Neptune Odyssey: A Flagship Concept for the Exploration of the Neptune–Triton System

The Neptune Odyssey mission concept is a Flagship-class orbiter and atmospheric probe to the Neptune-Triton system. This bold mission of exploration would orbit an ice-giant planet to study the planet, its rings, small satellites, space environment, and the planet-sized moon Triton. Triton is a captured dwarf planet from the Kuiper Belt, twin of Pluto, and likely ocean world. Odyssey addresses Neptune system-level science, with equal priorities placed on Neptune, its rings, moons, space environment, and Triton. Between Uranus and Neptune, the latter is unique in providing simultaneous access to both an ice giant and a Kuiper Belt dwarf planet. The spacecraft - in a class equivalent to the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini spacecraft - would launch by 2031 on a Space Launch System or equivalent launch vehicle and utilize a Jupiter gravity assist for a 12 yr cruise to Neptune and a 4 yr prime orbital mission; alternatively a launch after 2031 would have a 16 yr direct-to-Neptune cruise phase. Our solution provides annual launch opportunities and allows for an easy upgrade to the shorter (12 yr) cruise. Odyssey would orbit Neptune retrograde (prograde with respect to Triton), using the moon's gravity to shape the orbital tour and allow coverage of Triton, Neptune, and the space environment. The atmospheric entry probe would descend in ~37 minutes to the 10 bar pressure level in Neptune's atmosphere just before Odyssey's orbit-insertion engine burn. Odyssey's mission would end by conducting a Cassini-like "Grand Finale,"passing inside the rings and ultimately taking a final great plunge into Neptune's atmosphere

Sticky rents and the CPI for owner-occupied housing

This dissertation examines the implications of sticky rents on the measurement of owner-occupied housing in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). I argue that marginal and not average rents are the most theoretically justified measurement of owners' equivalent rent (OER), and that the current measurement of rental inflation using average rents is methodologically incorrect. I then discuss the literature on sticky rents and tenure discounts and present a theoretical model showing the implications of sticky rents for aggregate measures of inflation. Then I use two new data sources to construct marginal rent measures to compare to average rent measures. The results show that marginal rents reflect market turning points sooner, and show a larger post-housing bubble decline in rents. In addition, marginal rents are shown to forecast overall inflation better than average rents. Finally, the implications of these results for policy are considered using the Taylor Rule for optimal monetary policy. The results present suggestive evidence that the impacts of switching to marginal rents may be large enough to significantly impact monetary policy and allow the Federal Reserve to be more responsive to both the boom and bust of housing bubbles

Stata utilities for geocoding and generating travel time and travel distance information

This article describes geocode and traveltime, two commands that use Google Maps to provide spatial information for data. The geocode command allows users to generate latitude and longitude for various types of locations, including addresses. The traveltime command takes latitude and longitude information and finds travel distances between points, as well as the time it would take to travel that distance by either driving, walking, or using public transportation

Identification of Unknown Impurity of Azelaic Acid in Liposomal Formulation Assessed by HPLC-ELSD, GC-FID, and GC-MS

The identification of new contaminants is critical in the development of new medicinal products. Many impurities, such as pentanedioic acid, hexanedioic acid, heptanedioic acid, octanedioic acid, decanedioic acid, undecanedioic acid, dodecanedioic acid, tridecanedioic acid, and tetradecanedioic acid, have been identified in samples of azelaic acid. The aim of this study was to identify impurities observed during the stability tests of a new liposomal dosage form of azelaic acid that is composed of phosphatidylcholine and a mixture of ethyl alcohol and water, using high-performance liquid chromatography with evaporative light-scattering detector (HPLC-ELSD), gas chromatography–flame ionisation detection (GC-FID), and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) methods. During the research and development of a new liposomal formulation of azelaic acid, we developed a method for determining the contamination of azelaic acid using HPLC-ELSD. During our analytical tests, we identified a previously unknown impurity of a liposomal preparation of azelaic acid that appeared in the liposomal formulation of azelaic acid during preliminary stability studies. The procedure led to the conclusion that the impurity was caused by the reaction of azelaic acid with one of the excipients that was applied in the product. The impurity was finally identified as an ethyl monoester of azelaic acid. The identification procedure of this compound was carried out in a series of experiments comparing the chromatograms that were obtained via the following chromatographic methods: HPLC-ELSD, GC-FID, and GC-MS. The final identification of the compound was carried out by GC with MS

Importance and Diagnosis of Flexibility Preparation of Male Sport Climbers

The objective of the study was to verify the relationships between sport skill levels and to identify the tests that accurately diagnose flexibility of sport climbers. This study examined 60 competitive advanced–higher elite male 7b–9a redpoint (RP) climbers. The athletes performed commonly used flexibility tests (stand-and-reach, straddle sit, straddle stand) and climbing-specific flexibility tests. Significant correlations were found between sport skill levels for the straddle stand test (r = −0.48) and the straddle sit test (r = −0.41). No significant correlations were observed between climbing-specific flexibility tests and sports skill level of climbers. Hip abduction evaluated using the straddle sit and straddle stand tests were significantly correlated with sports skill level and thus can be approached as a tool to diagnose flexibility of climbers. Flexibility is very specific and difficult to diagnose in climbing, but it should be developed

Spearman rank correlations between RP level and the examined somatic features and motor test results in elite and advanced climbers.

<p>Spearman rank correlations between RP level and the examined somatic features and motor test results in elite and advanced climbers.</p

Finger strength test.

<p>Finger strength test.</p

Arm strength test.

<p>Arm strength test.</p