462 research outputs found
Six degree of freedom simulation system for evaluating automated rendezvous and docking spacecraft
Future logistics supply and servicing vehicles such as cargo transfer vehicles (CTV) must have full 6 degree of freedom (6DOF) capability in order to perform requisite rendezvous, proximity operations, and capture operations. The design and performance issues encountered when developing a 6DOF maneuvering spacecraft are very complex with subtle interactions which are not immediately obvious or easily anticipated. In order to deal with these complexities and develop robust maneuvering spacecraft designs, a simulation system and associated family of tools are used at TRW for generating and validating spacecraft performance requirements and guidance algorithms. An overview of the simulator and tools is provided. These are used by TRW for autonomous rendezvous and docking research projects including CTV studies
Identifying metabolites by integrating metabolome databases with mass spectrometry cheminformatics.
Novel metabolites distinct from canonical pathways can be identified through the integration of three cheminformatics tools: BinVestigate, which queries the BinBase gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) metabolome database to match unknowns with biological metadata across over 110,000 samples; MS-DIAL 2.0, a software tool for chromatographic deconvolution of high-resolution GC-MS or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS); and MS-FINDER 2.0, a structure-elucidation program that uses a combination of 14 metabolome databases in addition to an enzyme promiscuity library. We showcase our workflow by annotating N-methyl-uridine monophosphate (UMP), lysomonogalactosyl-monopalmitin, N-methylalanine, and two propofol derivatives
Numerical simulations of atmospheric waves excited by the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake
New results on GP Com
We present high resolution optical and UV spectra of the 46 min orbital
period, helium binary, GP Com. Our data contains simultaneous photometric
correction which confirms the flaring behaviour observed in previous optical
and UV data. In this system all lines show a triple peaked structure where the
outer two peaks are associated with the accretion disc around the compact
object. The main aim of this paper is to constrain the origin of the central
peak, also called ``central spike''. We find that the central spike contributes
to the flare spectra indicating that its origin is probably the compact object.
We also detect that the central spike moves with orbital phase following an
S-wave pattern. The radial velocity semiamplitude of the S-wave is ~10 km/s
indicating that its origin is near the centre of mass of the system, which in
this case lies very close to the white dwarf. Our resolution is higher than
that of previous data which allows us to resolve structure in the central peak
of the line. The central spike in three of the HeI lines shows another peak
blueshifted with respect to the main peak. We propose that one of the peaks is
a neutral helium forbidden transition excited in a high electron density
region. This forbidden transition is associated with the permitted one (the
stronger peak in two of the lines). The presence of a high electron density
region again favours the white dwarf as their origin.Comment: 14 pages, 16 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
Stability and Evolution of Supernova Fallback Disks
We show that thin accretion disks made of Carbon or Oxygen are subject to the
same thermal ionization instability as Hydrogen and Helium disks. We argue that
the instability applies to disks of any metal content. The relevance of the
instability to supernova fallback disks probably means that their power-law
evolution breaks down when they first become neutral. We construct simple
analytical models for the viscous evolution of fallback disks to show that it
is possible for these disks to become neutral when they are still young (ages
of a few 10^3 to 10^4 years), compact in size (a few 10^9 cm to 10^11 cm) and
generally accreting at sub-Eddington rates (Mdot ~ a few 10^14 - 10^18 g/s).
Based on recent results on the nature of viscosity in the disks of close
binaries, we argue that this time may also correspond to the end of the disk
activity period. Indeed, in the absence of a significant source of viscosity in
the neutral phase, the entire disk will likely turn to dust and become passive.
We discuss various applications of the evolutionary model, including anomalous
X-ray pulsars and young radio pulsars. Our analysis indicates that metal-rich
fallback disks around newly-born neutron stars and black holes become neutral
generally inside the tidal truncation radius (Roche limit) for planets, at
\~10^11 cm. Consequently, the efficiency of the planetary formation process in
this context will mostly depend on the ability of the resulting disk of rocks
to spread via collisions beyond the Roche limit. It appears easier for the
merger product of a doubly degenerate binary, whether it is a massive white
dwarf or a neutron star, to harbor planets because it can spread beyond the
Roche limit before becoming neutral.[Abridged]Comment: 34 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Very Large Array Observations of Disturbed Ion Flow from the Plasmasphere to the Nighttime Ionosphere
We present the results of a multi-scale analysis of TEC fluctuations using a
roughly five-hour observation of the bright radio source Virgo A with the Very
Large Array (VLA) at 74 MHz in its B configuration. Our analysis combines data
sensitive to fine-scale structure (~10 km and <0.001 TECU in amplitude) along
the line of sight to Virgo A as well as larger structures (hundreds of km)
observed using several (~30) moderately bright sources in the field of view.
The observations span a time period from midnight to dawn local time during 1
March 2001. Several groups of magnetic eastward directed (MED), wavelike
disturbances were identified and determined to be located within the
plasmasphere (2.1<L<2.9). We have also detected evidence of non-wavelike
structures associated with these disturbances which are propagating roughly
toward magnetic north. These likely represent a non-uniform density flow from
the plasmasphere toward the nighttime ionosphere. AE and Kp indices and GPS TEC
data indicate that during the observations, there were low levels of
geomagnetic activity accompanied by somewhat localized depletions in
ionospheric density. Thus, the observed plasmaspheric disturbance may be part
of a flow triggered by these ionospheric depletions, likely associated with
forcing from the lower atmosphere which is typically more prominent during
quiet geomagnetic conditions. In addition, we have also observed several
roughly westward directed and southeast directed waves located within the
ionosphere. They are coincident in time with the plasmaspheric disturbances and
may be related to the deposition of material onto the nighttime ionosphere.Comment: accepted to Radio Scienc
Rapid and Convenient Single-Chain Variable Fragment-Employed Electrochemical C-Reactive Protein Detection System
Although IgG-free immunosensors are in high demand owing to ethical concerns, the development of convenient immunosensors that alternatively integrate recombinantly produced antibody fragments, such as single-chain variable fragments (scFvs), remains challenging. The low affinity of antibody fragments, unlike IgG, caused by monovalent binding to targets often leads to decreased sensitivity. We improved the affinity owing to the bivalent effect by fabricating a bivalent antibody–enzyme complex (AEC) composed of two scFvs and a single glucose dehydrogenase, and developed a rapid and convenient scFv-employed electrochemical detection system for the C-reactive protein (CRP), which is a homopentameric protein biomarker of systemic inflammation. The development of a point-of-care testing (POCT) system is highly desirable; however, no scFv-based CRP-POCT immunosensors have been developed. As expected, the bivalent AEC showed higher affinity than the single scFv and contributed to the high sensitivity of CRP detection. The electrochemical CRP detection using scFv-immobilized magnetic beads and the bivalent AEC as capture and detection antibodies, respectively, was achieved in 20 min without washing steps in human serum and the linear range was 1–10 nM with the limit of detection of 2.9 nM, which has potential to meet the criteria required for POCT application in rapidity, convenience, and hand-held detection devices without employing IgGs
Generation and quality control of lipidomics data for the alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative cohort.
Alzheimers disease (AD) is a major public health priority with a large socioeconomic burden and complex etiology. The Alzheimer Disease Metabolomics Consortium (ADMC) and the Alzheimer Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) aim to gain new biological insights in the disease etiology. We report here an untargeted lipidomics of serum specimens of 806 subjects within the ADNI1 cohort (188 AD, 392 mild cognitive impairment and 226 cognitively normal subjects) along with 83 quality control samples. Lipids were detected and measured using an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography quadruple/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF MS) instrument operated in both negative and positive electrospray ionization modes. The dataset includes a total 513 unique lipid species out of which 341 are known lipids. For over 95% of the detected lipids, a relative standard deviation of better than 20% was achieved in the quality control samples, indicating high technical reproducibility. Association modeling of this dataset and available clinical, metabolomics and drug-use data will provide novel insights into the AD etiology. These datasets are available at the ADNI repository at http://adni.loni.usc.edu/
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