502 research outputs found
The Role of Physical and Numerical Modeling in Design Development of the Priest Rapids Fish Bypass
This paper describes a number of years of physical and numerical modelling that were instrumental in the development of the final fish bypass design at Priest Rapids Dam. Three physical models and multiple numerical models were used to guide the design of the fish bypass including its location on the dam, impact on forebay and tailrace flow patterns, intake configuration, design flow rates, flow control scheme, tailrace egress, potential for scour near the dam, potential impacts on total dissolved gas (TDG), impacts on spillway and powerhouse operation, and overall fish friendliness of the bypass.
Throughout those years of design work, results from actively tagged salmonid smolt studies were used to guide and validate each step of the design process. In 2011, a construction contract was awarded and the Priest Rapids Fish Bypass facility was completed in the early spring of 2014. Final validation of this newly constructed facility came in the spring of 2014 with a survival and behavior study conducted using acoustic tagged yearling Chinook and juvenile steelhead smolts to evaluate the salmonid smolt survival rate through the bypass along with the fish passage efficiency (FPE) of the bypass facility.
This paper discusses the physical models plus CFD models used to support the design development of a non-turbine fish bypass and presents the results of the survival and behaviour studies conducted after the fish bypass was installed at Priest Rapids Dam
Far-infrared polarimetry from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy
Multi-wavelength imaging polarimetry at far-infrared wavelengths has proven
to be an excellent tool for studying the physical properties of dust, molecular
clouds, and magnetic fields in the interstellar medium. Although these
wavelengths are only observable from airborne or space-based platforms, no
first-generation instrument for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared
Astronomy (SOFIA) is presently designed with polarimetric capabilities. We
study several options for upgrading the High-resolution Airborne Wideband
Camera (HAWC) to a sensitive FIR polarimeter. HAWC is a 12 x 32 pixel bolometer
camera designed to cover the 53 - 215 micron spectral range in 4 colors, all at
diffraction-limited resolution (5 - 21 arcsec). Upgrade options include: (1) an
external set of optics which modulates the polarization state of the incoming
radiation before entering the cryostat window; (2) internal polarizing optics;
and (3) a replacement of the current detector array with two state-of-the-art
superconducting bolometer arrays, an upgrade of the HAWC camera as well as
polarimeter. We discuss a range of science studies which will be possible with
these upgrades including magnetic fields in star-forming regions and galaxies
and the wavelength-dependence of polarization.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure
Hertz: an imaging polarimeter
The University of Chicago polarimeter, Hertz, is designed for observations at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory in the 350 µm atmospheric window. Initial observations with this instrument, the first array polarimeter for submillimeter observations, have produced over 700 measurements at 3σ or better. This paper summarizes the characteristics of the instrument, presents examples of its performance including polarization maps of molecular clouds and regions near the Galactic center, and outlines the opportunities for improvements with emphasis on requirements for mapping widely extended sources
Statistical Assessment of Shapes and Magnetic Field Orientations in Molecular Clouds through Polarization Observations
We present a novel statistical analysis aimed at deriving the intrinsic
shapes and magnetic field orientations of molecular clouds using dust emission
and polarization observations by the Hertz polarimeter. Our observables are the
aspect ratio of the projected plane-of-the-sky cloud image, and the angle
between the mean direction of the plane-of-the-sky component of the magnetic
field and the short axis of the cloud image. To overcome projection effects due
to the unknown orientation of the line-of-sight, we combine observations from
24 clouds, assuming that line-of-sight orientations are random and all are
equally probable. Through a weighted least-squares analysis, we find that the
best-fit intrinsic cloud shape describing our sample is an oblate disk with
only small degrees of triaxiality. The best-fit intrinsic magnetic field
orientation is close to the direction of the shortest cloud axis, with small
(~24 deg) deviations toward the long/middle cloud axes. However, due to the
small number of observed clouds, the power of our analysis to reject
alternative configurations is limited.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Resolved Magnetic Field Mapping of a Molecular Cloud Using GPIPS
We present the first resolved map of plane-of-sky magnetic field strength for
a quiescent molecular cloud. GRSMC 45.60+0.30 subtends 40 x 10 pc at a distance
of 1.88 kpc, masses 16,000 M_sun, and exhibits no star formation. Near-infrared
background starlight polarizations were obtained for the Galactic Plane
Infrared Polarization Survey using the 1.8 m Perkins telescope and the Mimir
instrument. The cloud area of 0.78 deg2 contains 2684 significant starlight
polarizations for Two Micron All Sky Survey matched stars brighter than 12.5
mag in the H band. Polarizations are generally aligned with the cloud's major
axis, showing an average position angle dispersion of 15 \pm 2{\deg} and
polarization of 1.8 \pm 0.6%. The polarizations were combined with Galactic
Ring Survey 13CO spectroscopy and the Chandrasekhar-Fermi method to estimate
plane-of-sky magnetic field strengths, with an angular resolution of 100
arcsec. The average plane-of-sky magnetic field strength across the cloud is
5.40 \pm 0.04 {\mu}G. The magnetic field strength map exhibits seven
enhancements or "magnetic cores." These cores show an average magnetic field
strength of 8.3 \pm 0.9 {\mu}G, radius of 1.2 \pm 0.2 pc, intercore spacing of
5.7 \pm 0.9 pc, and exclusively subcritical mass-to-flux ratios, implying their
magnetic fields continue to suppress star formation. The magnetic field
strength shows a power-law dependence on gas volume density, with slope 0.75
\pm 0.02 for n_{H_2} >=10 cm-3. This power-law index is identical to those in
studies at higher densities, but disagrees with predictions for the densities
probed here.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures, published in ApJ (2012, 755, 130
Overview of a New NASA Activity Focused on Planetary Defense
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has initiated a new Planetary Defense research activity, led by the NASA Ames Research Center. The objective of the effort is to provide tools for reliably assessing the impact damage that Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) could inflict on the Earth. This research will support decisions regarding appropriate mitigation action in the event that an impact threat is discovered. The activity includes four interrelated tasks: PHA characterization, physics-based simulations of atmospheric entry breakup, simulations of surface damage due to airbursts, land impacts, or tsunamis, and an integrated assessment of the overall risks posed by potential PHA strikes. This paper outlines the objectives, research approaches, products, and interrelations of the activity's four tasks, and presents an overview of their current progress and preliminary results. Companion papers in this conference provide additional details of the work in the four task areas
Two bolometer arrays for far-infrared and submillimeter astronomy
We describe the development, construction, and testing of two 384 element arrays of ion-implanted semiconducting cryogenic bolometers designed for use in far-infrared and submillimeter cameras. These two dimensional arrays are assembled from a number of 32 element linear arrays of monolithic Pop-Up bolometer Detectors (PUD) developed at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. PUD technology allows the construction of large, high filling factor, arrays that make efficient use of available focal plane area in far-infrared and submillimeter astronomical instruments. Such arrays can be used to provide a significant increase in mapping speed over smaller arrays. A prototype array has been delivered and integrated into a ground-based camera, the Submillimeter High Angular Resolution Camera (SHARC II), a facility instrument at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO). A second array has recently been delivered for integration into the High-resolution Airborne Widebandwidth Camera (HAWC), a far-infrared imaging camera for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). HAWC is scheduled for commissioning in 2005
Extragenic suppressor mutations in ΔripA disrupt stability and function of LpxA
Abstract
Background
Francisella tularensis is a Gram-negative bacterium that infects hundreds of species including humans, and has evolved to grow efficiently within a plethora of cell types. RipA is a conserved membrane protein of F. tularensis, which is required for growth inside host cells. As a means to determine RipA function we isolated and mapped independent extragenic suppressor mutants in ∆ripA that restored growth in host cells. Each suppressor mutation mapped to one of two essential genes, lpxA or glmU, which are involved in lipid A synthesis. We repaired the suppressor mutation in lpxA (S102, LpxA T36N) and the mutation in glmU (S103, GlmU E57D), and demonstrated that each mutation was responsible for the suppressor phenotype in their respective strains. We hypothesize that the mutation in S102 altered the stability of LpxA, which can provide a clue to RipA function. LpxA is an UDP-N-acetylglucosamine acyltransferase that catalyzes the transfer of an acyl chain from acyl carrier protein (ACP) to UDP-N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) to begin lipid A synthesis.
Results
LpxA was more abundant in the presence of RipA. Induced expression of lpxA in the ΔripA strain stopped bacterial division. The LpxA T36N S102 protein was less stable and therefore less abundant than wild type LpxA protein.
Conclusion
These data suggest RipA functions to modulate lipid A synthesis in F. tularensis as a way to adapt to the host cell environment by interacting with LpxA.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110509/1/12866_2014_Article_336.pd
CMBPol Mission Concept Study: Prospects for polarized foreground removal
In this report we discuss the impact of polarized foregrounds on a future
CMBPol satellite mission. We review our current knowledge of Galactic polarized
emission at microwave frequencies, including synchrotron and thermal dust
emission. We use existing data and our understanding of the physical behavior
of the sources of foreground emission to generate sky templates, and start to
assess how well primordial gravitational wave signals can be separated from
foreground contaminants for a CMBPol mission. At the estimated foreground
minimum of ~100 GHz, the polarized foregrounds are expected to be lower than a
primordial polarization signal with tensor-to-scalar ratio r=0.01, in a small
patch (~1%) of the sky known to have low Galactic emission. Over 75% of the sky
we expect the foreground amplitude to exceed the primordial signal by about a
factor of eight at the foreground minimum and on scales of two degrees. Only on
the largest scales does the polarized foreground amplitude exceed the
primordial signal by a larger factor of about 20. The prospects for detecting
an r=0.01 signal including degree-scale measurements appear promising, with 5
sigma_r ~0.003 forecast from multiple methods. A mission that observes a range
of scales offers better prospects from the foregrounds perspective than one
targeting only the lowest few multipoles. We begin to explore how optimizing
the composition of frequency channels in the focal plane can maximize our
ability to perform component separation, with a range of typically 40 < nu <
300 GHz preferred for ten channels. Foreground cleaning methods are already in
place to tackle a CMBPol mission data set, and further investigation of the
optimization and detectability of the primordial signal will be useful for
mission design.Comment: 42 pages, 14 figures, Foreground Removal Working Group contribution
to the CMBPol Mission Concept Study, v2, matches AIP versio
Automated analysis and benchmarking of GCMC simulation programs in application to gas adsorption.
<p>In this work we set out to evaluate the computational performance of several popular Monte Carlo simulation programs, namely Cassandra, DL Monte, Music, Raspa and Towhee, in modelling gas adsorption in crystalline materials. We focus on the reference case of adsorption in IRMOF-1 at 208 K. To critically assess their performance, we first establish some criteria which allow us to make this assessment on a consistent basis. Specifically, the total computational time required for a program to complete a simulation of an adsorption point, consists of the time required for equilibration plus time required to generate a specific number of uncorrelated samples of the property of interest. Our analysis shows that across different programs there is a wide difference in the statistical value of a single MC step, however their computational performance is quite comparable. We further explore the use of energy grids and energy bias techniques, as well as the efficiency of the parallel execution of the simulations. The test cases developed are made openly available as a resource for the community, and can be used for validation and as a template for further studies.</p
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