10,977 research outputs found
Measurements with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory's flight contamination monitor
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory includes a Flight Contamination Monitor
(FCM), a system of 16 radioactive calibration sources mounted to the inside of
the Observatory's forward contamination cover. The purpose of the FCM is to
verify the ground-to-orbit transfer of the Chandra flux scale, through
comparison of data acquired during the ground calibration with those obtained
in orbit, immediately prior to opening the Observatory's sun-shade door. Here
we report results of these measurements, which place limits on the change in
mirror--detector system response and, hence, on any accumulation of molecular
contamination on the mirrors' iridium-coated surfaces.Comment: 7pages,8figures,for SPIE 4012, paper 7
The optimal polarizations for achieving maximum contrast in radar images
There is considerable interest in determining the optimal polarizations that maximize contrast between two scattering classes in polarimetric radar images. A systematic approach is presented for obtaining the optimal polarimetric matched filter, i.e., that filter which produces maximum contrast between two scattering classes. The maximization procedure involves solving an eigenvalue problem where the eigenvector corresponding to the maximum contrast ratio is an optimal polarimetric matched filter. To exhibit the physical significance of this filter, it is transformed into its associated transmitting and receiving polarization states, written in terms of horizontal and vertical vector components. For the special case where the transmitting polarization is fixed, the receiving polarization which maximizes the contrast ratio is also obtained. Polarimetric filtering is then applies to synthetic aperture radar images obtained from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It is shown, both numerically and through the use of radar imagery, that maximum image contrast can be realized when data is processed with the optimal polarimeter matched filter
Lattice-dynamics of a Disordered solid-solid Interface
Generic properties of elastic phonon transport at a disordered interface are
studied. The results show that phonon transmittance is a strong function of
frequency and the disorder correlation length. At frequencies lower than the
van Hove singularity the transmittance at a given frequency increases as the
correlation length decreases. At low frequencies, this is reflected by
different power-laws for phonon conductance across correlated and uncorrelated
disordered interfaces which are in approximate agreement with perturbation
theory of an elastic continuum. These results can be understood in terms of
simple mosaic and two-colour models of the interface.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR
Investigating 16O with the 15N(p,{\alpha})12C reaction
The 16O nucleus was investigated through the 15N(p,{\alpha})12C reaction at
excitation energies from Ex = 12 231 to 15 700 keV using proton beams from a 5
MeV Van de Graaff accelerator at beam energies of Ep = 331 to 3800 keV. Alpha
decay from resonant states in 16O was strongly observed for ten known excited
states in this region. The candidate 4-alpha cluster state at Ex = 15.1 MeV was
investigated particularly intensely in order to understand its particle decay
channels.Comment: Submitted for Proceedings of Fourth International Workshop on State
of the Art in Nuclear Cluster Physics (SOTANCP4), held from May 13 - 18, 2018
in Galveston, TX, US
Oscillatory Spin Polarization and Magneto-Optic Kerr Effect in Fe3O4 Thin Films on GaAs(001)
The spin dependent properties of epitaxial Fe3O4 thin films on GaAs(001) are
studied by the ferromagnetic proximity polarization (FPP) effect and
magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE). Both FPP and MOKE show oscillations with
respect to Fe3O4 film thickness, and the oscillations are large enough to
induce repeated sign reversals. We attribute the oscillatory behavior to
spin-polarized quantum well states forming in the Fe3O4 film. Quantum
confinement of the t2g states near the Fermi level provides an explanation for
the similar thickness dependences of the FPP and MOKE oscillations.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Engineering synthetic vaccines using cues from natural immunity
Vaccines aim to protect against or treat diseases through manipulation of the immune response, promoting either immunity or tolerance. In the former case, vaccines generate antibodies and T cells poised to protect against future pathogen encounter or attack diseased cells such as tumours; in the latter case, which is far less developed, vaccines block pathogenic autoreactive T cells and autoantibodies that target self tissue. Enormous challenges remain, however, as a consequence of our incomplete understanding of human immunity. A rapidly growing field of research is the design of vaccines based on synthetic materials to target organs, tissues, cells or intracellular compartments; to co-deliver immunomodulatory signals that control the quality of the immune response; or to act directly as immune regulators. There exists great potential for well-defined materials to further our understanding of immunity. Here we describe recent advances in the design of synthetic materials to direct immune responses, highlighting successes and challenges in prophylactic, therapeutic and tolerance-inducing vaccines.United States. Dept. of Defense (contract W911NF-13-D-0001)United States. Dept. of Defense (contract W911NF-07-D-0004)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (AI095109)Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationRagon Institute of MGH, MIT, and HarvardNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (AI091693)Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Investigator)Carigest S
Epitaxial EuO Thin Films on GaAs
We demonstrate the epitaxial growth of EuO on GaAs by reactive molecular beam
epitaxy. Thin films are grown in an adsorption-controlled regime with the aid
of an MgO diffusion barrier. Despite the large lattice mismatch, it is shown
that EuO grows well on MgO(001) with excellent magnetic properties. Epitaxy on
GaAs is cube-on-cube and longitudinal magneto-optic Kerr effect measurements
demonstrate a large Kerr rotation of 0.57{\deg}, a significant remanent
magnetization, and a Curie temperature of 69 K.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Termination of Supplemental Security Income Benefits for Drug Addiction and Alcoholism: Results of a Longitudinal Study of the Effects on Former Beneficiaries
This article reviews the results of a multisite cohort study on effects of terminating Supplemental Security Income benefits for drug addiction and alcoholism. Within 2 years of the program\u27s termination, 35 - 43 percent of participants requalified for disability benefits for another impairment. Regardless of requalification status, substance abuse treatment participation declined sharply and illegal drug use was prevalent. Although many of those who did not requalify lost income, medical benefits, and housing, these losses lessened over time and were not associated with increased psychological or medical problems or with declines in other aspects of participants\u27 lives
Leveraging OpenStack and Ceph for a Controlled-Access Data Cloud
While traditional HPC has and continues to satisfy most workflows, a new
generation of researchers has emerged looking for sophisticated, scalable,
on-demand, and self-service control of compute infrastructure in a cloud-like
environment. Many also seek safe harbors to operate on or store sensitive
and/or controlled-access data in a high capacity environment.
To cater to these modern users, the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute
designed and deployed Stratus, a locally-hosted cloud environment powered by
the OpenStack platform, and backed by Ceph storage. The subscription-based
service complements existing HPC systems by satisfying the following unmet
needs of our users: a) on-demand availability of compute resources, b)
long-running jobs (i.e., days), c) container-based computing with
Docker, and d) adequate security controls to comply with controlled-access data
requirements.
This document provides an in-depth look at the design of Stratus with respect
to security and compliance with the NIH's controlled-access data policy.
Emphasis is placed on lessons learned while integrating OpenStack and Ceph
features into a so-called "walled garden", and how those technologies
influenced the security design. Many features of Stratus, including tiered
secure storage with the introduction of a controlled-access data "cache",
fault-tolerant live-migrations, and fully integrated two-factor authentication,
depend on recent OpenStack and Ceph features.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, PEARC '18: Practice and Experience in Advanced
Research Computing, July 22--26, 2018, Pittsburgh, PA, US
- …