Predicting surface heating rates and pressures resulting from hot exhaust gases

Structural tests determine experimentally the amount of thermal protection required on the Apollo service module because of plume impingement heating. Exhaust flow field analysis correlates with flat plate heating rate and surface pressure in a vacuum

Evolutionary Approaches to the Study of Small Noncoding Regulatory RNA Pathways: A Dissertation

Short noncoding RNAs play roles in regulating nearly every biological process, in nearly every organism, yet the exact function and importance of these molecules remains a subject of some debate. In order to gain a better understanding of the contexts in which these regulators have evolved, I have undertaken a variety of approaches to study the evolutionary history of the components that make up these pathways, in the form of two main research efforts. In the first chapter, I have used a combination of population genetics and molecular evolution techniques to show that proteins involved in the piRNA pathway are rapidly evolving, and that different components of the pathway seem to be evolving rapidly on different timescales. These rapidly evolving piRNA pathway proteins can be loosely separated into two groups. The first group appears to evolve quickly at the species level, perhaps in response to transposons that invade across species lines, while the second group appears to evolve quickly at the level of individual populations, perhaps in response to transposons that are paternally present yet novel to the maternal genome. In the second chapter of my research, I have used molecular evolution techniques and carefully devised controls to show that the binding sites of well-conserved miRNAs are among the most slowly changing short motifs in the genome, consistent with a conserved function for these short RNAs in regulatory pathways that are ancient and extremely slow to change. I have additionally discovered a major flaw in an existing approach to motif turnover calculations, which may lead to systematic biases in the published literature toward the false inference of increased regulatory complexity over time. I have implemented a revised approach to motif turnover that addresses this flaw

The brand likeability scale: an exploratory study of likeability in firm-level brands

We develop a new measurement scale to assess consumers’ brand likeability in firm-level brands. We present brand likeability as a multi-dimensional construct. In the context of service experience purchases, we find that increased likeability in brands results in (1) greater amount of positive association, (2) increased interaction interest, (3) more personified quality, and (4) increased brand contentment. The four-dimensional multiple-item scale demonstrates good psychometric properties, showing strong evidence of reliability as well as convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity. Our findings reveal that brand likeability is positively associated with satisfaction and positive word-of-mouth. The scale extends existing branding research, providing brand managers with a metric so that likeability can be managed strategically. It addresses the need for firms to act more likeable in an interaction-dominated economy. Focusing on likeability acts as a differentiator and encourages likeable brand personality traits. We present theoretical implications and future research directions on the holistic brand likeability concept

The Longevity of Lava Dome Eruptions

Understanding the duration of past, on-going and future volcanic eruptions is an important scientific goal and a key societal need. We present a new methodology for forecasting the duration of on-going and future lava dome eruptions based on a database (DomeHaz) recently compiled by the authors. The database includes duration and composition for 177 such eruptions, with "eruption" defined as the period encompassing individual episodes of dome growth along with associated quiescent periods during which extrusion pauses but unrest continues. In a key finding we show that probability distributions for dome eruption durations are both heavy-tailed and composition-dependent. We construct Objective Bayes statistical models featuring heavy-tailed Generalized Pareto distributions with composition-specific parameters to make forecasts about the durations of new and on-going eruptions that depend on both eruption duration-to-date and composition. Our Bayesian predictive distributions reflect both uncertainty about model parameter values (epistemic uncertainty) and the natural variability of the geologic processes (aleatoric uncertainty). The results are illustrated by presenting likely trajectories for fourteen dome-building eruptions on-going in 2015. Full representation of the uncertainty is presented for two key eruptions, Soufri{\'{e}}re Hills Volcano in Montserrat (10--139 years, median 35yr) and Sinabung, Indonesia (1--17 years, median 4yr). Uncertainties are high, but, importantly, quantifiable. This work provides for the first time a quantitative and transferable method and rationale on which to base long-term planning decisions for lava dome forming volcanoes, with wide potential use and transferability to forecasts of other types of eruptions and other adverse events across the geohazard spectrum.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, 3 table

Importance of Fluctuations in Light on Plant Photosynthetic Acclimation

The acclimation of plants to light has been studied extensively, yet little is known about the effect of dynamic fluctuations in light on plant phenotype and acclimatory responses. We mimicked natural fluctuations in light over a diurnal period to examine the effect on the photosynthetic processes and growth of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). High and low light intensities, delivered via a realistic dynamic fluctuating or square wave pattern, were used to grow and assess plants. Plants subjected to square wave light had thicker leaves and greater photosynthetic capacity compared with fluctuating light-grown plants. This, together with elevated levels of proteins associated with electron transport, indicates greater investment in leaf structural components and photosynthetic processes. In contrast, plants grown under fluctuating light had thinner leaves, lower leaf light absorption, but maintained similar photosynthetic rates per unit leaf area to square wave-grown plants. Despite high light use efficiency, plants grown under fluctuating light had a slow growth rate early in development, likely due to the fact that plants grown under fluctuating conditions were not able to fully utilize the light energy absorbed for carbon fixation. Diurnal leaf-level measurements revealed a negative feedback control of photosynthesis, resulting in a decrease in total diurnal carbon assimilated of at least 20%. These findings highlight that growing plants under square wave growth conditions ultimately fails to predict plant performance under realistic light regimes and stress the importance of considering fluctuations in incident light in future experiments that aim to infer plant productivity under natural conditions in the field

Extended Emission Line Gas in Radio Galaxies - PKS0349-27

PKS0349-27 is a classical FRII radio galaxy with an AGN host which has a spectacular, spiral-like structure in its extended emission line gas (EELG). We have measured the velocity field in this gas and find that it splits into 2 cloud groups separated by radial velocities which at some points approach 400 km/s Measurements of the diagnostic emission line ratios [OIII]5007/H-beta, [SII]6716+6731/H-alpha, and [NII]6583/H-alpha in these clouds show no evidence for the type of HII region emission associated with starburst activity in either velocity system. The measured emission line ratios are similar to those found in the nuclei of narrow-line radio galaxies, but the extended ionization/excitation cannot be produced by continuum emission from the active nucleus alone. We present arguments which suggest that the velocity disturbances seen in the EELG are most likely the result of a galaxy-galaxy collision or merger but cannot completely rule out the possibility that the gas has been disrupted by the passage of a radio jet.Comment: 12 pages, 3 fig pages, to appear in the Astrophys.

Three-dimensional Josephson-junction arrays in the quantum regime

We study the quantum phase transition properties of a three-dimensional periodic array of Josephson junctions with charging energy that includes both the self and mutual junction capacitances. We use the phase fluctuation algebra between number and phase operators, given by the Euclidean group E_2, and we effectively map the problem onto a solvable quantum generalization of the spherical model. We obtain a phase diagram as a function of temperature, Josephson coupling and charging energy. We also analyze the corresponding fluctuation conductivity and its universal scaling form in the vicinity of the zero-temperature quantum critical point.Comment: 9 pages, LATEX, three PostScript figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Numerical Study of Competing Spin-Glass and Ferromagnetic Order

Two and three dimensional random Ising models with a Gaussian distribution of couplings with variance $J$ and non-vanishing mean value $J_0$ are studied using the zero-temperature domain-wall renormalization group (DWRG). The DWRG trajectories in the ($J_0,J$) plane after rescaling can be collapsed on two curves: one for $J_0/J > r_c$ and other for $J_0/J < r_c$. In the first case the DWRG flows are toward the ferromagnetic fixed point both in two and three dimensions while in the second case flows are towards a paramagnetic fixed point and spin-glass fixed point in two and three dimensions respectively. No evidence for an extra phase is found.Comment: a bit more data is taken, 5 pages, 4 eps figures included, to appear in PR

Minimum Thermal Conductivity of Superlattices

The phonon thermal conductivity of a multilayer is calculated for transport perpendicular to the layers. There is a cross over between particle transport for thick layers to wave transport for thin layers. The calculations shows that the conductivity has a minimum value for a layer thickness somewhat smaller then the mean free path of the phonons.Comment: new results added, to appear in PR