832 research outputs found
The development of an autonomous rendezvous and docking simulation using rapid integration and prototyping technology
A generic planar 3 degree of freedom simulation was developed that supports hardware in the loop simulations, guidance and control analysis, and can directly generate flight software. This simulation was developed in a small amount of time utilizing rapid prototyping techniques. The approach taken to develop this simulation tool, the benefits seen using this approach to development, and on-going efforts to improve and extend this capability are described. The simulation is composed of 3 major elements: (1) Docker dynamics model, (2) Dockee dynamics model, and (3) Docker Control System. The docker and dockee models are based on simple planar orbital dynamics equations using a spherical earth gravity model. The docker control system is based on a phase plane approach to error correction
Spin splitting of X-related donor impurity states in an AlAs barrier
We use magnetotunneling spectroscopy to observe the spin splitting of the
ground state of an X-valley-related Si-donor impurity in an AlAs barrier. We
determine the absolute magnitude of the effective Zeeman spin splitting factors
of the impurity ground state to be g= 2.2 0.1. We also investigate
the spatial form of the electron wave function of the donor ground state, which
is anisotropic in the growth plane
Magnetic-field-induced singularities in spin dependent tunneling through InAs quantum dots
Current steps attributed to resonant tunneling through individual InAs
quantum dots embedded in a GaAs-AlAs-GaAs tunneling device are investigated
experimentally in magnetic fields up to 28 T. The steps evolve into strongly
enhanced current peaks in high fields. This can be understood as a
field-induced Fermi-edge singularity due to the Coulomb interaction between the
tunneling electron on the quantum dot and the partly spin polarized Fermi sea
in the Landau quantized three-dimensional emitter.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Forebrain CRF<sub>1</sub> modulates early-life stress-programmed cognitive deficits
Childhood traumatic events hamper the development of the hippocampus and impair declarative memory in susceptible individuals. Persistent elevations of hippocampal corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), acting through CRF receptor 1 (CRF1), in experimental models of early-life stress have suggested a role for this endogenous stress hormone in the resulting structural modifications and cognitive dysfunction. However, direct testing of this possibility has been difficult. In the current study, we subjected conditional forebrain CRF1 knock-out (CRF1-CKO) mice to an impoverished postnatal environment and examined the role of forebrain CRF1 in the long-lasting effects of early-life stress on learning and memory. Early-life stress impaired spatial learning and memory in wild-type mice, and postnatal forebrain CRF overexpression reproduced these deleterious effects. Cognitive deficits in stressed wild-type mice were associated with disrupted long-term potentiation (LTP) and a reduced number of dendritic spines in area CA3 but not in CA1. Forebrain CRF1 deficiency restored cognitive function, LTP and spine density in area CA3, and augmented CA1 LTP and spine density in stressed mice. In addition, early-life stress differentially regulated the amount of hippocampal excitatory and inhibitory synapses in wild-type and CRF1-CKO mice, accompanied by alterations in the neurexin-neuroligin complex. These data suggest that the functional, structural and molecular changes evoked by early-life stress are at least partly dependent on persistent forebrain CRF1 signaling, providing a molecular target for the prevention of cognitive deficits in adults with a history of early-life adversity
Strong quantum memory at resonant Fermi edges revealed by shot noise
Studies of non-equilibrium current fluctuations enable assessing correlations
involved in quantum transport through nanoscale conductors. They provide
additional information to the mean current on charge statistics and the
presence of coherence, dissipation, disorder, or entanglement. Shot noise,
being a temporal integral of the current autocorrelation function, reveals
dynamical information. In particular, it detects presence of non-Markovian
dynamics, i.e., memory, within open systems, which has been subject of many
current theoretical studies. We report on low-temperature shot noise
measurements of electronic transport through InAs quantum dots in the
Fermi-edge singularity regime and show that it exhibits strong memory effects
caused by quantum correlations between the dot and fermionic reservoirs. Our
work, apart from addressing noise in archetypical strongly correlated system of
prime interest, discloses generic quantum dynamical mechanism occurring at
interacting resonant Fermi edges.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Shot noise of coupled semiconductor quantum dots
The low-frequency shot noise properties of two electrostatically coupled
semiconductor quantum dot states which are connected to emitter/collector
contacts are studied. A master equation approach is used to analyze the bias
voltage dependence of the Fano factor as a measure of temporal correlations in
tunneling current caused by Pauli's exclusion principle and the Coulomb
interaction. In particular, the influence of the Coulomb interaction on the
shot noise behavior is discussed in detail and predictions for future
experiments will be given. Furthermore, we propose a mechanism for negative
differential conductance and investigate the related super-Poissonian shot
noise.Comment: submitted to PR
Detection of Bronchial Neoplasia in Uranium Miners by Autofluorescence Endoscopy (SAFE-1000)
The increase in the detection rate for premalignant changes of bronchial epithelium was studied in 56 symptom-free volunteers from the risk group of Czech uranium miners (mean age 50.69 years, mean WLM 21.06 (1 Working Level Month is equal to the absorption of latent energy of 2.08 × 10–5 J/m3 in one month, i.e. 170 working hours)) by the additional employment of the System of Autofluorescence Endoscopy (SAFE-1000 Pentax) to conventional white-light bronchoscopy, comparing results with those of bronchial biopsy histopathology examination. Histopathology using hematoxylin and eosin staining confirmed intraepithelial neoplasias in 15 areas in 10 persons. White-light bronchoscopy sensitivity was 21.05%, and specificity 93.7% which an autofluorescence bronchoscopy sensitivity was 78.95% and specificity 81.89%
Zebrafish reward mutants reveal novel transcripts mediating the behavioral effects of amphetamine
Transcriptome analysis of a zebrafish mutant that does not respond to amphetamine identifies a network of coordinated gene regulation that may underlie the susceptibility to addiction
Testing the paradox of enrichment along a land use gradient in a multitrophic aboveground and belowground community
In the light of ongoing land use changes, it is important to understand how multitrophic communities perform at different land use intensities. The paradox of enrichment predicts that fertilization leads to destabilization and extinction of predator-prey systems. We tested this prediction for a land use intensity gradient from natural to highly fertilized agricultural ecosystems. We included multiple aboveground and belowground trophic levels and land use-dependent searching efficiencies of insects. To overcome logistic constraints of field experiments, we used a successfully validated simulation model to investigate plant responses to removal of herbivores and their enemies. Consistent with our predictions, instability measured by herbivore-induced plant mortality increased with increasing land use intensity. Simultaneously, the balance between herbivores and natural enemies turned increasingly towards herbivore dominance and natural enemy failure. Under natural conditions, there were more frequently significant effects of belowground herbivores and their natural enemies on plant performance, whereas there were more aboveground effects in agroecosystems. This result was partly due to the “boom-bust” behavior of the shoot herbivore population. Plant responses to herbivore or natural enemy removal were much more abrupt than the imposed smooth land use intensity gradient. This may be due to the presence of multiple trophic levels aboveground and belowground. Our model suggests that destabilization and extinction are more likely to occur in agroecosystems than in natural communities, but the shape of the relationship is nonlinear under the influence of multiple trophic interactions.
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