Guidance, flight mechanics and trajectory optimization. Volume 1 - Coordinate systems and time measure

Coordinate measuring system for flight control, and trajectory optimizatio

Accessible Creativity with a Comic Spin

Creativity and humour allow people to be expressive and to address topics which they might otherwise avoid or find deeply uncomfortable. One such way to express these sentiments is via comics. Comics have a highly-visual format with relatively little language.They therefore offer a promising opportunity for people who experience challenges with language to express creativity and humour. Most comic tools, however, are not accessible to people with language impairments. In this paper we describe ComicSpin, a comic app designed for people with aphasia. ComicSpin builds upon the literature on supporting creativity by constraining the creative space. We report both the design process and the results of a creative workshop where people with aphasia used ComicSpin. Participants were not only successful in using the app,but were able to create a range of narrative ,humorous and subversive comics

The Chemical and Dynamical Evolution of Isolated Dwarf Galaxies

Using a suite of simulations (Governato et al. 2010) which successfully produce bulgeless (dwarf) disk galaxies, we provide an analysis of their associated cold interstellar media (ISM) and stellar chemical abundance patterns. A preliminary comparison with observations is undertaken, in order to assess whether the properties of the cold gas and chemistry of the stellar components are recovered successfully. To this end, we have extracted the radial and vertical gas density profiles, neutral hydrogen velocity dispersion, and the power spectrum of structure within the ISM. We complement this analysis of the cold gas with a brief examination of the simulations' metallicity distribution functions and the distribution of alpha-elements-to-iron.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the JENAM 2010 Symposium "Dwarf Galaxies: Keys to Galaxy Formation and Evolution" (Lisbon, 9-10 September 2010), P. Papaderos, S. Recchi, G. Hensler (eds.), Springer Verlag (2011), in pres

Evaluation of the Iatrogenic Sciatic Nerve Injury following Double Pelvic Osteotomy Performed with Piezoelectric Cutting Tool in Dogs

(1) Background: The double pelvic osteotomy (DPO) is a prophylactic surgical procedure associated with 0.4% incidence of sciatic nerve injury. The piezoelectric cutting tool is a surgical device able to involve only mineralized tissue avoiding neurovascular tissue and other soft tissue. This study aimed to evaluate the sciatic nerve injury observed in dogs underwent iliac osteotomy performed using the piezoelectric cutting tool. (2) Methods: Dogs underwent DPO performed with piezoelectric cutting tool were included. Neurological assessment was performed 6 and 24 h after surgery and then repeated 12 days, 4 and 8 weeks after surgery. Temporary and or permanent sciatic nerve injury were recorded. (3) Results: 84 DPOs performed in fifty dogs were included. No temporary/permanent neurological disease associated with iatrogenic damage of the sciatic nerve were observed. (4) Conclusions: The iliac osteotomy performed with piezoelectric cutting tool was not associated to iatrogenic sciatic nerve injury

Effects of Non-Circular Motions on Azimuthal Color Gradients

Assuming that density waves trigger star formation, and that young stars preserve the velocity components of the molecular gas where they are born, we analyze the effects that non-circular gas orbits have on color gradients across spiral arms. We try two approaches, one involving semi-analytical solutions for spiral shocks, and another with magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulation data. We find that, if non-circular motions are ignored, the comparison between observed color gradients and stellar population synthesis models would in principle yield pattern speed values that are systematically too high for regions inside corotation, with the difference between the real and the measured pattern speeds increasing with decreasing radius. On the other hand, image processing and pixel averaging result in systematically lower measured spiral pattern speed values, regardless of the kinematics of stellar orbits. The net effect is that roughly the correct pattern speeds are recovered, although the trend of higher measured $\Omega_p$ at lower radii (as expected when non-circular motions exist but are neglected) should still be observed. We examine the Martinez-Garcia et al. (2009) photometric data and confirm that this is indeed the case. The comparison of the size of the systematic pattern speed offset in the data with the predictions of the semi-analytical and MHD models corroborates that spirals are more likely to end at Outer Lindblad Resonance, as these authors had already found.Comment: 32 pages, 15 figures, accepted to Ap

Comic Spin: A Comic Creation Tool Enabling Self-Expression for People with Aphasia

Comics, with their highly visual format, offer a promising opportunity for people who experience challenges with language to express humour and emotion. However, comic creation tools are not designed to be accessible to people with language impairments such as aphasia. We report the design and exploration of Comic Spin , an app for people with aphasia that supports the creation of comic strips by constraining the creative space. We explored the use of Comic Spin in two studies involving creative workshops. Findings showed that people were able to use Comic Spin successfully to create a range of narrative, humorous and subversive comic strips, and that these enabled people to self-express in ways that went beyond the content of the comic strips themselves

Arm & Interarm Star Formation in Spiral Galaxies

We investigate the relationship between spiral arms and star formation in the grand-design spirals NGC 5194 and NGC 628 and in the flocculent spiral NGC 6946. Filtered maps of near-IR (3.6 micron) emission allow us to identify "arm regions" that should correspond to regions of stellar mass density enhancements. The two grand-design spirals show a clear two-armed structure, while NGC 6946 is more complex. We examine these arm and interarm regions, looking at maps that trace recent star formation - far-ultraviolet (GALEX NGS) and 24 micron emission (Spitzer, SINGS) - and cold gas - CO (Heracles) and HI (Things). We find the star formation tracers and CO more concentrated in the spiral arms than the stellar 3.6 micron flux. If we define the spiral arms as the 25% highest pixels in the filtered 3.6 micron images, we find that the majority (60%) of star formation tracers occurs in the interarm regions; this result persists qualitatively even when considering the potential impact of finite data resolution and diffuse interarm 24 micron emission. Even with a generous definition of the arms (45% highest pixels), interarm regions still contribute at least 30% to the integrated star formation rate tracers. We look for evidence that spiral arms trigger star or cloud formation using the ratios of star formation rate (SFR, traced by a combination of FUV and 24 micron emission) to H_2 (traced by CO) and H_2 to HI. Any enhancement of SFR / M(H_2) in the arm region is very small (less than 10%) and the grand design spirals show no enhancement compared to the flocculent target. Arm regions do show a weak enhancement in H_2/HI compared to the interarm regions, but at a fixed gas surface density there is little clear enhancement in the H_2/HI ratio in the arm regions. Thus, it seems that spiral arms may only act to concentrate the gas to higher densities in the arms.Comment: 11 pages, 9 Figures, accepted by Ap

Use of Transversus Abdominis Plane and Intercostal Blocks in Bitches Undergoing Laparoscopic Ovariectomy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

In humans and dogs, loco-regional anesthesia is associated with lower peri-operative opioid consumption and less related side effects. The combination of transversus abdominis plane (TAP) and intercostal blocks can be used to desensitize the entire abdominal wall in dogs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of TAP and intercostal blocks in bitches undergoing laparoscopic ovariectomy. Twenty client-owned bitches were enrolled in this double-blinded randomized controlled trial. After premedication with dexmedetomidine, methadone and ketamine, the animals were randomized into two groups. Dogs in the TAP group received intercostal blocks from T8 to T10 and a TAP block with ropivacaine. Dogs in the FEN group received a fentanyl bolus and a constant rate infusion for the entire duration of the procedure. Intra-operative cardiovascular stability, post-operative pain scores, rescue opioid requirement, dysphoria during recovery, time to attain sternal recumbency and interest in food at 6 h post-extubation were compared. Bitches in the TAP group received a statistically significant lower amount of rescue fentanyl intra-operatively and methadone post-operatively. Pain scores were lower in the TAP group until 6 h post-extubation. No difference was found for dysphoric recoveries, time to attain sternal recumbency and appetite at 6 h post-extubation. No adverse event was recorded for any of the dogs. The combination of TAP and intercostal blocks can be part of an effective multi-modal analgesic strategy in bitches undergoing laparoscopic ovariectomy