Computer assisted interactive resource scheduling system

A computer system is reported that effectively schedules complex mission support by processing spacecraft requirements, station capabilities, and ephemeris data in teletype format ready for transmission

Net solar generation potential from urban rooftops in Los Angeles

Rooftops provide accessible locations for solar energy installations. While rooftop solar arrays can offset in-building electricity needs, they may also stress electric grid operations. Here we present an analysis of net electricity generation potential from distributed rooftop solar in Los Angeles. We integrate spatial and temporal data for property-level electricity demands, rooftop solar generation potential, and grid capacity constraints to estimate the potential for solar to meet on-site demands and supply net exports to the electric grid. In the study area with 1.2 million parcels, rooftop solar could meet 7200 Gigawatt Hours (GWh) of on-site building demands (~29% of demand). Overall potential net generation is negative, meaning buildings use more electricity than they can produce. Yet, cumulative net export potential from solar to grid circuits is 16,400 GWh. Current policies that regulate solar array interconnection to the grid result in unutilized solar power output of 1700 MW. Lower-income and at-risk communities in LA have greater potential for exporting net solar generation to the grid. This potential should be recognized through investments and policy innovations. The method demonstrates the need for considering time-dependent calculations of net solar potential and offers a template for distributed renewable energy planning in cities

Robust incremental SLAM with consistency-checking

Incorrect landmark and loop closure measurements can cause standard SLAM algorithms to fail catastrophically. Recently, several SLAM algorithms have been proposed that are robust to loop closure errors, but it is shown in this paper that they cannot provide robust solutions when landmark measurement errors occur. The root cause of this problem is that the robust SLAM algorithms only focus on generating solutions that are locally consistent (i.e. each measurement agrees with its corresponding estimates) rather than globally consistent (i.e. all of the measurements in the solution agree with each other). Moreover, these algorithms do not attempt to maximize the number of correct measurements included in the solution, meaning that often correct measurements are ignored and the solution quality suffers as a result. This paper proposes a new formulation of the robust SLAM problem that seeks a globally consistent map that also maximizes the number of measurements included in the solution. In addition, a novel incremental SLAM algorithm, called incremental SLAM with consistency-checking, is developed to solve the new robust SLAM problem. Finally, simulated and experimental results show that the new algorithm significantly outperforms state-of-the-art robust SLAM methods for datasets with incorrect landmark measurements and can match their performance for datasets with incorrect loop closures.Charles Stark Draper Laboratory. Internal Research and Development Progra

The influence of lexical selection disruptions on articulation

Interactive models of language production predict that it should be possible to observe long-distance interactions; effects that arise at one level of processing influence multiple subsequent stages of representation and processing. We examine the hypothesis that disruptions arising in nonform-based levels of planning—specifically, lexical selection—should modulate articulatory processing. A novel automatic phonetic analysis method was used to examine productions in a paradigm yielding both general disruptions to formulation processes and, more specifically, overt errors during lexical selection. This analysis method allowed us to examine articulatory disruptions at multiple levels of analysis, from whole words to individual segments. Baseline performance by young adults was contrasted with young speakers’ performance under time pressure (which previous work has argued increases interaction between planning and articulation) and performance by older adults (who may have difficulties inhibiting nontarget representations, leading to heightened interactive effects). The results revealed the presence of interactive effects. Our new analysis techniques revealed these effects were strongest in initial portions of responses, suggesting that speech is initiated as soon as the first segment has been planned. Interactive effects did not increase under response pressure, suggesting interaction between planning and articulation is relatively fixed. Unexpectedly, lexical selection disruptions appeared to yield some degree of facilitation in articulatory processing (possibly reflecting semantic facilitation of target retrieval) and older adults showed weaker, not stronger interactive effects (possibly reflecting weakened connections between lexical and form-level representations)

Early-season insect defoliation influences the critical time for weed removal in soybean

To develop more effective pest-management strategies, it is essential to understand how different pests interact with each other and the crop. Field studies were conducted in 2003 and 2004 at two Nebraska locations to determine the effects of early-season crop defoliation on the critical time for weed removal (CTWR) in narrow-row soybean. Three soybean defoliation levels were selected to simulate 0, 30, and 60% leaf tissue removal by the bean leaf beetle. Weeds were allowed to compete with the crop until V2, V4, V6, R3, and R5 growth stages. There were also season-long weedy and weed-free treatments. Results indicated that the CTWR in soybean occurred earlier as defoliation levels increased from 0 to 60%. The CTWR occurred at V3, V2, and V1 growth stage for 0, 30, and 60% defoliation levels, respectively. Overall, 60% defoliation resulted in earlier CTWR by at least 14 d. Yield losses from defoliation and weed interference were primarily associated with a reduction in number of pods per plant-1

A Survey of Clergy Practices Associated with Premarital Financial Counseling

The purpose of this exploratory study was to gain an understanding of the state of clergy-led premarital financial counseling. Clergy respondents (n =223) indicated that they often include a financial component in their formal premarital counseling. The most frequently discussed financial topics are budgeting, managing debt and credit, and saving. The most frequently cited obstacles to providing premarital financial counseling are lack of time and lack of subject matter expertise

Zeno Dynamics of von Neumann Algebras

The dynamical quantum Zeno effect is studied in the context of von Neumann algebras. We identify a localized subalgebra on which the Zeno dynamics acts by automorphisms. The Zeno dynamics coincides with the modular dynamics of that subalgebra, if an additional assumption is satisfied. This relates the modular operator of that subalgebra to the modular operator of the original algebra by a variant of the Kato-Lie-Trotter product formula.Comment: Revised version; further typos corrected; 9 pages, AMSLaTe

Spectral characteristics for a spherically confined -1/r + br^2 potential

We consider the analytical properties of the eigenspectrum generated by a class of central potentials given by V(r) = -a/r + br^2, b>0. In particular, scaling, monotonicity, and energy bounds are discussed. The potential $V(r)$ is considered both in all space, and under the condition of spherical confinement inside an impenetrable spherical boundary of radius R. With the aid of the asymptotic iteration method, several exact analytic results are obtained which exhibit the parametric dependence of energy on a, b, and R, under certain constraints. More general spectral characteristics are identified by use of a combination of analytical properties and accurate numerical calculations of the energies, obtained by both the generalized pseudo-spectral method, and the asymptotic iteration method. The experimental significance of the results for both the free and confined potential V(r) cases are discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Search for antiproton decay at the Fermilab Antiproton Accumulator

A search for antiproton decay has been made at the Fermilab Antiproton Accumulator. Limits are placed on thirteen antiproton decay modes. The results include the first explicit experimental limits on the muonic decay modes of the antiproton, and the first limits on the decay modes e- gamma gamma, and e- omega. The most stringent limit is for the decay mode pbar-> e- gamma. At 90% C.L. we find that tau/B(pbar-> e- gamma) > 7 x 10^5 yr. The most stringent limit for decay modes with a muon in the final state is for the decay pbar-> mu- gamma. At 90% C.L. we find that tau/B(pbar-> mu- gamma) > 5 x 10^4 yr.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. D. Final results on 13 channels (was 15) are presente