738 research outputs found

    Procedures for management control of computer programming in Apollo

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    Procedures for management control of computer programming in Apollo projec

    Back reaction in the formation of a straight cosmic string

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    A simple model for the formation of a straight cosmic string, wiggly or unperturbed is considered. The gravitational field of such string is computed in the linear approximation. The vacuum expectation value of the stress tensor of a massless scalar quantum field coupled to the string gravitational field is computed to the one loop order. Finally, the back-reaction effect on the gravitational field of the string is obtained by solving perturbatively the semiclassical Einstein's equations.Comment: 29 pages, LaTeX, no figures. A postcript version can be obtained from anonymous ftp at ftp://ftp.ifae.es/preprint.f

    The GPS Space Service Volume

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    Prior to the advent of artificial satellites, the concept of navigating in space and the desire to understand and validate the laws of planetary and satellite motion dates back centuries. At the initiation of orbital flight in 1957, space navigation was dominated by inertial and groundbased tracking methods, underpinned by the laws of planetary motion. It was early in the 1980s that GPS was first explored as a system useful for refining the position, velocity, and timing (PVT) of other spacecraft equipped with GPS receivers. As a result, an entirely new GPS utility was developed beyond its original purpose of providing PVT services for land, maritime, and air applications. Spacecraft both above and below the GPS constellation now receive the GPS signals, including the signals that spill over the limb of the Earth. The use of radionavigation satellite services for space navigation in High Earth Orbits is in fact a capability unique to GPS. Support to GPS space applications is being studied and planned as an important improvement to GPS. This paper discusses the formalization of PVT services in space as part of an overall GPS improvement effort. It describes the GPS Space Service Volume (SSV) and compares it to the Terrestrial Service Volume (TSV). It also discusses SSV coverage with the current GPS constellation, coverage characteristics as a function of altitude, expected power levels, and coverage figures of merit

    Iron-Manganese Redox Reactions in Endeavour Crater Rim Apron Rocks

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    The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has been exploring Noachian age rocks and outcrops on the rim of the 22 km diameter Endeavour crater since August 2011. The Cape York area is a low-lying rim of Endeavour that contains 3 distinct lithologies: 1) the stratigraphically lowest Matijevic fm of pre-impact lithology, 2) Shoemaker fm of impact breccias, and 3) the stratigraphically highest rim lithology Grasberg fm of post-impact sediments that drape the lower slopes of the rim. The sulfate-rich sediment of the Burns fm lies unconformably over the Grasberg fm. Ca-sulfate veins were discovered in Grasberg fm sediments; the sulfates precipitated from aqueous fluids flowing upward through these materials. Opportunity investigated the chemistry and morphology of outcrops in the Matijevic fm that have Fe(sup 3+)-rich smectite detected by orbital signatures returned by CRISM on MRO. Matijevic fm also contains "boxwork" fractures with chemistry consistent with an Al-rich smectite and veins that appear to be rich in Ca-sulfate. More recently on Cape Tribulation, Opportunity has characterized two S-, Mg- and Mn-rich rich rocks overturned and fractured by the rover's wheels on Cook Haven. Those rocks have been dubbed "Pinnacle Island" and "Stuart Island" and will be referred to as the "Island" rocks. The objectives of this study are to characterize the Fe and Mn contents in the Cape York materials, including the two Island rocks, and to provide a model for Mn mobilization and precipitation. Detailed geochemistry of Endeavour rim rocks is presented in a companion paper. Geochemical trends and elemental associations were obtained from data returned by the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) on Opportunity

    Elevated antibody to D-alanyl lipoteichoic acid indicates caries experience associated with fluoride and gingival health

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    BACKGROUND: Acidogenic, acid-tolerant bacteria induce dental caries and require D-alanyl glycerol lipoteichoic acid (D-alanyl LTA) on their cell surface. Because fluoride inhibits acid-mediated enamel demineralization, an elevated antibody response to D-alanyl LTA may indicate subjects with more acidogenic bacteria and, therefore, an association of DMFT with fluoride exposure and gingival health not apparent in low responders. METHODS: Cluster analysis was used to identify low antibody content. Within low and high responders (control and test subjects), the number of teeth that were decayed missing and filled (DMFT), or decayed only (DT) were regressed against fluoride exposure in the water supply and from dentrifice use. The latter was determined from gingival health: prevalences of plaque (PL) and bleeding on probing (BOP), and mean pocket depth (PD). Age was measured as a possible confounding cofactor. RESULTS: In 35 high responders, DMFT associated with length of exposure to fluoridated water (F score), PL and BOP (R(2) = 0.51, p < 0.001), whereas in 67 low D-ala-IgG responders, DMFT associated with PL, age, and PD (R(2) = 0.26, p < 0.001). BOP correlated strongly with number of 7 7 decayed teeth (DT) in 54 high responders (R(2) = 0.57, p < 0.001), but poorly in 97 low responders (R(2) = 0.12, p < 0.001). The strength of the PD association with DMFT, or of BOP with DT, in high responders significantly differed from that in low responders (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Caries associates with gingival health and fluoridated water exposure in high D-alanyl LTA antibody responders

    Grazer diversity effects in an eelgrass–epiphyte–microphytobenthos system

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    The dramatic loss of biodiversity and its consequences for ecosystem processes have been of considerable interest in recent ecological studies. However, the complex and interacting processes influencing diversity effects in multitrophic systems are still poorly understood. We used an experimental eelgrass system to study the effects of changing richness of three consumer species on the biomass, diversity and taxonomic composition of both epiphytic and benthic microalgal assemblages. After 1 week, consumer richness enhanced the grazing impact on epiphyte biomass relative to single consumer treatments and a positive effect of consumer richness on prey diversity was found. Moreover, strong effects of consumer species identity on taxonomic composition were found in both microalgal assemblages. However, the effects of consumer richness were not consistent over time. The consequences of high nutrient availability seemed to have masked consumer richness effects

    Integrated Ecosystem Assessment: Lake Ontario Water Management

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    BACKGROUND: Ecosystem management requires organizing, synthesizing, and projecting information at a large scale while simultaneously addressing public interests, dynamic ecological properties, and a continuum of physicochemical conditions. We compared the impacts of seven water level management plans for Lake Ontario on a set of environmental attributes of public relevance. METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS: Our assessment method was developed with a set of established impact assessment tools (checklists, classifications, matrices, simulations, representative taxa, and performance relations) and the concept of archetypal geomorphic shoreline classes. We considered each environmental attribute and shoreline class in its typical and essential form and predicted how water level change would interact with defining properties. The analysis indicated that about half the shoreline of Lake Ontario is potentially sensitive to water level change with a small portion being highly sensitive. The current water management plan may be best for maintaining the environmental resources. In contrast, a natural water regime plan designed for greatest environmental benefits most often had adverse impacts, impacted most shoreline classes, and the largest portion of the lake coast. Plans that balanced multiple objectives and avoided hydrologic extremes were found to be similar relative to the environment, low on adverse impacts, and had many minor impacts across many shoreline classes. SIGNIFICANCE: The Lake Ontario ecosystem assessment provided information that can inform decisions about water management and the environment. No approach and set of methods will perfectly and unarguably accomplish integrated ecosystem assessment. For managing water levels in Lake Ontario, we found that there are no uniformly good and bad options for environmental conservation. The scientific challenge was selecting a set of tools and practices to present broad, relevant, unbiased, and accessible information to guide decision-making on a set of management options
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