744 research outputs found
Towards Efficient Full Pose Omnidirectionality with Overactuated MAVs
Omnidirectional MAVs are a growing field, with demonstrated advantages for
aerial interaction and uninhibited observation. While systems with complete
pose omnidirectionality and high hover efficiency have been developed
independently, a robust system that combines the two has not been demonstrated
to date. This paper presents VoliroX: a novel omnidirectional vehicle that can
exert a wrench in any orientation while maintaining efficient flight
configurations. The system design is presented, and a 6 DOF geometric control
that is robust to singularities. Flight experiments further demonstrate and
verify its capabilities.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, ISER 2018 conference submissio
An assay for argininosuccinate synthetase in Neurospora
An assay for argininosuccinate synthetase in Neurospor
Numerical algebraic intersection using regeneration
In numerical algebraic geometry, algebraic sets are represented by witness sets. This paper presents an algorithm, based on the regeneration technique, that solves the following problem: given a witness set for a pure-dimensional algebraic set Z, along with a system of polynomial equations f: Z�C n, compute a numerical irreducible decomposition of V�Z�V f. An important special case is when Z�A B for irreducible sets A and B and f x,y�x y for x A, y B, in which case V is isomorphic to A�B. In this way, the current contribution is a generalization of existing diagonal intersection techniques. Another important special case is when Z�A C k, so that the projection of V dropping the last k coordinates consists of the points x A where there exists some y in a new set of variables such that f x,y�0. This arises in many contexts, such as finding the singularities of A, in which case f x,y can be a set of singularity conditions that involve new variables associated to the tangent space of A. The combining of multiple intersection scenarios into one common scheme brings new capabilities and organizational simplification to numerical algebraic geometry
Oral Language, Literacy and Schooling: Kindergarten Years
This article reports the findings from the second year of a three year study following four children from a prekindergarten Headstart program through first grade. Grounded in the developmental theories of Vygotsky (1986), who has asserted the importance of social interaction and language learning, and Halliday (1975), who has provided a sociolinguistic framework for children learning language in social functions that promote meaning in their lives, it is an attempt to document the impact of oral language on young children\u27s reading and writing. In the initial year of this study, we identified four children who demonstrated varying levels of Halliday\u27s oral language functions and compared their use of talk with their understanding and performance of literacy tasks (Thomas and Rinehart, 1990). We used Halliday\u27s (1975) seven functions: 1) instrumental, to have needs met; 2) regulatory, to regulate behavior; 3) interactional, to establish a me-and you relationship; 4) personal, to assert one\u27s self in opinion and feelings; 5) heuristic, to ask questions fostering learning; 6) imaginative, to play; and 7) informational, to pass on information, to screen over 40 children to select subjects who displayed varying degrees of the seven functions. We selected four who provided us with varying uses of oral language demonstrated in classroom exchanges, classroom activities, writing activities, and reading activities. As participant observers, we collected over 36 hours of talk on audio and video tapes as well as hand tallied accounts from personal participation and observation. The selected four subjects were then ranked as numbers one, two, three and four with one representing full control of all seven functions. Subjects numbered two, three and four exhibited decreasing use of functions in social settings in the classroom with number four representing restricted use of language functions. In addition to the data collected in the classroom, we held interviews with parents in the first year of our study. The results of the first year indicated: 1) Subjects with the most developed use of language functions have the best understanding of the writing and reading process. 2) As oral language function use decreases so does the understanding of the writing and reading process. 3) subjects who are frequently read to have better oral language development. 4) Subjects who wrote/scribbled at home as part of adult activities had a better understanding and performance in writing. 5) Subjects who spent more time actively engaged with adults in talk had a heightened sense of language development. 6) Talk was necessary to help subjects begin and sustain writing. 7) Heuristic, interactional and personal language functions best served subjects\u27 writing. 8) Understanding of and performance in print awareness tasks paralleled the level of use of language functions. 9) Classroom activities and time devoted to oral language growth promoted writing interest
Broad P V Absorption in the BALQSO, PG 1254+047: Column Densities, Ionizations and Metal Abundances in BAL Winds
This paper discusses the detection of P V 1118,1128 and other broad
absorption lines (BALs) in archival HST spectra of the low-redshift BALQSO, PG
1254+047. The P V identification is secured by excellent redshift and profile
coincidences with the other BALs, such as C IV 1548,1550 and Si IV 1393,1403,
and by photoionization calculations showing that other lines near this
wavelength, e.g. Fe III 1123, should be much weaker than P V. The observed BAL
strengths imply that either 1) there are extreme abundance ratios such as [C/H]
>~ +1.0, [Si/H] >~ +1.8 and [P/C] >~ +2.2, or 2) at least some of the lines are
much more optically thick than they appear. I argue that the significant
presence of P V absorption indicates severe line saturation, which is disguised
in the observed (moderate-strength) BALs because the absorber does not fully
cover the continuum source(s) along our line(s) of sight. Computed optical
depths for all UV resonance lines show that the observed BALs are consistent
with solar abundances if 1) the ionization parameter is at least moderately
high, log U >~ -0.6, 2) the total hydrogen column density is log N_H(cm-2) >~
22.0, and 3) the optical depths in strong lines like C IV and O VI 1032,1038
are >~25 and >~80, respectively. These optical depths and column densities are
at least an order of magnitude larger than expected from the residual
intensities in the BAL troughs, but they are consistent with the large
absorbing columns derived from X-ray observations of BALQSOs. The outflowing
BALR, at velocities from -15,000 to -27,000 km/s in PG 1254+047, is therefore a
strong candidate for the X-ray absorber in BALQSOs.Comment: 16 pages (LaTeX) plus 8 pages of figures in one file
(pg1254_figs.ps.gz), in press with Ap
Unpulsed UBV Optical Emission from the Crab Pulsar
Based on observations of the Crab pulsar using the TRIFFID high speed imaging
photometer in the UBV bands using the Special Astrophysical Observatory's 6m
telescope in the Russian Caucasus, we report the detection of pronounced
emission during the so-called `off' phase of emission. Following de-extinction,
this unpulsed component of emission is shown to be consistent with a power law
with an exponent of alpha = -0.60 +/- 0.37, the uncertainty being dominated by
the error associated with the independent CCD photometry used to reference the
TRIFFID data. This suggests a steeper power law form than that reported
elsewhere in the literature for the total integrated spectrum, which is
essentially flat with alpha ~ 0.1, although the difference in this case is only
significant at the ~ 2 sigma level. Deeper reference integrated and TRIFFID
phase-resolved photometry in these bands in conjunction with further
observations in the UV and R region would constrain this fit further.Comment: 26 pages, 2 figures, uses aasms4.sty, accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
The Nature of Associated Absorption and the UV-X-ray Connection in 3C 288.1
We discuss new Hubble Space Telescope spectroscopy of the radio-loud quasar,
3C 288.1. The data cover ~590 A to ~1610 A in the quasar rest frame. They
reveal a wealth of associated absorption lines (AALs) with no accompanying
Lyman-limit absorption. The metallic AALs range in ionization from C III and N
III to Ne VIII and Mg X. We use these data and photoionization models to derive
the following properties of the AAL gas: 1) There are multiple ionization zones
within the AAL region, spanning a factor of at least ~50 in ionization
parameter. 2) The overall ionization is consistent with the ``warm'' X-ray
continuum absorbers measured in Seyfert 1 nuclei and other QSOs. However, 3)
the column densities implied by the AALs in 3C 288.1 are too low to produce
significant bound-free absorption at any UV-X-ray wavelengths. Substantial
X-ray absorption would require yet another zone, having a much higher
ionization or a much lower velocity dispersion than the main AAL region. 4) The
total hydrogen column density in the AAL gas is log N_H (cm-2)= 20.2. 5) The
metallicity is roughly half solar. 6) The AALs have deconvolved widths of ~900
km/s and their centroids are consistent with no shift from the quasar systemic
velocity (conservatively within +/-1000 km/s). 7) There are no direct
indicators of the absorber's location in our data, but the high ionization and
high metallicity both suggest a close physical relationship to the quasar/host
galaxy environment. Finally, the UV continuum shape gives no indication of a
``blue bump'' at higher energies. There is a distinct break of unknown origin
at ~1030 A, and the decline toward higher energies (with spectral index alpha =
-1.73, for f_nu ~ nu^alpha) is even steeper than a single power-law
interpolation from 1030 A to soft X-rays.Comment: 27 pages with figures and tables, in press with Ap
A High Deuterium Abundance at z=0.7
Of the light elements, the primordial abundance of deuterium, (D/H)_p,
provides the most sensitive diagnostic for the cosmological mass density
parameter Omega_B. Recent high redshift (D/H) measurements are highly
discrepant, although this may reflect observational uncertainties. The larger
(D/H) values, which imply a low Omega_B and require the Universe to be
dominated by non-baryonic matter (dynamical studies indicate a higher total
density parameter), cause problems for galactic chemical evolution models since
they have difficulty in reproducing the large decline down to the lower
present-day (D/H). Conversely, low (D/H) values imply an Omega_B greater than
derived from ^7Li and ^4He abundance measurements, and may require a deuterium
abundance evolution that is too low to easily explain. Here we report the first
measurement at intermediate redshift, where the observational difficulties are
smaller, of a gas cloud with ideal characteristics for this experiment. Our
analysis of the z = 0.7010 absorber toward 1718+4807 indicates (D/H) = 2.0 +/-
0.5 x 10^{-4} which is in the high range. This and other independent
observations suggests there may be a cosmological inhomogeneity in (D/H)_p of
at least a factor of ten.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figur
Spectroscopic Analysis of H I Absorption Line Systems in 40 HIRES Quasars
We list and analyze H I absorption lines at redshifts 2 < z < 4 with column
density (12 < log(N_HI) < 19) in 40 high-resolutional (FWHM = 8.0 km/s) quasar
spectra obtained with the Keck+HIRES. We de-blend and fit all H I lines within
1,000 km/s of 86 strong H I lines whose column densities are log(N_HI/[cm^-2])
> 15. Unlike most prior studies, we use not only Lya but also all visible
higher Lyman series lines to improve the fitting accuracy. This reveals
components near to higher column density systems that can not be seen in Lya.
We list the Voigt profile fits to the 1339 H I components that we found. We
examined physical properties of H I lines after separating them into several
sub-samples according to their velocity separation from the quasars, their
redshift, column density and the S/N ratio of the spectrum. We found two
interesting trends for lines with 12 < log(N_HI) < 15 which are within 200-1000
km/s of systems with log(N_HI) > 15. First, their column density distribution
becomes steeper, meaning relatively fewer high column density lines, at z <
2.9. Second, their column density distribution also becomes steeper and their
line width becomes broader by about 2-3 km/s when they are within 5,000 km/s of
their quasar.Comment: 32 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical
Journal. A complete version with all tables and figures is available at
http://www.astro.psu.edu/users/misawa/pub/Paper/40hires.ps.g
- …