1,354 research outputs found
Brewster-angle measurements of sea-surface reflectance using a high resolution spectroradiometer
This paper describes the design, construction and testing of a ship-borne spectroradiometer based on an imaging spectrograph and cooled CCD array with a wavelength range of 350-800 nm and 4 nm spectral sampling. The instrument had a minimum spectral acquisition time of 0.1 s, but in practice data were collected over periods of 10 s to allow averaging of wave effects. It was mounted on a ship's superstructure so that it viewed the sea surface from a height of several metres at the Brewster angle (53 degrees) through a linear polarizing filter. Comparison of sea-leaving spectra acquired with the polarizer oriented horizontally and vertically enabled estimation of the spectral composition of sky light reflected directly from the sea surface. A semi-empirical correction procedure was devised for retrieving water-leaving radiance spectra from these measurements while minimizing the influence of reflected sky light. Sea trials indicated that reflectance spectra obtained by this method were consistent with the results of radiance transfer modelling of case 2 waters with similar concentrations of chlorophyll and coloured dissolved organic matter. Surface reflectance signatures measured at three locations containing blooms of different phytoplankton species were easily discriminated and the instrument was sufficiently sensitive to detect solar-stimulated fluorescence from surface chlorophyll concentrations down to 1 mg m−3
Performance and Radiation Testing of a Low-Noise Switched Capacitor Array for the CMS Endcap Muon System.
The 16-channel, 96-cell per channel switched capacitor array ( SCA) ASIC developed at UC Davis for the cathode readout of the cathode strip chambers ( CSC) in the CMS endcap muon system is ready for production. For the final full-sized prototype, the Address Decoder was re-designed and LVDS receivers were incorporated into the chip package. Under precision testing, the chip exhibits excellent linearity within the 1V design range and very low cell-to-cell pedestal variation. Monitored samples of the production design were subjected to exposure to a 63.3 MeV proton beam. The performance of chips after exposures up to 100 krad was within tolerances of an unexposed part
Hysteresis loops of Co-Pt perpendicular magnetic multilayers
We develop a phenomenological model to study magnetic hysteresis in two
samples designed as possible perpendicular recording media. A stochastic
cellular automata model captures cooperative behavior in the nucleation of
magnetic domains. We show how this simple model turns broad hysteresis loops
into loops with sharp drops like those observed in these samples, and explains
their unusual features. We also present, and experimentally verify, predictions
of this model, and suggest how insights from this model may apply more
generally.Comment: 4.5 pages, 5 figure
FU Orionis resolved by infrared long baseline interferometry at a 2-AU scale
We present the first infrared interferometric observations of a young stellar
object with a spatial projected resolution better than 2 AU. The observations
were obtained with the Palomar Testbed Interferometer. FU Ori exhibits a
visibility of V^2 =0.72 +/- 0.07 for a 103 +/- 5 m projected baseline at lambda
= 2.2 microns. The data are consistent on the spatial scale probed by PTI both
with a binary system scenario (maximum magnitude difference of 2.7 +/- 0.5 mag
and smallest separation of 0.35 +/- 0.05 AU) and a standard luminous accretion
disk model (approx. accretion rate of 6e-5 Mo/yr) where the thermal emission
dominates the stellar scattering, and inconsistent with a single stellar
photosphere.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
Estimating oceanic primary production using vertical irradiance and chlorophyll profiles from ocean gliders in the North Atlantic
An autonomous underwater vehicle (Seaglider) has been used to estimate marine primary production (PP) using a combination of irradiance and fluorescence vertical profiles. This method provides estimates for depth-resolved and temporally evolving PP on fine spatial scales in the absence of ship-based calibrations. We describe techniques to correct for known issues associated with long autonomous deployments such as sensor calibration drift and fluorescence quenching. Comparisons were made between the Seaglider, stable isotope (13C), and satellite estimates of PP. The Seaglider-based PP estimates were comparable to both satellite estimates and stable isotope measurements
The Palomar Testbed Interferometer
The Palomar Testbed Interferometer (PTI) is a long-baseline infrared
interferometer located at Palomar Observatory, California. It was built as a
testbed for interferometric techniques applicable to the Keck Interferometer.
First fringes were obtained in July 1995. PTI implements a dual-star
architecture, tracking two stars simultaneously for phase referencing and
narrow-angle astrometry. The three fixed 40-cm apertures can be combined
pair-wise to provide baselines to 110 m. The interferometer actively tracks the
white-light fringe using an array detector at 2.2 um and active delay lines
with a range of +/- 38 m. Laser metrology of the delay lines allows for servo
control, and laser metrology of the complete optical path enables narrow-angle
astrometric measurements. The instrument is highly automated, using a
multiprocessing computer system for instrument control and sequencing.Comment: ApJ in Press (Jan 99) Fig 1 available from
http://huey.jpl.nasa.gov/~bode/ptiPicture.html, revised duging copy edi
Presence of Putative Repeat-in-Toxin Gene tosA in Escherichia coli Predicts Successful Colonization of the Urinary Tract
Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) strains, which cause the majority of uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs), carry a unique assortment of virulence or fitness genes. However, no single defining set of virulence or fitness genes has been found in all strains of UPEC, making the differentiation between UPEC and fecal commensal strains of E. coli difficult without the use of animal models of infection or phylogenetic grouping. In the present study, we consider three broad categories of virulence factors simultaneously to better define a combination of virulence factors that predicts success in the urinary tract. A total of 314 strains of E. coli, representing isolates from fecal samples, asymptomatic bacteriuria, complicated UTIs, and uncomplicated bladder and kidney infections, were assessed by multiplex PCR for the presence of 15 virulence or fitness genes encoding adhesins, toxins, and iron acquisition systems. The results confirm previous reports of gene prevalence among isolates from different clinical settings and identify several new patterns of gene associations. One gene, tosA, a putative repeat-in-toxin (RTX) homolog, is present in 11% of fecal strains but 25% of urinary isolates. Whereas tosA-positive strains carry an unusually high number (11.2) of the 15 virulence or fitness genes, tosA-negative strains have an average of only 5.4 virulence or fitness genes. The presence of tosA was predictive of successful colonization of a murine model of infection, even among fecal isolates, and can be used as a marker of pathogenic strains of UPEC within a distinct subset of the B2 lineage
Актуальність впровадження систем газового обліку в сучасних умовах
Free energy calculation has long been an important goal for molecular dynamics simulation and force field development, but historically it has been challenged by limited performance, accuracy, and creation of topologies for arbitrary small molecules. This has made it difficult to systematically compare different sets of parameters to improve existing force fields, but in the past few years several authors have developed increasingly automated procedures to generate parameters for force fields such as Amber, CHARMM, and OPLS. Here, we present a new framework that enables fully automated generation of GROMACS topologies for any of these force fields and an automated setup for parallel adaptive optimization of high-throughput free energy calculation by adjusting lambda point placement on the fly. As a small example of this automated pipeline, we have calculated solvation free energies of 50 different small molecules using the GAFF, OPLS-AA, and CGenFF force fields and four different water models, and by including the often neglected polarization costs, we show that the common charge models are somewhat underpolarized.QC 20150505</p
Simulation of propagating EAS Cherenkov radiation over the ocean surface
We present computing results of the Cherenkov light propagation in air and
water from extensive air showers developing over the ocean. Limits on zenith
angles of the showers, at which the registration of flashes of reflected
Cherenkov photons by the satellite-based detector TUS is possible, are analyzed
with consideration for waves on the ocean surface.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. This preprint corrects errors which
appeared in the English version of the article published in Mosc. Univ. Phys.
Bull., 2011, Vol. 66, No. 5, p. 478. The original russian text was published
in Vest. Mosk. Univ. Fiz., 2011, No. 5, p. 6
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