An overview of the fundamental aerodynamics branch's research activities in wing leading-edge vortex flows at supersonic speeds

For the past 3 years, a research program pertaining to the study of wing leading edge vortices at supersonic speeds has been conducted in the Fundamental Aerodynamics Branch of the High-Speed Aerodynamics Division at the Langley Research Center. The purpose of the research is to provide an understanding of the factors governing the formation and the control of wing leading-edge vortices and to evaluate the use of these vortices for improving supersonic aerodynamic performance. The studies include both experimental and theoretical investigations and focus primarily on planform, thickness and camber effects for delta wings. An overview of this research activity is presented

Joining the Team: A Case Study Identifying and Assessing Critical Factors Influencing NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Matriculation

This research sought to understand what factors influence how first-year student-athletes at a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III institution chose the school to attend in light of the heuristic perspective of bounded rationality, which posits that decision makers are rational in some but not all elements of the decision-making process. Data were assessed for the entire respondent group as well as subgroups based on gender and by amount of non-loan financial aid received by using the principal component analysis and the Mann-Whitney U test. The analysis showed athletic variables such as conference affiliation, quality of opponents, recruiting materials, and quality of the athletic website were important determining factors for the entire population group. This research provides the basis for a model for coaches to use to contact and encourage desired prospects to apply and matriculate

An annotated list of the Lepidoptera of Honduras

A biodiversity inventory of the Lepidoptera of Pico Bonito National Park and vicinity, in the Department of Atlantida of northern Honduras, was initiated in 2009 to obtain baseline data. We present a revised checklist of Honduran butterfly species (updated from the initial 1967 lists), as well as the first comprehensive list of Honduran moths. Our updated list includes 550 species of Papilionoidea, 311 Hesperioidea, and 1,441 moth species

At the interface: biotic-abiotic interactions between substrates and a model epithelium

The need for determining the fundamental mechanisms that define the interaction of biological systems with underlying materials, both natural and synthetic, is important as humanity endeavors to improve the quality of life of individuals through technology. Recently, much work has focused on the role of material properties on the behavior of cells. Most of these studies have concentrated their efforts on fibroblastic cell lines and more recently different kinds of stems cells. While these cells represent an important subset of cells in complex organisms, they do not manifest cell-cell interactions, a feature of epithelial cells, the most abundant cell type. Epithelial cells represent the largest cell type in the body and introduce an intrinsic complexity when researching the interaction of biological systems with materials. Adherens junctions (AJ) play a significant role in many signaling pathways, and therefore there is need to investigate how physical interactions with underlying substrates affect cell-cell interactions, such as the adhesion properties between cells, as well as how cell-substrate interactions influence the morphology and growth of epithelial cells. In this work I seek to determine the effects and identify mechanisms that epithelial cells use to “read” their environment. To do this I examined changes in cell behavior (growth, morphological, adhesion) of a model epithelium on substrates that have similar composition but significant differences in surface organization. In such a manner, I probed the limitations at which the nanoscale differences in substrate topography affect cellular behavior

An annotated list of the Lepidoptera of Honduras

A biodiversity inventory of the Lepidoptera of Pico Bonito National Park and vicinity, in the Department of Atlantida of northern Honduras, was initiated in 2009 to obtain baseline data. We present a revised checklist of Honduran butterfly species (updated from the initial 1967 lists), as well as the first comprehensive list of Honduran moths. Our updated list includes 550 species of Papilionoidea, 311 Hesperioidea, and 1,441 moth species

Surface Optomechanics: Analytic Solution of Detection Limits of Surface Acoustic Waves in Various Fluids

Here we derive the absolute detection limits of various families of surface acoustic waves (SAW) resulting from Brillouin scattering in a whispering gallery resonator (WGR). Given this limit, we calculate the absolute concentration limits for detection of pollutant chemicals in air, water, or other fluids surrounding the WGR. General equations for SAW velocity, linewidth, and detectability are given

Aerodynamic Analyses and Database Development for Ares I Vehicle First Stage Separation

This paper presents the aerodynamic analysis and database development for first stage separation of Ares I A106 crew launch vehicle configuration. Separate 6-DOF databases were created for the first stage and upper stage and each database consists of three components: (a) isolated or freestream coefficients, (b) power-off proximity increments, and (c) power-on proximity increments. The isolated and power-off incremental databases were developed using data from 1% scaled model tests in AEDC VKF Tunnel A. The power-on proximity increments were developed using OVERFLOW CFD solutions. The database also includes incremental coefficients for one BDM and one USM failure scenarios

Personalized and precision orthodontic therapy

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111225/1/ocr12089.pd

Role of Secondary Motifs in Fast Folding Polymers: A Dynamical Variational Principle

A fascinating and open question challenging biochemistry, physics and even geometry is the presence of highly regular motifs such as alpha-helices in the folded state of biopolymers and proteins. Stimulating explanations ranging from chemical propensity to simple geometrical reasoning have been invoked to rationalize the existence of such secondary structures. We formulate a dynamical variational principle for selection in conformation space based on the requirement that the backbone of the native state of biologically viable polymers be rapidly accessible from the denatured state. The variational principle is shown to result in the emergence of helical order in compact structures.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex, 4 eps figure