363 research outputs found

    Effects of Interplanetary Dust on the LISA drag-free Constellation

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    The analysis of non-radiative sources of static or time-dependent gravitational fields in the Solar System is crucial to accurately estimate the free-fall orbits of the LISA space mission. In particular, we take into account the gravitational effects of Interplanetary Dust (ID) on the spacecraft trajectories. The perturbing gravitational field has been calculated for some ID density distributions that fit the observed zodiacal light. Then we integrated the Gauss planetary equations to get the deviations from the LISA keplerian orbits around the Sun. This analysis can be eventually extended to Local Dark Matter (LDM), as gravitational fields are expected to be similar for ID and LDM distributions. Under some strong assumptions on the displacement noise at very low frequency, the Doppler data collected during the whole LISA mission could provide upper limits on ID and LDM densities.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, to be published on the special issue of "Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy" on the CELMEC V conferenc

    Brain-Computer Interface Games: Towards a Framework

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    The brain-computer interface (BCI) community started to consider games as potential applications while the games community started to consider BCI as a game controller. However, there is a discrepancy between the BCI games developed by the two communities. In this paper, we propose a preliminary BCI games framework that we constructed with respect to the research conducted in both the BCI and the games communities. Developers can situate their BCI games within this framework and benefit from the guidelines we provide and also extend the framework further

    On Optimal Two-Impulse Earth-Moon Transfers in a Four-Body Model

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    In this paper two-impulse Earth-Moon transfers are treated in the restricted four-body problem with the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon as primaries. The problem is formulated with mathematical means and solved through direct transcription and multiple shooting strategy. Thousands of solutions are found, which make it possible to frame known cases as special points of a more general picture. Families of solutions are defined and characterized, and their features are discussed. The methodology described in this paper is useful to perform trade-off analyses, where many solutions have to be produced and assessed

    Less is more: possibility and necessity as centres of gravity in a usage-based classification of core modals in Polish

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    In this paper we present the results of an empirical study into the cognitive reality of existing classifications of modality using Polish data. We analyzed random samples of 250 independent observations for the 7 most frequent modal words (móc, można, musieć, należy, powinien, trzeba, wolno), extracted from the Polish national corpus. Observations were annotated for modal type according to a number of classifications, including van der Auwera and Plungian (1998), as well as for morphological, syntactic and semantic properties using the Behavioral Profiling approach (Divjak and Gries 2006). Multiple correspondence analysis and (polytomous) regression models were used to determine how well modal type and usage align. These corpus-based findings were validated experimentally. In a forced choice task, naive native speakers were exposed to definitions and prototypical examples of modal types or functions, then labeled a number of authentic corpus sentences accordingly. In the sorting task, naive native speakers sorted authentic corpus sentences into semantically coherent groups. We discuss the results of our empirical study as well as the issues involved in building usage-based accounts on traditional linguistic classifications

    Lubiprostone ameliorates the cystic fibrosis mouse intestinal phenotype

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations in the <it>CFTR </it>gene that impair the function of CFTR, a cAMP-regulated anion channel. In the small intestine loss of CFTR function creates a dehydrated, acidic luminal environment which is believed to cause an accumulation of mucus, a phenotype characteristic of CF. CF mice have small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, an altered innate immune response, and impaired intestinal transit. We investigated whether lubiprostone, which can activate the CLC2 Cl<sup>- </sup>channel, would improve the intestinal phenotype in CF mice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p><it>Cftr<sup>tm1UNC </sup></it>(CF) and wildtype (WT) littermate mice on the C57BL/6J background were used. Lubiprostone (10 μg/kg-day) was administered by gavage for two weeks. Mucus accumulation was estimated from crypt lumen widths in periodic acid-Schiff base, Alcian blue stained sections. Luminal bacterial load was measured by qPCR for the bacterial 16<it>S </it>gene. Gastric emptying and small intestinal transit in fasted mice were assessed using gavaged rhodamine dextran. Gene expression was evaluated by Affymetrix Mouse430 2.0 microarray and qRT-PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Crypt width in control CF mice was 700% that of WT mice (<it>P </it>< 0.001). Lubiprostone did not affect WT crypt width but, unexpectedly, increased CF crypt width 22% (<it>P </it>= 0.001). Lubiprostone increased bacterial load in WT mice to 490% of WT control levels (<it>P </it>= 0.008). Conversely, lubiprostone decreased bacterial overgrowth in CF mice by 60% (<it>P </it>= 0.005). Lubiprostone increased gastric emptying at 20 min postgavage in both WT (<it>P </it>< 0.001) and CF mice (<it>P </it>< 0.001). Lubiprostone enhanced small intestinal transit in WT mice (<it>P </it>= 0.024) but not in CF mice (<it>P </it>= 0.377). Among other innate immune markers, expression of mast cell genes was elevated 4-to 40-fold in the CF intestine as compared to WT, and lubiprostone treatment of CF mice decreased expression to WT control levels.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results indicate that lubiprostone has some benefits for the CF intestinal phenotype, especially on bacterial overgrowth and the innate immune response. The unexpected observation of increased mucus accumulation in the crypts of lubiprostone-treated CF mice suggests the possibility that lubiprostone increases mucus secretion.</p

    Concurrent Oral 1 - Rheumatoid Arthritis: Treatment [OP4-OP9]: OP4. Inhibition of Radiographic Progression and Improvements in Physical Function at 2 Years, with Increasing Clinical Efficacy Over Time, in Rheumatoid Arthritis (Ra) Patients Treated with Tocilizumab (Tcz): The Lithe Study

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    Background: Patients with moderate to severe RA who remained on methotrexate (MTX) despite inadequate response were treated with TCZ in a double-blind, randomized, controlled phase 3 trial. Results of a 2-year planned analysis from this study are presented. Methods: Patients were randomized to treatment with TCZ 4 mg/kg + MTX (TCZ4), TCZ 8 mg/kg + MTX (TCZ8) or placebo + MTX (CON) every 4 weeks. If patients failed to respond ( 60% of patients and the DAS28 remission (DAS28 < 2.6) rate was 48% at week 52 and continued to increase to week 104. By week 52, patients treated with TCZ8 had clinically significant improvements in SJC that were maintained through week 104. Rates per 100 PY for adverse events (AEs) were higher in TCZ8 and TCZ4 (263.6, 275.4) vs CON patients (251.4) while rates for serious AEs were comparable (11.4, 12.1, 10.9, respectively). Rates per 100 PY of AEs leading to withdrawal (7.4, 32.5, 4.8) and treatment modification (8.4, 30.7, 20.4) were higher in TCZ8 and TCZ4 vs CON patients, respectively and death rates were comparable (0.6, 0.2, 0.4). Conclusions: Treatment with TCZ + MTX inhibits radiographic progression over 2 years and improves physical function as shown by DAS28 remission, LDAS and low SJC, with a manageable safety profile. Disclosure statement: E.A., F. Hoffmann-La Roche - Employee. P.A., F. Hoffmann-La Roche - Employee. R.B.-V., F. Hoffmann-La Roche - Honoraria. R.F., Genentech - Research Funding, Honoraria. J.K., F. Hoffmann-La Roche - Research funding, Honorari
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