A performance analysis method for distributed real-time robotic systems: A case study of remote teleoperation

Robot coordination and control systems for remote teleoperation applications are by necessity implemented on distributed computers. Modeling and performance analysis of these distributed robotic systems is difficult, but important for economic system design. Performance analysis methods originally developed for conventional distributed computer systems are often unsatisfactory for evaluating real-time systems. The paper introduces a formal model of distributed robotic control systems; and a performance analysis method, based on scheduling theory, which can handle concurrent hard-real-time response specifications. Use of the method is illustrated by a case of remote teleoperation which assesses the effect of communication delays and the allocation of robot control functions on control system hardware requirements

Caspase-generated fragment of the Met receptor favors apoptosis via the intrinsic pathway independently of its tyrosine kinase activity

The receptor tyrosine kinase Met and its ligand, the hepatocyte growth factor, are essential to embryonic development, whereas the deregulation of Met signaling is associated with tumorigenesis. While ligand-activated Met promotes survival, caspase-dependent generation of the p40 Met fragment leads to apoptosis induction – hallmark of the dependence receptor. Although the survival signaling pathways induced by Met are well described, the pro-apoptotic signaling pathways are unknown. We show that, although p40 Met contains the entire kinase domain, it accelerates apoptosis independently of kinase activity. In cell cultures undergoing apoptosis, the fragment shows a mitochondrial localization, required for p40 Met-induced cell death. Fulminant hepatic failure induced in mice leads to the generation of p40 Met localized also in the mitochondria, demonstrating caspase cleavage of Met in vivo. According to its localization, the fragment induces mitochondrial permeabilization, which is inhibited by Bak silencing and Bcl-xL overexpression. Moreover, Met silencing delays mitochondrial permeabilization induced by an apoptotic treatment. Thus, the Met-dependence receptor in addition to its well-known role in survival signaling mediated by its kinase activity, also participates in the intrinsic apoptosis pathway through the generation of p40 Met – a caspase-dependent fragment of Met implicated in the mitochondrial permeabilization process

A systematic map of human-carnivore coexistence

Carnivore populations globally have largely declined, and coexistence, where humans and carnivores share landscapes, plays a crucial role in carnivore conservation. However, the term “coexistence” is often used in scientific and popular literature without being clearly defined. Herein, we provide a global perspective on what coexistence is and how it is studied. We conducted a systematic map of 366 articles published between 1987 and 2020 to characterize human-carnivore coexistence literature according to coexistence definitions, temporal trends, geographic and taxonomic focus, and four thematic aspects of coexistence: carnivore ecology, human endeavors, social conflict and human-carnivore conflict. We used chi-squared tests and generalized linear models to describe the thematic, taxonomic and geographic focus of the literature. The human-carnivore coexistence literature increased exponentially in the past 30 years, but few articles defined the term “coexistence” and those that did used inconsistent definitions. Thematically, coexistence research showed less emphasis on social conflict, even though it is a major driver of conflict regarding carnivores. The literature also focused primarily on larger carnivores, rather than endangered carnivores, and was primarily led by European and North American authors. We offer a simplified, formal definition of “coexistence” that incorporates the four thematic aspects of coexistence encountered in the literature: Co-occurrence of sustainable carnivore populations and human endeavors with minimal human-carnivore and human-human conflict. We encourage researchers to focus on the social dimensions of coexistence, such as human attitudes towards carnivores or the underlying causes of social conflict, and to broaden the taxonomic and cultural breadth of their projects

Tuning the exciton g-factor in single InAs/InP quantum dots

Photoluminescence data from single, self-assembled InAs/InP quantum dots in magnetic fields up to 7 T are presented. Exciton g-factors are obtained for dots of varying height, corresponding to ground state emission energies ranging from 780 meV to 1100 meV. A monotonic increase of the g-factor from -2 to +1.2 is observed as the dot height decreases. The trend is well reproduced by sp3 tight binding calculations, which show that the hole g-factor is sensitive to confinement effects through orbital angular momentum mixing between the light-hole and heavy-hole valence bands. We demonstrate tunability of the exciton g-factor by manipulating the quantum dot dimensions using pyramidal InP nanotemplates

Development and Characterisation of a Gas System and its Associated Slow-Control System for an ATLAS Small-Strip Thin Gap Chamber Testing Facility

A quality assurance and performance qualification laboratory was built at McGill University for the Canadian-made small-strip Thin Gap Chamber (sTGC) muon detectors produced for the 2019-2020 ATLAS experiment muon spectrometer upgrade. The facility uses cosmic rays as a muon source to ionise the quenching gas mixture of pentane and carbon dioxide flowing through the sTGC detector. A gas system was developed and characterised for this purpose, with a simple and efficient gas condenser design utilizing a Peltier thermoelectric cooler (TEC). The gas system was tested to provide the desired 45 vol% pentane concentration. For continuous operations, a state-machine system was implemented with alerting and remote monitoring features to run all cosmic-ray data-acquisition associated slow-control systems, such as high/low voltage, gas system and environmental monitoring, in a safe and continuous mode, even in the absence of an operator.Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX, 14 figures, 4 tables, proof corrections for Journal of Instrumentation (JINST), including corrected Fig. 8b

'Mine's a Pint of Bitter': Performativity, gender, class and representations of authenticity in real-ale tourism

Leisure choices are expressive of individual agency around the maintenance of taste, boundaries, identity and community. This research paper is part of a wider project designed to assess the social and cultural value of real ale to tourism in the north of England. This paper explores the performativity of real-ale tourism and debates about belonging in northern English real-ale communities. The research combines an ethnographic case study of a real-ale festival with semi-structured interviews with organisers and volunteers, northern English real-ale brewers and real-ale tourists visiting the festival. It is argued that real-ale tourism, despite its origins in the logic of capitalism, becomes a space where people can perform Habermasian, communicative leisure, and despite the contradictions of preferring some capitalist industries over others on the basis of their perceived smaller size and older age, real-ale fans demonstrate agency in their performativity

Experimental studies of the NaCs 12(0+) [7¹Σ+] state

We present results from experimental studies of the 11(0+) and 12(0+) electronic states of the NaCs molecule. An optical-optical double resonance method is used to obtain Doppler-free excitation spectra. Selected data from the 11(0+) and 12(0+) high-lying electronic states are used to obtain Rydberg-Klein-Rees and Inverse Perturbation Approach potential energy curves. Interactions between these two electronic states are evident in the patterns observed in the bound-bound and bound-free fluorescence spectra. A model, based on two separate interaction mechanisms, is presented to describe how the wavefunctions of the two states mix. The electronic parts of the wavefunctions interact via spin-orbit coupling, while the individual rotation-vibration levels interact via a second mechanism, which is likely to be non-adiabatic coupling. A modified version of the BCONT program was used to simulate resolved fluorescence from both upper states. Parameters of the model that describe the two interaction mechanisms were varied until simulations were able to adequately reproduce experimental spectra.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (grant no. PHY-0968898)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (grant no. PHY-1403060)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (grant no. CHE–1361865

Mott Transition vs Multicritical Phenomenon of Superconductivity and Antiferromagnetism -- Application to κ\kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2_2X --

Interplay between the Mott transition and the multicritical phenomenon of d-wave superconductivity (SC) and antiferromagnetism (AF) is studied theoretically. We describe the Mott transition, which is analogous to a liquid-gas phase transition, in terms of an Ising-type order parameter $\eta$. We reveal possible mean-field phase diagrams produced by this interplay. Renormalization group analysis up to one-loop order gives flows of coupling constants, which in most cases lead to fluctuation-induced first-order phase transitions even when the SO(5) symmetry exists betwen the SC and AF. Behaviors of various physical quantities around the Mott critical point are predicted. Experiments in $\kappa$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$X are discussed from this viewpoint.Comment: 4 pages, 9 figures, to appear in J. Phys. Soc. Jp