Ada and Knowledge-Based Systems: A Prototype Combining the Best of Both Worlds

We describe a software architecture based on Ada tasking and packaging which facilitates the construction of distributed knowledge-based systems. We used this architecture to build the Knowledge-Based Maintenance Expert System (KNOMES) prototype for the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) of the NASA Space Station Mobile Service Center. Each module of the system contains Ada packages of standard systems services, which interface with an artificial intelligence/ knowledge-based system (AI/KBS) language component that performs knowledge-based reasoning. By using Ada as the fundamental structure, we achieved a well-structured, maintainable program; by retaining the AI/KBS language component, we were able to capture the knowledge needed to solve illstructured, dynamic, and/or nonalgorithmic problems

Lecture capture: Early lessons learned and experiences shared

Lecture capture has been on the minds of university level teachers for some time. The ability to record teaching sessions for delivery online has a number of potential impacts, not all of them positive. The technology now exists to make it feasible and relatively affordable to deliver entire lectures online. But should we do it just because we can? This article aims to share our experiences in recording a series of organic chemistry lectures, and the findings of the evaluation that followed

LASL/UNM solar economic performance code: a basic primer

The LASL/UNM solar economic performance code (model) has been developed to assist in the evaluation of market potential for residential passive solar heating systems on a nationwide basis. Components of the model can be divided into three major categories: inputs, methodology, and output. Each of these categories are briefly described

Passive incentive requirements: a regional assessment

The nation's goal of 20% solar contribution by the turn of the century will be achieved, in part, by the construction of residences heated by virtue of their passive solar designs. These designs are not economically competitive against all conventional fuels in all locations. Some degree of government incentive will be required to assure a competitive position for these designs. A methodology is presented which is used to assess the magnitude of the government incentive required to assure feasibility. The methodology is used to provide a regional assessment for the Pacific Northwest under alternative home ownership periods and conventional fuel types

Evaluation of passive solar retrofit options

An evaluation framework has been developed which allows for the assessment of the role of passive solar retrofit in the nationwide reduction of conventional fuel use. Three types of analysis are proposed within this framework: the physical/technical capability of the present housing stock to incorporate passive solar retrofit; the economic feasibility of the application of retrofit designs; and the actual market potential or acceptance of these alternative retrofit options. Each type of analysis has specific data requirements and a series of evaluation procedures to help establish estimates of the potential for passive solar retrofit in the present housing stock. The data requirements with their respective sources and evaluation procedures for the first two types of analysis-physical/technical setting and economic feasibility, are examined. A distinction is drawn between community specific case studies and more generalized national assessments. Information derived from these three types of analysis, whether case specific or national in scope, can then be used in an evaluation of potential economic impacts. The establishment of regional economic benefits and costs werve as a measure of the merit or attractiveness of the implementation of a passive solar retrofit program

Slate Literary Magazine, 2012-2013

Trinity College\u27s Literary Magazine - student works.https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/slate/1000/thumbnail.jp

Author Correction: A population-specific reference panel empowers genetic studies of Anabaptist populations.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper

Rare variants implicate NMDA receptor signaling and cerebellar gene networks in risk for bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is an often-severe mental health condition characterized by alternation between extreme mood states of mania and depression. Despite strong heritability and the recent identification of 64 common variant risk loci of small effect, pathophysiological mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we analyzed genome sequences from 41 multiply-affected pedigrees and identified variants in 741 genes with nominally significant linkage or association with bipolar disorder. These 741 genes overlapped known risk genes for neurodevelopmental disorders and clustered within gene networks enriched for synaptic and nuclear functions. The top variant in this analysis - prioritized by statistical association, predicted deleteriousness, and network centrality - was a missense variant in the gene encoding D-amino acid oxidase (DAOG131V). Heterologous expression of DAOG131V in human cells resulted in decreased DAO protein abundance and enzymatic activity. In a knock-in mouse model of DAOG131, DaoG130V/+, we similarly found decreased DAO protein abundance in hindbrain regions, as well as enhanced stress susceptibility and blunted behavioral responses to pharmacological inhibition of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs). RNA sequencing of cerebellar tissue revealed that DaoG130V resulted in decreased expression of two gene networks that are enriched for synaptic functions and for genes expressed, respectively, in Purkinje neurons or granule neurons. These gene networks were also down-regulated in the cerebellum of patients with bipolar disorder compared to healthy controls and were enriched for additional rare variants associated with bipolar disorder risk. These findings implicate dysregulation of NMDAR signaling and of gene expression in cerebellar neurons in bipolar disorder pathophysiology and provide insight into its genetic architecture