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At least 199 records · Page 11

The kinematics of dense clusters of galaxies. 3: Comparison with cosmological models

We compare the combined distribution of 31 group and 25 cluster velocity dispersions with the ensemble of 32 models for the formation and evolution of large-scale structure examined by Weinberg & Cole (1992). The models include Gaussian and non-Gaussian initial fluctuations, different power law spectra (n = -1, n = 0, n = -2, 'pancake'), flat (Omega = 1) and open (Omega = 0.2) cosmologies, and unbiased (b(sub 8) = 1) and biased (b(sub 8) = 2) galaxy formation. The set of initial conditions we test, although limited, samples enough parameter space to indicate which general classes of models are consistent with the data. The two Gaussian, n = -1 models which best approximate the standard and open Cold Dark Matter (CDM) models do not match the observed distribution of velocity dispersions; models with b(sub 8) = 2 and Omega = 1 ('standard') or b(sub 8) = 1 and Omega = 0.2 ('open') predict too large a ratio of low to high velocity dispersion systems. A 'COBE-normalized' CDM model with b(sub 8) = 1 and Omega = 1 produces clusters with velocity dispersions higher than those measured. All three models overestimate the total abundance of systems.

Zabludoff, Ann I.↗

Lower Omo Food Security & Agriculture: Mapping Land Cover Change in Unprotected and Protected Areas in the Lower Omo River Valley, Ethiopia

Ethiopia is home to unique wildlife, biodiversity, and ecosystem services and, like much of the world, is undergoing population growth, development, and land use change. As a result, some biodiverse regions may be at risk of being urbanized, cultivated as agricultural plots, or losing access to water bodies that are essential for maintaining both terrestrial and aquatic life. The DEVELOP team partnered with the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority to quantify the land cover change between the years 1994, 2010, and 2018. The team utilized Ethiopia’s dry season (January to May) for training point development which was crucial in differentiating the level of greenness between the four land cover classes: water, natural vegetation, cultivated land, and bare ground. The study area covered 62,000 km2 of the Lower Omo River Valley and includes eight protected areas. Data from Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper, Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus, Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager, and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission were used to employ a Random Forest classifier and identify the four classes within Google Earth Engine. For each of the supervised classifications, overall model accuracy was between 83% (2018) and 89% (1994). Between 1994 and 2018, the Lower Omo Valley experienced an overall increase of 258% (919 km2) in water and 291% (7,188 km2) in cultivated areas, while experiencing a 9% (2,761 km2) decrease in natural vegetation and 19% (5,346 km2) bare ground. There was an increase in water and cultivated land and a decrease in natural vegetation and bare ground in unprotected areas and all protected areas. However, protected areas maintained natural vegetation better than unprotected areas and only experienced a 1% (59 km2) loss compared to a 10% (2,701 km2) loss in unprotected areas.

Food Security & Agriculture↗

New 16-PSK trellis codes for fading channels

Growth in satellite mobile communications leads to increasing requirements for high data rate transmission that can be met by more efficient modulation schemes (M greater than 8). The 16-PSK trellis coded modulation technique is a very promising solution. A class of new 16-PSK trellis codes with improved error rate are designed based on the criteria on fading channels.

Du, Jun↗

Automating sky object classification in astronomical survey images

We describe the application of machine classification techniques to the development of an automated tool for the reduction of a large scientific data set. The 2nd Palomer Observatory Sky Survey is nearly completed. This survey provides comprehensive coverage of the northern celestial hemisphere in the form of photographic plates. The plates are being transformed into digitized images whose quality will probably not be surpassed in the next ten to twenty years. The images are expected to contain on the order of 10(exp 7) galaxies and 10(exp 8) stars. Astronomers wish to determine which of these sky objects belong to various classes of galaxies and stars. The size of this data set precludes manual analysis. Our approach is to develop a software system which integrates the functions of independently developed techniques for image processing and data classification. Digitized sky images are passed through image processing routines to identify sky objects and to extract a set of features for each object. These routines are used to help select a useful set of attributes for classifying sky objects. Then GID3* and O-BTree, two inductive learning techniques, learn classification decision trees from examples. These classifiers will be used to process the rest of the data. This paper gives an overview of the machine learning techniques used, describes the details of our specific application, and reports the initial encouraging results. The results indicate that our approach is well-suited to the problem. The primary benefits of the approach are increased data reduction throughput and consistency of classification. The classification rules which are the product of the inductive learning techniques will form an object, examinable basis for classifying sky objects. A final, not to be underestimated benefit is that astronomers will be freed from the tedium of an intensely visual task to pursue more challenging analysis and interpretation problems based on automatically cataloged data.

Fayyad, Usama M.↗

Stereomicroscope Inspection of Polished Aluminum Collector 50684.0

The Genesis polished aluminum "kidney" collector was damaged during the hard landing of the capsule on September 8, 2004 in the Utah desert. The kidney was introduced into the Genesis (ISO class 4) cleanroom laboratory on November 4, 2004 and stored under nitrogen cover gas. The collector is currently fastened to a highly polished stainless steel plate for secure handling. Curatorial work at JSC has made successful subdivision and subsequent allocation of samples from the kidney.

Rodriquez, M. C.↗

Categorization of planets and exoplanets for Astrobiology.

Introduction: The number of exoplanets detected is astounding –and was not predicted. Note that Bo-rucki’s foundational paper for the Kepler mission in 1984 predicted:“...a detection rate of one planet per year of observation appears possible.”[1]. Even more astounding is the enormous diversity of exoplanets [2,3]. It is already clear from the data, that our Solar System does not bound the diversity and the range of processes seen in the exoplanets [2,3,4]. As telescopes improve it is certain that the number of exoplanets will become astronomical and the diversity will increase apace. The search for habitable locations and for evidence of life is a central part of the approach and excitement of exoplanet research [5,6]. Based on our experience to date we can expect that there will be enormous diversity in the types of habitability and life on exoplanets and that the Earth and our Solar System do not bound the possibilities for either habitability and life, and may not even provide a definite guide to selecting c and i-dates for detailed study from the enormous lists of exoplanets that will emerge. How can we develop a system for categorizing exoplanets in a way that allows for selection and prioritization in the search for diverse habitats and for diverse lifeforms?The short answer is we have no idea. In this short abstract I will venture some suggested approach-es. (see also[7]). To date, our solar system provides three classes for a habitable world:1) Earth. Water worlds, represented, of course, by Earth, and Earth-like worlds Venus and Mars. 2) Europa. Ice-covered worlds represented by Europa and including Enceladus and others, and 3) Titan. Cryogenic liquid covered worlds, represented by Titan. Earth and Europa world simply life made from carbon compounds in a water medium. Interest in these“ water worlds” is rooted in our understanding of life on Earth–the only example of life we have. The primary difference between Earth and Europa worlds is access to sunlight as an energy source on Earth. Titan represents the concept of carbon-based life in a cryogenic liquid such as CH4or C2H6 [8-13]. It is unlikely that Earth, Europa, and Titan represent the full range of possible classes of habitability for the many exoplanets that have been, or will be, discovered. It is also unlikely that life as we know it on Earth represents the full range of possible life on exoplanets. I am suggesting here that we start with these three classes (Earth, Europa, Titan) for exoplanet characterization and add others based on predicted types, such as “Hycean” worlds, a hypothetical type of planet with a hot, water-covered surface with a hydrogen dominated atmosphere [14] and the many examples considered in [15,16] and even imagined habitability and life forms [7] such as Sarr -a small, hot (500°C) rocky planet with an atmosphere over liquid sulfur. And that hosts only sulfur-based life. We are probably safe in the assumption that the richness and diversity of the exoplanets will exceed that of our collective imaginations.

Christopher P Mckay↗

“Lagrangian disks” in M-theory

While the study of bordered (pseudo-)holomorphic curves with boundary on Lagrangian submanifolds has a long history, a similar problem that involves (special) Lagrangian submanifolds with boundary on complex surfaces appears to be largely overlooked in both physics and math literature. We relate this problem to geometry of coassociative submanifolds in G 2 holonomy spaces and to Spin(7) metrics on 8-manifolds with T 2 fibrations. As an application to physics, we propose a large class of brane models in type IIA string theory that generalize brane brick models on the one hand and 2d theories T[M 4 ] on the other.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Stereoselective synthesis of a 4-α-glucoside of valienamine and its X-ray structure in complex with Streptomyces coelicolor GlgE1-V279S

Glycoside hydrolases (GH) are a large family of hydrolytic enzymes found in all domains of life. As such, they control a plethora of normal and pathogenic biological functions. Thus, understanding selective inhibition of GH enzymes at the atomic level can lead to the identification of new classes of therapeutics. In these studies, we identified a 4-α-glucoside of valienamine (8) as an inhibitor of Streptomyces coelicolor (Sco) GlgE1-V279S which belongs to the GH13 Carbohydrate Active EnZyme family. The results obtained from the dose–response experiments show that 8 at a concentration of 1000 µM reduced the enzyme activity of Sco GlgE1-V279S by 65%. The synthetic route to 8 and a closely related 4-α-glucoside of validamine (7) was achieved starting from readily available D-maltose. A key step in the synthesis was a chelation-controlled addition of vinylmagnesium bromide to a maltose-derived enone intermediate. X-ray structures of both 7 and 8 in complex with Sco GlgE1-V279S were solved to resolutions of 1.75 and 1.83 Å, respectively. Structural analysis revealed the valienamine derivative 8 binds the enzyme in an E 2 conformation for the cyclohexene fragment. Also, the cyclohexene fragment shows a new hydrogen-bonding contact from the pseudo-diaxial C(3)–OH to the catalytic nucleophile Asp 394 at the enzyme active site. Asp 394, in fact, forms a bidentate interaction with both the C(3)–OH and C(7)-OH of the inhibitor. In contrast, compound 7 disrupts the catalytic sidechain interaction network of Sco GlgE1-V279S via steric interactions resulting in a conformation change in Asp 394. These findings will have implications for the design other aminocarbasugar-based GH13-inhibitors and will be useful for identifying more potent and selective inhibitors.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Luminescent N-heterocyclic carbene Cu( I ) complexes with N^O chelating ligands exhibit microsecond lifetimes and photocatalytic activity

To replace precious noble metal-based photosensitizers in applications involving photoinduced charge separation, energy transfer, or photocatalysis, Cu(I) complexes are considered to be cost-effective, earth-abundant, and sustainable alternatives. An emerging and effective design principle in Cu(I) photosensitizers involves heteroleptic structures where the HOMO and LUMO are spatially separated over two different ligands. In the present work, we introduce a complementary class of heteroleptic, three-coordinate copper photosensitizers that pairs variable N^O chelating ligands (8-hydroxyquinoline and 10-hydroxybenzo[h]quinoline) with a bulky 2,6-diisopropylphenyl-substituted N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC). In this design, both frontier orbitals are localized on the same ligand, the N^O chelate, such that structural modulation of the electron-rich N^O-chelates can substantially tune the energy levels of the HOMO and LUMO, thereby controlling the photoluminescence properties. Detailed photophysical and electrochemical experiments as well as DFT calculations suggest charge-transfer transitions with intra-ligand charge transfer (ILCT) character, involving the N^O ligands. This strategy successfully produced long triplet excited-state lifetimes (up to 44 µs) in compounds that are strong photoreductants (E([Cu] + /*[Cu] as negative as −2.0 V vs. the ferrocenium/ferrocene couple). These properties allow these photosensitizers to be used as photocatalysts in various transformations of organic compounds, such as hydrogenation of substituted benzophenones, hydrodehalogenation of aryl/alkyl halides (including challenging C–Cl bond activation) and E/Z isomerization of (E)-stilbene (an example of triplet–triplet energy transfer).

Chakraborty, Soumi [University of Houston, TX (Uni↗

Experimental Study of Ballistic-Missile Base Heating with Operating Rocket

A rocket of the 1000-pound-thrust class using liquid oxygen and JP-4 fuel as propellant was installed in the Lewis 8- by 6-foot tunnel to permit a controlled study of some of the factors affecting the heating of a rocket-missile base. Temperatures measured in the base region are presented from findings of three motor extension lengths relative to the base. Data are also presented for two combustion efficiency levels in the rocket motor. Temperature as high as 1200 F was measured in the base region because of the ignition of burnable rocket gases. combustibles that are dumped into the base by accessories seriously aggravate the base-burning temperature rise.

BALLISTIC MISSILE↗

Bandwidth efficient block codes for M-ary PSK modulation

A class of bandwidth efficient block codes for M-ary PSK modulation is presented. A soft-decision decoding for this class of codes is devised. Some specific short codes for Quad Phase Shift Key (QPSK), 8-PSK and 16-PSK modulations are constructed. These codes have good minimum squared Euclidean distances and provide 2 to 5.8 dB coding gains over uncoded QPSK modulation without (or with little) bandwidth expansion. The complete weight distributions of these specific codes are determined. Based on these weight distributions, their error probabilities are evaluated. Some of these codes have simple trellis structures and hence can be decoded by Viterbi decoding algorithm with relatively simple implementation. Moreover, the codes are very suitable for use as inner codes for various cascaded coding schemes with Reed-Solomon codes as outer codes.

Lin, Shu↗

Performance analysis of a large-grain dataflow scheduling paradigm

A paradigm for scheduling computations on a network of multiprocessors using large-grain data flow scheduling at run time is described and analyzed. The computations to be scheduled must follow a static flow graph, while the schedule itself will be dynamic (i.e., determined at run time). Many applications characterized by static flow exist, and they include real-time control and digital signal processing. With the advent of computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools for capturing software designs in dataflow-like structures, macro-dataflow scheduling becomes increasingly attractive, if not necessary. For parallel implementations, using the macro-dataflow method allows the scheduling to be insulated from the application designer and enables the maximum utilization of available resources. Further, by allowing multitasking, processor utilizations can approach 100 percent while they maintain maximum speedup. Extensive simulation studies are performed on 4-, 8-, and 16-processor architectures that reflect the effects of communication delays, scheduling delays, algorithm class, and multitasking on performance and speedup gains.

Young, Steven D.↗

Lower Omo Food Security & Agriculture: Mapping Land Cover Change in Unprotected and Protected Areas in the Lower Omo River Valley, Ethiopia

Ethiopia is home to unique wildlife, biodiversity, and ecosystem services and, like much of the world, is undergoing population growth, development, and land use change. As a result, some biodiverse regions may be at risk of being urbanized, cultivated as agricultural plots, or losing access to water bodies that are essential for maintaining both terrestrial and aquatic life. The DEVELOP team partnered with the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority to quantify the land cover change between the years 1994, 2010, and 2018. The team utilized Ethiopia’s dry season (January to May) for training point development which was crucial in differentiating the level of greenness between the four land cover classes: water, natural vegetation, cultivated land, and bare ground. The study area covered 62,000 sq.km of the Lower Omo River Valley and includes eight protected areas. We used Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper, Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus, Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager, and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission imagery within Google Earth Engine to employ a Random Forest Classifier and identify these four distinct classes. For each of our supervised classifications, overall model accuracy was between 83% (2018) and 89% (1994). Between 1994 and 2018, the Lower Omo Valley experienced an overall increase of 258.57% in water bodies and 291.23% in cultivated areas, while experiencing an 8.91% decrease in natural vegetation and 18.76% bare ground. There was an increase in water bodies and cultivated land and a decrease in natural vegetation and bare ground in unprotected areas and all protected areas. However, protected areas disproportionately experienced an increase in land cover change, including Tama Community Conservation Area which saw a 17,272.33% increase between 1994 and 2018.

Food Security & Agriculture↗

A study to define the research and technology requirements for advanced turbo/propfan transport aircraft

The feasibility of the propfan relative to the turbofan is summarized, using the Douglas DC-9 Super 80 (DS-8000) as the actual operational base aircraft. The 155 passenger economy class aircraft (31,775 lb 14,413 kg payload), cruise Mach at 0.80 at 31,000 ft (8,450 m) initial altitude, and an operational capability in 1985 was considered. Three propfan arrangements, wing mounted, conventional horizontal tail aft mounted, and aft fuselage pylon mounted are selected for comparison with the DC-9 Super 80 P&WA JT8D-209 turbofan powered aircraft. The configuration feasibility, aerodynamics, propulsion, structural loads, structural dynamics, sonic fatigue, acoustics, weight maintainability, performance, rough order of magnitude economics, and airline coordination are examined. The effects of alternate cruise Mach number, mission stage lengths, and propfan design characteristics are considered. Recommendations for further study, ground testing, and flight testing are included.

Goldsmith, I. M.↗

Immune Dysregulation Following Short versus Long Duration Space Flight

Immune system dysregulation has been demonstrated to occur during spaceflight and has the potential to cause serious health risks to crewmembers participating in exploration-class missions. A comprehensive immune assessment was recently performed on 13 short duration Space Shuttle crewmembers and 8 long duration International Space Station (ISS) crewmembers. Statistically significant post-flight phenotype alterations (as compared to pre-flight baseline) for the Shuttle crewmembers included: granulocytosis, increased percentage of B cells, reduced percentage of NK cells, elevated CD4/CD8 ratio, elevated levels of memory CD4+ T cells, and a CD8+ T cell shift to a less differentiated state. For the Shuttle crewmembers, T cell function was surprisingly elevated post-flight, among both the CD4+ and CD8+ subsets. This is likely an acute stress response in less-deconditioned crewmembers. The percentage of CD4+/IL-2+, CD4+/IFNg+ and CD8+/IFNg+ T cells were all decreased at landing. Culture secreted IFNg production was significantly decreased at landing, whereas production of Th2 cytokines was largely unchanged. It was found that the IFNg:IL-10 ratio was obviously declined in the Shuttle crewmembers immediately post-flight. A similar pattern of alterations were observed for the long duration ISS crewmembers. In contrast to Shuttle crewmembers, the ISS crewmembers demonstrated a dramatic reduction in T cell function immediately post-flight. This may be related to the effect of acute landing stress in conjunction with prolonged deconditioning associated with extended flight. The reduction in IFNg:IL-10 ratio (Th2 shift) was also observed post-flight in the ISS crewmembers to a much higher degree. These data indicate consistent peripheral phenotype changes and altered cytokine production profiles occur following space travel of both short and long duration.

Crucian, Brian E.↗

Exploring Europa with an RPS-Powered Orbiter Spacecraft

This paper describes a conceptual flagship-class Europa orbiter concept that was assumed to launch as early as 2012, arriving at Europa approximately 8 years later using inner solar system gravity assists to reach Jupiter. Jupiter's intense radiation environment limits the mission duration at Europa to 30 days for this study, though the duration is a result of multiple trades and is by no means fixed. The Europa Subgroup of the Outer Planets Assessment Group identified six primary science objectives for this concept.

Europa↗

Mapping Biophysical Parameters for Land Surface Modeling over the Continental US Using MODIS and Landsat

In terms of the space cities occupy, urbanization appears as a minor land transformation. However, it permanently modifies land's ecological functions, altering its carbon, energy, and water fluxes. It is therefore necessary to develop a land cover characterization at fine spatial and temporal scales to capture urbanization's effects on surface fluxes. We develop a series of biophysical vegetation parameters such as the fraction of photosynthetically active radiation, leaf area index, vegetation greenness fraction, and roughness length over the continental US using MODIS and Landsat products for 2001. A 13-class land cover map was developed at a climate modeling grid (CMG) merging the 500mMODIS land cover and the 30m impervious surface area from the National Land Cover Database. The landscape subgrid heterogeneity was preserved using fractions of each class from the 500 m and 30 m into the CMG. Biophysical parameters were computed using the 8-day composite Normalized Difference Vegetation Index produced by the North American Carbon Program. In addition to urban impact assessments, this dataset is useful for the computation of surface fluxes in land, vegetation, and urban models and is expected to be widely used in different land cover and land use change applications.

Biophysical↗

GOES-17 Independent Review Team Investigation Results

The GOES-17 (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) was launched March 1, 2018. It was the second of the GOES R class satellites to be launched - following GOES 16 in November 2016. Both satellites contain Advanced Baseline Imagers (ABIs) that provide high spatial and temporal resolution imagery of the Earth at visible and infrared wavelengths. The Japanese Himawari 8 (launched in October 2014), Himawari 9 (launched in November 2016) and South Korean GEO-KOMPSAT-2A (launched in December 2018) have imager payloads and thermal control systems identical to the GOES R class. All these satellites serve as geostationary weather satellites.

Eugene Ungar↗