3,454 research outputs found
Individual Learning About Consumption
The standard approach to modelling consumption/saving problems is to assume that the decisionmaker is solving a dynamic stochastic optimization problem However under realistic descriptions of utility and uncertainty the optimal consumption/saving decision is so difficult that only recently economists have managed to find solutions using numerical methods that require previously infeasible amounts of computation Yet empirical evidence suggests that household behavior conforms fairly well with the prescriptions of the optimal solution raising the question of how average households can solve problems that economists until recently could not This paper examines whether consumers might be able to find a reasonably good ’rule-of-thumb?approximation to optimal behavior by trial-and-error methods as Friedman (1953) proposed long ago We find that such individual learning methods can reliably identify reasonably good rules of thumb only if the consumer is able to spend absurdly large amounts of time searching for a good rule
Proposal for a lunar tunnel-boring machine
A need exists for obtaining a safe and habitable lunar base that is free from the hazards of radiation, temperature gradient, and micrometeorites. A device for excavating lunar material and simultaneously generating living space in the subselenian environment was studied at the conceptual level. Preliminary examinations indicate that a device using a mechanical head to shear its way through the lunar material while creating a rigid ceramic-like lining meets design constraints using existing technology. The Lunar Tunneler is totally automated and guided by a laser communication system. There exists the potential for the excavated lunar material to be used in conjunction with a surface mining process for the purpose of the extraction of oxygen and other elements. Experiments into lunar material excavation and further research into the concept of a mechanical Lunar Tunneler are suggested
The Radio Recovery of SN 1970G: The Continuing Radio Evolution of SN 1970G
Using the Very Large Array, we have detected radio emission from the site of
SN 1970G in the Sc galaxy M101. These observations are 31 years after the
supernova event, making SN 1970G the longest monitored radio supernova. With
flux densities of 0.12 +/- 0.020 mJy at 6 cm and 0.16 +/- 0.015 mJy at 20 cm,
the spectral index of -0.24 +/- 0.20 appears to have flattened somewhat when
compared with the previously reported value of -0.56 +/- 0.11, taken in 1990.
The radio emission at 20 cm has decayed since the 1990 observations with a
power-law index of beta_20cm = -0.28 +/- 0.13. We discuss the radio properties
of this source and compare them to those of other Type II radio supernovae.Comment: 11 pages, 1 table and 2 figures; To appear in Astrophysical Journal
Letter
HST/STIS Spectroscopy of the Lyman-Alpha Emission Line in the Central Dominant Galaxies in A426, A1795, and A2597: Constraints on Clouds in the Intracluster Medium
We report on HST/STIS spectra of the Lyman-alpha emission in the central
dominant galaxies in three rich clusters of galaxies. We find evidence for a
population of clouds in the intracluster medium.We detect 10 Ly-alpha
absorption systems towards the nucleus of NGC1275 with columns of N(HI)
1E12-1E14 cm-2. The detected absorption features are most consistent with
associated nuclear absorption systems. There is very little nuclear absorption
at the systemic velocity in NGC1275. This implies that the large columns
detected in the 21 cm line towards the parsec scale radio source avoid the line
of sight to the nucleus. This gas may be located in a circumnuclear disk or
torus. We detect at least one and possibly two absorption features towards the
extended Ly-alpha in A426. We do not detect absorption towards the extended
Ly-alpha emission in A1795, and A2597 with upper limits N(HI) 1E13 cm-2 for
optically thin absorbers. Our data constrain the covering factor of any high
column density gas in the ICM to be less than 25%. Our results suggest that the
lack of observed intermediate temperature gas is not explained by obscuration.
In addition, the low columns of gas on the 100 kpc scales in the ICM suggests
that (1) the rate at which cold gas accumulates in the ICM on these scales is
very low, and (2) the dense nebulae in the central 10 kpc must have cooled or
been deposited in situ.Comment: 6 figure
Necklace-Type Transmitter Attachment Method for Ruffed Grouse Chicks
Although methodologies to obtain cause-specific mortality and survival information for adult ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) are well documented, procedures for determining similar parameters are lacking for grouse chicks. Mortality among grouse chicks is believed highest during the first few weeks posthatch. During 1999-2002, we equipped ruffed grouse chicks (n = 97) from 33 separate broods, ≤ 4-days-old with radio transmitters to assess the efficacy of transmitters and to examine survival/mortality. Further, we observed that grouse chicks retained transmitters (100%) until recapture or mortality. Handling time was limited because transmitter attachment took only a few minutes per brood. We observed mortality fates for 91% of radio-collared chicks. Therefore, because of the non-intrusive nature, field application, and retention of necklace-style transmitters employed in this study, this method may provide a desirable alternative to assessing survival/mortality among ruffed grouse chicks
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14C-Cobalamin Absorption from Endogenously Labeled Chicken Eggs Assessed in Humans Using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry.
Traditionally, the bioavailability of vitamin B-12 (B12) from in vivo labeled foods was determined by labeling the vitamin with radiocobalt (57Co, 58Co or 60Co). This required use of penetrating radioactivity and sometimes used higher doses of B12 than the physiological limit of B12 absorption. The aim of this study was to determine the bioavailability and absorbed B12 from chicken eggs endogenously labeled with 14C-B12 using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). 14C-B12 was injected intramuscularly into hens to produce eggs enriched in vivo with the 14C labeled vitamin. The eggs, which provided 1.4 to 2.6 μg of B12 (~1.1 kBq) per serving, were scrambled, cooked and fed to 10 human volunteers. Baseline and post-ingestion blood, urine and stool samples were collected over a one-week period and assessed for 14C-B12 content using AMS. Bioavailability ranged from 13.2 to 57.7% (mean 30.2 ± 16.4%). Difference among subjects was explained by dose of B12, with percent bioavailability from 2.6 μg only half that from 1.4 μg. The total amount of B12 absorbed was limited to 0.5-0.8 μg (mean 0.55 ± 0.19 μg B12) and was relatively unaffected by the amount consumed. The use of 14C-B12 offers the only currently available method for quantifying B12 absorption in humans, including food cobalamin absorption. An egg is confirmed as a good source of B12, supplying approximately 20% of the average adult daily requirement (RDA for adults = 2.4 μg/day)
Strategies for Water Reclamation: The Role of Policy and Technology in the Las Vegas Water Supply
The goals of this report are to: (i) consider Las Vegas' current water reclamation and reuse strategies using a case study framework to examine policy and reclamation technology issues in urban areas; and (ii) using this case study, develop general recommendations and best practices to guide the implementation of water reclamation technologies in the U.S. To accomplish these goals, the committee assessed: (i) the state of the art in water reclamation; (ii) how water management issues and the role of water reclamation are framed in Las Vegas; (iii) the perspectives and alignment of different groups of stakeholders involved in water management issues; and (iv) reclamation technology and policy interactions with respect to public perception, health, environment, regulation and incentives, and security issues
Report of the panel on international programs
The panel recommends that NASA participate and take an active role in the continuous monitoring of existing regional networks, the realization of high resolution geopotential and topographic missions, the establishment of interconnection of the reference frames as defined by different space techniques, the development and implementation of automation for all ground-to-space observing systems, calibration and validation experiments for measuring techniques and data, the establishment of international space-based networks for real-time transmission of high density space data in standardized formats, tracking and support for non-NASA missions, and the extension of state-of-the art observing and analysis techniques to developing nations
The Millennium Galaxy Catalogue: The connection between close pairs and asymmetry; implications for the galaxy merger rate
We compare the use of galaxy asymmetry and pair proximity for measuring
galaxy merger fractions and rates for a volume limited sample of 3184 galaxies
with -21 < M(B) -5 log h < -18 mag. and 0.010 < z < 0.123 drawn from the
Millennium Galaxy Catalogue. Our findings are that:
(i) Galaxies in close pairs are generally more asymmetric than isolated
galaxies and the degree of asymmetry increases for closer pairs. At least 35%
of close pairs (with projected separation of less than 20 h^{-1} kpc and
velocity difference of less than 500 km s^{-1}) show significant asymmetry and
are therefore likely to be physically bound.
(ii) Among asymmetric galaxies, we find that at least 80% are either
interacting systems or merger remnants. However, a significant fraction of
galaxies initially identified as asymmetric are contaminated by nearby stars or
are fragmented by the source extraction algorithm. Merger rates calculated via
asymmetry indices need careful attention in order to remove the above sources
of contamination, but are very reliable once this is carried out.
(iii) Close pairs and asymmetries represent two complementary methods of
measuring the merger rate. Galaxies in close pairs identify future mergers,
occurring within the dynamical friction timescale, while asymmetries are
sensitive to the immediate pre-merger phase and identify remnants.
(iv) The merger fraction derived via the close pair fraction and asymmetries
is about 2% for a merger rate of (5.2 +- 1.0) 10^{-4} h^3 Mpc^{-3} Gyr^{-1}.
These results are marginally consistent with theoretical simulations (depending
on the merger time-scale), but imply a flat evolution of the merger rate with
redshift up to z ~1.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, emulateapj format. ApJ, accepte
Method and apparatus for measuring frequency and phase difference
A system for deriving direct digital indications of frequency and phase difference between two incoming pulse trains adaptable for collision avoidance systems or the like. A pair of radar beams 152 and 152A are directed toward a target 153 and corresponding beams 154 and 154A returning therefrom are detected. A digital difference circuit 110 forms a pulse train 66 from the Doppler shift frequencies of each beam pair having a repetition rate functionally related to the difference in magnitude of the shift frequencies. Pulses from the pulse train are counted as a function of time. Visual indications thereof on display 144 are correlative to target position relative to beams 152 and 152A
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