8,192 research outputs found
Position reporting system using small satellites
A system able to provide position reporting and monitoring services for mobile applications represents a natural complement to the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation system. The system architecture is defined on the basis of the communications requirements derived by user needs, allowing maximum flexibility in the use of channel capacity, and a very simple and low cost terminal. The payload is sketched, outlining the block modularity and the use of qualified hardware. The global system capacity is also derived. The spacecraft characteristics are defined on the basis of the payload requirements. A small bus optimized for Ariane IV, Delta II vehicles and based on the modularity concept is presented. The design takes full advantage of each launcher with a common basic bus or bus elements for a mass production
Evidence Against an Association Between Gamma-Ray Bursts and Type I Supernovae
We present a rigorous method, based on Bayesian inference, for calculating
the odds favoring the hypothesis that any particular class of astronomical
transients produce gamma-ray bursts over the hypothesis that they do not. We
then apply this method to a sample of 83 Type Ia supernovae and a sample of 20
Type Ib-Ic supernovae. We find overwhelming odds against the hypothesis that
all Type Ia supernovae produce gamma-ray bursts, whether at low redshift
() or high-redshift (), and very large odds ()
against the hypothesis that all Type Ib, Ib/c, and Ic supernovae produce
observable gamma-ray bursts. We find large odds () against the hypothesis
that a fraction of Type Ia supernovae produce observable gamma-ray bursts, and
moderate odds () against the hypothesis that a fraction of Type Ib-Ic
supernovae produce observable bursts. We have also re-analyzed both a corrected
version of the Wang & Wheeler sample of Type Ib-Ic SNe and our larger sample of
20 Type Ib-Ic SNe, using a generalization of their frequentist method. We find
no significant evidence in either case of a correlation between Type Ib-Ic SNe
and GRBs, consistent with the very strong evidence against such a correlation
that we find from our Bayesian analysis.Comment: 45 pages, 2 PostScript figures. Uses AASTEX macros. Submitted to The
Astrophysical Journa
JT90 thermal barrier coated vanes
The technology of plasma sprayed thermal barrier coatings applied to turbine vane platforms in modern high temperature commercial engines was advanced to the point of demonstrated feasibility for application to commercial aircraft engines. The three thermal barrier coatings refined under this program are zirconia stabilized with twenty-one percent magnesia (21% MSZ), six percent yttria (6% YSZ), and twenty percent yttria (20% YSZ). Improvement in thermal cyclic endurance by a factor of 40 times was demonstrated in rig tests. A cooling system evolved during the program which featured air impingement cooling for the vane platforms rather than film cooling. The impingement cooling system, in combination with the thermal barrier coatings, reduced platform cooling air requirements by 44% relative to the current film cooling system. Improved durability and reduced cooling air requirements were demonstrated in rig and engine endurance tests. Two engine tests were conducted, one of 1000 cycles and the other of 1500 cycles. All three coatings applied to vanes fabricated with the final cooling system configuration completed the final 1500 cycle engine endurance test. Results of this test clearly demonstrated the durability of the 6% YSZ coating which was in very good condition after the test. The 21% MSZ and 20% YSZ coatings had numerous occurrences of significant spalling in the test
Approach to Equilibrium in HTR. A Comparison Between Thorium and Low-Enriched Cycle. EUR 5032.
Proton imaging of stochastic magnetic fields
Recent laser-plasma experiments report the existence of dynamically
significant magnetic fields, whose statistical characterisation is essential
for understanding the physical processes these experiments are attempting to
investigate. In this paper, we show how a proton imaging diagnostic can be used
to determine a range of relevant magnetic field statistics, including the
magnetic-energy spectrum. To achieve this goal, we explore the properties of an
analytic relation between a stochastic magnetic field and the image-flux
distribution created upon imaging that field. We conclude that features of the
beam's final image-flux distribution often display a universal character
determined by a single, field-scale dependent parameter - the contrast
parameter - which quantifies the relative size of the correlation length of the
stochastic field, proton displacements due to magnetic deflections, and the
image magnification. For stochastic magnetic fields, we establish the existence
of four contrast regimes - linear, nonlinear injective, caustic and diffusive -
under which proton-flux images relate to their parent fields in a qualitatively
distinct manner. As a consequence, it is demonstrated that in the linear or
nonlinear injective regimes, the path-integrated magnetic field experienced by
the beam can be extracted uniquely, as can the magnetic-energy spectrum under a
further statistical assumption of isotropy. This is no longer the case in the
caustic or diffusive regimes. We also discuss complications to the
contrast-regime characterisation arising for inhomogeneous, multi-scale
stochastic fields, as well as limitations currently placed by experimental
capabilities on extracting magnetic field statistics. The results presented in
this paper provide a comprehensive description of proton images of stochastic
magnetic fields, with applications for improved analysis of given proton-flux
images.Comment: Main paper pp. 1-29; appendices pp. 30-84. 24 figures, 2 table
Blood and sputum biomarkers in COPD and asthma: a review
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma are lung inflammatory diseases that represent major public health problems. The primary, and often unique, method to evaluate lung function is spirometry, which reflects disease severity rather than disease activity. Moreover, its measurements strictly depend on patient's compliance, physician's expertise and data interpretation. The limitations of clinical history and pulmonary function tests have encouraged focusing on new possible tracers of diseases. The increase of the inflammatory response in the lungs represents an early pathological event, so biological markers related to inflammation may play key roles in earlier diagnosis, evaluation of functional impairment and prognosis. Biomarkers are measurable indicators associated with the presence and/or severity of a biological or pathogenic process, which may predict functional impairment, prognosis and response to therapy. The traditional approach based on invasive techniques (bronchoalveolar lavage and biopsies) may be replaced, at least in part, by using less invasive methods to collect specimens (sputum and blood), in which biomarkers could be measured. Proteomics, by the association between different protein profiles and pathogenic processes, is gaining an important role in pulmonary medicine allowing a more precise discrimination between patients with different outcomes and response to therapy. The aim of this review was to evaluate the use of biomarkers of airway inflammation in the context of both research and clinical practice
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