12,554 research outputs found
Guidelines for composite materials research related to general aviation aircraft
Guidelines for research on composite materials directed toward the improvement of all aspects of their applicability for general aviation aircraft were developed from extensive studies of their performance, manufacturability, and cost effectiveness. Specific areas for research and for manufacturing development were identified and evaluated. Inputs developed from visits to manufacturers were used in part to guide these evaluations, particularly in the area of cost effectiveness. Throughout the emphasis was to direct the research toward the requirements of general aviation aircraft, for which relatively low load intensities are encountered, economy of production is a prime requirement, and yet performance still commands a premium. A number of implications regarding further directions for developments in composites to meet these requirements also emerged from the studies. Chief among these is the need for an integrated (computer program) aerodynamic/structures approach to aircraft design
Modeling the functional genomics of autism using human neurons.
Human neural progenitors from a variety of sources present new opportunities to model aspects of human neuropsychiatric disease in vitro. Such in vitro models provide the advantages of a human genetic background combined with rapid and easy manipulation, making them highly useful adjuncts to animal models. Here, we examined whether a human neuronal culture system could be utilized to assess the transcriptional program involved in human neural differentiation and to model some of the molecular features of a neurodevelopmental disorder, such as autism. Primary normal human neuronal progenitors (NHNPs) were differentiated into a post-mitotic neuronal state through addition of specific growth factors and whole-genome gene expression was examined throughout a time course of neuronal differentiation. After 4 weeks of differentiation, a significant number of genes associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are either induced or repressed. This includes the ASD susceptibility gene neurexin 1, which showed a distinct pattern from neurexin 3 in vitro, and which we validated in vivo in fetal human brain. Using weighted gene co-expression network analysis, we visualized the network structure of transcriptional regulation, demonstrating via this unbiased analysis that a significant number of ASD candidate genes are coordinately regulated during the differentiation process. As NHNPs are genetically tractable and manipulable, they can be used to study both the effects of mutations in multiple ASD candidate genes on neuronal differentiation and gene expression in combination with the effects of potential therapeutic molecules. These data also provide a step towards better understanding of the signaling pathways disrupted in ASD
A study of secondary injection of gases into a supersonic flow
Secondary injection of gases into supersonic flo
Critical Behavior of Light
Light is shown to exhibit critical and tricritical behavior in passive
mode-locked lasers with externally injected pulses. It is a first and unique
example of critical phenomena in a one-dimensional many body light-mode system.
The phase diagrams consist of regimes with continuous wave, driven para-pulses,
spontaneous pulses via mode condensation, and heterogeneous pulses, separated
by phase transition lines which terminate with critical or tricritical points.
Enhanced nongaussian fluctuations and collective dynamics are observed at the
critical and tricritical points, showing a mode system analog of the critical
opalescence phenomenon. The critical exponents are calculated and shown to
comply with the mean field theory, which is rigorous in the light system.Comment: RevTex, 5 pages, 3 figure
An EUV Study of the Intermediate Polar EX Hydrae
On 2000 May 5, we began a large multi-wavelength campaign to study the
intermediate polar, EX Hydrae. The simultaneous observations from six
satellites and four telescopes were centered around a one million second
observation with EUVE. Although EX Hydrae has been studied previously with
EUVE, our higher signal-to-noise observations present new results and challenge
the current IP models. Previously unseen dips in the light curve are
reminiscent of the stream dips seen in polar light curves. Also of interest is
the temporal extent of the bulge dip; approximately 0.5 in phase, implying that
the bulge extends over half of the accretion disk. We propose that the magnetic
field in EX Hydrae is strong enough (a few MG) to begin pulling material
directly from the outer edge of the disk, thereby forming a large accretion
curtain which would produce a very broad bulge dip. This would also result in
magnetically controlled accretion streams originating from the outer edge of
the disk. We also present a period analysis of the photometric data which shows
numerous beat frequencies with strong power and also intermittent and wandering
frequencies, an indication that physical conditions within EX Hya changed over
the course of the observation. Iron spectral line ratios give a temperature of
log T=6.5-6.9 K for all spin phases and a poorly constrained density of
n_e=10^10-10^11 cm^-3 for the emitting plasma. This paper is the first in a
series detailing our results from this multi-wavelength observational campaign.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Bound on Lorentz- and CPT-Violating Boost Effects for the Neutron
A search for an annual variation of a daily sidereal modulation of the
frequency difference between co-located Xe and He Zeeman
masers sets a stringent limit on boost-dependent Lorentz and CPT violation
involving the neutron, consistent with no effect at the level of 150 nHz. In
the framework of the general Standard-Model Extension, the present result
provides the first clean test for the fermion sector of the symmetry of
spacetime under boost transformations at a level of GeV.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
The effect of follicular fluid hormones on oocyte recovery after ovarian stimulation: FSH level predicts oocyte recovery.
BackgroundOvarian stimulation for assisted reproductive technology (ART) overcomes the physiologic process to develop a single dominant follicle. However, following stimulation, egg recovery rates are not 100%. The objective of this study is to determine if the follicular fluid hormonal environment is associated with oocyte recovery.MethodsThis is a prospective study involving patients undergoing ART by standard ovarian stimulation protocols at an urban academic medical center. A total of 143 follicular fluid aspirates were collected from 80 patients. Concentrations of FSH, hCG, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone and prolactin were determined. A multivariable regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between the follicular fluid hormones and oocyte recovery.ResultsIntrafollicular FSH was significantly associated with oocyte recovery after adjustment for hCG (Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.21, 95%CI 1.03-1.42). The hCG concentration alone, in the range tested, did not impact the odds of oocyte recovery (AOR = 0.99, 95%CI 0.93-1.07). Estradiol was significantly associated with oocyte recovery (AOR = 0.98, 95% CI 0.96-0.99). After adjustment for progesterone, the strength of association between FSH and oocyte recovery increased (AOR = 1.84, 95%CI 1.45-2.34).ConclusionThe relationship between FSH and oocyte recovery is significant and appears to work through mechanisms independent of the sex hormones. FSH may be important for the physiologic event of separation of the cumulus-oocyte complex from the follicle wall, thereby influencing oocyte recovery. Current methods for inducing the final stages of oocyte maturation, with hCG administration alone, may not be optimal. Modifications of treatment protocols utilizing additional FSH may enhance oocyte recovery
On a class of invariant coframe operators with application to gravity
Let a differential 4D-manifold with a smooth coframe field be given. Consider
the operators on it that are linear in the second order derivatives or
quadratic in the first order derivatives of the coframe, both with coefficients
that depend on the coframe variables. The paper exhibits the class of operators
that are invariant under a general change of coordinates, and, also, invariant
under the global SO(1,3)-transformation of the coframe. A general class of
field equations is constructed. We display two subclasses in it. The subclass
of field equations that are derivable from action principles by free variations
and the subclass of field equations for which spherical-symmetric solutions,
Minkowskian at infinity exist. Then, for the spherical-symmetric solutions, the
resulting metric is computed. Invoking the Geodesic Postulate, we find all the
equations that are experimentally (by the 3 classical tests) indistinguishable
from Einstein field equations. This family includes, of course, also Einstein
equations. Moreover, it is shown, explicitly, how to exhibit it. The basic tool
employed in the paper is an invariant formulation reminiscent of Cartan's
structural equations. The article sheds light on the possibilities and
limitations of the coframe gravity. It may also serve as a general procedure to
derive covariant field equations
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