A scheduling and diagnostic system for scientific satellite GEOTAIL using expert system

The Intelligent Satellite Control Software (ISACS) for the geoMagnetic tail observation satellite named GEOTAIL (launched in July 1992) has been successfully developed. ISACS has made it possible by applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology including an expert system to autonomously generate a tracking schedule, which originally used to be conducted manually. Using ISACS, a satellite operator can generate a maximum four day period of stored command stream autonomously and can easily confirm its safety. The ISACS system has another function -- to diagnose satellite troubles and to suggest necessary remedies. The workload of satellite operators has drastically been reduced since ISACS has been introduced into the operations of GEOTAIL

Preparation and Properties of ε-Fe3N-Based Magnetic Fluid

In this work, ε-Fe3N nanoparticles and ε-Fe3N-based magnetic fluid were synthesized by chemical reaction of iron carbonyl and ammonia gas. The size of ε-Fe3N nanoparticles was tested by TEM and XRD. Stable ε-Fe3N-based magnetic fluid was prepared by controlling the proper ratio of carrier liquid and surfactant. The saturation magnetization of stable ε-Fe3N-based magnetic fluid was calculated according to the volume fraction of the particles in the fluid. The result shows that both the calculated and measured magnetizations increase by increasing the particle concentration. With the increasing concentration of the ε-Fe3N particles, the measured value of the magnetic fluid magnetization gradually departs from the calculated magnetization, which was caused by agglomeration affects due to large volume fraction and large particle size

Empirically Driven Use Case Metamodel Evolution

Metamodel evolution is rarely driven by empirical evidences of metamodel drawbacks. In this paper, the evolution of the use case metamodel used by the publicly available requirements management tool REM is presented. This evolution has been driven by the analysis of empirical data obtained during the assessment of several metrics–based verification heuristics for use cases developed by some of the authors and previously presented in other international fora. The empirical analysis has made evident that some common defects found in use cases developed by software engineering students were caused not only by their lack of experience but also by the expressive limitations imposed by the underlying use case metamodel used in REM. Once these limitations were clearly identified, a number of evolutionary changes were proposed to the REM use case metamodel in order to increase use case quality, i.e. to avoid those situations in which the metamodel were the cause of defects in use case specifications.Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC 2003-02737-C02-0

Avaliação quantitativa da microbiota em solo de cultivo de soja transgênica em seis locais do Brasil.

A biomassa microbiana é responsável por funções chave para a qualidade do solo, e o cultivo de soja transgênica bem como o uso de herbicidas pode causar alterações sobre esse importante componente biológico do solo. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar quantitativamente o carbono (CBM) e o nitrogênio (NBM) da biomassa microbiana de solo cultivado com soja transgênica e aplicação de herbicidas em seis locais do Brasil na safra 2005/2006. O delineamento experimental foi de bloco ao acaso, com seis repetições, em sistema de plantio direto. Os tratamentos foram: T1: soja transgênica + glifosato; T2: soja transgênica + herbicidas convencionais; T3: soja parental convencional + herbicidas convencionais; T4: soja transgênica + capina manual; T5: soja parental convencional + capina manual, combinados com três cultivares em cada local estudado, totalizando 15 tratamentos. Os solos foram coletados no estágio R2 na profundidade 0-10 cm para a avaliação do CBM e do NBM. A análise de contrastes mostrou que o CBM não foi afetado pela transgenia, com exceção de Uberaba (MG). Não houve diferenças entre o manejo convencional da soja (soja e herbicidas convencionais) e o transgênico (soja transgênica com glifosato) em relação ao CBM, também com exceção de Uberaba. O NBM, em geral, não foi afetado pela transgenia. Em dois locais (Ponta Grossa/PR e Passo Fundo/RS), o manejo convencional apresentou maior NBM, enquanto o manejo transgênico com glifosato foi superior em Luiz Eduardo Magalhães (BA). Conclui-se que o cultivo transgênico da soja não afetou a biomassa microbiana do solo.Fertbio

Relações entre atributos microbiológicos e bioquímicos do solo com a produtividade de soja em sistema de plantio direto.

O sistema de plantio direto (SPD) permite maior conservação do solo e da água, melhoria da fertilidade do solo e da atividade biológica, garantindo maior sustentabilidade ao sistema de produção. O objetivo desse trabalho foi identificar atributos microbiológicos e bioquímicos do solo que auxiliem a explicar níveis de produtividade de soja cultivada sob SPD, por meio de métodos multivariados. As amostragens foram realizadas em janeiro e setembro de 2011 em Ponta Grossa, PR, em áreas de cultivo comercial de grãos. Foram coletadas 4 amostras compostas de solo, na profundidade 0-10 cm, em 6 áreas agrícolas com histórico de diferentes níveis de produtividades de grãos. Foram avaliadas a respiração basal (RB), biomassa microbiana de carbono (BMC) e nitrogênio (BMN), atividade das enzimas desidrogenase, celulase, glutaminase e fosfatase ácida. Calculou-se o quociente metabólico (qCO2) pela razão entre RB e BMC. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de componentes principais (ACP) e análise canônica discriminante (ACD). Na ACP, os bioindicadores avaliados foram relacionados principalmente às áreas de alta produtividade de grãos. A ACD evidenciou a capacidade da BMC e da atividade enzimática em discriminar as áreas de acordo com os níveis de produtividade. Conclui-se que os bioindicadores BMC e atividade das enzimas celulase, glutaminase e fosfatase ácida, podem ser usados para auxiliar a explicar níveis de produtividade de soja em áreas de produção agrícola comercial.Fertbio

Solution Structure of a TBP–TAFII230 Complex Protein Mimicry of the Minor Groove Surface of the TATA Box Unwound by TBP

AbstractGeneral transcription factor TFIID consists of TATA box–binding protein (TBP) and TBP-associated factors (TAFIIs), which together play a central role in both positive and negative regulation of transcription. The N-terminal region of the 230 kDa Drosophila TAFII (dTAFII230) binds directly to TBP and inhibits TBP binding to the TATA box. We report here the solution structure of the complex formed by dTAFII230 N-terminal region (residues 11–77) and TBP. dTAFII23011–77 comprises three α helices and a β hairpin, forming a core that occupies the concave DNA-binding surface of TBP. The TBP-binding surface of dTAFII230 markedly resembles the minor groove surface of the partially unwound TATA box in the TBP–TATA complex. This protein mimicry of the TATA element surface provides the structural basis of the mechanism by which dTAFII230 negatively controls the TATA box–binding activity within the TFIID complex

INDEX: A Piggy-Back Satellite for Advanced Technology Demonstration

This paper describes outline of the piggy-back satellite INDEX for demonstration of advanced satellite technologies as well as for a small scale science mission. INDEX satellite will be launched in 2002 by Japanese H2-A. The satellite is mainly controlled by the high-speed, fault-tolerant on-board RIes processor (three-voting system of SH-3). The attitude control is a compact system of three-axis stabilization. Although the size of INDEX is small (50Kg class), several newly-developed technologies are applied to the satellite system, including silicon-on-insulator devices, variable emittance radiator, solar-concentrated paddles, lithium-ion battery, and GPS receiver with all-sky antenna-coverage. These technology developments will be applied to Japanese scientific space exploration in future

Steady State of microemulsions in shear flow

Steady-state properties of microemulsions in shear flow are studied in the context of a Ginzburg-Landau free-energy approach. Explicit expressions are given for the structure factor and the time correlation function at the one loop level of approximation. Our results predict a four-peak pattern for the structure factor, implying the simultaneous presence of interfaces aligned with two different orientations. Due to the peculiar interface structure a non-monotonous relaxation of the time correlator is also found.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure