Time management situation assessment (TMSA)

TMSA is a concept prototype developed to support NASA Test Directors (NTDs) in schedule execution monitoring during the later stages of a Shuttle countdown. The program detects qualitative and quantitative constraint violations in near real-time. The next version will support incremental rescheduling and reason over a substantially larger number of scheduled events

Nonparametric Bounds and Sensitivity Analysis of Treatment Effects

This paper considers conducting inference about the effect of a treatment (or exposure) on an outcome of interest. In the ideal setting where treatment is assigned randomly, under certain assumptions the treatment effect is identifiable from the observable data and inference is straightforward. However, in other settings such as observational studies or randomized trials with noncompliance, the treatment effect is no longer identifiable without relying on untestable assumptions. Nonetheless, the observable data often do provide some information about the effect of treatment, that is, the parameter of interest is partially identifiable. Two approaches are often employed in this setting: (i) bounds are derived for the treatment effect under minimal assumptions, or (ii) additional untestable assumptions are invoked that render the treatment effect identifiable and then sensitivity analysis is conducted to assess how inference about the treatment effect changes as the untestable assumptions are varied. Approaches (i) and (ii) are considered in various settings, including assessing principal strata effects, direct and indirect effects and effects of time-varying exposures. Methods for drawing formal inference about partially identified parameters are also discussed.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/14-STS499 the Statistical Science (http://www.imstat.org/sts/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Prevailing Academic View on Compliance Flexibility under § 111 of the Clean Air Act

No colons in abstractsource category, existing sources, state implementation plan, new sources, tradable performance standards

The classification and structure of megafaunal assemblages in the Venezuela Basin, Caribbean Sea

Data from 23 benthic trawls collected from the Venezuela Basin (3411–5062 m water depth) indicate that megafauna are less abundant than in basins of similar depths in the Atlantic and are segregated by sedimentary province. Taxonomic assemblages, in terms of abundance and biomass, from three sites coincide with distinctions of sedimentary characteristics among the pelagic, hemipelagic and turbidite sedimentary provinces. Mollusks, decapods and fishes are most abundant in trawls collected from the pelagic and hemipelagic provinces and anemones and holothurians are most abundant in trawls collected from the turbidite province. Sponges dominate the biomass of fauna in trawls collected in the turbidite and hemipelagic provinces and fishes dominate the biomass of trawls collected in the pelagic province. Several biological and physical aspects of the basin contribute to the segregation of the megafauna into distinct communities. Sponges and anthropogenic debris (coal, coal clinker and tar balls) reaching the sea floor create a habitat that is exploited by sessile suspension feeders requiring a hard substrate. Filter-feeding anemones attached to debris occur in such abundance that it elevates the importance of suspension feeders and depresses species diversity at the turbidite site. Biomass and average size of megafaunal deposit feeders in the basin decrease with decreasing amounts of organic carbon and nitrogen content of the sediment. Distribution and composition of filter-feeding megafaunal biomass in the Venezuela Basin are explained largely by proximity to sources of organic matter. Detrital carbonate may also play a role in controlling distribution and density of megafauna by diluting food resources in the sediments

Biofuels, Bioenergy, and Bioproducts from Sustainable Agricultural and Forest Crops

This issue of BioEnergy Research highlights the Short Rotation Crops International Conference held in Bloomington, Minnesota in August 2008. This is the first special issue of BioEnergy Research, with several additional special issues planned in the next year, focused on the three U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Centers (Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, BioEnergy Science Center, and Joint BioEnergy Institute), and emerging technologies for biodiesel production. The purpose of these special issues is to highlight emerging research efforts in the areas of biomass, biofuels, and bioenergy. The Short Rotation Crops International Conference represented a unique opportunity for communication and interaction between researchers working on herbaceous and woody bioenergy feedstocks, one that we hope will continue to stimulate new interactions and creative solutions for bioenergy and bioproducts. We invite other groups to submit ideas for future special issues to one of the three co-Editors-in-Chief of BioEnergy Research

Biofuels, Bioenergy, and Bioproducts from Sustainable Agricultural and Forest Crops

This issue of BioEnergy Research highlights the Short Rotation Crops International Conference held in Bloomington, Minnesota in August 2008. This is the first special issue of BioEnergy Research, with several additional special issues planned in the next year, focused on the three U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Centers (Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, BioEnergy Science Center, and Joint BioEnergy Institute), and emerging technologies for biodiesel production. The purpose of these special issues is to highlight emerging research efforts in the areas of biomass, biofuels, and bioenergy. The Short Rotation Crops International Conference represented a unique opportunity for communication and interaction between researchers working on herbaceous and woody bioenergy feedstocks, one that we hope will continue to stimulate new interactions and creative solutions for bioenergy and bioproducts. We invite other groups to submit ideas for future special issues to one of the three co-Editors-in-Chief of BioEnergy Research

Gravity-driven instability in a spherical Hele-Shaw cell

A pair of concentric spheres separated by a small gap form a spherical Hele-Shaw cell. In this cell an interfacial instability arises when two immiscible fluids flow. We derive the equation of motion for the interface perturbation amplitudes, including both pressure and gravity drivings, using a mode coupling approach. Linear stability analysis shows that mode growth rates depend upon interface perimeter and gravitational force. Mode coupling analysis reveals the formation of fingering structures presenting a tendency toward finger tip-sharpening.Comment: 13 pages, 4 ps figures, RevTex, to appear in Physical Review