Study of an attitude reference system utilizing an electrically suspended gyro final report, 1 aug. 1964 - 31 mar. 1965

Miniature electrically suspended gyroscope for spacecraft attitude reference syste

Test-retest reliability of structural brain networks from diffusion MRI

Structural brain networks constructed from diffusion MRI (dMRI) and tractography have been demonstrated in healthy volunteers and more recently in various disorders affecting brain connectivity. However, few studies have addressed the reproducibility of the resulting networks. We measured the test–retest properties of such networks by varying several factors affecting network construction using ten healthy volunteers who underwent a dMRI protocol at 1.5 T on two separate occasions. Each T1-weighted brain was parcellated into 84 regions-of-interest and network connections were identified using dMRI and two alternative tractography algorithms, two alternative seeding strategies, a white matter waypoint constraint and three alternative network weightings. In each case, four common graph-theoretic measures were obtained. Network properties were assessed both node-wise and per network in terms of the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and by comparing within- and between-subject differences. Our findings suggest that test–retest performance was improved when: 1) seeding from white matter, rather than grey; and 2) using probabilistic tractography with a two-fibre model and sufficient streamlines, rather than deterministic tensor tractography. In terms of network weighting, a measure of streamline density produced better test–retest performance than tract-averaged diffusion anisotropy, although it remains unclear which is a more accurate representation of the underlying connectivity. For the best performing configuration, the global within-subject differences were between 3.2% and 11.9% with ICCs between 0.62 and 0.76. The mean nodal within-subject differences were between 5.2% and 24.2% with mean ICCs between 0.46 and 0.62. For 83.3% (70/84) of nodes, the within-subject differences were smaller than between-subject differences. Overall, these findings suggest that whilst current techniques produce networks capable of characterising the genuine between-subject differences in connectivity, future work must be undertaken to improve network reliability

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), Westinghouse phase 1. Volume 5: Combined gas-steam turbine cycles

The energy conversion efficiency of gas-steam turbine cycles was investigated for selected combined cycle power plants. Results indicate that it is possible for combined cycle gas-steam turbine power plants to have efficiencies several point higher than conventional steam plants. Induction of low pressure steam into the steam turbine is shown to improve the plant efficiency. Post firing of the boiler of a high temperature combined cycle plant is found to increase net power but to worsen efficiency. A gas turbine pressure ratio of 12 to 1 was found to be close to optimum at all gas turbine inlet temperatures that were studied. The coal using combined cycle plant with an integrated low-Btu gasifier was calculated to have a plant efficiency of 43.6%, a capitalization of $497/kW, and a cost of electricity of 6.75 mills/MJ (24.3 mills/kwh). This combined cycle plant should be considered for base load power generation

Zenithal bistable device: comparison of modeling and experiment

A comparative modeling and experimental study of the zenithal bistable liquid crystal device is presented. A dynamic Landau de Gennes theory of nematic liquid crystals is solved numerically to model the electric field induced latching of the device and the results are compared with experimental measurements and theoretical approximations. The study gives a clear insight into the latching mechanism dynamics and enables the dependence of the device latching on both material parameters and surface shape to be determined. Analytical approximation highlights a route to optimize material selection in terms of latching voltages and the numerical model, which includes an accurate surface representation, recovers the complex surface shape effects. Predictions of device performance are presented as a function of both surface anchoring strength and surface shape and grating pitch. A measurement of the homeotropic anchoring energy has been undertaken by comparing the voltage response as a function of cell gap; we find the homeotropic anchoring energies can be varied in the range 0.5 to 4 (10-44 J m-2)

Determination of Interaction Potentials of Amino Acids from Native Protein Structures: Test on Simple Lattice Models

We propose a novel method for the determination of the effective interaction potential between the amino acids of a protein. The strategy is based on the combination of a new optimization procedure and a geometrical argument, which also uncovers the shortcomings of any optimization procedure. The strategy can be applied on any data set of native structures such as those available from the Protein Data Bank (PDB). In this work, however, we explain and test our approach on simple lattice models, where the true interactions are known a priori. Excellent agreement is obtained between the extracted and the true potentials even for modest numbers of protein structures in the PDB. Comparisons with other methods are also discussed.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figure

Proteins and polymers

Proteins, chain molecules of amino acids, behave in ways which are similar to each other yet quite distinct from standard compact polymers. We demonstrate that the Flory theorem, derived for polymer melts, holds for compact protein native state structures and is not incompatible with the existence of structured building blocks such as $\alpha$-helices and $\beta$-strands. We present a discussion on how the notion of the thickness of a polymer chain, besides being useful in describing a chain molecule in the continuum limit, plays a vital role in interpolating between conventional polymer physics and the phase of matter associated with protein structures.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Predicting narrow states in the spectrum of a nucleus beyond the proton drip line

Properties of particle-unstable nuclei lying beyond the proton drip line can be ascertained by considering those (usually known) properties of its mirror neutron-rich system. We have used a multi-channel algebraic scattering theory to map the known properties of the neutron-${}^{14}$C system to those of the proton-${}^{14}$O one from which we deduce that the particle-unstable ${}^{15}$F will have a spectrum of two low lying broad resonances of positive parity and, at higher excitation, three narrow negative parity ones. A key feature is to use coupling to Pauli-hindered states in the target.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Root-lesion nematode (Pratylenchus thornei) limits response of wheat but not barley to stored soil moisture in the Hermitage long-term tillage experiment

The cumulative effects of factorial treatments of tillage (no tillage, conventional), stubble retention (burnt, retained), and nitrogen fertiliser (0, 23, 69 kg N/ha) on yield of continuous winter cereals and on soil properties have been tested in the Hermitage fallow management experiment since 1969. Despite increased soil water stored from the combination of no tillage and stubble retention, wheat responses to the extra water were disappointing in the first 11 years of the experiment. Soil samples from the experiment were shown to be heavily infested with the root-lesion nematode (Pratylenchus thornei Sher and Allen), and therefore in 1980, the main plots were split for crop (wheat cv. Timgalen, barley cv. Clipper) and nematicide treatment (nil, aldicarb). Barley (maximum yield 3.2 t/ha) tolerated the nematodes and responded in this dry year to the extra stored water accumulated with no tillage and stubble retention, but wheat (maximum yield 1.22 t/ha) did not. Nematicide increased wheat yields by 42%. The results from the changes to the Hermitage experiment in 1980 show the importance of considering root-lesion nematodes in interpreting results from long-term experiments involving wheat and in applying those results to farms. Control of root-lesion nematodes on farms by crop rotation and by growing tolerant and resistant wheat varieties is needed to obtain full yield benefits from improved tillage practices

Off-grid solar milk cooling systems offer technical and market opportunities for remote dairy producers

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