703 research outputs found
Petrographic and petrological studies of lunar rocks
Thin sections and polished electron probe mounts of Apollo 15 glasscoated breccias 15255, 15286, 15466, and 15505 were examined optically and analyzed by sem/microprobe. Sections from breccias 15465 and 15466 were examined in detail, and chemical and mineralogical analyses of several larger lithic clasts, green glass, and partly crystallized green glass spheres are presented. Area analyses of 33 clasts from the above breccias were also done using the SEM/EDS system. Mineralogical and bulk chemical analyses of clasts from the Apollo 15 glass-coated breccias reveal a diverse set of potential rock types, including plutonic and extrusive igneous rocks and impact melts. Examination of the chemistry of the clasts suggests that many of these clasts, like those found in 61175, are impact melts. Their variability suggests formation by several small local impacts rather than by a large basin-forming event
Petrographic and petrological studies of lunar rocks
Clasts, rind glass, matrix glass, and matrix minerals from five Apollo 15 glass-coated breccias (15255, 15286, 15465, 15466, and 15505) were studied optically and with the SEM/microprobe. Rind glass compositions differ from sample to sample, but are identical, or nearly so, to the local soil, suggesting their origin by fusion of that soil. Most breccia samples contain green or colorless glass spheres identical to the Apollo 15 green glasses. These glasses, along with other glass shards and fragments, indicate a large soil component is present in the breccias. Clast populations include basalts and gabbros containing phases highly enriched in iron, indicative of extreme differentiation or fractional crystallization. Impact melts, anorthosites, and minor amounts of ANT suite material are also present among the clasts. Tektite glasses, impact melts, and breccias from the Zhamanshin structure, USSR, were also studied. Basic tektite glasses were found to be identical in composition to impact melts from the structure, but no satisfactory parent material has been identified in the limited suite of samples available
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Distribution of α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Subunit mRNA in the Developing Mouse.
Homomeric α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are abundantly expressed in the central and peripheral nervous system (CNS and PNS, respectively), and spinal cord. In addition, expression and functional responses have been reported in non-neuronal tissue. In the nervous system, α7 nAChR subunit expression appears early during embryonic development and is often transiently upregulated, but little is known about their prenatal expression outside of the nervous system. For understanding potential short-term and long-term effects of gestational nicotine exposure, it is important to know the temporal and spatial expression of α7 nAChRs throughout the body. To that end, we studied the expression of α7 nAChR subunit mRNA using highly sensitive isotopic in situ hybridization in embryonic and neonatal whole-body mouse sections starting at gestational day 13. The results revealed expression of α7 mRNA as early as embryonic day 13 in the PNS, including dorsal root ganglia, parasympathetic and sympathetic ganglia, with the strongest expression in the superior cervical ganglion, and low to moderate levels were detected in brain and spinal cord, respectively, which rapidly increased in intensity with embryonic age. In addition, robust α7 mRNA expression was detected in the adrenal medulla, and low to moderate expression in selected peripheral tissues during embryonic development, potentially related to cells derived from the neural crest. Little or no mRNA expression was detected in thymus or spleen, sites of immune cell maturation. The results suggest that prenatal nicotine exposure could potentially affect the nervous system with limited effects in non-neural tissues
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Regional Differences in Economic Impacts of Power Outages in Finland
Estimating the worth of continuity of electricity supply is of interest to industry, governments, regulators and the research community. There are numerous methods to calculate the Customer Interruption Costs (CICs). Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. We approach the problem from the Distribution System Operator (DSO) point of view and employ two existing analytical models. One model is used by the Finnish Energy Market Authority and the second one was proposed by some of the authors in a previous study. Our model offers a simple and straightforward methodology which can provide credible and objective estimations utilizing only publicly available analytical data. We made use of cost and reliability indices data of 78 DSOs in Finland from the 2016. In addition to cost estimations, we highlight regional differences in CIC estimations in different parts of Finland and provide a critical overview of the existing standard customer compensation scheme in Finland
Pilot phase trial to quantify the extent and relevance of any deepwater puerulus settlement that may have taken place in the Western Rocklobster Fishery
This study had two objectives. Firstly to trial modifications to commercial western rock lobster pots, so as to sample as wide a size range of lobsters on the grounds as possible. Sampling took place over a 10 day period between 13-24 September 2009, with seven commercial fishermen being responsible for collection of the data at different sampling locations (Mandurah, Fremantle, Lancelin, Dongara, Geraldton, Abrolhos and Kalbarri). This arrangement proved to be successful in that a wide area of the coast was covered by the sampling regime and good quality catch composition data was achieved across the four depth zones (0-10 fm, 10-20 fm, 20-30 fm and >30 fm) that were sampled. The different pot modifications that were trialled sampled a wide size range (25-144 mm CL), but mostly caught lobsters around the legal size limit (modal size, 80 mm CL). In three of the four areas where more than one pot type was used, there were significant differences (p<0.01) in the catch rates of one or more size classes between the various pot types.The second objective was to establish whether there has been a shift in post-puerulus settlement from shallow to deeper waters. Analysis showed that depth was highly significant (p<0.05) in determining the catch rates of most size classes (≤50 mm CL; 51-65 mm CL; 66-76 mm CL; 77-105 mm CL and ≥105 mm CL). Generally, small size classes were sampled in the shallow depth categories and larger lobsters were sampled in the deeper depth categories, which would suggest that as in the past, recent puerulus settlement has been in shallow depths. Accordingly, it would seem reasonable to conclude that it is unlikely that there has been a major shift in the depths at which pueruli are settling. However, small lobsters were sampled in low numbers in the deep water categories in this survey and this therefore does not exclude the possibility that deep water settlement may be becoming more common than in past.In terms of recommendations, more monitoring of post-puerulus/juvenile lobsters using modified commercial pots similar to those used in this study has the potential to provide inter-annual comparisons of the numbers of small size classes settling at different depths on the grounds. It is only with more data of this type over a longer time period, that it will be possible to show whether there is any indirect evidence of a shift in settlement to deeper water. Should this work continue into the future, it would be beneficial to standardize on a consistent type of modification to the commercial pots so that more reliable comparisons of the relative numbers of juvenile animals can be made between areas
Experimental demonstration of gridless spectrum and time optical switching
An experimental demonstration of gridless spectrum and time switching is presented. We propose and demonstrate a bit-rate and modulation-format independent optical cross-connect architecture, based on gridless spectrum selective switch, 20-ms 3D-MEMS and 10-ns PLZT optical switches, that supports arbitrary spectrum allocation and transparent time multiplexing. The architecture is implemented in a four-node field-fiber-linked testbed to transport continuous RZ and NRZ data channels at 12.5, 42.7 and 170.8 Gb/s, and selectively groom sub-wavelength RZ channels at 42.7 Gb/s. We also showed that the architecture is dynamic and can be reconfigured to meet the routing requirements of the network traffic. Results show error-free operation with an end-to-end power penalty between 0.8 dB and 5 dB for all continuous and sub-wavelength channels
Kondo Behavior of U in CaB
Replacing U for Ca in semiconducting CaB at the few at.% level induces
metallic behaviour and Kondo-type phenomena at low temperatures, a rather
unusual feature for U impurities in metallic hosts. For
CaUB, the resistance minimum occurs at = 17 K. The
subsequent characteristic logarithmic increase of the resistivity with
decreasing temperature merges into the expected dependence below 0.8 K.
Data of the low-temperature specific heat and the magnetization are analyzed by
employing a simple resonance-level model. Analogous measurements on LaB
with a small amount of U revealed no traces of Kondo behavior, above 0.4 K.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted for publication to Europhysics Letter
Optimization of cascaded regenerative links based on phase sensitive amplifiers
We develop an analytical method for optimizing phase sensitive amplifiers for regeneration in multilevel phase encoded transmission systems. The model accurately predicts the optimum transfer function characteristics and identifies operating tolerances for different signal constellations and transmission scenarios. The results demonstrate the scalability of the scheme and show the significance of having simultaneous optimization of the transfer function and the signal alphabet. The model is general and can be applied to any regenerative system
Observed and Physical Properties of Core-Collapse Supernovae
I use photometry and spectroscopy data for 24 Type II plateau supernovae to
examine their observed and physical properties. This dataset shows that these
objects encompass a wide range of ~5 mag in their plateau luminosities, their
expansion velocities vary by x5, and the nickel masses produced in these
explosions go from 0.0016 to 0.26 Mo. From a subset of 16 objects I find that
the explosion energies vary between 0.6x and 5.5x10^51 ergs, the ejected masses
encompass the range 14-56 Mo, and the progenitors' radii go from 80 to 600 Ro.
Despite this great diversity several regularities emerge, which reveal that
there is a continuum in the properties of these objects from the faint,
low-energy, nickel-poor SNe 1997D and 1999br, to the bright, high-energy,
nickel-rich SN 1992am. This study provides evidence that more massive
progenitors produce more energetic explosions, thus suggesting that the outcome
of the core collapse is somewhat determined by the envelope mass. I find also
that supernovae with greater energies produce more nickel. Similar
relationships appear to hold for Type Ib/c supernovae, which suggests that both
Type II and Type Ib/c supernovae share the same core physics. When the whole
sample of core collapse objects is considered, there is a continous
distribution of energies below 8x10^51 ergs. Far above in energy scale and
nickel production lies the extreme hypernova 1998bw, the only supernova firmly
associated to a GRB.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures, accepted for Part 1 of Astrophysical Journa
Laser-Powered Thermoelectric Generators Operating at Cryogenic Temperatures
A thermoelectric generator, operating in a cryostat at liquid helium temperatures, is described. Energy to the generator is supplied via an external laser beam. For this prototype device the associated heat load at permanent operation is comparable with the heat load associated with power delivery via metallic wires. Estimates indicate that still better performance can be enabled with existing thermoelectric materials, thereby far exceeding efficiency of traditional cryostat wiring. We used a prototype generator to produce electric power for measuring critical currents in Nb3Sn-films at 4K
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