Efficient Global Sensitivity Analysis of Structural Vibration for a Nuclear Reactor System Subject to Nonstationary Loading

The structures associated with the nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) include significant epistemic and aleatory uncertainties in the physical parameters, while also being subject to various non-stationary stochastic loading conditions over the life of a nuclear power plant. To understand the influence of these uncertainties on nuclear reactor systems, sensitivity analysis must be performed. This work evaluates computational design of experiment strategies, which execute a nuclear reactor equipment system finite element model to train and verify Gaussian Process (GP) surrogate models. The surrogate models are then used to perform both global and local sensitivity analyses. The significance of the sensitivity analysis for efficient modeling and simulation of nuclear reactor stochastic dynamics is discussed

Reward and reinforcement activity in the nucleus accumbens during learning

The nucleus accumbens core (NAcc) has been implicated in learning associations between sensory cues and profitable motor responses. However, the precise mechanisms that underlie these functions remain unclear. We recorded single-neuron activity from the NAcc of primates trained to perform a visual-motor associative learning task. During learning, we found two distinct classes of NAcc neurons. The first class demonstrated progressive increases in firing rates at the go-cue, feedback/tone and reward epochs of the task, as novel associations were learned. This suggests that these neurons may play a role in the exploitation of rewarding behaviors. In contrast, the second class exhibited attenuated firing rates, but only at the reward epoch of the task. These findings suggest that some NAcc neurons play a role in reward-based reinforcement during learning

Reliability of Hallux Rigidus Radiographic Grading System

Introduction. The purpose of this study was to determine the inter- and intra-observer reliability of a clinical radiographic scale for hallux rigidus. Methods. A total of 80 patients were retrospectively selected from the patient population of two foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeons. Each corresponding series of radiographic images (weight-bearing anteroposterior, weight-bearing lateral, and oblique of the foot) was randomized and evaluated. Re-randomization was performed and the corresponding radiograph images re-numbered. Four orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeons graded each patient, and each rater reclassified the re-randomized radiographic images three weeks later. Results. Sixty-one out of 80 patients (76%) were included in this study. For intra-observer reliability, most of the raters showed “excellent” agreement except one rater had a “substantial” agreement. For inter-observer reliability, only 14 out of 61 cases (23%) showed total agreement between the eight readings from the four surgeons, and 11 out of the 14 cases (79%) were grade 3 hallux rigidus. One of the raters had a tendency to grade at a higher grade resulting in poorer agreement. If this rater was excluded, the results demonstrated a “substantial” agreement by using this classification. Conclusion. The hallux rigidus radiographic grading system should be used with caution. Although there is an “excellent” level of intra-observer agreement, there is only “moderate” to “substantial” level of inter-observer reliability

Creatine Kinase, Lactate Dehydrogenase, and Myoglobin Responses Following Repeated Wingate Anaerobic Tests Versus Barbell Back Squats: a Pilot Study

The results from many previous studies have demonstrated that muscle damage and delayed onset muscle soreness are due primarily to high force, eccentric muscle actions. However, the majority of investigators have examined these responses following single-joint, isokinetic assessments. The purpose of this study was to examine creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and myoglobin responses following repeated Wingate anaerobic tests versus multiple sets of the barbell back squat exercise. Six recreationally resistance-trained men (mean ± SD age = 23 ± 2 years, body mass = 88.0 ± 17.8 kg, one repetition-maximum [1RM] back squat = 150.0 ± 28.3 kg) volunteered for this investigation, and visited the laboratory on five separate occasions. For the back squat protocol, the subjects performed six sets until volitional exhaustion using 75% of the 1RM with two minutes of rest between each set. For all repetitions, the subjects squatted to the parallel position. For the Wingate protocol, the subjects performed three tests with a 10 minute recovery period between each attempt. The order of these two protocols was randomized, and all testing for the study occurred at the same time of day. The subjects were required to refrain from vigorous physical activity during the study. Immediately prior to and 24 hours following each protocol, the subjects provided a venous blood sample from a superficial forearm vein. At the conclusion of the study, all samples were processed for CK, LDH, and myoglobin analyses. Three separate two-way (time [Pre versus Post] × protocol [squats versus Wingate anaerobic tests]) repeated measures analyses of variance were used to examine the CK, LDH, and myoglobin data. For CK, there was a significant time × protocol interaction (partial eta squared = .761). Follow-up paired samples t-tests indicated that the mean CK values increased following the squat protocol (Pre mean ± SD = 233.2 ± 97.4; Post = 457.0 ± 119.9 IU/L), but not the Wingate anaerobic tests (Pre = 218.5 ± 103.9; Post = 231.7 ± 65.3 IU/L). There was no mean difference between the protocols for both LDH and myoglobin. The primary finding from this pilot study was that performing six sets of barbell back squats using 75% of the 1RM significantly increased blood CK levels in resistance-trained men. Although additional studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm our findings, CK appears to be a more sensitive measure of muscle damage than both LDH and myoglobin

Polymorphisms of the Flavin containing monooxygenase 3 (FMO3) gene do not predispose to essential hypertension in Caucasians.

BACKGROUND: The recessive disorder trimethylaminuria is caused by defects in the FMO3 gene, and may be associated with hypertension. We investigated whether common polymorphisms of the FMO3 gene confer an increased risk for elevated blood pressure and/or essential hypertension. METHODS: FMO3 genotypes (E158K, V257M, E308G) were determined in 387 healthy subjects with ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements, and in a cardiovascular disease population of 1649 individuals, 691(41.9%) of whom had a history of hypertension requiring drug treatment. Haplotypes were determined and their distribution noted. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant association found between any of the 4 common haplotypes and daytime systolic blood pressure in the healthy population (p = 0.65). Neither was a statistically significant association found between the 4 common haplotypes and hypertension status among the cardiovascular disease patients (p = 0.80). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the variants in the FMO3 gene do not predispose to essential hypertension in this population

Disruptive Technologies with Applications in Airline & Marine and Defense Industries

Disruptive Technologies With Applications in Airline, Marine, Defense Industries is our fifth textbook in a series covering the world of Unmanned Vehicle Systems Applications & Operations On Air, Sea, and Land. The authors have expanded their purview beyond UAS / CUAS / UUV systems that we have written extensively about in our previous four textbooks. Our new title shows our concern for the emergence of Disruptive Technologies and how they apply to the Airline, Marine and Defense industries. Emerging technologies are technologies whose development, practical applications, or both are still largely unrealized, such that they are figuratively emerging into prominence from a background of nonexistence or obscurity. A Disruptive technology is one that displaces an established technology and shakes up the industry or a ground-breaking product that creates a completely new industry.That is what our book is about. The authors think we have found technology trends that will replace the status quo or disrupt the conventional technology paradigms.The authors have collaborated to write some explosive chapters in Book 5:Advances in Automation & Human Machine Interface; Social Media as a Battleground in Information Warfare (IW); Robust cyber-security alterative / replacement for the popular Blockchain Algorithm and a clean solution for Ransomware; Advanced sensor technologies that are used by UUVs for munitions characterization, assessment, and classification and counter hostile use of UUVs against U.S. capital assets in the South China Seas. Challenged the status quo and debunked the climate change fraud with verifiable facts; Explodes our minds with nightmare technologies that if they come to fruition may do more harm than good; Propulsion and Fuels: Disruptive Technologies for Submersible Craft Including UUVs; Challenge the ammunition industry by grassroots use of recycled metals; Changing landscape of UAS regulations and drone privacy; and finally, Detailing Bioterrorism Risks, Biodefense, Biological Threat Agents, and the need for advanced sensors to detect these attacks.https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/1038/thumbnail.jp

Negatively Charged Excitons and Photoluminescence in Asymmetric Quantum Well

We study photoluminescence (PL) of charged excitons ($X^-$) in narrow asymmetric quantum wells in high magnetic fields B. The binding of all $X^-$ states strongly depends on the separation $\delta$ of electron and hole layers. The most sensitive is the ``bright'' singlet, whose binding energy decreases quickly with increasing $\delta$ even at relatively small B. As a result, the value of B at which the singlet--triplet crossing occurs in the $X^-$ spectrum also depends on $\delta$ and decreases from 35 T in a symmetric 10 nm GaAs well to 16 T for $\delta=0.5$ nm. Since the critical values of $\delta$ at which different $X^-$ states unbind are surprisingly small compared to the well width, the observation of strongly bound $X^-$ states in an experimental PL spectrum implies virtually no layer displacement in the sample. This casts doubt on the interpretation of PL spectra of heterojunctions in terms of $X^-$ recombination

Effect of Temperature on Cystic Fibrosis Lung Disease and Infections: A Replicated Cohort Study

Progressive lung disease accounts for the majority of morbidity and mortality observed in cystic fibrosis (CF). Beyond secondhand smoke exposure and socio-economic status, the effect of specific environmental factors on CF lung function is largely unknown.Multivariate regression was used to assess correlation between specific environmental factors, the presence of pulmonary pathogens, and variation in lung function using subjects enrolled in the U.S. CF Twin and Sibling Study (CFTSS: n = 1378). Significant associations were tested for replication in the U.S. CF Foundation Patient Registry (CFF: n = 16439), the Australian CF Data Registry (ACFDR: n = 1801), and prospectively ascertained subjects from Australia/New Zealand (ACFBAL: n = 167).In CFTSS subjects, the presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (OR = 1.06 per °F; p<0.001) was associated with warmer annual ambient temperatures. This finding was independently replicated in the CFF (1.02; p<0.001), ACFDR (1.05; p = 0.002), and ACFBAL (1.09; p = 0.003) subjects. Warmer temperatures (-0.34 points per °F; p = 0.005) and public insurance (-6.43 points; p<0.001) were associated with lower lung function in the CFTSS subjects. These findings were replicated in the CFF subjects (temperature: -0.31; p<0.001; insurance: -9.11; p<0.001) and similar in the ACFDR subjects (temperature: -0.23; p = 0.057). The association between temperature and lung function was minimally influenced by P. aeruginosa. Similarly, the association between temperature and P. aeruginosa was largely independent of lung function.Ambient temperature is associated with prevalence of P. aeruginosa and lung function in four independent samples of CF patients from two continents

Berkeley Supernova Ia Program I: Observations, Data Reduction, and Spectroscopic Sample of 582 Low-Redshift Type Ia Supernovae

In this first paper in a series we present 1298 low-redshift (z\leq0.2) optical spectra of 582 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) observed from 1989 through 2008 as part of the Berkeley SN Ia Program (BSNIP). 584 spectra of 199 SNe Ia have well-calibrated light curves with measured distance moduli, and many of the spectra have been corrected for host-galaxy contamination. Most of the data were obtained using the Kast double spectrograph mounted on the Shane 3 m telescope at Lick Observatory and have a typical wavelength range of 3300-10,400 Ang., roughly twice as wide as spectra from most previously published datasets. We present our observing and reduction procedures, and we describe the resulting SN Database (SNDB), which will be an online, public, searchable database containing all of our fully reduced spectra and companion photometry. In addition, we discuss our spectral classification scheme (using the SuperNova IDentification code, SNID; Blondin & Tonry 2007), utilising our newly constructed set of SNID spectral templates. These templates allow us to accurately classify our entire dataset, and by doing so we are able to reclassify a handful of objects as bona fide SNe Ia and a few other objects as members of some of the peculiar SN Ia subtypes. In fact, our dataset includes spectra of nearly 90 spectroscopically peculiar SNe Ia. We also present spectroscopic host-galaxy redshifts of some SNe Ia where these values were previously unknown. [Abridged]Comment: 34 pages, 11 figures, 11 tables, revised version, re-submitted to MNRAS. Spectra will be released in January 2013. The SN Database homepage (http://hercules.berkeley.edu/database/index_public.html) contains the full tables, plots of all spectra, and our new SNID template