The Sondrestrom radar: Progress and proposed upgrades for ST work

The capabilities and limitations of the Sondrestrom Radar for stratosphere-troposphere ST observations were previously presented. Recent progress and proposed upgrades are summarized. During the first year of operation (April 1983 to April 1984) there was only one ST experiment, mainly with the objective of evaluating the site and determining that the hardare and software were still operational after the radar's move from Alaska. The Sondrestrom site has about the same degree of ground clutter as the former Chatanika site and the data appear to be similar. The radar's operation continues to be incoherent-scatter observations of the ionosphere. The main radar parameters are summarized

The economics of data acquisition computers for ST and MST radars

Some low cost options for data acquisition computers for ST (stratosphere, troposphere) and MST (mesosphere, stratosphere, troposphere) are presented. The particular equipment discussed reflects choices made by the University of Alaska group but of course many other options exist. The low cost microprocessor and array processor approach presented here has several advantages because of its modularity. An inexpensive system may be configured for a minimum performance ST radar, whereas a multiprocessor and/or a multiarray processor system may be used for a higher performance MST radar. This modularity is important for a network of radars because the initial cost is minimized while future upgrades will still be possible at minimal expense. This modularity also aids in lowering the cost of software development because system expansions should rquire little software changes. The functions of the radar computer will be to obtain Doppler spectra in near real time with some minor analysis such as vector wind determination

Antenna induced range smearing in MST radars

There is considerable interest in developing stratosphere troposphere (ST) and mesosphere stratosphere troposphere (MST) radars for higher resolution to study small-scale turbulent structures and waves. At present most ST and MST radars have resolutions of 150 meters or larger, and are not able to distinguish the thin (40 - 100 m) turbulent layers that are known to occur in the troposphere and stratosphere, and possibly in the mesosphere. However the antenna beam width and sidelobe level become important considerations for radars with superior height resolution. The objective of this paper is to point out that for radars with range resolutions of about 150 meters or less, there may be significant range smearing of the signals from mesospheric altitudes due to the finite beam width of the radar antenna. At both stratospheric and mesospheric heights the antenna sidelobe level for lear equally spaced phased arrays may also produce range aliased signals. To illustrate this effect the range smearing functions for two vertically directed antennas have been calculated, (1) an array of 32 coaxial-collinear strings each with 48 elements that simulates the vertical beam of the Poker Flat, Glaska, MST radar; and (2) a similar, but smaller, array of 16 coaxial-collinear strings each with 24 elements

Furthur development of the dynamic gas temperature measurement system

Candidate concepts capable of generating dynamic temperatures were identified and analyzed for use in verifying experimentally the frequency response of the dynamic gas temperature measurement system. A rotating wheel concept and one other concept will be selected for this purpose. Modifications to the data reduction code algorithms developed were identified and evaluated to reduce substantially the data reduction execution time. These modifications will be incorporated in a new data reduction program to be written in FORTRAN IV

A brief history of long memory: Hurst, Mandelbrot and the road to ARFIMA

Long memory plays an important role in many fields by determining the behaviour and predictability of systems; for instance, climate, hydrology, finance, networks and DNA sequencing. In particular, it is important to test if a process is exhibiting long memory since that impacts the accuracy and confidence with which one may predict future events on the basis of a small amount of historical data. A major force in the development and study of long memory was the late Benoit B. Mandelbrot. Here we discuss the original motivation of the development of long memory and Mandelbrot's influence on this fascinating field. We will also elucidate the sometimes contrasting approaches to long memory in different scientific communitiesComment: 40 page

Room reflections and constancy in speech-like sounds: within-band effects

The experiment asks whether constancy in hearing precedes or follows grouping. Listeners heard speech-like sounds comprising 8 auditory-filter shaped noise-bands that had temporal envelopes corresponding to those arising in these filters when a speech message is played. The „context‟ words in the message were “next you‟ll get _to click on”, into which a “sir” or “stir” test word was inserted. These test words were from an 11-step continuum that was formed by amplitude modulation. Listeners identified the test words appropriately and quite consistently, even though they had the „robotic‟ quality typical of this type of 8-band speech. The speech-like effects of these sounds appears to be a consequence of auditory grouping. Constancy was assessed by comparing the influence of room reflections on the test word across conditions where the context had either the same level of reflections, or where it had a much lower level. Constancy effects were obtained with these 8-band sounds, but only in „matched‟ conditions, where the room reflections were in the same bands in both the context and the test word. This was not the case in a comparison „mismatched‟ condition, and here, no constancy effects were found. It would appear that this type of constancy in hearing precedes the across-channel grouping whose effects are so apparent in these sounds. This result is discussed in terms of the ubiquity of grouping across different levels of representation

Discovery of Resistance-Reversing Agents in Antibiotic Resistant Strains of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae from Natural Product Libraries

Objective: The objective of this exploratory research is to discover compounds, particularly from natural products, that inhibit ESBL, KPC, and NDM-1 mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in the Gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Methods: This objective will be accomplished utilizing a high-volume bioassay testing natural product samples from the National Center for Natural Products Research. This assay tests samples against 6 different strains of bacteria known to express β-lactamases in the presence and absence of sub-inhibitory concentrations of the test antibiotic. By structuring the assay in this way, differentiation may be made between the inherent antibacterial activity of samples and the synergistic effects between the sample and the antibiotic. Optical density (OD) readings will be used to determine bacterial growth or the lack thereof. Samples showing pronounced activity only in the presence of the antibiotics will be considered active and will be tested in a checkerboard assay to confirm activity. Results: Of over 5,000 samples tested, 35 samples showed synergistic activity, giving a hit rate of 0.7%. Of these 35, the most promising three hits were tested in follow-up checkerboard assays. These three samples all demonstrated synergistic effects with fractional inhibitory concentrations (FIC) of <0.5. Of the samples tested in the checkerboard assays, one was a plant extract, one was a pure compound, and one was a fungal soil isolate obtained from the National Cancer Institute. Conclusions: This study showed the benefits of using a high-volume screen to test samples against resistant bacterial strains. Continued research in this field could prove to be beneficial to the discovery of new drugs for clinically relevant therapeutic applications

Further development of the dynamic gas temperature measurement system

Two experiments for verifying the frequency response of a previously-developed dynamic gas temperature measurement system were performed. In both experiments, fine-wire resistance temperature sensors were used as standards. The compensated dynamic temperature sensor data will be compared with the standards to verify the compensation method. The experiments are described in detail

Dynamic gas temperature measurement system, volume 1

A gas temperature measurement system with compensated frequency response of 1 kHz and capability to operate in the exhaust of a gas turbine engine combustor was developed. A review of available technologies which could attain this objective was done. The most promising method was identified as a two wire thermocouple, with a compensation method based on the responses of the two different diameter thermocouples to the fluctuating gas temperature field. In a detailed design of the probe, transient conduction effects were identified as significant. A compensation scheme was derived to include the effects of gas convection and wire conduction. The two wire thermocouple concept was tested in a laboratory burner exhaust to temperatures of about 3000 F and in a gas turbine engine to combustor exhaust temperatures of about 2400 F. Uncompensated and compensated waveforms and compensation spectra are presented