The reduction and analysis of data from the low-frequency radio astronomy experiment aboard the OGO-4 spacecraft Final report

Reduction and analysis of data on low frequency brightness temperature of sky from OGO-4 radio astronomy experimen

Radial honeycomb core

Core alleviates many limitations of conventional nacelle construction methods. Radical core, made of metals or nonmetals, is fabricated either by joining nodes and then expanding, or by performing each layer and then joining nodes. Core may also be produced from ribbons or strips with joined nodes or ribbons oriented in longitudinal planes

Providing Web Surfers With Useful Information About Plants via PlantSage

The World Wide Web has opened substantial avenues for research into accessing and disseminating vast amounts of information to millions of users all over the world. As a result, it is now very common for people at all levels of computer literacy to “surf the net” in search of information. However, finding useful information can be a laborious and tedious task, especially for those unfamiliar with the Web. Our goal is to improve both the usefulness and the ease of web-based information gathering. In particular, we place a special emphasis on horticulture-based information. In the PlantSage project, we provide access to three different sources of information: a local database, a search on selected “partner” sites, and a search on the entire web that not only returns names and URLs of relevant sites but also collates and uniformly formats potentially useful information. This paper will describe each of these processes and our plans for enhancing them

A study of weather-dependent data links for deep space applications

Weather-dependent data links for deep space applications, and five potential system

Communicating the threat of emerging infections to the public.

Communication theory and techniques, aided by the electronic revolution, provide new opportunities and challenges for the effective transfer of laboratory, epidemiologic, surveillance, and other public health data to the public who funds them. We review the applicability of communication theory, particularly the audience-source-message-channel meta-model, to emerging infectious disease issues. Emergence of new infectious organisms, microbial resistance to therapeutic drugs, and increased emphasis on prevention have expanded the role of communication as a vital component of public health practice. In the absence of cure, as in AIDS and many other public health problems, an effectively crafted and disseminated prevention message is the key control measure. Applying communication theory to disease prevention messages can increase the effectiveness of the messages and improve public health

Computational studies of light acceptance and propagation in straight and curved multimodal active fibres

A Monte Carlo simulation has been performed to track light rays in cylindrical multimode fibres by ray optics. The trapping efficiencies for skew and meridional rays in active fibres and distributions of characteristic quantities for all trapped light rays have been calculated. The simulation provides new results for curved fibres, where the analytical expressions are too complex to be solved. The light losses due to sharp bending of fibres are presented as a function of the ratio of curvature to fibre radius and bending angle. It is shown that a radius of curvature to fibre radius ratio of greater than 65 results in a light loss of less than 10% with the loss occurring in a transition region at bending angles of pi/8 rad.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figure

On the spin modulated circular polarization from the intermediate polars NY Lup and IGRJ1509-6649

We report on high time resolution, high signal/noise, photo-polarimetry of the intermediate polars NY Lup and IGRJ1509-6649. Our observations confirm the detection and colour dependence of circular polarization from NY Lup and additionally show a clear white dwarf, spin modulated signal. From our new high signal/noise photometry we have unambiguously detected wavelength dependent spin and beat periods and harmonics thereof. IGRJ1509-6649 is discovered to also have a particularly strong spin modulated circularly polarized signal. It appears double peaked through the I filter and single peaked through the B filter, consistent with cyclotron emission from a white dwarf with a relatively strong magnetic field. We discuss the implied accretion geometries in these two systems and any bearing this may have on the possible relationship with the connection between polars and soft X-ray-emitting IPs. The relatively strong magnetic fields is also suggestive of them being polar progenitors.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures and 1 table. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Inventory of aquatic contaminant flux arising from historical metal mining in England and Wales

The impact of discharges from abandoned metal and ironstone mines has been a much studied form of aquatic pollution in recent decades. Few attempts however, have been made to accurately determine the overall contaminant mass flux arising from abandoned mine sites at scales above catchment level. Such assessments are critical to determine the significance of former mining to national, regional and ultimately global trace metal flux. This paper presents the most comprehensive national survey to date across England and Wales of the total pollution burden discharged at source from abandoned non-coal mine sites. 338 discharges have been identified (from 4923 known abandoned metal mines) and while concurrent flow and contaminant concentration records are only available for around 30% of these, significant quantities of metals (and As) have been quantified to be discharged. A minimum of 193 tonnes of Zn, 18.5 tonnes of Pb, 0.64 tonnes Cd, 19.1 tonnes of Cu, 551 tonnes Fe, 72 tonnes Mn and 5.1 tonnes As are released in water discharges from abandoned non-coal mines to the surface water environment of England and Wales each year. Precautionary extrapolation of mass fluxes based on the frequency distribution of measured concentration and flow data, for discharges with absent data, suggests that the actual total mass flux for these contaminants could be up to 41% higher. The mass flux of Pb released from mines exceeds that of all currently permitted discharges (e.g. active industrial sites and wastewater treatment works) to surface waters across England and Wales, while those of As, Cd and Zn are of a similar magnitude. These data put into context the enduring legacy of historic mining on the water environment, highlighting its significance relative to more highly regulated polluting sites. Comparison of the figures with estimates of global trace metal flux suggests that the national total identified here is significant on a global scale

Polarized QPOs from the INTEGRAL polar IGRJ14536-5522 (=Swift J1453.4-5524)

We report optical spectroscopy and high speed photometry and polarimetry of the INTEGRAL source IGRJ14536-5522 (=Swift J1453.4-5524). The photometry, polarimetry and spectroscopy are modulated on an orbital period of 3.1564(1) hours. Orbital circularly polarized modulations are seen from 0 to -18 per cent, unambiguously identifying IGRJ14536-5522 as a polar. Some of the high speed photometric data show modulations that are consistent with quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) on the order of 5-6 minutes. Furthermore, for the first time, we detect the (5-6) minute QPOs in the circular polarimetry. We discuss the possible origins of these QPOs. We also include details of HIPPO, a new high-speed photo-polarimeter used for some of our observations.Comment: Accepted for publication by MNRAS. The paper contains 7 figures and 1 tabl