Launch Vehicle Production and Operations Cost Metrics

Traditionally, launch vehicle cost has been evaluated based on $/Kg to orbit. This metric is calculated based on assumptions not typically met by a specific mission. These assumptions include the specified orbit whether Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO), or both. The metric also assumes the payload utilizes the full lift mass of the launch vehicle, which is rarely true even with secondary payloads.1,2,3 Other approaches for cost metrics have been evaluated including unit cost of the launch vehicle and an approach to consider the full program production and operations costs.4 Unit cost considers the variable cost of the vehicle and the definition of variable costs are discussed. The full program production and operation costs include both the variable costs and the manufacturing base. This metric also distinguishes operations costs from production costs, including pre-flight operational testing. Operations costs also consider the costs of flight operations, including control center operation and maintenance. Each of these 3 cost metrics show different sensitivities to various aspects of launch vehicle cost drivers. The comparison of these metrics provides the strengths and weaknesses of each yielding an assessment useful for cost metric selection for launch vehicle programs

Bioelectronic DNA detection of human papillomaviruses using eSensor™: a model system for detection of multiple pathogens

BACKGROUND: We used human papillomaviruses (HPV) as a model system to evaluate the utility of a nucleic acid, hybridization-based bioelectronic DNA detection platform (eSensor™) in identifying multiple pathogens. METHODS: Two chips were spotted with capture probes consisting of DNA oligonucleotide sequences specific for HPV types. Electrically conductive signal probes were synthesized to be complementary to a distinct region of the amplified HPV target DNA. A portion of the HPV L1 region that was amplified by using consensus primers served as target DNA. The amplified target was mixed with a cocktail of signal probes and added to a cartridge containing a DNA chip to allow for hybridization with complementary capture probes. RESULTS: Two bioelectric chips were designed and successfully detected 86% of the HPV types contained in clinical samples. CONCLUSIONS: This model system demonstrates the potential of the eSensor platform for rapid and integrated detection of multiple pathogens

Financial phantasmagoria: corporate image-work in times of crisis

Our purpose in this article is to relate the real movements in the economy during 2008 to the ?image-work? of financial institutions. Over the period January?December 2008 we collected 241 separate advertisements from 61 financial institutions published in the Financial Times. Reading across the ensemble of advertisements for themes and evocative images provides an impression of the financial imaginaries created by these organizations as the global financial crisis unfolded. In using the term ?phantasmagoria? we move beyond its colloquial sense of a set of strange images designed to dazzle towards the more technical connotation used by Ranci�re (2004) who suggested that words and images can offer a trace of an overall determining set-up if they are torn from their obviousness so they become phantasmagoric figures. The key phantasmagoric figure we identify here is that of the financial institution as timeless, immortal and unchanging; a coherent and autonomous entity amongst other actors. This notion of uniqueness belies the commonality of thinking which precipitated the global financial crisis as well as the limited capacity for control of financial institutions in relation to market events. It also functions as a powerful naturalizing force, making it hard to question certain aspects of the recent period of ?capitalism in crisis?

Metal matrix composite materials

COMPOSITF materials, especially metal matrix composite materials are possible substitutes for metals in use today. However, because they can possess extremely high strengths, moduli and excellent high temperature prop-erties they may be employed most profitably in applicat-ions which do not presently exist,since no present mat-erial has the required capabilities.In addition, their present high cost and very early stage of development make them unlikely candidates for materials substitut- ion in the context of this meeting. This paper is orie-nted more towards the development of composite materials for aerospace structures

A new species of Brachycephalus (Anura Brachycephalidae) from Santa Catarina, southern Brazil

A new species of Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) is described from the Atlantic Forest of northeastern state of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. Nine specimens (eight adults and a juvenile) were collected from the leaf litter of montane forests 790–835 m above sea level (a.s.l.). The new species is a member of the pernix group by its bufoniform shape and the absence of dermal co-ossification and is distinguished from all its congeners by a combination of its general coloration (dorsal region of head, dorsum, legs, arms, and flanks light, brownish green to dark, olive green, with darker region in the middle of the dorsum and a white line along the vertebral column in most specimens) and by its smooth dorsum. The geographical distribution of the new species is highly reduced (extent of occurrence estimated as 25.04 ha, or possibly 34.37 ha). In addition, its habitat has experienced some level of degradation, raising concerns about the future conservation of the species. Preliminary density estimates suggest one calling individual every 3–4 m2 at 815–835 m a.s.l. and every 100 m2 at 790 m a.s.l. Together with the recently described B. boticario and B. fuscolineatus, the new species is among the southernmost species of Brachycephalus known to date

Classifying LISA gravitational wave burst signals using Bayesian evidence

We consider the problem of characterisation of burst sources detected with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) using the multi-modal nested sampling algorithm, MultiNest. We use MultiNest as a tool to search for modelled bursts from cosmic string cusps, and compute the Bayesian evidence associated with the cosmic string model. As an alternative burst model, we consider sine-Gaussian burst signals, and show how the evidence ratio can be used to choose between these two alternatives. We present results from an application of MultiNest to the last round of the Mock LISA Data Challenge, in which we were able to successfully detect and characterise all three of the cosmic string burst sources present in the release data set. We also present results of independent trials and show that MultiNest can detect cosmic string signals with signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as low as ~7 and sine-Gaussian signals with SNR as low as ~8. In both cases, we show that the threshold at which the sources become detectable coincides with the SNR at which the evidence ratio begins to favour the correct model over the alternative.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures, accepted by CQG; v2 has minor changes for consistency with accepted versio

Identification and Characterization of Thymic Epithelial Progenitor Cells

AbstractT cell differentiation and repertoire selection depend critically on several distinct thymic epithelial cell types, whose lineage relationships are unclear. We have investigated these relationships via functional analysis of the epithelial populations within the thymic primordium. Here, we show that mAbs MTS20 and MTS24 identify a population of cells that, when purified and grafted ectopically, can differentiate into all known thymic epithelial cell types, attract lymphoid progenitors, and support CD4+ and CD8+ T cell development in nude mice. In contrast, other epithelial populations in the thymic primordium can fulfill none of these functions. These data establish that the MTS20+24+ population is sufficient to generate a functional thymus in vivo and thus argue strongly that all thymic epithelial cell types derive from a common progenitor cell

Connected Network of Minima as a Model Glass: Long Time Dynamics

A simple model to investigate the long time dynamics of glass-formers is presented and applied to study a Lennard-Jones system in supercooled and glassy phases. According to our model, the point representing the system in the configurational phase space performs harmonic vibrations around (and activated jumps between) minima pertaining to a connected network. Exploiting the model, in agreement with the experimental results, we find evidence for: i) stretched relaxational dynamics; ii) a strong T-dependence of the stretching parameter; iii) breakdown of the Stokes-Einstein law.Comment: 4 pages (Latex), 4 eps figure