Optimum coding techniques for MST radars

The optimum coding technique for MST (mesosphere stratosphere troposphere) radars is that which gives the lowest possible sidelobes in practice and can be implemented without too much computing power. Coding techniques are described in Farley (1985). A technique mentioned briefly there but not fully developed and not in general use is discussed here. This is decoding by means of a filter which is not matched to the transmitted waveform, in order to reduce sidelobes below the level obtained with a matched filter. This is the first part of the technique discussed here; the second part consists of measuring the transmitted waveform and using it as the basis for the decoding filter, thus reducing errors due to imperfections in the transmitter. There are two limitations to this technique. The first is a small loss in signal to noise ratio (SNR), which usually is not significant. The second problem is related to incomplete information received at the lowest ranges. An appendix shows a technique for handling this problem. Finally, it is shown that the use of complementary codes on transmission and nonmatched decoding gives the lowest possible sidelobe level and the minimum loss in SNR due to mismatch

Decoding: Codes and hardware implementation

The MST radars vary considerably from one installation to the next in the type of hardware, operating schedule and associated personnel. Most such systems do not have the computing power to decode in software when the decoding must be performed for each received pulse, as is required for certain sets of phase codes. These sets provide the best signal to sidelobe ratio when operating at the minimum band length allowed by the bandwidth of the transmitter. The development of the hardware phase decoder, and the applicability of each to decoding MST radar signals are discussed. A new design for a decoder which is very inexpensive to build, easy to add to an existing system and is capable of decoding on each received pulse using codes with a band length as short as one microsecond is presented

Impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease: decreased striatal dopamine transporter levels

Objective Impulse control disorders are commonly associated with dopaminergic therapy in Parkinson's disease (PD). PD patients with impulse control disorders demonstrate enhanced dopamine release to conditioned cues and a gambling task on [11C]raclopride positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and enhanced ventral striatal activity to reward on functional MRI. We compared PD patients with impulse control disorders and age-matched and gender-matched controls without impulse control disorders using [123I]FP-CIT (2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-iodophenyl)tropane) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), to assess striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) density. Methods The [123I]FP-CIT binding data in the striatum were compared between 15 PD patients with and 15 without impulse control disorders using independent t tests. Results Those with impulse control disorders showed significantly lower DAT binding in the right striatum with a trend in the left (right: F(1,24)=5.93, p=0.02; left: F(1,24)=3.75, p=0.07) compared to controls. Conclusions Our findings suggest that greater dopaminergic striatal activity in PD patients with impulse control disorders may be partly related to decreased uptake and clearance of dopamine from the synaptic cleft. Whether these findings are related to state or trait effects is not known. These findings dovetail with reports of lower DAT levels secondary to the effects of methamphetamine and alcohol. Although any regulation of DAT by antiparkinsonian medication appears to be modest, PD patients with impulse control disorders may be differentially sensitive to regulatory mechanisms of DAT expression by dopaminergic medications

Inhibition of osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption by N-methylpyrrolidone

Regulation of RANKL (receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand)-induced osteoclast differentiation is of current interest in the development of antiresorptive agents. Osteoclasts are multinucleated cells that play a crucial role in bone resorption. In this study, we investigated the effects of N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) on the regulation of RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis. NMP inhibited RANKL-induced tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase activity and the formation of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive multinucleated cells. The RANKL-induced expression of NFATc1 (nuclear factor of activated T cells, cytoplasmic 1) and c-Fos, which are key transcription factors for osteoclastogenesis, was also reduced by treatment with NMP. Furthermore, NMP induced disruption of the actin rings and decreased the mRNAs of cathepsin K and MMP-9 (matrix metalloproteinase-9), both involved in bone resorption. Taken together, these results suggest that NMP inhibits osteoclast differentiation and attenuates bone resorption. Therefore, NMP could prove useful for the treatment of osteoporosis or other bone diseases associated with excessive bone resorption

Applications of Direct Injection Soft Chemical Ionisation-Mass Spectrometry for the Detection of Pre-blast Smokeless Powder Organic Additives

Analysis of smokeless powders is of interest from forensics and security perspectives. This article reports the detection of smokeless powder organic additives (in their pre-detonation condition), namely the stabiliser diphenylamine and its derivatives 2-nitrodiphenylamine and 4-nitrodiphenylamine, and the additives (used both as stabilisers and plasticisers) methyl centralite and ethyl centralite, by means of swab sampling followed by thermal desorption and direct injection soft chemical ionisation-mass spectrometry. Investigations on the product ions resulting from the reactions of the reagent ions H3O+ and O2+ with additives as a function of reduced electric field are reported. The method was comprehensively evaluated in terms of linearity, sensitivity and precision. For H3O+, the limits of detection (LoD) are in the range of 41-88 pg of additive, for which the accuracy varied between 1.5 and 3.2%, precision varied between 3.7 and 7.3% and linearity showed R20.9991. For O2+, LoD are in the range of 72 to 1.4 ng, with an accuracy of between 2.8 and 4.9% and a precision between 4.5 and 8.6% and R20.9914. The validated methodology was applied to the analysis of commercial pre-blast gun powders from different manufacturers.(VLID)4826148Accepted versio

Lithium-ion battery degradation: how to model it

Predicting lithium-ion battery degradation is worth billions to the global automotive, aviation and energy storage industries, to improve performance and safety and reduce warranty liabilities. However, very few published models of battery degradation explicitly consider the interactions between more than two degradation mechanisms, and none do so within a single electrode. In this paper, the first published attempt to directly couple more than two degradation mechanisms in the negative electrode is reported. The results are used to map different pathways through the complicated path dependent and non-linear degradation space. Four degradation mechanisms are coupled in PyBaMM, an open source modelling environment uniquely developed to allow new physics to be implemented and explored quickly and easily. Crucially it is possible to see 'inside' the model and observe the consequences of the different patterns of degradation, such as loss of lithium inventory and loss of active material. For the same cell, five different pathways that can result in end-of-life have already been found, depending on how the cell is used. Such information would enable a product designer to either extend life or predict life based upon the usage pattern. However, parameterization of the degradation models remains as a major challenge, and requires the attention of the international battery community

Designing a norepinephrine optical tracer for imaging individual noradrenergic synapses and their activity in vivo

Norepinephrine is a monoamine neurotransmitter with a wide repertoire of physiological roles in the peripheral and central nervous systems. There are, however, no experimental means to study functional properties of individual noradrenergic synapses in the brain. Development of new approaches for imaging synaptic neurotransmission is of fundamental importance to study specific synaptic changes that occur during learning, behavior, and pathological processes. Here, we introduce fluorescent false neurotransmitter 270 (FFN270), a fluorescent tracer of norepinephrine. As a fluorescent substrate of the norepinephrine and vesicular monoamine transporters, FFN270 labels noradrenergic neurons and their synaptic vesicles, and enables imaging synaptic vesicle content release from specific axonal sites in living rodents. Combining FFN270 imaging and optogenetic stimulation, we find heterogeneous release properties of noradrenergic synapses in the somatosensory cortex, including low and high releasing populations. Through systemic amphetamine administration, we observe rapid release of cortical noradrenergic vesicular content, providing insight into the drug’s effect

Anxiety and Depression: Can Diet Help?

This fact sheet explains the role of diet with anxiety and depression

SHAPE BASED CLASSIFICATION OF SEISMIC BUILDING STRUCTURAL TYPES

This paper investigates automatic prediction of seismic building structural types described by the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) taxonomy, by combining remote sensing, cadastral and inspection data in a supervised machine learning approach. Our focus lies on the extraction of detailed geometric information from a point cloud gained by aerial laser scanning. To describe the geometric shape of a building we apply Shape-DNA, a spectral shape descriptor based on the eigenvalues of the Laplace-Beltrami operator. In a first experiment on synthetically generated building stock we succeed in predicting the roof type of different buildings with accuracies above 80 %, only relying on the Shape-DNA. The roof type of a building thereby serves as an example of a relevant feature for predicting GEM attributes, which cannot easily be identified and described by using traditional methods for shape analysis of buildings. Further research is necessary in order to explore the usability of Shape-DNA on real building data. In a second experiment we use real-world data of buildings located in the Groningen region in the Netherlands. Here we can automatically predict six GEM attributes, such as the type of lateral load resisting system, with accuracies above 75 % only by taking a buildings footprint area and year of construction into account