A novel fault diagnosis method for rotating machinery based on S transform and morphological pattern spectrum

With the continuing expansion of the applications of rotating machinery, an earlier and more accurate fault diagnosis method is required. In this paper, a novel characterization method based on S transform and morphological pattern spectrum (ST-MPS) was put forward. In order to verify the application of the method, ST-MPS was applied to a set of experimental signals obtained in a bearing test bench, and the results verified that the proposed feature extraction method is an effective approach to accurately classify the types of bearing fault

Measurement of the branching fraction and CP content for the decay B(0) -> D(*+)D(*-)

This is the pre-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the links below. Copyright @ 2002 APS.We report a measurement of the branching fraction of the decay B0→D*+D*- and of the CP-odd component of its final state using the BABAR detector. With data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.4  fb-1 collected at the Υ(4S) resonance during 1999–2000, we have reconstructed 38 candidate signal events in the mode B0→D*+D*- with an estimated background of 6.2±0.5 events. From these events, we determine the branching fraction to be B(B0→D*+D*-)=[8.3±1.6(stat)±1.2(syst)]×10-4. The measured CP-odd fraction of the final state is 0.22±0.18(stat)±0.03(syst).This work is supported by DOE and NSF (USA), NSERC (Canada), IHEP (China), CEA and CNRS-IN2P3 (France), BMBF (Germany), INFN (Italy), NFR (Norway), MIST (Russia), and PPARC (United Kingdom). Individuals have received support from the A.P. Sloan Foundation, Research Corporation, and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

Search for CP violation in D+→ϕπ+ and D+s→K0Sπ+ decays

A search for CP violation in D + → ϕπ + decays is performed using data collected in 2011 by the LHCb experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1 at a centre of mass energy of 7 TeV. The CP -violating asymmetry is measured to be (−0.04 ± 0.14 ± 0.14)% for candidates with K − K + mass within 20 MeV/c 2 of the ϕ meson mass. A search for a CP -violating asymmetry that varies across the ϕ mass region of the D + → K − K + π + Dalitz plot is also performed, and no evidence for CP violation is found. In addition, the CP asymmetry in the D+s→K0Sπ+ decay is measured to be (0.61 ± 0.83 ± 0.14)%

Diagnostic Accuracy of S100B Urinary Testing at Birth in Full-Term Asphyxiated Newborns to Predict Neonatal Death

BACKGROUND: Neonatal death in full-term infants who suffer from perinatal asphyxia (PA) is a major subject of investigation, since few tools exist to predict patients at risk of ominous outcome. We studied the possibility that urine S100B measurement may identify which PA-affected infants are at risk of early postnatal death. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In a cross-sectional study between January 1, 2001 and December 1, 2006 we measured S100B protein in urine collected from term infants (n = 132), 60 of whom suffered PA. According to their outcome at 7 days, infants with PA were subsequently classified either as asphyxiated infants complicated by hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy with no ominous outcome (HIE Group; n = 48), or as newborns who died within the first post-natal week (Ominous Outcome Group; n = 12). Routine laboratory variables, cerebral ultrasound, neurological patterns and urine concentrations of S100B protein were determined at first urination and after 24, 48 and 96 hours. The severity of illness in the first 24 hours after birth was measured using the Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology-Perinatal Extension (SNAP-PE). Urine S100B levels were higher from the first urination in the ominous outcome group than in healthy or HIE Groups (p<0.001 for all), and progressively increased. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed a significant correlation between S100B concentrations and the occurrence of neonatal death. At a cut-off >1.0 microg/L S100B had a sensitivity/specificity of 100% for predicting neonatal death. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Increased S100B protein urine levels in term newborns suffering PA seem to suggest a higher risk of neonatal death for these infants

Quantifying unpredictability: A multiple-model approach based on satellite imagery data from Mediterranean ponds.

Fluctuations in environmental parameters are increasingly being recognized as essential features of any habitat. The quantification of whether environmental fluctuations are prevalently predictable or unpredictable is remarkably relevant to understanding the evolutionary responses of organisms. However, when characterizing the relevant features of natural habitats, ecologists typically face two problems: (1) gathering long-term data and (2) handling the hard-won data. This paper takes advantage of the free access to long-term recordings of remote sensing data (27 years, Landsat TM/ETM+) to assess a set of environmental models for estimating environmental predictability. The case study included 20 Mediterranean saline ponds and lakes, and the focal variable was the water-surface area. This study first aimed to produce a method for accurately estimating the water-surface area from satellite images. Saline ponds can develop salt-crusted areas that make it difficult to distinguish between soil and water. This challenge was addressed using a novel pipeline that combines band ratio water indices and the short near-infrared band as a salt filter. The study then extracted the predictable and unpredictable components of variation in the water-surface area. Two different approaches, each showing variations in the parameters, were used to obtain the stochastic variation around a regular pattern with the objective of dissecting the effect of assumptions on predictability estimations. The first approach, which is based on Colwell's predictability metrics, transforms the focal variable into a nominal one. The resulting discrete categories define the relevant variations in the water-surface area. In the second approach, we introduced General Additive Model (GAM) fitting as a new metric for quantifying predictability. Both approaches produced a wide range of predictability for the studied ponds. Some model assumptions-which are considered very different a priori-had minor effects, whereas others produced predictability estimations that showed some degree of divergence. We hypothesize that these diverging estimations of predictability reflect the effect of fluctuations on different types of organisms. The fluctuation analysis described in this manuscript is applicable to a wide variety of systems, including both aquatic and nonaquatic systems, and will be valuable for quantifying and characterizing predictability, which is essential within the expected global increase in the unpredictability of environmental fluctuations. We advocate that a priori information for organisms of interest should be used to select the most suitable metrics estimating predictability, and we provide some guidelines for this approach

A Stochastic Step Model of Replicative Senescence Explains ROS Production Rate in Ageing Cell Populations

Increases in cellular Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) concentration with age have been observed repeatedly in mammalian tissues. Concomitant increases in the proportion of replicatively senescent cells in ageing mammalian tissues have also been observed. Populations of mitotic human fibroblasts cultured in vitro, undergoing transition from proliferation competence to replicative senescence are useful models of ageing human tissues. Similar exponential increases in ROS with age have been observed in this model system. Tracking individual cells in dividing populations is difficult, and so the vast majority of observations have been cross-sectional, at the population level, rather than longitudinal observations of individual cells

Echocardiography may help detect pulmonary vasculopathy in the early stages of pulmonary artery hypertension associated with systemic sclerosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in patients with systemic sclerosis is associated with a poor prognosis, but this can be improved by early disease detection. Abnormal pulmonary and cardiac function can be detected early by means of echocardiography, whereas right heart catheterization is usually performed later.</p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>The purpose of this prospective study was to detect early the presence of pulmonary artery vasculopathy in patients with verified systemic sclerosis without significant pulmonary fibrosis, normal lung volumes and a mildly reduced lung diffusion capacity of carbon monoxide (DLCO).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Nineteen consecutive female NYHA class I-II patients with scleroderma and a PAPs of < 35 mm/Hg measured by echocardiography, were enrolled between September 2007 and September 2009. They had a mean age of 51 ± 13 years, body mass index of 25 ± 5 kg/m²). They all underwent complete Doppler echocardiography, CPET, a pulmonary ventilation test (carbon monoxide lung diffusion, DLCO), HRCT. To investigate PAH by means of complete resting Doppler echocardiography estimates of systolic pulmonary artery pressure (PAPs) derived from tr icuspid regurgitation, mean PAP derived from pulmonary regurgitation, pulmonary vessel resistance (PVR) derived from the acceleration time of the pulmonary outflow tract (ACTpo), and right ventricular function derived from tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE). Right heart catheterisation was conducted only, if pulmonary hypertension was suggested by echocardiography and an abnormal ventilator test.</p> <p>The data are given as mean values ± SD, unless otherwise stated. The correlations between the variables were analysed using Pearson's <it>r </it>coefficient, and the predictive value of the variables was calculated using linear regression analysis. A p value of > 0.05 was considered significant.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Right heart catheterization detected PAH in 15/19 patients; mean PAP was 30.5 mm/Hg and RVP 3.6 UW. Coronary angiography of the patients aged more than 55 years showed some evidence of significant coronary artery disease. Echocardiography showed high systolic PAP values (46 ± 8 mmHg), whereas right ventricular function was normal (TAPSE 23 ± 3 mm), and in line with the NYHA class. ACTpo was reduced in the patients with a systolic PAP of < 46 mm/Hg (p > 0.001) and positively correlated with DLCO (p > 0.001) and the hemodynamic data.</p> <p>There was a good correlation between ACTpo and PVR (hemodynamic data) (r = -0615; p > 0.01).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although they need to be confirmed by studies of larger series of patients, our findings suggest that, in comparison with hemodynamic data, non-invasive echocardiographic measurements are an excellent means of identifying early-stage PAH.</p