A fast and portable Re-Implementation of Piskunov and Valenti's Optimal-Extraction Algorithm with improved Cosmic-Ray Removal and Optimal Sky Subtraction

We present a fast and portable re-implementation of Piskunov and Valenti's optimal-extraction algorithm (Piskunov & Valenti, 2002} in C/C++ together with full uncertainty propagation, improved cosmic-ray removal, and an optimal background-subtraction algorithm. This re-implementation can be used with IRAF and most existing data-reduction packages and leads to signal-to-noise ratios close to the Poisson limit. The algorithm is very stable, operates on spectra from a wide range of instruments (slit spectra and fibre feeds), and has been extensively tested for VLT/UVES, ESO/CES, ESO/FEROS, NTT/EMMI, NOT/ALFOSC, STELLA/SES, SSO/WiFeS, and finally, P60/SEDM-IFU data.Comment: 23 pages, 12 figure

Effect of the NACA Injection Impeller on the Mixture Distribution of a Double-Row Radial Aircraft Engine

The NACA injection impeller was developed to improve the mixture distribution of aircraft engines by discharging the fuel from a centrifugal supercharger impeller, thus promoting a thorough mixing of fuel and charge air. Tests with a double-row radial aircraft engine indicated that for the normal range of engine power the NACA injection impeller provided marked improvement in mixture distribution over the standard spray-bar injection system used in the same engine. The mixture distribution at cruising conditions was excellent; at 1200, 15OO, and 1700 brake horsepower, the differences between the fuel-air ratios of the richest and the leanest cylinders were reduced to approximately one-third their former values. The maximum cylinder temperatures were reduced about 30 [degrees] F and the temperature distribution was improved by approximately the degree expected from the improvement in mixture distribution. Because the mixture distribution of the engine tested improves slightly at engine powers exceeding 1500 brake horsepower and because the effectiveness of the particular impeller diminished slightly at high rates of fuel flow, the improvement in mixture distribution at rated power and rich mixtures was less than that for other conditions. The difference between the fuel-air ratios of the richest and the leanest cylinders of the engine using the standard spray bar was so great that the fuel-air ratios of several cylinders were well below the chemically correct mixture, whereas other cylinders were operating at rich mixtures. Consequently, enrichment to improve engine cooling actually increascd some of the critical temperatures. The uniform mixture distribution providod by the injection impeller restored the normal response of cylinder temperatures to mixture enrichnent

An analytical model for bore-driven run-up

We use a hodograph transformation and a boundary integral method to derive a new analytical solution to the shallow-water equations describing bore-generated run-up on a plane beach. This analytical solution differs from the classical Shen-Meyer runup solution in giving significantly deeper and less asymmetric swash flows, and also by predicting the inception of a secondary bore in both the backwash and the uprush in long surf. We suggest that this solution provides a significantly improved model for flows including swash events and the run-up following breaking tsunamis

How well can regional fluxes be derived from smaller-scale estimates?

Regional surface fluxes are essential lower boundary conditions for large scale numerical weather and climate models and are the elements of global budgets of important trace gases. Surface properties affecting the exchange of heat, moisture, momentum and trace gases vary with length scales from one meter to hundreds of km. A classical difficulty is that fluxes have been measured directly only at points or along lines. The process of scaling up observations limited in space and/or time to represent larger areas was done by assigning properties to surface classes and combining estimated or calculated fluxes using an area weighted average. It is not clear that a simple area weighted average is sufficient to produce the large scale from the small scale, chiefly due to the effect of internal boundary layers, nor is it known how important the uncertainty is to large scale model outcomes. Simultaneous aircraft and tower data obtained in the relatively simple terrain of the western Alaska tundra were used to determine the extent to which surface type variation can be related to fluxes of heat, moisture, and other properties. Surface type was classified as lake or land with aircraft borne infrared thermometer, and flight level heat and moisture fluxes were related to surface type. The magnitude and variety of sampling errors inherent in eddy correlation flux estimation place limits on how well any flux can be known even in simple geometries

Comparison of molecular patterns and virulence behaviour of potato cyst nematodes

Sept populations de nématodes à kyste de la pomme de terre (#Globodera rostochiensis et #G. pallida) ont été analysées au moyen de marqueurs provenant de fragments d'ADN amplifiés au hasard (RAPD), d'amorces de microsatellites amplifiés en chaîne par réaction de polymérase (PCR) et d'électrophorèse de protéines totales en deux dimensions sur gel. Un degré élevé de polymorphisme a été détecté chez tous les types de marqueurs. De plus, des réactions de virulence des populations et de l'hôte, de même qu'une interaction hautement significative entre ces deux variables, ont été observés. Les distances génétiques entre populations de nématodes, fondées sur les données moléculaires et les réactions de virulence ont été estimées. Des analyses en grappes ont été réalisées et les matrices de distance en résultant comparées. Une bonne consistance entre les différents dendrogrammes, de même que des coefficients de corrélation hautement significatifs ont été observés lorsque l'on a comparé les matrices de distance dérivées des données moléculaires, et les réactions de virulence. L'application pratique de telles analyses moléculaires à l'étude des populations de nématodes permettrait d'obtenir des tests indirects de virulence et donc de pouvoir recommander les cultivars appropriés de pomme de terre dans le cas de sols infestés. (Résumé d'auteur

High Order QED Corrections in Physics of Positronium

High-order perturbative corrections to positronium decays and hyperfine splitting are briefly reviewed. Theoretical predictions are compared to the most recent experimental data. Perspectives of future calculations are discussed.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX, talk given at Workshop on Positronium Physics, ETH Honggerberg, Zurich, May 30-31, 2003, a misprint in Eq. (1) correcte

Mechanism of C−F Reductive Elimination from Palladium(IV) Fluorides

The first systematic mechanism study of C−F reductive elimination from a transition metal complex is described. C−F bond formation from three different Pd(IV) fluoride complexes was mechanistically evaluated. The experimental data suggest that reductive elimination occurs from cationic Pd(IV) fluoride complexes via a dissociative mechanism. The ancillary pyridyl-sulfonamide ligand plays a crucial role for C−F reductive elimination, likely due to a κ^3 coordination mode, in which an oxygen atom of the sulfonyl group coordinates to Pd. The pyridyl-sulfonamide can support Pd(IV) and has the appropriate geometry and electronic structure to induce reductive elimination