Tendon-Actuated Lightweight In-Space MANipulator (TALISMAN)

The robotic architecture of State-of-the-Art (SOA) space manipulators, represented by the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS), inherently limits their capabilities to extend reach, reduce mass, apply force and package efficiently. TALISMAN uses a new and innovative robotic architecture that incorporates a combination of lightweight truss links, a novel hinge joint, tendon-articulation and passive tension stiffening to achieve revolutionary performance. A TALISMAN with performance similar to the SRMS has 1/10th of its mass and packages in 1/7th of its volume. The TALISMAN architecture allows its reach to be scaled over a large range; from 10 to over 300 meters. In addition, the dexterity (number of degrees-of-freedom) can be easily adjusted without significantly impacting manipulator mass because the joints are very lightweight

Solitons on the edge of a two-dimensional electron system

We present a study of the excitations of the edge of a two-dimensional electron droplet in a magnetic field in terms of a contour dynamics formalism. We find that, beyond the usual linear approximation, the non-linear analysis yields soliton solutions which correspond to uniformly rotating shapes. These modes are found from a perturbative treatment of a non-linear eigenvalue problem, and as solutions to a modified Korteweg-de Vries equation resulting from a local induction approximation to the nonlocal contour dynamics. We discuss applications to the edge modes in the quantum Hall effect.Comment: 4 pages, 2 eps figures (included); to appear in Phys. Rev. Letter

Estimating malaria parasite prevalence from community surveys in Uganda: a comparison of microscopy, rapid diagnostic tests and polymerase chain reaction.

BACKGROUND: Household surveys are important tools for monitoring the malaria disease burden and measuring impact of malaria control interventions with parasite prevalence as the primary metric. However, estimates of parasite prevalence are dependent on a number of factors including the method used to detect parasites, age of the population sampled, and level of immunity. To better understand the influence of diagnostics, age, and endemicity on estimates of parasite prevalence and how these change over time, community-based surveys were performed for two consecutive years in three settings and the sensitivities of microscopy and immunochromatographic rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) were assessed, considering polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as the gold standard. METHODS: Surveys were conducted over the same two-month period in 2012 and 2013 in each of three sub-counties in Uganda: Nagongera in Tororo District (January-February), Walukuba in Jinja District (March-April), and Kihihi in Kanungu District (May-June). In each sub-county, 200 households were randomly enrolled and a household questionnaire capturing information on demographics, use of malaria prevention methods, and proxy indicators of wealth was administered to the head of the household. Finger-prick blood samples were obtained for RDTs, measurement of hemoglobin, thick and thin blood smears, and to store samples on filter paper. RESULTS: A total of 1200 households were surveyed and 4433 participants were included in the analysis. Compared to PCR, the sensitivity of microscopy was low (65.3% in Nagongera, 49.6% in Walukuba and 40.9% in Kihihi) and decreased with increasing age. The specificity of microscopy was over 98% at all sites and did not vary with age or year. Relative differences in parasite prevalence across different age groups, study sites, and years were similar for microscopy and PCR. The sensitivity of RDTs was similar across the three sites (range 77.2-82.8%), was consistently higher than microscopy (p < 0.001 for all pairwise comparisons), and decreased with increasing age. The specificity of RDTs was lower than microscopy (76.3% in Nagongera, 86.3% in Walukuba, and 83.5% in Kihihi) and varied significantly by year and age. Relative differences in parasite prevalence across age groups and study years differed for RDTs compared to microscopy and PCR. CONCLUSION: Malaria prevalence estimates varied with diagnostic test, age, and transmission intensity. It is important to consider the effects of these parameters when designing and interpreting community-based surveys

Velocity Selection for Propagating Fronts in Superconductors

Using the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations we study the propagation of planar fronts in superconductors, which would appear after a quench to zero applied magnetic field. Our numerical solutions show that the fronts propagate at a unique speed which is controlled by the amount of magnetic flux trapped in the front. For small flux the speed can be determined from the linear marginal stability hypothesis, while for large flux the speed may be calculated using matched asymptotic expansions. At a special point the order parameter and vector potential are dual, leading to an exact solution which is used as the starting point for a perturbative analysis.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev. Letter

NPHC and MGC Sororities and Fraternities as Spaces of Activism within Predominantly White Institutions

This study explored how Students of Color within National Pan-Hellenic Council and Multicultural Greek Council sororities and fraternities engaged in activism and in what ways this involvement connected to their membership. Using a qualitative critical narrative approach, we examined the journeys of ten participants. Findings unpack ways participants engaged in activism and resistance aimed at educating individuals and increasing awareness of societal injustices, addressing inequities through service, and inciting disruption and cultivating institutional and societal level change

Physics on the edge: contour dynamics, waves and solitons in the quantum Hall effect

We present a theoretical study of the excitations on the edge of a two-dimensional electron system in a perpendicular magnetic field in terms of a contour dynamics formalism. In particular, we focus on edge excitations in the quantum Hall effect. Beyond the usual linear approximation, a non-linear analysis of the shape deformations of an incompressible droplet yields soliton solutions which correspond to shapes that propagate without distortion. A perturbative analysis is used and the results are compared to analogous systems, like vortex patches in ideal hydrodynamics. Under a local induction approximation we find that the contour dynamics is described by a non-linear partial differential equation for the curvature: the modified Korteweg-de Vries equation. PACS number(s): 73.40.Hm, 02.40.Ma, 03.40.Gc, 11.10.LmComment: 15 pages, 12 embedded figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Travelling waves in a drifting flux lattice

Starting from the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau (TDGL) equations for a type II superconductor, we derive the equations of motion for the displacement field of a moving vortex lattice without inertia or pinning. We show that it is linearly stable and, surprisingly, that it supports wavelike long-wavelength excitations arising not from inertia or elasticity but from the strain-dependent mobility of the moving lattice. It should be possible to image these waves, whose speeds are a few \mu m/s, using fast scanning tunnelling microscopy.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, 2 .eps figures imbedded in paper, title shortened, minor textual change

The Shapes of Flux Domains in the Intermediate State of Type-I Superconductors

In the intermediate state of a thin type-I superconductor magnetic flux penetrates in a disordered set of highly branched and fingered macroscopic domains. To understand these shapes, we study in detail a recently proposed "current-loop" (CL) model that models the intermediate state as a collection of tense current ribbons flowing along the superconducting-normal interfaces and subject to the constraint of global flux conservation. The validity of this model is tested through a detailed reanalysis of Landau's original conformal mapping treatment of the laminar state, in which the superconductor-normal interfaces are flared within the slab, and of a closely-related straight-lamina model. A simplified dynamical model is described that elucidates the nature of possible shape instabilities of flux stripes and stripe arrays, and numerical studies of the highly nonlinear regime of those instabilities demonstrate patterns like those seen experimentally. Of particular interest is the buckling instability commonly seen in the intermediate state. The free-boundary approach further allows for a calculation of the elastic properties of the laminar state, which closely resembles that of smectic liquid crystals. We suggest several new experiments to explore of flux domain shape instabilities, including an Eckhaus instability induced by changing the out-of-plane magnetic field, and an analog of the Helfrich-Hurault instability of smectics induced by an in-plane field.Comment: 23 pages, 22 bitmapped postscript figures, RevTex 3.0, submitted to Phys. Rev. B. Higher resolution figures may be obtained by contacting the author

Constraints on Near-Ridge Magmatism Using \u3csup\u3e40\u3c/sup\u3eAr/\u3csup\u3e39\u3c/sup\u3eAr Geochronology of Enriched MORB from the 8°20\u27 N Seamount Chain

Our understanding of the spatial-temporal-compositional relationships between off-axis magmatism and mid-ocean ridge spreading centers is limited. Determining the 40Ar/39Ar ages of mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) lavas erupting near mid-ocean ridges (MOR) has been a challenge due to the characteristically low K2O contents in incompatible element-depleted normal MORB (NMORB). High-precision 40Ar/39Ar geochronology is used here to determine ages of young, basaltic lavas erupted along the 8°20\u27 N seamount chain west of the East Pacific Rise (EPR) axis that have a range of incompatible element enrichments (EMORB) suitable for 40Ar/39Ar geochronology (e.g., K2O contents \u3e 0.3 wt%). 40Ar/39Ar ages were determined in 29 well-characterized basalts sampled using HOV Alvin and dredging. Detailed geochronology and geochemical analyses provide important constraints on the timing, distribution, and origins of lavas that constructed this extensive volcanic lineament relative to magmatism beneath the adjacent EPR axis. Seamount eruption ages are up to ∼1.6 Ma younger than the underlying lithosphere, supporting a model of prolonged off-axis magmatism for at least 2 Myrs at distances as great as ∼90 km from the ridge axis. Increasing geochemical heterogeneity with eruption distance reflects the diminishing effect of sub-ridge melt focusing. The range of geochemically distinct lavas erupted at given distances from the ridge highlights the dynamic nature of the near-ridge magmatic environment over Myr timescales. Linear ridge-like (EPR-parallel) morphotectonic features erupt the youngest and most incompatible element-enriched lavas of the entire seamount chain, indicating there is a recent change in the influence of mantle heterogeneity and off-axis melt metasomatism on the near-ridge lithospheric mantle. Changes in seamount morphologies are attributed to counter-clockwise rotation and southward migration of the nearby Siqueiros transform over the last few million years

Nucleation and Growth of the Superconducting Phase in the Presence of a Current

We study the localized stationary solutions of the one-dimensional time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations in the presence of a current. These threshold perturbations separate undercritical perturbations which return to the normal phase from overcritical perturbations which lead to the superconducting phase. Careful numerical work in the small-current limit shows that the amplitude of these solutions is exponentially small in the current; we provide an approximate analysis which captures this behavior. As the current is increased toward the stall current J*, the width of these solutions diverges resulting in widely separated normal-superconducting interfaces. We map out numerically the dependence of J* on u (a parameter characterizing the material) and use asymptotic analysis to derive the behaviors for large u (J* ~ u^-1/4) and small u (J -> J_c, the critical deparing current), which agree with the numerical work in these regimes. For currents other than J* the interface moves, and in this case we study the interface velocity as a function of u and J. We find that the velocities are bounded both as J -> 0 and as J -> J_c, contrary to previous claims.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, Revte