User's guide for the Nimbus 7 ERB Solar Analysis Tape (ESAT)

Five years of Nimbus 7 ERB solar data is available in compact form on a single ERB solar analysis tape (ESAT). The period covered is November 16, 1978 through October 31, 1983. The Nimbus 7 satellite performs just under 14 orbits a day and the ERB solar telescope observe the Sun once per orbit as the satellite passes + or - near the south pole. The data were carefully calibrated and screened. Mean orbital and daily values are given for the total solar irradiance plus selected spectral intervals. In addition, selected solar activity indicators are on the tape. The ERB experiment, the solar data calibration and screening procedures, the solar activity indicators, and the tape format are described briefly

Reward changes salience in human vision via the anterior cingulate

Reward-related mesolimbic dopamine steers animal behavior, creating automatic approach toward reward-associated objects and avoidance of objects unlikely to be beneficial. Theories of dopamine suggest that this reflects underlying biases in perception and attention, with reward enhancing the representation of reward-associated stimuli such that attention is more likely to be deployed to the location of these objects. Using measures of behavior and brain electricity in male and female humans, we demonstrate this to be the case. Sensory and perceptual processing of reward-associated visual features is facilitated such that attention is deployed to objects characterized by these features in subsequent experimental trials. This is the case even when participantsknowthat a strategic decision to attend to reward-associated features will be counterproductive and result in suboptimal performance. Other results show that the magnitude of visual bias created by reward is predicted by the response to reward feedback in anterior cingulate cortex, an area with strong connections to dopaminergic structures in the midbrain. These results demonstrate that reward has an impact on vision that is independent of its role in the strategic establishment of endogenous attention. We suggest that reward acts to change visual salience and thus plays an important and undervalued role in attentional control. Copyright © 2010 the authors

Analytical solution of the equation of motion for a rigid domain wall in a magnetic material with perpendicular anisotropy

This paper reports the solution of the equation of motion for a domain wall in a magnetic material which exhibits high magneto-crystalline anisotropy. Starting from the Landau-Lifschitz-Gilbert equation for field-induced motion, we solve the equation to give an analytical expression, which specifies the domain wall position as a function of time. Taking parameters from a Co/Pt multilayer system, we find good quantitative agreement between calculated and experimentally determined wall velocities, and show that high field uniform wall motion occurs when wall rigidity is assumed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Exchange anisotropy pinning of a standing spin wave mode

Standing spin waves in a thin film are used as sensitive probes of interface pinning induced by an antiferromagnet through exchange anisotropy. Using coplanar waveguide ferromagnetic resonance, pinning of the lowest energy spin wave thickness mode in Ni(80)Fe(20)/Ir(25)Mn(75) exchange biased bilayers was studied for a range of IrMn thicknesses. We show that pinning of the standing mode can be used to amplify, relative to the fundamental resonance, frequency shifts associated with exchange bias. The shifts provide a unique `fingerprint' of the exchange bias and can be interpreted in terms of an effective ferromagnetic film thickness and ferromagnet/antiferromagnet interface anisotropy. Thermal effects are studied for ultra-thin antiferromagnetic Ir(25)Mn(75) thicknesses, and the onset of bias is correlated with changes in the pinning fields. The pinning strength magnitude is found to grow with cooling of the sample, while the effective ferromagnetic film thickness simultaneously decreases. These results suggest that exchange bias involves some deformation of magnetic order in the interface region.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Climatology and Modeling of Quasi-monochromatic Atmospheric Gravity Waves Observed over Urbana Illinois

From analyzing nine months of airglow imaging observations of atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs) over Adelaide, Australia (35°S) [Walterscheid et al., 1999] have proposed that many of the quasi-monochromatic waves seen in the images were primarily thermally ducted. Here are presented 15 months of observations, from February 1996 to May 1997, for AGW frequency and propagation direction from a northern latitude site, Urbana Illinois (40°N). As Adelaide, Urbana is geographically distant from large orographic features. Similar to what was found in Adelaide, the AGWs seem to originate from a preferred location during the time period around summer solstice. In conjunction with these airglow data there exists MF radar data to provide winds in the 90 km region and near-simultaneous lidar data which provide a temperature climatology. The temperature data have previously been analyzed by States and Gardner [2000]. The temperature and wind data are used here in a full wave model analysis to determine the characteristics of the wave ducting and wave reflection during the 15 month observation period. This model analysis is applied to this and another existing data set recently described by Nakamura et al. [1999]. It is shown that the existence of a thermal duct around summer solstice can plausibly account for our observations. However, the characteristics of the thermal duct and the ability of waves to be ducted is also greatly dependent on the characteristics of the background wind. A simple model is constructed to simulate the trapping of these waves by such a duct. It is suggested that the waves seen over Urbana originate no more than a few thousand kilometers from the observation site

Triggered Electrical Stimulation Cueing to Address Hypofunctioning Peroneus Muscle in the Treatment of Chronic Ankle Instability: Two Repeated Single Case Designs

Background: Approximately two million ankle sprains occur in the United States annually. Lateral ankle sprains (LAS) account for 85% of all ankle sprains, 74% of those individuals report continued symptoms following the initial insult. Persistent pain and instability following ankle sprain is indicative of chronic ankle instability (CAI). There are many interventions to address hypofunctioning muscle including electrical stimulation (ES) and it is known that peripheral ES changes muscle behavior. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the effect of electrical stimulation of the peroneal muscles combined with 3 exercises for the treatment of CAI.Methods: Two participants with CAI were recruited for this repeated single case design. The Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT), the modified Star Excursion Balance Test (mSEBT), and center of pressure (CoP) was measured. A single limb hop to stabilization protocol and single limb stance activities were combined with manual triggered electrical stimulation for six sessions.Results: Improvements in CAIT scores for both patients were observed. There was no statistically significant change in mSEBT scores. Center of Pressure measurement improvements varied between subjects. For subject 1, there was no significant change in CoP in eyes open and eyes closed conditions. For subject 2, there was a significant change in the anterior/posterior CoP data points in both conditions.Discussion: In individuals with CAI, the addition of electrical stimulation to a single limb stance and hop stabilization protocol for hypofunctioning peroneal muscles led to positive CAI outcomes as measured by improved CAIT scores and improved CoP measurement in one subject

The Legacy of Space Shuttle Flight Software

The initial goals of the Space Shuttle Program required that the avionics and software systems blaze new trails in advancing avionics system technology. Many of the requirements placed on avionics and software were accomplished for the first time on this program. Examples include comprehensive digital fly-by-wire technology, use of a digital databus for flight critical functions, fail operational/fail safe requirements, complex automated redundancy management, and the use of a high-order software language for flight software development. In order to meet the operational and safety goals of the program, the Space Shuttle software had to be extremely high quality, reliable, robust, reconfigurable and maintainable. To achieve this, the software development team evolved a software process focused on continuous process improvement and defect elimination that consistently produced highly predictable and top quality results, providing software managers the confidence needed to sign each Certificate of Flight Readiness (COFR). This process, which has been appraised at Capability Maturity Model (CMM)/Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Level 5, has resulted in one of the lowest software defect rates in the industry. This paper will present an overview of the evolution of the Primary Avionics Software System (PASS) project and processes over thirty years, an argument for strong statistical control of software processes with examples, an overview of the success story for identifying and driving out errors before flight, a case study of the few significant software issues and how they were either identified before flight or slipped through the process onto a flight vehicle, and identification of the valuable lessons learned over the life of the project

Optimization of Cutaneous Electrically Mediated Plasmid DNA Delivery Using Novel Electrode

The easy accessibility of skin makes it an excellent target for gene transfer protocols. To take advantage of skin as a target for gene transfer, it is important to establish an efficient and reproducible delivery system. Electroporation is an established technique for enhancing plasmid delivery to many tissues in vivo. A critical component of this technique is the electrode configuration. Electroporation parameters were optimized for transgene expression with minimal tissue damage with a novel electrode. The highest transgene expression and efficiency of individual cell transformation with minimal damage was produced with eight 150 ms pulses at field strength of 100 V/cm. This electrode design offers the potential for easier and more reproducible electrically mediated cutaneous plasmid delivery than the simple electrodes currently commercially available. This electrode can be a valuable tool in determining the applicability of electrically mediated cutaneous gene transfer