45 research outputs found

    DECam integration tests on telescope simulator

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    The Dark Energy Survey (DES) is a next generation optical survey aimed at measuring the expansion history of the universe using four probes: weak gravitational lensing, galaxy cluster counts, baryon acoustic oscillations, and Type Ia supernovae. To perform the survey, the DES Collaboration is building the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), a 3 square degree, 570 Megapixel CCD camera which will be mounted at the Blanco 4-meter telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter- American Observatory. DES will survey 5000 square degrees of the southern galactic cap in 5 filters (g, r, i, z, Y). DECam will be comprised of 74 250 micron thick fully depleted CCDs: 62 2k x 4k CCDs for imaging and 12 2k x 2k CCDs for guiding and focus. Construction of DECam is nearing completion. In order to verify that the camera meets technical specifications for DES and to reduce the time required to commission the instrument, we have constructed a full sized telescope simulator and performed full system testing and integration prior to shipping. To complete this comprehensive test phase we have simulated a DES observing run in which we have collected 4 nights worth of data. We report on the results of these unique tests performed for the DECam and its impact on the experiments progress.Comment: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Technology and Instrumentation in Particle Physics (TIPP 2011). To appear in Physics Procedia. 8 pages, 3 figure

    An architectural framework for distributed naval ship systems

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    This paper introduces a framework for analyzing distributed ship systems. The increase in interconnected and interdependent systems aboard modern naval vessels has significantly increased their complexity, making them more vulnerable to cascading failures and emergent behavior that arise only once the system is complete and in operation. There is a need for a systematic approach to describe and analyze distributed systems at the conceptual stage for naval vessels. Understanding the relationships between various aspects of these distributed systems is crucial for uninterrupted naval operations and vessel survivability. The framework introduced in this paper decomposes information about an individual system into three views: the physical, logical, and operational architectural representations. These representations describe the spatial and functional relationships of the system, together with their temporal behavior characteristics. This paper defines how these primary architectural representations are used to describe a system, the interrelations between the architectural blocks, and how those blocks fit together. A list of defined terms is presented, and a preliminary set of requirements for specific design tools to model these architectures is discussed. A practical application is introduced to illustrate how the framework can be used to describe the delivery of power to a high energy weapon

    PreCam, a Precursor Observational Campaign for Calibration of the Dark Energy Survey

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    PreCam, a precursor observational campaign supporting the Dark Energy Survey (DES), is designed to produce a photometric and astrometric catalog of nearly a hundred thousand standard stars within the DES footprint, while the PreCam instrument also serves as a prototype testbed for the Dark Energy Camera (DECam)'s hardware and software. This catalog represents a potential 100-fold increase in Southern Hemisphere photometric standard stars, and therefore will be an important component in the calibration of the Dark Energy Survey. We provide details on the PreCam instrument's design, construction and testing, as well as results from a subset of the 51 nights of PreCam survey observations on the University of Michigan Department of Astronomy's Curtis-Schmidt telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. We briefly describe the preliminary data processing pipeline that has been developed for PreCam data and the preliminary results of the instrument performance, as well as astrometry and photometry of a sample of stars previously included in other southern sky surveys.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures, submitted to PAS

    Treatment of advanced, recurrent, resistant to previous treatments basal and squamous cell skin carcinomas with a synergistic formulation of interferons. Open, prospective study

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Aggressive non-melanoma skin cancer (deeply infiltrating, recurrent, and morphea form lesions) are therapeutically challenging because they require considerable tissue loss and may demand radical disfiguring surgery. Interferons (IFN) may provide a non-surgical approach to the management of these tumors. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of a formulation containing IFNs-α and -γ in synergistic proportions on patients with recurrent, advanced basal cell (BCC) or squamous cell skin carcinomas (SCSC).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients with extensive, recurrent, resistant to other procedures BCC or SCSC received the IFN formulation peri- and intralesionally, three times per week for 3 weeks. They had been previously treated with surgery and/or radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Thirteen weeks after the end of treatment, the original lesion sites were examined for histological evidence of remaining tumor.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sixteen elder (median 70 years-old) patients were included. They beared 12 BCC and 4 SCSC ranging from 1.5 to 12.5 cm in the longest dimension. At the end of treatment 47% CR (complete tumor elimination), 40% PR (>30% tumor reduction), and 13% stable disease were obtained. None of the patients relapsed during the treatment period. The median duration of the response was 38 months. Only one patient with complete response had relapsed until today. Principal adverse reactions were influenza-like symptoms well known to occur with interferon therapy, which were well tolerated.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The peri- and intralesional combination of IFNs-α and -γ was safe and showed effect for the treatment of advanced, recurrent and resistant to previous treatments of BCC and SCSC in elder patients. This is the first report of such treatment in patients with advance non-melanoma skin cancer. The encouraging result justifies further confirmatory trials.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials RPCEC00000052.</p

    Exome-wide association study to identify rare variants influencing COVID-19 outcomes : Results from the Host Genetics Initiative

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    Publisher Copyright: Copyright: © 2022 Butler-Laporte et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Host genetics is a key determinant of COVID-19 outcomes. Previously, the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative genome-wide association study used common variants to identify multiple loci associated with COVID-19 outcomes. However, variants with the largest impact on COVID-19 outcomes are expected to be rare in the population. Hence, studying rare variants may provide additional insights into disease susceptibility and pathogenesis, thereby informing therapeutics development. Here, we combined whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing from 21 cohorts across 12 countries and performed rare variant exome-wide burden analyses for COVID-19 outcomes. In an analysis of 5,085 severe disease cases and 571,737 controls, we observed that carrying a rare deleterious variant in the SARS-CoV-2 sensor toll-like receptor TLR7 (on chromosome X) was associated with a 5.3-fold increase in severe disease (95% CI: 2.75–10.05, p = 5.41x10-7). This association was consistent across sexes. These results further support TLR7 as a genetic determinant of severe disease and suggest that larger studies on rare variants influencing COVID-19 outcomes could provide additional insights.Peer reviewe

    Exome-wide association study to identify rare variants influencing COVID-19 outcomes: Results from the Host Genetics Initiative

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    Patterns of Thought

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    We have no system from ancient China comparable to Aristotelian logic or any other such system developed in the ancient Mediterranean world, but it cannot be said that the Confucian-era texts do not show that their authors were concerned to make cogent arguments—if not “arguments” in the strictly Western logical sense. We explore a way that might have satisfied the goal of presenting reasoned cases by analyzing a sample from a text known as the&nbsp;Da Xue(the&nbsp;Way of Great Learning), one of the five Confucian Classics. The Confucian Classics, especially the&nbsp;Da Xue, were roughly contemporary with the origins of Greek logical thought. This being so, they offer good examples of sophisticated, well-thought-out philosophical texts which were not subjected to Greek logical processes. The reader should be cautioned that we are not saying that this or any other classical Chinese text is illogical; we describe what we mean when we say that these texts exhibit a non-logical reasoning system. We assume that the Chinese author did not mimic other texts or oral statements without considerable thought. The text, which shows no non-Chinese influence, is heavily patterned. We contend that the patterns in the text are more than literary devices, but demonstrate non-Western reasoning.Nuo senovės Kinijos laikų nebuvo sukurta sistemos, prilyginamos Aristotelio logikai, ar kokios kitos sistemos, sukurtos senajame Viduržemio jūros pasaulyje. Tačiau mąstant pagal vakarietišką logiką, sunku neteigti, kad Konfucijaus laikų tekstai nedemonstruoja jų autorių pastangų pateikti nenuginčijamus argumentus ar net „įrodymus“. Straipsnyje analizuojamas pavyzdys iš&nbsp;Da Xue&nbsp;teksto&nbsp;Didžiojo mokymosi būdas. Tai vienas iš penkių klasikinių Konfucijaus laikų kūrinių. Analizuojant tekstą, ieškoma būdo, kuris galėtų atitikti motyvuotų faktų pristatymo tikslą. Konfucijaus laikų klasikiniai tekstai, ypač&nbsp;Da Xue, vystėsi kone tuo pačiu laiku su graikų logine mintimi. Straipsnyje siūlomi geri sudėtingų, gerai apgalvotų filosofinių tekstų pavyzdžiai, nepaveikti graikų loginės minties proceso.&nbsp;Skaitytojui būtina žinoti, jog autoriai nemano, kad šis ar kiti klasikiniai kinų tekstai yra nelogiški. Jie atskleidžia neloginio argumentavimo sistemą. Manytina, kad kinų autorius be rimto pagrindimo neimituoja kitų tekstų ar žodinių pasakymų.&nbsp;Tekstas, kuriame nejaučiama Kinijos įtaka, sunkiai modeliuojamas. Straipsnyje tvirtinama, kad modeliai tekste, demonstruojantys nevakarietišką argumentaciją, yra daugiau nei literatūrinė priemonė

    Analysis of a Microwave Responder System

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    Radio telemetry as it is used today requires active devices for monitoring and relaying information from a remote site. A passive device for short and medium range telemetry is introduced along with a theoretical analysis of the proposed system

    The Pursuit of Eros in Plato’s Symposium and Hedwig and the Angry Inch

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    Simulation of a lens antenna using a parallelized version of an FDTD simulator

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    This article is evaluating parallel processing in electromagnetic simulations for computationally demanding application, using developed FDTD code. A waveguide lens antenna which is complex and large in terms of wavelengths has been simulated and a prototype has been fabricated and measured. Simulated and measured radiation patterns are compared and showing good agreement. The approach of using parallel version of Quick Wave-3D software on a popular multi-CPU shared-memory computer has been found suitable for demanding simulations of complex structures
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