826 research outputs found
Video signal processing system uses gated current mode switches to perform high speed multiplication and digital-to-analog conversion
Video signal processor uses special-purpose integrated circuits with nonsaturating current mode switching to accept texture and color information from a digital computer in a visual spaceflight simulator and to combine these, for display on color CRT with analog information concerning fading
Crustal Oscillations of Slowly Rotating Relativistic Stars
We study low-amplitude crustal oscillations of slowly rotating relativistic
stars consisting of a central fluid core and an outer thin solid crust. We
estimate the effect of rotation on the torsional toroidal modes and on the
interfacial and shear spheroidal modes. The results compared against the
Newtonian ones for wide range of neutron star models and equations of state.Comment: 15 page
Proton Wires in an Electric Field: the Impact of Grotthuss Mechanism on Charge Translocation
We present the results of the modeling of proton translocation in finite
H-bonded chains in the framework of two-stage proton transport model. We
explore the influence of reorientation motion of protons, as well as the effect
of electric field and proton correlations on system dynamics. An increase of
the reorientation energy results in the transition of proton charge from the
surrounding to the inner water molecules in the chain. Proton migration along
the chain in an external electric field has a step-like character, proceeding
with the occurrence of electric field threshold-type effects and drastic
redistribution of proton charge. Electric field applied to correlated chains
induces first a formation of ordered dipole structures for lower field
strength, and than, with a further field strength increase, a stabilization of
states with Bjerrum D-defects. We analyze the main factors responsible for the
formation/annihilation of Bjerrum defects showing the strong influence of the
complex interplay between reorientation energy, electric field and temperature
in the dynamics of proton wire.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figure
Comparison of Single-Element and Multi-Element Oxygen/RP-1 Oxidizer-Rich Staged-Combustion Injector Hot-Fire Test Results
As part of the Combustion Stability Tool Development project funded by the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center designed, fabricated, assembled and hot-fire tested an oxygen/hydrocarbon propellant multi-element integrated test article that included an oxidizer-rich oxygen/hydrocarbon propellant preburner and a staged-combustion main injector. Also as part of this project, the Air Force Research Laboratory fabricated single-element main injectors of the same designs as used in the NASA multi-element injectors, and tested them in a staged-combustion integrated test article that used an oxidizer-rich oxygen/hydrogen propellant preburner. Final results of the multi-element and single-element staged-combustion main injector test programs are described in companion papers at this JANNAF meeting. The design, development, and preliminary test results of these main injectors have also been described in previous JANNAF papers. The main injector element designs were all based on relatively conventional gas-centered swirl coaxial injector element configurations such as used in Russian RD-170 and NK-33 engines, and planned for use in future U.S.-built experimental engine systems such as the Hydrocarbon Boost program demonstration engine. Four different elements were tested in both the multi-element and single-element main injectors, at similar combustion chamber pressures, chamber contraction ratios, and mixture ratios. Variations of the element features included recess depth, fuel gap width, and the presence of the sleeve separating the swirling fuel flow from the axial oxidizer flow. This paper compares the hydraulics, combustion performance, stability, and compatibility characteristics of the single-element and multi-element injectors operated at similar conditions. The single-element hardware is shown to have captured a significant level of the operability of the multi-element hardware
A unified wavelet-based modelling framework for non-linear system identification: the WANARX model structure
A new unified modelling framework based on the superposition of additive submodels, functional components, and
wavelet decompositions is proposed for non-linear system identification. A non-linear model, which is often represented
using a multivariate non-linear function, is initially decomposed into a number of functional components via the wellknown
analysis of variance (ANOVA) expression, which can be viewed as a special form of the NARX (non-linear
autoregressive with exogenous inputs) model for representing dynamic input–output systems. By expanding each functional
component using wavelet decompositions including the regular lattice frame decomposition, wavelet series and
multiresolution wavelet decompositions, the multivariate non-linear model can then be converted into a linear-in-theparameters
problem, which can be solved using least-squares type methods. An efficient model structure determination
approach based upon a forward orthogonal least squares (OLS) algorithm, which involves a stepwise orthogonalization
of the regressors and a forward selection of the relevant model terms based on the error reduction ratio (ERR), is
employed to solve the linear-in-the-parameters problem in the present study. The new modelling structure is referred to
as a wavelet-based ANOVA decomposition of the NARX model or simply WANARX model, and can be applied to
represent high-order and high dimensional non-linear systems
Identification of transcription-factor genes expressed in the Arabidopsis female gametophyte
Dongfang Wang, Changqing Zhang, David J. Hearn, Il-HO Kang, megan I. Skaggs, Karen S. Schumaker, and Ramin Yadegari are with the School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0036, USA -- Il-Ho Kang, Jayson A. Punwani, and Gary N. Drews are with the Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0840, USA -- Changqing Zhang is with The Section of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-0159, USA -- David J. Hearn is with the Department of Biological Sciences, Towson University, Towson, Maryland 21252-0001, USA -- Il-Ho Kang is with the Department of Horticulture, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011-1100, USA --Jayson A. Punwani is with the Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3280, USABackground
In flowering plants, the female gametophyte is typically a seven-celled structure with four cell types: the egg cell, the central cell, the synergid cells, and the antipodal cells. These cells perform essential functions required for double fertilization and early seed development. Differentiation of these distinct cell types likely involves coordinated changes in gene expression regulated by transcription factors. Therefore, understanding female gametophyte cell differentiation and function will require dissection of the gene regulatory networks operating in each of the cell types. These efforts have been hampered because few transcription factor genes expressed in the female gametophyte have been identified. To identify such genes, we undertook a large-scale differential expression screen followed by promoter-fusion analysis to detect transcription-factor genes transcribed in the Arabidopsis female gametophyte.
Results
Using quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR, we analyzed 1,482 Arabidopsis transcription-factor genes and identified 26 genes exhibiting reduced mRNA levels in determinate infertile 1 mutant ovaries, which lack female gametophytes, relative to ovaries containing female gametophytes. Spatial patterns of gene transcription within the mature female gametophyte were identified for 17 transcription-factor genes using promoter-fusion analysis. Of these, ten genes were predominantly expressed in a single cell type of the female gametophyte including the egg cell, central cell and the antipodal cells whereas the remaining seven genes were expressed in two or more cell types. After fertilization, 12 genes were transcriptionally active in the developing embryo and/or endosperm.
Conclusions
We have shown that our quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR differential-expression screen is sufficiently sensitive to detect transcription-factor genes transcribed in the female gametophyte. Most of the genes identified in this study have not been reported previously as being expressed in the female gametophyte. Therefore, they might represent novel regulators and provide entry points for reverse genetic and molecular approaches to uncover the gene regulatory networks underlying female gametophyte development.Cellular and Molecular [email protected]
On-ground tests of LISA PathFinder thermal diagnostics system
Thermal conditions in the LTP, the LISA Technology Package, are required to
be very stable, and in such environment precision temperature measurements are
also required for various diagnostics objectives. A sensitive temperature
gauging system for the LTP is being developed at IEEC, which includes a set of
thermistors and associated electronics. In this paper we discuss the derived
requirements applying to the temperature sensing system, and address the
problem of how to create in the laboratory a thermally quiet environment,
suitable to perform meaningful on-ground tests of the system. The concept is a
two layer spherical body, with a central aluminium core for sensor implantation
surrounded by a layer of polyurethane. We construct the insulator transfer
function, which relates the temperature at the core with the laboratory ambient
temperature, and evaluate the losses caused by heat leakage through connecting
wires. The results of the analysis indicate that, in spite of the very
demanding stability conditions, a sphere of outer diameter of the order one
metre is sufficient. We provide experimental evidence confirming the model
predictions.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, LaTeX2e (compile with pdflatex), sumbitted to
CQG. This paper is a significant extension of gr-qc/060109
Measurements design and phenomena discrimination
The construction of measurements suitable for discriminating signal
components produced by phenomena of different types is considered. The required
measurements should be capable of cancelling out those signal components which
are to be ignored when focusing on a phenomenon of interest. Under the
hypothesis that the subspaces hosting the signal components produced by each
phenomenon are complementary, their discrimination is accomplished by
measurements giving rise to the appropriate oblique projector operator. The
subspace onto which the operator should project is selected by nonlinear
techniques in line with adaptive pursuit strategies
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