Ranging of Aircraft Using Wide-baseline Stereopsis

The purpose of this research was to investigate the efficacy of wide-baseline stereopsis as a method of ranging aircraft, specifically as a possible sense-and-avoid solution in Unmanned Aerial Systems. Two studies were performed: the first was an experimental pilot study to examine the ability of humans to range in-flight aircraft and the second a wide-baseline study of stereopsis to range in-flight aircraft using a baseline 14.32 meters and two 640 x 480 pixel charge coupled device camera. An experimental research design was used in both studies. Humans in the pilot study ranged aircraft with a mean absolute error of 50.34%. The wide-baseline stereo system ranged aircraft within 2 kilometers with a mean absolute error of 17.62%. A t-test was performed and there was a significant difference between the mean absolute error of the humans in the pilot study and the wide-baseline stereo system. The results suggest that the wide-baseline system is more consistent as well as more accurate than humans

Real-time Computer-based Simulation as an Intervention in Aerodynamics Education

The purpose of this research was to conduct an experiment where simulation was used as an instructional strategy and potential intervention for improved student posttest performance in an aeronautical science aerodynamics class. The experiment was conducted in two sections of a pilot aerodynamics course, where one section served as the control group, and the other section the treatment group. A quasi-experimental research design was used to examine the influence of simulation on posttest performance and motivation. ANCOVA was used to test for a difference in the means of the two groups, and the results indicated an improvement in posttest performance for the group that used simulation. The instructional materials motivation survey (IMMS) was used to examine post session motivation. An ANCOVA indicated that there was no difference in the means of the two groups, and results indicated that there was no influence of the use of simulation on motivation. A Pearson correlation was conducted on the data, and results indicated that there was no relationship between performance and motivation

Project HOME: Hydroponic Operations for Mars Exploration

This study considers the challenges NASA, SpaceX, and other private companies will face in the approaching two decades when sending astronauts on missions to Mars. The longest exploration is planned to take place in the 2030\u27s, sending a crew of, at minimum, four astronauts to Mars for a year of research. The research conducted is assisting NASA, SpaceX, and alike companies ways to grow a complete diet on a planet that does not receive enough sunlight. Agriculture in enclosed and buried structures on Mars will enable astronauts to conduct extended surface exploration missions. The researchers evaluated a deep-water culture indoor hydroponics system to grow Moringa oleifera (M. oleifera), a nutrient- and antioxidant-rich plant with leaves containing all nine essential amino acids. After initial aquaponics growth and 3 prior harvests, the lighting intensity was set to 590 W/m^2 in a twelve hour on/off cycle, in normal indoor atmosphere. This simulates an ambient light collection and reflection system on Mars illuminating an insulated, pressurized underground chamber for agriculture. All plants (N = 32) were harvested 17 times over a 9 month period at regular intervals, when plant heights reached an average of 0.9 m. Consumable leaf yield averaged 0.18 dry g per plant per day. Data suggest M. oleifera as a perennial hydroponic crop is possible under reduced illumination, and is a candidate food source for Mars explorers. Preliminary research has expanded to utilizing natural light, five additional plants, three more hydroponic systems, and solar power. Currently a solar powered eight by twelve- foot greenhouse is being used to hydroponically grow Goji Berries, Moringa, Bamboo, Kale, Chia, and Sweet Potatoes. When these foods are combined they contain a complete necessary set of amino acids, vitamins, minerals, fiber, carbohydrates, and nutrients for a balanced human diet. The plants receive 590 W/m^2 by utilizing a shade cloth over the entire greenhouse and the solar panels. In conclusion, the report states that NASA and alike companies will obtain valuable stepping stones in future missions to Mars by maximizing the growth of superfoods with utilization of natural light, and a focus on a hydroponics system as the farming method for space

Neutrophils in innate host defense against Staphylococcus aureus infections

Staphylococcus aureus has been an important human pathogen throughout history and is currently a leading cause of bacterial infections worldwide. S. aureus has the unique ability to cause a continuum of diseases, ranging from minor skin infections to fatal necrotizing pneumonia. Moreover, the emergence of highly virulent, drug-resistant strains such as methicillin-resistant S. aureus in both healthcare and community settings is a major therapeutic concern. Neutrophils are the most prominent cellular component of the innate immune system and provide an essential primary defense against bacterial pathogens such as S. aureus. Neutrophils are rapidly recruited to sites of infection where they bind and ingest invading S. aureus, and this process triggers potent oxidative and non-oxidative antimicrobial killing mechanisms that serve to limit pathogen survival and dissemination. S. aureus has evolved numerous mechanisms to evade host defense strategies employed by neutrophils, including the ability to modulate normal neutrophil turnover, a process critical to the resolution of acute inflammation. Here we provide an overview of the role of neutrophils in host defense against bacterial pathogens and discuss strategies employed by S. aureus to circumvent neutrophil function

Development of a composite model derived from cardiopulmonary exercise tests to predict mortality risk in patients with mild-to-moderate heart failure

Objective: Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is used to predict outcome in patients with mild-to-moderate heart failure (HF). Single CPET-derived variables are often used, but we wanted to see if a composite score achieved better predictive power. Methods: Retrospective analysis of patient records at the Department of Cardiology, Castle Hill Hospital, Kingston-upon-Hull. 387 patients [median (25th-75th percentile)] [age 65 (56-72) years; 79% males; LVEF 34 (31-37) %] were included. Patients underwent a symptomlimited, maximal CPET on a treadmill. During a median follow up of 8.6 ± 2.1 years in survivors, 107 patients died. Survival models were built and validated using a hybrid approach between the bootstrap and Cox regression. Nine CPET-derived variables were included. Z-score defined each variable's predictive strength. Model coefficients were converted to a risk score. Results: Four CPET-related variables were independent predictors of all-cause mortality in the survival model: the presence of exertional oscillatory ventilation (EOV), increasing slope of the relation between ventilation and carbon dioxide production (VE/VCO2 slope), decreasing oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES), and an increase in the lowest ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide (VEqCO2 nadir). Individual predictors of mortality ranged from 0.60 to 0.71 using Harrell’s C-statistic, but the optimal combination of EOV + VE/VCO2 slope + OUES + VEqCO2 nadir reached 0.75. The Hull CPET risk score had a significantly higher area under the curve (0.78) when compared to the Heart Failure Survival Score (AUC=0.70;

Thermophysiochemical properties of pure and water-saturated ionic liquids

We have previously reported into the extent of structuring in ILs using photochromic molecular probes1. In order for Ionic Liquids (ILs) to be fully utilized to their potential, it is necessary to have a complete understanding of their physical properties. In this study we investigated the thermophysical interactions in several pure and water-saturated ionic liquids being hydrophilic and hydrophobic in nature, namely 1-alkyl-3-methyl imidazolium and trihexyltetradecylphosphonium family of ILs. The density, viscosity and conductivity of pure and water-saturated imidazolium and phosphonium-based ILs were measured over a broad temperature. Moreover, interactive and binding energies of the studied imidazolium ILs in the presence of H2O molecules were calculated using Gaussian and compared with experimental Raman spectroscopy of the same imidazolium ILs, with and without the presence of saturated water

Influence of case definition on incidence and outcome of acute coronary syndromes

© 2016, BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Objective: Acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are common, but their incidence and outcome might depend greatly on how data are collected. We compared case ascertainment rates for ACS and myocardial infarction (MI) in a single institution using several different strategies. Methods: The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals serve a population of ∼560 000. Patients admitted with ACS to cardiology or general medical wards were identified prospectively by trained nurses during 2005. Patients with a death or discharge code of MI were also identified by the hospital information department and, independently, from Myocardial Infarction National Audit Project (MINAP) records. The hospital laboratory identified all patients with an elevated serum troponin-T (TnT) by contemporary criteria ( > 0.03 μg/L in 2005). Results: The prospective survey identified 1731 admissions (1439 patients) with ACS, including 764 admissions (704 patients) with MIs. The hospital information department reported only 552 admissions (544 patients) with MI and only 206 admissions (203 patients) were reported to the MINAP. Using all 3 strategies, 934 admissions (873 patients) for MI were identified, for which TnT was > 1 μg/L in 443, 0.04-1.0 μg/L in 435, =0.03 μg/L in 19 and not recorded in 37. A further 823 patients had TnT > 0.03 μg/L, but did not have ACS ascertained by any survey method. Of the 873 patients with MI, 146 (16.7%) died during admission and 218 (25.0%) by 1 year, but ranging from 9% for patients enrolled in the MINAP to 27% for those identified by the hospital information department. Conclusions: MINAP and hospital statistics grossly underestimated the incidence of MI managed by our hospital. The 1-year mortality was highly dependent on the method of ascertainment

Pet191 Is a Cytochrome c Oxidase Assembly Factor in \u3ci\u3eSaccharomyces cerevisiae\u3c/i\u3e

The twin-Cx9C motif protein Pet191 is essential for cytochrome c oxidase maturation. The motif Cys residues are functionally important and appear to be present in disulfide linkages within a large oligomeric complex associated with the mitochondrial inner membrane. The import of Pet191 differs from that of other twin-Cx9C motif class of proteins in being independent of the Mia40 pathway

Arqueología en la RAAN : Una aproximación al pasado

La investigación titulada “Arqueología en la RAAN: Una Aproximación al Pasado” se desarrolló en el norte de la costa Caribe nicaragüense, correspondiente a la Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte –RAAN- e implicó un estudio que pretendió traer al presente algunos aspectos del pasado humano de la región, a través de la localización e interpretación de la evidencia cultural - material. El estudio arqueológico se desarrolló en los municipios de Rosita, Waspan, Prinzapolka y Bonanza, situados en la RAAN, donde se realizó la prospección arqueológica como parte de los objetivos propuestos en esta investigación, así mismo, se retoman conceptos teóricos y planteamientos metodológicos propios de la ciencia arqueológica, que nos permitieron dirigir el estudio por buen camino. Con la finalidad de cumplir los objetivos propuestos se seleccionó la Prospección Arqueológica como método principal para la obtención del dato arqueológico. En la asesoría técnico-metodológica se contó con el respaldo del Centro Arqueológico de Documentación e Investigación (CADI), en relación a aspectos financieros, con la colaboración del Proyecto de Historia Regional y Local del Departamento de Historia, URACCAN, Recinto Bilwi, así como también por medio del proyecto IEPA – URACCAN; CEDEHCA, Waspan y Rosita, y desde luego el apoyo brindado por nuestros padres, como el de muchas otras personas de la región. En vista que este es el primer intento por desarrollar investigaciones sistemáticas en la región, es indispensable continuar y ampliar los estudios, incluyendo las excavaciones arqueológicas, ya que estas últimas proporcionaran en un futuro, mayor información de lo que generalmente nos proporciona la prospección arqueológica. Este estudio servirá en la construcción de nuevos conocimientos y elementos metodológicos para el análisis e interpretación de sitios arqueológicos en la región, y sobre todo porque el mismo es un elemento de referencia para futuras investigacione