Evaluation of selected strapdown inertial instruments and pulse torque loops, volume 1

Design, operational and performance variations between ternary, binary and forced-binary pulse torque loops are presented. A fill-in binary loop which combines the constant power advantage of binary with the low sampling error of ternary is also discussed. The effects of different output-axis supports on the performance of a single-degree-of-freedom, floated gyroscope under a strapdown environment are illustrated. Three types of output-axis supports are discussed: pivot-dithered jewel, ball bearing and electromagnetic. A test evaluation on a Kearfott 2544 single-degree-of-freedom, strapdown gyroscope operating with a pulse torque loop, under constant rates and angular oscillatory inputs is described and the results presented. Contributions of the gyroscope's torque generator and the torque-to-balance electronics on scale factor variation with rate are illustrated for a SDF 18 IRIG Mod-B strapdown gyroscope operating with various pulse rebalance loops. Also discussed are methods of reducing this scale factor variation with rate by adjusting the tuning network which shunts the torque coil. A simplified analysis illustrating the principles of operation of the Teledyne two-degree-of-freedom, elastically-supported, tuned gyroscope and the results of a static and constant rate test evaluation of that instrument are presented

Calculating fertilizer value of supplemental feed for cattle on pasture (2006)

Most cattle maintained on pasture receive supplemental feed during some portion of the year. Supplements are commonly fed to grazing cattle when pasture forage quality and quantity are below animal requirements

Structure–function analysis of HsiF, a gp25-like component of the type VI secretion system, in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Bacterial pathogens use a range of protein secretion systems to colonize their host. One recent addition to this arsenal is the type VI secretion system (T6SS), which is found in many Gram-negative bacteria. The T6SS involves 12–15 components, including a ClpV-like AAA+ ATPase. Moreover, the VgrG and Hcp components have been proposed to form a puncturing device, based on structural similarity to the tail spike components gp5/gp27 and the tail tube component gp19 of the T4 bacteriophage, respectively. Another T6SS component shows similarity to a T4 phage protein, namely gp25. The gp25 protein has been proposed to have lysozyme activity. Other T6SS components do not exhibit obvious similarity to characterized T4 phage components. The genome of Pseudomonas aeruginosa contains three T6SS gene clusters. In each cluster a gene encoding a putative member of the gp25-like protein family was identified, which we called HsiF. We confirmed this similarity by analysing the structure of the P. aeruginosa HsiF proteins using secondary and tertiary structure prediction tools. We demonstrated that HsiF1 is crucial for the T6SS-dependent secretion of Hcp and VgrG. Importantly, lysozyme activity of HsiF proteins was not detectable, and we related this observation to the demonstration that HsiF1 localizes to the cytoplasm of P. aeruginosa. Finally, our data showed that a conserved glutamate, predicted to be required for proper HsiF folding, is essential for its function. In conclusion, our data confirm the central role of HsiF in the T6SS mechanism, provide information on the predicted HsiF structure, and call for reconsideration of the function of gp25-like proteins

Systematic review and meta-analysis on the adverse events of rimonabant treatment: Considerations for its potential use in hepatology

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The cannabinoid-1 receptor blockers have been proposed in the management of obesity and obesity-related liver diseases (fatty liver as NAFLD or NASH). Due to increasing number of patients to be potentially treated and the need to assess the advantage of this treatment in terms of risk/benefit, we analyze the side events reported during the treatment with rimonabant by a systematic review and meta-analysis of all randomized controlled studies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>All published randomized controlled trials using rimonabant <it>versus </it>placebo in adult subjects were retrieved. Relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence interval for relevant adverse events and number needed to harm was calculated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Nine trials (n = 9635) were considered. Rimonabant 20 mg was associated with an increased risk of adverse event (RR 1.35; 95%CI 1.17-1.56), increased discontinuation rate (RR 1.79; 95%CI 1.35-2.38), psychiatric (RR 2.35; 95%CI 1.66-3.34), and nervous system adverse events (RR 2.35; 95%CI 1.49-3.70). The number needed to harm for psychiatric adverse events is 30.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Rimonabant is associated with an increased risk of adverse events. Despite of an increasing interest for its use on fatty liver, the security profile and efficacy it is needs to be carefully assessed before its recommendation. At present the use of rimonabant on fatty liver cannot be recommended.</p

Maternal deaths in Pakistan : intersection of gender, class and social exclusion.

Background: A key aim of countries with high maternal mortality rates is to increase availability of competent maternal health care during pregnancy and childbirth. Yet, despite significant investment, countries with the highest burdens have not reduced their rates to the expected levels. We argue, taking Pakistan as a case study, that improving physical availability of services is necessary but not sufficient for reducing maternal mortality because gender inequities interact with caste and poverty to socially exclude certain groups of women from health services that are otherwise physically available. Methods: Using a critical ethnographic approach, two case studies of women who died during childbirth were pieced together from information gathered during the first six months of fieldwork in a village in Northern Punjab, Pakistan. Findings: Shida did not receive the necessary medical care because her heavily indebted family could not afford it. Zainab, a victim of domestic violence, did not receive any medical care because her martial family could not afford it, nor did they think she deserved it. Both women belonged to lower caste households, which are materially poor households and socially constructed as inferior. Conclusions: The stories of Shida and Zainab illustrate how a rigidly structured caste hierarchy, the gendered devaluing of females, and the reinforced lack of control that many impoverished women experience conspire to keep women from lifesaving health services that are physically available and should be at their disposal

Impact of temperature and mode polarization on the acoustic phonon range in complex crystalline phases: A case study on intermetallic clathrates

The low and weakly temperature-varying lattice thermal conductivity, κL (T), in crystals with a complex unit cell such as type-I clathrates is assumed to originate from a reduced momentum and energy space available for propagative lattice vibrations, which is caused by the occurrence of low-energy optical phonon modes. In the context of ab initio self-consistent phonon (SCP) theory, it has been shown that the cubic and quartic anharmonic interactions result in a temperature-induced energy renormalization of these low-lying optical branches which contributes to the anomalous behavior of κL (T) in structurally ordered type-I clathrates [T. Tadano and S. Tsuneyuki, Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 105901 (2018)]. By means of inelastic neutron scattering, we provide evidence for this energy renormalization in temperature, which has been resolved for transversely and longitudinally polarized phonons in the single crystal type-I clathrate Ba7.81Ge40.67Au5.33. By mapping the neutron intensity in the momentum space, we demonstrate the coherent character of the low-lying optical phonons. The overall phonon spectrum and dynamical structure factors are satisfactorily reproduced by ab initio harmonic calculations using density functional theory with the meta-GGA SCAN functional and a fully ordered structure. However, a polarization-dependent cutoff energy with opposing temperature shifts for longitudinal and transverse acoustic dispersions is experimentally observed which is not reproduced by the simulations. Anharmonicity affects the energies of the low-lying optical phonons in the transverse polarization, which compares quantitatively well with available results from SCP theory, whereas differences are observed for the longitudinal polarizatio

Ancient mitochondrial DNA provides high-resolution time scale of the peopling of the Americas

The exact timing, route, and process of the initial peopling of the Americas remains uncertain despite much research. Archaeological evidence indicates the presence of humans as far as southern Chile by 14.6 thousand years ago (ka), shortly after the Pleistocene ice sheets blocking access from eastern Beringia began to retreat. Genetic estimates of the timing and route of entry have been constrained by the lack of suitable calibration points and low genetic diversity of Native Americans. We sequenced 92 whole mitochondrial genomes from pre-Columbian South American skeletons dating from 8.6 to 0.5 ka, allowing a detailed, temporally calibrated reconstruction of the peopling of the Americas in a Bayesian coalescent analysis. The data suggest that a small population entered the Americas via a coastal route around 16.0 ka, following previous isolation in eastern Beringia for ~2.4 to 9 thousand years after separation from eastern Siberian populations. Following a rapid movement throughout the Americas, limited gene flow in South America resulted in a marked phylogeographic structure of populations, which persisted through time. All of the ancient mitochondrial lineages detected in this study were absent from modern data sets, suggesting a high extinction rate. To investigate this further, we applied a novel principal components multiple logistic regression test to Bayesian serial coalescent simulations. The analysis supported a scenario in which European colonization caused a substantial loss of pre-Columbian lineages.Bastien Llamas, Lars Fehren-Schmitz, Guido Valverde, Julien Soubrier, Swapan Mallick, Nadin Rohland, Susanne Nordenfelt, Cristina Valdiosera, Stephen M. Richards, Adam Rohrlach, Maria Inés Barreto Romero, Isabel Flores Espinoza, Elsa Tomasto Cagigao, Lucía Watson Jiménez, Krzysztof Makowski, Ilán Santiago Leboreiro Reyna, Josefina Mansilla Lory, Julio Alejandro Ballivián Torrez, Mario A. Rivera, Richard L. Burger, Maria Constanza Ceruti, Johan Reinhard, R. Spencer Wells, Gustavo Politis, Calogero M. Santoro, Vivien G. Standen, Colin Smith, David Reich, Simon Y. W. Ho, Alan Cooper and Wolfgang Haa

Supplemental Material for: Multi-site evaluation of APEX for water quality: II. Regional parameterization

Model performance was assessed using Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency (NSE), coefficient of determination (r2), and percent bias (PBIAS) as defined by Moriasi et al. (2007 and 2015). Threshold values indicating acceptable model performance based on these statistics are dependent on the spatial and temporal scales of the data, water quality constituents of interest, and the modeling objectives (Moriasi et al., 2015). Although some standard values have been suggested (Moriasi et al., 2007 and 2015), considerable variability exist in the published literature. For instance Ramanarayan et al. (1997) considered r2 \u3e0.5 and NSE \u3e0.40 as satisfactory for simulation of monthly surface water quality with the APEX model. Chung et al. (2002) defined r2 \u3e 0.5 and NSE \u3e 0.3 as satisfactory for monthly tile flow and NO3-N loss simulated with the Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC) model. Wang et al. (2008) indicated r2 \u3e 0.5 and NSE \u3e 0.4 as acceptable for monthly runoff and nutrient concentrations using the APEX model. Moriasi et al. (2007) suggested NSE \u3e 0.5 with P-bias ±25% for streamflow, ±55% for sediment and ±70% for nitrogen and phosphorus for monthly values. They also indicated that NSE values can be relaxed for shorter time steps (daily events). Yin et al. (2009) reported NSE for event based runoff and sediment between 0.41-0.84 and r2 between 0.55 - 0.85. Mudgal et al. (2010) regarded r2 \u3e 0.5 and NSE \u3e 0.45 as threshold for satisfactory calibration and validation with event data