The 10-ft. space simulator at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Pumping, vacuum, cryogenic, solar simulation, and supporting systems for space simulator facilit

Did the ban on smoking reduce the revenue in pubs and restaurants in Norway?

After 16 years of exemptions from the ban on indoor smoking in other places of work, Norway became the second country after Ireland to implement a smoke-free regime in pubs and restaurants. This paper evaluates the economic impact on the hospitality sector in a northern region with a cold climate. The data consists of bi-monthly observations of revenues in restaurants and pubs starting in January 1999 and ending in August 2007. Auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) intervention analysis was used to test for possible economic impacts, controlling for variations in temperature. The ban on smoking did not have a statistically significant effect on revenue in restaurants or on restaurant revenue as a share of personal consumption. There is also no evidence that the ban reduce revenues in bars, but there is some indication that it may have reduced bar revenue as a share of personal consumption. Conclusion: A large body of research has found no negative economic effect of smoke-free legislation on restaurant and bar sales in the United States, Australia and elsewhere Our study confirms these results in a northern region with a cold climate with respect to restaurants, but the results was more mixed for bars.Tobacco; economics; business; passive smoking; legislation

Quality of life of patients treated surgically for head and neck cancer

The quality of survival of 48 patients treated surgically for head and neck cancer was assessed using a problem-orientated self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was based on the European Organization for Research into the Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) core questionnaire to which a specific head and neck module was added. The following domains were studied: pain, fatigue, physical symptoms (gastrointestinal and 'other'), functional activity, psychological symptoms, overall physical condition and overall quality of life. For the analysis, five groups of patients were considered: laryngectomy (n = 15), pharyngolaryngoesophagectomy (n = 5), craniofacial procedure (n = 11), 'other operations' (n = 9) and patients with disease recurrence (n = 8). Each group identified different problem areas. Laryngectomees and 'other operation' patients reported relatively few problems, whereas patients with disease recurrence described difficulties in all of the domains examined. Symptoms of fatigue were common. Information collected in this way may facilitate improved rehabilitation and thus better quality of survival

Comparison of LOQC C-sign gates with ancilla inefficiency and an improvement to functionality under these conditions

We compare three proposals for non-deterministic C-sign gates implemented using linear optics and conditional measurements with non-ideal ancilla mode production and detection. The simplified KLM gate [Ralph et al, Phys.Rev.A {\bf 65}, 012314 (2001)] appears to be the most resilient under these conditions. We also find that the operation of this gate can be improved by adjusting the beamsplitter ratios to compensate to some extent for the effects of the imperfect ancilla.Comment: to appear in PR

Magnetic activity, differential rotation and dynamo action in the pulsating F9IV star KIC 5955122

We present photometric spot modeling of the nearly four-year long light-curve of the Kepler target KIC 5955122 in terms of persisting dark circular surface features. With a Bayesian technique, we produced a plausible surface map that shows dozens of small spots. After some artifacts are removed, the residuals are at $\pm 0.16$\,mmag. The shortest rotational period found is $P = 16.4 \pm 0.2$ days. The equator-to-pole extrapolated differential rotation is $0.25 \pm 0.02$ rad/d. The spots are roughly half as bright as the unperturbed stellar photosphere. Spot latitudes are restricted to the zone $\pm 60^\circ$ latitude. There is no indication for any near-pole spots. In addition, the p-mode pulsations enabled us to determine the evolutionary status of the star, the extension of the convective zone, and its radius and mass. We discuss the possibility that the clear signature of active regions in the light curve of the F9IV star KIC 5955122 is produced by a flux-transport dynamo action at the base of the convection zone. In particular, we argue that this star has evolved from an active to a quiet status during the Q0--Q16 period of observation, and we predict, according to our dynamo model, that the characteristic activity cycle is of the order of the solar one.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures, to be published on A&

Review of literature relating to the modeling of soil temperatures based on meteorological factors

Abstracts of 72 papers, journal articles, and other publications are presented. The applicabilities of each is assessed for use in improving winterkill parameters for a winter wheat model

Reference System Description

Several candidate antenna configurations are evaluated in terms of weight, efficiency, and structural rigidity. Particular emphasis is given to the waveguide slot array and its application to solar power satellites SPS. The electronic aspects of an SPS specific waveguide slot array are defined