Augmented Reality based monitoring of the remote-lab

© 2014 IEEE. Augmented Reality technology approach has been being adopted within the education sector. The advanced technology tools in many classes have the potential changed of users' attitudes toward the pedagogical and psychological objectives and goals. Moreover, augmented reality has not elicited so much attention within the corridors of education sector as it is now. In order to improve the interactive effectiveness in the smart classroom environment, there is a demand to tailor the innovation technology and align it with every changing requirements and capabilities of various users. Consequently, the educators are increasingly finding augmented reality suitable for deployment in education. In this paper, a project shows how Augmented Reality utilised with overlay Smart-Grid can support the learning process in attractive methods for monitoring events of captured scenes in remote-lab such as video stream, Web-link from smart devices' camera

Development of an expert system to assist in Resource Management

© 2014 IEEE. This paper aims to demonstrate an idea of utilizing Kohonen Maps as a tool to portray and study resource allocations when constructing an expert system to assist in Resource Management. The context of work encompasses resource allocation and management tasks related to design of courses, as well as, various teaching and learning projects. The key aspect is to show the design of an expert system for resource allocation with the use of Kohonen Maps as an alternative way to visualise the demand and availability of project resources

Protease inhibitors targeting coronavirus and filovirus entry.

In order to gain entry into cells, diverse viruses, including Ebola virus, SARS-coronavirus and the emerging MERS-coronavirus, depend on activation of their envelope glycoproteins by host cell proteases. The respective enzymes are thus excellent targets for antiviral intervention. In cell culture, activation of Ebola virus, as well as SARS- and MERS-coronavirus can be accomplished by the endosomal cysteine proteases, cathepsin L (CTSL) and cathepsin B (CTSB). In addition, SARS- and MERS-coronavirus can use serine proteases localized at the cell surface, for their activation. However, it is currently unclear which protease(s) facilitate viral spread in the infected host. We report here that the cysteine protease inhibitor K11777, ((2S)-N-[(1E,3S)-1-(benzenesulfonyl)-5-phenylpent-1-en-3-yl]-2-{[(E)-4-methylpiperazine-1-carbonyl]amino}-3-phenylpropanamide) and closely-related vinylsulfones act as broad-spectrum antivirals by targeting cathepsin-mediated cell entry. K11777 is already in advanced stages of development for a number of parasitic diseases, such as Chagas disease, and has proven to be safe and effective in a range of animal models. K11777 inhibition of SARS-CoV and Ebola virus entry was observed in the sub-nanomolar range. In order to assess whether cysteine or serine proteases promote viral spread in the host, we compared the antiviral activity of an optimized K11777-derivative with that of camostat, an inhibitor of TMPRSS2 and related serine proteases. Employing a pathogenic animal model of SARS-CoV infection, we demonstrated that viral spread and pathogenesis of SARS-CoV is driven by serine rather than cysteine proteases and can be effectively prevented by camostat. Camostat has been clinically used to treat chronic pancreatitis, and thus represents an exciting potential therapeutic for respiratory coronavirus infections. Our results indicate that camostat, or similar serine protease inhibitors, might be an effective option for treatment of SARS and potentially MERS, while vinyl sulfone-based inhibitors are excellent lead candidates for Ebola virus therapeutics

Satellite laser ranging work at the Goddard Space Flight Center

Laser ranging systems, their range and accuracy capabilities, and planned improvements for future systems are discussed, the systems include one fixed and two mobile lasers ranging systems. They have demonstrated better than 10 cm accuracy both on a carefully surveyed ground range and in regular satellite ranging operations. They are capable of ranging to all currently launched retroreflector equipped satellites with the exception of Timation III. A third mobile system is discussed which will be accurate to better than 5 cm and will be capable of ranging to distant satellites such as Timation III and LAGEOS

The Role of Cognition and Social Functioning as Predictors in the Transition to Psychosis for Youth With Attenuated Psychotic Symptoms

In the literature, there have been several attempts to develop prediction models for youth who are at clinical high risk (CHR) of developing psychosis. Although there are no specific clinical or demographic variables that seem to consistently predict the later transition to psychosis in those CHR youth, in addition to attenuated psychotic symptoms, the most commonly occuring predictors tend to be poor social functioning and certain cognitive tasks. Unfortunately, there has been little attempt to replicate alogorithms. A recently published article by Cornblatt et al suggested that, for individuals with attentuated psychotic symptoms (APS), disorganized communication, suspiciousness, verbal memory, and a decline in social functioning were the best predictors of later transition to psychosis (the RAP model). The purpose of this article was to first test the prediction model of Cornblatt et al with a new sample of individuals with APS from the PREDICT study. The RAP model was not the best fit for the PREDICT data. However, using other variables from PREDICT, it was demonstrated that unusual thought content, disorganized communication, baseline social functioning, verbal fluency, and memory, processing speed and age were predictors of later transition to psychosis in the PREDICT sample. Although the predictors were different in these 2 models, both supported that disorganized communication, poor social functioning, and verbal memory, were good candidates as predictors for later conversion to psychosis

Neuronal precursor cells with dopaminergic commitment in the rostral migratory stream of the mouse

Neuroblasts born in the subventricular zone of adult mammals migrate via the rostral migratory stream into the granular cell layer or periglomerular layer of the olfactory bulb to differentiate into interneurons. To analyze if new neurons in the granular cell layer or periglomerular layer have different origins, we inserted a physical barrier into the rostral migratory stream, depleted cell proliferation with cytarabine infusions, labeled newborn cells with bromodeoxyuridine, and sacrificed mice after short-term (0, 2, or 14 days) or long-term (55 or 105 days) intervals. After short-term survival, the subventricular zone and rostral migratory stream rapidly repopulated with bromodeoxyuridine(+) cells after cytarabine-induced depletion. Nestin, glial fibrillary acidic protein and the PAX6 were expressed in bromodeoxyuridine(+) cells within the rostral migratory stream downstream of the physical barrier. After long-term survival after physical barrier implantation, bromodeoxyuridine(+) neurons were significantly reduced in the granular cell layer, but bromodeoxyuridine(+) and dopaminergic neurons in the periglomerular layer remained unaffected by the physical barrier. Thus, newborn neurons for the granular cell layer are mainly recruited from neural stem cells located in the subventricular zone, but new neurons for the periglomerular layer with dopaminergic predisposition can rise as well from neuronal stem or precursor cells in the rostral migratory stream

Localización de recursos distribuidos en redes eléctricas rurales-urbanas marginales considerando el índice de predicción de colapso de tensión

This research focuses on the georeferenced location of distributed resources, specifically the injection of active power through distributed generation. A rural-urban marginal feeder of a distribution company in Ecuador with georeferenced information was taken as a case study, which has a three-phase primary link at a medium voltage and several single-phase branches at a medium voltage of great length to supply users who are far away from the local company's network. Consequently, to analyze the behavior of the electrical network, the Cymdist software was used to perform simulations in a steady state without and with the insertion of distributed generation. For the location of the distributed generation, the voltage collapse prediction index was used as a technique for quantifying and identifying problems in the network nodes. Moreover, based on the proposed methodology, the optimal georeferencing of the sites where it is necessary to inject active power to improve the voltage profiles and reduce the voltage collapse prediction index was obtained.Esta investigación se centra en la localización georreferenciada de los recursos distribuidos, concretamente en la inyección de potencia activa a través de la generación distribuida. Se tomó como caso de estudio un alimentador marginal rural-urbano de una empresa distribuidora de Ecuador con información georreferenciada, que cuenta con un enlace primario trifásico a media tensión y varios ramales monofásicos a media tensión de gran longitud para abastecer a usuarios alejados de la red de la empresa local. En consecuencia, para analizar el comportamiento de la red eléctrica, se utilizó el software Cymdist para realizar simulaciones en estado estacionario sin y con la inserción de generación distribuida. Para la ubicación de la generación distribuida, se utilizó el índice de predicción de colapso de tensión como técnica para cuantificar e identificar problemas en los nodos de la red. Además, a partir de la metodología propuesta, se obtuvo la georreferenciación óptima de los sitios donde es necesario inyectar potencia activa para mejorar los perfiles de tensión y reducir el índice de predicción de colapso de tensión

Supersymmetric Rotating Black Holes and Causality Violation

The geodesics of the rotating extreme black hole in five spacetime dimensions found by Breckenridge, Myers, Peet and Vafa are Liouville integrable and may be integrated by additively separating the Hamilton-Jacobi equation. This allows us to obtain the St\"ackel-Killing tensor. We use these facts to give the maximal analytic extension of the spacetime and discuss some aspects of its causal structure. In particular, we exhibit a `repulson'-like behaviour occuring when there are naked closed timelike curves. In this case we find that the spacetime is geodesically complete (with respect to causal geodesics) and free of singularities. When a partial Cauchy surface exists, we show, by solving the Klein-Gordon equation, that the absorption cross-section for massless waves at small frequencies is given by the area of the hole. At high frequencies a dependence on the angular quantum numbers of the wave develops. We comment on some aspects of `inertial time travel' and argue that such time machines cannot be constructed by spinning up a black hole with no naked closed timelike curves.Comment: 36 pages,LaTeX,8 figures;added 1 reference and a few comments; formula (2.6) corrected; a few changes to section

Godel-type Universes in String-inspired Charged Gravity

We consider a string-inspired, gravitational theory of scalar and electromagnetic fields and we investigate the existence of axially-symmetric, G\"{o}del-type cosmological solutions. The neutral case is studied first and an "extreme" G\"{o}del-type rotating solution, that respects the causality, is determined. The charged case is considered next and two new configurations for the, minimally-coupled to gravity, electromagnetic field are presented. Another configuration motivated by the expected distribution of currents and charges in a rotating universe is studied and shown to lead to a G\"{o}del-type solution for a space-dependent coupling function. Finally, we investigate the existence of G\"{o}del-type cosmological solutions in the framework of the one-loop corrected superstring effective action and we determine the sole configuration of the electromagnetic field that leads to such a solution. It turns out that, in all the charged cases considered, Closed Timelike Curves do appear and the causality is always violated.Comment: 26 pages, LaTex file, a few comments and references added, version to appear in Physical Review