Angular velocity nonlinear observer from single vector measurements

The paper proposes a technique to estimate the angular velocity of a rigid body from single vector measurements. Compared to the approaches presented in the literature, it does not use attitude information nor rate gyros as inputs. Instead, vector measurements are directly filtered through a nonlinear observer estimating the angular velocity. Convergence is established using a detailed analysis of a linear-time varying dynamics appearing in the estimation error equation. This equation stems from the classic Euler equations and measurement equations. As is proven, the case of free-rotation allows one to relax the persistence of excitation assumption. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the method.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1503.0287

Impact of measurement dating inaccuracies in the monitoring of bulk material flows

This paper discusses the negative impact of errors in the dating of information gathered across a distributed network of sensors to be treated by a centralized monitoring algorithm. In this contribution, an example of flow monitoring serves as basis for the analysis. We consider an estimator setup for loss detection. Using a simple probability model, we determine the variance of this estimator and show how it is impacted by the dating uncertainty. A mitigating solution is proposed. Further extensions are discussed

Femtosecond laser photo-response of Ge23Sb7S70 films

Ternary chalcogenide glass films from identical parent bulk glasses were prepared by thermal evaporation (TE) and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and subjected to 810-nm femtosecond laser exposure at both kHz and MHz repetition rates. The exposure-induced modification on the glass film\u27s surface profile, refractive index, and structural properties were shown to be a function of laser irradiance, the number of laser pulses per focal spot, and repetition rate. Film response was shown to be related to deposition technique-related density and the number of glass bonds within the irradiated focal volume. The induced changes resulted from a reduction in glass network connectivity among GeS4/2, GeS4, S-S and S3Ge-S-GeS3 units

Development of novel integrated bio/chemical sensor systems using chalcogenide glass materials

This paper reviews ongoing progress in the design and fabrication of new, on-chip, low loss planar molecular sensors. We report the details of device design, material selection and manufacturing processes used to realise high-index-contrast (HIC), compact micro-disk resonators. These structures have been fabricated in thermally evaporated As- and Ge-based chalcogenide glass films with PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) micro-fluidic channels using standard UV lithography. Discussed are findings that demonstrate that our novel chalcogenide-based micro-fluidic device can be used as highly sensitive refractive index sensors

Studies on structural, electrical, and optical properties of Cu doped As-Se-Te chalcogenide glasses

Cu doped chalcogenide (ChG) glassy films in the As-Se-Te glass system have been prepared using thermal evaporation techniques. Single-source evaporation from bulk (1-x) As(0.40)Se(0.35)Te(0.25)+x Cu glasses with x=0.05, 0.075, 0.10, 0.125, and 0.15, as well as dual-source coevaporation from As-chalcogenide and Cu-chalcogenide binary glasses as source materials, has been explored. We have shown that it is not possible to deposit high concentration Cu doped ChG glassy films, from the Cu doped bulk samples using single-source evaporation. However, using the dual-source coevaporation technique, we have demonstrated that the films can be doped with high concentrations of Cu. Micro-Raman spectroscopy has been utilized to verify that Cu is introduced into the glass network without disrupting the basic As-chalcogen units. Optical measurements have shown that introduction of Cu decreases the band gap of As-Se-Te glasses. The electrical properties of the investigated films have been measured at different temperatures and it has been shown that Cu incorporation in the As-Se-Te glass system vastly improves electrical conductivity. Moreover, we have shown that the temperature dependence of electrical conductivity can be fitted assuming variable range hopping between states near the Fermi level

Clostridium botulinum type C, D, C/D, and D/C: An update

Clostridium botulinum is the main causative agent of botulism, a neurological disease encountered in humans as well as animals. Nine types of botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) have been described so far. Amongst these “toxinotypes,” the A, the B and E are the most frequently encountered in humans while the C, D, C/D and D/C are mostly affecting domestic and wild birds as well as cattle. In France for instance, many cases and outbreaks are reported in these animal species every year. However, underestimation is very likely at least for avifauna species where the detection of dead animals can be challenging. Knowledge about BoNTs C, D, C/D, and D/C and the diseases they cause in animals and humans is still scarce and unclear. Specifically, the potential role of animal botulism outbreaks in cattle and poultry as a source of human illness needs to be further assessed. In this narrative review, we present the current knowledge about toxinotypes C, D, C/D, and D/C in cattle and poultry with, amongst various other aspects, their epidemiological cycles. We also discuss the zoonotic potential of these toxinotypes and some possible ways of risk mitigation. An adapted and effective management of botulism outbreaks in livestock also requires a better understanding of these less common and known toxinotypes

BMC Med

BACKGROUND: Overall survival (OS) is the gold standard endpoint to assess treatment efficacy in cancer clinical trials. In metastatic breast cancer (mBC), progression-free survival (PFS) is commonly used as an intermediate endpoint. Evidence remains scarce regarding the degree of association between PFS and OS. Our study aimed to describe the individual-level association between real-world PFS (rwPFS) and OS according to first-line treatment in female patients with mBC managed in real-world setting for each BC subtype (defined by status for both hormone-receptor [HR] expression and HER2 protein expression/gene amplification). METHODS: We extracted data from the ESME mBC database (NCT03275311) which gathers deidentified data from consecutive patients managed in 18 French Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Adult women diagnosed with mBC between 2008 and 2017 were included. Endpoints (PFS, OS) were described using the Kaplan-Meier method. Individual-level associations between rwPFS and OS were estimated using the Spearman's correlation coefficient. Analyses were conducted by tumor subtype. RESULTS: 20,033 women were eligible. Median age was 60.0 years. Median follow-up duration was 62.3 months. Median rwPFS ranged from 6.0 months (95% CI 5.8-6.2) for HR-/HER2 - subtype to 13.3 months (36% CI 12.7-14.3) for HR + /HER2 + subtype. Correlation coefficients were highly variable across subtypes and first-line (L1) treatments. Among patients with HR - /HER2 - mBC, correlation coefficients ranged from 0.73 to 0.81, suggesting a strong rwPFS/OS association. For HR + /HER2 + mBC patients, the individual-level associations were weak to strong with coefficients ranging from 0.33 to 0.43 for monotherapy and from 0.67 to 0.78 for combined therapies. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides comprehensive information on individual-level association between rwPFS and OS for L1 treatments in mBC women managed in real-life practice. Our results could be used as a basis for future research dedicated to surrogate endpoint candidates