Ka-band (32-GHz) performance of 70-meter antennas in the Deep Space Network

Two models are provided of the Deep Space Network (DSN) 70 m antenna performance at Ka-band (32 GHz) and, for comparison purposes, one at X-band (8.4 GHz). The baseline 70 m model represents expected X-band and Ka-band performance at the end of the currently ongoing 64 m to 70 m mechanical upgrade. The improved 70 m model represents two sets of Ka-band performance estimates (the X-band performance will not change) based on two separately developed improvement schemes: the first scheme, a mechanical approach, reduces tolerances of the panels and their settings, the reflector structure and subreflector, and the pointing and tracking system. The second, an electronic/mechanical approach, uses an array feed scheme to compensate fo lack of antenna stiffness, and improves panel settings using microwave holographic measuring techniques. Results are preliminary, due to remaining technical and cost uncertainties. However, there do not appear to be any serious difficulties in upgrading the baseline DSN 70 m antenna network to operate efficiently in an improved configuration at 32 GHz (Ka-band). This upgrade can be achieved by a conventional mechanical upgrade or by a mechanical/electronic combination. An electronically compensated array feed system is technically feasible, although it needs to be modeled and demonstrated. Similarly, the mechanical upgrade requires the development and demonstration of panel actuators, sensors, and an optical surveying system

The DICE calibration project: design, characterization, and first results

We describe the design, operation, and first results of a photometric calibration project, called DICE (Direct Illumination Calibration Experiment), aiming at achieving precise instrumental calibration of optical telescopes. The heart of DICE is an illumination device composed of 24 narrow-spectrum, high-intensity, light-emitting diodes (LED) chosen to cover the ultraviolet-to-near-infrared spectral range. It implements a point-like source placed at a finite distance from the telescope entrance pupil, yielding a flat field illumination that covers the entire field of view of the imager. The purpose of this system is to perform a lightweight routine monitoring of the imager passbands with a precision better than 5 per-mil on the relative passband normalisations and about 3{\AA} on the filter cutoff positions. The light source is calibrated on a spectrophotometric bench. As our fundamental metrology standard, we use a photodiode calibrated at NIST. The radiant intensity of each beam is mapped, and spectra are measured for each LED. All measurements are conducted at temperatures ranging from 0{\deg}C to 25{\deg}C in order to study the temperature dependence of the system. The photometric and spectroscopic measurements are combined into a model that predicts the spectral intensity of the source as a function of temperature. We find that the calibration beams are stable at the $10^{-4}$ level -- after taking the slight temperature dependence of the LED emission properties into account. We show that the spectral intensity of the source can be characterised with a precision of 3{\AA} in wavelength. In flux, we reach an accuracy of about 0.2-0.5% depending on how we understand the off-diagonal terms of the error budget affecting the calibration of the NIST photodiode. With a routine 60-mn calibration program, the apparatus is able to constrain the passbands at the targeted precision levels.Comment: 25 pages, 27 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Evaluation of Passing Process on Two-Lane Rural Highways in Spain with New Methodology Based on Video Data

Drivers need sufficient passing sight distance (PSD) to pass slower vehicles with safety. This distance can help to improve traffic operation on two-way, two-lane highways. Existing models propose different values of PSD because of different assumptions. In only some cases were these models based on field data of passing maneuvers. This research proposed the design of a methodology to observe passing maneuvers on existing highways with the help of six video cameras installed at a fixed point next to passing sections. The use of more cameras allows complete registration of trajectories along the entire passing zone, with uniform image resolution. The methodology was applied to register a sample of 234 maneuvers on four passing zones. Trajectories of 58 maneuvers were completely described and analyzed with specific restitution software. Results were compared with those from existing PSD models. The distances traveled proposed by the AASHTO model on the left lane were (a) similar to average observed distances when the passed vehicle was one truck and (b) between 50 and 100 m higher when one passenger car was passed. Higher differences, greater than 100 m, were found between measured data and the PSD model (published previously), especially at high design speeds. The observed average speed difference between passing and impeding vehicles was significantly higher than that in any model. Variables with the strongest influence on the time and distance traveled on the opposing lane were the type and speed of the passed vehicle and the length of the passing zone. Left-lane time and distance increase with this length.Llorca Garcia, C.; García García, A. (2011). Evaluation of Passing Process on Two-Lane Rural Highways in Spain with New Methodology Based on Video Data. Transportation Research Record. 2262:42-51. doi:10.3141/2262-05S42512262Farah, H., Bekhor, S., & Polus, A. (2009). Risk evaluation by modeling of passing behavior on two-lane rural highways. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 41(4), 887-894. doi:10.1016/j.aap.2009.05.006Rilett, L. R., Hutchinson, B. G., & Whitney, M. (1990). Mechanics of the passing maneuver and the impact of large trucks. Transportation Research Part A: General, 24(2), 121-128. doi:10.1016/0191-2607(90)90019-3Wang, Y., & Cartmell, M. P. (1998). New Model for Passing Sight Distance on Two-Lane Highways. Journal of Transportation Engineering, 124(6), 536-545. doi:10.1061/(asce)0733-947x(1998)124:6(536)Polus, A., Livneh, M., & Frischer, B. (2000). Evaluation of the Passing Process on Two-Lane Rural Highways. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1701(1), 53-60. doi:10.3141/1701-07Carlson, P., Miles, J., & Johnson, P. (2006). Daytime High-Speed Passing Maneuvers Observed on Rural Two-Lane, Two-Way Highway: Findings and Implications. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1961, 9-15. doi:10.3141/1961-02Harwood, D. W., Gilmore, D. K., & Richard, K. R. (2010). Criteria for Passing Sight Distance for Roadway Design and Marking. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2195(1), 36-46. doi:10.3141/2195-0

Single Plasma Concentrations of 1′‐Hydroxymidazolam or the Ratio of 1′‐Hydroxymidazolam: Midazolam Do Not Predict Midazolam Clearance in Healthy Subjects

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97152/1/009127002237986.pd

Limited Sampling Strategy to Predict AUC of the CYP3A Phenotyping Probe Midazolam in Adults: Application to Various Assay Techniques

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97211/1/00912700222011418.pd

The Butterfly Fauna Of The Italian Maritime Alps:Results Of The «Edit» Project

Bonelli, Simona, Barbero, Francesca, Casacci, Luca Pietro, Cerrato, Cristiana, Balletto, Emilio (2015): The butterfly fauna of the Italian Maritime Alps: results of the EDIT project. Zoosystema 37 (1): 139-167, DOI: 10.5252/z2015n1a6, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5252/z2015n1a

Minimal residual disease after transplantation or lenalidomide-based consolidation in myeloma patients: a prospective analysis

We analyzed 50 patients who achieved at least a very good partial response in the RV-MM-EMN-441 study. Patients received consolidation with autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT) or cyclophosphamide-lenalidomide-dexamethasone (CRD), followed by Lenalidomide-based maintenance. We assessed minimal residual disease (MRD) by multi-parameter flow cytometry (MFC) and allelic-specific oligonucleotide real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (ASO-RQ-PCR) after consolidation, after 3 and 6 courses of maintenance, and thereafter every 6 months until progression. By MFC analysis, 19/50 patients achieved complete response (CR) after consolidation, and 7 additional patients during maintenance. A molecular marker was identified in 25/50 patients, 4/25 achieved molecular-CR after consolidation, and 3 additional patients during maintenance. A lower MRD value by MFC was found in ASCT patients compared with CRD patients (p = 0.0134). Tumor burden reduction was different in patients with high-risk vs standard-risk cytogenetics (3.4 vs 5.2, ln-MFC; 3 vs 6 ln-PCR, respectively) and in patients who relapsed vs those who did not (4 vs 5, ln-MFC; 4.4 vs 7.8 ln-PCR). MRD progression anticipated clinical relapse by a median of 9 months while biochemical relapse by a median of 4 months. MRD allows the identification of a low-risk group, independently of response, and a better characterization of the activity of treatments

Discovering Argumentative Patterns in Energy Polylogues: A Macroscope for Argument Mining

A macroscope is proposed and tested here for the discovery of the unique argumentative footprint that characterizes how a collective (e.g., group, online community) manages differences and pursues disagreement through argument in a polylogue. The macroscope addresses broader analytic problems posed by various conceptualizations of large-scale argument, such as fields, spheres, communities, and institutions. The design incorporates a two-tier methodology for detecting argument patterns of the arguments performed in arguing by an interactive collective that produces views, or topographies, of the ways that issues are generated in the making and defending of standpoints. The design premises for the macroscope build on insights about argument patterns from pragma-dialectical theory by incorporating research and theory on disagreement management and the Argumentum Model of Topics. The design reconceptualizes prototypical and stereotypical argument patterns for characterizing large-scale argumentation. A prototype of the macroscope is tested on data drawn from six threads about oil-drilling and fracking from the subreddit Changemyview. The implementation suggests the efficacy of the macroscope’s design and potential for identifying what communities make controversial and how the disagreement space in a polylogue is managed through stereotypical argument patterns in terms of claims/premises, inferential relations, and presentational devices

Reviews and syntheses: The promise of big diverse soil data, moving current practices towards future potential

In the age of big data, soil data are more available and richer than ever, but – outside of a few large soil survey resources – they remain largely unusable for informing soil management and understanding Earth system processes beyond the original study. Data science has promised a fully reusable research pipeline where data from past studies are used to contextualize new findings and reanalyzed for new insight. Yet synthesis projects encounter challenges at all steps of the data reuse pipeline, including unavailable data, labor-intensive transcription of datasets, incomplete metadata, and a lack of communication between collaborators. Here, using insights from a diversity of soil, data, and climate scientists, we summarize current practices in soil data synthesis across all stages of database creation: availability, input, harmonization, curation, and publication. We then suggest new soil-focused semantic tools to improve existing data pipelines, such as ontologies, vocabulary lists, and community practices. Our goal is to provide the soil data community with an overview of current practices in soil data and where we need to go to fully leverage big data to solve soil problems in the next century