Fermi-LAT Observations of Galactic Transients

This slide presentation reviews the observations of Galactic transients by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope. The LAT is producing spectacular results for the GeV transient sky, some of which are shown and reviewed. Some of the results in the GeV range that are discussed in this presentation are: (1) New blazars and unidentified transients (2) the jet of the Cygnus X-3 microquasar (3) gamma rays from V407 Cygni nova (4) Fast high-energy gamma-ray flares from the Crab Nebul

Fermi at Six Months

An overview of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope's first 6 months in operation is provided. The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, formerly called GLAST, is a mission to measure the cosmic gamma-ray flux in the energy rage 20 MeV to more than 300 GeV, with supporting measurements for gamma-ray bursts from 8 keV to 30 MeV. It contains a Large Area Telescope capable of viewing the entire sky every 3 hours and a Gamma-ray Burst Monitor for viewing the entire unocculted sky. Since its launch on June 11, 2008 Fermi has provided information on pulsars, gamma ray bursts, relativistic jets, the active galactic nucleus, and a globular star cluster. This presentation describes Fermi's development, mission, instruments and recent findings

Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope

This slide presentation gives an overview the Fermi Gamma-ray space telescope. It includes information on spectral fitting, useful considerations, and binned vs. unbinned likelihood

Fermi LAT Observations of the Crab Nebula During the Exceptional April 2011 Outburst

The Crab Nebula, formerly thought to be steady in gamma rays, shows unexpected and occasionally dramatic variability in high-energy gamma rays. The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on Fermi recorded several strong outbursts, including dedicated pointed observations of the brightest yet seen, a spectacular flare in April 2011. These observations provide a particularly detailed look at the temporal and spectral characteristics of the nebula during the flare. The LAT data show an additional component in the spectral energy distribution that peaks at a maximum of $375\pm26~\mathrm{MeV}$. In the probable scenario that this component is synchrotron emission, the electrons are accelerated to extreme energies that are difficult to reconcile with the very rapid change in flux and the expectation for acceleration processes and conditions occurring within the pulsar wind nebula. The physical location and mechanism driving the flares remains undetermined despite observations across the spectrum made by a variety of instruments including the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Very Large Array. I will present timing and spectral studies of the high-energy gamma-ray data, discuss implications for the origin of the flares, and highlight preparations for the next major flare

Academic Outcomes in Higher Education for Students Screened as Twice-Exceptional: Gifted with a Learning Disability in Math or Reading

To investigate academic outcomes for twice-exceptional (2e) students who pursue higher education, a pool of 20,761 undergraduate students at the University of Tennessee were screened and 244 were selected as potentially 2e because they matched certain criteria traditionally used for the determination of giftedness and a specific learning disability (SLD) in math or reading. First-year retention rate and final college GPA were significantly lower for students screened as gifted with a SLD in math or reading than for students screened as gifted without a SLD (p\u3c .05), but were not significantly different from other students in the general population. Students screened as 2e were more likely to be undecided in their choice of major than students screened as gifted (pp\u3c.001)

Effect of an Acute Bout of Aerobic Exercise on Serum Dehydroepiadosterone Sulfate (DHEAS) Levels in Clinically Diagnosed Bipolar Patients

Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate (DHEAS) is thought to offset hypercortisolemia, which is found in individuals with bipolar disorder. While the cause of bipolar disorder remains unknown, previous studies have linked elevated cortisol levels with various mental health illnesses, including bipolar disorder. Previous studies suggest that exercise increases DHEAS levels in healthy subjects, however no studies have tested clinically diagnosed bipolar patients. It is hypothesized that the interaction between DHEAS and cortisol may be a contributing factor to the improvements in mood seen with exercise (McEwen 2002). PURPOSE: To determine the effect of an acute bout of aerobic exercise on DHEAS levels and perceptions of well-being in clinically diagnosed bipolar disorder patients. METHODS: Clinically diagnosed male (n=13) and female (n=13) bipolar patients (mean age 42.4 + 11.4 years) participated in this study. Ten ml of blood were drawn prior to the exercise session. Subjects walked on a treadmill for 20 min. at individualized intensities corresponding to 70% of age predicted maximum heart rate (APMHR). The exercise session finished with a 5 min. cool down. Within five min. post- completion of the cool down, a second blood draw, identical to the first, occured. Blood samples were spun and serum frozen until all samples could be collected and analyzed. A 7-point Likert questionnaire was administered pre and post exercise to assess perceptions of well-being. RESULTS: A two way ANOVA revealed a significant increase in DHEAS (p=0.01) after the acute bout of aerobic exercise. A dependant T-test also revealed a significant improvement in perception of global well-being following exercise (p<0.05). A non-significant (p=0.38) correlation of r=0.18 was found between DHEAS and perceptions of well-being. CONCLUSION: Treadmill exercise performed at of 70% of APMHR for 20 min. significantly increased DHEAS in clinically diagnosed bipolar subjects. Significant post exercise perceptions of well being improved. No relationship between well-being and DHEAS was revealed. Exercise appears to be responsible for an increase in DHEAS in bipolar patients; however, it appears that this increase may not be solely responsible for improvements in well-being

Fermi LAT Observations of Gamma-Ray Transients Near the Galactic Plane

The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope provides unprecedented sensitivity for all-sky monitoring of gamma-ray activity from 20 MeV to >300 GeV. The observatory scans the entire sky every three hours and allows a general search for flaring activity on daily timescales. This search is conducted automatically as part of the ground processing and allows a fast response to transient events, typically less than a day. Most flares are spatially associated with known blazars, but in several cases during the first year of observations, gamma-ray flares occurring near the Galactic plane did not reveal any initially compelling counterparts. This prompted follow-up observations in X-ray, optical, and radio to attempt to identify the origin of the emission and probe the possible existence of a class of transient gamma-ray sources in the Galaxy. We will report on the details of these LAT events and the results of the multi-wavelength counterpart searches

Long term measurement network for FIFE

The objectives were: to obtain selected instruments which were not standard equipment on the Portable Automated Mesometeorological (PAM) and Data Control Platform (DCP) stations; to assist in incorporation of these instruments onto the PAM and DCP stations; to help provide routine maintenance of the instruments; to conduct periodic instrument calibrations; and to repair or replace malfunctioning instruments when possible. All of the objectives were or will be met soon. All instruments and the necessary instrument stands were purchased or made and were available for inclusion on the PAM and DCP stations before the beginning of the IFC-1. Due to problems beyond control, the DCP stations experienced considerable difficulty in becoming operational. To fill some of the gaps caused by the DCP problems, Campbell CR21-X data loggers were installed and the data collected on cassette tapes. Periodic checks of all instruments were made, to maintain data quality, to make necessary adjustments in certain instruments, to replace malfunctioning instruments, and to provide instrument calibration. All instruments will be calibrated before the beginning of the 1988 growing season as soon as the weather permits access to all stations and provides conditions that are not too harsh to work in for extended periods of time

Measurement of surface physical properties and radiation balance for KUREX-91 study

Biophysical properties and radiation balance components were measured at the Streletskaya Steppe Reserve of the Russian Republic in July 1991. Steppe vegetation parameters characterized include leaf area index (LAI), leaf angle distribution, mean tilt angle, canopy height, leaf spectral properties, leaf water potential, fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR), and incoming and outgoing shortwave and longwave radiation. Research results, biophysical parameters, radiation balance estimates, and sun-view geometry effects on estimating APAR are discussed. Incoming and outgoing radiation streams are estimated using bidirectional spectral reflectances and bidirectional thermal emittances. Good agreement between measured and modeled estimates of the radiation balance were obtained

Calibration of field reference panel and radiometers used in FIFE 1989

Remote sensing of the earth's surface features involves the measurement of reflected solar radiation and the interpretation of the data in biophysical terms. Reflected radiation is a function of the surface properties and incident solar irradiance. The amount of radiation reflected from a surface is compared to the amount of solar radiation received at the surface as a means of comparing information from different times of day as well as for different days of the year. Thus, it is imperative to calibrate the instruments used to measure the incoming and reflected radiation