1,443 research outputs found
Cockpit simulation study of use of flight path angle for instrument approaches
The results of a piloted simulation experiment to evaluate the effect of integrating flight path angle information into a typical transport electronic attitude director indicator display format for flight director instrument landing system approaches are presented. Three electronic display formats are evaluated during 3 deg straight-in approaches with wind shear and turbulence conditions. Flight path tracking data and pilot subjective comments are analyzed with regard to the pilot's tracking performance and workload for all three display formats
Network Resources for Astronomers
The amount of data produced by large observational facilities and space
missions has led to the archiving and on-line accessibility of much of this
data, available to the entire astronomical community. This allows a much wider
multi-frequency approach to astronomical research than previously possible.
Here we provide an overview of these services, and give a basic description of
their contents and possibilities for accessing them. Apart from services
providing observational data, many of those providing general information, e.g.
on addresses, bibliographies, software etc. are also described. The field is
rapidly growing with improved network technology, and our attempt to keep the
report as complete and up-to-date as possible will inevitably be outdated
shortly. We will endeavor to maintain an updated version of this document
on-line.Comment: 53 pages; uuencoded compressed PostScript; includes one table, no
figures; Lyon-41 (Aug'94) and ESO-1033 (Sept'94), to appear in PASP, November
1994 issu
Ferromagnetism in a hard-core boson model
The problem of ferromagnetism -- associated with a ground state with maximal
total spin -- is discussed in the framework of a hard-core model, which forbids
the occupancy at each site with more than one particle. It is shown that the
emergence of ferromagnetism on finite square lattices crucially depends on the
statistics of the particles. Fermions (electrons) lead to the well-known
instabilities for finite hole densities, whereas for bosons (with spin)
ferromagnetism appears to be stable for all hole densities.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, RevTex
Astronomical Software Directory Service
This is the final report on the development of the Astronomical Software Directory Service (ASDS), a distributable, searchable, WWW-based database of software packages and their related documentation. ASDS provides integrated access to 56 astronomical software packages, with more than 16,000 URL's indexed for full-text searching
Elevation of basal intracellular calcium as a central element in the activation of brain macrophages (microglia): suppression of receptor-evoked calcium signaling and control of release function
Microglia-brain macrophages are immune-competent cells of the CNS and respond to pathologic events. Using bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as a tool to activate cultured mouse microglia, we studied alterations in the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca 2+]i) and in the receptor-evoked generation of transient calcium signals. LPS treatment led to a chronic elevation of basal [Ca 2+]i along with a suppression of evoked calcium signaling, as indicated by reduced [Ca 2+]i transients during stimulation with UTP and complement factor 5a. Presence of the calcium chelator BAPTA prevented the activation-associated changes in [Ca 2+]i and restored much of the signaling efficacy. We also evaluated downstream consequences of a basal [Ca 2+]i lifting during microglial activation and found BAPTA to strongly attenuate the LPS-induced release of nitric oxide (NO) and certain cytokines and chemokines. Furthermore, microglial treatment with ionomycin, an ionophore elevating basal [Ca 2+]i, mimicked the activation-induced calcium signal suppression but failed to induce release activity on its own. Our findings suggest that chronic elevation of basal [Ca 2+]i attenuates receptor-triggered calcium signaling. Moreover, increased [Ca 2+]i is required, but by itself is not sufficient, for release of NO and certain cytokines and chemokines. Elevation of basal [Ca 2+]i could thus prove a central element in the regulation of executive functions in activated microglia
Non-thermal Origin of the EUV and Soft X-rays from the Coma Cluster - Cosmic Rays in Equipartition with the Thermal Medium
The role of cosmic rays (CR) in the formation and evolution of clusters of
galaxies has been much debated. It may well be related to other fundamental
questions, such as the mechanism which heats and virializes the intracluster
medium (ICM), and the frequency at which the ICM is shocked. There is now
compelling evidence both from the cluster soft excess (CSE) and the `hard-tail'
emissions at energies above 10 keV, that many clusters are luminous sources of
inverse-Compton (IC) emission. This is the first direct measurement of cluster
CR: the technique is free from our uncertainties in the ICM magnetic field, and
is not limited to the small subset of clusters which exhibit radio halos. The
CSE emitting electrons fall within a crucial decade of energy where they have
the least spectral evolution, and where most of the CR pressure resides.
However their survival times do not date them back to the relic CR population.
By using the CSE data of the Coma cluster, we demonstrate that the CR are
energetically as important as the thermal ICM: the two components are in
pressure equiparition. Thus, contrary to previous expectations, CR are a
dominant component of the ICM, and their origin and effects should be explored.
The best-fit CR spectral index is in agreement with the Galactic value.Comment: ApJ accepted; 10 pages LaTeX; 2 figures and 1 table in PostScrip
Ringing effects reduction by improved deconvolution algorithm Application to A370 CFHT image of gravitational arcs
We develop a self-consistent automatic procedure to restore informations from
astronomical observations. It relies on both a new deconvolution algorithm
called LBCA (Lower Bound Constraint Algorithm) and the use of the Wiener
filter. In order to explore its scientific potential for strong and weak
gravitational lensing, we process a CFHT image of the galaxies cluster Abell
370 which exhibits spectacular strong gravitational lensing effects. A high
quality restoration is here of particular interest to map the dark matter
within the cluster. We show that the LBCA turns out specially efficient to
reduce ringing effects introduced by classical deconvolution algorithms in
images with a high background. The method allows us to make a blind detection
of the radial arc and to recover morphological properties similar to
thoseobserved from HST data. We also show that the Wiener filter is suitable to
stop the iterative process before noise amplification, using only the
unrestored data.Comment: A&A in press 9 pages 9 figure
Lattice dependence of saturated ferromagnetism in the Hubbard model
We investigate the instability of the saturated ferromagnetic ground state
(Nagaoka state) in the Hubbard model on various lattices in dimensions d=2 and
d=3. A variational resolvent approach is developed for the Nagaoka instability
both for U = infinity and for U < infinity which can easily be evaluated in the
thermodynamic limit on all common lattices. Our results significantly improve
former variational bounds for a possible Nagaoka regime in the ground state
phase diagram of the Hubbard model. We show that a pronounced particle-hole
asymmetry in the density of states and a diverging density of states at the
lower band edge are the most important features in order to stabilize Nagaoka
ferromagnetism, particularly in the low density limit.Comment: Revtex, 18 pages with 18 figures, 7 pages appendices, section on bcc
lattice adde
Future research directions to improve fistula maturation and reduce access failure
With the increasing prevalence of end stage renal disease there is a growing need for hemodialysis. Arteriovenous fistulae (AVF) are the preferred type of vascular access for hemodialysis but maturation and failure continue to present significant barriers to successful fistula use. AVF maturation integrates outward remodeling with vessel wall thickening in response to drastic hemodynamic changes, in the setting of uremia, systemic inflammation, oxidative stress and preexistent vascular pathology. AVF can fail due to both failure to mature adequately to support hemodialysis, as well as development of neointimal hyperplasia (NIH) that narrows the AVF lumen, typically near the fistula anastomosis. Failure due to NIH involves vascular cell activation and migration and extracellular matrix remodeling with complex interactions of growth factors, adhesion molecules, inflammatory mediators, and chemokines, all of which result in maladaptive remodeling.
Different strategies have been proposed to prevent and treat AVF failure, based on current understanding of the modes and pathology of access failure; these approaches range from appropriate patient selection and use of alternative surgical strategies for fistula creation, to the use of novel interventional techniques or drugs to treat failing fistulae. Effective treatments to prevent or treat AVF failure requires a multidisciplinary approach involving nephrologists, vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists, allowing careful patient selection and the use of tailored systemic or localized interventions to improve patient-specific outcomes. This review provides contemporary information on the underlying mechanisms of AVF maturation and failure and discusses the broad spectrum of options that can be tailored for specific therapy
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