1,960 research outputs found
An advanced telerobotic system for shuttle payload changeout room processing applications
To potentially alleviate the inherent difficulties in the ground processing of the Space Shuttle and its associated payloads, a teleoperated, semi-autonomous robotic processing system for the Payload Changeout Room (PCR) is now in the conceptual stages. The complete PCR robotic system as currently conceived is described and critical design issues and the required technologies are discussed
Strong Approximation of Empirical Copula Processes by Gaussian Processes
We provide the strong approximation of empirical copula processes by a
Gaussian process. In addition we establish a strong approximation of the
smoothed empirical copula processes and a law of iterated logarithm
Testing fluvial erosion models using the transient response of bedrock rivers to tectonic forcing in the Apennines, Italy
The transient response of bedrock rivers to a drop in base level can be used to
discriminate between competing fluvial erosion models. However, some recent studies of
bedrock erosion conclude that transient river long profiles can be approximately
characterized by a transportâlimited erosion model, while other authors suggest that a
detachmentâlimited model best explains their field data. The difference is thought to be
due to the relative volume of sediment being fluxed through the fluvial system. Using a
pragmatic approach, we address this debate by testing the ability of endâmember fluvial
erosion models to reproduce the wellâdocumented evolution of three catchments in the
central Apennines (Italy) which have been perturbed to various extents by an
independently constrained increase in relative uplift rate. The transportâlimited model is
unable to account for the catchmentsâresponse to the increase in uplift rate, consistent with
the observed low rates of sediment supply to the channels. Instead, a detachmentâlimited
model with a threshold corresponding to the fieldâderived median grain size of the
sediment plus a slopeâdependent channel width satisfactorily reproduces the overall
convex long profiles along the studied rivers. Importantly, we find that the prefactor in the
hydraulic scaling relationship is uplift dependent, leading to landscapes responding faster
the higher the uplift rate, consistent with field observations. We conclude that a slopeâ
dependent channel width and an entrainment/erosion threshold are necessary ingredients
when modeling landscape evolution or mapping the distribution of fluvial erosion rates in
areas where the rate of sediment supply to channels is low
Interactions of local climatic, biotic and hydrogeochemical processes facilitate phosphorus dynamics along an Everglades forest-marsh gradient
Ecosystem nutrient cycling is often complex because nutrient dynamics within and between systems are mediated by the interaction of biological and geochemical conditions operating at different temporal and spatial scales. Vegetated patches in semiarid and wetland landscapes have been shown to exemplify some of these patterns and processes. We investigated biological and geochemical factors suggested to contribute to phosphorus (P) movement and availability along a forest-marsh gradient in an Everglades tree island. Our study illustrated processes that are consistent with the chemohydrodynamic nutrient (CHNT) hypothesis and the trigger-transfer, pulse-reserve (TTPR) model developed for semiarid systems. Comparison with the TTPR model was constructive as it elaborated several significant patterns and processes of the tree island ecosystem including: (1) concentration of the limiting resource (P) in the source patch (High Head which constitutes the reserve) compared with the resource-poor landscape, (2) soil zone calcite precipitation requiring strong seasonality for evapotranspiration to promote conditions for secondary soil development and calcium phosphate reprecipitation, (3) rewetting of previously dry soils by early wet season precipitation events, and (4) antecedent conditions of the source patch, including landscape position that modulated the effect of the precipitation trigger. Thus, our study showed how water availability drives soil water P dynamics and, potentially, stability of mineral soil P in this tree island ecosystem. In landscapes with extensive water management, these processes can be asynchronous with the seasonality of hydrologic dynamics, tipping the balance between a sink and source of a limiting nutrient
An Alternative Interpretation of Statistical Mechanics
In this paper I propose an interpretation of classical statistical mechanics that centers on taking seriously the idea that probability measures represent complete states of statistical mechanical systems. I show how this leads naturally to the idea that the stochasticity of statistical mechanics is associated directly with the observables of the theory rather than with the microstates (as traditional accounts would have it). The usual assumption that microstates are representationally significant in the theory is therefore dispensable, a consequence which suggests interesting possibilities for developing non-equilibrium statistical mechanics and investigating inter-theoretic answers to the foundational questions of statistical mechanics
Functional Analysis of the TAN-1 Gene, a Human Homolog of Drosophila Notch
The TAN-1 gene was originally discovered at the breakpoint of a recurrent (7;9)(q34;q34.3) chromosomal translocation found in a subset of human T-lymphoblastic leukemias (Reynolds et al. 1987; Smith et al. 1988; Ellisen et al. 1991). This translocation joins roughly the 3âČ half of TAN-1 head-to-head with the 3âČ portion of the ÎČ T-cell-receptor gene (TCRB) beginning at the 5âČ boundary of one or the other J segment. Intact TAN-1 is normally transcribed into an 8.2-kb transcript that is present in many tissues, most abundantly in developing thymus and spleen (Ellisen et al. 1991). This tissue distribution and the apparent involvement of an altered version of the gene in T-cell cancers have suggested that TAN-1 normally has some special function in lymphocytes or their precursors
Basins of attraction on random topography
We investigate the consequences of fluid flowing on a continuous surface upon
the geometric and statistical distribution of the flow. We find that the
ability of a surface to collect water by its mere geometrical shape is
proportional to the curvature of the contour line divided by the local slope.
Consequently, rivers tend to lie in locations of high curvature and flat
slopes. Gaussian surfaces are introduced as a model of random topography. For
Gaussian surfaces the relation between convergence and slope is obtained
analytically. The convergence of flow lines correlates positively with drainage
area, so that lower slopes are associated with larger basins. As a consequence,
we explain the observed relation between the local slope of a landscape and the
area of the drainage basin geometrically. To some extent, the slope-area
relation comes about not because of fluvial erosion of the landscape, but
because of the way rivers choose their path. Our results are supported by
numerically generated surfaces as well as by real landscapes
Factor copula models for item response data
Factor or conditional independence models based on copulas are proposed for multivariate discrete data such as item responses. The factor copula models have interpretations of latent maxima/minima (in comparison with latent means) and can lead to more probability in the joint upper or lower tail compared with factor models based on the discretized multivariate normal distribution (or multidimensional normal ogive model). Details on maximum likelihood estimation of parameters for the factor copula model are given, as well as analysis of the behavior of the log-likelihood. Our general methodology is illustrated with several item response data sets, and it is shown that there is a substantial improvement on existing models both conceptually and in fit to data
A joint scoring model for peer-to-peer and traditional lending:A bivariate model with copula dependence
We analyse the dependence between defaults in peer-to-peer lending and credit bureaus. To achieve this, we propose a new flexible bivariate regression model that is suitable for binary imbalanced samples. We use different copula functions to model the dependence structure between defaults in the two credit markets. We implement the model in the R package BivGEV and we explore the empirical properties of the proposed fitting procedure by a Monte Carlo study. The application of this proposal to a comprehensive data set provided by Lending Club shows a significant level of dependence between the defaults in peer-to-peer and credit bureaus. Finally, we find that our model outperforms the bivariate probit and univariate logit models in predicting peer-to-peer default, in estimating the value at risk and the expected shortfall
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