Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Mission Level Simulation

We develop an object-oriented simulation that models the surveillance and Active Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) missions of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) RQ-1A Predator. The simulation, written in Java using the Silk simulation package, interfaces with a Reactive Tabu Search routing algorithm to provide optimal UAV routes. The routing algorithm is called by the simulation to account for changes in weather conditions and to provide a means of dynamically retasking the UAV. The simulation and analysis support a UAV Battlelab initiative to test the operational effects of proposed changes in Predator performance and UAV capability to perform in an Active SEAD mission. Analysis efforts examine the effect of speed, endurance, and weather susceptibility on UAV operational effectiveness and the effects of radar cross section, threat density, and threat lethality on UAV Active SEAD mission performance

The complex genetics of gait speed:Genome-wide meta-analysis approach

Emerging evidence suggests that the basis for variation in late-life mobility is attributable, in part, to genetic factors, which may become increasingly important with age. Our objective was to systematically assess the contribution of genetic variation to gait speed in older individuals. We conducted a meta-analysis of gait speed GWASs in 31,478 older adults from 17 cohorts of the CHARGE consortium, and validated our results in 2,588 older adults from 4 independent studies. We followed our initial discoveries with network and eQTL analysis of candidate signals in tissues. The meta-analysis resulted in a list of 536 suggestive genome wide significant SNPs in or near 69 genes. Further interrogation with Pathway Analysis placed gait speed as a polygenic complex trait in five major networks. Subsequent eQTL analysis revealed several SNPs significantly associated with the expression of PRSS16, WDSUB1 and PTPRT, which in addition to the meta-analysis and pathway suggested that genetic effects on gait speed may occur through synaptic function and neuronal development pathways. No genome-wide significant signals for gait speed were identified from this moderately large sample of older adults, suggesting that more refined physical function phenotypes will be needed to identify the genetic basis of gait speed in aging

GWAS analysis of handgrip and lower body strength in older adults in the CHARGE consortium

Decline in muscle strength with aging is an important predictor of health trajectory in the elderly. Several factors, including genetics, are proposed contributors to variability in muscle strength. To identify genetic contributors to muscle strength, a meta-analysis of genomewide association studies of handgrip was conducted. Grip strength was measured using a handheld dynamometer in 27 581 individuals of European descent over 65 years of age from 14 cohort studies. Genomewide association analysis was conducted on ~2.7 million imputed and genotyped variants (SNPs). Replication of the most significant findings was conducted using data from 6393 individuals from three cohorts. GWAS of lower body strength was also characterized in a subset of cohorts. Two genomewide significant (P-value< 5 × 10−8) and 39 suggestive (P-value< 5 × 10−5) associations were observed from meta-analysis of the discovery cohorts. After meta-analysis with replication cohorts, genomewide significant association was observed for rs752045 on chromosome 8 (β = 0.47, SE = 0.08, P-value = 5.20 × 10−10). This SNP is mapped to an intergenic region and is located within an accessible chromatin region (DNase hypersensitivity site) in skeletal muscle myotubes differentiated from the human skeletal muscle myoblasts cell line. This locus alters a binding motif of the CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-β (CEBPB) that is implicated in muscle repair mechanisms. GWAS of lower body strength did not yield significant results. A common genetic variant in a chromosomal region that regulates myotube differentiation and muscle repair may contribute to variability in grip strength in the elderly. Further studies are needed to uncover the mechanisms that link this genetic variant with muscle strength

Mesh Adaptive Direct Search Algorithms for Mixed Variable Optimization

This paper introduces a new derivative-free class of mesh adaptive direct search (MADS) algorithms for solving constrained mixed variable optimization problems, in which the variables may be continuous or categorical. This new class of algorithms, called mixed variable MADS (MV-MADS), generalizes both mixed variable pattern search (MVPS) algorithms for linearly constrained mixed variable problems and MADS algorithms for general constrained problems with only continuous variables. The convergence analysis, which makes use of the Clarke nonsmooth calculus, similarly generalizes the existing theory for both MVPS and MADS algorithms, and reasonable conditions are established for ensuring convergence of a subsequence of iterates to a suitably defined stationary point in the nonsmooth and mixed variable sense

Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (Darc) polymorphism regulates circulating concentrations of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and other inflammatory mediators

To identify the genetic basis of circulating concentrations of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), we conducted genome-wide association analyses for MCP-1 in 3 independent cohorts (n = 9598). The strongest association was for serum MCP-1 with a nonsynonymous polymorphism, rs12075 (Asp42Gly) in DARC, the gene for Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines, a known vascular reservoir of proinflammatory cytokines (minor allele frequency, 45.6%; P < 1.0 * 10−323). This association was supported by family-based genetic linkage at a locus encompassing the DARC gene (genome-wide P = 8.0 * 10−13). Asp42Gly accounted for approximately 20% of the variability in serum MCP-1 concentrations and also was associated with serum concentrations of interleukin-8 and RANTES. While exploring a lack of association between this polymorphism and EDTA plasma MCP-1 concentrations (P = .82), we determined that both clotting and exogenous heparan sulfate (unfractionated heparin) released substantial amounts of MCP-1 from Darc. Quantitative immunoflow cytometry failed to identify meaningful Asp42Gly-associated differences in Darc expression, suggesting that a functional change is responsible for the differential cytokine binding. We conclude that Asp42Gly is a major regulator of erythrocyte Darc-mediated cytokine binding and thereby the circulating concentrations of several proinflammatory cytokines. We have also identified for the first time 2 mechanisms for the release of reservoir chemokines with possible clinical implications