Towards sub-optimal stochastic control of partially observable stochastic systems

A class of multidimensional stochastic control problems with noisy data and bounded controls encountered in aerospace design is examined. The emphasis is on suboptimal design, the optimality being taken in quadratic mean sense. To that effect the problem is viewed as a stochastic version of the Lurie problem known from nonlinear control theory. The main result is a separation theorem (involving a nonlinear Kalman-like filter) suitable for Lurie-type approximations. The theorem allows for discontinuous characteristics. As a byproduct the existence of strong solutions to a class of non-Lipschitzian stochastic differential equations in dimensions is proven

Is the dark matter halo of the Milky Way flattened?

We performed an extended analysis of the parameter space for the interaction of the Magellanic System with the Milky Way (MW). The varied parameters cover the phase space parameters, the masses, the structure, and the orientation of both Magellanic Clouds, as well as the flattening of the dark matter halo of the MW. The analysis was done by a specially adopted optimization code searching for the best match between numerical models and the detailed HI map of the Magellanic System by Bruens et al. (2005). The applied search algorithm is a genetic algorithm combined with a code based on the fast, but approximative restricted N-body method. By this, we were able to analyze more than 10^6 models, which makes this study one of the most extended ones for the Magellanic System. Here we focus on the flattening q of the axially symmetric MW dark matter halo potential, that is studied within the range 0.74<=q<=1.20. We show that creation of a trailing tail (Magellanic Stream) and a leading stream (Leading Arm) is quite a common feature of the Magellanic System-MW interaction, and such structures were modeled across the entire range of halo flattening values. However, important differences exist between the models, concerning density distribution and kinematics of HI, and also the dynamical evolution of the Magellanic System. Detailed analysis of the overall agreement between modeled and observed distribution of neutral hydrogen shows that the models assuming an oblate (q<1.0) dark matter halo of the Galaxy allow for better satisfaction of HI observations than models with other halo configurations.Comment: 19 pages, 20 figures, 2 appendices, accepted for publication in A&

Loss factor and resonant frequency of viscoelastic shear-damped structural composites

Loss factor and resonant frequency of viscoelastic shear damped structural composite

Photodynamic Therapy of Necrobiosis Lipoidica - A Multicenter Study of 18 Patients

Background: Necrobiosis lipoidica (NL) is a granulomatous skin disease of unknown origin, and no reliably effective treatment option exists to handle this often disfiguring disease. Recently, a patient with long-lasting NL was reported to be cured by topical photodynamic therapy (PDT). Objective: To evaluate the overall potential of PDT in the treatment of NL on the lower legs. Methods: Retrospective study of 18 patients (aged 16 - 62 years) from 3 European university departments of dermatology treated with PDT for NL. Methyl aminolevulinate or 5-aminolevulinic acid were used as topically applied photosensitizers. Illumination followed with red light-emitting diode light. Results: Complete response was seen in 1/18 patients after 9 PDT cycles, and partial response in 6/18 patients (2 - 14 PDT cycles) giving an overall response rate of 39% (7/18). Conclusion: Although almost 40% of the cases showed some degree of response, PDT cannot currently be recommended as first-line therapy of NL. Subpopulations of therapy-resistant NL patients may, however, benefit from PDT. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger AG, Base

Search for cold and hot gas in the ram pressure stripped Virgo dwarf galaxy IC3418

We present IRAM 30m sensitive upper limits on CO emission in the ram pressure stripped dwarf Virgo galaxy IC3418 and in a few positions covering HII regions in its prominent 17 kpc UV/Ha gas-stripped tail. In the central few arcseconds of the galaxy, we report a possible marginal detection of about 1x10^6 M_sun of molecular gas (assuming a Galactic CO-to-H_2 conversion factor) that could correspond to a surviving nuclear gas reservoir. We estimate that there is less molecular gas in the main body of IC3418, by at least a factor of 20, than would be expected from the pre-quenching UV-based star formation rate assuming the typical gas depletion timescale of 2 Gyr. Given the lack of star formation in the main body, we think the H_2-deficiency is real, although some of it may also arise from a higher CO-to-H_2 factor typical in low-metallicity, low-mass galaxies. The presence of HII regions in the tail of IC3418 suggests that there must be some dense gas; however, only upper limits of < 1x10^6 M_sun were found in the three observed points in the outer tail. This yields an upper limit on the molecular gas content of the whole tail < 1x10^7 M_sun, which is an amount similar to the estimates from the observed star formation rate over the tail. We also present strong upper limits on the X-ray emission of the stripped gas in IC3418 from a new Chandra observation. The measured X-ray luminosity of the IC3418 tail is about 280 times lower than that of ESO 137-001, a spiral galaxy in a more distant cluster with a prominent ram pressure stripped tail. Non-detection of any diffuse X-ray emission in the IC3418 tail may be due to a low gas content in the tail associated with its advanced evolutionary state and/or due to a rather low thermal pressure of the surrounding intra-cluster medium.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, A&A accepte

Spatially resolved femtosecond pump-probe study of topological insulator Bi2Se3

Carrier and phonon dynamics in Bi2Se3 crystals are studied by a spatially resolved ultrafast pump-probe technique. Pronounced oscillations in differential reflection are observed with two distinct frequencies, and are attributed to coherent optical and acoustic phonons, respectively. The rising time of the signal indicates that the thermalization and energy relaxation of hot carriers are both sub-ps in this material. We found that the thermalization and relaxation time decreases with the carrier density. The expansion of the differential reflection profile allows us to estimate an ambipolar carrier diffusion coefficient on the order of 500 square centimeters per second. A long-term slow expansion of the profile shows a thermal diffusion coefficient of 1.2 square centimeters per second.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Porcine Neonatal Coccidiosis: A Clinical Review

Coccidiosis in neonatal swine is a clinical disease syndrome, associated with infection of the obligate intracellular parasite Isospora suis. Isospora suis infection, with or without concurrent infection of other porcine enteropathogens, is responsible for a significant portion of enteric disease in neonatal swine

Constructing end-to-end models using ECOPATH data

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Marine Systems 87 (2011): 227-238, doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2011.04.005.The wide availability of ECOPATH data sets provides a valuable resource for the comparative analysis of marine ecosystems. We show how to derive a bottom-up transform from the top-down ECOPATH; couple this to a simple NPZD web with physical forcing; and use the end-to-end model (E2E) for scenario construction. This steady state format also provides a framework and initial conditions for different dynamic simulations. This model can be applied to shelf ecosystems with a wide range of physical forcing, coupled benthic/pelagic food webs, and nutrient recycling. We illustrate the general application and the specific problems by transforming an ECOPATH model for the Northern Californian Current (NCC). We adapt results on the upwelling regime to provide estimates of physical fluxes and use these to show the consequences of different upwelling rates combined with variable retention mechanism for plankton, for the productivity of fish and other top predators; and for the resilience of the ecosystem. Finally we show how the effects of inter-annual to decadal variations in upwelling on fishery yields can be studied using dynamic simulations with different prey-predator relations. The general conclusion is that the nature of the physical regimes for shelf ecosystems cannot be ignored in comparing end-to-end representations of these food webs.This work was supported by the US-GLOBEC Pan-regional Synthesis progra