Structural roofing system and method of using the same

It is disclosed a structural roofing system (1) for covering an underneath area (50) comprising at least one foundation (3) to transmit the loads of said structural roofing system to the ground (4), at least one tension element (5) extending between at least two points (30, 31) of said at least one foundation (3), at least one pneumatic element (10) supported by said at least one tension element (5) with at least one portion of said pneumatic element lying on said at least one tension element (5), and at least one covering layer (2) having at least a portion located above said at least one pneumatic element (10) and supported by said at least one pneumatic element (10), wherein said at least one pneumatic element (10) keeps at distance at least part of said covering layer (2) from said at least one tension element (5), when said at least one pneumatic element is at least partially inflated. A method for the construction of roofing arrangement by the structural roofing system (1) is also disclosed

DESIGN TOOLS FOR INFLATABLE STRUCTURES

This paper shows different tools and approaches that can be useful for the definition of the design of pneumatic structures. Some of these tools have been applied for the design of a Tensairity® hull

Simulations of the Microwave Sky and of its ``Observations''

Here follows a preliminary report on the construction of fake millimeter and sub-millimeter skies, as observed by virtual instruments, e.g. the COBRA/SAMBA mission, using theoretical modeling and data extrapolations. Our goal is to create maps as realistic as possible of the relevant physical contributions which may contribute to the detected signals. This astrophysical modeling is followed by simulations of the measurement process itself by a given instrumental configuration. This will enable a precise determination of what can and cannot be achieved with a particular experimental configuration, and provide a feedback on how to improve the overall design. It is a key step on the way to define procedures for the separation of the different physical processes in the future observed maps. Note that this tool will also prove useful in preparing and analyzing current (\eg\ balloon borne) Microwave Background experiments. Keywords: Cosmology -- Microwave Background Anisotropies.Comment: 6 pages of uuencoded compressed postscript (1.2 Mb uncompressed), to appear in the proceedings of the meeting "Far Infrared and Sub-millimeter Space Missions in the Next Decade'', Paris, France, Eds. M. Sauvage, Space Science Revie

The Jason II virtual control van system, data acquisition system, web-based event logger, and SeaNet

Scientific underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) collect data from multiple video cameras and scientific instruments. This integrated information is often only available in an ROV control-van during operations. Although all the data is logged, it is difficult for scientists to re-create a combined display of this data and have the ability to review and access an entire cruise dataset easily. We introduce a methodology of taking continuous real-time information snapshots (infosnaps) during interesting events and at regular time intervals for complete data coverage. These infosnaps capture four simultaneous video sources, vehicle data, instrument data, and event data as entered by scientists. The infosnaps are automatically cataloged and immediately accessible and searchable via a web-browser. We developed, built, and deployed the Jason II Virtual Control Van system on seven Jason cruises. The system has captured over 50,000 control-van infosnaps, containing more than 200,000 images co-registered with vehicle telemetry and scientific instrument data. The Virtual Control Van is designed for both scientific collaboration and public/educational outreach. It has been integrated with the SeaNet system to provide remote on-shore access. The report describes the Jason II Virtual Control Van system and includes instructions for setting up the system in the field.Funding was provided by the W. M. Keck Foundation under Grant No. 991735

4DGeoBrowser : a web-based data browser and server for accessing and analyzing multi-disciplinary data

This report describes the 4DGeoBrowser software system. The GeoBrowser is a web-based application developed at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution by Steven Lerner and Andrew Maffei. It has been designed with the goal of creating, accessing, and analyzing repositories of oceanographic datasets that have been generated by investigators in differing scientific disciplines. Once the information is loaded onto a Geobrowser server the investigator-user is able to login to the website and use a set of data access and analysis tools to search, plot, and display this information. GeoBrowser servers are also capable of processing commands that are submitted remotely via HTTP URLs or email. Scientists are able to use this capability to make calls to the GeoBrowser server and generate click-able maps, tables of urls, and customized HTML pages. These can then be used to enhance websites associated with scientific projects. Examples of supporting scientific website functionality that includes time series plotting, data delivery by email, geo-spatial plotting of interdisciplinary data, map-based search capabilities and other functionality are presented in this report. The report includes examples of GeoBrowser application websites, a user manual, and a reference guide. In addition, the concept of Electronic Index Cards (EICs) is presented

Impact of reionization on CMB polarization tests of slow-roll inflation

Estimates of inflationary parameters from the CMB B-mode polarization spectrum on the largest scales depend on knowledge of the reionization history, especially at low tensor-to-scalar ratio. Assuming an incorrect reionization history in the analysis of such polarization data can strongly bias the inflationary parameters. One consequence is that the single-field slow-roll consistency relation between the tensor-to-scalar ratio and tensor tilt might be excluded with high significance even if this relation holds in reality. We explain the origin of the bias and present case studies with various tensor amplitudes and noise characteristics. A more model-independent approach can account for uncertainties about reionization, and we show that parametrizing the reionization history by a set of its principal components with respect to E-mode polarization removes the bias in inflationary parameter measurement with little degradation in precision.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev.

Recent advances in plant early signaling in response to herbivory

Plants are frequently attacked by herbivores and pathogens and therefore have acquired constitutive and induced defenses during the course of their evolution. Here we review recent progress in the study of the early signal transduction pathways in host plants in response to herbivory. The sophisticated signaling network for plant defense responses is elicited and driven by both herbivore-induced factors (e.g., elicitors, effectors, and wounding) and plant signaling (e.g., phytohormone and plant volatiles) in response to arthropod factors. We describe significant findings, illuminating the scenario by providing broad insights into plant signaling involved in several arthropod-host interactions

Probing neutrino masses with CMB lensing extraction

We evaluate the ability of future cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments to measure the power spectrum of large scale structure using quadratic estimators of the weak lensing deflection field. We calculate the sensitivity of upcoming CMB experiments such as BICEP, QUaD, BRAIN, ClOVER and PLANCK to the non-zero total neutrino mass M_nu indicated by current neutrino oscillation data. We find that these experiments greatly benefit from lensing extraction techniques, improving their one-sigma sensitivity to M_nu by a factor of order four. The combination of data from PLANCK and the SAMPAN mini-satellite project would lead to sigma(M_nu) = 0.1 eV, while a value as small as sigma(M_nu) = 0.035 eV is within the reach of a space mission based on bolometers with a passively cooled 3-4 m aperture telescope, representative of the most ambitious projects currently under investigation. We show that our results are robust not only considering possible difficulties in subtracting astrophysical foregrounds from the primary CMB signal but also when the minimal cosmological model (Lambda Mixed Dark Matter) is generalized in order to include a possible scalar tilt running, a constant equation of state parameter for the dark energy and/or extra relativistic degrees of freedom.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures. One new figure and references added. Version accepted for publicatio

Semi-analytic modelling of galaxy evolution in the IR/submm range

This paper proposes a new semi-analytic modelling of galaxy properties in the IR/submm wavelength range, which is explicitly set in a cosmological framework. This type of approach has had some success in reproducing the optical properties of galaxies. We hereafter propose a simple extension to the IR/submm range. We estimate the IR/submm luminosities of ``luminous UV/IR galaxies'', and we explore how much star formation could be hidden in heavily--extinguished, ``ultraluminous IR galaxies'' by designing a family of evolutionary scenarios which are consistent with the current status of the ``cosmic constraints'', as well as with the IRAS luminosity function and faint counts, but with different high-z IR luminosity densities. However, these scenarios generate a Cosmic Infrared Background whose spectrum falls within the range of the isotropic IR component detected by Puget et al. (1996) and revisited by Guiderdoni et al. (1997). We give predictions for the faint galaxy counts and redshift distributions at IR and submm wavelengths. The submm range is very sensitive to the details of the evolutionary scenarios. As a result, the on-going and forthcoming observations with ISO and SCUBA (and later with SIRTF, SOFIA, FIRST and PLANCK) will put strong constraints on the evolution of galaxies at z=1 and beyond.Comment: 21 pages, Latex, 20 postscript figures, accepted for publication in Month. Not. Roy. Astron. So

An authoritative global database for active submarine hydrothermal vent fields

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2013. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 14 (2013): 4892–4905, doi:10.1002/2013GC004998.The InterRidge Vents Database is available online as the authoritative reference for locations of active submarine hydrothermal vent fields. Here we describe the revision of the database to an open source content management system and conduct a meta-analysis of the global distribution of known active vent fields. The number of known active vent fields has almost doubled in the past decade (521 as of year 2009), with about half visually confirmed and others inferred active from physical and chemical clues. Although previously known mainly from mid-ocean ridges (MORs), active vent fields at MORs now comprise only half of the total known, with about a quarter each now known at volcanic arcs and back-arc spreading centers. Discoveries in arc and back-arc settings resulted in an increase in known vent fields within exclusive economic zones, consequently reducing the proportion known in high seas to one third. The increase in known vent fields reflects a number of factors, including increased national and commercial interests in seafloor hydrothermal deposits as mineral resources. The purpose of the database now extends beyond academic research and education and into marine policy and management, with at least 18% of known vent fields in areas granted or pending applications for mineral prospecting and 8% in marine protected areas.For support to prepare this manuscript, we thank the National Science Foundation (OCE08-38923, GeoEd12-02977), the NOAA Vents (now Earth-Ocean Interactions) Program and the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean (JISAO) under NOAA Cooperative Agreement NA10OAR4320148, and WHOI.2014-05-1