Feasibility study for reliable magnetic connection switch, phase I Final report

Feasibility of magnetic circuits for high reliability computer switche

Scaling Cosmologies of N=8 Gauged Supergravity

We construct exact cosmological scaling solutions in N=8 gauged supergravity. We restrict to solutions for which the scalar fields trace out geodesic curves on the scalar manifold. Under these restrictions it is shown that the axionic scalars are necessarily constant. The potential is then a sum of exponentials and has a very specific form that allows for scaling solutions. The scaling solutions describe eternal accelerating and decelerating power-law universes, which are all unstable. An uplift of the solutions to 11-dimensional supergravity is carried out and the resulting timedependent geometries are discussed. In the discussion we briefly comment on the fact that N=2 gauged supergravity allows stable scaling solutions.Comment: 17 pages; referenced added, reportnr changed and some corrections in section

Performance of Basic Life Support by Lifeboat Crewmembers While Wearing a Survival Suit and Life Vest:A Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: Crewmembers of the “Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution” (KNRM) lifeboats must wear heavy survival suits with integrated lifejackets. This and the challenging environment onboard (boat movements, limited space) might influence Basic Life Support (BLS) performance. The primary objective of this study was to assess the impact of the protective gear on single-rescuer BLS-quality. Material and Methods: Sixty-five active KNRM crewmembers who had recently undergone a BLS-refresher course were randomized to wear either their protective gear (n = 32) or their civilian clothes (n = 33; control group) and performed five 2-min sessions of single rescuer BLS on a mannequin on dry land. BLS-quality was assessed according to Dutch and European Resuscitation guidelines. A between group analysis (Mann-Whitney U) and a repeated within group analysis of both groups (Friedman test) were performed. Results: There were no major demographic differences between the groups. The protective gear did not significant impair BLS-quality. It was also not associated with a significant increase in the perceived exertion of BLS (Borg's Rating scale). Compression depth, compression frequency, the percentage of correct compression depth and of not leaning on the thorax, and ventilation volumes in both groups were suboptimal when evaluated according to the BLS-guidelines. Conclusions: The protective gear worn by KNRM lifeboat-crewmembers does not have a significant influence on BLS-quality under controlled study conditions. The impact and significance on outcome in real life situations needs to be studied further. This study provides valuable input for optimizing the BLS-skills of lifeboat crewmembers

‘The war is a money making show’: Working-Class Attitudes to World War II and Australian Nationalism

This paper will address the conference themes of ‘class, power and social structure’ through examining industrial and ideological conflict during World War II. The paper will also address the theme of ‘class and culture’ through an examination of working-class cultural expression as a means of resistance to the government’s wartime offensive. What is overlooked in most histories of World War II is the working-class experience of the war and their understanding of nationalism, particularly as nationalism was cynically exploited by the government to undermine working-class identity and solidarity. The paper will investigate the experience of one of the most militant sections of the Australian working class: the Miners. Primary source material such as the Miners’ journal Common Cause and union records reveal opposition to the war and a much more ambiguous attitude to the national sentiment used to justify Australia’s involvement. The Miners provide an interesting case study as the union was led by the Communist Party. Therefore the union leadership initially opposed to the war then became enthusiastic supporters when Russia entered the war on the allied side. It is clear that the Miners’ union leadership found it difficult to convince the rank and file to support the war. The paper will focus upon rank and file attitudes to the war and Australian nationalism particularly during times of industrial unrest.The symposium is organised on behalf of AAHANZBS by the Business and Labour History Group, The University of Sydney, with the financial support of the University’s Faculty of Economics and Business

Supra- and Infra-Renal Aortic Neck Diameter Increase after Endovascular Repair of a Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Hypovolemia-induced hypotension may lead to an aortic diameter decrease in patients with a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA). This study investigates the changes in supra- and infra-renal aortic neck diameters before and after endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) for rAAA and the possible association with endograft apposition. A retrospective cohort study was conducted including 74 patients treated between 2010 and 2019 in two large European vascular centers. Outer-to-outer wall diameters were measured at +40, +10, 0, −10, and −20 mm relative to the lowest renal artery baseline on the last pre- and first post-EVAR computed tomography angiography (CTA) scan in a vascular workstation. Endograft apposition was determined on the first post-EVAR CTA scan. The post-operative diameter was significantly (p < 0.001) larger than the preoperative diameter at all aortic levels. The aortic diameter at +40 mm (supra-renal) and −10 mm (infra-renal) increased by 6.2 ± 7.3% and 12.6 ± 9.8%, respectively. The aortic diameter at +40 mm increased significantly more in patients with low preoperative systolic blood pressure (<90 mmHg; p = 0.005). A shorter apposition length was associated with a higher aortic diameter increase (R = −0.255; p = 0.032). Hypovolemic-induced hypotension results in a significant decrease in the aortic diameter in patients with an rAAA, which should be taken into account when oversizing the endograft

Gene length corrected trimmed mean of M-values (GeTMM) processing of RNA-seq data performs similarly in intersample analyses while improving intrasample comparisons

Background: Current normalization methods for RNA-sequencing data allow either for intersample comparison to identify differentially expressed (DE) genes or for intrasample comparison for the discovery and validation of gene signatures. Most studies on optimization of normalization methods typically use simulated data to validate methodologies. We describe a new method, GeTMM, which allows for both inter- and intrasample analyses with the same normalized data set. We used actual (i.e. not simulated) RNA-seq data from 263 colon cancers (no biological replicates) and used the same read count data to compare GeTMM with the most commonly used normalization methods (i.e. TMM (used by edgeR), RLE (used by DESeq2) and TPM) with respect to distributions, effect of RNA quality, subtype-classification, recurrence score, recall of DE genes and correlation to RT-qPCR data. Results: We observed a clear benefit for GeTMM and TPM with regard to intrasample comparison while GeTMM performed similar to TMM and RLE normalized data in intersample comparisons. Regarding DE genes, recall was found comparable among the normalization methods, while GeTMM showed the lowest number of false-positive DE genes. Remarkably, we observed limited detrimental effects in samples with low RNA quality. Conclusions: We show that GeTMM outperforms established methods with regard to intrasample comparison while performing equivalent with regard to intersample normalization using the same normalized data. These combined properties enhance the general usefulness of RNA-seq but also the comparability to the many array-based gene expression data in the public domain