400 research outputs found
A Low Noise Thermometer Readout for Ruthenium Oxide Resistors
The thermometer and thermal control system, for the Absolute Radiometer for
Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Diffuse Emission (ARCADE) experiment, is
described, including the design, testing, and results from the first flight of
ARCADE. The noise is equivalent to about 1 Omega or 0.15 mK in a second for the
RuO_2 resistive thermometers at 2.7 K. The average power dissipation in each
thermometer is 1 nW. The control system can take full advantage of the
thermometers to maintain stable temperatures. Systematic effects are still
under investigation, but the measured precision and accuracy are sufficient to
allow measurement of the cosmic background spectrum.
Journal-ref: Review of Scientific Instruments Vol 73 #10 (Oct 2002)Comment: 5 pages text 7 figure
Variable-delay Polarization Modulators for Cryogenic Millimeter-wave Applications
We describe the design, construction, and initial validation of the
variable-delay polarization modulator (VPM) designed for the PIPER cosmic
microwave background polarimeter. The VPM modulates between linear and circular
polarization by introducing a variable phase delay between orthogonal linear
polarizations. Each VPM has a diameter of 39 cm and is engineered to operate in
a cryogenic environment (1.5 K). We describe the mechanical design and
performance of the kinematic double-blade flexure and drive mechanism along
with the construction of the high precision wire grid polarizers.Comment: 8 pages, 10 Figures, Submitted to Review of Scientific Instrument
A cognitive task analysis of a visual analytic workflow: Exploring molecular interaction networks in systems biology
Background: Bioinformatics visualization tools are often not robust enough to support biomedical specialistsâ complex exploratory analyses. Tools need to accommodate the workflows that scientists actually perform for specific translational research questions. To understand and model one of these workflows, we conducted a case-based, cognitive task analysis of a biomedical specialistâs exploratory workflow for the question: What functional interactions among gene products of high throughput expression data suggest previously unknown mechanisms of a disease?
Results: From our cognitive task analysis four complementary representations of the targeted workflow were developed. They include: usage scenarios, flow diagrams, a cognitive task taxonomy, and a mapping between cognitive tasks and user-centered visualization requirements. The representations capture the flows of cognitive tasks that led a biomedical specialist to inferences critical to hypothesizing. We created representations at levels of detail that could strategically guide visualization development, and we confirmed this by making a trial prototype based on user requirements for a small portion of the workflow.
Conclusions: Our results imply that visualizations should make available to scientific users âbundles of featuresâ consonant with the compositional cognitive tasks purposefully enacted at specific points in the workflow. We also highlight certain aspects of visualizations that: (a) need more built-in flexibility; (b) are critical for negotiating meaning; and (c) are necessary for essential metacognitive support
Microwave Frequency Polarizers
This article describes the fabrication and analysis of microwave frequency polarizing grids. The grids are designed to measure polarization from the cosmic microwave background. It is effective in the range of 500 to 1500 micron wavelength. It is cryogenic compatible and highly robust to high load impacts. Each grid is fabricated using an array of different assembly processes which vary in the types of tension mechanisms to the shape and size of the grids. We provide a comprehensive study on the analysis of the grids' wire heights, diameters, and spacing
ARCADE 2 Measurement of the Extra-Galactic Sky Temperature at 3-90 GHz
The ARCADE 2 instrument has measured the absolute temperature of the sky at
frequencies 3, 8, 10, 30, and 90 GHz, using an open-aperture cryogenic
instrument observing at balloon altitudes with no emissive windows between the
beam-forming optics and the sky. An external blackbody calibrator provides an
{\it in situ} reference. Systematic errors were greatly reduced by using
differential radiometers and cooling all critical components to physical
temperatures approximating the CMB temperature. A linear model is used to
compare the output of each radiometer to a set of thermometers on the
instrument. Small corrections are made for the residual emission from the
flight train, balloon, atmosphere, and foreground Galactic emission. The ARCADE
2 data alone show an extragalactic rise of mK at 3.3 GHz in addition
to a CMB temperature of K. Combining the ARCADE 2 data with
data from the literature shows a background power law spectrum of [K] from 22 MHz to 10 GHz ( GHz)
in addition to a CMB temperature of K.Comment: 11 pages 5 figures Submitted to Ap
Open Biomedical Ontology-based Medline exploration
Abstract
Background
Effective Medline database exploration is critical for the understanding of high throughput experimental results and the development of novel hypotheses about the mechanisms underlying the targeted biological processes. While existing solutions enhance Medline exploration through different approaches such as document clustering, network presentations of underlying conceptual relationships and the mapping of search results to MeSH and Gene Ontology trees, we believe the use of multiple ontologies from the Open Biomedical Ontology can greatly help researchers to explore literature from different perspectives as well as to quickly locate the most relevant Medline records for further investigation.
Results
We developed an ontology-based interactive Medline exploration solution called PubOnto to enable the interactive exploration and filtering of search results through the use of multiple ontologies from the OBO foundry. The PubOnto program is a rich internet application based on the FLEX platform. It contains a number of interactive tools, visualization capabilities, an open service architecture, and a customizable user interface. It is freely accessible at:
http://brainarray.mbni.med.umich.edu/brainarray/prototype/pubonto
.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112693/1/12859_2009_Article_3295.pd
The Temperature of the CMB at 10 GHz
We report the results of an effort to measure the low frequency portion of
the spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB), using a
balloon-borne instrument called ARCADE (Absolute Radiometer for Cosmology,
Astrophysics, and Diffuse Emission). These measurements are to search for
deviations from a thermal spectrum that are expected to exist in the CMB due to
various processes in the early universe. The radiometric temperature was
measured at 10 and 30 GHz using a cryogenic open-aperture instrument with no
emissive windows. An external blackbody calibrator provides an in situ
reference. A linear model is used to compare the radiometer output to a set of
thermometers on the instrument. The unmodeled residuals are less than 50 mK
peak-to-peak with a weighted RMS of 6 mK. Small corrections are made for the
residual emission from the flight train, atmosphere, and foreground Galactic
emission. The measured radiometric temperature of the CMB is 2.721 +/- 0.010 K
at 10 GHz and 2.694 +/- 0.032 K at 30 GHz.Comment: 8 pages including 5 figures. Submitted to The Astrophysical Journa
Near infra-red spectroscopy of the asteroid 21 Lutetia. II. Rotationally resolved spectroscopy of the surface
Reproduced with permission. Copyright ESO. Article published by EDP Sciences and available at http://www.aanda.orgInternational audienceAims. In the framework of the ground-based science campaign dedicated to the encounter with the Rosetta spacecraft, the mineralogy of the asteroid (21) Lutetia was investigated. Methods. Near-infrared (NIR) spectra of the asteroid in the 0.8â2.5 ÎŒm spectral range were obtained with SpeX/IRTF in remote observing mode from Meudon, France in March and April 2006. We analysed these data together with previously acquired spectra - March 2003, August 2004. I-band relative photometric data obtained on 20 January 2006 using the 105 cm telescope from Pic du Midi, France has been used to build the ephemeris for physical observations. A Ï2 test using meteorite spectra from the RELAB database was performed in order to find the best fit of complete visible + infrared (VNIR) spectra of Lutetia. Results. The new spectra reveal no absorption features. We find a clear spectral variation (slope), and a good correspondence between spectral variations and rotational phase. Two of the most different spectra correspond to two opposite sides of the asteroid (sub-Earth longitude difference around 180âŠ). For the neutral spectra a carbonaceous chondrite spectrum yields the best fit, while for those with a slightly positive slope the enstatitic chondrite spectra are the best analog. Based on the chosen subset of the meteorite samples, our analysis suggests a primitive, chondritic nature for (21) Lutetia. Differences in spectra are interpreted in terms of the coexistence of several lithologies on the surface where the aqueous alteration played an important role
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