4,148 research outputs found
Solid propulsion advanced concepts
The feasibility and application of a solid propulsion powered spacecraft concept to implement high energy missions independent of multiplanetary swingby opportunities are assessed and recommendations offered for future work. An upper stage, solid propulsion launch vehicle augmentation system was selected as the baseline configuration in view of the established program goals of low cost and high reliability. Spacecraft and propulsion system data that characterize mission performance capabilities were generated to serve as the basis for subsequent tradeoff studies. A cost effectiveness model was used for the preliminary feasibility assessment to provide a meaningful comparative effectiveness measure of the various candidate designs. The results substantiated the feasibility of the powered spacecraft concept when used in conjunction with several intermediate-sized launch vehicles as well as the existence of energy margins by which to exploit the attainment of extended mission capabilities. Additionally, in growth option applications, the employment of advanced propulsion systems and alternate spacecraft approaches appear promising
Synthesis and electronic properties of Ruddlesden-Popper strontium iridate epitaxial thin films stabilized by control of growth kinetics
We report on the selective fabrication of high-quality SrIrO and
SrIrO epitaxial thin films from a single polycrystalline SrIrO
target by pulsed laser deposition. Using a combination of X-ray diffraction and
photoemission spectroscopy characterizations, we discover that within a
relatively narrow range of substrate temperature, the oxygen partial pressure
plays a critical role in the cation stoichiometric ratio of the films, and
triggers the stabilization of different Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) phases. Resonant
X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements taken at the Ir -edge and the O
-edge demonstrate the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling, and reveal the
electronic and orbital structures of both compounds. These results suggest that
in addition to the conventional thermodynamics consideration, higher members of
the SrIrO series can possibly be achieved by kinetic
control away from the thermodynamic limit. These findings offer a new approach
to the synthesis of ultra-thin films of the RP series of iridates and can be
extended to other complex oxides with layered structure.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
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Modification of magnetocrystalline anisotropy via ion-implantation
The ability to systematically modify the magnetic properties of epitaxial La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin films is demonstrated through the use of Ar+ ion implantation. With increasing implant dose, a uniaxial expansion of the c-axis of the unit cell leads to a transition from in-plane toward perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Above a critical dose of 3 × 1013 Ar+/cm2, significant crystalline disorder exists leading to a decrease in the average Mn valence state and near complete suppression of magnetization. Combined with lithographic techniques, ion implantation enables the fabrication of magnetic spin textures consisting of adjacent regions with tunable magnetic anisotropy in complex oxide thin films
Neither dust nor black carbon causing apparent albedo decline in Greenland\u27s dry snow zone: Implications for MODIS C5 surface reflectance
Remote sensing observations suggest Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) albedo has declined since 2001, even in the dry snow zone. We seek to explain the apparent dry snow albedo decline. We analyze samples representing 2012–2014 snowfall across NW Greenland for black carbon and dust light-absorbing impurities (LAI) and model their impacts on snow albedo. Albedo reductions due to LAI are small, averaging 0.003, with episodic enhancements resulting in reductions of 0.01–0.02. No significant increase in black carbon or dust concentrations relative to recent decades is found. Enhanced deposition of LAI is not, therefore, causing significant dry snow albedo reduction or driving melt events. Analysis of Collection 5 Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) surface reflectance data indicates that the decline and spectral shift in dry snow albedo contains important contributions from uncorrected Terra sensor degradation. Though discrepancies are mostly below the stated accuracy of MODIS products, they will require revisiting some prior conclusions with C6 data
Joint Learning of Intrinsic Images and Semantic Segmentation
Semantic segmentation of outdoor scenes is problematic when there are
variations in imaging conditions. It is known that albedo (reflectance) is
invariant to all kinds of illumination effects. Thus, using reflectance images
for semantic segmentation task can be favorable. Additionally, not only
segmentation may benefit from reflectance, but also segmentation may be useful
for reflectance computation. Therefore, in this paper, the tasks of semantic
segmentation and intrinsic image decomposition are considered as a combined
process by exploring their mutual relationship in a joint fashion. To that end,
we propose a supervised end-to-end CNN architecture to jointly learn intrinsic
image decomposition and semantic segmentation. We analyze the gains of
addressing those two problems jointly. Moreover, new cascade CNN architectures
for intrinsic-for-segmentation and segmentation-for-intrinsic are proposed as
single tasks. Furthermore, a dataset of 35K synthetic images of natural
environments is created with corresponding albedo and shading (intrinsics), as
well as semantic labels (segmentation) assigned to each object/scene. The
experiments show that joint learning of intrinsic image decomposition and
semantic segmentation is beneficial for both tasks for natural scenes. Dataset
and models are available at: https://ivi.fnwi.uva.nl/cv/intrinsegComment: ECCV 201
The calibrated population resistance tool: standardized genotypic estimation of transmitted HIV-1 drug resistance
Summary: The calibrated population resistance (CPR) tool is a web-accessible program for performing standardized genotypic estimation of transmitted HIV-1 drug resistance. The program is linked to the Stanford HIV drug resistance database and can additionally perform viral genotyping and algorithmic estimation of resistance to specific antiretroviral drugs
Competing with stationary prediction strategies
In this paper we introduce the class of stationary prediction strategies and
construct a prediction algorithm that asymptotically performs as well as the
best continuous stationary strategy. We make mild compactness assumptions but
no stochastic assumptions about the environment. In particular, no assumption
of stationarity is made about the environment, and the stationarity of the
considered strategies only means that they do not depend explicitly on time; we
argue that it is natural to consider only stationary strategies even for highly
non-stationary environments.Comment: 20 page
Copper(II)-Bis(Thiosemicarbazonato) Complexes as Antibacterial Agents: Insights into Their Mode of Action and Potential as Therapeutics
There is increasing interest in the use of lipophilic copper (Cu)-containing complexes to combat bacterial infections. In this work, we showed that Cu complexes with bis(thiosemicarbazone) ligands [Cu(btsc)] exert antibacterial activity against a range of medically significant pathogens. Previous work using Neisseria gonorrhoeae showed that Cu(btsc) complexes may act as inhibitors of respiratory dehydrogenases in the electron transport chain. We now show that these complexes are also toxic against pathogens that lack a respiratory chain. Respiration in Escherichia coli was slightly affected by Cu(btsc) complexes, but our results indicate that, in this model bacterium, the complexes act primarily as agents that deliver toxic Cu ions efficiently into the cytoplasm. Although the chemistry of Cu(btsc) complexes may dictate their mechanism of action, their efficacy depends heavily on bacterial physiology. This is linked to the ability of the target bacterium to tolerate Cu and, additionally, the susceptibility of the respiratory chain to direct inhibition by Cu(btsc) complexes. The physiology of N. gonorrhoeae, including multidrug-resistant strains, makes it highly susceptible to damage by Cu ions and Cu(btsc) complexes, highlighting the potential of Cu(btsc) complexes (and Cu-based therapeutics) as a promising treatment against this important bacterial pathogen
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