Effects on Spacecraft Radiometric Data at Superior Solar Conjunction

During 2006, three ESA interplanetary spacecraft, Rosetta, Mars Express (MEX) and Venus Express (VEX), passed through superior solar conjunction. For all three spacecraft, the noise in the post-fit range-rate residuals from the orbit determination was analysed. At small Sun-Earth-Probe (SEP) angles the level was almost two orders of magnitude higher than normal. The main objective was to characterize the Doppler (rangerate) noise as a function of SEP angle. At least then the range-rate data can be appropriately weighted within the orbit determination so that the solution uncertainties are realistic. For VEX, some intervals of particularly noisy Doppler data could be correlated with unusual solar activity. For Rosetta, the biases in the range data residuals were analysed with the aim of improving the model used for calibrating the signal delay due to the solar plasma. The model, which originally had fixed coefficients, was adjusted to achieve better fits to the data. Even the relatively small Doppler biases were well represented. Using the improved model, the electron density at 20 solar radii was compared with earlier results obtained by radio science studies using Voyager 2 and Ulysses radiometric data. There is some evidence for a dependency of the density on the phase within the 11 years solar cycle

Rosetta Navigation at its Mars Swing-By

This paper reports on the navigation activities during Rosetta s Mars swing-by. It covers the Mars approach phase starting after a deterministic deep-space maneuver in September 2006, the swing-by proper on 25 February 2007, and ends with another deterministic deep-space maneuver in April 2007 which was also foreseen to compensate any navigation error. Emphasis is put on the orbit determination and prediction set-up and the evolution of the targeting estimates in the B-plane and their adjustments by trajectory correction maneuvers

HDAC3-Dependent Epigenetic Pathway Controls Lung Alveolar Epithelial Cell Remodeling and Spreading via miR-17-92 and TGF-β Signaling Regulation

SummaryThe terminal stages of pulmonary development, called sacculation and alveologenesis, involve both differentiation of distal lung endoderm progenitors and extensive cellular remodeling of the resultant epithelial lineages. These processes are coupled with dramatic expansion of distal airspace and surface area. Despite the importance of these late developmental processes and their relation to neonatal respiratory diseases, little is understood about the molecular and cellular pathways critical for their successful completion. We show that a histone deacetylase 3 (Hdac3)-mediated epigenetic pathway is critical for the proper remodeling and expansion of the distal lung saccules into primitive alveoli. Loss of Hdac3 in the developing lung epithelium leads to a reduction of alveolar type 1 cell spreading and a disruption of lung sacculation. Hdac3 represses miR-17-92 expression, a microRNA cluster that regulates transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) signaling. De-repression of miR-17-92 in Hdac3-deficient lung epithelium results in decreased TGF-β signaling activity. Importantly, inhibition of TGF-β signaling and overexpression of miR-17-92 can phenocopy the defects observed in Hdac3 null lungs. Conversely, loss of miR-17-92 expression rescues many of the defects caused by loss of Hdac3 in the lung. These studies reveal an intricate epigenetic pathway where Hdac3 is required to repress miR-17-92 expression to allow for proper TGF-β signaling during lung sacculation

Measurements of accretion disc corona size in LMXB: consequences for Comptonization and LMXB models

We present results of measurements of the radial extent of the accretion disc corona in low mass X-ray binaries. These results prove conclusively the extended nature of the ADC, with radial extent varying from 20,000 km in the faintest sources to 700,000 km in the brightest, a substantial fraction of the accretion disc radius, typically 15%. This result rules out the Eastern model for LMXB which is extensively used, in which the Comptonizing region is a small central region. The ADC size depends strongly on the 1 - 30 keV source luminosity via a simple relationship r_ADC = L^{0.88 +/- 0.16} (99% confidence) close to a simple proportionality. We also present limited evidence that the ADC size agrees with the Compton radius r_C, or maximum radius for hydrostatic equilibrium. The results are consistent with models in which an extended ADC is formed by illumination of the disc by the central source. The dependence on luminosity may reflect the known decrease of coronal temperature as the source luminosity increases leading to an increase of r_C. The extended nature of the ADC means that the seed photons for Comptonization must consist of emission from the disc to the same radial extent as the corona, providing copious supplies of soft seed photons. We demonstrate the importance of the size of the ADC to the correct description of Comptonization, and derive the Comptonized spectrum of a LMXB based on thermal Comptonization of these seed photons and show that this differs fundamentally from that of the Eastern model which assumes a cut-off below 1 keV. Finally, we argue that our results are inconsistent with the assumption often made that the X-ray emission of accreting Black Holes and Neutron Stars has a common mechanism depending on the properties of the accretion flow only.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, MNRAS in press - final versio

Exploring assessment of medical students\u27 competencies in pain medicine - A review

Introduction: Considering the continuing high prevalence and public health burden of pain, it is critical that medical students are equipped with competencies in the field of pain medicine. Robust assessment of student expertise is integral for effective implementation of competency-based medical education. Objective: The aim of this review was to describe the literature regarding methods for assessing pain medicine competencies in medical students. Method: PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, ERIC, and Google Scholar, and BEME data bases were searched for empirical studies primarily focusing on assessment of any domain of pain medicine competencies in medical students published between January 1997 and December 2016. Results: A total of 41 studies met the inclusion criteria. Most assessments were performed for low-stakes summative purposes and did not reflect contemporary theories of assessment. Assessments were predominantly undertaken using written tests or clinical simulation methods. The most common pain medicine education topics assessed were pain pharmacology and the management of cancer and low-back pain. Most studies focussed on assessment of cognitive levels of learning as opposed to more challenging domains of demonstrating skills and attitudes or developing and implementing pain management plans. Conclusion: This review highlights the need for more robust assessment tools that effectively measure the abilities of medical students to integrate pain-related competencies into clinical practice. A Pain Medicine Assessment Framework has been developed to encourage systematic planning of pain medicine assessment at medical schools internationally and to promote continuous multidimensional assessments in a variety of clinical contexts based on well-defined pain medicine competencies

Re-theorising the core: a ‘globalized’ business elite in Santiago, Chile

World systems theory continues to be a widely adopted approach in theorisations of the contemporary world economy. An important epistemological component to world systems theory is the metaphor of core-periphery. Recent work within the approach has sought to transcend earlier criticisms of regional conceptions of cores, peripheries and semi-peripheries by an increasing sensitivity to local differences and an increasing emphasis on Wallerstein's original idea of core-periphery as process, operating at all scales in the contemporary world system. However, this paper argues that the core-periphery metaphor currently used by world systems theorists is founded around a restrictively narrow spatial epistemology. Such a narrow epistemology implements the core-periphery metaphor only as something which produces territorial outcomes in the physical world. This paper contends that recent work within the social services, concerned with the globalization debate and issues of spatial epistemology, should inform world systems theory in producing a reformulated spatial understanding of the core-periphery metaphor, embodying a wider conception of space to include abstract social spaces. This argument is developed in the notion that the world economy must also be understood as having a ‘social core’: a transnational diasporic business elite exercising decision-making power over the capitalist world system. The contention is grounded in the presentation of research into a case study of such a ‘globalized’ business elite in the capital city of Chile, Santiago

Deep space orbit determination via Delta-DOR using VLBI antennas

The growing number of deep space exploration missions operating simultaneously in the solar system triggers an increasing demand for large ground antennas capable of tracking distant spacecraft. Several space agencies have their own deep space tracking networks, where each antenna belonging to a ground station complex is meant to be shared among different deep space missions in flight, significantly constraining the tracking schedule. A typical ranging and Doppler radio tracking session requires long tracking passes and a single ground antenna, while angular (Delta-DOR) observations require at least two antennas but usually for much shorter tracking sessions. However, during Delta-DOR observations, the baseline between the two receiving antennas should be kept as large as possible, thus reducing the time windows in which Delta-DOR observations are actually feasible. This leaves little room for adaptation of the tracking schedules of these antennas and calls for the need for possible alternatives for the receiving stations. The antennas belonging to the very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) network worldwide meet the requirements to carry out Delta-DOR tracking sessions. Here, we present an experimental activity carried out tracking ESA’s GAIA spacecraft using a mixed deep space antenna configuration involving an ESA ESTRACK antenna at New Norcia (Australia) and a VLBI antenna at Medicina (Italy). This baseline was used to form Delta-DOR observables with the aim of demonstrating that VLBI antennas offer the capability to track deep space missions, thus increasing the number of possible baselines and observation time windows

"Preferred reading" of Legal Texts

In the 1970s, British cultural theorist Stuart Hall introduced a concept known as preferred reading. It combines the ideological influence of mass media and dominant ways of understanding any text. This article focuses on mass media as a source of ideological background or context of legal interpretation and of any reading of legal texts. Law operates in culture and culture represents limitations in the law, according to the needs of dominant ideology. Culture introduces structures of domination which manipulate law. An important role is also given to popular culture and mass culture. These parts of the culture industry create borders in which the recipients (audience) think of law. Through mass media – rather than through other channels – dominant ideology infiltrates law. Legal consciousness is formed by dominant cultural frames formed by dominant ideology. Through this formation of mass media, law becomes a commodity. It shares the same values or contents as that of cultural industry and is the place where the theory of preferred reading can be introduced. According to the aforementioned theory, there are methods of interpretation that are more accurate than others are. This is simply because they lead to a result that is more preferred by ‘common opinion’ disseminated by mass culture.V roce 1970, britský kulturní teoretik Stuart Hall představil koncept známý jako preferovaného čtení. Ten v sobě spojuje ideologický vliv masových médií a dominantní způsoby chápání jakéhokoli textu. Tento článek se zaměřuje masová média jako zdroj ideologického pozadí nebo kontextu právního výkladu. Právo působí v kultuře a kultura představuje omezení právo dle potřeb dominantní ideologie. Kultura vytváří struktury dominace, které manipulují právem. Důležitou roli také sehrává populární a masová kultura. Tyto části kulturního průmyslu vytváří hranice, ve kterých příjemci (publikum) uvažují o právu. Prostřednictvím masových médií - spíše než prostřednictvím jiných kanálů - dominantní ideologie infiltruje právo. Právní vědomí je tvořeno dominantními kulturními rámci vytvořenými dominantní ideologií. Prostřednictvím této formace vytvářené masovými médii se právo stává komoditou. Sdílí proto stejné hodnoty, nebo obsah jaké definuje kulturní průmysl. Proto lze i v právním kontextu uvažovat o tzv. preferovaném čtení. Proto lze identifikovat paradigmata výkladu, které jsou mnohem "použeitelnější" než jiné, protože vedou k očekávaným výsledkům. K výsledkům, které odpovídají očekávání masového publika.In the 1970s, British cultural theorist Stuart Hall introduced a concept known as preferred reading. It combines the ideological influence of mass media and dominant ways of understanding any text. This article focuses on mass media as a source of ideological background or context of legal interpretation and of any reading of legal texts. Law operates in culture and culture represents limitations in the law, according to the needs of dominant ideology. Culture introduces structures of domination which manipulate law. An important role is also given to popular culture and mass culture. These parts of the culture industry create borders in which the recipients (audience) think of law. Through mass media – rather than through other channels – dominant ideology infiltrates law. Legal consciousness is formed by dominant cultural frames formed by dominant ideology. Through this formation of mass media, law becomes a commodity. It shares the same values or contents as that of cultural industry and is the place where the theory of preferred reading can be introduced. According to the aforementioned theory, there are methods of interpretation that are more accurate than others are. This is simply because they lead to a result that is more preferred by ‘common opinion’ disseminated by mass culture