The application of generalized, cyclic, and modified numerical integration algorithms to problems of satellite orbit computation

Generalized, cyclic, and modified multistep numerical integration methods are developed and evaluated for application to problems of satellite orbit computation. Generalized methods are compared with the presently utilized Cowell methods; new cyclic methods are developed for special second-order differential equations; and several modified methods are developed and applied to orbit computation problems. Special computer programs were written to generate coefficients for these methods, and subroutines were written which allow use of these methods with NASA's GEOSTAR computer program

Stop Co-Annihilation in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model Revisited

We re-examine the stop co-annihilation scenario of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, wherein a bino-like lightest supersymmetric particle has a thermal relic density set by co-annihilations with a scalar partner of the top quark in the early universe. We concentrate on the case where only the top partner sector is relevant for the cosmology, and other particles are heavy. We discuss the cosmology with focus on low energy parameters and an emphasis on the implications of the measured Higgs boson mass and its properties. We find that the irreducible direct detection signal correlated with this cosmology is generically well below projected experimental sensitivity, and in most cases lies below the neutrino background. A larger, detectable, direct detection rate is possible, but is unrelated to the co-annihilation cosmology. LHC searches for compressed spectra are crucial for probing this scenario

The Improvement of Efficiency in the Numerical Computation of Orbit Trajectories

An analysis, system design, programming, and evaluation of results are described for numerical computation of orbit trajectories. Evaluation of generalized methods, interaction of different formulations for satellite motion, transformation of equations of motion and integrator loads, and development of efficient integrators are also considered

A noncontact ultrasonic platform for structural inspection

Miniature robotic vehicles are receiving increasing attention for use in nondestructive testing (NDE) due to their attractiveness in terms of cost, safety, and their accessibility to areas where manual inspection is not practical. Conventional ultrasonic inspection requires the provision of a suitable coupling liquid between the probe and the structure under test. This necessitates either an on board reservoir or umbilical providing a constant flow of coupling fluid, neither of which are practical for a fleet of miniature robotic inspection vehicles. Air-coupled ultrasound offers the possibility of couplant-free ultrasonic inspection. This paper describes the sensing methodology, hardware platform and algorithms used to integrate an air-coupled ultrasonic inspection payload into a miniature robotic vehicle platform. The work takes account of the robot's inherent positional uncertainty when constructing an image of the test specimen from aggregated sensor measurements. This paper concludes with the results of an automatic inspection of a aluminium sample

UNDERSTANDING PREDICTORS OF TELEMEDICINE ADOPTION BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

This study examined change in physicians’ use of telemedicine before, during, and expectations after the COVID-19 pandemic. It also examined the ability of personal and environmental variables to predict telemedicine adoption, and applied the theory of reasoned action and technology acceptance model to physicians’ adoption of telemedicine during the pandemic. A total of 230 licensed physicians currently practicing in the United States were recruited. Telemedicine accounted for 3.72% of physicians’ clinical work prior to the pandemic, 46.03% during the pandemic, and predicted 25.44% after the pandemic ends. Physicians within hospitals reported less telemedicine use during the pandemic (M = 31.72%) than within group practice (M = 53.42%, p = .016) and less change in use at hospitals (M = 28.02%) compared to academic medical centers (M = 43.22%, p = .027) and group practice (M = 51.09%, p = .008). Results indicate greater use of telemedicine was predicted by greater years in practice (β = .17, p = .009), supportive organizational policies (β = .26, p = .001), organizational encouragement (β = .28, p = .003), expectations of greater patient volume (β = .20, p = .003), and higher quality of patient care (β = .17, p = .032). Model testing indicated the TRA was an adequate to poor fit, while the TAM demonstrated better fit, although a slightly trimmed TAM was ultimately retained for parsimony. Implications of the results, limitations, and future directions are discussed

CLU

There’s someone within me surfacing, a person who’s really me and not really, someone who I could be or could’ve been, a fragment that was once familiar but now distanced. I am a window to look through, and he is within, guiding me towards an essence. I hug, he stings, I bite, he mocks, his demand for celebration, admiration, and awe for what’s hidden is frightening, but he is with me. Protons erratically arranging, quarks and neutrinos forming into images. It feels violent, sporadic, crawling beneath surfaces, flashing little lights, little windows into other worlds. I want to step around it, jump over it, grab it by its shoulders and scream, but I have to be careful, because Clu is watching. I walk a big road, it’s the hair, the legs, without it, I am me, after so many times, this is it, the thing, me, in the looking glass looking at myself, never seeing this of myself, it’s who I am, what I’ve known, even without it, the pain, the change, he isn’t a body yet he touches me, he isn’t a mind yet he speaks to me, in the air is a found thing, on the doorstep of everyone, a baby waiting to be picked up. He’s under the bed, over the river, beside me in the deep water, as close to me as my skin, the spit in my mouth, the marrow in my bones, he knows what he wants and doesn’t want, I fear what he fears, but he knows to go towards it. Clu is what my parents were going to name me before they chose Pierce. I imagine he is with me as a spirit, guiding me towards an intensity, a meanness, the viscera of confrontation