A model for the submarine depthkeeping team

The most difficult task the depthkeeping team must face occurs during periscope-depth operations during which they may be required to maintain a submarine several hundred feet long within a foot of ordered depth and within one-half degree of ordered pitch. The difficulty is compounded by the facts that wave generated forces are extremely high, depth and pitch signals are very noisy and submarine speed is such that overall dynamics are slow. A mathematical simulation of the depthkeeping team based on the optimal control models is described. A solution of the optimal team control problem with an output control restriction (limited display to each controller) is presented

Current and Future Research Trends in Substrate Integrated Waveguide Technology

Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) technology is the most promising candidate for the implementation of millimeter-wave (mm-wave) integrated circuits and systems for the next decade. Based on planar dielectric substrates with top and bottom metal layers perforated with metalized holes, SIW structures offer a compact, low loss, flexible, and cost-effective solution for integrating active circuits, passive components and radiating elements on the same substrate. This paper presents an overview of the current status and future trends of academic and industrial research on SIW technology. The historical development of SIW components and circuits is briefly outlined, and the current research topics are discussed: they include the development of numerical techniques for the modeling and design of SIW components, the investigation of novel compact and broadband interconnects, the determination of design solutions for loss minimization. Future research trends are also discussed: they mainly aim at the implementation of SIW components at higher frequency (60-350 GHz) and the integration of complete Systems-on-Substrate (SoS)

Distribution of deer keds (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) in free-living cervids of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, central Italy, and establishment of the allochthonous ectoparasite Lipoptena fortisetosa

Lipoptena fortisetosa and L. cervi are hematophagous ectoparasites belonging to the Hippoboscidae family and preferentially living on cervids. In recent years, they have received specific attention due to the great increase in the abundance of their host species, and to their medical and veterinary importance as possible vectors of pathogens harmful to humans and animals. The aim of this study was to investigate the parasitism level of both of these flies on their main hosts in Italy, which are red deer, fallow deer, and roe deer, and to highlight a possible preference for a species, sex, or age class among the hosts. Deer keds were collected by examining 326 cervids hunted in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. Outcomes showed that L. fortisetosa has greatly spread throughout the study area, where it competes with the autochthonous L. cervi. Moreover, red deer was the favored host species of both ectoparasites, while different preferences for host sex and age classes were observed in the two hippoboscids. The regular monitoring of deer ked populations, especially the allochthonous L. fortisetosa, which is continuously spreading in Europe, is recommended to expand the knowledge on these parasitic species that are potentially dangerous to public health

Gaugino production in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV

Motivated by hints for a light Standard Model-like Higgs boson and a shift in experimental attention towards electroweak supersymmetry particle production at the CERN LHC, we update in this paper our precision predictions at next-to-leading order of perturbative QCD matched to resummation at the next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy for direct gaugino pair production in proton-proton collisions with a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. Tables of total cross sections are presented together with the corresponding scale and parton density uncertainties for benchmark points adopted recently by the experimental collaborations, and figures are presented for up-to-date model lines attached to them. Since the experimental analyses are currently obtained with parton showers matched to multi-parton matrix elements, we also analyze the precision of this procedure by comparing invariant-mass and transverse-momentum distributions obtained in this way to those obtained with threshold and transverse-momentum resummation.Comment: 28 pages, 7 figures, 9 tables; version to appear in JHE

Measuring treatment satisfaction in MS: Is the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication fit for purpose?

BACKGROUND: The Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM) was designed to assess patient treatment satisfaction in chronic diseases. Its performance has not been examined in multiple sclerosis (MS). The 14 items of the TSQM cover four domains: Effectiveness, Side Effects, Convenience, and Global Satisfaction. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate performance of the TSQM in patients with relapsing MS, using data collected from the TENERE study (NCT00883337), in which 324 patients received oral teriflunomide or subcutaneous interferon beta-1a for ⩾48 weeks. METHODS: Five measurement properties were examined using traditional psychometric methods: data completeness, scale-to-sample targeting, scaling assumptions, reliability (including test-retest), and construct validity (internal: item-level scaling success, confirmatory factor analysis, and exploratory factor analysis; external: convergence, discrimination, and group differences). RESULTS: There were few ( 0.90). Internal validity tests supported item groupings. Correlations supported convergent and discriminant construct validity; hypothesis testing supported group differences validity. CONCLUSION: This investigation found the TSQM to be a useful tool, exhibiting good psychometric measurement properties in patients with relapsing MS in the TENERE study

Morphological characteristics of "Monterufoli horse"

Monterufoli horse is a local endangered breed of the Tuscany and derives from the omonym area in province of Pisa. This horse derives from local wild and extinct equines and has Maremmano, Tolfetano and Oriental ancestors. The mean and the standard deviation of biometric characters, and the absolut and percentage frequency of morphological characteristics were calculated. The measures of the adult females were estimated by ANOVA considering three different class of age. The average sizes were: height at withers of 135.4±6.3 and 129.2±5.9, thorax circumference of 166.4±8.3 and 163.4±8.9, frontshank circumference of 17.7±1.5 and 17.5±0.9, for males and females, respectively. All the observed horses presented dark coat. Monterufoli horses showed the physical characteristics of local extinct ancestors (Selvena pony), but also the characteristics of other breeds that contributed to improve the local population. This horse, which was once used in agriculture and for light draught, is now involved for saddle use

Verbascoside Elicits Its Beneficial Effects by Enhancing Mitochondrial Spare Respiratory Capacity and the Nrf2/HO-1 Mediated Antioxidant System in a Murine Skeletal Muscle Cell Line

Muscle weakness and muscle loss characterize many physio-pathological conditions, including sarcopenia and many forms of muscular dystrophy, which are often also associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. Verbascoside, a phenylethanoid glycoside of plant origin, also named acteoside, has shown strong antioxidant and anti-fatigue activity in different animal models, but the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects are not completely understood. This study aimed to investigate the influence of verbascoside on mitochondrial function and its protective role against H2O2-induced oxidative damage in murine C2C12 myoblasts and myotubes pre-treated with verbascoside for 24 h and exposed to H2O2. We examined the effects of verbascoside on cell viability, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mitochondrial function through high-resolution respirometry. Moreover, we verified whether verbascoside was able to stimulate nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2) activity through Western blotting and confocal fluorescence microscopy, and to modulate the transcription of its target genes, such as heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α), by Real Time PCR. We found that verbascoside (1) improved mitochondrial function by increasing mitochondrial spare respiratory capacity; (2) mitigated the decrease in cell viability induced by H2O2 and reduced ROS levels; (3) promoted the phosphorylation of Nrf2 and its nuclear translocation; (4) increased the transcription levels of HO-1 and, in myoblasts but not in myotubes, those of PGC-1α. These findings contribute to explaining verbascoside’s ability to relieve muscular fatigue and could have positive repercussions for the development of therapies aimed at counteracting muscle weakness and mitochondrial dysfunction

Slepton pair production in the POWHEG BOX

We present an implementation for slepton pair production at hadron colliders in the POWHEG BOX, a framework for combining next-to-leading order QCD calculations with parton-shower Monte-Carlo programs. Our code provides a SUSY Les Houches Accord interface for setting the supersymmetric input parameters. Decays of the sleptons and parton-shower effects are simulated with PYTHIA. Focussing on a representative point in the supersymmetric parameter space we show results for kinematic distributions that can be observed experimentally. While next-to-leading order QCD corrections are sizable for all distributions, the parton shower affects the color-neutral particles only marginally. Pronounced parton-shower effects are found for jet distributions.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Genetic diversity derived from pedigree information and estimation of genetic parameters for reproductive traits of Limousine and Charolais cattle raised in Italy

Limousine and Charolais cattle breeds are assuming increasing importance in the Italian beef cattle sector. Indeed, both breeds are involved in a national rural development project. The success of a breeding programme depends heavily not only on the defined breeding objective but also on the selected criteria used to attain it. Data from the Charolais and Limousine Italian Association (born between 1960 and 2017) were used to estimate both genetic parameters and trends for calving interval (CI) and age at first calving (AFC) and genetic diversity. Population structures were investigated through probabilities of gene origin approach whereas variance components estimation was used to obtain breeding values of reproductive parameters. Heritabilities for AFC and CI were 0.24 and 0.03 for Limousine and 0.32 and 0.02 for Charolais, respectively. An increasing genetic trend was observed for AFC. For CI, no significant gains of genetic origin have been verified. In both breeds, pedigree completeness was moderate, and the observed inbreeding coefficient was low. No herd is classified as a nucleus or isolated and they all use external bulls. Heritability for AFC in both breeds suggests possible improvements when selected. Limited improvements are expected for CI by means of a traditional genetic breeding scheme. A reduction in the generation interval might represent a cost-effective solution to increase annual genetic gain. Pedigree analysis suggests population bottleneck in both breeds.HIGHLIGHTS Limousine and Charolais breeds are involved in the national project for the genetic improvement of cattle populations raised in Italy. Genetic indexes will be developed following a genomic approach. This study is preparatory for the implementation of a selective programme of this type. The breeds presented a reduced number of animals in the genetic formation. High ‘bottleneck effect’. Moderate heritability for age at first calving

Next-to-leading order predictions for Z gamma+jet and Z gamma gamma final states at the LHC

We present next-to-leading order predictions for final states containing leptons produced through the decay of a Z boson in association with either a photon and a jet, or a pair of photons. The effect of photon radiation from the final state leptons is included and we also allow for contributions arising from fragmentation processes. Phenomenological studies are presented for the LHC in the case of final states containing charged leptons and in the case of neutrinos. We also use the procedure introduced by Stewart and Tackmann to provide a reliable estimate of the scale uncertainty inherent in our theoretical calculations of jet-binned Z gamma cross sections. These computations have been implemented in the public code MCFM.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figure