Feasibility model of a high reliability five-year tape transport. Volume 3: Appendices

Detailed drawings of the five year tape transport are presented. Analytical tools used in the various analyses are described. These analyses include: tape guidance, tape stress over crowned rollers, tape pack stress program, response (computer) program, and control system electronics description

On the Numerical Dispersion of Electromagnetic Particle-In-Cell Code : Finite Grid Instability

The Particle-In-Cell (PIC) method is widely used in relativistic particle beam and laser plasma modeling. However, the PIC method exhibits numerical instabilities that can render unphysical simulation results or even destroy the simulation. For electromagnetic relativistic beam and plasma modeling, the most relevant numerical instabilities are the finite grid instability and the numerical Cherenkov instability. We review the numerical dispersion relation of the electromagnetic PIC algorithm to analyze the origin of these instabilities. We rigorously derive the faithful 3D numerical dispersion of the PIC algorithm, and then specialize to the Yee FDTD scheme. In particular, we account for the manner in which the PIC algorithm updates and samples the fields and distribution function. Temporal and spatial phase factors from solving Maxwell's equations on the Yee grid with the leapfrog scheme are also explicitly accounted for. Numerical solutions to the electrostatic-like modes in the 1D dispersion relation for a cold drifting plasma are obtained for parameters of interest. In the succeeding analysis, we investigate how the finite grid instability arises from the interaction of the numerical 1D modes admitted in the system and their aliases. The most significant interaction is due critically to the correct represenation of the operators in the dispersion relation. We obtain a simple analytic expression for the peak growth rate due to this interaction.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figure

Feasibility model of a high reliability five-year tape transport, volume 2

Analysis of the design features of the modularized tape transport renders a life expectancy in excess of five years. Tests performed on the tape transport were directed toward determining its performance capability. These tests revealed that the tape jitter and skew are in the range achieved by high quality digital tape transports. Guidance of the tape in the lateral sense by the use of the two hybrid crowned rollers proved to be excellent. Tracking was maintained within less than one thousandth inch (approximately 2 micrometers). The guidance capability demonstrated makes possible the achievement of the performance objective of 7.2 x 10 to the 9th power storage capability employing 1500 ft. of one inch wide tape with a packing density of 5,000 bits per inch per track on 80 tracks. Also, the machine showed excellent characteristics operating over a wide range of tape speeds. The basic design concept lends itself to growth and adaptation to a wide range of recorder requirements

Feasibility model of a high reliability five-year tape transport, Volume 1

The development, performance, and test results for the spaceborne magnetic tape transport are discussed. An analytical model of the tape transport was used to optimize its conceptual design. Each of the subsystems was subjected to reliability analyses which included structural integrity, maintenance of system performance within acceptable bounds, and avoidance of fatigue failure. These subsystems were also compared with each other in order to evaluate reliability characteristics. The transport uses no mechanical couplings. Four drive motors, one for each reel and one for each of two capstans, are used in a differential mode. There are two hybrid, spherical, cone tapered-crown rollers for tape guidance. Storage of the magnetic tape is provided by a reel assembly which includes the reel, a reel support structure and bearings, dust seals, and a dc drive motor. A summary of transport test results on tape guidance, flutter, and skew is provided

RNA polymerase V-dependent small RNAs in Arabidopsis originate from small, intergenic loci including most SINE repeats.

In plants, heterochromatin is maintained by a small RNA-based gene silencing mechanism known as RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM). RdDM requires the non-redundant functions of two plant-specific DNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RNAP), RNAP IV and RNAP V. RNAP IV plays a major role in siRNA biogenesis, while RNAP V may recruit DNA methylation machinery to target endogenous loci for silencing. Although small RNA-generating regions that are dependent on both RNAP IV and RNAP V have been identified previously, the genomic loci targeted by RNAP V for siRNA accumulation and silencing have not been described extensively. To characterize the RNAP V-dependent, heterochromatic siRNA-generating regions in the Arabidopsis genome, we deeply sequenced the small RNA populations of wild-type and RNAP V null mutant (nrpe1) plants. Our results showed that RNAP V-dependent siRNA-generating loci are associated predominately with short repetitive sequences in intergenic regions. Suppression of small RNA production from short repetitive sequences was also prominent in RdDM mutants including dms4, drd1, dms3 and rdm1, reflecting the known association of these RdDM effectors with RNAP V. The genomic regions targeted by RNAP V were small, with an estimated average length of 238 bp. Our results suggest that RNAP V affects siRNA production from genomic loci with features dissimilar to known RNAP IV-dependent loci. RNAP V, along with RNAP IV and DRM1/2, may target and silence a set of small, intergenic transposable elements located in dispersed genomic regions for silencing. Silencing at these loci may be actively reinforced by RdDM

Children's construction task performance and spatial ability: controlling task complexity and predicting mathematics performance.

This paper presents a methodology to control construction task complexity and examined the relationships between construction performance and spatial and mathematical abilities in children. The study included three groups of children (N = 96); ages 7-8, 10-11, and 13-14 years. Each group constructed seven pre-specified objects. The study replicated and extended previous findings that indicated that the extent of component symmetry and variety, and the number of components for each object and available for selection, significantly predicted construction task difficulty. Results showed that this methodology is a valid and reliable technique for assessing and predicting construction play task difficulty. Furthermore, construction play performance predicted mathematical attainment independently of spatial ability

Predicting the size and probability of epidemics in a population with heterogeneous infectiousness and susceptibility

We analytically address disease outbreaks in large, random networks with heterogeneous infectivity and susceptibility. The transmissibility $T_{uv}$ (the probability that infection of $u$ causes infection of $v$) depends on the infectivity of $u$ and the susceptibility of $v$. Initially a single node is infected, following which a large-scale epidemic may or may not occur. We use a generating function approach to study how heterogeneity affects the probability that an epidemic occurs and, if one occurs, its attack rate (the fraction infected). For fixed average transmissibility, we find upper and lower bounds on these. An epidemic is most likely if infectivity is homogeneous and least likely if the variance of infectivity is maximized. Similarly, the attack rate is largest if susceptibility is homogeneous and smallest if the variance is maximized. We further show that heterogeneity in infectious period is important, contrary to assumptions of previous studies. We confirm our theoretical predictions by simulation. Our results have implications for control strategy design and identification of populations at higher risk from an epidemic.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to Physical Review Letter

Plants regenerated from tissue culture contain stable epigenome changes in rice.

Most transgenic crops are produced through tissue culture. The impact of utilizing such methods on the plant epigenome is poorly understood. Here we generated whole-genome, single-nucleotide resolution maps of DNA methylation in several regenerated rice lines. We found that all tested regenerated plants had significant losses of methylation compared to non-regenerated plants. Loss of methylation was largely stable across generations, and certain sites in the genome were particularly susceptible to loss of methylation. Loss of methylation at promoters was associated with deregulated expression of protein-coding genes. Analyses of callus and untransformed plants regenerated from callus indicated that loss of methylation is stochastically induced at the tissue culture step. These changes in methylation may explain a component of somaclonal variation, a phenomenon in which plants derived from tissue culture manifest phenotypic variability. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00354.001

Comparison of two computer codes for crack growth analysis: NASCRAC versus NASA/FLAGRO

The service life calculations of two computer codes, NASCRAC and NASA/FLAGRO, are compared. The analysis technique is based on linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), in which stresses remain below the yield strength of an elastic/plastic material. To perform service life calculations, a relationship expressing incremental crack growth, DA/DN, as a function of loading, geometry, and material properties is necessary. Load and geometry are expressed in terms of the cyclic stress intensity factor, delta K. The crack growth rate as a function of delta K is then determined by material tests, plotting DA/DN versus delta K for the given material, loading condition, and environment. Crack growth rate equations such as the Paris, Walker, and modified Forman equations are used to obtain a best fit curve to the laboratory DA/DN versus delta K data