Encoding information structure in Yucatec Maya : on the Interplay of prosody and syntax

The aim of this paper is to outline the means for encoding information structure in Yucatec Maya. Yucatec Maya is a tone language, displaying a three-fold opposition in the tonal realization of syllables. From the morpho-syntactic point of view, the grammar of Yucatec Maya contains morphological (topic affixes, morphological marking of out-of-focus predicates) and syntactic (designated positions) means to uniquely specify syntactic constructions for their information structure. After a descriptive overview of these phenomena, we present experimental evidence which reveals the impact of the nonavailability of prosodic alternatives on the choice of syntactic constructions in language production

Flight testing Time and Energy Managed Operations (TEMO)

The expected growth in air traffic combined with an increased public concern for the environment, have forced legislators to rethink the current air traffic system design. The current air traffic system operates at its capacity limits and is expected to lead to increased delays if traffic levels grow even further. Both in the United States and Europe, research projects have been initiated to develop the future Air Transportation System (ATS) to address capacity, and environmental, safety and economic issues. To address the environmental issues during descent and approach, a novel Continuous Descent Operations (CDO) concept, named Time and Energy Managed Operations (TEMO), has been developed co-sponsored by the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking. It uses energy principles to reduce fuel burn, gaseous emissions and noise nuisance whilst maintaining runway capacity. Different from other CDO concepts, TEMO optimizes the descent by using energy management to achieve a continuous engine-idle descent, while satisfying time constraints on both the Initial Approach Fix (IAF) and the runway threshold. As such, TEMO uses timemetering at two control points to facilitate flow management and arrival spacing. TEMO is in line with SESAR step 2 capabilities, since it proposes 4D trajectory management and is aimed at providing significant environmental benefits in the arrival phase without negatively affecting throughput, even in high density and peak-hour operations. In particular, TEMO addresses SESAR operational improvement (OI) TS-103: Controlled Time of Arrival (CTA) through use of datalink [1]. TEMO has been validated starting from initial performance batch studies at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3, up to Human-in-the-Loop studies in realistic environments using a moving base flight simulator at TRL 5 ([2]-[6]). In this paper the definition, preparation, performance and analysis of a flight test experiment is described with the objective to demonstrate the ability of the TEMO algorithm to provide accurate and safe aircraft guidance toward the Initial Approach Fix (IAF), and further down to the Stabilization Point (1000 ft AGL), to demonstrate the ability of the TEMO algorithm to meet absolute time requirements at IAF and/or runway threshold and to evaluate the performance of the system under test (e.g. fuel usage).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Time and Energy Managed Operations (TEMO): Cessna Citation II Flight Trials

From 9-26 October 2015 the Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) in cooperation with Delft University of Technology (DUT) has executed Clean Sky flight trials with the Cessna Citation II research aircraft. The trials consisted of several descents and approaches at the Eelde airport near Groningen, demonstrating the TEMO (Time and Energy Managed Operations) concept developed in the Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiative research programme as part of the Systems for Green Operations (SGO) Integrated Technology Demonstrator. A TEMO descent aims to achieve an energy-managed idle-thrust continuous descent operation (CDO) while satisfying ATC time constraints, to maintain runway throughput. An optimal descent plan is calculated with an advanced on-board real-time aircraft trajectory optimisation algorithm considering forecasted weather and aircraft performance. The optimised descent plan was executed using the speed-on-elevator mode of an experimental Fly-By-Wire (FBW) system connected to the pitch servo motor of the Cessna Citation II aircraft. Several TEMO conceptual variants have been flown. It has been demonstrated that the TEMO concept enables arrival with timing errors below 10 seconds. The project was realised with the support of CONCORDE partners Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) and PildoLabs from Barcelona, and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

An heuristic filtering tool to identify phenotype-associated genetic variants applied to human intellectual disability and canine coat colors

Background: Identification of one or several disease causing variant(s) from the large collection of variants present in an individual is often achieved by the sequential use of heuristic filters. The recent development of whole exome sequencing enrichment designs for several non-model species created the need for a species-independent, fast and versatile analysis tool, capable of tackling a wide variety of standard and more complex inheritance models. With this aim, we developed "Mendelian", an R-package that can be used for heuristic variant filtering. Results: The R-package Mendelian offers fast and convenient filters to analyze putative variants for both recessive and dominant models of inheritance, with variable degrees of penetrance and detectance. Analysis of trios is supported. Filtering against variant databases and annotation of variants is also included. This package is not species specific and supports parallel computation. We validated this package by reanalyzing data from a whole exome sequencing experiment on intellectual disability in humans. In a second example, we identified the mutations responsible for coat color in the dog. This is the first example of whole exome sequencing without prior mapping in the dog. Conclusion: We developed an R-package that enables the identification of disease-causing variants from the long list of variants called in sequencing experiments. The software and a detailed manual are available at https://github.com/BartBroeckx/Mendelian

Development and performance of a targeted whole exome sequencing enrichment kit for the dog (Canis Familiaris Build 3.1)

Whole exome sequencing is a technique that aims to selectively sequence all exons of protein-coding genes. A canine whole exome sequencing enrichment kit was designed based on the latest canine reference genome (build 3.1.72). Its performance was tested by sequencing 2 exome captures, each consisting of 4 pre-capture pooled, barcoded Illumina libraries on an Illumina HiSeq 2500. At an average sequencing depth of 102x, 83 to 86% of the target regions were completely sequenced with a minimum coverage of five and 90% of the reads mapped on the target regions. Additionally, it is shown that the reproducibility within and between captures is high and that pooling four samples per capture is a valid option. Overall, we have demonstrated the strong performance of this WES enrichment kit and are confident it will be a valuable tool in future disease association studies

Contribution of recent transgenic models and transcriptional profiling studies to our understanding of the mechanisms by which androgens control spermatogenesis

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Human-in-the-loop performance assessment of optimized descents with time Constraints. Results from full motion flight simulation and a flight testing campaign

TEMO (time and energy managed operations) is a new concept that aims to optimise continuous descent operations, while fulfilling with a very high accuracy controlled time of arrival (CTA) constraints at different metering fixes. This paper presents the results and main lessons learnt from two human-in- the-loop experiments that aimed to validate the TEMO trajectory planning and guidance algorithm: a full motion flight simulation experiment and a flight testing campaign. Positive results were obtained from the experiments, regarding the feasibility of the concept and acceptance from the pilots. TEMO descents typically showed lower fuel figures than conventional step-down descents. Moreover, RTA adherence at the initial approach fix (IAF) showed very good performance. Time accuracy at the runway threshold, however, did not fulfil the (very challenging) time target accuracies. Further work is needed to enhance the current algorithm once the aircraft is established on the instrument landing system glideslope.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Comparison of various guidance strategies to achieve time constraints in optimal descents

Continuous Descent Operations (CDOs) have been subject of extensive research in the last decades. Even if proving successful in reducing the environmental impact [1], such operations suffer from a well-known drawback: the loss of predictability from the Air Traffic Control (ATC) point of view, in terms of overfly-times at certain fixes along the route. Consequently, existing CDO implementations require ATC to introduce additional sequencing buffers to ensure safe separation among aircraft, thus reducing airport capacity. For all these reasons, in busy airports, CDOs are only feasible in off-peak hours, when the traffic demand is low [2]. In other to face this issue, several Air Traffic Management (ATM) concepts have been proposed that aim to enable CDOs also in high traffic demand scenarios. For instance, several works investigated the use of fixed Fight-Path-Angle (FPA) descents with time control to improve both spatial and temporal predictability [3, 4]. The disadvantage of fixed FPA descents is that predictability is achieved at the cost of thrust settings that might be different from idle. Another potential approach to enable CDOs in dense traffic scenarios consists of assigning controlled times of arrival (CTAs) to each aircraft at some strategic fixes for separation, negotiation starts with the on-board computation of the earliest and latest achievable times of arrival at the metering fix, and the subsequent down-link of this information to the ground automation system. Based on this feasible time window and the surrounding traffic a CTA is computed by a ground-based support tool, such as an arrival manager. Then, the incoming CTA is entered on-board as a Required Time of Arrival (RTA) into the FMS, and the on-board trajectory planner computes a new (optimal) trajectory plan starting at the current state, while satisfying the RTA and other operational constraints (e.g., altitude and speed constraints) [5].Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Inter-observer agreement on the radiographic assessment of canine hip dysplasia

In order to gain insight into the process of evaluating the hip quality of potential breeding dogs, we estimated inter-observer agreement on the assessability of radiographs, on the morphological observations and on the final scoring of canine hip dysplasia. One hundred radiographs were assessed in terms of their radiographic quality and the morphological traits of the hips by six individual observers and by two groups of two observers each. These six observers and two groups were also asked to evaluate the radiographs in accordance with the FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale) instructions. There was no consistent pattern between observers in the evaluation of the technical quality of the radiographs. For some of the observers there was a small amount of agreement in the evaluation of the morphological characteristics. The agreement between the evaluations of the two groups was greater (harmonization between observers). The level of agreement in final scoring (FCI; A, B, C, D, E) was low between some observers, but acceptable between others. These results suggest that the assessment of the quality of ventrodorsal extended radiographs of hips, the assessment of the morphological traits of hips and the final scoring of the hip quality is highly variable between observers, ranging from total disagreement to nearly full agreement. Solutions must be found for maximizing the agreement between the different observers

Glycosylated hemoglobin as a screening test for hyperglycemia in antipsychotic-treated patients: A follow-up study

Purpose: To assess the point prevalence of undetected prediabetes (preDM) and diabetes mellitus (DM) in patients treated with antipsychotics and to compare metabolic parameters between patients with normoglycemia (NG), preDM, and DM. Furthermore, conversion rates for preDM and DM were determined in a 1-year follow-up.Patients and methods: In a naturalistic cohort of 169 patients, fasting glucose (FG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) criteria were applied at baseline and at follow-up after 1 year. A distinction was made between baseline patients diagnosed according to FG (B-FG) and those diagnosed according to HbA1c (B-HbA1c). Conversion rates in the 1-year follow-up were compared between B-FG and B-HbA1c.Results: At baseline, preDM and DM were present in 39% and 8%, respectively. As compared to patients with NG, metabolic syndrome was significantly more prevalent in patients with preDM (62% vs 31%). Although the majority of patients were identified by the FG criterion, HbA1c contributed significantly, especially to the number of patients diagnosed with preDM (32%). Regarding the patients with preDM, conversion rates to NG were much higher in the B-FG group than in the B-HbA1c group (72% vs 18%). In patients diagnosed with DM, conversion rates were found for B-FG only.Conclusion: PreDM and DM are highly prevalent in psychiatric patients treated with antipsychotic drugs. HbA1c was shown to be a more stable parameter in identifying psychiatric patients with (an increased risk for) DM, and it should therefore be included in future screening instruments