Work-in-Progress: Learning Embedded Smartphone Sensing Technology on a Novel Strategy (LESSONS): A Novel Learning Labware Design, Development and Implementation

After a disaster such as an earthquake has struck, the damage assessment of the affected buildings, bridges and other forms of structures is often urgently required for follow-up action. Research in using system identification for damage assessment in a quantifiable and non-destructive way has rapidly increased in recent years, due to advances in computing power and sensing technology. Though considerable progress has been made, many challenges still remain in achieving robust and effective identification of large structural systems using incomplete and noisy measurement signals. In this paper a novel strategy to tackle this problem is presented. A modified genetic algorithm (GA) strategy incorporating a search space reduction method, progressively and adaptively reduces the search space for each unknown parameter. By concurrent evolution of multiple species, it provides an excellent balance between exploration of the search space and exploitation of good solutions. The modified GA is incorporated into a damage detection strategy that works by comparing identified parameters for the undamaged and damaged structures and quantifies damage as a relative change in the stiffness of a member or a group of members. The additional information obtained from the analysis of the undamaged structure is used to greatly improve speed and accuracy in the identification of the damaged structure. Numerical studies on 10 and 20 degree-of-freedom (DOF) systems and an experimental study of a 7-storey small-scale steel frame are presented to illustrate the applicability of the method in accurately identifying even small amounts of damage.

Download Full-text

Meridional Circulation, Turbulence, and Diffusion Processes in Stars

International Astronomical Union Colloquium ◽

10.1017/s0252921100080477 ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 32 ◽

pp. 109-116 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

S. Vauclair

Keyword(s):

Convection Zone ◽

Diffusion Processes ◽

Meridional Circulation ◽

Diffusion Time ◽

Work In Progress ◽

First Results ◽

Stellar Envelopes ◽

And Diffusion ◽

Turbulence And Diffusion ◽

Hr Diagram

This paper gives the first results of a work in progress, in collaboration with G. Michaud and G. Vauclair. It is a first attempt to compute the effects of meridional circulation and turbulence on diffusion processes in stellar envelopes. Computations have been made for a 2 Mʘstar, which lies in the Am - δ Scuti region of the HR diagram.Let us recall that in Am stars diffusion cannot occur between the two outer convection zones, contrary to what was assumed by Watson (1970, 1971) and Smith (1971), since they are linked by overshooting (Latour, 1972; Toomre et al., 1975). But diffusion may occur at the bottom of the second convection zone. According to Vauclair et al. (1974), the second convection zone, due to He II ionization, disappears after a time equal to the helium diffusion time, and then diffusion may happen at the bottom of the first convection zone, so that the arguments by Watson and Smith are preserved.

Download Full-text

The Collaborative Network Approach: a model for advancing patient-centric research for Castleman disease and other rare diseases

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences ◽

10.1042/etls20180178 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 97-105

Author(s):

Mary Zuccato ◽

Dustin Shilling ◽

David C. Fajgenbaum

Keyword(s):

Rare Diseases ◽

Treatment Options ◽

Castleman Disease ◽

High Impact ◽

Collaborative Network ◽

Network Approach ◽

Grant Applications ◽

Research Questions ◽

Novel Strategy ◽

Patient Centric

Abstract There are ∼7000 rare diseases affecting 30 000 000 individuals in the U.S.A. 95% of these rare diseases do not have a single Food and Drug Administration-approved therapy. Relatively, limited progress has been made to develop new or repurpose existing therapies for these disorders, in part because traditional funding models are not as effective when applied to rare diseases. Due to the suboptimal research infrastructure and treatment options for Castleman disease, the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN), founded in 2012, spearheaded a novel strategy for advancing biomedical research, the ‘Collaborative Network Approach’. At its heart, the Collaborative Network Approach leverages and integrates the entire community of stakeholders — patients, physicians and researchers — to identify and prioritize high-impact research questions. It then recruits the most qualified researchers to conduct these studies. In parallel, patients are empowered to fight back by supporting research through fundraising and providing their biospecimens and clinical data. This approach democratizes research, allowing the entire community to identify the most clinically relevant and pressing questions; any idea can be translated into a study rather than limiting research to the ideas proposed by researchers in grant applications. Preliminary results from the CDCN and other organizations that have followed its Collaborative Network Approach suggest that this model is generalizable across rare diseases.

Download Full-text