Emissivity of Frozen Regions Retrieved from Aquarius Measurements

The land emissivity model used in the Aquarius data processing has been updated for the latest data release (V5.0). In order to improve the estimates of the brightness temperatures of frozen regions, the new model uses values of surface emissivity that have been estimated from the Aquarius measurements averaged over the entire duration of the mission. The retrieved emissivities depend on the geographic location, but they depend only marginally on time, temperature and snow cover

Effects on the immune system associated with living near a pesticide dump site.

In this paper, we report results of the second phase of a larger study designed to evaluate the effects on the immune system of living near a Superfund site containing organochlorine pesticides, volatile organic compounds, and metals. Phase II was conducted to determine whether living near the site, consisting of six locations in Aberdeen, North Carolina, is associated with higher plasma organochlorine levels, immune suppression, or DNA damage. Each of 302 residents of Aberdeen and neighboring communities provided a blood specimen, underwent a skin test, and answered a questionnaire. Blood specimens were analyzed for organochlorine pesticides, immune markers, and micronuclei. Of 20 organochlorines tested, only DDE was detected in the blood of participants (except for one individual). Age-adjusted mean plasma DDE levels were 4.05 ppb for Aberdeen residents and 2.95 ppb (p = 0.01) for residents of neighboring communities. Residents of 40-59 years of age who lived within a mile of any site, but particularly the Farm Chemicals site, had higher plasma DDE levels than residents who lived farther away. Residents who lived near the Farm Chemicals site before versus after 1985 also had higher plasma DDE levels. Overall, there were few differences in immune markers between residents of Aberdeen and the neighboring communities. However, residents who lived closer to the dump sites had statistically significantly lower mitogen-induced lymphoproliferative activity than residents who lived farther away (p < 0.05). Residential location was not consistently associated with frequency of micronuclei or skin test responses. Although some statistically significant differences in immune markers were noted in association with residential location, the magnitude of effects are of uncertain clinical importance

Determination of Best Low-Frequency Microwave Antenna Approach for Future High Resolution Measurements from Space

Microwave remote sensing measurements at L-band (~1.2-1.6 GHz) of geophysical parameters such as soil moisture will need to be at higher spatial resolution than current systems (SMOS/ SMAP/ Aquarius) in order to meet the requirements of land surface, ocean, and numerical weather prediction models in the near future, which will operate at ~9-15 km global grids and 1-3 km regional grids in the next few years. In order to make progress toward these needed spatial resolutions, advancements in technology are necessary which would lead to improved effective (i.e. equivalent) antenna size. An architecture trade study was conducted to quantitatively define the value and limits of different microwave technology paths, and to select the most appropriate path to achieve the high spatial resolution required by science in the future without sacrificing performance, accuracy, and global coverage

Aggregating energy supply and demand

Energy usage in general, and electricity usage in particular, are major concerns internationally due to the increased cost of providing energy supplies and the environmental impacts of electricity generation using carbon-based fuels. If a "systems" approach is taken to understanding energy issues then both supply and demand need to be considered holistically. This paper examines two research projects in the energy area with IT tools as key deliverables, one examining supply issues and the other studying demand side issues. The supply side project used hard engineering methods to build the models and software, while the demand side project used a social science approach. While the projects are distinct, there was an overlap in personnel. Comparing the knowledge extraction, model building, implementation and interface issues of these two deliverables identifies both interesting contrasts and commonalities

Indium joints for cryogenic gravitational wave detectors

A viable technique for the preparation of highly thermal conductive joints between sapphire components in gravitational wave detectors is presented. The mechanical loss of such a joint was determined to be as low as 2 × 10−3 at 20 K and 2 × 10−2 at 300 K. The thermal noise performance of a typical joint is compared to the requirements of the Japanese gravitational wave detector, KAGRA. It is shown that using such an indium joint in the suspension system allows it to operate with low thermal noise. Additionally, results on the maximum amount of heat which can be extracted via indium joints are presented. It is found that sapphire parts, joined by means of indium, are able to remove the residual heat load in the mirrors of KAGRA

Transferability of Military-Specific Cognitive Research to Military Training and Operations

The influence of acute aerobic exercise on cognitive function is well documented (e.g., Lambourne and Tomporowski, 2010; Chang et al., 2012). However, the influence of military specific exercise on aspects of cognitive function relevant to military operations is less well understood. With the increasing physical and cognitive loads placed on military personnel (Mahoney et al., 2007), this interaction is fundamental to understanding operational performance (Russo et al., 2005). As such, ensuring the transferability of military-specific cognitive research to military training and operations, is of great importance, particularly for the development of both mitigation and enhancement strategies (see Brunyé et al., 2020). Despite this, studies have not always considered whether meaningful translations can be made. We suggest that researchers should endeavor to strike the balance between external validity and experimental control (Figure 1), and consider the concept of representative design (Pinder et al., 2011). External validity refers to the transferability of research findings from the research to the target population, whilst representative design refers to methodological approaches chosen to ensure that the experimental task constraints characterize those experienced during performance (i.e., the training or operational environment) (Pinder et al., 2011). Herein, we will focus on representative design during load carriage investigations, due to its mission criticality (Knapik and Reynolds, 2012), and it being the primary physical activity choice during military specific exercise-cognition research. Specifically, we discuss the inclusion of dual-/multi-tasking, implications of study population, cognitive task selection, and the data collection environment

The Development, and Day-to-Day Variation, of a Military-Specific Auditory N-Back Task and Shoot-/Don’t-Shoot Task

During military operations, soldiers are required to successfully complete numerous physical and cognitive tasks concurrently. Understanding the typical variance in research tools that may be used to provide insight into the interrelationship between physical and cognitive performance is therefore highly important. This study assessed the inter-day variability of two military-specific cognitive assessments; a Military-Specific Auditory N-Back Task (MSANT) and a Shoot-/Don’t-Shoot Task (SDST) in 28 participants. Limits of agreement ± 95% Confidence Intervals, Standard Error of the Mean, and Smallest Detectable Change were calculated to quantify the typical variance in task performance. All parameters within the MSANT and SDST demonstrated no mean difference for trial visit in either the seated or walking condition, with equivalency demonstrated for the majority of comparisons. Collectively, these data provided an indication of the typical variance in MSANT and SDST performance, whilst demonstrating that both assessments can be used during seated and walking conditions