Assimilation of MSG land-surface temperature into land-surface model simulations to constrain estimates of surface energy budget in West Africa

In the semi-arid regions of West Africa the surface energy partition is related closely to near surface moisture availability. Such moisture availability exhibits marked heterogeneity at scales of a few kilometres, related to the passage of storm systems during the previous one or two days. The associated variations in surface fluxes affect planetary boundary layer properties at the mesoscale, which may in turn affect rainfall and the seasonal development of the West African monsoon. Atmosphere models used to study this land-atmosphere coupling are sensitive to the soil moisture initial condition. There exists no observation network for soil moisture in West Africa, so models rely on data from atmosphere analyses, which are often unable to describe adequately surface variation at the mesoscale. Additionally, retrospective estimates of the seasonal surface energy and water budgets using land-surface models are biased by persistent model errors in soil moisture. Anomalies in near-surface (top few centimetres) soil moisture are anti-correlated with anomalies in land-surface brightness temperature, which is observed by the SEVIRI thermal infra-red sensors onboard the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellites. Here, we present methods developed for assimilating the MSG land-surface temperature product from the Land SAF to constrain estimates of the surface energy and water budgets using the JULES land-surface model. This MSG temperature product has a pixel size of approximately 3 km in this region, and is known to provide information of surface wetness anomalies at the scales of interest. The results will provide, for a large region of West Africa, improved initial conditions for modelling studies and seasonal estimates of the surface energy and water budgets

US GAAP Conversion To IFRS: A Case Study Of The Cash Flow Statement

International Reporting Standards (IFRS) has become the required framework for most of the world financial market economies as of January 1, 2011. This includes, in a non-comprehensive listing, the many European Union countries - Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In the United States, US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is still required. However, plans are presently in place by the SEC to abandon US GAAP and to adhere to IFRS requirements by as early as for the period ending December 31, 2014. As such, it is important to introduce IFRS accounting rules in the college curriculum and make it a major component of accounting classes. This case study takes a US GAAP Prepared Cash Flow Statement and, based on the facts of the case, requires students to prepare an IFRS-based Cash Flow Statement. The need to understand both US GAAP and IFRS rules is required to adequately address this case study, which is most suitable for an Intermediary Accounting, Accounting Theory and a Financial Statement Analysis class, as well as an Investment Finance course, at the graduate level

Dipole-Field Contributions to Geometric-Phase-Induced False Electric-Dipole Moment Signals for Particles in Traps

It has been shown in an earlier publication that magnetic field gradients applied to particles in traps can induce Larmor frequency shifts that may falsely be interpreted as electric-dipole moment (EDM) signals. This study has now been extended to include nonuniform magnetic field gradients due to the presence of a local magnetic dipole. It is found that, in the high orbit-frequency regime, the magnitude of the shifts can be enhanced beyond the simple expectation of proportionality to the volume-averaged magnetic-field gradient.Comment: 2 pages, no figure

Development of Payment System: Case of Central Bank in Bahrain

This study analyses the payment system of the Central Bank of Bahrain based on interviews with bankers in addition to distributing 70 questionnaires to seven banks. The study presents the historical development of the Central Bank of Bahrain and reviews related studies. The results show that the value relevance of the payment system is important and there are various new tools for implementing this system. Further, the analysis reveals that there is a need to develop the infrastructure to fit the needs of Bahrain as the financial capital of the Middle East

Establishing the behavioural limits for countershaded camouflage

Countershading is a ubiquitous patterning of animals whereby the side that typically faces the highest illumination is darker. When tuned to specific lighting conditions and body orientation with respect to the light field, countershading minimizes the gradient of light the body reflects by counterbalancing shadowing due to illumination, and has therefore classically been thought of as an adaptation for visual camouflage. However, whether and how crypsis degrades when body orientation with respect to the light field is non-optimal has never been studied. We tested the behavioural limits on body orientation for countershading to deliver effective visual camouflage. We asked human participants to detect a countershaded target in a simulated three-dimensional environment. The target was optimally coloured for crypsis in a reference orientation and was displayed at different orientations. Search performance dramatically improved for deviations beyond 15 degrees. Detection time was significantly shorter and accuracy significantly higher than when the target orientation matched the countershading pattern. This work demonstrates the importance of maintaining body orientation appropriate for the displayed camouflage pattern, suggesting a possible selective pressure for animals to orient themselves appropriately to enhance crypsis

Is countershading camouflage robust to lighting change due to weather?

Countershading is a pattern of coloration thought to have evolved in order to implement camouflage. By adopting a pattern of coloration that makes the surface facing towards the sun darker and the surface facing away from the sun lighter, the overall amount of light reflected off an animal can be made more uniformly bright. Countershading could hence contribute to visual camouflage by increasing background matching or reducing cues to shape. However, the usefulness of countershading is constrained by a particular pattern delivering ‘optimal’ camouflage only for very specific lighting conditions. In this study, we test the robustness of countershading camouflage to lighting change due to weather, using human participants as a ‘generic’ predator. In a simulated three-dimensional environment, we constructed an array of simple leaf-shaped items and a single ellipsoidal target ‘prey’. We set these items in two light environments: strongly directional ‘sunny’ and more diffuse ‘cloudy’. The target object was given the optimal pattern of countershading for one of these two environment types or displayed a uniform pattern. By measuring detection time and accuracy, we explored whether and how target detection depended on the match between the pattern of coloration on the target object and scene lighting. Detection times were longest when the countershading was appropriate to the illumination; incorrectly camouflaged targets were detected with a similar pattern of speed and accuracy to uniformly coloured targets. We conclude that structural changes in light environment, such as caused by differences in weather, do change the effectiveness of countershading camouflage

Subject Unrest

Roll-to-roll manufacturing of micro components based on advanced printing, structuring and lamination of ceramic tapes is rapidly progressing. This large-scale and cost-effective manufacturing process of ceramic micro devices is however prone to hide defects within the visually opaque tape stacks. To achieve a sustainable manufacturing with zero defects in the future, there is an urgent need for reliable inspection systems. The systems to be developed have to perform high-resolution in-process quality control at high speed. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a promising technology for detailed in-depth inspection and metrology. Combined with infrared screening of larger areas it can solve the inspection demands in the roll-to-roll ceramic tape processes. In this thesis state-of-art commercial and laboratory OCT systems, operating at the central wavelength of 1.3 µm and 1.7 µm respectively, are evaluated for detecting microchannels, metal prints, defects and delaminations embedded in alumina and zirconia ceramic layers at hundreds of micrometers beneath surfaces. The effect of surface roughness induced scattering and scattering by pores on the probing radiation, is analyzed by experimentally captured and theoretically simulated OCT images of the ceramic samples, while varying surface roughnesses and operating wavelengths. By extending the Monte Carlo simulations of the OCT response to the mid-infrared the optimal operating wavelength is found to be 4 µm for alumina and 2 µm for zirconia. At these wavelengths we predict a sufficient probing depth of about 1 mm and we demonstrate and discuss the effect of rough surfaces on the detectability of embedded boundaries. For high-precision measurement a new and automated 3D image processing algorithm for analysis of volumetric OCT data is developed. We show its capability by measuring the geometric dimensions of embedded structures in ceramic layers, extracting features with irregular shapes and detecting geometric deformations. The method demonstrates its suitability for industrial applications by rapid inspection of manufactured samples with high accuracy and robustness. The new inspection methods we demonstrate are finally analyzed in the context of measurement uncertainty, both in the axial and lateral cases, and reveal that scattering in the sample indeed affects the lateral measurement uncertainty. Two types of image artefacts are found to be present in OCT images due to multiple reflections between neighboring boundaries and inhomogeneity of refractive index. A wavefront aberration is found in the OCT system with a scanning scheme of two galvo mirrors, and it can be corrected using our image processing algorithm.QC 20140428Multilayer (FP7-NMP4-2007-214122

A new readily processable polyimide

As part of an effort to develop tough solvent resistance thermoplastics for potential use as structural resins on aerospace vehicles, a new processable polyimide was evaluated. The synthesis involved the reaction of a new diamine, 1,3-bis 2-(3-aminophenoxy)ethyl ether, with 3,3',4,4'-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride to form the polyamic acid and subsequent conversion of it to the polyimide. Various physical properties such as thermal stability, solvent resistance, glass transition temperature, crystalline melt temperature, melt viscosity and mechanical properties such as fracture toughness, adhesive, film and composite properties are reported. Of particular interest is the extremely high titanium to titanium tensile shear strength obtained for this polyimide

A review of fracture mechanics life technology

Current lifetime prediction technology for structural components subjected to cyclic loads was reviewed. The central objectives of the project were to report the current state of and recommend future development of fracture mechanics-based analytical tools for modeling and forecasting subcritical fatigue crack growth in structures. Of special interest to NASA was the ability to apply these tools to practical engineering problems and the developmental steps necessary to bring vital technologies to this stage. A survey of published literature and numerous discussions with experts in the field of fracture mechanics life technology were conducted. One of the key points made is that fracture mechanics analyses of crack growth often involve consideration of fatigue and fracture under extreme conditions. Therefore, inaccuracies in predicting component lifetime will be dominated by inaccuracies in environment and fatigue crack growth relations, stress intensity factor solutions, and methods used to model given loads and stresses. Suggestions made for reducing these inaccuracies include: development of improved models of subcritical crack growth, research efforts aimed at better characterizing residual and assembly stresses that can be introduced during fabrication, and more widespread and uniform use of the best existing methods