The VST telescope control software in the ESO VLT environment

The VST (VLT Survey Telescope) is a 2.6 m Alt-Az telescope to be installed at Mount Paranal in Chile, in the European Southern Observatory (ESO) site. The VST is a wide-field imaging facility planned to supply databases for the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) science and carry out stand-alone observations in the UV to I spectral range. This paper will focus mainly on control software aspects, describing the VST software architecture in the context of the whole ESO VLT control concept. The general architecture and the main components of the control software will be described.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, ICALEPCS 2001 Conference, PSN#THAP05

Management of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

[No abstract available

Apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or left ventricular non-compaction? A difficult differential diagnosis

[No abstract available

TherMos3, a tool for 3D electrothermal simulation of Smart Power Mosfets

In this paper we report on a novel simulation tool designed for the 3D coupled electro-thermal simulation of Smart Power Mosfets, that is a tool capable of taking into account not only the electrical (and thermal) behaviour of the power device but also the different driving strategies as they are imposed by a control logic circuit which usually resides on the same chip. The simulator is fully developed under Matlab and solves, self consistently, the 3D heat equation with proper boundary conditions and heat sources. An adaptive meshing algorithm based on temperature gradients and an optimized time stepping strategy have also been developed to reduce computational load and speed up simulation time without loosing accuracy. To validate this approach, simulator results are finally compared to experimental data obtained on a commercial Smart Power device used in automotive applications.Comment: Submitted on behalf of TIMA Editions (http://irevues.inist.fr/tima-editions

Real-Time Forecasting of Air Pollution Episodes in the Venetian Region. Part I: The Advection-Diffusion Model. Part II: The Kalman Predictor

The object of this overall research, which has an expected duration of two years is to set up a scheme for predicting ground-level pollutant concentrations for real-time control purposes (i.e. the action to be taken at the emission sources in the presence of forthcoming high pollutant events). The forecasting scheme is described, together with its application to sulphur dioxide pollution in the Venetian lagoon area. The scheme is based on a complex mathematical model to be run on a computer and receiving at the beginning of each interval of time all the information (about the meteorological and emission situation) required for the prediction. The type of control action which should be taken on the basis of such a forecast is the object of this part of the research

Software reverse engineering and development: the VST TCS case

The 2.6 m VST telescope is going to be installed at Cerro Paranal (Chile) as a powerful instrument for optical surveys. It is a joint project between the INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte (OAC) and ESO. This paper deals with Telescope Control Software (TCS) technical aspects and software engineering design and development strategies

The Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector Software for the VST

The effects of atmospheric differential refraction on astrophysical measurements are well known. In particular, as a ray of light passes through the atmosphere, its direction is altered by the effects of atmospheric refraction. The amount of this effect depends basically on the variation of the refractive index along the path of the ray. The real accuracy needed in the atmosphere model and in the calculation of the correction to be applied is of course, considerably worse, especially at large zenith angles. On the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) the use of an Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector (ADC) is foreseen at a wide zenith distance range. This paper describes the software design and implementation aspects regarding the analytical correction law discovered to correct the refraction effect during observations with VST

Typical and Atypical Symptoms of Petrous Apex Cholesterol Granuloma: Association with Radiological Findings

Objective: Petrous apex cholesterol granuloma (PACG) is a lesion that can give rise to different symptoms, and correlations with etiopathology are ambiguous. The aim of this study is to analyze the association between PACG symptoms and radiological findings at presentation, in order to establish a reproduceable pre-operative radiological evaluation and guide the surgical indication. Methods: PACG patients were collected in two tertiary care hospitals. All cases underwent CT/MRI to evaluate the cyst localization and erosion of surrounding structures. Typical and atypical symptoms were then analyzed and compared to radiologic findings established in accordance with the literature. Results: Twenty-nine patients were recruited; the most common symptoms were headache (69%), diplopia (20.7%) and fainting (24.1%), an atypical clinical manifestation related to jugular tubercle involvement. Significant associations between symptoms and radiologic findings were noted in terms of headache and temporal lobe compression (p = 0.04), fainting and jugular tubercle erosion (p < 0.001), vestibular symptoms and internal auditory canal erosion (p = 0.02), facial paresthesia and Meckel’s cave compression (p = 0.03), diplopia and Dorello canal involvement (p = 0.001), and tinnitus and cochlear basal turn erosion (p < 0.001). All patients were treated via an endoscopic–endonasal approach, in which extension was tailored to each case. At a median follow-up of 46 months, 93.1% of patients experienced resolution of symptoms. Conclusions: This clinico-radiological series demonstrates associations between symptoms and anatomical subsites involved with PACG. Hence, it may guide the surgeon at the time of surgical decision, since it asserts that typical and atypical symptoms are actually related to PACG

Real-Time Control of Sulphur Dioxide Emissions from an Industrial Area

Real-time emission control is an air quality policy which is alternative to permanent emission reduction. In general terms, it consists of controlling emission only when a forthcoming episode is forecast. Thus, control costs are lower than costs due to permanent abatement. The natural application is a case characterized by a limited number of polluting sources. In more specific terms, a real-time emission control scheme consists of the following operations at the beginning of each time interval (hour,say): (i) Collect current concentration and meteorological measures by a monitoring network. (ii) Forecast future values of relevant local meteorological variables. (iii) On the basis of information about current concentration values, forecast meteorology and scheduled emissions predict future concentrations. (iv) If future concentrations exceed some reference level, reduce the scheduled emissions. The paper describes a case study [application of scheme (i)-(iv)] to sulphur dioxide pollution from the industrial area in the Venetian lagoon region. The general characteristics are the following: The meteorological predictors [step (ii)] are simple stochastic mathematical predictors. The concentration predictor [step (iii)] is based on a complex forecast algorithm (Kalman predictor). It is derived from the "stochastic version" of the numerical solution of the advection- diffusion partial differential equation. The control policy [step(iv)] is assumed to consist of mixing with cleaner fuel under the constraint of maintaining the production scheduled by each polluting plant. The results of the case study are supplied as cost-effectiveness curves (cost versus effectiveness of the control action)