Isolated-line commutator-amplifier

Commutator device combines several individual signal-input lines into single output line. Its desirable characteristics are - low input impedances, high output impedance, very high forward-to-reverse transmission ratios, and minimal gating spike coupling to either the inputs or the output

Solid-state current transformer

A signal transformation network which is uniquely characterized to exhibit a very low input impedance while maintaining a linear transfer characteristic when driven from a voltage source and when quiescently biased in the low microampere current range is described. In its simplest form, it consists of a tightly coupled two transistor network in which a common emitter input stage is interconnected directly with an emitter follower stage to provide virtually 100 percent negative feedback to the base input of the common emitter stage. Bias to the network is supplied via the common tie point of the common emitter stage collector terminal and the emitter follower base stage terminal by a regulated constant current source, and the output of the circuit is taken from the collector of the emitter follower stage

Development of an image converter of radical design

A long term investigation of thin film sensors, monolithic photo-field effect transistors, and epitaxially diffused phototransistors and photodiodes to meet requirements to produce acceptable all solid state, electronically scanned imaging system, led to the production of an advanced engineering model camera which employs a 200,000 element phototransistor array (organized in a matrix of 400 rows by 500 columns) to secure resolution comparable to commercial television. The full investigation is described for the period July 1962 through July 1972, and covers the following broad topics in detail: (1) sensor monoliths; (2) fabrication technology; (3) functional theory; (4) system methodology; and (5) deployment profile. A summary of the work and conclusions are given, along with extensive schematic diagrams of the final solid state imaging system product

Short and long distance translocations: Movement and survival in eastern box turtles (_Terrapene carolina carolina_)

*Background/Question/Methods*

Human development represents a serious threat to wildlife populations through continued habitat loss and incidental mortality from construction activities. Resource managers responsible for protecting species with legal status or high public profile are faced with difficult decisions on how to best manage populations located in construction zones. One approach to mitigate mortalities is to relocate individuals. The effectiveness of translocation for reptiles and amphibians has been questioned, with studies often reporting higher mortality and increased movements of translocated individuals. Translocations of reptiles and amphibians have primarily involved moving animals long distances, well beyond an individual’s home range. For reptiles this means finding new nesting, foraging, and overwintering sites, which may be problematic. Moving individuals only short distances, within their home range, may reduce those problems. As part of the mitigation plan for a highway construction project in central Maryland, groups of eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) were translocated both short distances (<0.5km), and long distances (~5km). To investigate differences in survival and movement patterns among long distance translocation, short distance translocation, and non-translocation groups, I tracked 94 turtles (31 long distance translocation, 29 short distance translocation, and 34 non-translocation) using radio telemetry. 

*Results/Conclusions*

Eleven animals died during the first activity season after translocation (April through November 2008). The mortalities included two long distance translocation, six short distance translocation, and three non-translocation animals. The causes of mortality included road kill, construction activity, and unknown (1, 4, and 6 mortalities respectively). All construction related mortalities were a result inadequate exclusion fencing to keep turtles from trespassing back onto the construction site. All mortalities due to construction were either non-translocation or short distance translocation animals. Eleven other individuals were located at least once within the construction zone, suggesting that without our intervention mortality rates would have been much higher. Preliminary results for movement show that turtles in the non-translocation group had the lowest average movements while long distance translocation animals had the greatest average movements. Long distance translocation turtles also chose overwintering sites farther away from their initial overwintering sites than either short distance translocation or non-translocation turtles (average distance from original site of 261.8m, 155.6m, and 124.3m respectively). This suggests that movement patterns of short distance translocation turtles are more like native turtles.
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Space simulation and radiative property testing system and method Patent

Development of method and equipment for testing heat radiative properties of material under controlled environmental condition

Accountable Care Organizations and Transaction Cost Economics

Using a Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) approach, this paper explores which organizational forms Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) may take. A critical question about form is the amount of vertical integration that an ACO may have, a topic central to TCE. We posit that contextual factors outside and inside an ACO will produce variable transaction costs (the non-production costs of care) such that the decision to integrate vertically will derive from a comparison of these external versus internal costs, assuming reasonably rational management abilities. External costs include those arising from environmental uncertainty and complexity, small numbers bargaining, asset specificity, frequency of exchanges, and information impactedness. Internal costs include those arising from human resource activities including hiring and staffing, training, evaluating (i.e., disciplining, appraising, or promoting), and otherwise administering programs. At the extreme, these different costs may produce either total vertical integration or little to no vertical integration with most ACOs falling in between. This essay demonstrates how TCE can be applied to the ACO organization form issue, explains TCE, considers ACO activity from the TCE perspective, and reflects on research directions that may inform TCE and facilitate ACO development

Hydrous Manganese Oxide Doped Gel Probe Sampler for Measuring In Situ Reductive Dissolution Rates. 2. Field Deployment

In situ rates of reductive dissolution in submerged shoreline sediments at Lake Tegel (Berlin, Germany) were measured with a novel hydrous manganese (Mn) oxide-doped gel probe sampler in concert with equilibrium gel probe and sequential extraction measurements. Rates were low in the top 8 cm, then showed a peak from 8 to 14 cm, with a maximum at 12 cm depth. This rate corresponded with a peak in dissolved porewater iron (Fe) at 11 cm depth. Below 14 cm, the reductive dissolution rate reached an intermediate steady value. Lower rates at depth corresponded with increases in operationally defined fractions of carbonate-bound and organic- and sulfide-bound Mn and Fe as detected by sequential extraction. Observed rates of reductive dissolution, which reflect a capacity for Mn reduction rather than actual rates under ambient conditions, appear to correlate with porewater chemistry and sequential extraction fractions as expected in early sediment diagenesis, and are consistent with previous measurements of in situ reductive dissolution rates. Significant downward advection in this bank filtration setting depletes the Mn and Fe oxides in the sediments and enhances the transport of dissolved Fe and Mn into the infiltrating water

The two-component giant radio halo in the galaxy cluster Abell 2142

We report on a spectral study at radio frequencies of the giant radio halo in A2142 (z=0.0909), which we performed to explore its nature and origin. A2142 is not a major merger and the presence of a giant radio halo is somewhat surprising. We performed deep radio observations with the GMRT at 608 MHz, 322 MHz, and 234 MHz and with the VLA in the 1-2 GHz band. We obtained high-quality images at all frequencies in a wide range of resolutions. The radio halo is well detected at all frequencies and extends out to the most distant cold front in A2142. We studied the spectral index in two regions: the central part of the halo and a second region in the direction of the most distant south-eastern cold front, selected to follow the bright part of the halo and X-ray emission. We complemented our observations with a preliminary LOFAR image at 118 MHz and with the re-analysis of archival VLA data at 1.4 GHz. The two components of the radio halo show different observational properties. The central brightest part has higher surface brightess and a spectrum whose steepness is similar to those of the known radio halos, i.e. $\alpha^{\rm 1.78~GHz}_{\rm 118~MHz}=1.33\pm 0.08$. The ridge, which fades into the larger scale emission, is broader in size and has considerably lower surface brightess and a moderately steeper spectrum, i.e. $\alpha^{\rm 1.78~GHz}_{\rm 118~MHz}\sim 1.5$. We propose that the brightest part of the radio halo is powered by the central sloshing in A2142, similar to what has been suggested for mini-halos, or by secondary electrons generated by hadronic collisions in the ICM. On the other hand, the steeper ridge may probe particle re-acceleration by turbulence generated either by stirring the gas and magnetic fields on a larger scale or by less energetic mechanisms, such as continuous infall of galaxy groups or an off-axis merger.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables - A&A, accepte

The Research Excellence Framework (REF): Assessing the impact of social work research on society

This paper reviews one aspect, impact, of the forthcoming assessment of research in UK universities, the Research Excellence Framework (REF), and examines its meaning and potential for enhanced partnerships between social work practice and academia in the context of the current economic crisis. Examples of case studies being developed to show how research has societal impact are described and some of the complexities of what, on the surface appears to echo social work 19s desire to make a positive difference to the lives of people in society, are drawn out. The importance of the REF for the integration of social work practice and academia have been rehearsed many times. This paper argues that making an impact is everybody 19s concern and practitioners and those who use social work services and their carers have a role to play in its creation and identification

The Final SDSS High-Redshift Quasar Sample of 52 Quasars at z>5.7

We present the discovery of nine quasars at $z\sim6$ identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) imaging data. This completes our survey of $z\sim6$ quasars in the SDSS footprint. Our final sample consists of 52 quasars at $5.7<z\le6.4$, including 29 quasars with $z_{\rm AB}\le20$ mag selected from 11,240 deg$^2$ of the SDSS single-epoch imaging survey (the main survey), 10 quasars with $20\le z_{\rm AB}\le20.5$ selected from 4223 deg$^2$ of the SDSS overlap regions (regions with two or more imaging scans), and 13 quasars down to $z_{\rm AB}\approx22$ mag from the 277 deg$^2$ in Stripe 82. They span a wide luminosity range of $-29.0\le M_{1450}\le-24.5$. This well-defined sample is used to derive the quasar luminosity function (QLF) at $z\sim6$. After combining our SDSS sample with two faint ($M_{1450}\ge-23$ mag) quasars from the literature, we obtain the parameters for a double power-law fit to the QLF. The bright-end slope $\beta$ of the QLF is well constrained to be $\beta=-2.8\pm0.2$. Due to the small number of low-luminosity quasars, the faint-end slope $\alpha$ and the characteristic magnitude $M_{1450}^{\ast}$ are less well constrained, with $\alpha=-1.90_{-0.44}^{+0.58}$ and $M^{\ast}=-25.2_{-3.8}^{+1.2}$ mag. The spatial density of luminous quasars, parametrized as $\rho(M_{1450}<-26,z)=\rho(z=6)\,10^{k(z-6)}$, drops rapidly from $z\sim5$ to 6, with $k=-0.72\pm0.11$. Based on our fitted QLF and assuming an IGM clumping factor of $C=3$, we find that the observed quasar population cannot provide enough photons to ionize the $z\sim6$ IGM at $\sim90$\% confidence. Quasars may still provide a significant fraction of the required photons, although much larger samples of faint quasars are needed for more stringent constraints on the quasar contribution to reionization.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures, Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa