The pointing errors of geosynchronous satellites

A study of the correlation between cloud motion and wind field was initiated. Cloud heights and displacements were being obtained from a ceilometer and movie pictures, while winds were measured from pilot balloon observations on a near-simultaneous basis. Cloud motion vectors were obtained from time-lapse cloud pictures, using the WINDCO program, for 27, 28 July, 1969, in the Atlantic. The relationship between observed features of cloud clusters and the ambient wind field derived from cloud trajectories on a wide range of space and time scales is discussed

Theory of tailorable optical response of two-dimensional arrays of plasmonic nanoparticles at dielectric interfaces

Two-dimensional arrays of plasmonic nanoparticles at interfaces are promising candidates for novel optical metamaterials. Such systems materialise from ‘top–down’ patterning or ‘bottom–up’ self-assembly of nanoparticles at liquid/liquid or liquid/solid interfaces. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of an extended effective quasi-static four-layer-stack model for the description of plasmon-resonance-enhanced optical responses of such systems. We investigate in detail the effects of the size of nanoparticles, average interparticle separation, dielectric constants of the media constituting the interface, and the nanoparticle position relative to the interface. Interesting interplays of these different factors are explored first for normally incident light. For off-normal incidence, the strong effects of the polarisation of light are found at large incident angles, which allows to dynamically tune the reflectance spectra. All the predictions of the theory are tested against full-wave simulations, proving this simplistic model to be adequate within the quasi-static limit. The model takes seconds to calculate the system’s optical response and makes it easy to unravel the effect of each system parameter. This helps rapid rationalization of experimental data and understanding of the optical signals from these novel ‘metamaterials’, optimised for light reflection or harvesting

System dynamics-based modelling and analysis of greening the construction industry supply chain

Increasing concern on global warming and corporate social responsibility have made environmental issues an area of importance to address for governments and businesses across the world. Among the Middle East countries, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) tops the list in terms of per capita energy spending and per capita carbon footprints. The construction industry is the major contributor to environmental pollution due to its size and nature of activity. The rapid growth of construction sector has a significant environmental impact with increase in carbon footprints. This paper analyses the environmental implications of the rapidly growing construction industry in UAE using system dynamics approach. Quantitative modelling of the construction industry supply chain helps to measure the dynamic interaction between its various factors under multiple realistic scenarios. The potential carbon savings and the impact of each factor are calculated using scenario development analysis. The paper has addressed in detail the various drivers and inhibitors of carbon emission in the construction industry supply chain and ways to evaluate the carbon savings. The paper provides an analytical decision framework to assess emissions of all stages applicable to the construction industry supply chain

Nanoparticle meta-grid for enhanced light extraction from light emitting devices

Based on a developed theory, we show that introducing a meta-grid of sub-wavelength-sized plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) into existing semiconductor light-emitting-devices (LEDs) can lead to enhanced transmission of light across the LED-chip/encapsulant interface. This results from destructive interference between light reflected from the chip/encapsulant interface and light reflected by the NP meta-grid, which conspicuously increase the efficiency of light extraction from LEDs. The “meta-grid”, should be inserted on top of a conventional LED chip within its usual encapsulating packaging. As described by the theory, the nanoparticle composition, size, interparticle spacing, and distance from the LED-chip surface can be tailored to facilitate maximal transmission of light emitted from the chip into its encapsulating layer by reducing the Fresnel loss. The analysis shows that transmission across a typical LED-chip/encapsulant interface at the peak emission wavelength can be boosted up to ~99%, which is otherwise mere ~84% at normal incidence. The scheme could provide improved transmission within the photon escape cone over the entire emission spectrum of an LED. This would benefit energy saving, in addition to increasing the lifetime of LEDs by reducing heating. Potentially, the scheme will be easy to implement and adopt into existing semiconductor-device technologies, and it can be used separately or in conjunction with other methods for mitigating the critical angle loss in LEDs

Silicon and iron isotopes in components of enstatite chondrites: Implications for metal–silicate–sulfide fractionation in the solar nebula

Silicon and iron isotope compositions of different physically separated components of enstatite chondrites (EC) were determined in this study to understand the role of nebular and planetary scale events in fractionating Si and Fe isotopes of the terrestrial planet-forming region. We found that the metal–sulfide nodules of EC are strongly enriched in light Si isotopes (δ30Si ≥ −5.61 ± 0.12‰, 2SD), whereas the δ30Si values of angular metal grains, magnetic, slightly magnetic, and non-magnetic fractions become progressively heavier, correlating with their Mg# (Mg/(Mg+Fe)). White mineral phases, composed primarily of SiO2 polymorphs, display the heaviest δ30Si of up to +0.23 ± 0.10‰. The data indicate a key role of metal–silicate partitioning on the Si isotope composition of EC. The overall lighter δ30Si of bulk EC compared to other planetary materials can be explained by the enrichment of light Si isotopes in EC metals along with the loss of isotopically heavier forsterite-rich silicates from the EC-forming region. In contrast to the large Si isotope heterogeneity, the average Fe isotope composition (δ56Fe) of EC components was found to vary from −0.30 ± 0.08‰ to +0.20 ± 0.04‰. A positive correlation between δ56Fe and Ni/S in the components suggests that the metals are enriched in heavy Fe isotopes whereas sulfides are the principal hosts of light Fe isotopes in the non-magnetic fractions of EC. Our combined Si and Fe isotope data in different EC components reflect an inverse correlation between δ30Si and δ56Fe, which illustrates that partitioning of Si and Fe among metal, silicate, and sulfidic phases has significantly fractionated Si and Fe isotopes under reduced conditions. Such isotope partitioning must have occurred before the diverse components were mixed to form the EC parent body. Evaluation of diffusion coefficients of Si and Fe in the metal and non-metallic phases suggests that the Si isotope compositions of the silicate fractions of EC largely preserve information of their nebular processing. On the other hand, the Fe isotopes might have undergone partial or complete re-equilibration during parent body metamorphism. The relatively uniform δ56Fe among different types of bulk chondrites and the Earth, despite Fe isotope differences among their components, demonstrates that the chondrite parent bodies were not formed by random mixing of chondritic components from different locations in the disk. Instead, the chondrite components mostly originated in the same nebular reservoir and Si and Fe isotopes were fractionated either due to gas–solid interactions and associated changes in physicochemical environment of the nebular reservoir and/or during parent body processing. The heavier Si isotope composition of the bulk silicate Earth may require accretion of chondritic and/or isotopically heavier EC silicates along with cumulation of refractory forsterite-rich heavier silicates lost from the EC-forming region to form the silicate reservoir of the Earth

Anaphora resolution for bengali: An experiment with domain adaptation

In this paper we present our first attempt on anaphora resolution for a resource poor language, namely Bengali. We address the issue of adapting a state-of-the-art system, BART, which was originally developed for English. Overall performance of co-reference resolution greatly depends on the high accurate mention detectors. We develop a number of models based on the heuristics used as well as on the particular machine learning employed. Thereafter we perform a series of experiments for adapting BART for Bengali. Our evaluation shows, a language-dependant system (designed primarily for English) can achieve a good performance level when re-trained and tested on a new language with proper subsets of features. The system produces the recall, precision and F-measure values of 56.00%, 46.50% and 50.80%, respectively. The contribution of this work is two-fold, viz. (i). attempt to build a machine learning based anaphora resolution system for a resource-poor Indian language; and (ii). domain adaptation of a state-of-the-art English co-reference resolution system for Bengali, which has completely different orthography and characteristics

New functions for the ancient DedA membrane protein family

The DedA protein family is a highly conserved and ancient family of membrane proteins with representatives in most sequenced genomes, including those of bacteria, archaea, and eukarya. The functions of the DedA family proteins remain obscure. However, recent genetic approaches have revealed important roles for certain bacterial DedA family members in membrane homeostasis. Bacterial DedA family mutants display such intriguing phenotypes as cell division defects, temperature sensitivity, altered membrane lipid composition, elevated envelope-related stress responses, and loss of proton motive force. The DedA family is also essential in at least two species of bacteria: Borrelia burgdorferi and Escherichia coli. Here, we describe the phylogenetic distribution of the family and summarize recent progress toward understanding the functions of the DedA membrane protein family. © 2013, American Society for Microbiology