5,415 research outputs found
Summer Workshop on Near-Earth Resources
The possible large scale use of extraterrestrial resources was addressed, either to construct structures in space or to return to Earth as supplements for terrestrial resources. To that end, various specific recommendations were made by the participants in the summer study on near-Earth resources, held at La Jolla, California, 6 to 13 August, 1977. The Moon and Earth-approaching asteroids were considered. Summaries are included of what is known about their compositions and what needs to be learned, along with recommendations for missions designed to provide the needed data. Tentative schedules for these projects are also offered
An engineering approach to the use of expert systems technology in avionics applications
The concept of using a knowledge compiler to transform the knowledge base and inference mechanism of an expert system into a conventional program is presented. The need to accommodate real-time systems requirements in applications such as embedded avionics is outlined. Expert systems and a brief comparison of expert systems and conventional programs are reviewed. Avionics applications of expert systems are discussed before the discussions of applying the proposed concept to example systems using forward and backward chaining
Results of the August 1977 Soviet and American meterological rocketsonde intercomparison held at Wallops Island, Virginia
A coordinated program of rocketsonde investigations along about 60 deg E and 70 deg W between the United States and U.S.S.R. is discussed. The rocketsonde instruments used by the U.S. and U.S.S.R. were compared and the results are presented. The U.S. Super Loki Datasonde and the U.S.S.R. M100B rocketsonde are discussed. Results indicate that the U.S/U.S.S.R. rocketsonde measurement agreement improved since the 1973 intercomparisons. It was learned that the mean of the differences of the temperatures compare to within 6 C at about 60 km and to within 2 C near 50 km. Wind measurements were also found to agree
Study of effects of fuel properties in turbine-powered business aircraft
Increased interest in research and technology concerning aviation turbine fuels and their properties was prompted by recent changes in the supply and demand situation of these fuels. The most obvious change is the rapid increase in fuel price. For commercial airplanes, fuel costs now approach 50 percent of the direct operating costs. In addition, there were occasional local supply disruptions and gradual shifts in delivered values of certain fuel properties. Dwindling petroleum reserves and the politically sensitive nature of the major world suppliers make the continuation of these trends likely. A summary of the principal findings, and conclusions are presented. Much of the material, especially the tables and graphs, is considered in greater detail later. The economic analysis and examination of operational considerations are described. Because some of the assumptions on which the economic analysis is founded are not easily verified, the sensitivity of the analysis to alternates for these assumptions is examined. The data base on which the analyses are founded is defined in a set of appendices
Performance of a V-trough photovoltaic/thermal concentrator
The idea of concentrating solar energy to increase the output of photovoltaic and solar thermal collectors is an area that has received significant attention. In this study, a design model for a V-trough concentrating photovoltaic/thermal solar collector was theoretically analysed and validated with experimental data.
The results showed that the V-trough offered improved electrical yields from both concentrating radiation onto the photovoltaic cells and also by actively cooling them. Also, it was shown that the V-trough could be made of a durable (long life) stainless steel, rather than the more reflective aluminium, while still offering a 25% increase in incident radiation over a typical year. However it was noted that modifications would be needed to improve cooling and to increase the thermal efficiency by reducing heat losses
Correlated Quantum Transport of Density Wave Electrons
Recently observed Aharonov-Bohm quantum interference of period h/2e in charge
density wave rings strongly suggest that correlated density wave electron
transport is a cooperative quantum phenomenon. The picture discussed here
posits that quantum solitons nucleate and transport current above a Coulomb
blockade threshold field. We propose a field-dependent tunneling matrix element
and use the Schrodinger equation, viewed as an emergent classical equation as
in Feynman's treatment of Josephson tunneling, to compute the evolving
macrostate amplitudes, finding excellent quantitative agreement with voltage
oscillations and current-voltage characteristics in NbSe3. A proposed phase
diagram shows the conditions favoring soliton nucleation versus classical
depinning. (Published in Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 036404 (2012).)Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, (5 pages & 3 figures for main article), includes
Supplemental Material with 1 figure. Published version: Physical Review
Letters, vol. 108, p. 036404 (2012
Spin-polarized tunneling through randomly transparent magnetic junctions: Reentrant magnetoresistance approaching the Julliere limit
Electron conductance in planar magnetic tunnel junctions with long-range
barrier disorder is studied within Glauber-eikonal approximation enabling exact
disorder ensemble averaging by means of the Holtsmark-Markov method. This
allows us to address a hitherto unexplored regime of the tunneling
magnetoresistance effect characterized by the crossover from
momentum-conserving to random tunneling as a function of the defect
concentration. We demonstrate that such a crossover results in a reentrant
magnetoresistance: It goes through a pronounced minimum before reaching
disorder- and geometry-independent Julliere's value at high defect
concentrations.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, derivation of Eq. (39) added, errors in Ref. 7
correcte
Gel-Electrophoresis and Diffusion of Ring-Shaped DNA
A model for the motion of ring-shaped DNA in a gel is introduced and studied
by numerical simulations and a mean-field approximation. The ring motion is
mediated by finger-shaped loops (hernias) that move in an amoeba-like fashion
around the gel obstructions. This constitutes an extension of previous
reptation tube treatments. It is shown that tension is essential for describing
the dynamics in the presence of hernias. It is included in the model as long
range interactions over stretched DNA regions. The mobility of ring-shaped DNA
is found to saturate much as in the well-studied case of linear DNA.
Experiments in polymer gels, however, show that the mobility drops
exponentially with the DNA ring size. This is commonly attributed to
dangling-ends in the gel that can impale the ring. The predictions of the
present model are expected to apply to artificial 2D obstacle arrays (W.D.
Volkmuth, R.H. Austin, Nature 358,600 (1992)) which have no dangling-ends. In
the zero-field case an exact solution of the model steady-state is obtained,
and quantities such as the average ring size are calculated. An approximate
treatment of the ring dynamics is given, and the diffusion coefficient is
derived. The model is also discussed in the context of spontaneous symmetry
breaking in one dimension.Comment: 8 figures, LaTeX, Phys. Rev. E - in pres
PTSD Treatment-Seeking Among Rural Latino Combat Veterans: A Review of the Literature
Latino combat soldiers report both higher prevalence and greater overall severity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms than non-Hispanic Caucasians. However, these veterans face unique social and cultural barriers to accessing treatment for PTSD that distinguish them from their non-Hispanic white counterparts. Latino veterans who reside in rural settings face additional socio-cultural and structural impediments, in that they are likely to reside far from VA (Veterans Administration) medical facilities, have limited access to public transportation, and hold more conservative views toward mental health treatment than those residing in urban locales. However, little is known about the unique individual, sociocultural, and structural barriers to treatment faced by rural Latino veterans. This paper synthesizes the separate mental health and treatment-seeking literatures pertaining to Latinos, rural populations, and veterans, with the goal of identifying fruitful areas of conceptual overlap, and providing direction for future theory building, research, and targeted interventions
Modelling Molecular Motors as Folding-Unfolding Cycles
We propose a model for motor proteins based on a hierarchical Hamiltonian
that we have previously introduced to describe protein folding. The proposed
motor model has high efficiency and is consistent with a linear load-velocity
response. The main improvement with respect to previous models is that this
description suggests a connection between folding and function of allosteric
proteins.Comment: 5 pages RevTeX, 2 Postscript figures, replaced due to LaTeX proble
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