Accurate measurement of telemetry performance

Performance of high rate telemetry stations used in the Deep Space Network is verified. Measurement techniques are discussed

Viscous dark fluid Universe: a unified model of the dark sector?

The Universe is modeled as consisting of pressureless baryonic matter and a bulk viscous fluid which is supposed to represent a unified description of the dark sector. In the homogeneous and isotropic background the \textit{total} energy density of this mixture behaves as a generalized Chaplygin gas. The perturbations of this energy density are intrinsically nonadiabatic and source relative entropy perturbations. The resulting baryonic matter power spectrum is shown to be compatible with the 2dFGRS and SDSS (DR7) data. A joint statistical analysis, using also Hubble-function and supernovae Ia data, shows that, different from other studies, there exists a maximum in the probability distribution for a negative present value of the deceleration parameter. Moreover, the unified model presented here favors a matter content that is of the order of the baryonic matter abundance suggested by big-bang nucleosynthesis. A problem of simple bulk viscous models, however, is the behavior of the gravitational potential and the reproduction of the CMB power spectrum.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, contributed paper to 8th Friedmann Seminar, 30 May to 3 June 2011, Rio de Janeiro, Brazi

Air/Sea Transfer of Highly Soluble Gases Over Coastal Waters

The deposition of soluble trace gases to the sea surface is not well studied due to a lack of flux measurements over the ocean. Here we report simultaneous air/sea eddy covariance flux measurements of water vapor, sulfur dioxide (SO2), and momentum from a coastal North Atlantic pier. Gas transfer velocities were on average about 20% lower for SO2 than for H2O. This difference is attributed to the difference in molecular diffusivity between the two molecules (DSO2/DH2O = 0.5), in reasonable agreement with bulk parameterizations in air/sea gas models. This study demonstrates that it is possible to observe the effect of molecular diffusivity on air-side resistance to gas transfer. The slope of observed relationship between gas transfer velocity and friction velocity is slightly smaller than predicted by gas transfer models, possibly due to wind/wave interactions that are unaccounted for in current models

Concepts of animal well-being and predicting the impact of procedures on experimental animals

1. We argue that: • in their application to non-human animals, \u27welfare\u27 and \u27well-being\u27 are interchangeable words; and that • good welfare/well-being is the state of being manifest in an animal when its nutritional, environmental, health, behavioural and mental needs are met. 2. These latter are essentially the \u27five freedoms\u27 formulated by the Farm Animal Welfare Council of the United Kingdom. 3. Using the five freedoms as a basis, we have developed a system for assessing the impact of a proposed animal experiment or usage. The freedoms are now transformed into \u27domains of potential compromise\u27 and are redefined better to emphasise the extent of welfare compromise rather than the ideal of absence of compromise. Domain 1 is Thirst/hunger/malnutrition, 2 is Environmental challenge, 3 is Disease/injury/functional impairment, 4 is Behavioural/interactive restriction, and domain 5 is Anxiety/fear/pain/distress. A proposal would be examined systematically in all domains, and the degree of compromise in each rated on a 5-step non-numerical scale - O, A, B, C, X. Anxiety/fear/pain/distress arising from compromise in domains 1-4 would be cumulated into domain 5. The overall rating would commonly be that given to domain 5, but if this were low or unknown, it would be given to the highest rating in the other domains. 4. The proposer would be required to present to the institutional Animal Ethics Committee his/her assessment of the impact of a proposed experiment on the animals involved, together with an appropriate justification for the work and a cost-benefit analysis. 5. The extent of the justification required for a proposal would be directly related to the severity of compromise expected, being low for grade O and very high for grade X. 6. The cost-benefit decision would be based on the balance between the expected severity of welfare compromise and the expected benefits set out in the justification. 7. The major advantage of this system for assessing the impact on welfare is that it encourages systematic consideration of all sources of possible compromise. Such wider consideration would allow more accurate assessment of the severity of impact and thereby would improve the validity and efficiency of cost-benefit analyses. 8. The philosophical background to our approach is outlined, graded examples of welfare compromise are given and ethical and practical implications of using the system are discussed. 9. We also set out what we consider to be the ethical and practical responsibilities of the researcher to the animals, and to his/her assistants. The conscientiousness and comprehensiveness of the assessments of welfare compromise and the actions taken to minimise it are measures of the researcher\u27s acceptance of ethical responsibility for all features of each experiment which affect the animals adversely

A Study of Educational Simulations Part I - Engagement and Learning

Interactive computer simulations with complex representations and sophisticated graphics are a relatively new addition to the classroom, and research in this area is limited. We have conducted over 200 individual student interviews during which the students described what they were thinking as they interacted with simulations. These interviews were conducted as part of the research and design of simulations for the Physics Education Technology (PhET) project. PhET is an ongoing project that has developed over 60 simulations for use in teaching physics, chemistry, and physical science. These interviews are a rich source of information about how students interact with computer simulations and what makes an educationally effective simulation. We have observed that simulations can be highly engaging and educationally effective, but only if the student's interaction with the simulation is directed by the student's own questioning. Here we describe our design process, what features are effective for engaging students in educationally productive interactions and the underlying principles which support our empirically developed guidelines. In a companion paper we describe in detail the design features used to create an intuitive simulation for students to use

Phaeocystis colony distribution in the North Atlantic Ocean since 1948, and interpretation of long-term changes in the Phaeocystis hotspot in the North Sea

Monitoring of Phaeocystis since 1948 during the Continuous Plankton Recorder survey indicates that over the last 5.5 decades the distribution of its colonies in the North Atlantic Ocean was not restricted to neritic waters: occurrence was also recorded in the open Atlantic regions sampled, most frequently in the spring. Apparently, environmental conditions in open ocean waters, also those far offshore, are suitable for complete lifecycle development of colonies (the only stage recorded in the survey).In the North Sea the frequency of occurrence was also highest in spring. Its southeastern part was the Phaeocystis abundance hotspot of the whole area covered by the survey. Frequency was especially high before the 1960s and after the 1980s, i.e., in the periods when anthropogenic nutrient enrichment was relatively low. Changes in eutrophication have obviously not been a major cause of long-term Phaeocystis variation in the southeastern North Sea, where total phytoplankton biomass was related significantly to river discharge. Evidence is presented for the suggestion that Phaeocystis abundance in the southern North Sea is to a large extent determined by the amount of Atlantic Ocean water flushed in through the Dover Strait.Since Phaeocystis plays a key role in element fluxes relevant to climate the results presented here have implications for biogeochemical models of cycling of carbon and sulphur. Sea-to-air exchange of CO2 and dimethyl sulphide (DMS) has been calculated on the basis of measurements during single-year cruises. The considerable annual variation in phytoplankton and in its Phaeocystis component reported here does not warrant extrapolation of such figures.</p

Self-gravitating branes of codimension 4 in Lovelock gravity

We construct a familly of exact solutions of Lovelock equations describing codimension four branes with discrete symmetry in the transverse space. Unlike what is known from pure Einstein gravity, where such brane solutions of higher codimension are singular, the solutions we find, for the complete Lovelock theory, only present removable singularities. The latter account for a localised tension-like energy-momentum tensor on the brane, in analogy with the case of a codimension two self-gravitating cosmic string in pure Einstein gravity. However, the solutions we discuss present two main distinctive features : the tension of the brane receives corrections from the induced curvature of the brane's worldsheet and, in a given Lovelock theory, the spectrum of possible values of the tension is discrete. These solutions provide a new framework for the study of higher codimension braneworlds.Comment: 22 page

Violations of Bell Inequalities for Measurements with Macroscopic Uncertainties: What does it Mean to Violate Macroscopic Local Realism?

We suggest to test the premise of ``macroscopic local realism'' which is sufficient to derive Bell inequalities when measurements of photon number are only accurate to an uncertainty of order $n$ photons, where $n$ is macroscopic. Macroscopic local realism is only sufficient to imply, in the context of the original Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen argument, fuzzy ``elements of reality'' which have a macroscopic indeterminacy. We show therefore how the violation of local realism in the presence of macroscopic uncertainties implies the failure of ``macroscopic local realism''. Quantum states violating this macroscopic local realism are presented.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures- new version is unchanged but tightened-20 pages, 5 figure

Zeta-Function Regularization is Uniquely Defined and Well

Hawking's zeta function regularization procedure is shown to be rigorously and uniquely defined, thus putting and end to the spreading lore about different difficulties associated with it. Basic misconceptions, misunderstandings and errors which keep appearing in important scientific journals when dealing with this beautiful regularization method ---and other analytical procedures--- are clarified and corrected.Comment: 7 pages, LaTeX fil

Postfledging Survival, Movements, and Dispersal of Ring Ouzels (Turdus torquatus)

We thank Invercauld Estate for cooperation with access to Glen Clunie. S. Redpath, J. Wilson, and S. Roos provided valuable comments on the manuscript. This study was funded by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Scottish Natural Heritage, and the Cairngorms National Park Authority. J.L.L. was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council.Peer reviewedPublisher PD