The redwood project: An overview

Redwood is a new generation tape subsystem now under development at StorageTek using helical scan technology. This library based storage subsystem is designed for the high performance, deep archival market. The topics are presented in viewgraph form and include the following: subsystem overview, media standards, Redwood developed tape, D3 helical recording format, Redwood cartridge, host software for Redwood libraries, and market opportunities

On the basis for ELF - An Extensible Language Facility

Computer language for data processing and information retrieva

The standards process: Technical committee X3B5 digital magnetic tape

The definition of X3B5, where it fits in the national and international standards development process, and how it interfaces and influences the world community of standards developers are provided. Details concerning the focus of the committee, how it operates, and what the group sees as the future trends in the area of interchange standards utilizing the multifaceted, ubiquitous magnetic tape are presented

Summary report: A preliminary investigation into the use of fuzzy logic for the control of redundant manipulators

The Rice University Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Sciences' Robotics Group designed and built an eight degree of freedom redundant manipulator. Fuzzy logic was proposed as a control scheme for tasks not directly controlled by a human operator. In preliminary work, fuzzy logic control was implemented for a camera tracking system and a six degree of freedom manipulator. Both preliminary systems use real time vision data as input to fuzzy controllers. Related projects include integration of tactile sensing and fuzzy control of a redundant snake-like arm that is under construction

Prediction of the Tenderness of Cooked Poultry Pectoralis Major Muscles by Near-Infrared Reflectance Analysis of Raw Meat

Tenderness in boneless poultry breast meat is of utmost importance to consumers. However, there is currently no nondestructive method to predict poultry breast meat tenderness. Textural properties of poultry breast meat were predicted by near-infrared reflectance (NIR) spectroscopy. Spectra were collected on 390 poultry Pectoralis major muscles from broiler carcasses to examine the correlation between NIR spectroscopy and the Meullenet-Owens Razor Shear (MORS) test. Two instrumental parameters (maximum shear force and total shear energy) were used as estimates of meat tenderness. Calibration (R2 cal) and validation (r2 val) coefficients of determination were used for predicting instrumental measurements using the reflectance, and its first and second derivatives. The model using second derivative reflectance data yielded the best results for all samples. Regressions preformed on these samples produced R2 cal values ranging from 0.70 to 0.75 and r2 val values ranging from 0.59 to 0.65 for maximum shear force and total shear energy, demonstrating the potential of NIR to predict poultry breast meat tenderness. These findings could have a practical importance as this method could qualify NIR for an online assessment to sort poultry breast meat according to tenderness levels

A multi-sensor system for robotics proximity operations

Robots without sensors can perform only simple repetitive tasks and cannot cope with unplanned events. A multi-sensor system is needed for a robot to locate a target, move into its neighborhood and perform operations in contact with the object. Systems that can be used for such tasks are described

Concentrations and potential health risks of metals in lip products.

BackgroundMetal content in lip products has been an issue of concern.ObjectivesWe measured lead and eight other metals in a convenience sample of 32 lip products used by young Asian women in Oakland, California, and assessed potential health risks related to estimated intakes of these metals.MethodsWe analyzed lip products by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and used previous estimates of lip product usage rates to determine daily oral intakes. We derived acceptable daily intakes (ADIs) based on information used to determine public health goals for exposure, and compared ADIs with estimated intakes to assess potential risks.ResultsMost of the tested lip products contained high concentrations of titanium and aluminum. All examined products had detectable manganese. Lead was detected in 24 products (75%), with an average concentration of 0.36 ± 0.39 ppm, including one sample with 1.32 ppm. When used at the estimated average daily rate, estimated intakes were > 20% of ADIs derived for aluminum, cadmium, chromium, and manganese. In addition, average daily use of 10 products tested would result in chromium intake exceeding our estimated ADI for chromium. For high rates of product use (above the 95th percentile), the percentages of samples with estimated metal intakes exceeding ADIs were 3% for aluminum, 68% for chromium, and 22% for manganese. Estimated intakes of lead were < 20% of ADIs for average and high use.ConclusionsCosmetics safety should be assessed not only by the presence of hazardous contents, but also by comparing estimated exposures with health-based standards. In addition to lead, metals such as aluminum, cadmium, chromium, and manganese require further investigation

Multiple cyclotron line-forming regions in GX 301-2

We present two observations of the high-mass X-ray binary GX 301-2 with NuSTAR, taken at different orbital phases and different luminosities. We find that the continuum is well described by typical phenomenological models, like a very strongly absorbed NPEX model. However, for a statistically acceptable description of the hard X-ray spectrum we require two cyclotron resonant scattering features (CRSF), one at ~35 keV and the other at ~50 keV. Even though both features strongly overlap, the good resolution and sensitivity of NuSTAR allows us to disentangle them at >=99.9% significance. This is the first time that two CRSFs are seen in GX 301-2. We find that the CRSFs are very likely independently formed, as their energies are not harmonically related and, if it were a single line, the deviation from a Gaussian shape would be very large. We compare our results to archival Suzaku data and find that our model also provides a good fit to those data. We study the behavior of the continuum as well as the CRSF parameters as function of pulse phase in seven phase bins. We find that the energy of the 35 keV CRSF varies smoothly as function of phase, between 30-38 keV. To explain this variation, we apply a simple model of the accretion column, taking the altitude of the line-forming region, the velocity of the in-falling material, and the resulting relativistic effects into account. We find that in this model the observed energy variation can be explained simply due to a variation of the projected velocity and beaming factor of the line forming region towards us.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Review of Comparison Studies Investigating Bilingualism and Bilingual Instruction for Students with Disabilities

The purpose of this article is to provide a narrative review of comparison studies regarding the impacts of bilingualism and interventions including the home and second language for students with disabilities. Although research is limited, preliminary findings from existing studies illustrate that bilingualism does not negatively impact language or academic abilities for students with disabilities. Additionally, researchers suggest that instruction in and through the home and second language does not negatively impact language and academic abilities of students with disabilities assessed within these studies. We conclude with a discussion of steps forward, given that acceptance and promotion of bilingualism cannot only be effective for students with disabilities but also is a component of culturally and linguistically appropriate services for bilingual students with disabilities