Development and Flight Results from the C3D2 Imager Payload on AlSat Nano

An experimental CubeSat camera system using 3 separate CMOS imagers was flown in 2014 on UKube-1. In response to an announcement opportunity in December 2014, we proposed an upgrade to our C3D imager payload, which was accepted to fly on AlSat Nano. Launched in September 2016 the system has been operational for over 1 year and has returned both images and housekeeping data, including detailed temperature and radiation dosimetry measurements. Through these in-orbit demonstrations on CubeSans, the image sensors and payload have attained TRL9, and these are now being used in other flight opportunities. In this paper we describe the C3D imager payload, which comprises 3 independent CMOS image sensors used in different camera systems; two wide field cameras are specifically optimised with one to observe the Earth from the 650 km orbit, and the other with its focus set to 40 cm to observe a deployable boom from the CubeSat. The experiment controller also contained thermometry and two RADFET dosimeters, one located on the payload, with the other deployed at a different point on the spacecraft. In this paper we will describe the experiment design and operational performance, and review the in-orbit data obtained during the operations covering over 17 months in-orbit, in addition to discussing lessons learned from the flight experience. We also discuss further developments of the payload concept which we are currently working on toward future flight opportunities

MARINE RESERVES FOR FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

Conventional methods of regulating commercial fisheries restrict catch by limiting either the quantity or efficiency of fishing effort, or by putting direct limits on catch. These regulatory practices are neither feasible nor desirable for many fisheries, and have failed to conserve fishery stocks in other fisheries. Marine reserves may be an effective alternative management strategy for some fisheries. Here we develop a dynamic model of marine reserves applicable to inshore fisheries. In contrast to previous models of reserves, the model is fully dynamic and provides information on both equilibrium conditions and the path to equilibrium. A simulation model based on red snapper data from the Gulf of Mexico is presented. The simulation results suggest that marine reserves can sustain or increase yields for moderate to heavily fished fisheries but will probably not improve yields for lightly fished fisheries.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Butterfly distribution and dispersion across the Montane Islands and drainages of the Chihuahuan Desert

Includes bibliographical references (pages 11-14).September 20, 2009.This paper tabulates the butterfly fauna of 36 montane and five canyon land refugia in the Chihuahuan desert, primarily in New Mexico and Trans-Pecos Texas, but to some extent also in Ariwna, Colorado, Sonora, Chihuahua, and Coahuila. Theories for butterfly dispersal between ranges are evaluated by examining the fauna correlation between refugia Refuge diversity is highest in the Gila Mts. complex (ca. 175 sp.) and lowest in the canyon lands of northeastern New Mexico (ca. 70 sp.). As a general rule, population diversity decreases as one retreats farther from the main backbone of the Rocky Mts. to the north or from the main branches of the Sierra Madre to the south. The 41 refugia are divided into eight groups, each consisting of three to eight members. About 27 additional refugia are not discussed, either because data is lacking (eight cases) or because the computer analysis began to become unstable, and the sheer data volume unmanageable

Patients' self-assessed functional status in heart failure by New York Heart Association class: a prognostic predictor of hospitalizations, quality of life and death.

BACKGROUND: Clinician-assigned New York Heart Association (NYHA) class is an established predictor of outcomes in heart failure. This study aims to test whether patients' self-assessment of functional status by NYHA class predicts hospital admissions, quality of life, and mortality. METHODS AND RESULTS: This was an observational study within a randomized controlled trial. A total of 293 adult patients diagnosed with heart failure were recruited after an emergency admission at 3 acute hospitals in Norfolk, UK. Outcome measures included number of emergency admissions over 6 months, self-assessed quality of life measured with the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure questionnaire (MLHFQ) and EQ-5D at 6 months, and deaths up to 20 months' follow-up. Patients were grouped into 3 NYHA groups (I/II, III, and IV) based on patients' self-assigned NYHA class (SA-NYHA). A Poisson model indicated an increased readmission rate associated with higher SA-NYHA class (adjusted rate ratio 1.21; 95% CI 1.04-1.41; P=.02). Higher SA-NYHA class at baseline predicted worse quality of life at 6 months' follow-up (P=.002 for MLHFQ; P=.047 for EQ-5D), and was associated with higher mortality rate (adjusted hazard ratio 1.84; 95% CI 1.10-3.06; P=.02). CONCLUSIONS: SA-NYHA class is predictive of hospitalization, quality of life, and mortality among patients with heart failure

The role of visual landmarks in the avian familiar area map

The question of whether homing pigeons use visual landmarks for orientation from distant, familiar sites is an unresolved issue in the field of avian navigation. Where evidence has been found, the question still remains as to whether the landmarks are used independent of the map and compass mechanism for orientation that is so important to birds. Recent research has challenged the extent to which experiments that do not directly manipulate the visual sense can be used as evidence for compass-independent orientation. However, it is proposed that extending a new technique for research on vision in homing to include manipulation of the compasses used by birds might be able to resolve this issue. The effect of the structure of the visual sense of the homing pigeon on its use of visual landmarks is also considered

Motorola cash management: The evolution of a global system

The set of interorganizational information systems used for global cash management in business markets is analyzed. A longitudinal case study of Motorola is presented. Their strategy has evolved from an internal cost saving focus to a cooperative one, yielding significant strategic benefits by the inclusion of trading partners. The financial aspects of Motorola's business relationships with trading partners and its principal bank have been transformed through a process of organizational learning and adaptation coupled with the close integration of information systems (ISs) throughout the cash supply chain. Cooperative behavior between Motorola and its suppliers, with the help of Citibank, has enabled a coordinated response to bring cash flows in line with product flows. The results are compared with existing IS marketing theories on business relationships, market structure, and globalization

The Effect Technology has on Student Comprehension and Motivation

The research question addressed in this project was, why do students in a sixth grade classroom using an electronic device to read display different comprehension and motivational levels than students with printed texts? The motivating factor for this capstone was the increased use of electronic devices in the classroom. It documents the changes in students’ comprehension and motivation over a six week time period. Data was collected in a variety of ways such as surveys, student interviews, journals, and comprehension quizzes. Although there were limitations and areas to improve in future studies, results showed student choice plays a significant role in comprehension and motivation while reading with both mediums

Configurational properties of polyphenylene precursor polymers

The configurationally changes of a soluble precursor polymer. poly(5,6- dlmethylcarboxycyclohexadi-l.S-ene) have been studied during it’s conversion to poly(phenylene) by thermal aromatisation. This was performed principally in solution in N-methylpyirolidinone and chloroform, by size exclusion chromatography, viscometry and scattering techniques. The results show the polymer is initially a random coil, and during aromatisation stiffens to a wormlike chain, the intermediate to the rodlike molecule. This is evidenced by increased persistence length and increased dependency of size on molecular weight. The conversion to a stiffer molecule is accompanied by chain scission, more pronounced for high molecular weight polymers, and agglomeration, with consequential increased polydispersity and scatter in results. At 30% aromatisation aggregates dominate the behaviour of the solution, and at 40% the polymer becomes insoluble. Results from each technique differ according to the relative sensitivity to the two species present Aggregates exist as low as 10% aromatisation, suggesting the formation of contiguous phenylene nuclei, dispersed phenylene would not cause aggregation. When separated from the solution the aggregated species was found to be only slightly more aromatised than the free chain equivalent, and chemically very similar, suggesting aggregation arises from the arrangement rather than the quantity of phenylene monomers. The scattering behaviour of lightly aromatised polymer conformed to a wormlike chain model, while the aggregated polymer's scattering is close to that of a star model, suggesting a fringed micelle structure with a core of closely packed phenylene blocks, and arms preferentially composed of precursor polymer, with randomly dispersed phenylene. The insolubility of partially aromatised poly(DHCD-DMC) is common to other studies of polymers with conjugated backbones in which change from a good to a poor solvent causes a change from random coil to aggregated stiff chains

Lepidoptera of North America 10. Review of Plebejus icarioides and Glaucopsyche lygdamus in New Mexico with four new subspecies (Lycaenide, Lycaninae, Polyommantini)

June 15, 2011