Hard X-ray Emission from the M87 AGN Detected with NuSTAR

M87 hosts a 3-6 billion solar mass black hole with a remarkable relativistic jet that has been regularly monitored in radio to TeV bands. However, hard X-ray emission \gtrsim 10keV, which would be expected to primarily come from the jet or the accretion flow, had never been detected from its unresolved X-ray core. We report NuSTAR detection up to 40 keV from the the central regions of M87. Together with simultaneous Chandra observations, we have constrained the dominant hard X-ray emission to be from its unresolved X-ray core, presumably in its quiescent state. The core spectrum is well fitted by a power law with photon index Gamma=2.11 (+0.15 -0.11). The measured flux density at 40 keV is consistent with a jet origin, although emission from the advection-dominated accretion flow cannot be completely ruled out. The detected hard X-ray emission is significantly lower than that predicted by synchrotron self-Compton models introduced to explain emission above a GeV.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, updated to better match the published version in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. A minor typo in the published version (angular scale should be 1 arcsec = 78 pc instead, no result of the paper is affected) is fixed her

Control of Inverse Response Processes by Model Predictive Control (MPC)

Due to the presence of Right Half Plane (RHP) zeros in the system, inverse response processes becomes hard to be identified and controlled. It happens when two separate effects are taking place at the same time but in different direction. Although inverse response problem is not infrequent to occur in industry especially chemical process industry, not many researchers pay attention towards controlling and solving this problem. In this paper, the author aims to compare the performance of the Model Predictive Control (MPC), Proportional Integral Derivative (PID), and Simple Internal Model Control (SIMC) in producing satisfactory control output for inverse response processes. Under this main objective, the author specifies it into three sub objectives. The first one is to design a MPC, PID, and SIMC for typical inverse response process. The second one is to measure the performance of the various controllers for set-point tracking or servo problem and lastly to compare the performance of the designed controllers. To ensure that all the objectives can be accomplished, proper methods need to be set and done throughout the progress of the project. To achieve objective 1, the author will make a proper selection on the type of controller to be used for this project and write the MATLAB coding for the selected controller, MPC, PID, and SIMC. It is crucial to identify the suitable methods and make a proper analysis on the performance of the controller. Three methods, Integral of Absolute Error (IAE), Integral of Squared Error (ISE), and Integral of Time-weighted Absolute Error (ITAE) have been proposed in order to analyse and measure the performance of the designed controller. These methods will be further elaborated in the research methodology part of this paper. And in the end, to attain last objective, the author will compare the results of measurements based on set-point tracking condition. This project principally covers the simulation analysis and project design where the author will accomplish most of the task by using the MATLAB software during the course of this project. In end of this project, the author determines that MPC provides the quickest response compared to PID and SIMC controller other than producing satisfactory overall performance and is suitable to be used to control an inverse response process. Not only that this project can achieve its objective within time constraint, it is also feasible as the project is easily understood and the software that will be used to design the controller is fairly available

Student Performance in Curricula Centered on Simulation-Based Inference: A Preliminary Report

Simulation-based inference (e.g., bootstrapping and randomization tests) has been advocated recently with the goal of improving student understanding of statistical inference, as well as the statistical investigative process as a whole. Preliminary assessment data have been largely positive. This article describes the analysis of the first year of data from a multi-institution assessment effort by instructors using such an approach in a college-level introductory statistics course, some for the first time. We examine several pre-/post-measures of student attitudes and conceptual understanding of several topics in the introductory course. We highlight some patterns in the data, focusing on student level and instructor level variables and the application of hierarchical modeling to these data. One observation of interest is that the newer instructors see very similar gains to more experienced instructors, but we also look to how the data collection and analysis can be improved for future years, especially the need for more data on nonusers

The Effect of Parental Support on Academic Performance Among Students at Asia-Pacific International University

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of parental support on college students’ academic performance of Asia-Pacific International University (AIU) in Thailand. The research aimed to investigate the relationship between parental support and academic achievement among Thai and International students at AIU in Thailand.   In addition, the study sought to find out the level of parental support among Thai and International students at AIU, and the differences in parental support. Using stratified sampling, ,60 undergraduate students aged between 17 years to 25 years old from five Asia-Pacific International University (AIU) dormitories were selected to participate in this study. A survey instrument for data collection consisted of a demographic questionnaire and a Likert-scale questionnaire.  The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows, Version 21.  An independent samples t-test was used to determine the differences between Thai and International students on parental support. Spearman rho correlation coefficients between parental involvement variables and cumulative grade point averages (CGPA) were reported. The findings revealed that academic performance cannot be adequately explained by parental support. Findings of this study also showed that although there is positive influence on the family relationship between the parents and students at the college level, it does not adequately explain academic performance among students. The present study was an attempt to inform college administrators and educators of the importance of parental support at the university level. Therefore, the main recommendation is that,  college administrators should look into how parents support their college students and establish strategies for encouraging emotional and social parental support to children in college...For further research necessary to consider the varying impacts of parental support within the lives of the children, such as investigating the impact of having little or no parental support

A Sec14 domain protein is required for photoautotrophic growth and chloroplast vesicle formation in Arabidopsis thaliana.

In eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms, the conversion of solar into chemical energy occurs in thylakoid membranes in the chloroplast. How thylakoid membranes are formed and maintained is poorly understood. However, previous observations of vesicles adjacent to the stromal side of the inner envelope membrane of the chloroplast suggest a possible role of membrane transport via vesicle trafficking from the inner envelope to the thylakoids. Here we show that the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has a chloroplast-localized Sec14-like protein (CPSFL1) that is necessary for photoautotrophic growth and vesicle formation at the inner envelope membrane of the chloroplast. The cpsfl1 mutants are seedling lethal, show a defect in thylakoid structure, and lack chloroplast vesicles. Sec14 domain proteins are found only in eukaryotes and have been well characterized in yeast, where they regulate vesicle budding at the trans-Golgi network. Like the yeast Sec14p, CPSFL1 binds phosphatidylinositol phosphates (PIPs) and phosphatidic acid (PA) and acts as a phosphatidylinositol transfer protein in vitro, and expression of Arabidopsis CPSFL1 can complement the yeast sec14 mutation. CPSFL1 can transfer PIP into PA-rich membrane bilayers in vitro, suggesting that CPSFL1 potentially facilitates vesicle formation by trafficking PA and/or PIP, known regulators of membrane trafficking between organellar subcompartments. These results underscore the role of vesicles in thylakoid biogenesis and/or maintenance. CPSFL1 appears to be an example of a eukaryotic cytosolic protein that has been coopted for a function in the chloroplast, an organelle derived from endosymbiosis of a cyanobacterium