A new approach for vibration control in large space structures

An approach for augmenting vibration damping characteristics in space structures with large panels is presented. It is based on generation of bending moments rather than forces. The moments are generated using bimetallic strips, suitably mounted at selected stations on both sides of the large panels, under the influence of differential solar heating, giving rise to thermal gradients and stresses. The collocated angular velocity sensors are utilized in conjunction with mini-servos to regulate the control moments by flipping the bimetallic strips. A simple computation of the rate of dissipation of vibrational energy is undertaken to assess the effectiveness of the proposed approach

A vectorized code for calculating laminar and turbulent hypersonic flows about blunt axisymmetric bodies at zero and small angles of attack

A user's guide is provided for a computer code which calculates the laminar and turbulent hypersonic flows about blunt axisymmetric bodies, such as spherically blunted cones, hyperboloids, etc., at zero and small angles of attack. The code is written in STAR FORTRAN language for the CDC-STAR-100 computer. Time-dependent, viscous-shock-layer-type equations are used to describe the flow field. These equations are solved by an explicit, two-step, time asymptotic, finite-difference method. For the turbulent flow, a two-layer, eddy-viscosity model is used. The code provides complete flow-field properties including shock location, surface pressure distribution, surface heating rates, and skin-friction coefficients. This report contains descriptions of the input and output, the listing of the program, and a sample flow-field solution

Reforming Foodgrains Management : Achieving Food Security with Cost-Effectiveness

This paper examines the efficacy of the current system of public foodgrains management and policies in promoting food security in the country. It argues that the system has outlived its usefulness, and that continuing with the same only stifles growth in foodgrains, with very little welfare benefits to the poor. The paper then presents a series of suggestions for reforming and modernizing the foodgrains management system in the country that would be welfare improving and also efficient, saving vast amounts of resources that can be used to invest in augmenting agricultural, especially foodgrains output.Food grains management, Food policy, food security

Reforming foodgrains management: Achieving food security with cost-effectiveness

This paper examines the efficacy of the current system of public foodgrains management and policies in promoting food security in the country. It argues that the system has outlived its usefulness, and that continuing with the same only stifles growth in foodgrains, with very little welfare benefits to the poor. The paper then presents a series of suggestions for reforming and modernizing the foodgrains management system in the country that would be welfare improving and also efficient, saving vast amounts of resources that can be used to invest in augmenting agricultural, especially foodgrains output.Food grains management, Food policy, Food security

User's guide for vectorized code EQUIL for calculating equilibrium chemistry on Control Data STAR-100 computer

A vectorized code, EQUIL, was developed for calculating the equilibrium chemistry of a reacting gas mixture on the Control Data STAR-100 computer. The code provides species mole fractions, mass fractions, and thermodynamic and transport properties of the mixture for given temperature, pressure, and elemental mass fractions. The code is set up for the electrons H, He, C, O, N system of elements. In all, 24 chemical species are included

Untargeted Lipidomic Analysis to Broadly Characterize the Effects of Pathogenic and Non-Pathogenic Staphylococci on Mammalian Lipids

Modification of the host lipidome via secreted enzymes is an integral, but often overlooked aspect of bacterial pathogenesis. In the current era of prevalent antibiotic resistance, knowledge regarding critical host pathogen lipid interactions has the potential for use in developing novel antibacterial agents. While most studies to date on this matter have focused on specific lipids, or select lipid classes, this provides an incomplete picture. Modern methods of untargeted lipidomics have the capacity to overcome these gaps in knowledge and provide a comprehensive understanding of the role of lipid metabolism in the pathogenesis of infections. In an attempt to determine the role of lipid modifying enzymes produced by staphylococci, we exposed bovine heart lipids, a standardized model for the mammalian lipidome, to spent medium from staphylococcal cultures, and analyzed lipid molecular changes by MS/MSALLshotgun lipidomics. We elucidate distinct effects of different staphylococcal isolates, including 4 clinical isolates of the pathogenic species Staphylococcus aureus, a clinical isolate of the normally commensal species S. epidermidis, and the non-pathogenic species S. carnosus. Two highly virulent strains of S. aureus had a more profound effect on mammalian lipids and modified more lipid classes than the other staphylococcal strains. Our studies demonstrate the utility of the applied untargeted lipidomics methodology to profile lipid changes induced by different bacterial secretomes. Finally, we demonstrate the promise of this lipidomics approach in assessing the specificity of bacterial enzymes for mammalian lipid classes. Our data suggests that there may be a correlation between the bacterial expression of lipid-modifying enzymes and virulence, and could facilitate the guided discovery of lipid pathways required for bacterial infections caused by S. aureus and thereby provide insights into the generation of novel antibacterial agents

Characterization of genetic structure of alfalfa (Medicago sp.) from trans-Himalaya using RAPD and ISSR markers

Twenty five (25) accessions of Lucerne (Medicago sp.) collected from Leh valley of trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir) were analyzed using inter simple sequence repeats (ISSRs) and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). The results of this study revealed that the level of genetic variation in the collected Medicago ecotypes were relatively high (P=96.54%, I=0.430, Ht=0.285). RAPD fingerprinting detected more polymorphic loci (97.96%) than ISSR fingerprinting (95.12%). Clustering of genotypes within groups was not similar when RAPD and ISSR derived dendrogram were compared, whereas the pattern of clustering of the genotypes remained more or less the same in RAPD and combined data of RAPD + ISSR. The mean coefficient of differentiation (Gst) was 0.0584 indicating 30.23% of the genetic diversity within the populations. The overall value of mean estimated number of gene flow (Nm = 8.0682) revealed large gene exchanges among populations. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that the distribution of genetic diversity was 49% among populations and 51% within populations. The plant is capable of reproducing by self-sowing, thus can influence population genetic structure. The pronounced genetic variation tells us that Medicago species is a proper plant for genetic research and that there is great potential of breeding this species for improved forage varieties.Key words: Genetic variation, ISSR, RAPD, Medicago species, population structure

Factorization filtering algorithm with colored noise for tracking

In this paper factorization filtering algorithms are described and used for processing13; data from a typical flight test range. Specifically U-D (unit upper triangular-diagonal)13; factorization based Kalman filtering algorithms are considered. The algorithms are13; validated using simulated data and implemented in MATLAB and alpha DEC machines.13; UDP protocols are used to transfer data from one DEC machine to another where the13; UD filter algorithm is activated to process the data. A very brief description of the fusion13; scheme in which the UD filtering algorithms are being used is given

Usability Study of a Control Framework for an Intelligent Wheelchair

We describe the development and assessment of a computer controlled wheelchair called the SMARTCHAIR. A shared control framework with different levels of autonomy allows the human operator to stay in complete control of the chair at each level while ensuring her safety. The framework incorporates deliberative motion plans or controllers, reactive behaviors, and human user inputs. At every instant in time, control inputs from these three different sources are blended continuously to provide a safe trajectory to the destination, while allowing the human to maintain control and safely override the autonomous behavior. In this paper, we present usability experiments with 50 participants and demonstrate quantitatively the benefits of human-robot augmentation