15,643 research outputs found
G-189A analytical simulation of the integrated waste management-water system using radioisotopes for thermal energy
An analytical simulation of the RITE-Integrated Waste Management and Water Recovery System using radioisotopes for thermal energy was prepared for the NASA-Manned Space Flight Center (MSFC). The RITE system is the most advanced concept water-waste management system currently under development and has undergone extended duration testing. It has the capability of disposing of nearly all spacecraft wastes including feces and trash and of recovering water from usual waste water sources: urine, condensate, wash water, etc. All of the process heat normally used in the system is produced from low penalty radioisotope heat sources. The analytical simulation was developed with the G189A computer program. The objective of the simulation was to obtain an analytical simulation which can be used to (1) evaluate the current RITE system steady state and transient performance during normal operating conditions, and also during off normal operating conditions including failure modes; and (2) evaluate the effects of variations in component design parameters and vehicle interface parameters on system performance
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Case report: targeted whole exome sequencing enables the first prenatal diagnosis of the lethal skeletal dysplasia Osteocraniostenosis.
BACKGROUND: Osteocraniostenosis (OCS) is a rare genetic disorder characterised by premature closure of cranial sutures, gracile bones and perinatal lethality. Previously, diagnosis has only been possible postnatally on clinical and radiological features. This study describes the first prenatal diagnosis of OCS. CASE PRESENTATION: In this case prenatal ultrasound images were suggestive of a serious but non-lethal skeletal dysplasia. Due to the uncertain prognosis the parents were offered Whole Exome Sequencing (WES), which identified a specific gene mutation in the FAMIIIa gene. This mutation had previously been detected in two cases and was lethal in both perinatally. This established the diagnosis, a clear prognosis and allowed informed parental choice regarding ongoing pregnancy management. CONCLUSIONS: This case report supports the use of targeted WES prenatally to confirm the underlying cause and prognosis of sonographically suspected abnormalities
Cavity cooling of an optically trapped nanoparticle
We study the cooling of a dielectric nanoscale particle trapped in an optical
cavity. We derive the frictional force for motion in the cavity field, and show
that the cooling rate is proportional to the square of oscillation amplitude
and frequency. Both the radial and axial centre-of-mass motion of the trapped
particle, which are coupled by the cavity field, are cooled. This motion is
analogous to two coupled but damped pendulums. Our simulations show that the
nanosphere can be cooled to 1/e of its initial momentum over time scales of
hundredths of milliseconds.Comment: 11 page
The structure of the hard sphere solid
We show that near densest-packing the perturbations of the HCP structure
yield higher entropy than perturbations of any other densest packing. The
difference between the various structures shows up in the correlations between
motions of nearest neighbors. In the HCP structure random motion of each sphere
impinges slightly less on the motion of its nearest neighbors than in the other
structures.Comment: For related papers see:
http://www.ma.utexas.edu/users/radin/papers.htm
Anthropogenic impacts on mosquito populations in North America over the past century.
The recent emergence and spread of vector-borne viruses including Zika, chikungunya and dengue has raised concerns that climate change may cause mosquito vectors of these diseases to expand into more temperate regions. However, the long-term impact of other anthropogenic factors on mosquito abundance and distributions is less studied. Here, we show that anthropogenic chemical use (DDT; dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and increasing urbanization were the strongest drivers of changes in mosquito populations over the last eight decades in areas on both coasts of North America. Mosquito populations have increased as much as tenfold, and mosquito communities have become two- to fourfold richer over the last five decades. These increases are correlated with the decay in residual environmental DDT concentrations and growing human populations, but not with temperature. These results illustrate the far-reaching impacts of multiple anthropogenic disturbances on animal communities and suggest that interactions between land use and chemical use may have unforeseen consequences on ecosystems
Robust superfluid phases of 3He in aerogel
Within a phenomenological approach possible forms of the order parameter of
the superfluid phases of 3He in a vicinity of the transition temperature are
discussed. Effect of aerogel is described by a random tensor field interacting
with the orbital part of the order parameter. With respect to their interaction
with the random tensor field a group of "robust" order parameters which can
maintain long-range order in a presence of the random field is specified.
Robust order parameters, corresponding to Equal Spin Pairing (ESP) states are
found and proposed as candidates for the observed A-like superfluid phase of
liquid 3He in aerogel.Comment: 5 pages, prepared for QFS 200
The geometry of the double-pulsar system J0737-3039 from systematic intensity variations
The recent discovery of J0737-3039A & B-two pulsars in a highly relativistic
orbit around one another - offers an unprecedented opportunity to study the
elusive physics of pulsar radio emission. The system contains a rapidly
rotating pulsar with a spin period of 22.7 ms and a slow companion with a spin
period of 2.77 s, hereafter referred to as 'A' and 'B', respectively. A unique
property of the system is that the pulsed radio flux from B increases
systematically by almost two orders-of-magnitude during two short portions of
each orbit. Here, we describe a geometrical model of the system that
simultaneously explains the intensity variations of B and makes definitive and
testable predictions for the future evolution of the emission properties of
both stars. Our model assumes that B's pulsed radio flux increases when
illuminated by emission from A. This model provides constraints on the spin
axis orientation and emission geometry of A and predicts that its pulse profile
will evolve considerably over the next several years due to geodetic precession
until it disappears entirely in 15-20 years
Astrophysical factor for the reaction from -matrix analysis and asymptotic normalization coefficient for . Is any fit acceptable?
The reaction provides a path from the CN
cycle to the CNO bi-cycle and CNO tri-cycle. The measured astrophysical factor
for this reaction is dominated by resonant capture through two strong
resonances at and 962 keV and direct capture to
the ground state. Recently, a new measurement of the astrophysical factor for
the reaction has been published [P. J.
LeBlanc {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. {\bf C 82}, 055804 (2010)]. The analysis has
been done using the -matrix approach with unconstrained variation of all
parameters including the asymptotic normalization coefficient (ANC). The best
fit has been obtained for the square of the ANC fm,
which exceeds the previously measured value by a factor of . Here we
present a new -matrix analysis of the Notre Dame-LUNA data with the fixed
within the experimental uncertainties square of the ANC
fm. Rather than varying the ANC we add the contribution from a
background resonance that effectively takes into account contributions from
higher levels. Altogether we present 8 fits, five unconstrained and three
constrained. In all the fits the ANC is fixed at the previously determined
experimental value fm. For the unconstrained fit with
the boundary condition , where is the energy of the
second level, we get keVb and normalized , i.e. the result which is similar to [P. J. LeBlanc {\it et
al.}, Phys. Rev. {\bf C 82}, 055804 (2010)]. From all our fits we get the range
keVb which overlaps with the result of [P. J.
LeBlanc {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. {\bf C 82}, 055804 (2010)]. We address also
physical interpretation of the fitting parameters.Comment: Submitted to PR
Optomechanical cooling of levitated spheres with doubly-resonant fields
Optomechanical cooling of levitated dielectric particles represents a
promising new approach in the quest to cool small mechanical resonators towards
their quantum ground state. We investigate two-mode cooling of levitated
nanospheres in a self-trapping regime. We identify a rich structure of split
sidebands (by a mechanism unrelated to usual strong-coupling effects) and
strong cooling even when one mode is blue detuned. We show the best regimes
occur when both optical fields cooperatively cool and trap the nanosphere,
where cooling rates are over an order of magnitude faster compared to
corresponding single-sideband cooling rates.Comment: 8 Pages, 7 figure
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