DIAL with heterodyne detection including speckle noise: Aircraft/shuttle measurements of O3, H2O, and NH3 with pulsed tunable CO2lasers

A parametric analysis of DIAL sensitivity with heterodyne detection is presented and comparisons with direct detection are discussed. Examples are given for monitoring vertical distributions of O3, H2O, and NH3 using a ground-, aircraft-, or shuttle-based pulsed tunable CO2 laser DIAL system. Results indicate that maximum sensitivity at minimum laser energy per measurement requires multiple pulse operation with the energy per pulse selected so that the measured photon rate is approximately equal to the detector IF bandwidth. Measurement sensitivities can be maximized and interference effects minimized by fine adjustment of measurement frequencies using the tunability of high pressure lasers. The use of rare isotope lasers minimizes loss due to CO2 atmospheric absorption

DIAL with heterodyne detection including speckle noise: Aircraft/shuttle measurements of O3, H2O, and NH3 with pulsed tunable CO2 lasers

Atmospheric trace constituent measurements with higher vertical resolution than attainable with passive radiometers are discussed. Infrared differential absorption lidar (DIAL), which depends on Mie scattering from aerosols, has special advantages for tropospheric and lower stratospheric applications and has great potential importance for measurements from shuttle and aircraft. Differential absorption lidar data reduction involves comparing large amplitude signals which have small differences. The accuracy of the trace constituent concentration inferred from DIAL measurements depends strongly on the errors in determining the amplitude of the signals. Thus, the commonly used SNR expression (signal divided by noise in the absence of signal) is not adequate to describe DIAL measurement accuracy and must be replaced by an expression which includes the random coherent (speckle) noise within the signal. A comprehensive DIAL computer algorithm is modified to include heterodyne detection and speckle noise. Examples for monitoring vertical distributions of O3, H2O, and NH3 using a ground-, aircraft-, or shuttle-based pulsed tunable CO2 laser DIAL system are given

Modular space station phase B extension preliminary system design. Volume 2: Operations and crew analyses

All analyses and tradeoffs conducted to establish the MSS operations and crew activities are discussed. The missions and subsystem integrated analyses that were completed to assure compatibility of program elements and consistency with program objectives are presented

Effect of dipolar moments in domain sizes of lipid bilayers and monolayers

Lipid domains are found in systems such as multi-component bilayer membranes and single component monolayers at the air-water interface. It was shown by Andelman et al. (Comptes Rendus 301, 675 (1985)) and McConnell et al. (Phys. Chem. {\bf 91}, 6417 (1987)) that in monolayers, the size of the domains results from balancing the line tension, which favors the formation of a large single circular domain, against the electrostatic cost of assembling the dipolar moments of the lipids. In this paper, we present an exact analytical expression for the electric potential, ion distribution and electrostatic free energy for different problems consisting of three different slabs with different dielectric constants and Debye lengths, with a circular homogeneous dipolar density in the middle slab. From these solutions, we extend the calculation of domain sizes for monolayers to include the effects of finite ionic strength, dielectric discontinuities (or image charges) and the polarizability of the dipoles and further generalize the calculations to account for domains in lipid bilayers. In monolayers, the size of the domains is dependent on the different dielectric constants but independent of ionic strength. In asymmetric bilayers, where the inner and outer leaflets have different dipolar densities, domains show a strong size dependence with ionic strength, with molecular-sized domains that grow to macroscopic phase separation with increasing ionic strength. We discuss the implications of the results for experiments and briefly consider their relation to other two dimensional systems such as Wigner crystals or heteroepitaxial growth.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figues in eps Replaced with new version, one citation added and a few statements corrected. The results of the paper are unchange

A randomized trial of artemether-lumefantrine versus mefloquine-artesunate for the treatment of uncomplicated multi-drug resistant Plasmodium falciparum on the western border of Thailand

BACKGROUND: The use of antimalarial drug combinations with artemisinin derivatives is recommended to overcome drug resistance in Plasmodium falciparum. The fixed combination of oral artemether-lumefantrine, an artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) is highly effective and well tolerated. It is the only registered fixed combination containing an artemisinin. The trial presented here was conducted to monitor the efficacy of the six-dose regimen of artemether-lumefantrine (ALN) in an area of multi-drug resistance, along the Thai-Myanmar border. METHODS: The trial was an open-label, two-arm, randomized study comparing artemether-lumefantrine and mefloquine-artesunate for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria with 42 days of follow up. Parasite genotyping by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to distinguish recrudescent from newly acquired P. falciparum infections. The PCR adjusted cure rates were evaluated by survival analysis. RESULTS: In 2001–2002 a total of 490 patients with slide confirmed uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria were randomly assigned to receive artemether-lumefantrine (n = 245) or artesunate and mefloquine (n = 245) and were followed for 42 days. All patients had rapid initial clinical and parasitological responses. In both groups, the PCR adjusted cure rates by day 42 were high: 98.8% (95% CI 96.4, 99.6%) for artemether-lumefantrine and 96.3% (95% CI 93.1, 98.0%) for artesunate-mefloquine. Both regimens were very well tolerated with no serious adverse events observed attributable to either combination. CONCLUSION: Overall, this study confirms that these two artemisinin-based combinations remain highly effective and result in equivalent therapeutic responses in the treatment of highly drug-resistant falciparum malaria

Collective neutrino flavor transitions in supernovae and the role of trajectory averaging

Non-linear effects on supernova neutrino oscillations, associated with neutrino self-interactions, are known to induce collective flavor transitions near the supernova core for theta_13 \neq 0. In scenarios with very shallow electron density profiles, these transformations have been shown to couple with ordinary matter effects, jointly producing spectral distortions both in normal and inverted hierarchy. In this work we consider a complementary scenario, characterized by higher electron density, as indicated by post-bounce shock-wave simulations. In this case, early collective flavor transitions are decoupled from later, ordinary matter effects. Moreover, such transitions become more amenable to both numerical computations and analytical interpretations in inverted hierarchy, while they basically vanish in normal hierarchy. We numerically evolve the neutrino density matrix in the region relevant for self-interaction effects. In the approximation of averaged intersection angle between neutrino trajectories, our simulations neatly show the collective phenomena of synchronization, bipolar oscillations, and spectral split, recently discussed in the literature. In the more realistic (but computationally demanding) case of non-averaged neutrino trajectories, our simulations do not show new significant features, apart from the smearing of ``fine structures'' such as bipolar nutations. Our results seem to suggest that, at least for non-shallow matter density profiles, averaging over neutrino trajectories plays a minor role in the final outcome. In this case, the swap of nu_e and nu_{\mu,\tau} spectra above a critical energy may represent an unmistakable signature of the inverted hierarchy, especially for theta_{13} small enough to render further matter effects irrelevant.Comment: v2 (27 pages, including 9 eps figures). Typos removed, references updated. Minor comments added. Corrected numerical errors in Eq.(6). Matches the published versio

Beacon Virtua: A Virtual Reality Simulation Detailing the Recent and Shipwreck History of Beacon Island, Western Australia

Beacon Virtua is a project to document and virtually preserve a historically significant offshore island as a virtual reality experience. In 1629, survivors of the wreck of VOC ship Batavia took refuge on Beacon Island, Western Australia, followed by a mutiny and massacre. In the 1950s the island became the base of a successful fishing industry, and in 1963 human remains from Batavia were located. The fishing community has recently been moved off the island to protect and preserve the site and allow a thorough archaeological investigation of the island. Beacon Virtua exposes users to the history of both the shipwreck survivors and the fishing community. The project uses the virtual environment development software Unity to present a simulation of the island, with 3D models of buildings and jetties, photogrammetric 3D reconstructions of graves and other features, 360° photographic panoramas, and information on the history of the island. The experience has been made available on a wide range of different platforms including via a web-page, as part of an exhibition, and on head mounted displays (VR headsets). This chapter discusses the features included in Beacon Virtua, the storytelling techniques used in the simulation, the challenges encountered and solutions used during the project

Children's active play: self-reported motivators, barriers and facilitators

Physical activity has important benefits for children's physical health and mental wellbeing, but many children do not meet recommended levels. Research suggests that active play has the potential to make a valuable contribution to children's overall physical activity, whilst providing additional cognitive, social and emotional benefits. However, relatively little is known about the determinants of UK children's active play. Understanding these factors provides the critical first step in developing interventions to increase children's active play, and therefore overall physical activity. Eleven focus groups were conducted with 77, 10-11 year old children from four primary schools in Bristol, UK. Focus groups examined: (i) factors which motivate children to take part in active play; (ii) factors which limit children's active play and (iii) factors which facilitate children's active play. All focus groups were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using a thematic approach. Children were motivated to engage in active play because they perceived it to be enjoyable, to prevent boredom, to have physical and mental health benefits and to provide freedom from adult control, rules and structure. However, children's active play was constrained by a number of factors, including rainy weather and fear of groups of teenagers in their play spaces. Some features of the physical environment facilitated children's active play, including the presence of green spaces and cul-de-sacs in the neighbourhood. Additionally, children's use of mobile phones when playing away from home was reported to help to alleviate parents' safety fears, and therefore assist children's active play. Children express a range of motivational and environmental factors that constrain and facilitate their active play. Consideration of these factors should improve effectiveness of interventions designed to increase active play

Nanotechnology and Society: A discussion-based undergraduate course

Nanotechnology has emerged as a broad, exciting, yet ill-defined field of scientific research and technological innovation. There are important questions about the technology's potential economic, social, and environmental implications. We discuss an undergraduate course on nanoscience and nanotechnology for students from a wide range of disciplines, including the natural and social sciences, the humanities, and engineering. The course explores these questions and the broader place of technology in contemporary societies. The course is built around active learning methods and seeks to develop the students' critical thinking skills, written and verbal communication abilities, and general knowledge of nanoscience and nanoengineering concepts. Continuous assessment was used to gain information about the effectiveness of class discussions and enhancement of student understanding of the interaction between nanotechnology and society.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure. Edited and shortened for readability. Visit http://www.tahan.com/charlie/nanosociety/course201/ for more informatio

A Guide for the Design of Benchmark Environments for Building Energy Optimization

The need for algorithms that optimize building energy consumption is usually motivated with the high energy consumption of buildings on a global scale. However, the current practice for evaluating the performance of such algorithms does not reflect this goal, as in most cases the performance is reported for one specific simulated building only, which provides no indication about the generalization of the score on other buildings. One approach to overcome this severe issue is to establish a shared collection of environments, each representing one simulated building setup, that would enable researchers to systematically compare and contrast the efficacy of their building optimization algorithms at scale. However, this requires that the individual environments are well designed for this goal. This paper is thus targeting the design of suitable environments for such a collection based on a detailed analysis of related publications that allows the identification of relevant characteristics for suitable environments. Based on this analysis a guide is developed that distills these characteristics into questions, intended to support a discussion of relevant topics during the design of such environments. Additional explanations and examples are provided for each question to make the guide more comprehensible. Finally, it is demonstrated how the guide can be applied, by utilizing it for the design of a novel environment, which represents an office building in tropical climate. This environment is released open source alongside this publication. We also indicate how test scenarios from existing publications could be enhanced to comply with the required characteristics according to our guide, underlining its importance for the future development and evaluation of building energy optimization algorithms, and thus for the sustainability of buildings in general