Flight deck engine advisor

The focus of this project is on alerting pilots to impending events in such a way as to provide the additional time required for the crew to make critical decisions concerning non-normal operations. The project addresses pilots' need for support in diagnosis and trend monitoring of faults as they affect decisions that must be made within the context of the current flight. Monitoring and diagnostic modules developed under the NASA Faultfinder program were restructured and enhanced using input data from an engine model and real engine fault data. Fault scenarios were prepared to support knowledge base development activities on the MONITAUR and DRAPhyS modules of Faultfinder. An analysis of the information requirements for fault management was included in each scenario. A conceptual framework was developed for systematic evaluation of the impact of context variables on pilot action alternatives as a function of event/fault combinations

Extinction properties of the X-ray bright/optically faint afterglow of GRB 020405

We present an optical-to-X-ray spectral analysis of the afterglow of GRB 020405. The optical spectral energy distribution not corrected for the extragalactic extinction is significantly below the X-ray extrapolation of the single powerlaw spectral model suggested by multiwavelength studies. We investigate whether considerable extinction could explain the observed spectral ``mismatch'' by testing several types of extinction curves. For the first time we test extinction curves computed with time-dependent numerical simulations of dust grains destruction by the burst radiation. We find that an extinction law weakly depen dent on wavelength can reconcile the unabsorbed optical and X-ray data with the expected synchrotron spectrum. A gray extinction law can be provided by a dust grain size distribution biased toward large grains.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication on A&

Random Time Forward Starting Options

We introduce a natural generalization of the forward-starting options, first discussed by M. Rubinstein. The main feature of the contract presented here is that the strike-determination time is not fixed ex-ante, but allowed to be random, usually related to the occurrence of some event, either of financial nature or not. We will call these options {\bf Random Time Forward Starting (RTFS)}. We show that, under an appropriate "martingale preserving" hypothesis, we can exhibit arbitrage free prices, which can be explicitly computed in many classical market models, at least under independence between the random time and the assets' prices. Practical implementations of the pricing methodologies are also provided. Finally a credit value adjustment formula for these OTC options is computed for the unilateral counterparty credit risk.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figur

Positronium Decay : Gauge Invariance and Analyticity

The construction of positronium decay amplitudes is handled through the use of dispersion relations. In this way, emphasis is put on basic QED principles: gauge invariance and soft-photon limits (analyticity). A firm grounding is given to the factorization approaches, and some ambiguities in the spin and energy structures of the positronium wavefunction are removed. Non-factorizable amplitudes are naturally introduced. Their dynamics is described, especially regarding the enforcement of gauge invariance and analyticity through delicate interferences. The important question of the completeness of the present theoretical predictions for the decay rates is then addressed. Indeed, some of those non-factorizable contributions are unaccounted for by NRQED analyses. However, it is shown that such new contributions are highly suppressed, being of order alpha^3. Finally, a particular effective form factor formalism is constructed for parapositronium, allowing a thorough analysis of binding energy effects and analyticity implementation.Comment: 34 pages, 13 figure

BeppoSAX Observations of the Maser Sy2 Galaxy: ESO103-G35

We have made BeppoSAX observations of the Seyfert 2/1.9 galaxy ESO103-G35, which contains a nuclear maser source and is known to be heavily absorbed in the X-rays. Analysis of the X-ray spectra observed by SAX in October 1996 and 1997 yields a spectral index 0.74+/-0.07, typical of Seyfert galaxies and consistent with earlier observations of this source. The strong, soft X-ray absorption has column density 1.79E(23)/cm^2, again consistent with earlier results. The best fitting spectrum is that of a power law with a high energy cutoff at 29+/-10 keV, a cold, marginally resolved Fe Kalpha line with EW 290 eV (1996) and a mildly ionized Fe K-edge at 7.37 keV. The Kalpha line and cold absorption are consistent with origin in a accretion disk/torus through which our line-of-sight passes at a radial distance of $\sim 50$ pc. The Fe K-edge is mildly ionized suggesting the presence of ionized gas probably in the inner accretion disk, close to the central source or in a separate warm absorber. The data quality is too low to distinguish between these possibilities but the edge-on geometry implied by the water maser emission favors the former. Comparison with earlier observations of ESO103-G35 shows little/no change in spectral parameters while the flux changes by factors of a few on timescales of a few months. The 2--10 keV flux decreased by a factor of 2.7 between Oct 1996 and Oct 1997 with no detectable change in the count rate >20 keV suggesting a constant or delayed response reflection component. The high energy cutoff is lower than the typical 300keV values seen in Seyfert galaxies. A significant subset of similar sources would affect current models of the AGN contribution to the cosmic X-ray background which generally assume a high energy cutoff of 300 keV.Comment: 22 pages, postscript file, accepted for publication in Ap

Constructing a broadly inclusive seed plant phylogeny

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143673/1/ajb21019_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143673/2/ajb21019.pd

Innovation ecosystems for youth agrifood entrepreneurship in the mediterranean region

This paper is the outcome of a reflection on the MIP report 2020, a collection of information and data used to describe the scenario on youth innovation and entrepreneurship in agrifood sector in Mediterranean countries. In particular, it highlights the need to study innovation in Mediterranean regions under the lens of social and institutional innovation. It is argued that social and institutional innovation are key drivers of the development of Innovation Ecosystems. The paper discusses the main findings ‒ and relevant case studies ‒ of the MIP report, with a specific attention to the role of the Innovation Support Organizations. It is noted that while in the field of institutional innovation there are signs of official activity, in the field of social innovation there is no or very limited attempt to embody social innovation into national policy frameworks. However, the article identifies interesting bottom-up initiatives that may constitute the basis for new policy initiatives

No equity, no triple aim: strategic proposals to advance health equity in a volatile policy environment

Health professionals, including social workers, community health workers, public health workers, and licensed health care providers, share common interests and responsibilities in promoting health equity and improving social determinants of health—the conditions in which we live, work, play, and learn. This article summarizes underlying causes of health inequity and comparatively poor health outcomes in the U.S. It describes barriers to realizing the hope embedded in the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that moving away from fee-for-service payments will naturally drive care upstream as providers respond to greater financial risk for the health of their patients by undertaking greater prevention efforts. The article asserts that health equity should serve as the guiding framework for achieving the Triple Aim of health care reform. It outlines practical opportunities for improving care and for promoting stronger efforts to address social determinants of health. These proposals include developing a dashboard of measures to assist providers committed to health equity and community-based prevention and to promote institutional accountability for addressing socio-economic factors that influence health

SN 2002lt and GRB 021211: a SN/GRB Connection at z = 1

We present spectroscopic and photometric observations of the afterglow of GRB 021211 and the discovery of its associated supernova, SN 2002lt. The spectrum shows a broad feature (FWHM = 150 A), around 3770 A (in the rest-frame of the GRB), which we interpret as Ca H+K blueshifted by 14400 km/s. Potential sources of contamination due to the host galaxy and/or residuals of telluric absorption have been analyzed and ruled out. Overall, the spectrum shows a suggestive resemblance with the one of the prototypical type-Ic SN 1994I. This might indicate that GRBs are produced also by standard type-Ic supernovae.Comment: 6 pages, 5 color figures. Proceedings of the 2003 GRB Conference (Santa Fe, NM, 2003 Sep 8-12). Needs aipprocs LaTeX clas

Dust extinction properties of a sample of bright X-rays afterglows

Weha vestudie d a sampleof four bright X-rays afterglows of Gammaray Bursts (GRBs) for which the optical spectral energy distributions (SEDs), not corrected for extra-galactic dust extinction, have spectral index consistent with the X-rays spectral index, but with fluxes significantly below the X-rays extrapolation assuming a simple power law spectral model. A simple power law model is suggested by the spectral and temporal indices of these afterglows as already noted in previous works, although a spectral break between the X-rays and the optical band cannot be excluded but in one case. Previous works invoked a non standard extinction law to recover the observed spectral “mismatch”; alternatively, the same electron population may have produced the observed NIR-optical emission via synchrotron radiation and the X-rays via Inverse Compton scattering. We have investigated on the non-standard extinction hypothesis, since high redshift environments can be in principle very different from standard (local) interstellar media and GRB circumburst environment may well be modified by the burst itself. Although the uncertainty on the underlying spectral model prevented us to reach firm conclusions, we found that an extinction curve weakly dependent on the wavelenght makes the optical SED consistent with the X-rays flux extrapolation assuming a simple power law model and provides at the same time rest frame visual extinction values nicely in agreement with the equivalent hydrogen column densities measured from X-rays analysis. An extinction law weakly dependent on the wavelenght can be provided by dust grains destruction dueto thein tenseX-ra ys and UV fluxes from theburst itself or by small dust grains coagulation into larger ones. The large sample of optical–to–X-rays spectrally monitored afterglows provided by Swift will address our findings