Effects of Enamel Paint on the Behavior and Survival of the Periodical Cicada, \u3ci\u3eMagicicada Septendecim\u3c/i\u3e (Homoptera) and the Lesser Migratory Grasshopper, \u3ci\u3eMelanoplus Sanguinipes (Orthoptera).

We present information compiled from several studies on the effects of methods for marking individual arthropods on their longevity and behavior. Results from our own research on effects of enamel paint marking on two in- sect species, the periodical cicada, Magicicada septendecim, and the lesser migratory grasshopper, Melanoplus sanguinipes, are also presented. Neither species showed any adverse survivorship or behavioral effects from marking

Deployable antenna demonstration project

Test program options are described for large lightweight deployable antennas for space communications, radar and radiometry systems

340 years of atmospheric circulation characteristics reconstructed from an eastern Antarctic Peninsula ice core

Copyright @ 2006 American Geophysical Union (AGU)Precipitation delivery mechanisms for Dolleman Island (DI), located off the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, are investigated using reanalysis and back trajectory data. The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and ENSO are both shown to influence precipitation delivery and event size. Precipitation delivery variability is compared against the interannual variation of chemical data from two DI ice cores. Nitrate concentration in the cores is strongly linked with the ratio of easterly to westerly back trajectories arriving at DI, as described by a Cross-Peninsula Index (CPI) defined in this paper. This CPI is used subsequently to reconstruct the atmospheric circulation characteristics for the 340-year ice core record. The analysis highlights a period of increased easterlies during 1720–1780 and an increase in westerlies for 1950–1980, the latter concomitant with a positive SAM trend and western Peninsula warming. The reconstruction also reveals periods when polynyas may have been present in the Weddell Sea

Extended duration orbiter study: CO2 removal and water recovery

Two electrochemical depolarized carbon dioxide concentrator subsystems were evaluated against baseline lithium hydroxide for (1) the baseline orbiter when expanded to accommodate a crew of seven (mission option one), (2) an extended duration orbiter with a power extension package to reduce fuel cell expendables (mission option two), and (3) an extended duration orbiter with a full capability power module to eliminate fuel cell expendables (mission option three). The electrochemical depolarized carbon dioxide concentrator was also compared to the solid amine regenerable carbon dioxide removal concept. Water recovery is not required for Mission Option One since sufficient water is generated by the fuel cells. The vapor compression distillation subsystem was evaluated for mission option two and three only. Weight savings attainable using the vapor compression distillation subsystem for water recovery versus on-board water storage were determined. Combined carbon dioxide removal and water recovery was evaluated to determine the effect on regenerable carbon dioxide removal subsystem selection

Majorization criterion for distillability of a bipartite quantum state

Bipartite quantum states are classified into three categories: separable states, bound entangled states, and free entangled states. It is of great importance to characterize these families of states for the development of quantum information science. In this paper, I show that the separable states and the bound entangled states have a common spectral property. More precisely, I prove that for undistillable -- separable and bound entangled -- states, the eigenvalue vector of the global system is majorized by that of the local system. This result constitutes a new sufficient condition for distillability of bipartite quantum states. This is achieved by proving that if a bipartite quantum state satisfies the reduction criterion for distillability, then it satisfies the majorization criterion for separability.Comment: 4 pages, no figures, REVTEX. A new lemma (Lemma 2) added. To appear in Physical Review Letter

From Gesture to Sign Language: Conventionalization of Classifier Constructions by Adult Hearing Learners of British Sign Language

There has long been interest in why languages are shaped the way they are, and in the relationship between sign language and gesture. In sign languages, entity classifiers are handshapes that encode how objects move, how they are located relative to one another, and how multiple objects of the same type are distributed in space. Previous studies have shown that hearing adults who are asked to use only manual gestures to describe how objects move in space will use gestures that bear some similarities to classifiers. We investigated how accurately hearing adults, who had been learning British Sign Language (BSL) for 1–3 years, produce and comprehend classifiers in (static) locative and distributive constructions. In a production task, learners of BSL knew that they could use their hands to represent objects, but they had difficulty choosing the same, conventionalized, handshapes as native signers. They were, however, highly accurate at encoding location and orientation information. Learners therefore show the same pattern found in sign-naïve gesturers. In contrast, handshape, orientation, and location were comprehended with equal (high) accuracy, and testing a group of sign-naïve adults showed that they too were able to understand classifiers with higher than chance accuracy. We conclude that adult learners of BSL bring their visuo-spatial knowledge and gestural abilities to the tasks of understanding and producing constructions that contain entity classifiers. We speculate that investigating the time course of adult sign language acquisition might shed light on how gesture became (and, indeed, becomes) conventionalized during the genesis of sign languages

Deployable antenna phase A study

Applications for large deployable antennas were re-examined, flight demonstration objectives were defined, the flight article (antenna) was preliminarily designed, and the flight program and ground development program, including the support equipment, were defined for a proposed space transportation system flight experiment to demonstrate a large (50 to 200 meter) deployable antenna system. Tasks described include: (1) performance requirements analysis; (2) system design and definition; (3) orbital operations analysis; and (4) programmatic analysis