The fabrication and surface tolerance measurements of the JPL clear aperture microwave antenna

Present ground station microwave antennas of the Deep Space Network are of the symmetric dual reflector (cassegrainian) type. An investigation is being made of alternative high-performance offset antenna designs which have a clear aperture (no reflector or structural blockage) with shaped reflector surfaces. A 1.5-m, 32-GHz clear aperture model was built for experimental studies. The unique processes of fabrication, surface measurement, and alignment are described

Children with complex support needs in healthcare settings for prolonged periods: their numbers, characteristics and experiences

This report details the findings of research conducted in England and Scotland to identify how many children with complex support needs are spending longer than one month in healthcare settings in Scotland and England, how and why they are in hospital, why they have not been discharged home or to appropriate alternative community-based facilities, and how well the hospital or healthcare setting is meeting their emotional, social and educational needs. It finds that many of these children could and should be discharged but are not, for a variety of reasons: primarily the lack of appropriate resources in the community and poor discharge planning processes, coupled with the inability of their families to manage their care and supervision without intensive support. Hospitals and healthcare settings in many cases are not meeting their needs and these children are being denied the protection offered by UK legislation governing children's rights and welfare

The synthesis of 15 mu infrared horizon radiance profiles from meteorological data inputs

Computational computer program for modeling infrared horizon radiance profile using pressure and temperature profile input

Identification of Acoustic Emission Source Mechanisms

Identification of mechanisms generating acoustic emission during deformation of materials is often difficult because several mechanisms may be potentially or actually operating simultaneously. Identification of sources which are actually contributing significantly to the acoustic emission can often be accomplished by testing material with different process histories, by microstructural examination before and after deformation, and by using different stress states. Mechanisms which operate simultaneously in one stress state may· operate predominantly in different strain ranges in another stress state. Further confirmation of the mechanisms involved can be obtained by measurement of physical parameters, other than acoustic emission, during deformation which are sensitive to the proposed generation mechanisms for the acoustic emission. Several examples of the use of these techniques will be shown. The sources of acoustic emission in 7075 aluminum were identified by testing in the T6 and T651 tempers, by testing in both tension and compression, and by measurement of internal friction as a function of strain. Dislocation motion was shown to be the major source of acoustic emission in beryllium by testing beryllium of different purity, heat treatment, and origin (powder metallurgy or cast and worked) in both tension and compression combined with microstructural observations. Confirmation that the source was dislocation motion and identification of the type of dislocation activity involved was made by internal friction measurements during deformation. Acoustic emission from hydrogen assisted crack growth in an austenitic stainless steel was separated from other sources of emission by holding at constant load. Cracking was also monitored by observing changes in the apparent elastic modulus of a sample as hydrogen-assisted cracks propagated in it

Spin transition in Gd3_3N@C80_{80}, detected by low-temperature on-chip SQUID technique

We present a magnetic study of the Gd$_3$N@C$_{80}$ molecule, consisting of a Gd-trimer via a Nitrogen atom, encapsulated in a C$_{80}$ cage. This molecular system can be an efficient contrast agent for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) applications. We used a low-temperature technique able to detect small magnetic signals by placing the sample in the vicinity of an on-chip SQUID. The technique implemented at NHMFL has the particularity to operate in high magnetic fields of up to 7 T. The Gd$_3$N@C$_{80}$ shows a paramagnetic behavior and we find a spin transition of the Gd$_3$N structure at 1.2 K. We perform quantum mechanical simulations, which indicate that one of the Gd ions changes from a $^8S_{7/2}$ state ($L=0, S=7/2$) to a $^7F_{6}$ state ($L=S=3, J=6$), likely due to a charge transfer between the C$_{80}$ cage and the ion

Feasibility study of an Integrated Program for Aerospace vehicle Design (IPAD). Volume 4: IPAD system design

The computing system design of IPAD is described and the requirements which form the basis for the system design are discussed. The system is presented in terms of a functional design description and technical design specifications. The functional design specifications give the detailed description of the system design using top-down structured programming methodology. Human behavioral characteristics, which specify the system design at the user interface, security considerations, and standards for system design, implementation, and maintenance are also part of the technical design specifications. Detailed specifications of the two most common computing system types in use by the major aerospace companies which could support the IPAD system design are presented. The report of a study to investigate migration of IPAD software between the two candidate 3rd generation host computing systems and from these systems to a 4th generation system is included

Brain neurons as quantum computers: {\it in vivo} support of background physics

The question: whether quantum coherent states can sustain decoherence, heating and dissipation over time scales comparable to the dynamical timescales of the brain neurons, is actively discussed in the last years. Positive answer on this question is crucial, in particular, for consideration of brain neurons as quantum computers. This discussion was mainly based on theoretical arguments. In present paper nonlinear statistical properties of the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) of genetically depressive limbic brain are studied {\it in vivo} on the Flinders Sensitive Line of rats (FSL). VTA plays a key role in generation of pleasure and in development of psychological drug addiction. We found that the FSL VTA (dopaminergic) neuron signals exhibit multifractal properties for interspike frequencies on the scales where healthy VTA dopaminergic neurons exhibit bursting activity. For high moments the observed multifractal (generalized dimensions) spectrum coincides with the generalized dimensions spectrum calculated for a spectral measure of a {\it quantum} system (so-called kicked Harper model, actively used as a model of quantum chaos). This observation can be considered as a first experimental ({\it in vivo}) indication in the favour of the quantum (at least partially) nature of the brain neurons activity

AVIRIS ground data-processing system

The Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) has been under development at JPL for the past four years. During this time, a dedicated ground data-processing system has been designed and implemented to store and process the large amounts of data expected. This paper reviews the objectives of this ground data-processing system and describes the hardware. An outline of the data flow through the system is given, and the software and incorporated algorithms developed specifically for the systematic processing of AVIRIS data are described