Pure xenon hexafluoride prepared for thermal properties studies

Preparation of a xenon hexafluoride and sodium fluoride salt yields a sample of the highest possible purity for use in thermal measurements. The desired hexafluoride can easily be freed from the common contaminants, xenon tetra-fluoride, xenon difluoride, and xenon oxide tetrafluoride, because none of these compounds reacts with sodium fluoride

Control considerations for high frequency, resonant, power processing equipment used in large systems

Addressed is a class of resonant power processing equipment designed to be used in an integrated high frequency (20 KHz domain), utility power system for large, multi-user spacecraft and other aerospace vehicles. It describes a hardware approach, which has been the basis for parametric and physical data used to justify the selection of high frequency ac as the PMAD baseline for the space station. This paper is part of a larger effort undertaken by NASA and General Dynamics to be sure that all potential space station contractors and other aerospace power system designers understand and can comfortably use this technology, which is now widely used in the commercial sector. In this paper, we will examine control requirements, stability, and operational modes; and their hardware impacts from an integrated system point of view. The current space station PMAD system will provide the overall requirements model to develop an understanding of the performance of this type of system with regard to: (1) regulation; (2) power bus stability and voltage control; (3) source impedance; (4) transient response; (5) power factor effects, and (6) limits and overloads

THE EFFECTS ON PEASANT HOUSEHOLDS OF ACCESS TO FORMAL DEPOSITS AND LOANS

A dynamic, stochastic, rational expectations model of a peasant household with access to deposits and loans (up to a credit limit) is solved and simulated. If formal contracts offer more favorable rates than informal contracts, then access to formal contracts increases average consumption and decreases its standard deviation.Agricultural Finance, Consumer/Household Economics,

Characterization of the ZFX family of transcription factors that bind downstream of the start site of CpG island promoters

Our study focuses on a family of ubiquitously expressed human C₂H₂ zinc finger proteins comprised of ZFX, ZFY and ZNF711. Although their protein structure suggests that ZFX, ZFY and ZNF711 are transcriptional regulators, the mechanisms by which they influence transcription have not yet been elucidated. We used CRISPR-mediated deletion to create bi-allelic knockouts of ZFX and/or ZNF711 in female HEK293T cells (which naturally lack ZFY). We found that loss of either ZFX or ZNF711 reduced cell growth and that the double knockout cells have major defects in proliferation. RNA-seq analysis revealed that thousands of genes showed altered expression in the double knockout clones, suggesting that these TFs are critical regulators of the transcriptome. To gain insight into how these TFs regulate transcription, we created mutant ZFX proteins and analyzed them for DNA binding and transactivation capability. We found that zinc fingers 11–13 are necessary and sufficient for DNA binding and, in combination with the N terminal region, constitute a functional transactivator. Our functional analyses of the ZFX family provides important new insights into transcriptional regulation in human cells by members of the large, but under-studied family of C₂H₂ zinc finger proteins

Technical development to improve satellite sounding over radiatively complex terrain

High resolution topography was acquired and applied on the McIDAS system. A technique for finding the surface skin temperature in the presence of cloud and reflected sunlight was implemented in the ALPEX retrieval software and the variability of surface emissivity at microwave wavelength was examined. Data containing raw radiances for all HIRS and MSU channels for NOAA-6 and 7 were used. METEOSAT data were used to derive cloud drift and water vapor winds over the Alpine region

Developmental sensory experience balances cortical excitation and inhibition.

Early in life, neural circuits are highly susceptible to outside influences. The organization of the primary auditory cortex (A1) in particular is governed by acoustic experience during the critical period, an epoch near the beginning of postnatal development throughout which cortical synapses and networks are especially plastic. This neonatal sensitivity to the pattern of sensory inputs is believed to be essential for constructing stable and adequately adapted representations of the auditory world and for the acquisition of language skills by children. One important principle of synaptic organization in mature brains is the balance between excitation and inhibition, which controls receptive field structure and spatiotemporal flow of neural activity, but it is unknown how and when this excitatory-inhibitory balance is initially established and calibrated. Here we use whole-cell recording to determine the processes underlying the development of synaptic receptive fields in rat A1. We find that, immediately after the onset of hearing, sensory-evoked excitatory and inhibitory responses are equally strong, although inhibition is less stimulus-selective and mismatched with excitation. However, during the third week of postnatal development, excitation and inhibition become highly correlated. Patterned sensory stimulation drives coordinated synaptic changes across receptive fields, rapidly improves excitatory-inhibitory coupling and prevents further exposure-induced modifications. Thus, the pace of cortical synaptic receptive field development is set by progressive, experience-dependent refinement of intracortical inhibition

Culturas intercalares de milho (Zea mays L.) em reflorestamentos de Pinus taeda L. no sul do Paraná.

Este trabalho foi planejado com o objetivo de se avaliar, na região dos Campos Gerais do Paraná, o rendimento de associações de Pinus taeda L. com milho (Zea mays L.), em função de três densidades populacionais desta cultura: 50 mil, 67 mil e 83 mil plantas/ha, dispostas, respectivamente, em duas, três e quatro linhas, entre as linhas do Pinus plantado no espaçamento de 3 x 2 m. O plantio do Pinus e o da primeira cultura de milho foram efetuados no ano agrícola 1981/82; duas novas culturas de milho foram plantadas em 1982 e em 1983. Até a terceira colheita do milho, não se registraram diferenças entre as sobrevivências do Pinus associado com duas, três e quatro linhas do cereal, nem entre estas e as da testemunha sem consórcio (média de 91,33%). Quanto à altura e ao diâmetro da espécie florestal, no entanto, os incrementos registrados no consórcio com quatro linhas de milho (3,65 m e 5,73 cm) foram menores que na testemunha sem consórcio (4,17 m e 6,92 cm), enquanto que nos consórcios com duas e três linhas, estes ficaram em posição intermediária. As produções de milho, no primeiro e no segundo ano, propiciaram, respectivamente, retornos sobre o capital investido nesta cultura, da ordem de 135 e 94%. Já no terceiro ano, quando o desenvolvimento do Pinus tornou-se suficiente para sombrear parcialmente a cultura agrícola, sua produção foi deficitária, embora em pequeno grau. A população de 50 mil plantas de milho por hectare, dispostas em duas linhas, entre as linhas do Pinus, mostrou-se a mais indicada para o sistema

Experimental evidence for chiral melting of the Ge(113) and Si(113) 3×1 surface phases

Results of a spot-profile-analysis low-energy-electron-diffraction study of the 3×1 order-disorder phase transition of the Ge(113) and Si(113) surfaces are reported. For Ge(113) agreement with predictions for chiral melting with isotropic scaling is found. For Si(113) we compare our findings to those of other LEED and x-ray-scattering studies

The Effects on Peasant Households of Access to Formal Deposits and Loans

A dynamic, stochastic, rational expectations model of a peasant household with access to deposits and loans (up to a credit limit) is solved and simulated. If formal contracts offer more favorable rates than informal contracts, then access to formal contracts increases average consumption and decreases its standard deviation