TDRSS/user satellite timing study

A timing analysis for data readout through the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) was presented. Various time tagging approaches were considered and the resulting accuracies delineated. The TDRSS was also defined and described in detail

X-Ray Crystal Analysis of Acid Salts, and Tris-Ethyl-Sulphonyl Methane: Development of Related Computer Programs

The phase problem of X-ray crystallography is stated, some of the methods available for its solution are surveyed and their theoretical background is outlined. ' Three computer programs written by the author, are described. These are a program for scanning three-dimensional density maps, which automatically produces interpolated coordinates for every peak in the map; a program for sorting crystallographic reflexion data into order by the Miller indices; and a program which supplies a suitable weighting-scheme for structure-factor-least-squares refinement. The "ASS" system of crystallographic computer programs is then described with special reference to the method of storing the crystallographic data, and the features which enable it, in some cases, to obtain the positions of all the light atoms automatically, given the position of only the heavy-atom. The crystal structure analysis of tris (ethyl sulphonyl) methane is described, and the structure obtained is compared to that of tris (methyl sulphonyl) methane. A description is given of the course of the structure analyses of three acid salts, potassium hydrogen dianisate, potassium hydrogen dicrotonate and rubidium hydrogen dicrotonate, and their structures, which all contain short hydrogen bonds, are discussed

Making a difference - the appropriate use of web technology

Much has been written elsewhere about how, different Information Technology tools, can in principle be used by groups or communities to make their web sites more effective for Continued Professional Development. In practice, complex use is not often the case. In particular, three sites were studied in Scotland, which provided web facilities for the over 60s. The sites, and the communities they served, used only simple Information Technology. Nevertheless, they enabled their communities to participate effectively, on the 'right side', of the European population's 'digital divide'

The uptake and extraction of heavy metals from contaminated soil by coppice woodland

The research undertaken was designed to investigate the potential use of coppice woodland for the clean up and remediation of heavy metal contaminated soil. Particular attention was given to high yielding coppice woodland species, especially willow and poplar. This was because breeding and field trials have reported that some hybrid willow clones can produce biomass yields of up to 60 t ha-1 y-1. The experimental works undertaken comprised three experiments which have been referred to as the 'Field Studies', 'Pot Studies' and 'Hydroponic Studies' and describes the medium in which the trees were grown and studied. The experiments were devised to study the variation in the uptake of metals between different tree species growing in different environments. The findings of the studies generally indicate that metal uptake rates determined in the field were lower that the uptake levels recorded in the pot and hydroponic studies. These differences were attributed to the increased availability of the study metals in the pot and hydroponic studies. Zinc concentrations in the above ground tissue of willow determined from the three experiments ranged from 159 to 223 mg kg-1 in the field study, 281 to 2995mg kg-1 in the pot study and 40 to 5530 mg kg-1 in the hydroponic study. Zinc was the only metal accumulated to significant concentration within the biomass of fields samples. Zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel and chromium were accumulated in the biomass of seedlings grown in the pot studies and zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, chromium and to a lesser extent lead were accumulated by some of the hydroponic study trees. Some of the uptake levels recorded were not dissimilar from accumulation levels reported in hyperaccumulater species and highlights the potential of some tree species to accumulate metals in above ground tissues (leaves, twigs and stem). The pot and hydroponic studies suffered high seedling fatality rates which were attributed to metal toxicity and/or salinity. These findings could indicate possible establishment problems when trying to plant trees on contaminated sites

Advanced Materials and Processes for High Energy Resolution Room Temperature Gamma Ray Spectrometers

A significant amount of progress has been achieved in the development of the novel vacuum distillation method described in the proposal. The process for the purification of Te was fully developed and characterized in a series of trials. The purification effect was confirmed with GDMS sample analysis and indicates the process yields very high purity Te metal. Results of this initial process study have been submitted for publication in the Proceedings of the SPIE and will be presented on August 28, 2007 at the SPIE Optics and Photonics 2007 conference in San Diego, CA. Concurrent to the development of the Te process, processes for the purification of Cd, Zn, and Mn have also progressed. The development of the processes for Cd and Zn are nearly complete, while the development of the process for Mn is still in its infancy. It is expected that a full characterization of the Cd process will be completed within the next quarter, followed by Zn. Parallel to those characterization studies, efforts will be made to further develop the Mn purification process. Zone melting work for Te and Cd has also been efforted as per the project work schedule. Initial trials have been completed and the processes developed. Characterization of the results will be completed within the first fiscal year. Finally, an apparatus for the zone refinement of Cd, Zn, and Mn has been constructed and initial trials are set to begin shortly

James A. Baker Institute for Animal Health Annual Report 1981

James A. Baker Institute for Animal Health Annual Report 1981Topics in the Annual Report include: A Message from the Director (Douglas D. McGregor); Staff of the Baker Institute; Cornell Research Laboratory for Diseases of Dogs; Giralda Laboratory for Canine Infectious Diseases; Daynemouth Laboratory for Canine Nutrition; John M. Olin Laboratory for the Study of Canine Hip Dysplasia; Hadley C. Stephenson Laboratory for Canine Diseases; Donnelley Laboratory of Immunochemistry; Oswald R. Jones Laboratory of Immunology; Immunogenetics Laboratory; Richard King Mellon Laboratory for Electron Microscopy; Advisory Council; The Institute in Perspective; Acknowledgements; Publications; Ways of Giving

Numerical Evaluation of Micro-Pocket Fission Detectors

Micro-pocket fission detectors (MPFDs) are miniature fission chambers suitable for in-core neutron measurement that have been under development at Kansas State University for over one decade. Current-generation devices have been used at a number of university reactors (Kansas State, Wisconsin, and MIT) and as part of the first experiments performed during the recent restart of TREAT. Ongoing research aims to improve understanding of the existing MPFDs and to optimize designs for future deployment. To aid in this development, the dynamic response of a prototypic MPFD was evaluated using Garfield++, Elmer, Gmsh, and Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter (SRIM). Specifically, the finite-element code Elmer was used to calculate the electric field on a mesh generated by Gmsh. SRIM was used to compute the energy loss tables of the fission fragments in the gas. With output from Elmer and SRIM, Garfield++ was used to simulate the ionization process, the resulting electron drift, and the induced signal. This particular Garfield++ application was developed with hybrid parallelization based MPI and OpenMP. The performance of the MPFDs subjected to different temperatures and applied voltages was evaluated. The preliminary results indicate the fission fragment deposits a few MeV of energy in the gas, consistent with previous estimates. The pulses in the MPFDs can be formed in the nanosecond scale, thus accommodating high count rates and, hence, high neutron-flux levels. Ongoing work aims to extend this model and validate it against existing and planned experimental data