11,865 research outputs found
Examination of the Circle Spline Routine
The Circle Spline routine is currently being used for generating both two and three dimensional spline curves. It was developed for use in ESCHER, a mesh generating routine written to provide a computationally simple and efficient method for building meshes along curved surfaces. Circle Spline is a parametric linear blending spline. Because many computerized machining operations involve circular shapes, the Circle Spline is well suited for both the design and manufacturing processes and shows promise as an alternative to the spline methods currently supported by the Initial Graphics Specification (IGES)
Quasi-2D dynamic jamming in cornstarch suspensions: visualization and force measurements
We report experiments investigating jamming fronts in a floating layer of
cornstarch suspension. The suspension has a packing fraction close to jamming,
which dynamically turns into a solid when impacted at a high speed. We show
that the front propagates in both axial and transverse direction from the point
of impact, with a constant ratio between the two directions of propagation of
approximately 2. Inside the jammed solid, we observe an additional compression,
which results from the increasing stress as the solid grows. During the initial
growth of the jammed solid, we measure a force response that can be completely
accounted for by added mass. Only once the jamming front reaches a boundary,
the added mass cannot account for the measured force anymore. We do not,
however, immediately see a strong force response as we would expect when
compressing a jammed packing. Instead, we observe a delay in the force response
on the pusher, which corresponds to the time it takes for the system to develop
a close to uniform velocity gradient that spans the complete system.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
UHE neutrino searches using a Lunar target: First Results from the RESUN search
During the past decade there have been several attempts to detect cosmogenic
ultra high energy (UHE) neutrinos by searching for radio Cerenkov bursts
resulting from charged impact showers in terrestrial ice or the lunar regolith.
So far these radio searches have yielded no detections, but the inferred flux
upper limits have started to constrain physical models for UHE neutrino
generation. For searches which use the Moon as a target, we summarize the
physics of the interaction, properties of the resulting Cerenkov radio pulse,
detection statistics, effective aperture scaling laws, and derivation of upper
limits for isotropic and point source models. We report on initial results from
the RESUN search, which uses the Expanded Very Large Array configured in
multiple sub-arrays of four antennas at 1.45 GHz pointing along the lunar limb.
We detected no pulses of lunar origin during 45 observing hours. This implies
upper limits to the differential neutrino flux E^2 dN/dE < 0.003 EeV km^{-2}
s^{-1} sr^{-1} and < 0.0003 EeV km$^{-2} s^{-1} at 90% confidence level for
isotropic and sampled point sources respectively, in the neutrino energy range
10^{21.6} < E(eV) < 10^{22.6}. The isotropic flux limit is comparable to the
lowest published upper limits for lunar searches. The full RESUN search, with
an additional 200 hours observing time and an improved data acquisition scheme,
will be be an order of magnitude more sensitive in the energy range 10^{21} <
E(eV) < 10^{22} than previous lunar-target searches, and will test Z burst
models of neutrino generation.Comment: 26 pages, 14 figure
The persistence of self-employment across borders: new evidence on legal immigrants to the United States
Using recently-available data from the New Immigrant Survey, we find that previous self-employment experience in an immigrant’s country of origin is an important
determinant of their self-employment status in the U.S., increasing the probability of being self-employed by about 7 percent. Our results improve on the previous literature by measuring home-country self-employment directly rather than relying on proxy measures. We find little evidence to suggest that home-country self employment has a significant effect on U.S. wages in either paid employment or self employment
High-speed ultrasound imaging in dense suspensions reveals impact-activated solidification due to dynamic shear jamming
A remarkable property of dense suspensions is that they can transform from
liquid-like at rest to solid-like under sudden impact. Previous work showed
that this impact-induced solidification involves rapidly moving jamming fronts;
however, details of this process have remained unresolved. Here we use
high-speed ultrasound imaging to probe non-invasively how the interior of a
dense suspension responds to impact. Measuring the speed of sound we
demonstrate that the solidification proceeds without a detectable increase in
packing fraction, and imaging the evolving flow field we find that the shear
intensity is maximized right at the jamming front. Taken together, this
provides direct experimental evidence for jamming by shear, rather than
densification, as driving the transformation to solid-like behavior. Based on
these findings we propose a new model to explain the anisotropy in the
propagation speed of the fronts and delineate the onset conditions for dynamic
shear jamming in suspensions.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
INITIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF MAJOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY COMPLEX (MHC) CLASS IIB EXON 2 IN AN ENDANGERED RATTLESNAKE, THE EASTERN MASSASAUGA (SISTRURUS CATENATUS)
Genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) play an important role in the vertebrate immune system and exhibit remarkably high levels of polymorphism, maintained by strong balancing selection. While the conservation implications of MHC variation have been explored in a variety of vertebrates, non-avian reptiles (most notably snakes) have received less attention. To address this gap and take the first steps toward more extensive population-level analyses, we cloned and sequenced MHC IIB exon 2 in an endangered rattlesnake, the Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus). Based on three individuals, we found evidence of at least four putatively functional loci. These sequences exhibited relatively high levels of variation and significantly higher rates of nonsynonymous to synonymous substitutions, especially within the antigen-binding sites, indicating strong positive selection. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a pattern of trans-species polymorphism, also suggesting positive selection. These results contribute to our understanding of MHC variation in non-avian reptiles and form a basis for more studies of MHC variation in snakes of conservation concern
Dynamic shear jamming in dense granular suspensions under extension
Unlike dry granular materials, a dense granular suspension like cornstarch in
water can strongly resist extensional flows. At low extension rates, such a
suspension behaves like a viscous liquid, but rapid extension results in a
response where stresses far exceed the predictions of lubrication hydrodynamics
and capillarity. To understand this remarkable mechanical response, we
experimentally measure the normal force imparted by a large bulk of the
suspension on a plate moving vertically upward at a controlled velocity. We
observe that above a velocity threshold, the peak force increases by orders of
magnitude. Using fast ultrasound imaging we map out the local velocity profiles
inside the suspension which reveal the formation of a growing jammed region
under rapid extension. This region interacts with the rigid boundaries of the
container through strong velocity gradients, suggesting a direct connection to
the recently proposed shear-jamming mechanism.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Effects of Roads and Traffic on Wildlife Populations and Landscape Function Road Ecology is Moving toward Larger Scales
Road ecology has developed into a significant branch of ecology with steady growth in the number of refereed journal articles, books, conferences, symposia, and “best practice” guidelines being produced each year. The main objective of this special issue of Ecology and Society is to highlight the need for studies that document the population, community, and ecosystem-level effects of roads and traffic by publishing studies that document these effects. It became apparent when compiling this special issue that there is a paucity of studies that explicitly examined higher order effects of roads and traffic. No papers on landscape function or ecosystem-level effects were submitted, despite being highlighted as a priority for publication. The 17 papers in this issue, from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and USA, all deal to some extent with either population or community-level effects of roads and traffic. Nevertheless, many higher order effects remain unquantified, and must become the focus of future studies because the complexity and interactions among the effects of roads and traffic are large and potentially unexpected. An analysis of these complex interrelations requires systematic research, and it is necessary to further establish collaborative links between ecologists and transportation agencies. Many road agencies have “environmental sustainability” as one of their goals and the only way to achieve such goals is for them to support and foster long-term and credible scientific research. The current situation, with numerous small-scale projects being undertaken independently of each other, cannot provide the information required to quantify and mitigate the negative effects of roads and traffic on higher levels. The future of road ecology research will be best enhanced when multiple road projects in different states or countries are combined and studied as part of integrated, well-replicated research projects
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