Future management needs of a "software-driven" science community

The work of astronomers is getting more complex and advanced as the progress of computer development occurs. With improved computing capabilities and increased data flow, more sophisticated software is required in order to interpret, and fully exploit, astronomic data. However, it is not possible for every astronomer to also be a software specialist. As history has shown, the work of scientists always becomes increasingly specialised, and we here argue in favour of another, at least partial, split between "programmers" and "interpreters". In this presentation we outline our vision for a new approach and symbiosis between software specialists and scientists, and present its advantages along with a simple test case.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, as presented at SPIE Astronomical instrumentation 201

The nonperturbative closed string tachyon vacuum to high level

We compute the action of closed bosonic string field theory at quartic order with fields up to level ten. After level four, the value of the potential at the minimum starts oscillating around a nonzero negative value, in contrast with the proposition made in [5]. We try a different truncation scheme in which the value of the potential converges faster with the level. By extrapolating these values, we are able to give a rather precise value for the depth of the potential.Comment: 24 pages. v2: typos corrected, clarified extrapolation in scheme B, and added extrapolated tachyon and dilaton vev's at the end of Section

Innovation Process in the Energy Transformation Sector: A Case Study for Diesel Driven Heat Pump Development

Peter Moeller's case study is the result of cooperation between the Innovation Task Group at IIASA and the Institute of Prognosis and Applied Research in Hannover, Federal Republic of Germany. Dr. Moeller worked at IIASA for one month and during this time the conceptual framework and the first draft of his study were completed. In developing the relative efficiency approach he comes to an interesting formula for market price calculation, which can also be useful in other technologies

Investigating the effectiveness of professional development on high school physics teachers\u27 conceptual understanding of Newtonian mechanics, instructional practices, and the conceptual growth of their students

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a physics professional development program on secondary science teachers\u27 conceptual knowledge of Newtonian mechanics, instructional practices and the conceptual growth of their students. The University of Northern Iowa Physics Institute enabled a group of twenty-one Iowa high school and middle school science teachers to complete the physics coursework required to obtain the State of lowa 7-12 Grade Physics Teaching endorsement. The Institute provided experiences to improve physics content knowledge and proficiency of constructivist methodologies for teaching high school physics. Twelve Institute participants completed a two-year program during the 2002 and 2003 summers, and nine completed one of the two years. Background information, pre-test and post-test physics conceptual assessments and other data were collected from participants throughout the Institute. Participants collected pre and post-test conceptual assessment data from their students during the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 academic years. Initial and final conceptual assessments and two years of student assessment data revealed the Institute\u27s influence on participants\u27 and students\u27 conceptual understanding of Newtonian Mechanics. Participants\u27 previous physics and mathematics education correlated with learning and their continued conceptual understanding. The results show that participants who had completed at least six physics semester hours prior to the UNI-PI were most successful, therefore indicating physics background is necessary for participants involved in a future PI structured similar in content and focus as the UNI-PI. Participants\u27 journal reflection notes and instructional surveys revealed instructional practice improvements due to the Institute. Results indicated the Institute positively affected the majority of participants\u27 physics conceptual understanding of Newtonian mechanics and instructional practices. Although limitations and confounding factors prevented a thorough evaluation of the UNI Physics Institute\u27s affect upon participants\u27 students\u27 conceptual knowledge, participants\u27 students performed at levels suggesting greater knowledge gain compared to test results published in the literature. Overall, the UNI-Pi indicated a positive benefit and this investigation provided suggestions for future improvements to the program

New Methods to Estimate Abundance from Unmarked Populations Using Remote Camera Trap Data

Abundance estimates are central to the field of ecology and are an important tool for wildlife managers. While many tools are available for estimating abundance from individually identifiable animals, it is much more difficult to estimate abundance of unmarked animals. Most species have no natural markings and capturing them to apply artificial marks is invasive. One step toward noninvasive abundance estimation is the use of passive “traps” such as remote cameras or acoustic recording devices. The continuous-time data from these traps can be used to estimate abundance, although most available methods still require individually identifiable animals. There is a great need for methods to estimate abundance from unmarked populations using these trap data. We developed three methods for estimating abundance of unmarked animals from remote camera trap data. We worked outside the conventional capture-recapture framework to rethink how continuous remote data are handled. In Chapter 1, we developed an Instantaneous Sampling (IS) estimator based in sampling theory that treats remote camera data like point counts. In Chapter 2, we applied a time-to-event framework to develop a Space-to-Event (STE) and Time-to-Event (TTE) model to estimate abundance from trapping rate. We validated these methods on simulated populations with known abundance. All three methods produced unbiased estimates of abundance, regardless of animal movement rate. We performed a case study in which we estimated elk abundance from remote camera trap data in two study areas in Idaho. Estimates in one study area were comparable to an independent estimate of abundance from aerial surveys. In the other study area, other abundance methods are hard to implement, so our three models produced the first elk abundance estimates. The three methods developed here represent new ways of thinking about continuous-time remote camera data. These new methods allow biologists to estimate abundance from unmarked populations without tracking individuals over time. They have wide applications across species; biologists can select the method that best meets their specific circumstances. All three methods greatly reduce the amount of data required for analysis, which makes them practical management tools

Effects of spaceflight on the proliferation of jejunal mucosal cells

The purpose of this project was to test the hypothesis that the generalized, whole body decrease in synthetic activity due to microgravity conditions encountered during spaceflight would be demonstrable in cells and tissues characterized by a rapid rate of turnover. Jejunal mucosal cells were chosen as a model since these cells are among the most rapidly proliferating in the body. Accordingly, the percentage of mitotic cells present in the crypts of Lieberkuhn in each of 5 rats flown on the COSMOS 2044 mission were compared to the percentage of mitotic cells present in the crypts in rats included in each of 3 ground control groups (i.e., vivarium, synchronous and caudal-elevated). No significant difference (p greater than .05) was detected in mitotic indices between the flight and vivarium group. Although the ability of jejunal mucosal cells to divide by mitosis was not impaired in flight group, there was, however, a reduction in the length of villi and depth of crypts. The concommitant reduction in villus length and crypth depth in the flight group probably reflects changes in connective tissue components within the core of villi

Genetic Aspects of Female Longevity

Longevity of the breeding female has both economic and animal welfare implications for the swine industry. High culling levels lead to increased replacement rates and reduce lifetime productivity for individual breeding females and the breeding herd. Greater replacement rates increase production costs related to purchase (or development), isolation, and acclimation of replacement females. PigCHAMP [1-5] summaries (Table 1) from 1998 through 2003, report annualized replacement rates of \u3e 50% and average herd parity of only 2.5 litters. Breeding herd productivity and economic sustainability are compromised when females are culled early in life and prior to achieving a positive return on investment. Breeding program design and genetic selection decisions clearly influence sow longevity and establish the base for a profitable, sustainable breeding herd