Evaluation of Recent Upgrades to the NESS (Nuclear Engine System Simulation) Code

The Nuclear Thermal Rocket (NTR) concept is being evaluated as a potential propulsion technology for exploratory expeditions to the moon, Mars, and beyond. The need for exceptional propulsion system performance in these missions has been documented in numerous studies, and was the primary focus of a considerable effort undertaken during the Rover/NERVA program from 1955 to 1973. The NASA Glenn Research Center is leveraging this past NTR investment in their vehicle concepts and mission analysis studies with the aid of the Nuclear Engine System Simulation (NESS) code. This paper presents the additional capabilities and upgrades made to this code in order to perform higher fidelity NTR propulsion system analysis and design, and a comparison of its results to the Small Nuclear Rocket Engine (SNRE) design

A Comparison of Materials Issues for Cermet and Graphite-Based NTP Fuels

This paper compares material issues for cermet and graphite fuel elements. In particular, two issues in NTP fuel element performance are considered here: ductile to brittle transition in relation to crack propagation, and orificing individual coolant channels in fuel elements. Their relevance to fuel element performance is supported by considering material properties, experimental data, and results from multidisciplinary fluid/thermal/structural simulations. Ductile to brittle transition results in a fuel element region prone to brittle fracture under stress, while outside this region, stresses lead to deformation and resilience under stress. Poor coolant distribution between fuel element channels can increase stresses in certain channels. NERVA fuel element experimental results are consistent with this interpretation. An understanding of these mechanisms will help interpret fuel element testing results

Multidisciplinary Simulation of Graphite-Composite and Cermet Fuel Elements for NTP Point of Departure Designs

This paper compares the expected performance of two Nuclear Thermal Propulsion fuel types. High fidelity, fluid/thermal/structural + neutronic simulations help predict the performance of graphite-composite and cermet fuel types from point of departure engine designs from the Nuclear Thermal Propulsion project. Materials and nuclear reactivity issues are reviewed for each fuel type. Thermal/structural simulations predict thermal stresses in the fuel and thermal expansion mis-match stresses in the coatings. Fluid/thermal/structural/neutronic simulations provide predictions for full fuel elements. Although NTP engines will utilize many existing chemical engine components and technologies, nuclear fuel elements are a less developed engine component and introduce design uncertainty. Consequently, these fuel element simulations provide important insights into NTP engine performance

Electrophysiological characterization of the hyperdirect pathway and its functional relevance for subthalamic deep brain stimulation

The subthalamic nucleus (STN) receives input from various cortical areas via hyperdirect pathway (HDP) which bypasses the basal-ganglia loop. Recently, the HDP has gained increasing interest, because of its relevance for STN deep brain stimulation (DBS). To understand the HDP's role cortical responses evoked by STN-DBS have been investigated. These responses have short (<2 ms), medium (2–15 ms), and long (20–70 ms) latencies. Medium-latency responses are supposed to represent antidromic cortical activations via HDP. Together with long-latency responses the medium responses can potentially be used as biomarker of DBS efficacy as well as side effects. We here propose that the activation sequence of the cortical evoked responses can be conceptualized as high frequency oscillations (HFO) for signal analysis. HFO might therefore serve as marker for antidromic activation. Using existing knowledge on HFO recordings, this approach allows data analyses and physiological modeling to advance the pathophysiological understanding of cortical DBS-evoked high-frequency activity

Caracterização de amido de pinhão modificado com soluções de ácido clorídrico 0,1 e 0,2M em presença de etanol e metanol.

O amido de pinhão possui propriedades interessantes, porém pouco foi estudado até o momento. Proveniente do Sul do Brasil, a semente da Araucária angustifolia serve de alimento para diversas culturas da região. Os amidos nativos de diversas fontes botânicas possuem características de interesse industrial, porém algumas só são adquiridas ou melhoradas mediante a aplicação de agentes que modifiquem as estruturas originais dos grânulos, como ácidos e oxidantes. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo estudar propriedades do amido de pinhão nativo e este modificado, utilizando ácido clorídrico 0,1M e 0,2M, em meio etanólico e metanólico. Pelas curvas DSC foi possível determinar as temperaturas ?onset?, de pico e de conclusão do processo de gelatinização das amostras, além de se determinar a entalpia envolvida no processo. Pelas imagens NC-AFM pode-se medir o tamanho dos grânulos dos amidos e a rugosidade dos mesmos antes e após as modificações. Por meio da técnica TG-DTG, foi possível observar um perfil de perda de massa semelhante para todas as amostras, com 3 etapas definidas, sendo a 1ª referente à desidratação da amostra e a 2ª e 3ª referente à decomposição da matéria orgânica à cinzas. Através da análise de propriedade de pasta (RVA) se observou o perfil reológico das amostras, podendo determinar temperatura de pico, viscosidade final e retrogradação.CBRATEC

Separating neural oscillations from aperiodic 1/f activity: Challenges and recommendations

Electrophysiological power spectra typically consist of two components: An aperiodic part usually following an 1/f power law [Formula: see text] and periodic components appearing as spectral peaks. While the investigation of the periodic parts, commonly referred to as neural oscillations, has received considerable attention, the study of the aperiodic part has only recently gained more interest. The periodic part is usually quantified by center frequencies, powers, and bandwidths, while the aperiodic part is parameterized by the y-intercept and the 1/f exponent [Formula: see text]. For investigation of either part, however, it is essential to separate the two components. In this article, we scrutinize two frequently used methods, FOOOF (Fitting Oscillations & One-Over-F) and IRASA (Irregular Resampling Auto-Spectral Analysis), that are commonly used to separate the periodic from the aperiodic component. We evaluate these methods using diverse spectra obtained with electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), and local field potential (LFP) recordings relating to three independent research datasets. Each method and each dataset poses distinct challenges for the extraction of both spectral parts. The specific spectral features hindering the periodic and aperiodic separation are highlighted by simulations of power spectra emphasizing these features. Through comparison with the simulation parameters defined a priori, the parameterization error of each method is quantified. Based on the real and simulated power spectra, we evaluate the advantages of both methods, discuss common challenges, note which spectral features impede the separation, assess the computational costs, and propose recommendations on how to use them

Heterogeneous OH oxidation of secondary brown carbon aerosol

Light-absorbing organic aerosol, or brown carbon (BrC), has significant but poorly constrained effects on climate; for example, oxidation in the atmosphere may alter its optical properties, leading to absorption enhancement or bleaching. Here, we investigate for the first time the effects of heterogeneous OH oxidation on the optical properties of a laboratory surrogate of aqueous, secondary BrC in a series of photo-oxidation chamber experiments. The BrC surrogate was generated from aqueous resorcinol, or 1,3-dihydroxybenzene, and H2O2 exposed to  &gt; 300&thinsp;nm radiation that is atomized, passed through trace gas denuders, and injected into the chamber, which was conditioned to either 15&thinsp;% or 60&thinsp;% relative humidity (RH). Aerosol absorption and scattering coefficients and single scattering albedo (SSA) at 405&thinsp;nm were measured using a photoacoustic spectrometer. At 60&thinsp;% RH, upon OH exposure, absorption first increased, and the SSA decreased sharply. Subsequently, absorption decreased faster than scattering, and SSA increased gradually. Comparisons to the modelled trend in SSA, based on Mie theory calculations, confirm that the observed trend is due to chemical evolution, rather than slight changes in particle size. The initial absorption enhancement is likely due to molecular functionalization and/or oligomerization and the bleaching to fragmentation. By contrast, at 15&thinsp;% RH, slow absorption enhancement was observed without appreciable bleaching. A multi-layer kinetics model, consisting of two surface reactions in series, was constructed to provide further insights regarding the RH dependence of the optical evolution. Candidate parameters suggest that the oxidation is efficient, with uptake coefficients on the order of unity. The parameters also suggest that, as RH decreases, reactivity decreases and aerosol viscosity increases, such that particles are well-mixed at 60&thinsp;% RH but not at 15&thinsp;% RH. These results further the current understanding of the complex processing of BrC that may occur in the atmosphere.</p

S-band Polarization All Sky Survey (S-PASS): survey description and maps

We present the S-Band Polarization All Sky Survey (S-PASS), a survey of polarized radio emission over the southern sky at Dec~$< -1^\circ$ taken with the Parkes radio telescope at 2.3~GHz. The main aim was to observe at a frequency high enough to avoid strong depolarization at intermediate Galactic latitudes (still present at 1.4 GHz) to study Galactic magnetism, but low enough to retain ample Signal-to-Noise ratio (S/N) at high latitudes for extragalactic and cosmological science. We developed a new scanning strategy based on long azimuth scans, and a corresponding map-making procedure to make recovery of the overall mean signal of Stokes $Q$ and $U$ possible, a long-standing problem with polarization observations. We describe the scanning strategy, map-making procedure, and validation tests. The overall mean signal is recovered with a precision better than 0.5\%. The maps have a mean sensitivity of 0.81 mK on beam--size scales and show clear polarized signals, typically to within a few degrees of the Galactic plane, with ample S/N everywhere (the typical signal in low emission regions is 13 mK, and 98.6\% of the pixels have S/N $> 3$). The largest depolarization areas are in the inner Galaxy, associated with the Sagittarius Arm. We have also computed a Rotation Measure map combining S-PASS with archival data from the WMAP and Planck experiments. A Stokes $I$ map has been generated, with a sensitivity limited to the confusion level of 9 mK.Comment: Accepted for publication on MNRAS. Maps are available for download at the website indicated in the manuscrip

Caracterização térmica de amido e bagaço de Amaranthus cruentus.

O amaranto é um pseudocereal, que produz pequenas sementes de cor amarelo-avermelhado. Foram avaliados o amido e o bagaço de amaranto obtidos no processo de extração. Nas curvas TG/DTG identificouse que o bagaço não apresentou período de estabilidade térmica, justificado pela composição mais complexa. Com o DSC visualizou-se a ocorrência de gelatinização do bagaço, com To e Tp superiores ao amido, porém, com menor entalpia, apontando um teor residual de amido.Edição dos Anais do 7º Simpósio de Análise Térmica, 2015, Bauru

Thermal and rheological behavior of native and modified starch Araucaria angustifolia (pinhão).

Araucaria angustifolia is known in Brazil as Paraná Pine is endangered due to reckless extraction. The preservation and maintenance of the culture could be stimulated by use derivative products like the starch from its seeds (pinhão). In this work were studied samples of unmodified and modified pinhão starch. The hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were used in the concentrations 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 mol.L-1 (a, b, c) and simultaneously exposed in ultraviolet rays (&#955; = 256 nm) for one hour. One sample (N) was maintained as received for comparisons of the analysis results. The samples were analyzed by the thermoanalytical techniques: thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC); and by the rheological analysis: Rapid Viscoamylographic Analysis (RVA). The TGA showed an increase on the stability values form the (N) sample to the modified ones. The DSC showed a strong decrease on the gelatinization enthalpy with increasing of the H2O2 concentrations solutions valued for the modified samples. The RVA results presented that the Setback reduced with the treatment that used hydrogen peroxide in a higher concentration. The obtained results showed that the modification method applied altered the thermal behavior of the pinhão starch.CBRATEC