Absorption of sunlight in the atmosphere of Venus

The profiles of upward, downward and net solar flux on Venus were measured at altitudes from about 62 km to the surface in three spectral bands at a vertical resolution of a few hundred meters. These data measured the penetration and absorption of solar energy in Venus' lower atmosphere quantities that are essential in evaluating the role of the greenhouse mechanism in supporting Venus' remarkably high surface temperature. In addition, the data constrained the vertical structure and optical properties of the Venus clouds

When this is over

A poem about priorities When this is over Will we still wash our hands as often as we do now or can we go back to playing with dirt all day without panicking?...https://mosaic.messiah.edu/covid/1017/thumbnail.jp

The single scattering phase functions of Jupiter's clouds

The determination of the single scattering phase functions of Jupiter's clouds and a thin upper haze by Tomasko et al. was refined and extended to seven latitudes in blue and red light. The phase function is well-constrained by the Pioneer 10 and 11 photometric data sets. Multiple scattering models were computed to match the limb darkening at each latitude at up to 15 phase angles from 12 deg to 151 deg. Ground-based observations were used for absolute calibration and to extend the data to lower phase angles. The phase functions were parameterized using the double Henyey-Greenstein function. The three Henyey-Greenstein parameters and the single scattering albedo were determined using a non-linear least squares method for the haze and the clouds below. The phase functions derived for the northen zone and belt are remarkably similar to the phase functions of the corresponding regions in the south, with most of the differences in brightness of the northern and southern features resulting from minor differences in single scattering albedo. Analysis of the Equatorial Region is complicated by the presence of numerous small features, but the phase function required is generally similar to that seen in the more homogeneous regions. Details of the phase functions of the haze and clouds are presented, and the differences between the cloud phase functions at low and high latitudes in red and blue light are discussed

Modelling Aspects of Planar Multi-Mode Antennas for Direction-of-Arrival Estimation

Multi-mode antennas are an alternative to classical antenna arrays, and hence a promising emerging sensor technology for a vast variety of applications in the areas of array signal processing and digital communications. An unsolved problem is to describe the radiation pattern of multi-mode antennas in closed analytic form based on calibration measurements or on electromagnetic field (EMF) simulation data. As a solution, we investigate two modeling methods: One is based on the array interpolation technique (AIT), the other one on wavefield modeling (WM). Both methods are able to accurately interpolate quantized EMF data of a given multi-mode antenna, in our case a planar four-port antenna developed for the 6-8.5 GHz range. Since the modeling methods inherently depend on parameter sets, we investigate the influence of the parameter choice on the accuracy of both models. Furthermore, we evaluate the impact of modeling errors for coherent maximum-likelihood direction-of-arrival (DoA) estimation given different model parameters. Numerical results are presented for a single polarization component. Simulations reveal that the estimation bias introduced by model errors is subject to the chosen model parameters. Finally, we provide optimized sets of AIT and WM parameters for the multi-mode antenna under investigation. With these parameter sets, EMF data samples can be reproduced in interpolated form with high angular resolution

Sensing ligand binding to a clinically relevant lectin by tryptophan fluorescence anisotropy

Increasing insights into the involvement of endogenous lectins in disease processes fuel the interest to develop potent inhibitors. As a consequence, robust assay procedures are required. Due to their activity as adhesion/growth-regulatory effectors this study focussed on galectins. The human proto-type galectin-1 was selected as representative of this family with conserved presence of a tryptophan moiety in the binding site. This structural feature was taken advantage of to establish its use as reporter for ligand contact measuring polarized fluorescence emission. The experimentally determined anisotropy r0 was about 0.2, altered by about 5% in the presence of the cognate disaccharide lactose. This parameter change enabled calculating the equilibrium binding constant and kinetic rate constants. The detailed analysis of the depolarization process further indicated fast conformational dynamics within the binding site. Since an inherent property of the protein was exploited, no labeling is needed. Owing to tryptophan’s presence in carbohydrate-binding sites, also in other classes of lectins as well as in carbohydrate-binding modules and glycoenzymes (glycosyltransferases, glycosidases), this assay procedure can have relevance beyond galectins

Validation of real-time properties of a robotic software architecture

National audienceIn this paper, we propose a mechanism allowing to evaluate the schedulability of a robotic software architecture, and then validate its real-time properties. The robotic software architecture is described through a Domain Specific Language (DSL), MAUVE, that allows to model communicating components. The evaluation of schedulability of the architecture consists in first computing the Worst-Case Execution Time (WCET) of the elementary functions of the components. Then the Worst Case Response Time (WCRT) of the component is computed from the elementary WCET and the component models, allowing to validate the schedulatiblity of the architecture. We illustrate our methodology on the evaluation of a control architecture for a ground mobile robot

Mauve: a Component-based Modeling Framework for Real-time Analysis of Robotic Applications.

Robots are more and more used in very diverse situations (services to persons, military missions, crisis management, . . . ) in which robots must give some guarantees of safety and reliability. To be really integrated in everyday life, robots must fulfil some requirements. Among these requirements, we focus on the nonfunctional requirements on embedded software [1], and more specifically on real-time software requirements. These requirements are most of the time fulfilled by proving the schedulability of the embedded software. Analysing and validating such properties on an existing hand-coded software requires some reverse modelling of the software, leading to approximations of its behaviour. These approximations may have certification authorities not be confident on the robot dependability. This paper proposes an integrated development methodology that starts from software component modelling, and leads to both validation of the embedded software and generation of deployable embedded software

The EU in Times of COVID-19: Together into a Future Based on (More) Solidarity?

The outbreak of the COVID-19-pandemic in spring 2020 put solidarity within the European Union to the test and called for far-reaching responses by all member states to mitigate the pandemic’s effects. But how does this crisis affect public support for transnational solidarity in the European Union? Are EU citizens willing to collectively overcome a financial crisis caused by the COVID-19-pandemic? And what is the public opinion on the establishment of a fictional EU-wide fund to mitigate future crises? Those questions have been addressed by a multi-country survey run by the ‘Solikris’-project. A resulting analysis in the project’s Policy Brief #5 shows that particularly the macroeconomic differences between countries correlate with attitudes towards solidarity policies and that transnational solidarity is higher in situations of acute crisis.Der Ausbruch der COVID-19-Pandemie im Frühjahr 2020 stellte die Solidarität innerhalb der Europäischen Union auf die Probe und erforderte weitreichende Reaktionen aller Mitgliedsstaaten, um die Auswirkungen der Pandemie zu mildern. Doch wie wirkt sich diese Krise auf die öffentliche Unterstützung für transnationale Solidarität in der Europäischen Union aus? Sind die EU-Bürger*innen bereit, eine durch die COVID-19-Pandemie verursachte Finanzkrise kollektiv zu bewältigen? Und wie ist die öffentliche Meinung zur Einrichtung eines fiktiven EU-weiten Fonds zur Abfederung zukünftiger Krisen? Diese Fragen wurden in einer länderübergreifenden Umfrage des ‘Solikris’-Projekts untersucht. Eine daraus resultierende Analyse im Policy Brief #5 des Projekts zeigt, dass insbesondere die makroökonomischen Unterschiede zwischen den Ländern mit den Einstellungen zur Solidaritätspolitik korrelieren und dass die transnationale Solidarität in akuten Krisensituationen höher is