Basic studies in microwave remote sensing

Scattering models were developed in support of microwave remote sensing of earth terrains with particular emphasis on model applications to airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar measurements of forest. Practically useful surface scattering models based on a solution of a pair of integral equations including multiple scattering effects were developed. Comparisons of these models with controlled scattering measurements from statistically known random surfaces indicate that they are valid over a wide range of frequencies. Scattering models treating a forest environment as a two and three layered media were also developed. Extensive testing and comparisons were carried out with the two layered model. Further studies with the three layered model are being carried out. A volume scattering model valid for dense media such as a snow layer was also developed that shows the appropriate trend dependence with the volume fraction of scatterers

Anomalous molecular orbital variation upon adsorption on wide band gap insulator

It is commonly believed that organic molecules are physisorbed on the ideal non-polar surfaces of wide band gap insulators with limited variation of the electronic properties of the adsorbate molecule. On the basis of first principles calculations within density functional theory (DFT) and $GW$ approximation, we show that this is not generally true. We find that the molecular frontier orbitals undergo significant changes when a hydroxy acid (here we chose gluconic acid) is adsorbed on MgSO$_4$$\cdot$H$_2$O(100) surface due to the complex interaction between the molecule and the insulating surface. The predicted trend of the adsorption effect on the energy gap obtained by DFT is reversed when the surface polarization effect is taken into account via the many-body corrections.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Development of Defense in Basketball

This is a brief account of the history and development of defense in basketball and the part it plays in the game

Characterization of the cardiac ISGylome and its influence on protein function during Coxsackievirus B3 infection

Infection with cardiotropic Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) leads to activation of the innate immune system and production of type I Interferons (IFNs). Upon detection of IFNs, cells upregulate the expression of hundreds of downstream effector proteins called Interferon Stimulated Genes (ISGs) to establish the host cellular antiviral state. Among the ISGs, the small ubiquitin-like modifier ISG15 has pleiotropic antiviral function acting in its free form or covalently conjugated to other proteins. This so called ISGylation is mediated by an E1/E2/E3 enzyme cascade, peaking around day 3 of infection in cardiac tissue. Subsequent infiltration of innate and adaptive immune cells into the myocardium results in both, viral elimination as well as inflammation-induced cell death and thus causes acute viral myocarditis. Inefficient virus clearance and persistence of viral RNA in cardiac cells can then cause chronic cardiac inflammation. Previous work showed that ISGylation suppresses CVB3-mediated pathology, and enrichment of ISGylation by deactivating the deconjugating activity of the Ubiquitin-specific protease 18 (USP18) further enhances the antiviral host response. However, the manner in which ISGylation orchestrates resistance against CVB3 remains unclear. To investigate this, the cardiac proteome and ISGylome of infected wildtype, ISG15 / , and USP18C61A/C61A mice was analyzed by LC MS/MS. On the one hand, proteome analysis showed an infection-induced upregulation of the host-cellular immune response to establish a cardiac antiviral state. Additionally, IFIT1 and IFIT3, proteins with known antiviral effect against CVB3, were identified as ISG15-target proteins and ISGylation positively influenced their expression levels. On the other hand, infection led to a downregulation of proteins associated with metabolic pathways. Nonetheless, the cardiac mitochondrial energy production was upregulated in an ISGylation-dependent manner, indicating infection-induced increased energy demand. Concordantly, analysis of the cardiac ISGylome identified a variety of metabolic enzymes to be covalently modified by ISG15. Upregulation of glycolytic levels in primary cardiomyocytes was restricted by ISG15, which might be at least partly due to an attenuated activity of ISGylated hexokinase-2 and phosphofructokinase. Taken together, this study highlights the regulation of two key response pathways in viral infection by the ISG15 system. While the direct antiviral response might be supported by ISGylation-mediated stabilization of IFIT1/3, ISG15/ISGylation further ensures the efficient regulation of metabolic energy production during infection

Quantifying evaporation on the surface of slimes dams in the southeastern part of the North West Province

M.A. (Geography and Environmental Management)Water can be regarded as a scarce commodity in South Africa and one cannot rely solely on the discovery of new water resources to meet the ever increasing demands. Water is arguably the most precious resource in South Africa and its proper management in all spheres of activity is imperative ( Middleton and Stern,1987 ). This is no different in the mining industry where a primary consumptive use of water is in the tailings dams and associated return water. Restricted implementation of Government water plans and a series of droughts has forced users of water to optimise their use of water. A key to correct water management of a tailings disposal system on a gold mine lies in accurate and meaningful water balance. To provide an accurate water balance, quantifying the water loss is necessary. The water loss in a tailings system is mainly due to evaporation and interstitial flow. For the purpose of this study, evaporation is dealt with in more detail

A remote biological data acquisition system

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/692968

Geometries of third-row transition-metal complexes from density-functional theory

A set of 41 metal-ligand bond distances in 25 third-row transition-metal complexes, for which precise structural data are known in the gas phase, is used to assess optimized and zero-point averaged geometries obtained from DFT computations with various exchange-correlation functionals and basis sets. For a given functional (except LSDA) Stuttgart-type quasi-relativistic effective core potentials and an all-electron scalar relativistic approach (ZORA) tend to produce very similar geometries. In contrast to the lighter congeners, LSDA affords reasonably accurate geometries of 5d-metal complexes, as it is among the functionals with the lowest mean and standard deviations from experiment. For this set the ranking of some other popular density functionals, ordered according to decreasing standard deviation, is BLYP > VSXC > BP86 approximate to BPW91 approximate to TPSS approximate to B3LYP approximate to PBE > TPSSh > B3PW91 approximate to B3P86 approximate to PBE hybrid. In this case hybrid functionals are superior to their nonhybrid variants. In addition, we have reinvestigated the previous test sets for 3d- (Buhl M.; Kabrede, H. J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2006, 2, 1282-1290) and 4d- (Waller, M. P.; Buhl, M. J. Comput. Chem. 2007,28,1531-1537) transition-metal complexes using all-electron scalar relativistic DFT calculations in addition to the published nonrelativistic and ECP results. For this combined test set comprising first-, second-, and third-row metal complexes, B3P86 and PBE hybrid are indicated to perform best. A remarkably consistent standard deviation of around 2 pm in metal-ligand bond distances is achieved over the entire set of d-block elements.PostprintPeer reviewe

Einsatz telekonsiliarischer Infrastruktur im Rahmen fachärztlicher Dienstleistungen: Ansatzpunkte einer empirischen Untersuchung

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A laboratory investigation into microwave backscattering from sea ice

The sources of scattering of artificial sea ice were determined, backscatter measurements semi-quantitatively were compared with theoretical predictions, and inexpensive polarimetric radars were developed for sea ice backscatter studies. A brief review of the dielectric properties of sea ice and of commonly used surface and volume scattering theories is presented. A description is provided of the backscatter measurements performed and experimental techniques used. The development of inexpensive short-range polarimetric radars is discussed. The steps taken to add polarimetric capability to a simple FM-W radar are considered as are sample polarimetric phase measurements of the radar. Ice surface characterization data and techniques are discussed, including computation of surface rms height and correlation length and air bubble distribution statistics. A method is also presented of estimating the standard deviation of rms height and correlation length for cases of few data points. Comparisons were made of backscatter measurements and theory. It was determined that backscatter from an extremely smooth saline ice surface at C band cannot be attributed only to surface scatter. It was found that snow cover had a significant influence on backscatter from extremely smooth saline ice at C band