875 research outputs found
Estimating Task Duration in PERT using the Weibull Probability Distribution
The Weibull probability distribution can be used as an alternative model for task time estimates in the PERT estimating methodology. It has the same advantages as the traditional beta distribution for this application. It has additional benefits, however, that make it a preferred option
Is the Faroe Bank Channel overflow hydraulically controlled?
Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2006. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 36 (2006): 2340-2349, doi:10.1175/JPO2969.1.The overflow of dense water from the Nordic Seas through the Faroe Bank Channel (FBC) has attributes suggesting hydraulic control—primarily an asymmetry across the sill reminiscent of flow over a dam. However, this aspect has never been confirmed by any quantitative measure, nor is the position of the control section known. This paper presents a comparison of several different techniques for assessing the hydraulic criticality of oceanic overflows applied to data from a set of velocity and hydrographic sections across the FBC. These include 1) the cross-stream variation in the local Froude number, including a modified form that accounts for stratification and vertical shear, 2) rotating hydraulic solutions using a constant potential vorticity layer in a channel of parabolic cross section, and 3) direct computation of shallow water wave speeds from the observed overflow structure. Though differences exist, the three methods give similar answers, suggesting that the FBC is indeed controlled, with a critical section located 20–90 km downstream of the sill crest. Evidence of an upstream control with respect to a potential vorticity wave is also presented. The implications of these results for hydraulic predictions of overflow transport and variability are discussed.The Faroe Bank Channel experiment
was supported by NSF Grant OCE-9906736. JBG
gratefully acknowledges the support of the NOAA/
UCAR Climate and Global Change Postdoctoral Program
and NSF Grant OCE-9985840. Author Price was
supported in part by the U.S. Office of Naval Research
through Grant N00014-04-1-0109
An active mute for the trombone
A mute is a device that is placed in the bell of a brass instrument to alter its sound. However, when a straight mute is used with a brass instrument, the frequencies of its first impedance peaks are slightly modified, and a mistuned, extra impedance peak appears. This peak affects the instrument’s playability, making some lower notes difficult or impossible to produce when playing at low dynamic levels. To understand and suppress this effect, an active mute with embedded microphone and speaker has been developed. A control loop with gain and phase shifting is used to control the damping and frequency of the extra impedance peak. The stability of the controlled system is studied and then the effect of the control on the input impedance and radiated sound of the trombone is investigated. It is shown that the playability problem results from a decrease in the input impedance magnitude at the playing frequency, caused by a trough located on the low frequency side of the extra impedance peak. When the extra impedance peak is suppressed, the playability of the note is restored. Meanwhile, when the extra impedance peak is moved in frequency, the playability problem position is shifted as well
Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of the merging cluster of galaxies PLCK G036.7+14.9
We present Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of PLCK G036.7+14.9 from the
Chandra-Planck Legacy Program. The high resolution X-ray observations reveal
two close subclusters, G036N and G036S, which were not resolved by previous
ROSAT, optical, or recent Planck observations. We perform detailed imaging and
spectral analyses and use a simplified model to study the kinematics of this
system. The basic picture is that PLCK G036.7+14.9 is undergoing a major merger
(mass ratio close to unity) between the two massive subclusters, with the
merger largely along the line-of-sight and probably at an early stage. G036N
hosts a small, moderate cool-core, while G036S has at most a very weak
cool-core in the central 40 kpc region. The difference in core cooling times is
unlikely to be caused by the ongoing merger disrupting a pre-existing cool-core
in G036S. G036N also hosts an unresolved radio source in the center, which may
be heating the gas if the radio source is extended. The Planck derived mass is
higher than the X-ray measured mass of either subcluster, but is lower than the
X-ray measured mass of the whole cluster, due to the fact that Planck does not
resolve PLCK G036.7+14.9 into subclusters and interprets it as a single
cluster. This mass discrepancy could induce significant bias to the mass
function if such previously unresolved systems are common in the Planck cluster
sample. High resolution X-ray observations are necessary to identify the
fraction of such systems and correct such a bias for the purpose of precision
cosmological studies.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures (low resolution) with additional 12 figures in
the Appendix, accepted for publication in Ap
Self-similar scaling and evolution in the galaxy cluster X-ray Luminosity-Temperature relation
We investigate the form and evolution of the X-ray luminosity-temperature
(LT) relation of a sample of 114 galaxy clusters observed with Chandra at
0.1<z<1.3. The clusters were divided into subsamples based on their X-ray
morphology or whether they host strong cool cores. We find that when the core
regions are excluded, the most relaxed clusters (or those with the strongest
cool cores) follow an LT relation with a slope that agrees well with simple
self-similar expectations. This is supported by an analysis of the gas density
profiles of the systems, which shows self-similar behaviour of the gas profiles
of the relaxed clusters outside the core regions. By comparing our data with
clusters in the REXCESS sample, which extends to lower masses, we find evidence
that the self-similar behaviour of even the most relaxed clusters breaks at
around 3.5keV. By contrast, the LT slopes of the subsamples of unrelaxed
systems (or those without strong cool cores) are significantly steeper than the
self-similar model, with lower mass systems appearing less luminous and higher
mass systems appearing more luminous than the self-similar relation. We argue
that these results are consistent with a model of non-gravitational energy
input in clusters that combines central heating with entropy enhancements from
merger shocks. Such enhancements could extend the impact of central energy
input to larger radii in unrelaxed clusters, as suggested by our data. We also
examine the evolution of the LT relation, and find that while the data appear
inconsistent with simple self-similar evolution, the differences can be
plausibly explained by selection bias, and thus we find no reason to rule out
self-similar evolution. We show that the fraction of cool core clusters in our
(non-representative) sample decreases at z>0.5 and discuss the effect of this
on measurements of the evolution in the LT relation.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures. Submitted to MNRAS. Comments welcom
Parameterization Effects in the analysis of AMI Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Observations
Most Sunyaev--Zel'dovich (SZ) and X-ray analyses of galaxy clusters try to
constrain the cluster total mass and/or gas mass using parameterised models and
assumptions of spherical symmetry and hydrostatic equilibrium. By numerically
exploring the probability distributions of the cluster parameters given the
simulated interferometric SZ data in the context of Bayesian methods, and
assuming a beta-model for the electron number density we investigate the
capability of this model and analysis to return the simulated cluster input
quantities via three rameterisations. In parameterisation I we assume that the
T is an input parameter. We find that parameterisation I can hardly constrain
the cluster parameters. We then investigate parameterisations II and III in
which fg(r200) replaces temperature as a main variable. In parameterisation II
we relate M_T(r200) and T assuming hydrostatic equilibrium. We find that
parameterisation II can constrain the cluster physical parameters but the
temperature estimate is biased low. In parameterisation III, the virial theorem
replaces the hydrostatic equilibrium assumption. We find that parameterisation
III results in unbiased estimates of the cluster properties. We generate a
second simulated cluster using a generalised NFW (GNFW) pressure profile and
analyse it with an entropy based model to take into account the temperature
gradient in our analysis and improve the cluster gas density distribution. This
model also constrains the cluster physical parameters and the results show a
radial decline in the gas temperature as expected. The mean cluster total mass
estimates are also within 1 sigma from the simulated cluster true values.
However, we find that for at least interferometric SZ analysis in practice at
the present time, there is no differences in the AMI visibilities between the
two models. This may of course change as the instruments improve.Comment: 19 pages, 13 tables, 24 figure
Controlled overexpression of Pax6 in vivo negatively autoregulates the Pax6 locus, causing cell-autonomous defects of late cortical progenitor proliferation with little effect on cortical arealization
Levels of expression of the transcription factor Pax6 vary throughout corticogenesis in a rostro-lateral(high) to caudo-medial(low) gradient across the cortical proliferative zone. Previous loss-of-function studies have indicated that Pax6 is required for normal cortical progenitor proliferation, neuronal differentiation, cortical lamination and cortical arealization, but whether and how its level of expression affects its function is unclear. We studied the developing cortex of PAX77 YAC transgenic mice carrying several copies of the human PAX6 locus with its full complement of regulatory regions. We found that PAX77 embryos express Pax6 in a normal spatial pattern, with levels up to three times higher than wild type. By crossing PAX77 mice with a new YAC transgenic line that reports Pax6 expression (DTy54), we showed that increased expression is limited by negative autoregulation. Increased expression reduces proliferation of late cortical progenitors specifically, and analysis of PAX77↔wild-type chimeras indicates that the defect is cell autonomous. We analyzed cortical arealization in PAX77 mice and found that, whereas the loss of Pax6 shifts caudal cortical areas rostrally, Pax6 overexpression at levels predicted to shift rostral areas caudally has very little effect. These findings indicate that Pax6 levels are stabilized by autoregulation, that the proliferation of cortical progenitors is sensitive to altered Pax6 levels and that cortical arealization is not
Promoting Physical Activity in Middle School Girls: Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls
Background - Physical activity is important for weight control and good health; however, activity levels decline in the adolescent years, particularly in girls.
Design - Group randomized controlled trial.
Setting/participants - Middle school girls with English-speaking skills and no conditions to prevent participation in physical activity in 36 schools in six geographically diverse areas of the United States. Random, cross-sectional samples were drawn within schools: 6th graders in 2003 (n=1721) and 8th graders in 2005 (n=3504) and 2006 (n=3502).
Intervention - A 2-year study-directed intervention (fall 2003 to spring 2005) targeted schools, community agencies, and girls to increase opportunities, support, and incentives for increased physical activity. Components included programs linking schools and community agencies, physical education, health education, and social marketing. A third-year intervention used school and community personnel to direct intervention activities.
Main outcome measures - The primary outcome, daily MET-weighted minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MET-weighted MVPA), was assessed using accelerometry. Percent body fat was assessed using anthropometry.
Results - After the staff-directed intervention (pre-stated primary outcome), there were no differences (mean=-0.4, 95% CI=-8.2 to 7.4) in adjusted MET-weighted MVPA between 8th-grade girls in schools assigned to intervention or control. Following the Program Champion-directed intervention, girls in intervention schools were more physically active than girls in control schools (mean difference 10.9 MET-weighted minutes of MVPA, 95% CI=0.52-21.2). This difference is about 1.6 minutes of daily MVPA or 80 kcal per week. There were no differences in fitness or percent body fat at either 8th-grade timepoint.
Conclusion - A school-based, community-linked intervention modestly improved physical activity in girls
Bostonia: The Boston University Alumni Magazine. Volume 10
Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs
Two-Proton Correlations from 14.6A GeV/c Si+Pb and 11.5A GeV/c Au+Au Central Collisions
Two-proton correlation functions have been measured in Si+Pb collisions at
14.6A GeV/c and Au+Au collisions at 11.5A GeV/c by the E814/E877 collaboration.
Data are compared with predictions of the transport model RQMD and the source
size is inferred from this comparison. Our analysis shows that, for both
reactions, the characteristic size of the system at freeze-out exceeds the size
of the projectile, suggesting that the fireball created in the collision has
expanded. For Au+Au reactions, the observed centrality dependence of the
two-proton correlation function implies that more central collisions lead to a
larger source sizes.Comment: RevTex, 12 pages, 5 figure
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