Optimal Slewing of a Constrained Telescope Using Seventh Order Polynomial Input Torques

Two-axis gimbals are frequently used to point cameras and telescopes at various points of interest for surveillance, science, and art. The rotation of a two-axis gimbal system is governed by nonlinear angular momentum equations of motion. This paper presents a method for slewing a telescope in space with a gimbaled sensor attached to a nominally non-rotating spacecraft using two seventh order polynomial input functions to characterize torques. To accomplish this task, picking the optimal coefficients of the seventh order polynomial was necessary. It was also desired to use constraint equations to limit the excursion, angular velocity, angular acceleration, and jerk of the gimbal. A Matlab code was developed for this purpose. Matlab’s fmincon was used to do the optimization, and a comparison to a previously validated one-degree-of-freedom (DOF) model was presented for validation of the nonlinear, two-degree-of-freedom model. Results for a fully constrained 2 DOF slew maneuver were also shown. This thesis demonstrates that seventh order polynomial torques can be used to accurately slew a telescope in space using nonlinear equations of motion

The biological embedding of early-life socioeconomic status and family adversity in children's genome-wide DNA methylation.

AimTo examine variation in child DNA methylation to assess its potential as a pathway for effects of childhood social adversity on health across the life course.Materials & methodsIn a diverse, prospective community sample of 178 kindergarten children, associations between three types of social experience and DNA methylation within buccal epithelial cells later in childhood were examined.ResultsFamily income, parental education and family psychosocial adversity each associated with increased or decreased DNA methylation (488, 354 and 102 sites, respectively) within a unique set of genomic CpG sites. Gene ontology analyses pointed to genes serving immune and developmental regulation functions.ConclusionFindings provided support for DNA methylation as a biomarker linking early-life social experiences with later life health in humans

Evaluation of Social Impact of Traffic Noice in Amman, Jordan

Few road traffic studies were conducted in Jordan, but the issue is drawing an increasing attention due to its growing magnitude and various impacts as a result of the high increase in vehicular traffic. This study further investigates the issue with the aim of providing an understanding of its social impact on residents of Amman, the capital of Jordan. Traffic noise levels were measured at selected locations along urban arterials and a social survey was performed to examine the reactions and attitudes of the neighboring residents towards these levels of traffic noise. The survey included social characteristics of individuals, and their attitudes towards traffic noise, and how it impacted their daily activities. A predesigned questionnaire was used for this purpose which included questions to evaluate the awareness of respondents of the problem and its environmental and health impacts. The financial impact that residents perceive of noise and the need for attenuation measures were also addressed. The results of the study also revealed that the impact of traffic noise on people can cause annoyance while performing daily activities were 24% of respondents reported that they get annoyed by traffic while working, 49% while resting, 34% while talking to others, 31% while talking on the phone, 39% while reading, 38% while watching TV and 53% of respondents get annoyed while sleeping. The respondents have also pointed out the following effects of noise: twist in mood (53%), headache (36%), and difficulty in concentration (40%). About 57% of respondents think traffic noise reduces the value of their properties and a total of 31% are willing to sell their house at reduced cost. About 59% of respondents consider attenuation measures necessary, and in order to reduce the noise, about 54% of respondents were willing to pay for attenuation measures which reflects the public awareness of the issue magnitude

One-year outcomes in a multicentre cohort study of incident rare diffuse parenchymal lung disease in children (ChILD)

We performed a prospective, observational, cohort study of children newly diagnosed with children's interstitial lung disease (ChILD), with structured follow-up at 4, 8, 12 weeks and 6 and 12 months. 127 children, median age 0.9 (IQR 0.3-7.9) years had dyspnoea (68%, 69/102), tachypnoea (75%, 77/103) and low oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) median 92% (IQR 88-96). Death (n=20, 16%) was the most common in those <6 months of age with SpO(2)<94% and developmental/surfactant disorders. We report for the first time that ChILD survivors improved multiple clinical parameters within 8-12 weeks of diagnosis. These data can inform family discussions and support clinical trial measurements

An Arabidopsis flavonoid transporter is required for anther dehiscence and pollen development

FLOWER FLAVONOID TRANSPORTER (FFT) encodes a multidrug and toxin efflux family transporter in Arabidopsis thaliana. FFT (AtDTX35) is highly transcribed in floral tissues, the transcript being localized to epidermal guard cells, including those of the anthers, stigma, siliques and nectaries. Mutant analysis demonstrates that the absence of FFT transcript affects flavonoid levels in the plant and that the altered flavonoid metabolism has wide-ranging consequences. Root growth, seed development and germination, and pollen development, release and viability are all affected. Spectrometry of mutant versus wild-type flowers shows altered levels of a glycosylated flavonol whereas anthocyanin seems unlikely to be the substrate as previously speculated. Thus, as well as adding FFT to the incompletely described flavonoid transport network, it is found that correct reproductive development in Arabidopsis is perturbed when this particular transporter is missing

Pulmonary function testing in children's interstitial lung disease

The use of pulmonary function tests (PFTs) has been widely described in airway diseases like asthma and cystic fibrosis, but for children's interstitial lung disease (chILD), which encompasses a broad spectrum of pathologies, the usefulness of PFTs is still undetermined, despite widespread use in adult interstitial lung disease. A literature review was initiated by the COST/Enter chILD working group aiming to describe published studies, to identify gaps in knowledge and to propose future research goals in regard to spirometry, whole-body plethysmography, infant and pre-school PFTs, measurement of diffusing capacity, multiple breath washout and cardiopulmonary exercise tests in chILD. The search revealed a limited number of papers published in the past three decades, of which the majority were descriptive and did not report pulmonary function as the main outcome.PFTs may be useful in different stages of management of children with suspected or confirmed chILD, but the chILD spectrum is diverse and includes a heterogeneous patient group in all ages. Research studies in well-defined patient cohorts are needed to establish which PFT and outcomes are most relevant for diagnosis, evaluation of disease severity and course, and monitoring individual conditions both for improvement in clinical care and as end-points in future randomised controlled trials

UTILIZATION OF VITAMINS IN THE PRODUCTION OF CUCUMBER SEEDLINGS UNDER SALINE STRESS

Numerous factors lead to the use of water with saline levels above those suitable for plant development, resulting in negative consequences on crops. Studies have sought techniques that aim to mitigate such consequences and the use of vitamins is promising, since these compounds improve the conditions of vegetables. Thus, the study aimed to verify the ability of vitamins to mitigate the deleterious effects of using saline water, applied via irrigation during the formation of cucumber seedlings. Cucumber seeds were subjected to imbibition in three vitamin solutions (100 mg L-1 thiamine; 100 mg L-1 niacin; 50 mg L-1 thiamine + 50 mg L-1 niacin), in addition to two controls, both with water imbibition . After sowing, irrigation was carried out with saline water (100 mM NaCl), for all treatments, except for one of the controls. It was found that irrigation with saline water affected all variables studied, without, however, having a positive effect from the application of vitamins. Thus, it was concluded that the vitamins were not able to mitigate the deleterious effects caused by the application of saline water under the conditions in which the study was carried out and that future studies should be carried out to evaluate different concentrations and forms of application of the vitamins.Numerous factors lead to the use of water with saline levels above those suitable for plant development, resulting in negative consequences on crops. Studies have sought techniques that aim to mitigate such consequences and the use of vitamins is promising, since these compounds improve the development conditions of vegetables. Thus, the study aimed to verify the ability of vitamins to mitigate the deleterious effects of using saline water, applied via irrigation during the formation of cucumber seedlings. Cucumber seeds were subjected to imbibition in three vitamin solutions (100 mg L-1 thiamine; 100 mg L-1 niacin; 50 mg L-1 thiamine + 50 mg L-1 niacin), in addition to two controls, both with water imbibition . After sowing, irrigation was carried out with saline water (100 mM NaCl), for all treatments, except for one of the controls. It was found that irrigation with saline water affected all variables studied, without, however, having a positive effect from the application of vitamins. Thus, it was concluded that the vitamins were not able to mitigate the deleterious effects caused by the application of saline water under the conditions in which the study was carried out and that future studies should be carried out to evaluate different concentrations and forms of application of the vitamins

A survey of larval digeneans in the commonest intertidal snails from Northern Patagonian coast, Argentina

Over a two-years period, a survey was carried out in order to increase the knowledge of digeneans parasitising the commonest intertidal gastropods on the Patagonian coast, Southwestern Atlantic Ocean. A total of 4,725 gastropods were examined. Six species of digenean parasitising four snail species were found; four of them were registered for first time: Maritrema sp. 1 (Microphallidae) in Crepidula dilatata (Calyptraeidae), Parorchis sp. (Philophtalmidae) and sporocyst of Renicolidae in Trophon geversianus (Muricidae), and Diphterostomum sp. (Zoogonidae) in Buccinanops globulosus (Nassariidae). Two other species were found in Siphonaria lessoni (Siphonariidae): Maritrema sp. 2 and Hemiuridae. One snail species, Tegula patagonica (Trochidae) was not parasitised. These gastropods act as first intermediate host, and C. dilatata, S. lessoni and B. globulosus also frequently host metacercariae within the sporocyst. Overall prevalences varied from 0.16% of Diphterostomum in the intertidal population of B. globulosus to 33.45% of Maritrema sp. 1 in C. dilatata.Fil: Gilardoni, Carmen Mariangel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Etchegoin, Jorge Alejandro. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología. Laboratorio de Parasitología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Diaz, Julia Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; ArgentinaFil: Ituarte, Cristian Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Cremonte, Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentin