In-flight load testing of advanced shuttle thermal protection systems

NASA Ames Research Center has conducted in-flight airload testing of some advanced thermal protection systems (TPS) at the Dryden Flight Research Center. The two flexible TPS materials tested, felt reusable surface insulation (FRSI) and advanced flexible reusable surface insulation (AFRSI), are currently certified for use on the Shuttle orbiter. The objectives of the flight tests were to evaluate the performance of FRSI and AFRSI at simulated launch airloads and to provide a data base for future advanced TPS flight tests. Five TPS configurations were evaluated in a flow field which was representative of relatively flat areas without secondary flows. The TPS materials were placed on a fin, the Flight Test fixture (FTF), that is attached to the underside of the fuselage of an F-104 aircraft. This paper describes the test approach and techniques used and presents the results of the advanced TPS flight test. There were no failures noted during post-flight inspections of the TPS materials which were exposed to airloads 40 percent higher than the design launch airloads

Fractional Order Continuity and Some Properties about Integrability and Differentiability of Real Functions

AbstractIn this paper a certain function spaceCα, 0≤α≤1, larger than the space of continuous functions, is introduced in order to study new properties and the extension of some already known results about the Riemann–Liouville fractional integral and derivative operators.Sufficient conditions for the continuity ofI1−αafare given. Furthermore, necessary conditions are given for the pointwise existence of fractional derivatives. The existence of a derivative of order β, from the existence of a certain derivative of order α, β<α, is also analyzed

On a Riemann–Liouville Generalized Taylor's Formula

AbstractIn this paper, a generalized Taylor's formula of the kindfx=∑j=0najx−a(j+1)α−1+Tnx,whereaj∈R,x>a, 0≤α≤1, is established. Such expression is precisely the classical Taylor's formula in the particular case α=1. In addition, detailed expressions forTn(x) andaj, involving the Riemann–Liouville fractional derivative, and some applications are also given

Características Estereológicas del Hígado de Rata (Rattus norvergicus) sometidas a Menopausia Inducida por Ovariectomía

Trujillo, E (reprint author), Univ Talca, Univ La Frontera, Lircay S-N, Talca, Chile.During menopause, hormonal changes such as decreased estradiol and increased follicle stimulating and luteinizing hormones occur. In premenopausal women fibrosis and hepatic steatosis is less than in postmenopausal women and improves when hormone replacement therapy is administered. The aim of this study was to determine quantitative aspects of the liver of rats undergoing an experimental model of ovariectomy-induced menopause. We used 10 Sprague-Dawley (Rattus norvergicus) healthy adults. The rats were weighed and divided into two groups (bilateral oophorectomy = Group Ovx and control = Group Sham). The animals were sacrificed at 60 days and the liver removed, obtaining a piece of each liver. Five cuts were made of 4 microns and stained with HE. We analyzed five fields per slide. M42 test was used. Stereo logical parameters considered were as follows: Nv, Vv, Sv and total number (Tn) of hepatocytes and sinusoids. The average weight of Ovx and Sham group was 300.8 g and 285.8 g, respectively. The Nv of hepatocytes of rats subjected to sham surgery (CS) and Ovx (CO) was 6.89 and 7.70 x 10(5)/mm(3) x 10(5)/mm(3), respectively. The Vv of CS and CO hepatocytes was 71.92% and 80.48%, respectively. SV and CO, CS hepatocytes was 260.61mm(2)/mm(3) and 273.64 mm(2)/mm(3), respectively. The average volume of CS livers was 8.40 mm(3) and hepatocyte Tn averaged 5.79 x 10(6). The average volume was 9.28 mm(3) CO livers and Tn of 7.15 x 10(6). Regarding the sinusoids, the Nv in the liver CS and CO was 2.81 x 10(5)/mm(3) and 2.64 x 10(5)/mm(3), respectively. The Vv of sinusoids in CS and CO was 16.74% and 16.46%, respectively. The sinusoids in rats Sv CS and CO was 49.40 mm(2)/mm(3) and 45.21 mm(2)/mm(3), respectively. The sinusoids Tn CS and CO averaged 2.37 x 10(6) and 2.45 x 10(6), respectively. The lack of estrogen can cause fibrosis and hepatic steatosis as noted by other authors, but also changes in the organization and the proportion of the components of the liver, factors to consider during diagnosis and prognosis of liver disorders

The influence of coronal EUV irradiance on the emission in the He I 10830 A and D3 multiplets

Two of the most attractive spectral windows for spectropolarimetric investigations of the physical properties of the plasma structures in the solar chromosphere and corona are the ones provided by the spectral lines of the He I 10830 A and 5876 A (or D3) multiplets, whose polarization signals are sensitive to the Hanle and Zeeman effects. However, in order to be able to carry out reliable diagnostics, it is crucial to have a good physical understanding of the sensitivity of the observed spectral line radiation to the various competing driving mechanisms. Here we report a series of off-the-limb non-LTE calculations of the He I D3 and 10830 A emission profiles, focusing our investigation on their sensitivity to the EUV coronal irradiation and the model atmosphere used in the calculations. We show in particular that the intensity ratio of the blue to the red components in the emission profiles of the He I 10830 A multiplet turns out to be a good candidate as a diagnostic tool for the coronal irradiance. Measurements of this observable as a function of the distance to the limb and its confrontation with radiative transfer modeling might give us valuable information on the physical properties of the solar atmosphere and on the amount of EUV radiation at relevant wavelengths penetrating the chromosphere from above.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures (pre-print format). Accepted for publication in Ap

Channeling 5-min photospheric oscillations into the solar outer atmosphere through small-scale vertical magnetic flux tubes

We report two-dimensional MHD simulations which demonstrate that photospheric 5-min oscillations can leak into the chromosphere inside small-scale vertical magnetic flux tubes. The results of our numerical experiments are compatible with those inferred from simultaneous spectropolarimetric observations of the photosphere and chromosphere obtained with the Tenerife Infrared Polarimeter (TIP) at 10830 A. We conclude that the efficiency of energy exchange by radiation in the solar photosphere can lead to a significant reduction of the cut-off frequency and may allow for the propagation of the 5 minutes waves vertically into the chromosphere.Comment: accepted by ApJ

Plant proteostasis-a proven and promising target for crop improvement - Editorial

The Green Revolution of the 1960s accomplished dramatic increases in crop yields through genetic improvement, chemical fertilisers, irrigation, and mechanisation. However, the current trajectory of population growth, against a backdrop of climate change and geopolitical unrest, predicts that agricultural production will be insufficient to ensure global food security in the next three decades. Improvements to crops that go beyond incremental gains are urgently needed. Plant biology has also undergone a revolution in recent years, through the development and application of powerful technologies including genome sequencing, a pantheon of ‘omics techniques, precise genome editing, and step changes in structural biology and microscopy. Proteostasis- the collective processes that control the protein complement of the cell, comprising synthesis, modification, localisation, and degradation- is a field that has benefitted from these advances. This special issue presents a selection of the latest research in this vibrant field, with a particular focus on protein degradation. In the current article, we highlight the diverse and widespread contributions of plant proteostasis to agronomic traits, suggest opportunities and strategies to manipulate different elements of proteostatic mechanisms for crop improvement, and discuss the challenges involved in bringing these ideas into practice

The effects of superior ovarian nerve sectioning on ovulation in the guinea pig

The effects on spontaneous ovulation associated with the unilateral or bilateral sectioning of the superior ovarian nerves (SON) were analyzed in guinea pigs at different time intervals of the estrous cycle. Day 1 of the estrous cycle was defined as the day when the animal presents complete loss of the vaginal membrane (open vagina). Subsequent phases of the cycle were determined by counting the days after Day 1. All animals were autopsied on the fifth day of the estrous cycle after surgery. Sectioning the right, left, or both SONs on day 5 (early luteal phase) resulted in a significant increase in the number of fresh corpora lutea. Ovulation increased significantly when the left SON (L-SON) was sectioned during late follicular phase (day 1) and medium luteal phase (day 8). When surgery was performed on days 1 or 8, neither sectioning the right SON (R-SON) nor sectioning the SON bilaterally had an apparent effect on ovulation rates. Similarly, ovulation rates were not affected when unilateral (right or left) or bilateral sectioning of the SON was performed during late luteal phase two (day 12). Unilateral or bilateral sectioning of the SON performed during the early luteal phase (day 5) was associated with a significant decrease in uterine weight. A comparable effect was observed when the L-SON was sectioned during late follicular phase (day 1), or medium luteal phase (day 8). No effects on uterine weight were observed when unilateral or bilateral sectioning of the SON was performed during late luteal phase. Our results suggest that in the guinea pig the SON modulates ovulation, and that the degree of modulation varies along the estrous cycle. The strongest influence of the SONs on ovulation occurs during early luteal phase, and decrease thereafter, being absent by late luteal phase. In addition, sectioning the left or the right SON caused different responses by the ovaries of adult guinea pigs. This paper discusses the mechanisms by which ovulation increased when the SON was surgically cut

Measuring star formation in high-z massive galaxies: A mid-infrared to submillimeter study of the GOODS NICMOS Survey sample

We present measurements of the mean mid-infrared-to-submillimeter flux densities of massive (M\ast \approx 2 \times 10^11 Msun) galaxies at redshifts 1.7 < z < 2.9, obtained by stacking positions of known objects taken from the GOODS NICMOS Survey (GNS) catalog on maps: at 24 {\mu}m (Spitzer/MIPS); 70, 100, and 160{\mu}m (Herschel/PACS); 250, 350, 500{\mu}m (BLAST); and 870{\mu}m (LABOCA). A modified blackbody spectrum fit to the stacked flux densities indicates a median [interquartile] star-formation rate of SFR = 63 [48, 81] Msun yr^-1 . We note that not properly accounting for correlations between bands when fitting stacked data can significantly bias the result. The galaxies are divided into two groups, disk-like and spheroid-like, according to their Sersic indices, n. We find evidence that most of the star formation is occurring in n \leq 2 (disk-like) galaxies, with median [interquartile] SFR = 122 [100,150] Msun yr^-1, while there are indications that the n > 2 (spheroid-like) population may be forming stars at a median [interquartile] SFR = 14 [9,20] Msun yr^-1, if at all. Finally, we show that star formation is a plausible mechanism for size evolution in this population as a whole, but find only marginal evidence that it is what drives the expansion of the spheroid-like galaxies.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS. 10 pages, 3 figures, 3 table