration with humans) are required. Thus, the focus of the robot lays on grasping, collision detection, and avoidance, as well as on considering the human intervention to supervise the work being performed. For this research, the robot has been equipped with a Kinect camera and a wrist force/ torque sensor so that it is able to detect human interaction and the dynamic environment in order to modify the robot¿s behavior. To illustrate the applicability of the proposed approach, this work presents the experimental results obtained for two actual platforms, which are located at different research laboratories, that share similarities in their morphology, sensor equipment and actuation system.This work has been partly supported by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of the Spanish Government (Key No.: 0201603139 of Invest in Spain program and Grant No. RTC-2016-5408-6) and by the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) of the German Government (Projekt-ID 54368155).Gracia Calandin, LI.; Perez-Vidal, C.; Mronga, D.; Paco, JD.; Azorin, J.; Gea, JD. (2017). Robotic manipulation for the shoe-packaging process. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology. 92(1-4):1053-1067. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-017-0212-6S10531067921-4Pedrocchi N, Villagrossi E, Cenati C, Tosatti LM (2017) Design of fuzzy logic controller of industrial robot for roughing the uppers of fashion shoes. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 77(5):939–953Hinojo-Perez JJ, Davia-Aracil M, Jimeno-Morenilla A, Sanchez-Romero L, Salas F (2016) Automation of the shoe last grading process according to international sizing systems. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 85(1):455–467Dura-Gil JV, Ballester-Fernandez A, Cavallaro M, Chiodi A, Ballarino A, von Arnim V., Brondi C, Stellmach D (2016) New technologies for customizing products for people with special necessities: project fashion-able. Int J Comput Integr Manuf. In Press, doi: 10.1080/0951192X.2016.1145803Jatta F, Zanoni L, Fassi I, Negri S (2004) A roughing/cementing robotic cell for custom made shoe manufacture. Int J Comput Integr Manuf 17(7):645–652Nemec B, Zlajpah L (2008) Robotic cell for custom finishing operations. Int J Comput Integr Manuf 21(1):33–42Molfino R, et al (2004) Modular, reconfigurable prehensor for grasping and handling limp materials in the shoe industry. 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Wind speed variability over the Canary Islands, 1948-2014: focusing on trend differences at the land-ocean interface and below-above the trade-wind inversion layer

This study simultaneously examines wind speed trends at the land?ocean interface, and below?above the trade-wind inversion layer in the Canary Islands and the surrounding Eastern North Atlantic Ocean: a key region for quantifying the variability of trade-winds and its response to large-scale atmospheric circulation changes. Two homogenized data sources are used: (1) observed wind speed from nine land-based stations (1981?2014), including one mountain weather station (Izaña) located above the trade-wind inversion layer; and (2) simulated wind speed from two atmospheric hindcasts over ocean (i.e., SeaWind I at 30 km for 1948?2014; and SeaWind II at 15 km for 1989?2014). The results revealed a widespread significant negative trend of trade-winds over ocean for 1948?2014, whereas no significant trends were detected for 1989?2014. For this recent period wind speed over land and ocean displayed the same multi-decadal variability and a distinct seasonal trend pattern with a strengthening (late spring and summer; significant in May and August) and weakening (winter?spring?autumn; significant in April and September) of trade-winds. Above the inversion layer at Izaña, we found a predominance of significant positive trends, indicating a decoupled variability and opposite wind speed trends when compared to those reported in boundary layer. The analysis of the Trade Wind Index (TWI), the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI) and the Eastern Atlantic Index (EAI) demonstrated significant correlations with the wind speed variability, revealing that the correlation patterns of the three indices showed a spatio-temporal complementarity in shaping wind speed trends across the Eastern North Atlantic.C. A. -M. has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 703733 (STILLING project). This research was also supported by the Research Projects: Swedish BECC, MERGE, VR (2014–5320), PCIN-2015-220, CGL2014-52135-C03-01 and Red de variabilidad y cambio climático RECLIM (CGL2014-517221-REDT). M.M is indebted to the Spanish Government for funding through the “Ramón y Cajal” program and supported by Grant PORTIO (BIA2015-70644-R

The Sertindole Safety Survey: A retrospective analysis under a named patient use programme in Europe

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>After sertindole's suspension, health authorities established a specific named-patient use (NPU) programme in order to supply sertindole to patients who did not respond to or did not tolerate alternative treatments. This programme provided the possibility of prospectively following an exhaustive cohort of patients treated with sertindole after its suspension. A survey was performed to assess sertindole's modalities of prescription, assess and document any serious adverse events (SAEs), and assess the mortality rate within the NPU cohort.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study comprised a survey of sertindole-treated patients in eleven European countries. All patients treated with sertindole within the NPU programme were eligible for the study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>1,432 patients were included in the study. The reason for sertindole prescription was lack of efficacy (approximately 50%) or adverse events (approximately 20%) of other antipsychotic treatments. The mean sertindole dose was 13.4 mg daily. Lack of efficacy and adverse events were reported as reasons for sertindole discontinuation.</p> <p>A total of 97 SAEs were recorded, including ten fatal outcomes, which occurred during the study period or within thirty days after sertindole discontinuation. The all-cause mortality rate was 0.51 per 100 Person-Years of Exposure (95% Poisson confidence interval: 0.23–0.97). QTc prolongation was reported in 15 patients (1.05% of total patients), being a rate of 0.85 per 100 Person-Years of Exposure [95% CI: 0.48–1.41].</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although prescribing and supplying sertindole were subject to administrative constraints, a significant number of patients were treated with sertindole, thus supporting the need for sertindole in specific cases.</p> <p>Trial registration number</p> <p>Not applicable.</p

Global uncertainty in the diagnosis of neurological complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection by both neurologists and non-neurologists: An international inter-observer variability study

Introduction: Uniform case definitions are required to ensure harmonised reporting of neurological syndromes associated with SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, it is unclear how clinicians perceive the relative importance of SARS-CoV-2 in neurological syndromes, which risks under- or over-reporting. Methods: We invited clinicians through global networks, including the World Federation of Neurology, to assess ten anonymised vignettes of SARS-CoV-2 neurological syndromes. Using standardised case definitions, clinicians assigned a diagnosis and ranked association with SARS-CoV-2. We compared diagnostic accuracy and assigned association ranks between different settings and specialties and calculated inter-rater agreement for case definitions as “poor” (κ ≤ 0.4), “moderate” or “good” (κ > 0.6). Results: 1265 diagnoses were assigned by 146 participants from 45 countries on six continents. The highest correct proportion were cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST, 95.8%), Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS, 92.4%) and headache (91.6%) and the lowest encephalitis (72.8%), psychosis (53.8%) and encephalopathy (43.2%). Diagnostic accuracy was similar between neurologists and non-neurologists (median score 8 vs. 7/10, p = 0.1). Good inter-rater agreement was observed for five diagnoses: cranial neuropathy, headache, myelitis, CVST, and GBS and poor agreement for encephalopathy. In 13% of vignettes, clinicians incorrectly assigned lowest association ranks, regardless of setting and specialty. Conclusion: The case definitions can help with reporting of neurological complications of SARS-CoV-2, also in settings with few neurologists. However, encephalopathy, encephalitis, and psychosis were often misdiagnosed, and clinicians underestimated the association with SARS-CoV-2. Future work should refine the case definitions and provide training if global reporting of neurological syndromes associated with SARS-CoV-2 is to be robust

dSAP18 and dHDAC1 contribute to the functional regulation of the Drosophila Fab-7 element

It was described earlier that the Drosophila GAGA factor [Trithorax-like (Trl)] interacts with dSAP18, which, in mammals, was reported to be a component of the Sin3–HDAC co-repressor complex. GAGA–dSAP18 interaction was proposed to contribute to the functional regulation of the bithorax complex (BX-C). Here, we show that mutant alleles of Trl, dsap18 and drpd3/hdac1 enhance A6-to-A5 transformation indicating a contribution to the regulation of Abd-B expression at A6. In A6, expression of Abd-B is driven by the iab-6 enhancer, which is insulated from iab-7 by the Fab-7 element. Here, we report that GAGA, dSAP18 and dRPD3/HDAC1 co-localize to ectopic Fab-7 sites in polytene chromosomes and that mutant Trl, dsap18 and drpd3/hdac1 alleles affect Fab-7-dependent silencing. Consistent with these findings, chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis shows that, in Drosophila embryos, the endogenous Fab-7 element is hypoacetylated at histones H3 and H4. These results indicate a contribution of GAGA, dSAP18 and dRPD3/HDAC1 to the regulation of Fab-7 function