The Infrared Diameter -- Velocity Dispersion Relation for Elliptical Galaxies

Using single channel infrared photometry from the literature, a provisional K-band diameter--velocity dispersion relation for elliptical galaxies in the Coma and Virgo clusters is derived. The Coma cluster relation has \~1.5 times lower scatter at K than in B or V. Excluding 4 outliers, the RMS scatter at K for 24 galaxies in Coma is only 4.8% in distance, close to the limit implied by the observational errors. Distance estimates based on the IR \Dsig relation will be more accurate than those derived from optical data. The improvement in the infrared is attributed to a decrease in sensitivity to stellar population parameters (age, metallicity, and slope of the IMF) as well as lower internal extinction from dust compared to the optical. That the \Dsig relation has a larger scatter in the optical indicates that there are detectable, but small, stellar population or dust content differences among the Coma ellipticals. Since the \Dsig relations are based on the fundamental plane, this result promises that the fundamental plane is thinner in the infrared than it is in the optical. Infrared photometric data available for Virgo are limited to just 13 objects; the spread in distance due to the depth of the cluster precludes any significant improvement over B and V. A relative Coma-Virgo distance of 5.56 is derived from the K band data, in agreement with estimates in other colors and using other techniques, indicating that there is no significant age difference between Virgo and Coma ellipticals.Comment: 10 pages, 3 Postscript figures, uuencoded and Z-compressed with csh script uufiles; to appear in the September Astronomical Journa

A study of autonomous rendezvous and docking systems

An overview of activities in the automatic rendezvous and docking area is presented. A representative mission scenario is covered. A statement of the problem is made and the requirements for the extraction of relative attitude and position data are delineated. A systems block diagram is included and the integral functions which go to make up an autonomous docking system is described. A system was simulated, and the digital simulation is described along with some representative results of a system based a laser ranging device as the sensor. A television camera as the ranging sensor was also considered, one video based automatic docking scheme is discussed along with some representative results

Biotechnology and the Law: A Consideration of Intellectual Property Rights and Related Social Issues

[Excerpt] “Recent advances in biotechnology are expected by many to improve crop yield, reduce reliance on agricultural inputs like pesticides and herbicides, alleviate world hunger, improve the safety and effectiveness of pharmaceuticals, assist in the discovery of genes that trigger diseases like cancer, and make more efficient our legal institutions through DNA testing. Clearly, innovations in biotechnology are a powerful force for social change, and they pose unique challenges and opportunities for legal scholars and institutions. This section of the Pierce Law Review focuses on the interface between law and technology by examining how innovations in biotechnology accelerate debates about social justice (on a global scale), the role of science, and the patenting of intellectual property. Since biotechnology, and the actors involved in the debates over intellectual property rights, are involved in a form of “high drama” that plays itself out in the social world, it is necessary to understand that technology does not exist in a vacuum. All technologies generate social change and affect, in varying degrees individuals, groups, institutions, etc. For example, the introduction of the pen changed how information is recorded. A pen is portable, relatively inexpensive and creates semi-permanent markings. The pen, however, represented a shift away from orality, created a note-taking culture and lessened our reliance on short-term memory. The pen also helped consolidate the power of bureaucracies where a reliance on efficiency and order was paramount. Legal documents are generally signed in ink. The pen plays a prominent role in our society and can be found in almost all institutions, including those where information/communication technology dominate. If these transformations can occur when a relatively simple technology is introduced, what can be said about the introduction of innovations arising from the science of biotechnology

Type-Species Designation for the Jurassic Mayfly Genus \u3ci\u3eMesephemera\u3c/i\u3e (Ephemeroptera: Mesephemeridae)

(excerpt) Among the many new genera established by Anton Handlirsch in his monumental work Die .fossilen Insekten und die Phylogenie der rezenten Fortnen: Ein Handbuch fur Palaontologen und Zoologen (Wilhelm Engelman, Leipzig, 1906-1908) was a genus of Ephemer- optera for which he designated no type-species and for which one has still not been designated