The status of environmental satellites and availability of their data products

The latest available information about the status of unclassified environmental satellite (flown by the United States) and their data products is presented. The type of environmental satellites discussed include unmanned earth resource and meteorological satellites, and manned satellites which can act as a combination platform for instruments. The capabilities and data products of projected satellites are discussed along with those of currently operating systems

Spectral determinations for discrete sources with EGRET

The ability of the EGRET (Energetic Gamma-Ray Experimental Telescope) to determine the spectral parameters of point sources in 14-day exposures, as planned for the initial survey phase of the GRO (Gamma Ray Observatory) mission, is explored by numerical simulation. Results are given for both galactic and extragalactic objects as a function of source strength and for representative levels of diffuse background emission

The importance of precession in modelling the direction of the final spin from a black-hole merger

The prediction of the spin of the black hole resulting from the merger of a generic black-hole binary system is of great importance to study the cosmological evolution of supermassive black holes. Several attempts have been recently made to model the spin via simple expressions exploiting the results of numerical-relativity simulations. Here, I first review the derivation of a formula, proposed in Barausse & Rezzolla, Apj 704 L40, which accurately predicts the final spin magnitude and direction when applied to binaries with separations of hundred or thousands of gravitational radii. This makes my formula particularly suitable for cosmological merger-trees and N-body simulations, which provide the spins and angular momentum of the two black holes when their separation is of thousands of gravitational radii. More importantly, I investigate the physical reason behind the good agreement between my formula and numerical relativity simulations, and nail it down to the fact that my formula takes into account the post-Newtonian precession of the spins and angular momentum in a consistent manner.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures. Panel added to fig 2, discussion extended to comply with referee's comments. Version accepted for publication as proceeding of the 8th Amaldi International Conference on Gravitational Waves, NYC, 21-26 June 200

Cooking for Ohio Families

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Extreme Mass Ratio Binary: Radiation reaction and gravitational waveform

For a successful detection of gravitational waves by LISA, it is essential to construct theoretical waveforms in a reliable manner. We discuss gravitational waves from an extreme mass ratio binary system which is expected to be a promising target of the LISA project. The extreme mass ratio binary is a binary system of a supermassive black hole and a stellar mass compact object. As the supermassive black hole dominates the gravitational field of the system, we suppose that the system might be well approximated by a metric perturbation of a Kerr black hole. We discuss a recent theoretical progress in calculating the waveforms from such a system.Comment: Classical and Quantum Gravity 22 (2005) S375-S379, Proceedings for 5th International LISA Symposiu

A Model for Hospital Discharge Preparation: From Case Management to Care Transition

There has been a proliferation of initiatives to improve discharge processes and outcomes for the transition from hospital to home and community-based care. Operationalization of these processes has varied widely as hospitals have customized discharge care into innovative roles and functions. This article presents a model for conceptualizing the components of hospital discharge preparation to ensure attention to the full range of processes needed for a comprehensive strategy for hospital discharge

Modeling radiation belt radial diffusion in ULF wave fields: 1. Quantifying ULF wave power at geosynchronous orbit in observations and in global MHD model

[1] To provide critical ULF wave field information for radial diffusion studies in the radiation belts, we quantify ULF wave power (f = 0.5–8.3 mHz) in GOES observations and magnetic field predictions from a global magnetospheric model. A statistical study of 9 years of GOES data reveals the wave local time distribution and power at geosynchronous orbit in field-aligned coordinates as functions of wave frequency, solar wind conditions (Vx, ΔPd and IMF Bz) and geomagnetic activity levels (Kp, Dst and AE). ULF wave power grows monotonically with increasing solar wind Vx, dynamic pressure variations ΔPd and geomagnetic indices in a highly correlated way. During intervals of northward and southward IMF Bz, wave activity concentrates on the dayside and nightside sectors, respectively, due to different wave generation mechanisms in primarily open and closed magnetospheric configurations. Since global magnetospheric models have recently been used to trace particles in radiation belt studies, it is important to quantify the wave predictions of these models at frequencies relevant to electron dynamics (mHz range). Using 27 days of real interplanetary conditions as model inputs, we examine the ULF wave predictions modeled by the Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry magnetohydrodynamic code. The LFM code does well at reproducing, in a statistical sense, the ULF waves observed by GOES. This suggests that the LFM code is capable of modeling variability in the magnetosphere on ULF time scales during typical conditions. The code provides a long-missing wave field model needed to quantify the interaction of radiation belt electrons with realistic, global ULF waves throughout the inner magnetosphere

The Effect of Tumour Growth on Immune Competence: A Study of DMBA Mammary Carcinogenesis in the Rat

Circulating antibody response to flagella antigen has been measured in three groups of Sprague-Dawley rats after feeding with 7.12.DMBA in an attempt to differentiate carcinogen and tumour growth as causative agents in the depression of immune response seen in these animals. DMBA fed female rats developing tumours had progressive depression of both primary and secondary response as compared to control animals, and 7S and 19S antibody fractions were equally affected. Removal of tumours did not result in recovery of response. Attempts to prevent tumour development by mammectomy after DMBA feeding were unsuccessful, but the similar number of tumours found in this group was associated with an equal degree of antibody depression to that seen in the first experiment. Male animals fed DMBA did not develop malignant tumours, and showed no depression of immune response. Results suggest that tumour development plays a part in the depression of circulating antibody response seen in these animals, but that it is not directly related to the number of tumours, and is not reversible by tumour excision