Trend-Surface Analysis of the Trunk Lake Granitic Pluton, Maine

A trend-surface modal analysis of the Tunk Lake granitic pluton was performed using a program for the IBM 30/40 computer (Appendix 1) by Heiner and Geller (MIRL Report No. 9) and data from Karner (1968). The quartz, total mafics, oligoclase, perthite, and albite in perthite percentages were analyzed. All the trends show a southwest-northeast alignment, with the perthite, albite-in-perthite, and total mafic values increasing towards the margin of the pluton and quartz and oligoclase values decreasing outward to the margin. There is an area in the northwest part of the pluton which is an area of high values for total mafics, perthite, and albite-in-perthite, and an area of low values for quartz and oligoclase. For the sixth-degree surfaces, the total mafics accounted for 49 percent of the total variation, quartz for 40 percent, oligoclase for 71 percent, perthite for 67 percent, and albite-in-perthite for 75 percent. The difference in the percentages points to two different types of trend. The quartz and total mafics trends are not as distinct as the oligoclase, perthite, and albite in perthite trends. This is a reflection of different processes involved in the formation of the pluton resulting in different trends. Water vapor pressure and cooling temperature govern the trends of oligoclase, perthite, and ablite-in-perthite and magma differentiation and movement govern the trends of quartz and total mafics

The physical and petrographic characteristics of formcoke produced experimentally from lignite and subbituminous coal

Formcoke was produced experimentally from a North Dakota lignite and a Wyoming subbituminous coal. The effect of initial charring tem perature (600°C or 900°C), of char grain size (less than 18 mesh, less than 35 mesh, or less than 60 mesh), of briquetting pressure (1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000, 9000 or 10,000 psi) of binder percentage (5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 per cent), and of final carbonization heating rate (18°C/:min, 12°C/min or 6°C/min) on formcoke briquet com pressive strength was studied. A final carbonization heating rate of 6°C/min produced uniform shape briquets. Rates of 12°C/min and 18°C/min resulted in cracked and swollen formcoke briquets produced otherwise under the same condition as the briquets carbonized at 6°C/min. An increase in the briquetting pressure resulted in an increase in formcoke compressive strength. Formcoke produced from blends of less than 18 mesh:-900°C-lignite char and 10, 15, or 20 per cent binder exhibited uniform briquet shape. Blends with 5 per cent binder did not hold together once removed from the mold. Blends with 25 per cent binder produced swollen and cracked formcoke after final carbonization. The 600°C chars produced stronger formcoke than the 900°C chars. Formcoke compressive strength increased with a decrease in char grain size from less than 18 mesh to less than 35 mesh. Formcoke produced from less than 35 mesh char exhibited about the same strength as formcoke produced from less than 60 mesh char. Petrographically, the 900°C char grains appear more porous than the 600°C char grains. Grain to grain contact of the formcoke was better developed in the formcoke made with 600°C chars than formcoke made with 900°C chars. Grain to grain contact was better developed in formcoke made from 60 mesh char than formcoke made from 35 to 18 mesh char. Formcoke produced from North Dakota 600°C-lignite char exhibited compressive strengths equal to or greater than compressive strengths of formcoke produced from a Wyoming subbituminous coal. The FMC Corporation has been producing formcoke from Wyoming subbituminous coal, and because formcoke produced experimentally from low temperatures (600°C) lignite char was of equal quality to formcoke produced experimentally from Wyoming subbituminous char, large scale formcoke production from North Dakota lignite may be possible

A clinical comparison of visual acuity between the Cardiff acuity test and the Teller acuity and Snellen acuity tests in an adult population

The newly introduced Cardiff Acuity Test developed at the University of Wales College, Cardiff UK was compared to the standard Snellen Acuity charts and the Teller Acuity cards. Acuity readings were obtained from 100 eyes (50 subjects) at distances of 1 meter and 3 meters. A significant difference was found between the 3 acuity tests with a greater deviation at distance (3 meters) than at near (1 meter). The Teller cards measured the highest (best) acuity level followed by the Cardiff and the Sneilen measuring the lowest (worst) acuity

Wavelet multiscale analysis for hedge funds: scaling and strategies

The wide acceptance of Hedge Funds by Institutional Investors and Pension Funds has led to an explosive growth in assets under management. These investors are drawn to Hedge Funds due to the seemingly low correlation with traditional investments and the attractive returns. The correlations and market risk (the Beta in the Capital Asset Pricing Model) of Hedge Funds are generally calculated using monthly returns data, which may produce misleading results as Hedge Funds often hold illiquid exchange-traded securities or difficult to price over-the- counter securities. In this paper, the Maximum Overlap Discrete Wavelet Transform (MODWT) is applied to measure the scaling properties of Hedge Fund correlation and market risk with respect to the S&P 500. It is found that the level of correlation and market risk varies greatly according to the strategy studied and the time scale examined. Finally, the effects of scaling properties on the risk profile of a portfolio made up of Hedge Funds is studied using correlation matrices calculated over different time horizons

Antiphospholipid autoantibodies as blood biomarkers for detection of early stage Alzheimer's disease

A robust blood biomarker is urgently needed to facilitate early prognosis for those at risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Redox reactive autoantibodies (R-RAAs) represent a novel family of antibodies detectable only after exposure of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), serum, plasma or immunoglobulin fractions to oxidizing agents. We have previously reported that R-RAA antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) are significantly decreased in the CSF and serum of AD patients compared to healthy controls (HCs). These studies were extended to measure R-RAA aPL in serum samples obtained from Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Serum samples from the ADNI-1 diagnostic groups from participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), AD and HCs were blinded for diagnosis and analyzed for R-RAA aPL by ELISA. Demographics, cognitive data at baseline and yearly follow-up were subsequently provided by ADNI after posting assay data. As observed in CSF, R-RAA aPL in sera from the AD diagnostic group were significantly reduced compared to HC. However, the sera from the MCI population contained significantly elevated R-RAA aPL activity relative to AD patient and/or HC sera. The data presented in this study indicate that R-RAA aPL show promise as a blood biomarker for detection of early AD, and warrant replication in a larger sample. Longitudinal testing of an individual for increases in R-RAA aPL over a previously established baseline may serve as a useful early sero-epidemiologic blood biomarker for individuals at risk for developing dementia of the Alzheimer's type

IXPE Mirror Module Assemblies

Expected to launch in 2021 Spring, the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is a NASA Astrophysics Small Explorer Mission with significant contributions from the Italian space agency (ASI). The IXPE observatory features three identical x-ray telescopes, each comprised of a 4-m-focal-length mirror module assembly (MMA, provided by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center) that focuses x rays onto a polarization-sensitive, imaging detector (contributed by ASI-funded institutions). This paper summarizes the MMAs design, fabrication, alignment and assembly, expected performance, and calibration plans

Metric preheating and limitations of linearized gravity

Recently it has become clear that the resonant amplification of quantum field fluctuations at preheating must be accompanied by resonant amplification of scalar metric perturbations, since the two are united by Einstein's equations. Furthermore, this "metric preheating" enhances particle production and leads to gravitational rescattering effects even at linear order. In multi-field models with strong preheating (q \gg 1), metric perturbations are driven nonlinear, with the strongest amplification typically on super-Hubble scales (k \to 0). This amplification is causal, being due to the super- Hubble coherence of the inflaton condensate, and is accompanied by resonant growth of entropy perturbations. The amplification invalidates the use of the linearized Einstein field equations, irrespective of the amount of fine-tuning of the initial conditions. This has serious implications at all scales - from the large-angle cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies to primordial black holes. We investigate the (q,k) parameter space in a two-field model, and introduce the time to nonlinearity, t_{nl}, as the timescale for the breakdown of the linearized Einstein equations. Backreaction effects are expected to shut down the linear resonances, but cannot remove the existing amplification, which threatens the viability of strong preheating when confronted with the CMB. We discuss ways to escape the above conclusions, including secondary phases of inflation and preheating solely to fermions. Finally we rank known classes of inflation from strongest (chaotic and strongly coupled hybrid inflation) to weakest (hidden sector, warm inflation) in terms of the distortion of the primordial spectrum due to these resonances in preheating.Comment: 31 pages, 16 figures, Revtex. Final version. Nuclear Physics B (in press