Enhancing International Space Station (ISS) Mission Control Center (MCC) Operations Using Tcl/Tk

This paper will discuss the use of Tcl/Tk to enhance the abilities of flight controllers to control the International Space Station (ISS) from the Mission Control Center (MCC) at the Johnson Space Center. We will discuss why existing tools where not able to meet these needs as easily as Tcl/Tk. In addition, we will also discuss how we interfaced with the existing MCC infrastructure to receive ISS telemetry, find servers, register services, and send commands to ISS

Gain control network conditions in early sensory coding

Gain control is essential for the proper function of any sensory system. However, the precise mechanisms for achieving effective gain control in the brain are unknown. Based on our understanding of the existence and strength of connections in the insect olfactory system, we analyze the conditions that lead to controlled gain in a randomly connected network of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. We consider two scenarios for the variation of input into the system. In the first case, the intensity of the sensory input controls the input currents to a fixed proportion of neurons of the excitatory and inhibitory populations. In the second case, increasing intensity of the sensory stimulus will both, recruit an increasing number of neurons that receive input and change the input current that they receive. Using a mean field approximation for the network activity we derive relationships between the parameters of the network that ensure that the overall level of activity of the excitatory population remains unchanged for increasing intensity of the external stimulation. We find that, first, the main parameters that regulate network gain are the probabilities of connections from the inhibitory population to the excitatory population and of the connections within the inhibitory population. Second, we show that strict gain control is not achievable in a random network in the second case, when the input recruits an increasing number of neurons. Finally, we confirm that the gain control conditions derived from the mean field approximation are valid in simulations of firing rate models and Hodgkin-Huxley conductance based models

Leading Ezekiel Baptist Church In Philadelphia Pennsylvania From Congregation To Community

LEADING EZEKIEL BAPTIST CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, FROM CONGREGATION TO COMMUNITY Brian David King, Sr., DEdMinThe Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2020 Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Matthew D. Haste The purpose of this research was to lead Ezekiel Baptist from a congregation to a community. The research showed that by introducing Scripture to select members of Ezekiel Baptist Church, their beliefs would change, thus beginning the transformation of becoming a community.Chapter 1 details the introduction to the research. Chapter 2 describes a theological review of Acts 2:42-47. Chapter 3 details how a Christian community lives by focusing on the unique roles of a leader and follower. Chapter 4 describes the process of obtaining information from ten participants. Chapter 5 explains the strength and weaknesses of the project

Electroweak Symmetry Breaking in the DSSM

We study the theoretical and phenomenological consequences of modifying the Kahler potential of the MSSM two Higgs doublet sector. Such modifications naturally arise when the Higgs sector mixes with a quasi-hidden conformal sector, as in some F-theory GUT models. In the Delta-deformed Supersymmetric Standard Model (DSSM), the Higgs fields are operators with non-trivial scaling dimension 1 < Delta < 2. The Kahler metric is singular at the origin of field space due to the presence of quasi-hidden sector states which get their mass from the Higgs vevs. The presence of these extra states leads to the fact that even as Delta approaches 1, the DSSM does not reduce to the MSSM. In particular, the Higgs can naturally be heavier than the W- and Z-bosons. Perturbative gauge coupling unification, a large top quark Yukawa, and consistency with precision electroweak can all be maintained for Delta close to unity. Moreover, such values of Delta can naturally be obtained in string-motivated constructions. The quasi-hidden sector generically contains states charged under SU(5)_GUT as well as gauge singlets, leading to a rich, albeit model-dependent, collider phenomenology.Comment: v3: 40 pages, 3 figures, references added, typos correcte

Two Stellar Components in the Halo of the Milky Way

The halo of the Milky Way provides unique elemental abundance and kinematic information on the first objects to form in the Universe, which can be used to tightly constrain models of galaxy formation and evolution. Although the halo was once considered a single component, evidence for its dichotomy has slowly emerged in recent years from inspection of small samples of halo objects. Here we show that the halo is indeed clearly divisible into two broadly overlapping structural components -- an inner and an outer halo -- that exhibit different spatial density profiles, stellar orbits and stellar metallicities (abundances of elements heavier than helium). The inner halo has a modest net prograde rotation, whereas the outer halo exhibits a net retrograde rotation and a peak metallicity one-third that of the inner halo. These properties indicate that the individual halo components probably formed in fundamentally different ways, through successive dissipational (inner) and dissipationless (outer) mergers and tidal disruption of proto-Galactic clumps.Comment: Two stand-alone files in manuscript, concatenated together. The first is for the main paper, the second for supplementary information. The version is consistent with the version published in Natur

Comparison of embedded and added motor imagery training in patients after stroke: Study protocol of a randomised controlled pilot trial using a mixed methods approach

Copyright @ 2009 Schuster et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Background: Two different approaches have been adopted when applying motor imagery (MI) to stroke patients. MI can be conducted either added to conventional physiotherapy or integrated within therapy sessions. The proposed study aims to compare the efficacy of embedded MI to an added MI intervention. Evidence from pilot studies reported in the literature suggests that both approaches can improve performance of a complex motor skill involving whole body movements, however, it remains to be demonstrated, which is the more effective one.Methods/Design: A single blinded, randomised controlled trial (RCT) with a pre-post intervention design will be carried out. The study design includes two experimental groups and a control group (CG). Both experimental groups (EG1, EG2) will receive physical practice of a clinical relevant motor task ('Going down, laying on the floor, and getting up again') over a two week intervention period: EG1 with embedded MI training, EG2 with MI training added after physiotherapy. The CG will receive standard physiotherapy intervention and an additional control intervention not related to MI.The primary study outcome is the time difference to perform the task from pre to post-intervention. Secondary outcomes include level of help needed, stages of motor task completion, degree of motor impairment, balance ability, fear of falling measure, motivation score, and motor imagery ability score. Four data collection points are proposed: twice during baseline phase, once following the intervention period, and once after a two week follow up. A nested qualitative part should add an important insight into patients' experience and attitudes towards MI. Semi-structured interviews of six to ten patients, who participate in the RCT, will be conducted to investigate patients' previous experience with MI and their expectations towards the MI intervention in the study. Patients will be interviewed prior and after the intervention period.Discussion: Results will determine whether embedded MI is superior to added MI. Findings of the semi-structured interviews will help to integrate patient's expectations of MI interventions in the design of research studies to improve practical applicability using MI as an adjunct therapy technique

Orbifold equivalence for finite density QCD and effective field theory

In the large N_c limit, some apparently different gauge theories turn out to be equivalent due to large N_c orbifold equivalence. We use effective field theory techniques to explore orbifold equivalence, focusing on the specific case of a recently discovered relation between an SO(2N_c) gauge theory and QCD. The equivalence to QCD has been argued to hold at finite baryon chemical potential, \mu_B, so long as one deforms the SO(2N_c) theory by certain "double-trace" terms. The deformed SO(2N_c) theory can be studied without a sign problem in the chiral limit, in contrast to SU(N_c) QCD at finite \mu_B. The purpose of the double-trace deformation in the SO(2N_c) theory is to prevent baryon number symmetry from breaking spontaneously at finite density, which is necessary for the equivalence to large N_c QCD to be valid. The effective field theory analysis presented here clarifies the physical significance of double-trace deformations, and strongly supports the proposed equivalence between the deformed SO(2N_c) theory and large N_c QCD at finite density.Comment: 39 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables. v2: Minor typo fixes and clarification

Trauma history and depression predict incomplete adherence to antiretroviral therapies in a low income country.

As antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV becomes increasingly available in low and middle income countries (LMICs), understanding reasons for lack of adherence is critical to stemming the tide of infections and improving health. Understanding the effect of psychosocial experiences and mental health symptomatology on ART adherence can help maximize the benefit of expanded ART programs by indicating types of services, which could be offered in combination with HIV care. The Coping with HIV/AIDS in Tanzania (CHAT) study is a longitudinal cohort study in the Kilimanjaro Region that included randomly selected HIV-infected (HIV+) participants from two local hospital-based HIV clinics and four free-standing voluntary HIV counselling and testing sites. Baseline data were collected in 2008 and 2009; this paper used data from 36 month follow-up interviews (N = 468). Regression analyses were used to predict factors associated with incomplete self-reported adherence to ART. INCOMPLETE ART ADHERENCE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE LIKELY TO BE REPORTED AMONGST PARTICIPANTS WHO EXPERIENCED A GREATER NUMBER OF CHILDHOOD TRAUMATIC EVENTS: sexual abuse prior to puberty and the death in childhood of an immediate family member not from suicide or homicide were significantly more likely in the non-adherent group and other negative childhood events trended toward being more likely. Those with incomplete adherence had higher depressive symptom severity and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In multivariable analyses, childhood trauma, depression, and financial sacrifice remained associated with incomplete adherence.\ud This is the first study to examine the effect of childhood trauma, depression and PTSD on HIV medication adherence in a low income country facing a significant burden of HIV. Allocating spending on HIV/AIDS toward integrating mental health services with HIV care is essential to the creation of systems that enhance medication adherence and maximize the potential of expanded antiretroviral access to improve health and reduce new infections

Non-Linear Interactions between Consumers and Flow Determine the Probability of Plant Community Dominance on Maine Rocky Shores

Although consumers can strongly influence community recovery from disturbance, few studies have explored the effects of consumer identity and density and how they may vary across abiotic gradients. On rocky shores in Maine, recent experiments suggest that recovery of plant- or animal- dominated community states is governed by rates of water movement and consumer pressure. To further elucidate the mechanisms of consumer control, we examined the species-specific and density-dependent effects of rocky shore consumers (crabs and snails) on community recovery under both high (mussel dominated) and low flow (plant dominated) conditions. By partitioning the direct impacts of predators (crabs) and grazers (snails) on community recovery across a flow gradient, we found that grazers, but not predators, are likely the primary agent of consumer control and that their impact is highly non-linear. Manipulating snail densities revealed that herbivorous and bull-dozing snails (Littorina littorea) alone can control recovery of high and low flow communities. After ∼1.5 years of recovery, snail density explained a significant amount of the variation in macroalgal coverage at low flow sites and also mussel recovery at high flow sites. These density-dependent grazer effects were were both non-linear and flow-dependent, with low abundance thresholds needed to suppress plant community recovery, and much higher levels needed to control mussel bed development. Our study suggests that consumer density and identity are key in regulating both plant and animal community recovery and that physical conditions can determine the functional forms of these consumer effects