Lightning Observations above and below clouds

The quantitative optical characteristics of cloud to ground (CG) and intracloud (IC) lightning above clouds were studied. A data base of a number of pulse paramaters such as energy, rise times, pulse widths and pulse intervals was complied and categorized for first return strokes, subsequent strokes, the intracloud part of CG flashes and IC flashes. It is found that: (1) single stroke CG's are more readily distinguishable from IC flashes than multiple stroke CG's; (2) there is no significant difference between the energy of first and subsequent return stroke pulses; and (3) the pulse rise times and pulse widths are time broadened. Lightning activity in a mesoscale convective weather system (MCS) was examined. The CG flash rates average almost 50 per minute for 7 hours. It is shown that lightning above storms embedded within the MCS IC lightning activity can be much greater than CG activity at certain times in the MCS lifecycle

Phase linear interferometer experiment maintenance and calibration manual

This manual describes the necessary procedures for assuring continuous lightning sferics data collection at Marshall Space Flight Center. The phase linear interferometer experiment is under evaluation as a candidate RF sensor to support the space based optical lightning mapper system

Modeling material failure with a vectorized routine

The computational aspects of modelling material failure in structural wood members are presented with particular reference to vector processing aspects. Wood members are considered to be highly orthotropic, inhomogeneous, and discontinuous due to the complex microstructure of wood material and the presence of natural growth characteristics such as knots, cracks and cross grain in wood members. The simulation of strength behavior of wood members is accomplished through the use of a special purpose finite element/fracture mechanics routine, program STARW (Strength Analysis Routine for Wood). Program STARW employs quadratic finite elements combined with singular crack tip elements in a finite element mesh. Vector processing techniques are employed in mesh generation, stiffness matrix formation, simultaneous equation solution, and material failure calculations. The paper addresses these techniques along with the time and effort requirements needed to convert existing finite element code to a vectorized version. Comparisons in execution time between vectorized and nonvectorized routines are provided

Spirituality, Healing and the Whole Person: Reconciling Faith in the Transgender Community

Abstract Transgender issues have become a topic of common conversation due to recent events in government, the news and social media. This has caused much attention to be drawn to the people who identify with the transgender community. Some of the attention has been positive and empowering. Some of the attention has been negative and hurtful. Within religious circles, there are clergy and faith leaders who support the transgender community and there are those who ardently oppose it to the point of judgment and name-calling. This opposition of transgender identifying people by faith-based organizations (churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, etc.) can have a profound impact on the spirituality of their congregants – the people who identify as transgender, their friends and acquaintances. The message that is transmitted from these places of worship that disagree with the transgender identity is one of dismissal. Transgender people hear that they do not belong in faith circles because of the rules, dictated by an interpretation of Scripture, that say they “are confused” or are “an abomination” and “sinners.” This causes people to wonder about their belonging, their ability to remain faithful and their self-worth as spiritual beings. Children and teenagers are especially at risk when they hear these messages of disdain just as they begin to question their identity and their sense of self. This article seeks to address how children with gender dysphoria and those who identify as transgender might overcome the religious and faith-based stigma that has been put upon them. By seeking guidance from supportive and affirming spiritual care providers, these children and teenagers have a chance at preserving their faith and their sense of the sacred. The children, teens and families that are seen at the Genecis Clinic at Children’s Health – Medical Center Dallas are seen as a whole person. By using the Genecis Program at Children’s Health as an example of holistic care for children with gender dysphoria, this author will describe how practitioners can uphold and encourage the spirituality of transgender people, even when the religious culture tells them otherwise. This paper is based on the first hand encounters between children, teens, family members and the spiritual care providers at Children’s Health. This paper does not reflect a larger population than those in the Genecis Clinic but it does address how spiritual care can be integrated into the holistic healing and care of people with gender dysphoria and those who identify as transgender

Regional and Racial Variation in Health Care Among Medicare Beneficiaries

Focuses on variations in healthcare delivery and outcomes among and within hospital service areas, in addition to racial and geographic disparities, as measured by five indicators. Discusses variations in spending and considers implications for reform

Diffusive Migration of Low-Mass Proto-planets in Turbulent Disks

Torque fluctuations due to magnetorotational turbulence in proto-planetary disks may greatly influence the migration patterns and survival probabilities of nascent planets. Provided that the turbulence is a stationary stochastic process with finite amplitude and correlation time, the resulting diffusive migration can be described with a Fokker-Planck equation, which we reduce to an advection-diffusion equation. We calibrate the coefficients with existing turbulent-disk simulations and mean-migration estimates, and solve the equation both analytically and numerically. Diffusion tends to dominate over advection for planets of low-mass and those in the outer regions of proto-planetary disks, whether they are described by the Minimum Mass Solar Nebula (MMSN) or by T-Tauri alpha disks. Diffusion systematically reduces the lifetime of most planets, yet it allows a declining fraction of them to survive for extended periods of time at large radii. Mean planet lifetimes can even be formally infinite (e.g. in an infinite steady MMSN), though median lifetimes are always finite. Surviving planets may linger near specific radii where the combined effects of advection and diffusion are minimized, or at large radii, depending on model specifics. The stochastic nature of migration in turbulent disks challenges deterministic planet formation scenarios and suggests instead that a wide variety of planetary outcomes are possible from similar initial conditions. This would contribute to the diversity of (extrasolar) planetary systems.Comment: 31 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Grazing-angle scattering of electromagnetic waves in gratings with varying mean parameters: grating eigenmodes

A highly unusual pattern of strong multiple resonances for bulk electromagnetic waves is predicted and analysed numerically in thick periodic holographic gratings in a slab with the mean permittivity that is larger than that of the surrounding media. This pattern is shown to exist in the geometry of grazing-angle scattering (GAS), that is when the scattered wave (+1 diffracted order) in the slab propagates almost parallel to the slab (grating) boundaries. The predicted resonances are demonstrated to be unrelated to resonant generation of the conventional guided modes of the slab. Their physical explanation is associated with resonant generation of a completely new type of eigenmodes in a thick slab with a periodic grating. These new slab eigenmodes are generically related to the grating; they do not exist if the grating amplitude is zero. The field structure of these eigenmodes and their dependence on structural and wave parameters is analysed. The results are extended to the case of GAS of guided modes in a slab with a periodic groove array of small corrugation amplitude and small variations in the mean thickness of the slab at the array boundaries.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure

Ultrafast Charge Transfer at a Quantum Dot/2D Materials Interface Probed by Second Harmonic Generation

Hybrid quantum dot (QD) / transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) heterostructures are attractive components of next generation optoelectronic devices, which take advantage of the spectral tunability of QDs and the charge and exciton transport properties of TMDs. Here, we demonstrate tunable electronic coupling between CdSe QDs and monolayer WS$_2$ using variable length alkanethiol ligands on the QD surface. Using femtosecond time-resolved second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy, we show that electron transfer from photoexcited CdSe QDs to single-layer WS$_2$ occurs on ultrafast (50 fs - 1 ps) timescales. Moreover, in the samples exhibiting the fastest charge transfer rates ($\leq$ 50 fs) we observed oscillations in the time-domain signal corresponding to an acoustic phonon mode of the donor QD, which coherently modulates the SHG response of the underlying WS$_2$ layer. These results reveal surprisingly strong electronic coupling at the QD/TMD interface and demonstrate the usefulness of time-resolved SHG for exploring ultrafast electronic-vibrational dynamics in TMD heterostructures

Overcomplete steerable pyramid filters and rotation invariance

A given (overcomplete) discrete oriented pyramid may be converted into a steerable pyramid by interpolation. We present a technique for deriving the optimal interpolation functions (otherwise called 'steering coefficients'). The proposed scheme is demonstrated on a computationally efficient oriented pyramid, which is a variation on the Burt and Adelson (1983) pyramid. We apply the generated steerable pyramid to orientation-invariant texture analysis in order to demonstrate its excellent rotational isotropy. High classification rates and precise rotation identification are demonstrated